In The News Today.

US News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion and Video Post.

US News:

Man, 36, who battered pedestrian with baseball bat is arrested by NYPD

A 36-year-old man suspected of battering a pedestrian across the head with a baseball bat on an NYC street was arrested and paraded in front of the press on Wednesday afternoon.

Karim Azizi was arrested from his house in Harlem on Wednesday morning – just around the corner from where he is accused of attacking a 47-year-old man last Tuesday.

The victim was a total stranger to Azizi when he struck him over the head and the bizarre act of aggression was totally arbitrary, police have said.

The arrest comes just days after police published surveillance footage of the incident, which happened at around 8am outside of a Chinese takeaway in Hamilton Heights.  


Woman suddenly drops dead while working out at gym in shocking video

A 28-year-old woman unexpectedly dropped dead while working out at a gym in Ecuador.

The woman โ€” who was identified as Betsy Dayana Jaramillo Ramรญrez โ€” is believed to have suffered a heart attack at Zona Muscular gym in Santa Rosa, El Oro province, on Nov. 29.

Ramรญrez was captured on the gymโ€™s video footage doing squats and weightlifting when she suddenly stopped and fell forward, face-planting on the floor.


Restaurant Kicks Out Christian Group: You Canโ€™t Eat Here Because Youโ€™re Pro-Life

Metzger Bar and Butchery located in Richmond, Virginia,
Metzger Bar and Butchery located in Richmond, Virginia,

Cobb shared that about an hour and a half before the Family Foundation party was scheduled to take place in a private dining room at Metzger Bar and Butchery located in Richmond, Virginia, the restaurant announced that was โ€œunwilling to serveโ€ the organization.

โ€œThey did a little research, found out who we are. We are unapologetically pro-life and stand for traditional marriage,โ€ she explained.

Cobb said the owner of the restaurant then called and informed the Family Foundation that it was no longer welcome to hold an event at the establishment.

โ€œThey seem more than willing to defend their ability to deny access to food. Thatโ€™s, I think, the stunning part about it, weโ€™d like to think that in America, even though we have political differences, even though we donโ€™t see the world the same day, weโ€™d like to believe that we can all dine in the same places,โ€ Cobb said.

Many of the restaurantโ€™s staff are women or โ€œmembers of the LGBTQ+ community,โ€ the restaurant said.

โ€œAll of our staff are people with rights who deserve dignity and a safe work environment,โ€ the statement continued. โ€œWe respect our staffโ€™s established rights as humans and strive to create a work environment where they can do their jobs with dignity, comfort and safety. We hope you will understand our decision as we understand it is your choice to dine with us or not.โ€

Cobb said Americans should be shocked at such behavior.


Amoxicillin shortage: What and why is this always going on?

On Wednesday’s “National Report,” Founder & President of Healthy Tennessee Dr. Manny Sethi reacts to the prescription drug shortage and the effects this has on a patient’s health.


California restaurant chain robbed 4 times in 4 days: ‘No consequences’

Ahipoki target of smash-and-grab robbery
Ahipoki target of smash-and-grab robbery

A restaurant manager says crime near the southern border has impacted his ability to stay open after his businesses endured a string of smash-and-grab robberies just weeks before Christmas. 

Ahipoki managing partner Jason Jantzen joined “Fox & Friends First” on Wednesday to discuss how the robberies have affected the company’s bottom line and its employees.  

“We’re not opening on time,” Jantzen toldย co-host Todd Piro.

“We’re not serving our customersโ€ฆ That happens often enough, the people just stop comingโ€ฆ sometimes we’re lucky to open at all, so there’s a loss of revenue. These employees don’t get to work. They’re not earning money.”ย 

Jantzen has locations in both California and Arizona, and both have been hit by a series of the smash-and-grab robberies in recent weeks.ย 


Beloved Seattle restaurant hit for 18th time

A beloved Seattle restaurant was hit for the 18th time and an English teacher in California pretends she’s fighting racism when she’s the actual racist.

Jason Rantz breaks it down on The Faulkner Focus. (December 7, 2022)


School principal who killed himself at Disneyland wanted to end โ€˜toxicโ€™ marriage: report

Brittany Christensen, 26, said her dad, high school principal Chris Christensen, jumped to his death at Disneyland to escape from a โ€œtoxicโ€ marriage to โ€œabusiveโ€ wife Marlena. Facebook / Chris Christensen
Brittany Christensen, 26, said her dad, high school principal Chris Christensen, jumped to his death at Disneyland to escape from a โ€œtoxicโ€ marriage to โ€œabusiveโ€ wife Marlena. Facebook / Chris Christensen

The daughter also shared with the Daily Mail a series of text messages Marlena allegedly sent her after an argument in April.

