I want to first thank my team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth.
My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country.
Our cherished Constitutional Republic was founded on the impartial rule of law, the indispensable safeguard for our liberties, our rights and our freedoms.
It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree. I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honorably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate.
This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country. No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago.
I also want to convey my gratitude to the millions of decent, hardworking, law-abiding, God-and-Country loving citizens who have bravely supported these important principles in these very difficult and challenging times.
Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!
We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future.
Together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
We remain one People, one family, and one glorious nation under God, and it’s our responsibility to preserve this magnificent inheritance for our children and for generations of Americans to come.
May God bless all of you, and may God forever bless the United States of America.
President Joe Biden is the first American leader in 40 years not to contact Israel’s leaders as one of his first actions in the White House, setting up what could be four years of chilly relations between America and its top Middle East ally.
Biden has already phoned multiple world leaders, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping, but during his 23 days in office has yet to speak with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu—making Biden the first president in modern history to punt on bolstering U.S.-Israel relations during his initial days in office. Every president going back to at least Ronald Reagan in 1981 made contact with their Israeli counterpart within a week of assuming office, according to a review of news reports.
Congressional foreign policy leaders slammed Biden’s Netanyahu snub, prompting a flurry of questions for White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who has declined to disclose when or if Biden will call the Israeli leader. Psaki also said on Friday the White House would not list Israel as a U.S. ally when asked about the relationship during her daily press briefing.
Modern presidents going back to Reagan made calls or overtures to Israel during their first days in office, sending a message the United States would continue to stand for the Jewish state’s security. Biden’s diplomatic slight comes as Israel faces encroaching terrorist threats and the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. He also has hired several individuals with a background in anti-Israel activism, including Maher Bitar, a top White House National Security Council official who spent his youth organizing boycotts of the Jewish state. The State Department’s Iran envoy, Robert Malley, also has been a vocal critic of Israel.
Upon assuming office in January 1981, Reagan made overtures to Israel, vowing to protect its interests, and sent Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to meet with Israel’s leaders to build “Israeli confidence in the administration of President-elect Ronald Reagan,” according to an Associated Press report from the time.
President George H.W. Bush followed this trend. He called then-Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir on Jan. 25, 1989, five days after he entered the White House.
President Bill Clinton reached out to Israel even sooner. He called then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin on Jan. 23, 1993, three days after being sworn in.
President George W. Bush phoned former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak on Jan. 27, 2001, a week after taking the White House, to express his support for the U.S.-Israel alliance.
President Barack Obama, who faced criticism from Republicans for policies they branded anti-Israel, called the Jewish state’s leaders on his first day in office. Obama also called Palestinian leaders that day, laying the groundwork for that administration’s failed bid to foster peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
President Donald Trump not only called Netanyahu but made the historic decision to invite him to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22, 2017, two days after he took the oath of office.
GOP leaders on the House Foreign Affairs Committee raised multiple concerns with Biden’s refusal to express support for Israel with a phone call.
“I’m not sure why President Biden has already called world leaders from 10 other nations, including China but hasn’t yet bothered to speak with Israel,” Rep. Mark Green (R., Tenn.) told the Washington Free Beacon on Thursday, adding that “Israel deserves to be treated with respect from every world leader—especially the president of the United States.”
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R., Texas), another HFAC member, asked, “What is President Biden avoiding?”
“The American-Israeli relationship is vital to our national security for a litany of reasons,” Jackson told the Free Beacon. “I urge President Biden to ignore the radical left in his party and make a strong show of support for our partnership with Israel by calling Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
(A-7 INN) A woman on a London bus punched an 80-year-old Holocaust survivor and her son, a rabbi.
The Feb. 9 incident was reported Friday by the Jewish News of London based on accounts by the Shomrim community protection team and the Campaign Against Antisemitism watchdog group.
Witnesses said the woman told the alleged victims, “I hate you Jews. It’s not your place. You took our money” before striking them when the bus was traveling in the early afternoon through a residential area to the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Stamford Hill.
The alleged assailant “threw the rabbi’s hat to the floor during the assault,” according to accounts that have reached the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the group said in a statement. Passengers intervened and asked the driver to take the assailant to a police station but the driver declined, the watchdog also said.
“Transport for London must explain why the bus driver took no action, allowing the abuse to go on despite the violence and the protests of other passengers, and the assailant must quickly be identified and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” the group wrote.
The suspect is not in custody. The Jewish News report did not say when she got off the bus.
On Thursday, the Community Security Trust, British Jewry’s main security group, said in its annual report for 2020 that COVID-19 lockdown resulted in a decrease of merely 8% in the number of anti-Semitic incidents over 2019.
This fascinating Podcast interview from “Right on Point” features Dr. Scott Jensen, State Senator from Minnesota and Dr. Henry Ealy discussing their work on analyzing how the CDC has allegedly manipulated and coerced hospitals on manipulating data on death certificates.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo ignored a report stating his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), hid the number of coronavirus-related nursing home deaths to avoid investigation, receiving backlash as a result.
