In The News Today:
U.S. and UN Funding Linked to Increase in Migrant Journey to Southern Border
The United States government, under the Biden administration, has significantly increased its financial contributions to the United Nations’ migration-focused agencies, notably the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with allocations nearing $1.3 billion in 2023.
This funding, aimed at supporting migrants, has sparked debate over its influence on the rising number of individuals attempting to cross the U.S. southern border illegally.
Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, criticized the strategy, stating, “We’re actually funding our own border crisis,” highlighting that the financial support ultimately comes from U.S. taxpayers.
This funding represents a substantial increase from the approximate half-billion dollars annually allocated to the IOM prior to President Joe Biden’s tenure, according to USASpending.gov data. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are the primary sources of this funding.
US Cities Struggle with Budgetary Impacts Amid Migrant Influx
Republican Senate Majority Leader Trey Stewart echoed Pouliot’s concerns.
“It’s really striking to me that the folks in rural Maine are being told to do more with less, meanwhile Taj Mahals are being built for other folks in more urban places that aren’t even Maine residents, Maine citizens,” Stewart said on Feb. 14, according to The Center Square.
The budgetary strains are not isolated to Denver; from Los Angeles to Chicago, Boston, New York City, and Maine, cities across the nation are reallocating funds from essential services like police, fire departments, and libraries to accommodate the needs of migrants.
This nationwide issue underscores the challenges faced by urban centers in balancing the demands of migrant support with the provision of regular city services amidst a backdrop of increasing financial pressures.
Experts Warn of Impact from Illegal Immigration on US Electoral Dynamics
Experts are raising concerns over the potential for illegal immigration to substantially alter the landscape of political representation in the United States. The influx of migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally is poised to influence the apportionment of House seats and, by extension, the distribution of Electoral College votes critical to presidential elections, according to Fox News Digital.
Following his inauguration in January 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order directing the U.S. Census Bureau to count all residents, including noncitizens, in its decennial population tally. This directive has sparked concerns that the ongoing surge of migrants over the southern border could shift the allocation of congressional representation and electoral influence.
Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, expressed to Fox News Digital, “Illegal immigration has all kinds of effects and among them is that it distorts the mechanics of democratic government. Illegal immigrants aren’t even supposed to be here, so their inclusion in the census count for purposes of apportionment really is outrageous.”
Teacher jailed for ‘inappropriate relationship’ says he ‘dreams’ of sleeping with student
Police began investigating Mohammed on January 23 after another teacher raised concerns about him possibly having an inappropriate relationship with one of his students.
Police found a voicemail on the 10th-grader’s phone from December 17 where he tells the girl “I love you.”
He also talked about rumors at school about their relationship and told the girl they needed to “tone it down a lot,” according to the warrant.
As well as the messages, police found a series of explicit texts Mohammed sent to the teenager, which included messages like “ima say I’m so sexually deprived, I dream of f—ing my 15-year-old student,” the warrant says.
Donald Trump trial LIVE: Ex-President hit with New York business ban and $354m fine
Former President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay $354 million in his civil fraud trial in New York, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled on Friday.
The penalty comes over what Engoron ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president’s wealth.
Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.
New York Attorney General Letitia James had been seeking $370m in financial penalties. She also wanted to ban Trump and his Trump Organization officials from doing business in the state.
Study Finds Trump ‘Almost Certainly’ Won 2020 Election
A recent study implies the 2020 U.S. presidential election outcome could have favored Donald Trump in the absence of an extensive mail-in voting system.By yourNEWS Media Staff
A new analysis by the Heartland Institute suggests that the expansion of mail-in voting in the 2020 presidential election, which saw a record 43 percent of votes cast by mail, might have significantly affected the election’s outcome.
The study, based on a Heartland/Rasmussen survey, indicates that fraudulent mail-in ballots could have tipped the scales in favor of Joe Biden, potentially altering the result to favor Donald Trump.
