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Two Dead in Yom Kippur Attack on Synagogue in Germany; 2200 People Watched it Being Livestreamed

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Edited by: Fern Sidman

At least two people were shot dead outside a synagogue in the German city of Halle on Wednesday afternoon during the holy day of Yom Kippur. Inside the synagogue were approximately 80 Jewish worshippers.

According to an AFP report, one suspect was captured and a manhunt was ongoing for other perpetrators. Security has been tightened in synagogues in other eastern German cities while Halle itself was in lockdown.

“Early indications show that two people were killed in Halle. Several shots were fired,” police said on Twitter, urging residents in the area to stay indoors.

Police said the “perpetrators fled in a car”, adding later that one suspect had been caught.

Max Privorozki, the head of the Jewish community in Halle, told Spiegel Online that the perpetrators had apparently sought to enter a synagogue in the Paulus district but security measures in place helped to “withstand the attack”.

The AFP report indicated that he added that between 70 and 80 people were in the synagogue on a day when Jews around the world were marking the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

The shooter allegedly said in English that “the Jews are the source of all our problems.”

Two people also suffered serious bullet wounds in the attack and were being operated on, a spokesman for the city’s hospital said.

AFP reported that anti-terrorist prosecutors confirmed that they were taking over the probe given “the particular importance of the case” which he said involved “violent acts that affect the domestic security of the Federal Republic of Germany”.

Bild daily reported that the shooting took place in front of the synagogue, and a hand grenade was also flung into a Jewish cemetery.

Witness Conrad Roessler told news channel NTV he was in a Turkish restaurant about 600 meters (yards) away from the synagogue when “a man wearing a helmet and military uniform” tossed a hand grenade, as was reported by AFP.

“The grenade hit the door and exploded,” he said.

“The attacker shot at least once in the shop, the man behind me must be dead. I hid in the toilet and locked the door.”

Police would not confirm the details, saying only that there were also kebab restaurants and churches in the area where the shooting took place, according to the AFP report.

An unauthenticated video circulating in German media showed a man wearing a helmet getting out of a vehicle before firing several shots in the air.

“It is terrible news from Halle and I hope very much that the police will manage to catch the perpetrator or perpetrators as quickly as possible so that no other person will be in danger,” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference.

Wednesday’s shooting was livestreamed on Amazon’s Twitch service, the company confirmed to CNBC. The video was 35 minutes long. 

“We are shocked and saddened by the tragedy that took place in Germany today, and our deepest condolences go out to all those affected,” a Twitch spokesperson said. “Twitch has a zero-tolerance policy against hateful conduct, and any act of violence is taken extremely seriously. We are working with urgency to remove this content and permanently suspend any accounts found to be posting or reposting content of this abhorrent act.”

Twitch posted a series of tweets on the matter later Wednesday, claiming that “approximately five people” watched the stream while it was live. Twitch said a recording of the stream was then viewed by about 2,200 people “in the 30 minutes before the video was flagged and removed from Twitch.”

The company also said the account was created two months prior to streaming the shooting.

“This video was not surfaced in any recommendations or directories; instead, our investigation suggests that people were coordinating and sharing the video via other online messaging services,” the company said. “Once the video was removed, we shared the hash with an industry consortium to help prevent the proliferation of this content. We take this extremely seriously and are committed to working with industry peers, law enforcement, and any relevant parties to protect our community.”

The Chief Rabbi of Berlin, Rabbi Yehudah Teichtal, on Wednesday night, following the conclusion of Yom Kippur, commented on the attack in Halle, according to an INN report.

“We stand alongside the community that has been harmed and weep over those murdered. The cruel method of the attacker is indescribable, and especially the fact that it happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for the Jewish people,” Rabbi Teichtal said.

“We learned about the attack during Yom Kippur prayers, when a senior security official approached me in the middle of the Musaf prayer and informed me of the attack. Immediately the security of our synagogue was increased, alongside other synagogues,” the rabbi added.

“We talked about the attack with our synagogue worshipers. We emphasized the great miracle the community had because their door was locked, thus avoiding a much more serious incident, and of course strengthened their spirit, with a prayer for a year of good news,” continued Rabbi Teichtal.

At the same time, he expressed concern about the security of the Jewish communities in the country. “We call on the German government to increase security and secure all the synagogues in Germany.”

Trump Under Fire for Abandoning the Kurds in Syria Troop Withdrawal

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President Trump is defending his decision to pull US forces from northern Syria, amid criticism that the move would place the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in harm's way, (as they are a US ally) and would negatively impact the fight against the Islamic State terror group. He is seen here with Turkish President Erdogan in Belgium in 2018. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Edited by: JV Staff

Lawmakers of both political parties on Wednesday continued to savage President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northeastern Syria, where U.S.-allied Kurds are under attack from Turkey, according to a VOA report.

“Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump administration,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tweeted. “This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS,” an acronym for the Islamic State.

VOA reported that he also tweeted he would “lead effort in Congress to make (Turkish President) Erdogan pay a heavy price” for launching a military offensive against the Kurds.

“I urge President Trump to change course while there is still time,” added Graham, who is usually one of the president’s most loyal defenders.

VOA reported that In a statement, Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons accused the Trump administration of “abandoning our Syrian Kurdish allies,” adding that the offensive “is a direct result of President Trump’s failure to stand up for our partners and interests in the region — a move that calls into question the credibility and reliability of the United States.”

For his part, Trump sought to distance himself from Turkey’s action.

“The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea,” the president said in a statement.

Trump added that no U.S. soldiers are participating in the attack area and that “Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place — and we will hold them to this commitment.”

Applauding the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria was Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who praised Trump for “stopping the endless wars” and predicted “we [the United States] will be stronger as a result.”

Paul’s praise stood in stark contrast to the condemnation of many other lawmakers.