“Will you be discussing the massive cover up that happened in the state of New York involving the governor?” one Twitter user replied to a Cuomo Prime Time post on Friday regarding the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
“As your brother struggles for air and you care about a former president. Do you care about the dead seniors at all?” another commented.
The governor’s top aide admitted recently her team withheld the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the state’s nursing homes to protect the Cuomo’s government from a federal investigation and political scrutiny, according to Breitbart News:
Left-wing and partisan Democrat news media outlets regularly praised Cuomo’s conduct as governor in the context of the coronavirus outbreak, with many framing Cuomo’s approach towards combating COVID-19 as evidence of presidential capabilities. Despite framing the spread of COVID-19 as a “crisis,” Cuomo wrote a book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, during his time heading New York’s public health strategy.
A search through transcripts revealed the words “nursing homes” and “Andrew Cuomo” were not spoken once Thursday evening during the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on CNN or MSNBC, Fox News reported.
However, New York Democrats are demanding Gov. Cuomo be stripped of his emergency coronavirus powers in response to the administration’s cover-up.
Fourteen lawmakers asserted in a prepared statement that it is clear “the expanded emergency powers granted to the Governor are no longer appropriate.”
“While the executive’s authority to issue directives is due to expire on April 30, we urge the Senate to advance and adopt a repeal as expeditiously as possible,” they concluded.
In reply to Cuomo’s Prime Time tweet Friday, another user said, “It’s sad that a [sic] your brother the governor of New York can recklessly cause the deaths of 15k seniors yet you talk about Trump.”
Former President Donald Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial Saturday.
The Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump Saturday of charges that he incited an insurrection on January 6.
The Senate voted 57-43, meaning that the chamber failed to clear the 67-vote threshold necessary to convict Trump of the charge that he incited an insurrection on January 6, when Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election.
UPDATE: President Trump released a statement after his acquittal, full coverage begins below former President Trump’s statement:
I want to first thank my team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth.
My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country.
Our cherished Constitutional Republic was founded on the impartial rule of law, the indispensable safeguard for our liberties, our rights and our freedoms.
It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree. I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honorably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate.
This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country. No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago.
I also want to convey my gratitude to the millions of decent, hardworking, law-abiding, God-and-Country loving citizens who have bravely supported these important principles in these very difficult and challenging times.
Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!
We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future. Together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
We remain one People, one family, and one glorious nation under God, and it’s our responsibility to preserve this magnificent inheritance for our children and for generations of Americans to come. May God bless all of you, and may God forever bless the United States of America.
Former President Donald Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial Saturday.
The Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump Saturday of charges that he incited an insurrection on January 6.
The Senate voted 57-43, meaning that the chamber failed to clear the 67-vote threshold necessary to convict Trump of the charge that he incited an insurrection on January 6, when Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election.
Seven Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump of inciting an insurrection, including Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Ben Sasse (R-NE).
Today’s vote marks the second time that Trump has escaped conviction from the Senate after a House Democrat majority voted to impeach Trump. House Democrats voted to impeach Trump the first time, accusing him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The Senate impeachment trial took a dramatic turn Saturday morning as the Senate voted to have additional witnesses testify. Five Senate Republicans, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voted yes.
Senators wanted more information about a reported call between Trump and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). During the alleged call, which was first mentioned by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Trump said that the rioters cared more about election fraud than McCarthy did.
Trump defense attorney Michael van der Veen said that if Democrats want more witnesses, he needs to depose House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) – not by Zoom but in Philadelphia – and Vice President Kamala Harris. Van der Veen said he would need up to 100 depositions.
The Senate vote enraged many Republicans, such as Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Ernst, the Senate GOP vice chair, called the vote a “total, total shit show.”
She called the approval of additional witnesses a “tool of revenge” against the 45th president.
The Iowa conservative then promised that if Democrats wished to extend the impeachment trial against Trump, they will also drag out the trial. She also promised to block the consideration of potential nominees.
“If they want to drag this out, we’ll drag it out. They won’t get their noms, they won’t get anything,” Ernst said.
“Dems had agreed to know [sic] witnesses, then-House Managers changed their mind this morning. Schumer blindsided. Pandemonium. They’re negotiating now to figure out next steps,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said in a statement on Saturday.
However, the impeachment trial took an even more dramatic turn when the House Democrat impeachment managers and the Trump legal team struck a deal Saturday afternoon that would bypass additional witness testimony.
News Max reported on the drama that unfolded leading to closing arguments :
The U.S. Senate agreed on Saturday to admitting a statement by Republican lawmaker Jaime Herrera Beutler into evidence in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
In the statement, the lawmaker said the top House Republican, Kevin McCarthy, had told her about a call he had with Trump on Jan. 6, during a riot when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, in which Trump said, “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”
Under the agreement, the information that a Republican congresswoman has made public about Trump’s actions on the day of the riot will be entered into the record of the trial in exchange for Democrats dropping plans to deposition testimony from the congresswoman, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington no witnesses would be called to testify.