The survey uncovered that approximately 20 percent of mail-in voters acknowledged engaging in at least one potentially fraudulent action. Further examination and statistical treatment of the survey data led researchers to estimate that 28.2 percent of mail-in ballots could be considered fraudulent under most legal circumstances.
Gunman Killed In Shootout With Cranford Police Following a Pursuit and Crash
After the crash, the driver of the vehicle, 40-year-old Kevin Harlfinger, exchanged gunfire with Cranford Police Officers Christopher Folinusz and Ryan McSharry. Harlfinger was pronounced deceased at the scene at approximately 12:04 a.m.,
Progressives Are Ditching Free Speech To Fight ‘Disinformation’
Meanwhile, progressives are hatching attacks on “disinformation” that threaten the foundations of the Constitution. Republicans share some responsibility, as they’ve backed various proposals targeting Big Tech out of pique about the censorship of conservative views. These ideas included limits on liability protections for posted content and plans to treat social media sites as public utilities.
Conservatives have already shown a willingness to insert government into speech considerations, so they are left flat-footed as leftists hatch plots to rejigger open debate.
Whenever the Right plays footsie with big government, the Left then ups the ante—and conservatives end up wondering what happened. What is happening now is an effort to use legitimate concerns about internet distortions to squelch what we read and say.
California Senate Hopeful Barbara Lee Wants $50 Per Hour Minimum Wage
This week, the four leading candidates for the U.S. Senate seat opened by the overdue departure of Dianne Feinstein met for a televised debate. Under California’s open primary system, Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee, Republican Steve Garvey, and all other candidates for the seat will go against each other March 5, with the two top vote-getters facing off in November.
Unsurprisingly for California and the year 2024, the spotlight was on bad ideas.
“Porter and Lee both support a $20 to $25 an hour minimum wage,” according to Clara Harter of the Los Angeles Daily News. “Lee, who is pitching herself as the most progressive candidate in the race, has said that she would consider $50 per hour a living wage in the Bay Area, which she represents.”
EXCLUSIVE! Ben Ferguson on MRC Uncensored: Big Tech Wants to Do More Than Just Silence You
Ferguson went on MRC’s UnCensored with MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider to discuss how Big Tech platforms such as Meta and YouTube have censored his content.
Schneider reacted to Facebook’s absurd decision to lock Ferguson out of his account, implying this tactic aims to “dry up” revenue sources.
“They want to kill us,” reiterated Schneider, concerning Big Tech choking off the revenue of conservatives. Speaking from personal experience, Ferguson concurred, “They want you to go broke; they want you to be in financial ruin.”
Ferguson explained that censorship tactics have surpassed mere censorship. “It’s not just silencing you,” he continued, “Their objective is to make sure that you can’t pay your bills and your life, your political life and your journalistic life ends in ruins, where you are bankrupt. It’s not just about silencing you. They want to destroy everything you have and take it all away from you.”
Did Fani Willis Admit TOO MUCH In Her Misconduct Testimony?
District Attorney Fani Willis testified in defense of herself on Thursday in a misconduct hearing … and it probably wasn’t a good decision.
Willis took the stand to push back against an attempt to disqualify her from heading Georgia’s election interference case against former president Donald Trump.
But she may have revealed TOO MUCH about her alleged affair and her practice of keeping large sums of cash at home. Glenn and Stu review the “incredible” testimony.
Deadly terror strikes Israel; Jerusalem stresses need for ‘northern solution’ TV7 Israel News 16.02
1) Deadly terror strikes at Israel’s southern Re’em–Masmiya Junction – claiming the lives of two civilians, and wounding six others.
2) Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voices Jerusalem’s hope to avert a northern war.
3) IDF Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi emphasizes that plans to launch an offensive on the town of Rafah have been presented to Jerusalem’s war cabinet.
Another ‘trusted’ FBI informant discredited, renewing concerns over bureau’s vetting
Now, no matter how Special Counsel David Weiss’ indictment ends up – and Smirnov is presumed innocent until proven guilty – there is a harsh reality facing Congress and the Justice Department that is blinking red for attention.