The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, tweeted Trump “completely ignored the calls from Congress, from human rights advocates, from the realities on the ground, and from the Kurds themselves.”

Menendez projected that “only chaos & havoc will follow” and that “this is the second chance ISIS has been waiting for.”

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine also took to Twitter, accusing Trump of leaving “our allies at risk of being slaughtered.”

By “putting our troops and diplomats in the region at risk,” Kaine said, Trump is “playing right into the hands of our adversaries.”

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen declared that “Turkey must pay a heavy price for attacking our Syrian Kurdish partners.”

Van Hollen predicted that Democratic or Republican senators “won’t support abandoning the one regional group most responsible for putting ISIS on its heels.”

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy warned on Twitter the attack “threatens to halt momentum against ISIS, directly assaults our SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) partners, and could give the likes of al-Qaeda and Iran new footholds in the region.”

McCarthy also called on Turkey to “stop immediately and continue to work with the US to secure the region.”

The International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian relief organization, expressed deep concern “about the lives and livelihoods of the two million people in northeast Syria who have already survived ISIS brutality and multiple displacements.”

The IRC also cautioned the offensive “could displace 300,000 people and disrupt life-saving humanitarian services, including the IRC’s.”

American minister Franklin Graham, an evangelist who appeals to Trump’s most fervent supporters, also weighed in. He tweeted: “The Turks have a dismal record on human rights & they can’t be trusted. Pray for the Kurds, Christians, & other minorities in the region.” (VOA)

 

Whitehouse Predicts Impeachment Fight Will Go to Supreme Court

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"I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Trump said at noon on Tuesday on Twitter. “I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore.....I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning.” Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Edited by: JV Staff

President Trump predicts his impeachment battle with House Democrats will wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a VOA report.

The president spoke to reporters Wednesday, a day after the White House says it is refusing to participate in the Democratic-led inquiry into whether he should be impeached, according to the VOA report.

Trump did not say exactly what House leaders must do if they want his cooperation. But he said he would cooperate “if they give us our rights” and Republicans “get a fair shake.”

On Twitter, he called the impeachment probe a “Total Scam by the Do Nothing Democrats.”

VOA reported that among the gripes spelled out in the White House letter is a complaint that Democrats are denying Trump and his Republican supporters in the House the opportunity to question witnesses and see the evidence the Democrats have.

The White House calls the impeachment inquiry “unconstitutional” and demands the full House be allowed to vote on whether there should be an inquiry, as was reported by VOA. 

There is no rule preventing the House from looking into allegations of illegal activity by a president before deciding whether to bring actual articles of impeachment to a vote.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called the White House letter “the latest attempt to cover up his (Trump’s) betrayal of our democracy and to insist that the president is above the law.”

She says Democrats would consider a refusal to cooperate more evidence of obstruction, as was reported by VOA. 

Earlier Tuesday, for the first  time in a public forum, former Vice President Joe Biden called for Trump’s impeachment.

“Donald Trump has violated his oath of office, betrayed this nation, and committed impeachable acts,” Biden said in New Hampshire.

VOA reported that Trump replied by saying Biden is “falling like a rock. I don’t think he’s going to make it,” the president said in apparent reference to Biden’s recent slippage in the polls.

Trump has accused Democratic presidential candidate Biden of corruption. The president alleged that during the time that he served as vice president, Biden threatened to withhold loan guarantees to Ukraine unless the government stops investigating a gas company for which Biden’s son, Hunter, held a seat.

A U.S. intelligence whistleblower expressed concern to the inspector general about a July 25 telephone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. During that call, the mainstream media reported that Trump allegedly urged Zeleinskiy to open an investigation into Biden in an effort to dig up dirt on a rival for the White House. Trump claims that his conversation with the Ukrainian president was a very good one in which there was no “quid pro quo.”

VOA reported that a second whistleblower and a series of texts by diplomats working to assist Ukraine in carrying out Trump’s wishes seem to corroborate the first whistleblower’s complaint.

Although soliciting foreign government interference in a U.S. election is a potentially impeachable offense, Democrats are focused on whether Trump withheld $400 million in badly needed aid to Ukraine in exchange for its cooperation in a Biden probe, as was reported by VOA.

The State Department Tuesday refused to allow Trump donor and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland to voluntarily speak to lawmakers about what he may know about a possible “quid pro quo” with Ukraine, forcing House leaders to subpoena him to testify.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, is scheduled to testify later this week. (VOA)

 

Farrow: Harvey Weinstein Leveraged Clinton Connections To Kill Sexual Harassment Story

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Harvey Weinstein wanted his trial moved out of New York City due to coverage on the New York Post’s Page Six. But the answer is apparently no.

By: Alex Griswold

A new book from New Yorker reporter Ronan Farrow claims that disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein tried to use his close connection with 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to kill a story about sexual assault allegations lodged by multiple women.

The Hollywood Reporter got a sneak peek at Farrow’s newest book, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators. In it, the former NBC reporter outlines the various tactics Weinstein used to get the network to spike reporting about the Hollywood producer’s sexual harassment and assault of dozens of women. At one point, Weinstein — a longtime Democratic megadonor and fundraiser — “attempted to leverage his long-term relationship with Hillary Clinton to pressure Farrow,” according to the Reporter.

In summer 2017, while Farrow was trying to lock down an interview with Clinton for his foreign policy book — while also still working on the Weinstein story — he received a call from Clinton’s publicist, Nick Merrill, who told him that the “big story” Farrow was working on was a “concern for us.” Then, in September 2017, according to an email cited in the book, Weinstein wrote to Deborah Turness, the ex-president of NBC News who now runs NBC News International, to propose a docuseries on Clinton. “Your Hillary doc series sounds absolutely stunning,” Turness responded.