That allowed the trial to resume Saturday with closing arguments and a vote on the verdict.
Some of the closing argument highlights:
Raskin begins his closing argument and says any reasonable person would conclude that Trump proverbially let the first start and wanted to keep it going.
Raskin says the House Managers have presented irrefutable evidence. Raskin praises Liz Cheney and reads her statement. He says she survived the attempts by Trump supporters to “cancel” her. Raskin accuses of Trump of summoning the mob, but says he did not want to be near the action as he scurried back to the White House. He says the mob “unleashed unparalleled” violence against police officers.
Rep. Jamie Raskin on Trump: “And he said he was going to march with them to the Capitol, even though the permit for the rally specifically forbade a march. But he said he would march with them, giving them more comfort that what they were doing was legitimate, it was okay.” pic.twitter.com/FIXRHt7KOL
Next, Cicilline said Trump incited violence and many people were ready for violence as the House Managers largely repeat arguments they made this week. Cicilline said an innocent person would jump at the chance to testify, but former President Trump declined. He says that the beginning of Trump’s speech “incited an initial wave” of rioters going to the Capitol. He says a much larger wave came after Trump finished his speech. He says it is just not possible that Trump did not know Pence was in danger and was being evacuated from the Senate floor. He says Trump betrayed everyone, including Officer Eugene Goodman, after inciting a riot only he could stop. He says Trump’s further incitement was a “dereliction of duty.”
Rep. David Cicilline: “Former President Trump has remained silent about what he was doing during one of the bloodiest attacks on our Capitol since 1812.” pic.twitter.com/sHQZi3UHg9
Summary of Trump lawyer Michael Van der Veen closing argument from Breitbart News:
Van der Veen says the rioting had been “pre-planned” and had been “premeditated.” He says Democrats demanded National Guard forces be withdrawn after left-wing rioting last summer. He says political leaders could have downplayed the need for security because they played into the “false narrative” of what happened last summer. He says Pelosi never called it an insurrection when left-wing activists took over federal courthouses and vandalized the Treasury building. Van der Veen now talking about how Harris encouraged supporters to donate to a bail fund for rioters so they can do it over and over again. He says Democrats incited rioters more than Trump incited the insurrectionists. He says “it’s a hypocrisy that the House Managers have laid at the feed of this chamber.” Van der Veen blames a “bloodthirsty” media that “glorified civil unrest” for ratings for contributing to the Jan. 6 riots. He says House Democrats have created a new legal theory to protect speech based on the party label next to someone’s name. He says House Democrats have trampled every “tradition and norm of due process.” He says Trump was given opportunity to question the propriety of various pieces of evidence or engage in fact-finding because much of what the House Managers introduced were based on anonymous sources. He accuses the House Managers of taking a “kitchen sink approach” because their case is so weak. He says the impeachment trial has been a “charade” and nothing more than a pursuit of a “political vendetta” against Trump. Van der Veen says there is no jurisdiction, each allegation had to be divisible, and there was a lack of due process that was “shocking” and “way over the top.” He also says there were no “words of incitement” after mumbling about the First Amendment. He says Senators do not have to indulge the “impeachment lust” of Democrats.
Van der Veen began by saying, what took place on January 6 was a “grave tragedy” and the “infiltration of the Capitol” was a “heinous act.” He claims the former president is also “deeply disturbed” by the video. He says the question before the Senators is not whether there was a violent insurrection (He says, on this point, everyone agrees.), but whether Trump willfully incited an insurrection against the United States. He says the act of incitement never happened and Trump did not incite violence with his January 6 speech
(TJVNEWS.COM) Two people were found stabbed to death on separate A trains overnight and two more were later discovered injured from vicious stab wounds, also along the A train line police said Saturday morning.
Police found a 44-year-old woman with stab wounds on a train at the West 207th Street and Broadway station in Washington Heights around 1:30 a.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene CBS reported. NY Times reported the gruesome murder in more detail, in a scene out of a 1980’s slasher movie, the 44-year-old woman, apparently homeless was found, stabbed throughout her body underneath a seat on a train at a station in Upper Manhattan
About two hours earlier, officers found a man with stab wounds who was sitting on a train stopped at the Mott Avenue and Beach 22nd Street station in Far Rockaway. He was also pronounced dead at the scene. The NY Times expanded on the horrifying slashing reporting: the man, apparently homeless, was found dead from stab wounds to the neck and torso, slumped on a seat.
The NY Times also reported a third victim and fourth victim of the slasher
The Times reported:
There was nearly a third killing at a third subway station when a homeless man sleeping on an exit stairwell was awakened by a sharp pain in his back. He, too, had been stabbed. He ran to a bank, collapsed, and was in “very serious condition” at a hospital, the police said.
All three attacks, the police say, were likely committed by the same person. And they may be linked to an earlier nonfatal attack on Friday morning, in which an assailant yelled “I’m going to kill you,” then stabbed a 67-year-old homeless man in the knee and buttocks as he pushed his walker on a train platform.
