Howard Frankland stabbing suspect is former federal prosecutor | Tampa Bay Times
By Tony Marrero Times staff
Patrick Douglas Scruggs, who worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa for about a decade, is accused of stabbing another motorist after a crash.
Patrick Douglas Scruggs, 38, of Tampa, was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday. He faces charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed burglary after authorities say he repeatedly stabbed a driver on the Howard Frankland Bridge after the driver struck Scruggs’ sedan. [ Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office ]
Patrick Douglas Scruggs, 38, of Tampa, worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office from September 2012 until April of this year, according to his LinkedIn page. His time there included appearing on behalf of the federal government during hearings for Florida residents accused of taking part in the riots at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
In May, he joined Barnes and Thornburg, an Atlanta-based private law firm, as an “of counsel” attorney, the page says. The page describes Scruggs as “a seasoned litigator and investigator with experience in various practice areas of criminal law.”
Now Scruggs faces his own legal trouble stemming from a bizarre chain of events that unfolded on the Howard Frankland as rush hour was winding down on Tuesday morning.
According to a news release issued Tuesday by the Florida Highway Patrol, a 40-year-old Tampa man was driving a sedan south on Interstate 275 when he and his 43-year-old wife noticed a vehicle that was stopped in the travel lanes of the bridge shortly before 9:24 a.m. The 35-year-old driver, also of Tampa, was slumped over inside his sedan, troopers said, so the couple pulled over in front of the car to help.
The 40-year-old man was unable to get inside the other sedan, so he walked back to his car to get something that could break the window. While he was doing that, the 35-year-old man woke up and accelerated forward, crashing into the couple’s sedan. He shifted into reverse and then tried to get around the couple’s sedan, according to troopers, but at that point, he struck Scruggs’ sedan as he was driving by the scene.
Scruggs pulled over, got out and walked up to the driver of the vehicle that hit his car. According to the Highway Patrol, Scruggs broke a window and started stabbing the 35-year-old man with a pocketknife.
The couple returned to the vehicle to help the man being stabbed, but Scruggs then tried to stab them and they fled, troopers said. . . .
Days after the riots at the U.S. Capital in 2021, Scruggs appeared on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office during the bond hearing of Adam Johnson, the Parrish man who became one of the most prominent symbols of the riots that engulfed the U.S. Capitol when he was photographed carrying a lectern from the House of Representatives. Scruggs asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Tuite to order certain restrictions while Johnson was on release, including drug testing, the surrender of his passport and a nightly curfew.
“This is a serious case,” Scruggs told the judge. “Everyone involved in the storming of the Capitol last week needs to be held accountable for their actions, including Mr. Johnson.”
Another judge in 2022 sentenced Johnson to 75 days in jail.
Meet the guy who prosecuted me in Tampa for walking in a building on January 6th.
My crimes were so egregious that he demanded I wear an ankle monitor, be drugged tested at random, surrender my passports, be restricted to middle district of Florida, and given a nightly curfew.…
— The Lectern Guy🇺🇸 (@lecternleader) September 27, 2023
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‘They Beat His A** and I Recorded It’: Thugs Assault Cop While Bystanders Laugh
Hearing pieces of human excrement yell foul things at police officers, threatening the cops’ families as well as the lives of cops themselves, barely fazes me anymore. It’s what you can expect when every Democrat leader from Joe Biden on down has made it clear they will never have the police’s backs. Not when there’s a single political point to be scored by throwing cops under the bus. But this video is pretty offensive. Because of the angry mom assaulting a single police officer. And because of the scumbags who recorded it and laughed.
What was the cop doing to get jumped like this, you ask? He was trying to protect THE PEOPLE WHO WERE JUMPING HIM!
When gunshots ring out, our officers will not wait to respond and eliminate the threat. This officer ran towards danger, alone, to make sure some of the very people who attacked him would be safe.
It’s sad no one from this crowd chose to help our officer but we don’t believe that’s a true representation of our community. We know you have our backs and we will continue to run towards danger to keep you safe.
I’d like to believe this isn’t who we are as well. We’ll find out once people start identifying the thugs in the video so that they can be arrested. Whoever @DuvalPromoPage is seems like a great place to start.
The message from the progressive left and their entire news-entertainment industrial complex is crystal clear. It’s open season on cops, consequences be damned. Mostly because the perpetrators know there won’t be consequences. I hope Jacksonville proves me wrong here. . . .