Weinstein’s most successful line of attack was leveraging NBC’s Today anchor Matt Lauer’s own history of sexual misconduct, according to Farrow. “Weinstein made it known to the network that he was aware of Lauer’s behavior and capable of revealing it,” he writes. Farrow also reports for the first time that Lauer’s treatment of women at NBC necessitated seven-figure payments and nondisclosure agreements.

Frustrated at the lack of progress at NBC, Farrow turned to the New Yorker to publish his Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé.

The book adds more details to the story Farrow told in an April 2018 interview with ABC News. “Hillary Clinton had scheduled an interview while I was at the height of the Weinstein reporting, and her folks got in touch and said, ‘we hear you’re working on a big story,’ sounded very concerned, and tried to cancel that interview,” he said. “Over the Weinstein stuff.”

After the New Yorker broke the story in 2017, Clinton was criticized for taking five days to release a statement saying she was “shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein.” Actress and former Clinton surrogate Lena Dunham has stated publicly that she warned the Clinton campaign about Weinstein, only for her concerns to go unheeded. (Washington Free Beacon)

 

Poway Synagogue Killer Pleads Not Guilty to New Charge

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If convicted of murder, John Earnest, 20, could face the death penalty, though prosecutors haven’t said what sentence they would seek.

Edited by: JV Staff

John Earnest, the now 20-year-old man charged with shooting and killing congregant Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, and wounding three people, including senior Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Southern California during Passover services on April 27th again pleaded not guilty last week to the latest charges related to the attack and subsequent murder.

On Thursday, he responded to a new charging document from a preliminary hearing last month, though prosecutors made few changes from the initial charges.

If convicted of the murder charge, Earnest could face the death penalty, though prosecutors haven’t said what sentence they would seek.

Earnest is scheduled to be back in court on December 5th for a status hearing in which a trial date will likely be set.

In May, he was charged with 113 federal hate crime-related counts. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Earnest has also been charged for setting fire to a mosque in a nearby California town.

Earnest told a 911 operator in the moments after the deadly shooting that he committed the attack to save white people from Jews, according to a recording played at a preliminary hearing to determine if the case should proceed to trial a few weeks ago.

“I’m defending our nation against the Jewish people, who are trying to destroy all white people,” John T. Earnest is heard saying on the 911 call. He told the operator he believed he had killed people and gave detailed descriptions of the San Diego intersection where he was parked shortly before he was taken into custody, according to an AP report.

The recording was played at the hearing where witnesses also included a combat veteran who confronted the suspect and a medical examiner who described the wounds of the woman who was killed.

AP reported that Oscar Stewart, an Iraq combat veteran, testified that as the gunfire erupted he moved toward the suspect and screamed at him. The shooter dropped his rifle and fled.

“People were falling over each other. It was chaos,” said Stewart. “I screamed (to everyone) ‘Get down! Get out here,’” he said.

He said he saw Earnest in the lobby fire two rounds and then walked toward him.

“He was firing in front of me … I was paying attention to the rifle,” Stewart said.

 

 

Trump Threatens to “Obliterate” Turkish Economy; Draw Criticism for Policy Shift

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President Trump is defending his decision to pull US forces from northern Syria, amid criticism that the move would place the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in harm's way, (as they are a US ally) and would negatively impact the fight against the Islamic State terror group. He is seen here with Turkish President Erdogan in Belgium in 2018. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Edited by: JV Staff

President Trump warned that he would “obliterate” the Turkish economy if Ankara took action he considers to be “off limits” in its military action in Syria.

“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!),” Trump wrote on Twitter Monday.

“They must, with Europe and others, watch over the captured ISIS fighters and families. The U.S. has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!”

The White House announced late Sunday night that the US will pull back its forces from parts of northern Syria, opening the door for a major operation by the Turkish military in Syrian territory.

According to a statement by White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, President Trump spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over the phone Sunday to discuss Turkey’s impending invasion of northern Syria.

“President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey by telephone. Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria.”

“The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area,” the White House said, citing the Sunday phone call between Trump and Erdogan, using an acronym for the group.

VOA reported that Trump is defending his decision to pull US forces from northern Syria, amid criticism that the move would place the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in harm’s way, (as they are a US ally) and would negatively impact the fight against the Islamic State terror group.

“…It is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home. WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN,” Trump tweeted early Monday.

“Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their “neighborhood.” They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!” he said. Trump on Monday tweeted it was too costly to keep supporting U.S. allied Kurdish-led forces. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

“Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their “neighborhood.” They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!” he said.

Trump on Monday tweeted it was too costly to keep supporting U.S. allied Kurdish-led forces.

“The Kurds fought with us but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades,” he said.

The SDF said U.S. forces “have withdrawn from border areas with Turkey,” and they accused the United States of not fulfilling its responsibilities under a U.S.-Turkey agreement that involved the Kurdish fighters dismantling some of their defensive capabilities near the border to allay Turkish concerns, as was reported by VOA News.

“As the Syrian Democratic Forces, we are determined to defend our land at all costs,” the group said in a statement. “We call on our Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, and Syriac people to strengthen their unity and stand by the SDF in defense of their land.”

Turkey views the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main force within SDF, as an extension of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been fighting for greater rights in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast for decades, according to a VOA report.

But the U.S. makes a distinction between the PKK and YPG, backing the YPG-dominated SDF in the fight against the Islamic State terror group in Syria.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey has supported Syria’s territorial integrity since the beginning of the country’s conflict, “and will continue to do so.”

VOA reported that a spokesman for the SDF said ahead of the U.S. announcement that any Turkish incursion into Syria would throw the entire region into indefinite instability.

“We see these Turkish threats as extremely serious,” Mustafa Bali told VOA. “We fear that mass killings would be committed against our people if Turkish forces invaded this part of Syria.”

Former special presidential envoy for the anti-IS global coalition, Brett McGurk, said Trump’s decision “demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of anything happening on the ground.”