In the two most politically sensitive FBI criminal cases since Watergate a half century ago – Donald Trump’s Russia collusion inquiry and Joe Biden’s Ukraine bribery allegation – the Justice Department has concluded the bureau’s confidential human sources had serious flaws that went undetected for years by the agents handling them.
Three separate DOJ investigations have now found evidence that has discredited handling of FBI informants Christopher Steele and Igor Danchenko in the Russia collusion case and Smirnov in the Biden inquiry.
Wray has tried to assure his overseers – most recently Special Counsel John Durham last year – that he has made reforms that solved the problem. But Smirnov’s indictment as laid out by Weiss strongly suggests otherwise.
Lara Logan | “The Rest of the Story” | What Are They Still Hiding About January 6th? | Clay Higgins
Idaho: House Passes Bill Proposing Death Penalty For Convicted Sex Offenders Whose Victims Are Under 12
In House Bill 515, it allows the death penalty in cases of lewd conduct with a minor child under 12. It was passed on Tuesday with 57 ayes and 11 nays. Two lawmakers were not present for the vote.
Co-sponsor of the bill, Representative Bruce Skaug (R-Idaho), clarified to House lawmakers that the bill would only be used in extreme cases, such as for repeat offenders.
However, Rebecca De León, a progressive spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, referred to the bill as “blatantly and admittedly unconstitutional.”
Grifter’s Worst Nightmare: Time for Transparency Over “National Emergency” Spending
Last week, the Cato Institute issued a sobering policy analysis, noting that Congress has designated $12 trillion in spending for national emergencies over the past 30 years, or fully one-third of America’s towering $34 national debt.
Curbing America’s federal emergency spending is a sure way to restore fiscal responsibility, yet Congress seldom holds the federal government accountable despite current law requiring the President to report national emergency spending to Congress every six months and no later than ninety days after the termination of a national emergency.
Congress has a responsibility to track every emergency dollar allocated and shed light on how taxpayer dollars are spent or not spent during national emergencies. Yet it seldom, if ever, does.
Worse, emergency spending programs occur outside the annual appropriations bills, meaning they evade spending limits and have no pay-fors or spending offsets. The spending is just added to the annual deficit and, as Cato points out, becomes a significant contributor to our national debt.
Supreme Court’s Alito Puts Boy Scouts $2.46B Abuse Settlement on Hold
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily halted the Boy Scouts of America’s $2.46 billion settlement of decades of sex abuse claims, which is being appealed by a group of 144 abuse claimants.
Alito’s brief order freezing the settlement gives the court more time to decide a Feb. 9 request by the abuse claimants to block the settlement from moving forward. Their request contended that the deal unlawfully stops them from pursuing lawsuits against organizations that are not bankrupt, such as churches that ran scouting programs, local Boy Scouts councils, and insurers that provided coverage to the Boy Scouts organization.
The Supreme Court is already considering whether U.S. bankruptcy courts are allowed to wipe away legal claims against non-bankrupt people and organizations in an appeal of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy.
Rep. Banks Warns Ad Agencies: No More NewsGuard for Recruitment
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said woke Pentagon policies — including the use of left-wing media monitors — have been choking military recruitment and he wants them stopped.
Last week Banks sent letters to the CEOs of top advertising agencies warning them that using far-left ratings groups like NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index are a violation of federal law — and that he planned on holding hearings on the impact these groups have had on recruitment.
Banks, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and chair of its subcommittee on Military Personnel, says the Defense Department missed its recruiting goals by 41,000 recruits last year alone.
“This is the 50th anniversary of an all-volunteer force in our military and it’s the worst recruitment year on record,” Banks told Bianca de la Garza on the show.
2 Juveniles Charged in Mass Shooting at KC Chiefs Super Bowl Parade
A news release from the Jackson County Family Court said the juveniles are being detained in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center “on gun-related and resisting arrest charges.”
The release said it is “anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues.”
Police initially detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved in the shooting. No charges have been filed against the two remaining in custody. Police are looking for others who may have been involved and are calling for witnesses, victims and people with cellphone video of the violence to call a dedicated hotline.