Teyana Taylor Becomes First Black Woman To Be Named Maxim’s ‘Sexiest Woman Alive’
Teyana Taylor has become the first black woman ever to be named Maxim magazine’s “Sexiest Woman Alive,” joining the ranks of superstars like Kate Upton and Hailey Baldwin.
“Congratulations to Teyana Taylor @teyanataylor, our 2021 Maxim Hot 100 Sexiest woman in the world Go to Maxim.com for Teyana full interview,” the magazine captioned its post on Instagram. The post was noted by Page Six in a piece published Wednesday.
The post included her cover shot rocking a ripped, cropped white tank top and camo pants and looking amazing. . . .
More than 100 New Yorker and other Condè Nast employees protest outside Anna Wintour’s townhouse
‘Bosses wear Prada, workers get nada’: 100 New Yorker magazine and other Condè Nast employees protest outside Anna Wintour’s $12.5M townhouse in Greenwich Village to demand fair pay
- The unionized weekly magazine workers staged the protest Tuesday after releasing a statement with a list of demands the previous day
- They were joined by workers from Ars Technica and Pitchfork, two other Condè Nast publications with union representation
- The group Anna Wintour’s townhouse on Sullivan Street chanting: ‘Bosses where Prada, workers get nada!’
- The demonstration came a day after the New Yorker Union released a list of demands and said it was ‘on the verge of a strike’
NYC condo sells for $157.5M — one block from homeless shelter
It’s a tale of two cities.
A mystery buyer spent $157.5 million on two condos at 220 Central Park South, the most expensive apartment building in the nation, according to property records (the sale was first reported by the WSJ).
Both units were resales.
It’s the biggest deal of the year so far. But the building’s back entrance is on W. 58th St. — a block away from the Park Savoy Hotel, which will become a homeless shelter for 150 men.
The buyer plans to combine both apartments, an insider told The Post.
The sellers turned quite a profit.
The 60th-floor unit sold for $82.5 million — the seller had paid $50.9 million for it; while the 61st-floor unit sold for $75 million — that seller had bought for $51.4 million.
This is the same building where hedge funder Ken Griffin paid $238 million for a quadruplex in the middle of the building — the most expensive residential sale in the US. Sting also owns at 220 Central Park South. . . .
Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How Bezos, Musk, Other Top Billionaires Pay Almost Zilch in Income Taxes
In 2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multibillionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes.
Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row.
ProPublica has obtained a vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the tax returns of thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people, covering more than 15 years. The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America’s titans, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg. It shows not just their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits.
Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can — perfectly legally — pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year.
Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, amassing little wealth and paying the federal government a percentage of their income that rises if they earn more. In recent years, the median American household earned about $70,000 annually and paid 14% in federal taxes. The highest income tax rate, 37%, kicked in this year, for couples, on earnings above $628,300.
The confidential tax records obtained by ProPublica show that the ultrarich effectively sidestep this system.
America’s billionaires avail themselves of tax-avoidance strategies beyond the reach of ordinary people. Their wealth derives from the skyrocketing value of their assets, like stock and property. Those gains are not defined by U.S. laws as taxable income unless and until the billionaires sell.
To capture the financial reality of the richest Americans, ProPublica undertook an analysis that has never been done before. We compared how much in taxes the 25 richest Americans paid each year to how much Forbes estimated their wealth grew in that same time period.
We’re going to call this their true tax rate.
The results are stark. According to Forbes, those 25 people saw their worth rise a collective $401 billion from 2014 to 2018. They paid a total of $13.6 billion in federal income taxes in those five years, the IRS data shows. That’s a staggering sum, but it amounts to a true tax rate of only 3.4%.
It’s a completely different picture for middle-class Americans, for example, wage earners in their early 40s who have amassed a typical amount of wealth for people their age. From 2014 to 2018, such households saw their net worth expand by about $65,000 after taxes on average, mostly due to the rise in value of their homes. But because the vast bulk of their earnings were salaries, their tax bills were almost as much, nearly $62,000, over that five-year period. . . .
North Carolina County Shows How You Fight Back Against Woke Corporate Bullies
The Board of Commissioners in Surry County, N.C., has voted to remove all Coca-Cola machines from government facilities.
The vote was in response to Coca-Cola CEO James Quincy’s statement about Georgia’s recently passed election integrity law.