McGurk warned a Turkish attack on U.S.-backed Kurdish forces “will increase risks to our people, fracture the SDF, and enable ISIS’s resurgence.”

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump supporter, also sharply criticized the decision, telling Fox News it a big win for Iran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the Islamic State. He also said Islamic State “is not defeated. This is the biggest lie being told by this administration.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed President Trump’s decision to pull American troops out of northeastern Syria.

Haley took her disagreement with the president public Monday morning, tweeting, “We must always have the backs of our allies, if we expect them to have our back. The Kurds were instrumental in our successful fight against ISIS in Syria. Leaving them to die is a big mistake.”

The SDF is holding thousands of people in detention camps in northeastern Syria, including many suspected foreign fighters who traveled from Western nations to join Islamic State.

The White House said in its Sunday statement that France, Germany and other European nations have refused to take back their nationals, and that the United States will not be holding them.

“Turkey will now be responsible for all ISIS fighters in the area captured over the past two years,” it said.

U.S. officials had said that any Turkish offensive in Syria would hinder efforts to defeat IS militants.

“Any uncoordinated military operation by Turkey would be of grave concern as it would undermine our shared interest of a secure northeast Syria and the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Pentagon spokesperson Commander Sean Robertson told VOA in an email, using another acronym for IS.

Aykan Erdemir, a senior Turkey analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington, says Turkey has been trying to exploit the differences of opinion and commitment within the U.S. government concerning the ongoing U.S. military presence in Syria.

“Erdogan has pursued a consistent strategy vis-à-vis northeast Syria in attempting to extract of concessions from the U.S. through frequent threats of unilateral cross-border action,” he told VOA.

The United States currently has about 1,000 troops in Syria that have been instrumental in the fight against IS. Trump has ordered a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.

On Friday U.S.-led coalition and Turkey conducted their third joint patrol in northeastern Syria amid renewed concerns the plan designed to defuse tensions between Washington’s two allies — Ankara and the Syrian Kurds— may not be enough.

An AP report that appeared on Friday said that Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar reiterated Ankara’s stance that it won’t accept delays in the creation of what it calls a “safe zone.” Turkey could act alone to set it up, he said, reviving concerns about a possible Turkish military operation.

A senior Syrian Kurdish official said her group is taking the renewed Turkish threats seriously and called for measures to prevent an attack and the collapse of the agreement.

AP reported that Ankara and Washington agreed in August to carry out the joint patrols and remove Syrian Kurdish fighters from the borders. But they still disagree on the size of the area along the Syria-Turkey border and who is to monitor it.

The Americans and the Kurds call the measures a “security mechanism.”

The Friday patrol followed a telephone call late Thursday between Akar and Defense Secretary Mark Esper in which Akar said Turkey would end the joint patrols “if there are distractions, delays,” according to a statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry.

AP reported that Akar urged the US to end its support of Syrian Kurdish fighters, who were the coalition’s partners in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.

Turkey had carried out military incursions with allied Syrian groups in western Syria to drive out Kurdish fighters, as well as IS militants, and has stationed troops there, according to the AP report.

But a Turkish military operation in northeastern Syria would carry a larger risk, bringing troops into a zone where at least 1,000 U.S. soldiers are deployed.

AP reported that Turkey remains unhappy with the size of the area it calls a “safe zone,” calling for a 30-kilometer deep (19-mile) zone monitored by Turkish soldiers. Currently, the designated area is no deeper than 14 kilometers (9 miles). It also says it wants some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to return there.

Erdogan told parliament that Turkey plans to settle 2 million refugees in the zone and will hold a donors’ conference to help build homes and infrastructure for them.

It was not clear how Turkey planned to move the largely Sunni Arab Syrians it is hosting from many parts of Syria into the Kurdish-dominated region, and whether the U.S. is on board.

“The Americans are trying to absorb [Erdogan’s] anger but it is likely he wants to impose realities on the ground through a partial attack,” said Ilham Ahmed, a senior Syrian Kurdish official.

  (VOA, AP)

AG Barr to Take On Facebook to Gain Access to WhatsApp Texts

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Attorney General William Barr and his Justice Department are still battling to gain access to encrypted communications. Photo Credit: PBS.org

By: Susan Malkonovich

Attorney General William Barr and his Justice Department are still battling to gain access to encrypted communications.

They say it is a crucial weapon in the war against crime. At the same time, high-tech firms are arguing that such access generates a very real threat to personal privacy.

Barr took “aim at Facebook’s plan to make WhatsApp and its other messaging services more secure, pressing its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, to create a loophole to that goal of full encryption. The Justice Department said that investigators needed lawful access to encrypted communications to fight terrorism, organized crime and child pornography,” the New York Times reported.

“Companies should not deliberately design their systems to preclude any form of access to content even for preventing or investigating the most serious crimes,” Barr noted in a letter to Zuckerberg.

“Mr. Barr’s request was the latest salvo in a years long fight by law enforcement officials for access to popular communications platforms that have become increasingly secure. The conflict last came to a head in 2016, when a federal judge ordered Apple to help the F.B.I. unlock an iPhone recovered after the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. The F.B.I. ultimately cracked it without Apple’s help, easing tensions for a time with the tech companies,” the Times added.

“Signed by Barr, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, acting US Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, and Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, the letter raises concerns that Facebook’s plan to build end-to-end encryption into its messaging apps will prevent law enforcement agencies from finding illegal activity conducted through Facebook, including child sexual exploitation, terrorism, and election meddling,” reported buzzfeednews.com.

“Security enhancements to the virtual world should not make us more vulnerable in the physical world,” the Barr letter pointed out. “Companies should not deliberately design their systems to preclude any form of access to content, even for preventing or investigating the most serious crimes.”