Migrants who allegedly attacked NYPD cops are members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, feds say
Marie Ferguson, a spokesperson for ICE, told the news outlet, “Both unlawfully present Venezuelan citizens have been charged in conjunction with the violent gang assault carried out on two NYPD officers [and] are currently detailed without bond.”
“Both noncitizens have been identified as members of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization,” Ferguson added.
After coming under fire for releasing several of the suspects without bail, progressive Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced new charges against the illegal migrants. Arocha was charged with two counts of assault, and Juarez was charged with a class E felony for allegedly tampering with physical evidence. As many as 14 suspects are believed to have taken part in the incident. At least one suspect remains at large.
‘Educational malpractice’: Seattle English students allegedly taught a love for reading and writing is ‘white supremacy‘
Tema Okun, a white Oberlin College graduate from North Carolina, has spent the last three decades suggesting that Western civilization and its distinguishing features are racist. According to the greying leftist, objectivity, binary thinking, and individuality are “characteristics of white supremacy culture.”
The Gaza ceasefire advocate‘s feverish accusations, first published in 1999, have been reprinted countless times and promoted by once-serious institutions and universities across the country.
Conservative radio host Jason Rantz of KTTH has obtained possible evidence that Seattle Public Schools is now subjecting English students to Okun’s racist ravings.
‘Sanctuary Church’ Helps Free from Jail Illegal Alien Charged with Migrant Mob Attack on NYPD Officers
Now, according to the New York Post, one of those illegal aliens held on bail is back on the city’s streets after a “sanctuary church” in Brooklyn paid his $15,000 bond:
The sole migrant who had been held behind bars for the gang attack on two NYPD cops in Times Square is now also free after an activist Brooklyn priest posted his $15,000 bail, The Post has learned. [Emphasis added]
Yohenry Brito, 24, who was being held at Rikers Island on the Jan. 27 cop attack and is due to be arraigned on an assault indictment this week, walked out of jail Tuesday after Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge put up the money, the church’s pastor said. [Emphasis added]
“Our church is basically a sanctuary,” the Rev. Juan Ruiz told The Post on Wednesday. “We assume that people are innocent until they are proven otherwise.” [Emphasis added]
Yarwuin Madris, an 18-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested this week for the attack and is being held in jail on bail.
Five-Time Deported Illegal Alien Accused of Killing 10-Year-Old Boy Walking Home from School
Rogelio Ortiz-Olivas, a 50-year-old five-time deported illegal alien from Mexico, has been arrested and charged with drunk driving and causing a fatal hit-and-run crash that ultimately killed 10-year-old Alex “AJ” Wise, Jr.
According to the Midland Police Department, on Feb. 8, Ortiz-Olivas was driving a truck when he hit Wise, who was walking home from school. Immediately, police said, Ortiz-Olivas fled the scene, leaving Wise in critical condition.
Ortiz-Olivas, though, illegally returned repeatedly to the U.S. and has been deported five times by ICE agents since this first voluntary departure.
Police: Disgraced Chicago Officer Stole $350K from Elderly Woman’s Safe
The suspect, identified as Joseph Pecora — who, several years ago, spent time behind bars for intending to distribute marijuana while working as an officer — has been linked to the burglary case via DNA, CWB Chicago reported Thursday.
He previously stepped down from his position with the department before going to prison. However, the man “has apparently continued his service to the city post-conviction.
Municipal payroll records list him as a $101,000-a-year ‘asphalt laborer’ for the Chicago Department of Transportation,” the CWB Chicago report stated.
Senate Democrats Push Bill That Could Prevent Churches From Having Armed Security
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) is pushing legislation that could prevent churches around the country from using a “security services unit” comprised of concealed carriers in congregations, parishes, etc.
The bill is the Preventing Private Military Act of 2024, and it is co-sponsored by Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA).
In another portion of the bill, the text provides circumstances that qualify as an action that is prohibited and includes the use of “large capacity ammunition feeding devices,” which is leftist speak for magazines that hold more than ten rounds.