(TVJNEWS) New York City police officers arrested 11 people during a violent Black Lives Matter march Friday night. The melee left two NYPD officers injured, according to NY Post and Breitbart.
Approximately 100 BLM marchers took to the streets of midtown Manhattan Friday night, the New York Postreported. At least two NYPD officers sustained minor injuries during the incident.
Daily News photographer Sam Costanza came under attack from the protesters when they mistakenly identified him as a police officer. Costanza said ten to 15 protesters surrounded him and began fighting him, according to Newsday
One of the protesters reportedly recognized him from a protest at the NYPD 6th Precinct headquarters in Greenwich Village last year, the Post stated. One of the protesters began yelling, “He’s a cop,” leading others to swarm the man and beating him with their fists and other objects, Breitbart summarized.
In other words, the BLM insurrectionists were looking to attack a police officer.
The latest rendition of the communist-tinged movement seems to be focused on transgendered black lives, as the major rallying point in NYC protests.
WABC reported the incident turned violent as protesters clashed with officers near 6th Avenue and West 54th Street around 9 p.m.
Police officials did not disclose how the officers were injured, the Post continued. Officers responded by arresting at least 11 of the anti-police protesters.
The confrontation on Sixth Avenue began when police placed one of the protesters in custody, the New York Daily Newsrevealed. Police officials told the local news outlet a melee ensued leading to the arrest of multiple protesters.
NYC -A BLM march through Midtown Manhattan turned violent Friday night, with 11 protesters arrested. At least some of those arrested were accused of attacking Daily News photographer Sam Costanza at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street pic.twitter.com/ueSzXEhPus
New York Democrats, in a rare reprimand of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), are demanding that the Democrat leader be stripped of his emergency coronavirus powers in response to his administration’s coverup of coronavirus nursing home death data.
Cuomo, who has generally enjoyed unmitigated praise from the establishment media and fellow Democrats throughout the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, is facing backlash from Democrat state senators following an admission from Melissa DeRosa, New York’s secretary to the governor, who privately admitted that the administration covered up nursing home death data over fears of a federal probe under the Trump administration.
Fourteen lawmakers prepared a statement, asserting that it is now clear that “the expanded emergency powers granted to the Governor are no longer appropriate.”
“Without exception, the New York State Constitution calls for the Legislature to govern as a co-equal branch of government,” the lawmakers wrote”:
While COVID-19 has tested the limits of our people and state –– and, early during the pandemic, required the government to restructure decision making to render rapid, necessary public health judgments –– it is clear that the expanded emergency powers granted to the Governor are no longer appropriate.
“While the executive’s authority to issue directives is due to expire on April 30, we urge the Senate to advance and adopt a repeal as expeditiously as possible,” they said.
The state senators include Sens. Alessandra Biaggi, Jabari Brisport, Samra Brouk, Jeremy Cooney, Andrew Gounardes, Robert Jackson, John C. Liu, John Mannion, Rachel May, Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, Gustavo Rivera, Julia Salazar, James Sanders, and James Skoufis,” per PIX11.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) also issued a warning to the governor, cautioning that lawmakers will be “discussing next steps as a conference.”
“Crucial information should never be withheld from entities that are empowered to pursue oversight,” Stewart-Cousins said.
The statement follows the New York Post’s Thursday report revealing the private call between DeRosa and state lawmakers, wherein she admitted that the administration withheld nursing home data over concerns of a federal investigation.
“Because then we were in a position where we weren’t sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren’t sure if there was going to be an investigation,” she told lawmakers, apologizing for the awkward position the administration’s actions put the lawmakers in.
“So we do apologize. I do understand the position that you were put in. I know that it is not fair,” she acknowledged. “It was not our intention to put you in that political position with the Republicans.”
The revelation prompted backlash from prominent New York lawmakers as well, including Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY), both of whom called for a Department of Justice investigation.
“Governor Cuomo, the Secretary to the Governor, and his senior team must be prosecuted immediately – both by the Attorney General of New York State and the U.S. Department of Justice,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said in a statement.
“DOJ needs to immediately open an Obstruction of Justice investigation into Gov Cuomo & his admin,” Zeldin said Thursday evening.
Over 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were sent to New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities following the Cuomo administration’s controversial March 25 directive requiring the facilities to accept such patients, according to the AP. Coronavirus-related deaths in New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities is nearing 15,000, “up from the 8,500 previously disclosed,” the outlet added.
Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a damning report revealing that “a larger number of nursing home residents died from COVID-19 than the New York State Department of Health’s (DOH) published nursing home data reflected and may have been undercounted by as much as 50 percent.” Cuomo initially dismissed the reports. The bottom line, he said, is that “people died.”
“But we’re below the national average in the number of deaths in nursing homes. But who cares? Thirty-three [percent], 28 [percent], died in a hospital, died in a nursing home,” he said in response. “They died.”
Oakland Police say they are increasing patrols in Chinatown after over 20 robberies and assaults in the neighborhood in recent days. Almost all of the attacks seem to be targeting Asian Americans, especially elderly victims.