โ€œYouโ€™re a horrible disgusting excuse for a daughter and sister. Go find your Dad, play the hero. But itโ€™s me he will be missing [in] the morning,โ€ Marlena reportedly wrote, according to the outlet.

Brittany also alleged Marlena caused $6,000 worth of damage to her car after the argument, during which her dad tried to split from his wife.

The daughter said she filed a police report about the incident at her Costa Mesa home.

Brittany said that despite her late fatherโ€™s comments about things being โ€œgreatโ€ in the marriage, โ€œtheir relationship in actuality has been toxic and wearing on both of them.โ€

The grieving daughter added: โ€œIn my opinion, it was a slow chipping away at my dadโ€™s soul for much longer than just two weeks and I wish at this stage she could have left my family alone.


Woman who watched boyfriend kill 6 of his family members in Chicago robbery sentenced to 25 years in prison

Cook County Sheriffโ€™s Department
Cook County Sheriffโ€™s Department

Uribe Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last month for six counts of first-degree murder in the February 2016 slayings in the victimsโ€™ bungalow in the Gage Park neighborhood on the cityโ€™s Southwest Side.

At Uribe Cruzโ€™s trial, Ramos told jurors that she accepted the plea agreement in the hope that she one day would be able to again be with her son, who was barely a toddler when the couple were arrested in May 2016.

During that trial, prosecutors alleged he shot his 32-year-old aunt, Maria Martinez, after trying to rob her on Feb. 4, 2016, before he fatally stabbed her sons, ages 10 and 13, and stabbed or beat to death other relatives to make sure there were no witnesses.


Elon Musk fumes at San Francisco mayor after city opens investigation into Twitter headquarters

Responding to Goldbergโ€™s tweet about the story, Musk tagged Breed and linked to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about a babyโ€™s reported fentanyl overdose on a city playground. 

“So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. Where are your priorities @LondonBreed!?” Musk wrote.ย 

Several other prominent Twitter users also slammed San Francisco for opening the investigation, with some wondering whether Musk would move his companyโ€™s headquarters out of California.

Reporter Tatjana Pasalic, quoting David Radcliffe, Googleโ€™s vice president of real estate and workplace services, said that no workplace is complete without a “nap pod.”

“Looks like we need cops to investigate more than just Elon. Workersโ€™ rights must not be violated,” she added, linking to a Yahoo News article titled “You can nap on the job at these 10 companies.”

The article included several high-profile companies, including Uber and Nike.


10K Migrants Apprehended in One Texas Border Sector Last Week, 4K More Got Away

U.S. Border Patrol/Del Rio Sector
U.S. Border Patrol/Del Rio Sector

Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted a weekly recap for his sector reporting the apprehension of 9,992 migrants during the last week. In addition, another 4,232 migrants are classified as known got-aways.

As part of the apprehension of nearly 10,000 migrants in the Del Rio Sector, agents encountered 22 large groups. Border Patrol defines a large group as 100 or more migrants apprehended in a single crossing incident. The Del Rio Sector leads the nation in large migrant group apprehensions, Chief Owens previously reported.

The large migrant group encounters contributes to the high percentage of migrant got-aways.

As Border Patrol agents are tied up processing, caring for, and transporting the groups of migrants, cartel-connected human smugglers use this as an opportunity to move drugs and migrants who do not want to be apprehended at the border โ€” many with criminal histories or prior deportations.

As an example, Del Rio Sector apprehended three previously deported sex offenders during the Thanksgiving weekend. Agents arrested one more sex offender last week, Owens reported.


ย Startling Border Patrol Suicide Rate Brought To Forefront By Texas Lawmakers


COVID-19 Vaccines: What They Are, How They Work and Possible Causes of Injuries

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson will lead a roundtable discussion, COVID-19 Vaccines:

What They Are, How They Work, and Possible Causes of Injuries, to shed light on the current state of knowledge surrounding the vaccine and the path forward.

Medical experts and doctors who specialize in COVID-19 vaccine research and treatment will join Sen. Johnson at the roundtable.