The letter, according to buzzfeednews.com, “calls on Facebook to prioritize public safety in designing its encryption by enabling law enforcement to gain access to illegal content in a manageable format and by consulting with governments ahead of time to ensure the changes will allow this access. While the letter acknowledges that Facebook — which owns Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram — captures 99% of child exploitation and terrorism-related content through its own systems, it also notes that “mere numbers cannot capture the significance of the harm to children.”

Paris Prosecutor Says Suspect in Knife Attack Was Radical Islamist

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Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard in Paris, France, said that the suspect in an attack on police lived according to a so-called 'radical vision of Islam.’ Photo Credit: Fox News

By: Lucy Alcindor

Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard in Paris, France, said that the suspect in an attack on police lived according to a so-called ‘radical vision of Islam.’

According to authorities, the suspect had been in contact with conservative Islamic Salafists. He had also worked for the Paris police starting in 2003.

The staff member at Paris police headquarters allegedly murdered four co-workers with a knife last Thursday.

“The assailant, a 45-year-old civilian computer expert who converted to Islam about 10 years ago, was in contact with members of the Salafist Islamist movement, Ricard told reporters.

“Police Chief Didier Lallement said on Friday that the attacker, like everyone in the intelligence division, had received a high level of security screening,” reported the news site dw.com. “He had worked for the Paris police force since 2003 did not have a history of psychiatric problems.”

According to Ricard, exams “attest to a scene of extreme violence” in an attack that lasted seven minutes, adding that the two knives used in the attack had been purchased by the killer, the web site added. The man “agreed with certain atrocities committed in the name of [Islam]” and defended the Charlie Hebdo attacks in 2015, Ricard said. The suspect, who was shot dead in a confrontation with police, exchanged 33 text messages with his wife ahead of the attacks, all of which were of a religious character, Ricard said. The suspect’s wife is in police custody until Monday.”

The shooter, an IT worker at the headquarters, “went on a rampage on Thursday, killing three police officers and an administrative worker,” according to The Sun. “The attacker first stabbed two police officers. A third police officer was killed in another office and an administrative worker died on the stairs. He also wounded at least one other before being shot dead by a policeman responsible for security at the building, who fired several shots with a Heckler & Koch G-36 assault rifle, including to his head, killing him.”

“The disturbing statements he made after a dozen people were killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris were reported to higher-ranking officers, a police union official said Saturday, but nothing was done,” reported the New York Times. “The fact that this and other potential clues — including a video the killer posted on Facebook that imitated throat-cutting — were missed by the police administration that surrounded him, at the heart of an organization dedicated to fighting terrorism, has shocked the ranks of the national police.”

Bankruptcy Case Reveals that Purdue Pharma Sent $13B in Profits to Sackler Family

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The world headquarters of Purdue Pharma in Connecticut. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

By: Kevin Doherty

Attorneys general representing nearly half the states and lawyers for more than 500 local governments on Friday were outraged over the terms of Purdue Pharma’s offer to settle thousands of lawsuits over the nation’s opioid crisis in court filings, The NY Post reported.

The Post reported that the tentative deal does not contain an admission of wrongdoing from members of the Sackler family. The terms also would not stop family members from future misconduct and wouldn’t force them to repay money “they pocketed from their illegal conduct.”

Purdue reached the agreement in September with 23 state governments and 2,000 cities and counties that were trying to hold the company accountable for what many saw as a case of putting greed before people’s lives, as was reported previously in TJV. .

Under the settlement, Purdue will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and dissolve, while the Sackler family will relinquish control of the company.

The Sackler family, ranked by Forbes in 2016 as the 19th richest in America, will pay about $3 billion in cash over seven years as part of the settlement, which does not include any acknowledgment of wrongdoing, according to the NY Post report.

“While our country continues to recover from the carnage left by the Sacklers’ greed, this family is now attempting to evade responsibility and lowball the millions of victims of the opioid crisis,” New York Attorney General Letitia James told the Post.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro added, “This apparent settlement is a slap in the face to everyone who has had to bury a loved one due to this family’s destruction and greed.”

The Jewish Voice reported that the Sackler family may be able to retain most of its vast financial treasure trove as part of a newly put forward Purdue settlement agreement.

The lawyer’s documents said members of the Sackler family — one of the wealthiest in the U.S. — made $12 billion to $13 billion from Purdue, a higher amount than court records had previously given, The NY Post reported.

“The offer does not shut down Purdue; instead it would keep Purdue in business under a new name, so that settlement money could be collected from future OxyContin sales,” the attorneys general said in their filing. “If the States accepted the offer, there would never be a trial to determine the Sacklers’ liability for one of the greatest public health crises of our time.”

Friday’s court filings object to Purdue’s request that all lawsuits against members of the Sackler family be halted as part of tentative settlement terms that are being considered in bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, the Post reported

The Washington Post reported on some more of the details of the highly contested and critiqued settlement: “Purdue would produce millions of doses of badly needed anti-addiction medication and overdose antidotes for the public, free of charge; the company would also contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and insurance policies that could be worth more; what’s left of the company, including its North Carolina production facility and other assets, would change hands,” the Washington Post added

. “Much of the benefit to the public would be funded by the continued sales of the powerful narcotic OxyContin, the abuse of which is blamed for contributing to the prescription opioid crisis that has killed more than 200,000 people since 1999.”

NJ ‘Orthodox’ Jewish Man Hosting Orgies in E Village Apt; Wife Wants Divorce

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Thirty-three year old Avraham Adler, neighbors and even his landlord have told the New York Post, has been throwing wild and woolly orgies in his apartment in the East Village apartment. Photo Credit: StreetEasy

By: Pat Savage

A man is being accused of living ‘double life’ — an Orthodox Jew part of the time, and orgy entrepreneur the rest of the time.

Thirty-three year old Avraham Adler, neighbors and even his landlord have told the New York Post, has been throwing wild and woolly orgies in his apartment in the East Village apartment.