The Cut reported As the Queens Chronicle noted back in September, NYPD data showed that there has been a 1,900 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in New York City in the past year. U.N. report also found that there were more than 1,800 racist incidents against Asian Americans in the United States over an eight-week period from March to May 2020.
Some reporters indicate Asians are being targeted because of COVID’s Chinese origins, however as writer Colin Flaherty has documented, violence against Asians is common in inner cities, most frequently the assailants are African American and the motive is usually a stereotype of Asians being perceived as “weak” or easy targets for violent robberies. This is an underbelly of racism, rarely discussed in an environment where racism and social justice have become a focal rallying point across America.
Vice President Harris briefly addressed this grave issue of racism against Asians in America. She Tweeted:
“Hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans and Asian immigrants have skyrocketed during the pandemic,” Harris tweeted. “That’s why our Administration has taken actions to address these xenophobic attacks. We must continue to commit ourselves to combating racism and discrimination.”
Newsmax reported:
Videos of recent attacks on older Asian Americans in California’s Bay Area spread across social media. They included one of a 91-year-old man being pushed from behind and landing facedown on a street in the Chinatown neighborhood of Oakland, and another showing 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee violently shoved to the ground in San Francisco.
Ratanapakdee later died, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Below are several disturbing videos
⚠️ WARNING: this video is hard to watch. Another shocking attack in Oakland’s Chinatown. 8th and Harrison Streets. Outside the Asian Resource Center.
??-???? ??? ??????? ????????? & ??????: Not again!
⠀
A young woman told me her grandma was robbed while coming home from the bank February 3rd around 11am. 6th Avenue and International Boulevard in Oakland. pic.twitter.com/eqbDPL3jbx
It seems like the “woke” crowd has once again pervaded the internal structure of the New York Times. Maintaining a “politically correct” posture has always been the mantra at the alleged “paper of record” but now things are heating up due to the termination of veteran reporter Donald McNeil.
According to a report in the NY Post, McNeil tendered his resignation after a 45-year career with the Times over remarks he made to a group of teenage students during a Times-sponsored education trip to Peru in 2019 in which the N word was used.
Jumping to McNeil’s defense was Times opinion columnist Bret Stephens. The former Wall Street Journal columnist penned a column with a tentative title “Regardless of Intent” but according to Stephens the column was spiked by Times publisher AG Sulzberger.
Meanwhile, a battle royal of sorts is brewing inside the Times. According to the Post, staffers who demanded McNeil’s ouster for alleged racism are locking horns with those at the Times who have accused the paper of acquiescing to a cancel culture mob mentality.
In an internal email obtained by The Daily Beast on Thursday, Stephens said, “If you’re wondering why it wasn’t in the paper, it’s because AG Sulzberger spiked it,” he wrote atop the email. His claim was first reported by NBC’s Dylan Byers.
A copy of the column obtained and published by the New York Post late Thursday showed Stephens singling out New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet and accusing The Times’ of hypocrisy, writing that “The Times has never previously been shy about citing racial slurs in order to explain a point,” according to the Daily Beast report.
According to the Daily Beast report, “more than 150 staffers sent an “outraged” email to the paper’s bosses, at one point telling Baquet that intent is “irrelevant” in this case. And so, upon the reporter’s exit last Friday, the Baquet wrote: “We do not tolerate racist language regardless of intent.” On Thursday, Baquet walked back the comment slightly saying, “Of course intent matters when we’re talking about language in journalism. Intent matters,” as was reported by the Daily Beast.
“Do any of us want to live in a world, or work in a field, where intent is categorically ruled out as a mitigating factor?” Stephens asked in his column. “Every serious moral philosophy, every decent legal system, and every ethical organization cares deeply about intention,” Stephens wrote. “It is the difference between murder and manslaughter. It is an aggravating or extenuating factor in judicial settings. It is a cardinal consideration in pardons (or at least it was until Donald Trump got in on the act). It’s an elementary aspect of parenting, friendship, courtship and marriage.”
“A hallmark of injustice,” Stephens added, “is indifference to intention.”
When the Daily Beast reached out to Stephens for a comment on the story he refused to speak with them and hung up abruptly.
Speaking to the Daily Beast in an interview, Times opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Times opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury disputed Stephens’ account, telling them that while she consulted with Sulzberger about the column, it was her decision not to run the column.
“I have an especially high bar of running any column that could reflect badly on a colleague and I didn’t feel that this piece rose to that level,” she said, noting that she believed Baquet was planning on correcting the record about the paper’s view on “intent.”
“Bret and I had a professional conversation to kill the column on Monday night and he expressed his disappointment and we moved on,” she told the Daily Beast.
On Thursday, Baquet said his comments about “intent” were made “ham-handedly” and were an “oversimplification” that he chalked up to a “deadline mistake,” according to the Post report.
He added that” “Of course intent matters when we are talking about language in journalism. The author and his purpose also matter, the moment matters. The slur we’ve been discussing is a vile one. I’ve been called it. But it appears in our pages and it will no doubt appear in our pages again.