Politics:

Ocasio-Cortez Under Investigation, Ethics Committee Says

The House Ethics Committee announced on Wednesday in a pressย releaseย that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is under investigation.

Following standard protocol, the Ethics Committee has not revealed why Ocasio-Cortez is being investigated.

However, shortly after taking office in 2019, conservative groups filed complaints alleging the congresswoman misused โ€œcongressional resources.โ€

Ocasio-Cortez has also been questioned about possible inappropriate involvement with Super PAC Justice Democrats, according to the Daily Caller.


Tucker Carlson: This is an actual threat to democracy

Fox News host Tucker Carlson reacts to a possible mass amnesty immigration deal ahead of the new Congress and says our leaders are committing immigration fraud on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’


Stephen Miller: This is the most ‘insidious’ form of amnesty

Former senior White House adviser Stephen Miller reacts to the bipartisan mass amnesty push on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’


Tucker Carlson: Censorship is the actual threat to democracy

Fox News host Tucker Carlson discusses his documentary ‘Biden, Inc.’ and whether a Republican candidate can win on a national stage with Big Tech’s censorship on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’


Report: State Department Silent on Atheism Grant Program; GOP Calls for Subpoenas

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

GOP sources familiar with the matterย toldย the outlet that Mariah Mercer of the State Departmentโ€™s Office of International Religious Freedom would not disclose which atheist organizations are receiving grants abroad, citing โ€œsecurity concerns.โ€

โ€œThe sources said that the grants are favoring atheists over non-atheists and that the grants are primarily going to individuals and organizations in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia โ€” all heavily Muslim regions,โ€ according to the report.

The most recent report comes months after House Republicans sent letters to the State Department questioning Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about a program that would award grants of up to $500,000 of taxpayer funds โ€œto organizations committed to the practice and spread of atheism and humanism, namely in South/Central Asia and in the Middle East/North Africa.โ€


Democrats pressure banks to atone for slavery-era activities to ‘redress past wrongsโ€™

The House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., held a hearing Wednesday to examine how U.S. banks can atone for their role in slavery. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., held a hearing Wednesday to examine how U.S. banks can atone for their role in slavery.ย (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Banks should fund community development in Black communities, support the education of the next several generations of Black students and take other steps to atone for the role they played financing and supporting slavery in America, witnesses told a House committee hearing organized by Democrats on Wednesday.

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “The Role of Financial Institutions in the Horrors of Slavery and the Need for Atonement,” which could be the final hearing led byย Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., before Republicans take control of the House in January.

“The collective amount required to close the disparity for approximately 40 million black American descendants of persons enslaved in the United States will come to at least $14 trillion,” he said in his written testimony. “This is a sum that cannot be met reasonably by private donors or other levels of government.”

Other witnesses offered ideas on how banks can atone for their participation in the slave trade, which Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, contributed to the vast wealth of U.S. financial institutions that was “built on the backs of enslaved people.”


‘She Made Anti-Semitic Comments!’: Mark Green Calls Out Ilhan Omar During Tense House Hearing

At yesterday’s House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) called out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) during remarks castigating a claim that there can’t be an audit on Ukraine military weapons use.


Grassley Demands POTUS Answer Questions About Hunter Biden

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) continues pressing the case against Hunter Biden.


Jim Jordan: They knew this was baloney

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, reacts to Twitter CEO Elon Musk firing the social media companyโ€™s lawyer James Baker, who was former FBI general counsel during the Russia collusion hoax and initial suppression of the Hunter Biden story.


Three ex-Twitter execs called to testify in House Republicans’ investigation

Florida Rep. Greg Steube discusses House GOP plans to hold the Biden administration and Big Tech executives accountable for ‘corruption’ ahead of the 2020 presidential election.


Tough Tuesday: Manchin suffers two major blows to his power

Over the last two years, Manchin has acted as somewhat of aย gatekeeper within his party, often using his vote to negotiate and boost his own priorities in exchange for support on a Democratic bill.

This strategy has routinely worked for the West Virginia senator as Democrats couldnโ€™t afford to lose his vote in the 50-50 Senate, often resulting in drawn-out negotiations or compromises in order to pass legislation.

However, with Warnockโ€™s win on Tuesday, Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, meaning Manchinโ€™s vote no longer holds the same weight as it has over the last two years.

That’s not to say Democrats will have an easy time getting legislation through the Senate because the party will still need to contend with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who has also occasionally impeded Democrats from passing their agenda items.