In his Orthodox identity, Adler reported has a wife — pregnant yet — and three children who live in New Jersey.

“I want a divorce,” an angry Shana Adler told The Post Thursday outside the couple’s modest three-bedroom home in Clifton, New Jersey. “He is not supporting us whatsoever. He’s cut us off completely. My friends are paying our bills.”

“Shana Adler said she doesn’t know what her husband is up to in the four-story townhouse at 189 East 7th St., where the allegedly randy tenant has been charging $60 a pop for sex-filled soirees featuring spankings and group foreplay, according to a lawsuit against him,” the Post reported. “His wife claims his multiple “girlfriends” call her and “feel bad about the double life they’re leading.”

According to the Post’s story, Mrs. Adler learned of her husband’s alleged girlfriends months ago and forced him to vacate the premises. The couple got married back in 2011.

The Post’s story continued, explaining that Adler once studied at the Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic.

According to the Post’s expose, officials of the New York City Police Department confirmed that they have received “a pretty significant number of calls” for 189 E. Seventh St. since April 1.

Late last week, a judge in the Manhattan Supreme Court reported told Adler to knock off the orgies. As his wife told the Post, she has stopped wearing her wedding ring. “You couldn’t pay me to wear it. You got any good pawn shops to recommend?”

The issue is a serious one. As aish.com points out, “Maimonides, one of the foremost philosophers and teachers in Jewish history, expounds on the nature of idolatrous pursuits and behaviors. He notes that while we might assume that the worship of idolatry was motivated by philosophic constructs and beliefs, in fact, these practices were driven by sexual appetites. He explains that the Jewish people were proscribed by the Torah from engaging in the orgies and promiscuous behavior of the culture of their time. But the lesser part of themselves, the animal side, desired to indulge in the depravity of the nations around them. They were caught in this bind of the Torah’s exhortations on one hand and the insistent sexual desires on the other.”

Prince Andrew Says 2010 Trip to NYC Was to Cut Friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

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Prince Andrew continues to tell anyone who will listen that he didn’t like Jeffrey Epstein, and that in fact his 2010 trip to see the late pedophile billionaire was for the purpose of ending their friendship. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

By: Mike Mustiglione

Prince Andrew continues to tell anyone who will listen that he didn’t like Jeffrey Epstein, and that in fact his 2010 trip to see the late pedophile billionaire was for the purpose of ending their friendship.

The Duke of York “had been caught strolling in Central Park with Epstein as well as peeking out the front door of his sprawling Upper East Side mansion — even though Epstein had already done jail time for sex with a minor,” reported the New York Post. “But the 59-year-old prince has been telling friends that the 2010 trip is being wildly misinterpreted — because he was only there to finally sever ties, sources told The Sunday Times of London. “The duke has been hammered for one mistake, which took place in 2010,” a senior source close to Andrew told the paper. “He has apologized again and again for the error of judgment. But what he did wasn’t criminal. It was a mistake. “He went to see a friend to tell them he couldn’t be their friend any more,” the source insisted.”

“Andrew’s friendship with the billionaire financier, who was found hanged in his cell in August after being charged with child-trafficking offences, has come under intense scrutiny,” reported England’s The Daily Mail.

However, according to The Sunday Times, “despite initially refusing to criticise his friend, the Queen’s second son now accepts Epstein was an ‘undercover’ paedophile similar to Jimmy Savile,” the Daily Mail continued. “A source close to Andrew said Epstein was ‘very good at keeping his cover’ and was a ‘trophy friend’ for the prince.”

A woman who claims she was an Epstein victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre “has alleged she was recruited as a ‘sex slave’ and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew in London,” noted the Daily Mail. “He has strongly denied any ‘sexual contact or relationship’ with her or any ‘impropriety with underage minors’. Prince Andrew visited Epstein on Epstein’s atoll in the US Virgin Islands several times, dubbed Paedophile Island because of the stream of young women arriving. He also visited the financier’s £60million Manhattan house in December 2010, shortly after Epstein had been released from an 18-month sentence for child prostitution offences.”

The prince surprised many by turning up in Australia recently. As news.com.au reported, Andrew “slipped into the country, landing in Perth. There was no fanfare. No lead-up press coverage. It was an extraordinarily subdued and unusual arrival that looked a lot like he was trying to steal into the country without attracting media attention. This in itself is unusual. The royal family’s movements are generally widely trumpeted to drum up maximum media exposure. Some royal reporters claim that the Duke’s press team used to post advance details about his upcoming events on his Facebook page, however that has been denied by his office.”

Twin Birthrates in US Dropping; Experts Have Theory

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Fewer twins are being born to parents in the United States, according to recent research. A report release last week indicates that the twin birthrate in the U.S., which rose for many years, has begun to reverse itself. (Photo Credit: Shutterstock)

By: Geoffrey Kalazar

Fewer twins are being born to parents in the United States, according to recent research.

A report release last week indicates that the twin birthrate in the U.S., which rose for many years, has begun to reverse itself.

“One theory researchers have put forward to explain the change is that fertility therapies that previously involved transfers of multiple embryos are less common,” the New York Times reported.

According to The National Center for Health Statistics, “following years of relative stability, twin births began to climb in the United States in the early 1980s, rising 79% from 1980 to 2014. In 1980, one in every 53 births was a twin, compared with one in every 29 births in 2014. The increase in twinning over the more than three decades was widespread, occurring across age and race and Hispanic-origin groups, and in all U.S. states. It is important to track twin birth rates as twins are at greater risk than singletons for poor outcomes, including preterm birth and neonatal morbidity and mortality. This report presents trends in twin childbearing overall for 1980–2018, and by mate.