“It should not be used for effect. It comes with a grim history and it’s a blow to the gut … each use should be put to the test. That’s why we have a style book. But the main thing is of course intent matters.”
The Daily Beast reported that initially McNeil was reprimanded for his comments during the trip to Peru, however both parents and teachers were upset by use of this racial slur and for sexist remarks that he made. They registered their complaints to the top brass at the paper.
A statement was released from McNeil that said he initially did not understand how hurtful his use of the N-word had been and he was sorry to have uttered it, according to the Post report.
Rather than addressing how the racist comment affected students on the Peru trip, Stephens side stepped it and launched a rigorous defense of his colleague, according to his detractors.
While Stephens is the only columnist at the Times who extols politically conservative views on issues, he was not a Trump supporter and initially expressed revulsion over Trump’s candidacy in 2016.
According to a source who spoke to the Jewish Voice on the condition of anonymity, Stephens was questioned several years ago by a publisher of a local Jewish newspaper about his decision to move from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times. The source said that Stephens verbally lambasted the publisher; using harsh language and raising his voice.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) submitted a question during the fourth day of the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump asking if language Vice President Kamala Harris used in 2020 regarding Black Lives Matter protests is considered incitement given the impeachment managers’ “proposed standard” for incitement.
Cruz’s question began, “While violent riots were raging, Kamala Harris said on national TV, ‘They’re not gonna let up, and they should not,’” quoting viral comments then-Sen. Harris (D-CA) made on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last June in reference to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.
The protests, which were sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in May, were largely peaceful but, in many instances, ended up devolving into destructive riots throughout the country that included vandalism, looting, fires, violence, injury, and in some cases even death over the course of several months in 2020.
“And she also raised money to bail out violent rioters,” Cruz’s question continued in reference to the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) Harris urged her Facebook and Twitter followers to support in June 2020.
The MFF is an organization that seeks to combat cash bail by posting bail for detained individuals. The fund received a massive influx of donations amid last year’s protests and promoted its mission as many arrests were being made of those who went beyond protesting to allegedly violate the law.
Although Harris asked her followers to “help post bail for those protesting,” the fund’s website states that it does “not make determinations of bail support based on the crimes that individuals are alleged to have committed,” and furthermore, the fund has set free from jail individuals accused of egregious crimes. Last year, the MFF posted bail for a father accused of molesting his teenage daughter, a man accused of sexually assaulting his teenage niece, a man accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old, and a woman accused of stabbing her aunt, as the Daily Caller reported in November.
Cruz’s question continued, “Using the manager’s proposed standard, is there any coherent way for Donald Trump’s words to be incitement and Kamala Harris’s words not to be incitement?”
Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) responded to the question by saying on the chamber floor that he was “not familiar” with the quote from Harris that Cruz had referenced; however, Trump attorney Michael T. van der Veek rejected that notion during his own response to Cruz, saying his team had given video to the House’s team of Harris’s quote and that they had played the video three times that day.
Raskin also said that despite not recognizing the quote, he finds it “absolutely unimaginable that Vice President Harris would ever incite violence or encourage or promote violence. Obviously, it’s completely irrelevant to the proceeding at hand, and I will allow her to defend herself.”
In a related question during the trial, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked on behalf of himself, Cruz, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), “Does a politician raising bail for rioters encourage more rioting?” A representative from Trump’s legal team replied, “Yes.”
Aleph Farms and The Technion Reveal World’s First Cultivated Ribeye Steak
– Aleph Farms Ltd and its research partner at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, have successfully cultivated the world’s first slaughter-free ribeye steak, using three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology and natural building blocks of meat – real cow cells, without genetic engineering and immortalization. With this proprietary technology developed just two short years after it unveiled the world’s first cultivated thin-cut steak in 2018 which did not utilize 3D bioprinting, the Company now has the ability to produce any type of steak and plans to expand its portfolio of quality meat products.
Aleph Farms and The Technion Reveal World’s First Cultivated Ribeye Steak
Unlike 3D printing technology, Aleph Farms’ 3D bioprinting technology is the printing of actual living cells that are then incubated to grow, differentiate, and interact, in order to acquire the texture and qualities of a real steak. A proprietary system, similar to the vascularization that occurs naturally in tissues, enables the perfusion of nutrients across the thicker tissue and grants the steak with the similar shape and structure of its native form as found in livestock before and during cooking.
“This breakthrough reflects an artistic expression of the scientific expertise of our team,” enthuses Didier Toubia, Co-Founder and CEO of Aleph Farms. “I am blessed to work with some of the greatest people in this industry. We recognize some consumers will crave thicker and fattier cuts of meat. This accomplishment represents our commitment to meeting our consumer’s unique preferences and taste buds, and we will continue to progressively diversify our offerings,” adds Toubia. “Additional meat designs will drive a larger impact in the mid and long term. This milestone for me marks a major leap in fulfilling our vision of leading a global food system transition toward a more sustainable, equitable and secure world.”