The Life and Death of Putin Gadfly Alexei Navalny
Navalny was able to fill the streets of Russian cities with protesters on several occasions. The protests were broken up with mass arrests, one of which was invariably Alexei Navalny. He joked about his arrests in social media posts and media interviews. He was still cracking wise when he was sent to the Arctic penal colony where he died.
One of Navalny’s first big protest marches was against election fraud in 2011. Even though the vote was heavily rigged to keep Putin in power, Navalny managed to hold United Russia down to less than half the vote. He ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013 and was promptly sentenced to five years in prison for “embezzlement” in a politicized trial.
Navalny and his brother Oleg were accused of embezzling about $500,000 from a state-owned timber company while he was an advisor to the governor of the Kirov region in 2009. When the judge handed down a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence to Oleg, Navalny cried: “Aren’t you ashamed? Why are you jailing him? This is a dirty trick. To punish me more?”
Illinois pumping $250M more in taxpayer funds to help illegal migrants in Chicago
The state of Illinois and Cook County have announced plans to allocate up to an additional $252 million to house, feed and provide other services to illegal immigrants arriving in Chicago this year – although Chicago’s progressive Mayor Brandon Johnson appears to be holding out on committing more funds to the ongoing crisis, at least for now.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has pledged around $182 million while Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has committed up to $70 million more for the joint funding plan to ensure migrants sent to Chicago from the Texas border shelter will have access to wraparound services and healthcare.
It comes on top of the state committing $160 million in November to illegal immigrants to “welcome, shelter, and independence.” That commitment was in addition to the $478 million the state has spent since the start of the response, according to a press release.
Tennessee deputy’s patrol car recovered from river with 2 bodies inside: police
The body of a Tennessee deputy, who disappeared after making an arrest, has been recovered after his patrol car was found underwater.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) in Tennessee confirmed in a Facebook post that the body of 35-year-old Deputy Robert “R.J.” Leonard had been found on Thursday evening.
“His remains are currently being escorted to the Knoxville Regional Medical Examiner’s Office by motor units with the HCSO, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the Chattanooga Police Department,” police said.
History has been made as ballistic missiles finally used against warships for real
Two days ago the head of the US Navy, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, publicly praised the performance of her people in the Red Sea for shooting down more than 70 drones, seven cruise missiles, and “for the first time in history, 14 anti-ship ballistic missiles” (ASBMs).
She also conceded that a few weapons had made it through the screen and hit commercial shipping causing damage and fires but thankfully, no fatalities.
Admiral Franchettti also mentioned that a US Marine pilot flying a Harrier jump jet from the USS Bataan – the USMC, unlike Britain, still has Harriers – has shot down seven drones, which makes him the first American fighter ace since the Vietnam War. Or at least it would if they had been crewed. Denied by a technicality, but impressive nonetheless.
This Ought to Be Lit: Fani’s Radical Black Panther Father Who Lived with Her Will Testify Today in Fulton County Court – He Once Shacked Up with Most-Wanted Criminal Angela Davis
According to Newsweek Fani Willis is reportedly close with her father and speaks to him as often as 10 times per day.
John C. Floyd, III, is a former Black Panther who once called the police in Los Angeles an “occupying army” that was nothing but trouble.
Floyd was a high-ranking member of the Black Panthers in Los Angeles who later became a defense attorney after splitting from the Panthers in the early 1970s.
And Floyd dated most-wanted criminal Angela Davis who was accused of being involved in kidnappings and murders.
The New York Post reported:
Floyd told the Bradley Center interviewer that he dated the civil rights activist Angela Davis in the late 1960s.
Victor Davis Hanson: The left is weaponizing the administrative state
Hoover Institute senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson discusses the cases against former President Trump on ‘The Bottom Line.
Charges against Trump have gone off the rails: Chris Landau
‘The Ingraham Angle’ panelists Mike Davis and Chris Landau discuss the case against Fani Willis.
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