World News:

U.S. pivot eastward impacts Israelโ€™s Mideast integration; IDF Assessment 2023 -TV7 Israel News 07.12

1) IDF Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi highlights unrelenting efforts to shape Israelโ€™s northern arena in preparation for war.

2) IDF Intelligence Research and Assessment Chief reveals Iranโ€™s shift of priority vis-ร -vis Israel.

3) U.S. National Intelligence Director Avril Haines acknowledges that the currently protests in Iran are not threatening the regimeโ€™s immediate survivability.


Iranians urge Biden to recognize revolution against regime: ‘Boycott them in everything’

(AP Photo/Middle East Images, File)
(AP Photo/Middle East Images, File)

A series of dramatic interviews with Iranians from within Iran amid the massive protests unfolding against the highly repressive Islamic Republic of Iran reveal their burning desire for President Biden to recognize their revolution.

As the protests hit day 82, activists say the implication is clear: If the White House issues a stamp of approval to the revolutionary sentiments to topple the Iranian regime, the U.S. will be providing unconditional solidarity instead of standing largely on the sidelines.

“This is a constitutional revolution for the basic rights of the Iranian people,” Shagha, a designer and painter, told Fox News Digital through an encrypted line. She wants the “U.S. to recognize the revolution of the Iranian people and to recognize it is not for the hijab.”


The Danger of CBDC – Catherine Austin Fitts


Protests in Mongolia’s capital | Radio Free Asia (RFA)

Large crowds of demonstrators, many of them young people, held banners and chanted slogans outside the Government Palace in Sukhbaatar Square, demanding officials to exit the grand building and face the people. Some protesters later jostled violently with police as they tried to storm the building.


Penny Wong dropped some โ€˜hard truthsโ€™ on the US

The West Australian Senior Reporter Ben Oโ€™Shea says Foreign Minister Penny Wong dropped some โ€œhard truthsโ€ on the US in a speech mentioning they โ€œneed to get seriousโ€ about investment in the South Pacific.


North Korean bandits steal 200 kilos of gold bars worth US $12 million

(Miami Herald/TNS)
(Miami Herald/TNS)

The three masked bandits descended upon the armored vehicle, overpowered the two soldiers on guard duty, seized 200 kilograms of gold bars worth U.S.$12 million and rode off into the North Korean countryside, sources inside the country said.

Authorities declared a state of emergency in Sinuiju, Hyesan, and other border cities as they searched desperately for the robbers and their loot, sources living near the cities told Radio Free Asiaโ€™s Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The border cities are on high alert because there is no market for gold in North Korea. The 200-kilogram jackpot is essentially worthless unless it can be smuggled to buyers in China.ย 


The Mission of FVD International – John Laughland


Italyโ€™s Transport Minister Asks EU To Stop ICE Vehicle Banย 

Italyโ€™s Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has asked the EU Commissionโ€™s Transport Commissioner and his French and German counterparts to review the ban on ICE vehicle sales that is set to go into effect in 2035, reports OilPrice.com.

Salvini told Italian news outlet Ultimore that the proposed ban on the sale of fossil fuel-burning vehicles โ€œmakes no economic, environmental or social sense.โ€

Salviniโ€™s stance on the ICE vehicle sales ban echoes that of carmakers and the European car industry association, ACEA, in the summer of 2021.

The EU has mandated carmakers reach a 100% cut in CO2 emissions by 2035. But this year, those who believe fossil fuels are necessary even in the energy transition have been emboldened by the energy crunch now squeezing Europe.

With electricity prices reaching new highs, some countries are starting to rethink their ambitious EV goals.


Secret Service: Chinese Hacker Group Stole $20 Million; Youtube Accused of Censoring China Protests

Chinese state-linked #Hackers made off with $20 million of pandemic relief funds, according to #SecretService.

Youtube is accused of moderating content tied to anti-lockdown #Protests in China. A Youtuber shares his discovery.

A mega semiconductor project in the United States is getting $40 billion from a Taiwanese company.

The United States may be upping its weapons deal with Taiwanโ€”valued at over $880 million with advanced missiles.

China is holding a memorial for former communist leader Jiang Zemin. We look at the details of his time in power.


Commentary/Opinion:

Should San Francisco Guarantee Income for Trans People?

San Francisco launched a guaranteed income program for low-income transgender residents with payments up to $1,200 each month for up to 18 months.

Aldo hits the campus of UC Berkeley to ask students what they think about this program.