The cultivated ribeye steak is a thicker cut than the company’s first product – a thin-cut steak. It incorporates muscle and fat similar to its slaughtered counterpart and boasts the same organoleptic attributes of a delicious tender, juicy ribeye steak you’d buy from the butcher. “With the realization of this milestone, we have broken the barriers to introducing new levels of variety into the cultivated meat cuts we can now produce. As we look into the future of 3D bioprinting, the opportunities are endless,” says Technion Professor Shulamit Levenberg, Aleph’s Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Advisor, and major brainpower behind the company’s IP. Levenberg is considered a global leader in tissue engineering and has amassed over two decades of research in the field at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the United States and at the Technion, in Israel. Levenberg is also the former Dean of the Biomedical Engineering Faculty at the Technion.
Aleph Farms’ zealous plans to diversify its offering align with its mission to create a global platform for local production, leveraging a highly scalable technology to create culinary experiences that can be adapted for the different food cultures around the world.
About the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering:
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, consistently ranked among the world’s top science and technology research universities, is Israel’s first university. Since its founding in 1912, the institute has educated generations of engineers, architects, and scientists who have played a key role in laying the State of Israel’s infrastructure and establishing its crucial high-tech industries.
The Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion offers undergraduate and graduate programs for students interested in integrating research, development and engineering methods in all areas of medicine. The Faculty’s state-of-the-art research labs enable the acquisition of skills and practical experience in diverse fields that are at the forefront of contemporary science.
About Aleph Farms:
Aleph Farms is a food company that is paving a new way forward as a leader of the global sustainable food ecosystem, working passionately to grow delicious beef steaks from non-genetically engineered cells, isolated from a cow, using a fraction of the resources required for raising an entire animal for meat, without antibiotics and without the use of Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). Aleph Farms was co-founded with The Kitchen Hub of the Strauss Group and with Professor Shulamit Levenberg, former Dean of the Biomedical Engineering faculty of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Aleph Farms is backed by some of the world’s most innovative food producers, such as Cargill, Migros, and the Strauss Group.
The company has recently received top accolades for its contribution to the global sustainability movement from the World Economic Forum, UNESCO, Netexplo Forum, FAO and EIT Food.
T.J. Ducklo, President Joe Biden’s deputy press secretary, is accused of threatening Politico reporter Tara Palmeri for working on a story regarding his relationship with Axios journalist Alexi McCammond, according to a Friday report.
The confrontation began on Inauguration Day, January 20, after Palmeri, a coauthor of Politico’s Playbook, contacted McCammond for comment while one of her male colleagues left a message for Ducklo, according to sources. […] But instead of calling the male reporter who initially contacted him, Ducklo tried to intimidate Palmeri by phone in an effort to kill the story. “I will destroy you,” Ducklo told her, according to sources, adding that he would ruin her reputation if she published it.
During the off-the-record call, Ducklo made derogatory and misogynistic comments, accusing Palmeri of only reporting on his relationship—which, due to the ethics questions that factor into the relationship between a journalist and White House official, falls under the purview of her reporting beat—because she was “jealous” that an unidentified man in the past had “wanted to f%ck” McCammond “and not you.” Ducklo also accused Palmeri of being “jealous” of his relationship with McCammond.
Hours following Vanity Fair‘s report, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that Ducklo (pictured) would not be fired and instead be placed on a one-week suspension without pay.
“TJ Ducklo has apologized to the reporter, with whom he had a heated conversation about his personal life. He is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behavior set out by the President,” Psaki wrote on Twitter. “In addition to his initial apology, he has sent the reporter a personal note expressing his profound regret.”
“With the approval of the White House Chief of Staff, he has been placed on a one-week suspension without pay,” the White House official added. “In addition, when he returns, he will no longer be assigned to work with any reporters at Politico.”
Ducklo has yet to issue a statement addressing the controversy. Palmeri has remained mum as well.
The White House’s decision to keep Ducklo appears to violate a pledge made by Biden to terminate members of his administration who conduct themselves disrespectfully towards others. In a January 21 video conference, Biden assured staff that his administration will lead with “core American values” and “humility and trust.”
“Everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity,” Biden said. “That’s been missing in a big way the last four years.”
“I am not joking when I say this … if you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect … talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot … on the spot. No ifs, ands, or buts,” the president warned.
At the start of the Biden administration, Psaki told reporters she had a “deep respect for the role of a free and independent press in our democracy.”
“There will be moments when we disagree, and there will certainly be days where we disagree for extensive parts of the briefing even, perhaps,” she stated. “But we have a common goal, which is sharing accurate information with the American people.”
Trump’s newest lawyer Michael van der Veen during opening remarks said the impeachment trial is an “unjust and unconstitutional act of political vengeance.” He claims nobody could think that Trump’s speech incited violence. He plays the video of House Democrats, including Raskin, objecting to certification after Trump was elected. He says it is a “preposterous” and “monstrous lie” to claim that Trump wanted to incite violence.