Among the National Vital Statistics System’s key findings:

Following more than three decades of increases, the twin birth rate declined 4% during 2014–2018, to the lowest rate in more than a decade, 32.6 twins per 1,000 total births in 2018.

The number of births in twin deliveries declined an average of 2% per year from 2014 through 2018, dropping to 123,536 births in 2018.

Twin birth rates declined among mothers aged 30 and over, with the largest declines among older mothers aged 40 and over.

The twinning rate dropped 7% among non-Hispanic white mothers from 2014 to 2018 (34.3 in 2018), but was essentially unchanged among non-Hispanic black (40.5) and Hispanic (24.4) mothers.

Twin birth rates declined in 17 states and rose in three states.

Twinning declined among non-Hispanic white mothers, but was essentially stable for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic mothers, the report noted.

The twin birth rate fell 7% among births to non-Hispanic white women, from 36.7 per 1,000 births, to 34.3 from 2014 to 2018.

Twinning among non-Hispanic black (40.0 in 2014 to 40.5 in 2018) and Hispanic mothers was essentially the same between the two time periods.

Non-Hispanic black mothers were most likely to have a twin births.

DeBlasio Refuses to Fund Bailout for Yellow Cab Owners as E-Hail Services Dominate

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Mayor Bill de Blasio has made it clear that he will not fund a bailout for struggling yellow cab medallion owners, though he would support getting Federal funding for a bailout. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

Mayor Bill de Blasio has made it clear that he will not fund a bailout for struggling yellow cab medallion owners, though he would support getting Federal funding for a bailout. The e-hail business, namely Uber and Lyft, has undeniably dealt a substantial blow to taxi drivers, who paid a hefty investment to obtain a loan for the medallions they purchased to gain the right to drive a taxi. Thousands of these drivers are now deep in debt, unable to make ends meet and stuck with no passengers. Even after years of work, they still owe more on their medallion than they are currently worth.

As reported by NY1, on Monday the city released a report revealing the findings of a 45-day investigation into brokers who negotiate sales and purchases of medallions, underlining concerns regarding confusing paperwork. For the report, the city surveyed medallion owners about their monthly payments, which ranged from about $2,400 to over $3,800, and which few drivers were about to keep up with. The average outstanding loan on a medallion is roughly $500,000 to $600,000 as per the Gothamist.

“What we found was a lack of clarity, a lack of written agreements about what exactly the broker’s role was, what the loan terms might be and certainly people did not seem to understand that maybe they’re entering into a loan where the monthly payments are significantly higher than they can afford,” said acting Taxi & Limousine Commissioner Bill Heinzen. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a group representing the drivers, maintains that they could best attain relief by a city bailout, with lenders bearing the cost. “What we need right now is more than a report on what city rules have been violated. We need an immediate end to the financial devastation that drivers are facing,” said the alliance’s director, Bhairavi Desai.

Mayor de Blasio has said a city bailout is out of the question. “We do not have the capacity as a city to provide that,” de Blasio said. “I wish we did, but we don’t, that’s just the truth.” The city claims a bailout would cost $13 billion, while the Taxi Workers Alliance says it would be just a fraction of that amount, costing between $1.8 billion and $2.7 billion. “We do not control the lenders and that’s the heart of the problem – that’s State and federal regulation, and I think that’s where some of the biggest problems emerged and it was something we didn’t see nor could we reach,” de Blasio said at an unrelated news conference on Monday, putting the burden on the federal government or the state.

“The City made considerable profit off the medallion bubble and now we owe a moral debt to the thousands of New Yorkers whose lives have been ruined by this scandal,” said Council Member Mark Levine, who supports a bailout. “It is not enough to investigate what went wrong; we need to take dramatic steps to relieve owner-drivers from the burden of crushing loans.”

Without a bailout, taxi officials are pushing for new rules, as well as counseling to give future medallion buyers a clearer picture of the business. Last month, the city announced that it would waive $10 million in fees for taxi medallion owners, and offer financial and mental health counseling for the debt-ridden drivers. Also, one medallion broker has been arrested for exploiting taxi drivers, and harassment.

AOC Presents Threat to Queens Dem Machine; Party Refuses to Change

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Insiders are claiming that the leaders of the Queens Democratic machine are scared spitless of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Photo Credit: Shutterstock

By: Alexander Fragiono

Insiders are claiming that the leaders of the Queens Democratic machine are scared spitless of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).

In fact, they add, the machine is so scared it won’t take action against the oft-ridiculed former bartender.

“If the Queens Democratic establishment was badly rattled by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning victory against incumbent and kingmaker Joe Crowley last year, then a largely ignored civil court race this summer shook the city’s most powerful political machine to its core,” the New York Post reported recently. “During primary elections in June, a Hispanic woman from the Bronx routed the candidate hand-picked by the Queens County Democratic Party for a seat on the county’s Civil Court — a race that had not been contested in nearly four decades.

“Still reeling from the victory of Ocasio-Cortez over Crowley, a 10-term Congressman and longtime Queens party boss who was also chair of the House Democratic Caucus, the party was again caught “asleep at the wheel” with no discernible strategy during the June primaries, said the strategist. He, like many of the political consultants and elected officials interviewed by The Post, did not want to be identified for fear of antagonizing the Queens party or AOC,” the Post added.

AOC is said to enjoy strong support despite the multiple occasions on which she has publicly humiliated herself through ignorance and outlandish policy proposals – including everything from national rent control and expanding welfare to illegal immigrants across the nation to the ludicrous Green New Deal.

“The freshman lawmaker, who champions the multi-trillion-dollar Green New Deal proposal to combat economic inequality and climate change, has now proposed a package of bills aimed at solving perceived economic injustice,” reported Fox News recently.

“A just society provides a living wage, safe working conditions, and healthcare. A just society acknowledges the value of immigrants to our communities. A just society guarantees safe, comfortable, and affordable housing,” the website for the package says.

“By strengthening our social and economic foundations, we are preparing ourselves to embark on the journey to save our planet by rebuilding our economy and cultivate a just society.”

“That “Just Society” proposals are made up of six different pieces of legislation that deal with issues including housing, welfare, poverty and human rights,” Fox added. “The Place to Prosper Act” would prevent year-over-year rent increases of more than three percent.”

AOC’s reputation as a political klutz stems from statements like this: “To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity. It’s asserting the value of saying that the America we want and the America that we are proud of is one in which all children can access a dignified education. It’s one in which no person is too poor to have the medicines they need to live.”

ACT for America to Hold Event at Mar-a-Lago; Media Maligns Group

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The group’s founder, Brigitte Gabriel, is a leading commentator on politics, culture and national security. As a legal immigrant to America born in Lebanon, she survived war in the Middle East living in an 8x10 underground bomb shelter from the age of 10 until 17. Photo Credit: Israelmyglory.org

By: Eddie Schweitzer

Conservative columnist, author and frequent Fox News guest Michelle Malkin has been chosen as the keynote speaker at an ACT for America event to be held at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., next month.

Not surprisingly, the media is already in a frenzy, labeling the group as “anti-Muslim.”

According to an invitation posted on their web site, ACT for America has plans to host their upcoming annual gala event at the lavish estate that the president and his family call home when in the Sunshine state. The club, often considered the crown jewel of Trump’s business empire, has seen its revenue dip after the president’s controversial comments on race.

In fact, ACT for America Education’s mission is to educate, engage, train, and mobilize citizens to ensure the safety and security of Americans against all threats foreign and domestic while preserving civil liberties guaranteed by the US Constitution.

The group’s founder, Brigitte Gabriel, is a leading commentator on politics, culture and national security. As a legal immigrant to America born in Lebanon, she survived war in the Middle East living in an 8×10 underground bomb shelter from the age of 10 until 17.

Gabriel moved to Israel in 1984 and became news anchor for “World News,” an evening Arabic news broadcast for Middle East Television seen throughout Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Her work is of international scope having brought her in contact with world figures such as Margaret Thatcher, George H. Bush, Queen Nour El Hussein, Itzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres. She immigrated to the United States in 1989 and founded a television production and advertising company. Her clients included ABC, NBC, CBS, Discovery, TLC, History Channel, CNN, the Oprah Winfrey show, 20/20, World News Tonight, and Good Morning America just to name a few.

Gabriel has addressed the United Nations, Australian Prime Minister, members of The British Parliament/House of Commons, members of the United States Congress, The Pentagon, The Joint Forces Staff College, The US Special Operations Command, The US Asymmetric Warfare group, the FBI, and many others.

To the surprise of no one, the event became the target of instantaneous criticism by Muslim groups.

“I don’t think it should occur,” said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. “It’s really a violation of the U.S. Constitution to funnel funds from a hate group directly to the president and his business,” he said, referring to the emoluments clauses of the Constitution.

CAIR has been accused by some of pursuing an Islamist agenda. Others have claimed that the group is connected to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Wikipedia, the government of the United Arab Emirates has designated CAIR as a terrorist organization.

Democratic Socialist Candidate to Target SI’s Max Rose in Upcoming Congressional Race

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Richard-Olivier Marius, who was once a campaign volunteer for Rose is now pushing for the impeachment of Trump and decided to run against Max Rose. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

By: Jared Evan

Max Rose, one of the only Democrats initially against impeaching Trump has changed his mind and now supports impeachment, was his radial Democrat socialist challenger the reason why?

Richard-Olivier Marius, who was once a campaign volunteer for Rose is now pushing for the impeachment of Trump and decided to run against Max Rose.

Marius, who filed with the FEC earlier this summer, he was upset Rose had not supported impeachment and progressive legislation he thinks could help struggling Island families — like the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and a program that would guarantee federal jobs, S.I Live reported.

“I campaigned for Max Rose and I voted for Max Rose, and I’m very disappointed actually because he is not supporting key legislation that I believe is important for struggling families across the district,” Marius said.

“I’m not into who’s Republican or who’s Democrat, or who’s white or black, if you’re struggling, you’re struggling, and most of the people on Staten Island, whether they’re ethnic, white or from the immigrant community, they’re struggling to pay their rent … because they have so many financial obligations with regards to medical bills, congestion pricing, and other taxes. That’s a burden to working-class people.”

Rose, one of only two Democrats the Staten Island district has sent to Congress since 1981, was one of the party’s few impeachment holdouts until he joined the Democratic chorus Wednesday.

Rose claims his Socialist opponents campaign has nothing to do with the change of heart.

“His campaign has nothing whatsoever to do with this,” Rose told reporters after announcing he would support the impeachment inquiry.

Ironically Marius revealed to The Post he is on the brink of suspending his campaign — due, he said, to a conflict with his day job at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce.

He is pleased his candidacy has apparently spurred Rose to action on impeachment, the Post reported.

Only days before Rose changed his tune, apparently buckling to the radicals in the Democrat party and his AOC carbon copy opponent, he said in a press release: “I’ve now sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution twice and I take my Congressional oath just as seriously as when I deployed to Afghanistan. That’s why I will not operate on any false timeline when our national security is at stake. My constituents—and our country—deserve Members of Congress who will review the facts and ensure the American people are fully informed. Those who would celebrate this moment or dismiss these serious allegations simply because it’s a Republican President should recognize that mindset is why the American people are disgusted with our politics.

“The transcript, whistleblower report, and the Acting Director of National Intelligence’s testimony is deeply alarming,” he continued. “This story is far from over and we must proceed in a deliberate and responsible manner that brings all the facts to the forefront and earns the trust of the American people. That’s the only way to uphold the Constitution without tearing this country apart. Under no circumstances will I allow politics to influence my decision regarding this matter.”