Michael van der Veen called out Democrat rhetoric, saying under Democrat standards, many Democrats “should be retroactively censored, expelled, punished, or impeached”
Michael van der Veen contrasted President Trump’s repeated condemnation of violence with Democrat rhetoric with a video showing the violent rhetoric of the democrat party
Van der Veen said Trump used language that politicians have used for hundreds of years when they talk about “fighting for our principles.” He stated no human being believes the use of such “metaphorical terminology is an incitement to political violence”- there are numerous officials in D.C. have used “inflammatory language” in recent years, spending the last four years repeating that the 2016 was hacked and that Trump was a “Russian spy.” The Democrats are using “constitutional cancel culture” to prevent Trump from running for office again. “Now is not the time for a campaign of such retribution,” he says, adding that now is a time for “unity” and “healing.” He talks about cooling temperatures and calms passions.
Michael van der Veen argues Pres. Trump’s statements under scrutiny in the #impeachmenttrial are “ordinary political rhetoric.”
Trump’s second council David Schoen said the “hatred” the House Managers for Trump caused them to bypass due process. He says House leaders had contemplated holding the articles for 100 days to give Biden time to implement his agenda. He said Trump and his counsel were given no opportunity to review evidence and the rush to judgment was just one example of a “denial of due process.” He ripped House Managers for using press reports with anonymous sources against Trump.
Schoen said Trump was calling on primary challengers and not violence when he talked about “fighting” on January 6. He than played a video of Democrats talking about “fighting” repeatedly.
Van der Veen returned to talk about the First Amendment. He said the First Amendment applies and Trump’s speech deserves protection. He said this case is about “political hatred” and it is clear House Democrats “hate Donald Trump.” He says this kind of “political hate” has no place in the country’s institutions and political law. He says what we have heard and read is “devoid” of any Constitutional analysis. He says “hatred” is why House Managers want to blame Trump for the rioters based on “double hearsay.”
“The Constitution and the First Amendment must certainly apply to these impeachment proceedings and Mr. Trump’s speech deserves full protection under the First Amendment,” Trump’s defense attorney Michael van der Veen says. https://t.co/BY7pGN4vv8#impeachmenttrialpic.twitter.com/cCsAVCRr8l
Van der Veen said Trump told supporters to “peacefully” make their voices heard at the rally. He said House Managers have played “manipulated” parts of Trump’s speech and focus “heavily on the word ‘fight.’”
Trump lawyer Bruce L. Castor, finally spoke: main points being violent criminals started rallying near the Capitol an hour before Trump’s speech and started engaging in violence a mile away in their “pre-planned assault” while Trump was speaking. Castor went on by stating there is a “complete lack of evidence” that Trump incited the mob. He said Democrats don’t want Trump to run again, that this trial is about criminalizing political viewpoints and silencing the speech of people Democrats they disagree with. He said this is the only “existential issue” before the Senate. He said it asks for “constitutional cancel culture” to take over the Senate.
Castor said the Democrats promised to unify America and deliver more COVID relief but instead ” we are here”
Now that former President Trump has left the White House for his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, New Yorkers who want to navigate midtown Manhattan can do so with an ease in restrictions. For the last four years, the block of East 56th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues had been closed to vehicular traffic because of security purposes but now things have reverted back to what they were prior to the 2016 presidential race.
According to a New York Post report, the people who are most thrilled by this development are the owners of an office building that isn’t even open yet.
For the last four and a half years, vehicular traffic has been banned from the block. According to the Post report, people strolling down the fashionable street where Trump Tower stands as an imposing figure have been faced with “fortress-like zone of steel and concrete barricades, NYPD and Secret Service sheds, and tank-size security trucks.”
The Post reported that now that Trump is no longer residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the NYPD re-opened the block last week. This comes as a breath of fresh air to such high-end stores like Giorgio Armani, Armani Ristorante and Oxxford Clothes, each of whom are located at 717 Fifth Avenue.
Because of the barricades and security structures, the flow of pedestrian traffic had been curtailed and business was steadily decreasing. An Oxxford manager who wished to remain anonymous told the Post that the situation around Trump Tower was “miserable.” The Post also reported that Trump Tower was also referred to as the “Black House” by employees of Armani Restaurant because of the substantial loss in business that they sustained.
A source told the Post that the restaurant that caters to an affluent crowd lost 50 percent of its business immediately after the 2016 street shutdown. The source revealed to the Post that, “many clients came by car or limousine and they couldn’t get here. We struggled after that to bring at least some of our business back.”
Other happy campers or business owners are the owners of 550 Madison Avenue between East 55th and 56th streets, the vacant former Sony headquarters that Olayan America is spending $300 million to redesign, according to the Post report.
Olayan Group managing director and head of US real estate, Erik Horvat told the Post that the intense security apparatus around Trump Tower “changed the dynamic and the vibe to see the whole street on guard.”
Horvat added, “It’s not a political statement to say that until November, nobody even knew if the street would be closed for four years more.”
Horvat added that the barricades, along with security guards carrying machine guns were “inconsistent” with the health-conscious image the building wanted to project, according to the Post report.