“Voting is a foundational right in America, and we have long championed efforts to make it easier to vote,” Quincey said in a statement in April. “We want to be crystal clear and state unambiguously that we are disappointed in the outcome of the Georgia voting legislation. Throughout Georgia’s legislative session we provided feedback to members of both legislative chambers and political parties, opposing measures in the bills that would diminish or deter access to voting.”
Surry County Commissioner Ed Harris provided NBC News’ “TODAY” Digital with a copy of the letter he sent to Quincey, in which he denounced Coca-Cola’s “corporate political commentary favoring the Democratic party.”
“Our Board felt that was the best way to take a stand and express our disappointment in Coca-Cola’s actions, which are not representative of most views of our citizens,” Harris wrote. “Our Board hopes that other organizations across the country are taking similar stances against Coca-Cola and sincerely wishes that future marketing efforts and comments emanating from your company are more considerate of all your customers’ viewpoints.”
“Michael Jordan once said ‘Republicans buy sneakers too’ when asked why he didn’t make public comments about politics,” Harris continued. “Citizens of Surry County and across America are growing increasingly tired of large multinational corporations and their CEOs pushing an increasingly intolerant, bigoted, left-wing, divisive political agenda on its customers.” . . .
Megyn Kelly: When Biden Called America A ‘Racist Country’ He ‘Had Someone Very Near’ In Mind After Hunter’s N-Word Texts Surfaced
Megyn Kelly said when President Joe Biden was referring to America as a “racist country” he had someone close to him “in mind,” after Hunter Biden’s n-word text surfaced.
“Turns out when Joe Biden was telling us what a racist country America is, he had someone very near [and] dear in mind,” Kelly tweeted on Tuesday, along with an article from the Daily Mail about Hunter’s text messages.
Turns out when Joe Biden was telling us what a racist country America is, he had someone very near & dear in mind. https://t.co/15EjQRXXwh
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 8, 2021
Hunter allegedly referred to his corporate attorney George Mesires multiple times as “n***a” and cracked jokes about his penis, calling it “unconditional,” in text messages sent between 2018 and 2019.
Last week, the president gave a speech during his visit to Oklahoma on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre. . . .
Canada Grapples With Anti-Muslim Bias After Family Killed in Truck Attack
OTTAWA — With coronavirus restrictions still in place in much of Canada, many families have taken up going out together for evening strolls. On Sunday, however, a pleasant walk became the scene of a deadly attack by a motorist who used his truck to kill four members of a family in London, Ontario, and injure a boy who is now an orphan. They were targeted, the police said, because of their Muslim faith.
Along with grieving, the deaths have prompted anger and demands for government action against bigotry and violence toward Muslims.
“Even after this, there are still people saying that Islamophobia doesn’t exist,” said Mohamed Salih, a member of London’s City Council. “The challenge and a reality we must face is that far too often in our city, there is Islamophobia. It’s something we’ve known for far too long.”
On Tuesday night, the province of Ontario temporarily lifted pandemic rules banning large gatherings to allow thousands of people to gather for a memorial outside the London Muslim Mosque to remember the Afzaal-Salman family. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended. . . .
Hospital Suspends 178 Workers for Not Complying With COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
A hospital system in Texas has suspended workers who did not get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Houston Methodist system on April 1 informed employees that they would be required to get a vaccine on or before June 7 or submit documentation for an exemption.
Exemptions would only be based on a medical condition such as pregnancy deferment or sincerely held religious beliefs.
As of Tuesday, 24,947 workers have chosen to become fully vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, according to Marc Boom, the CEO of the system.
But, he told employees in an internal memo obtained by The Epoch Times, 178 workers either did not get fully vaccinated or did not get vaccinated at all.
“The small percentage of employees who did not comply with the policy are now suspended without pay for the next 14 days,” he wrote, adding that the workers “have decided not to put their patients first.”
According to the April 1 memo that was sent to employees in the hospital system, the workers who were suspended will be fired if they have not been fully vaccinated as of June 7. . . .
Editorial: When will California’s state of emergency stop being an emergency?
California’s Emergency Services Act doesn’t detail when an emergency declaration should be made or terminated. It leaves it up to the discretion of the governor to determine what constitutes an emergency and to decide when it’s over. The only imperative is that the latter happens “at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.”
But when will conditions warrant the end of the state of emergency called by Gov. Gavin Newsom 15 months ago to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic? And what will it take to reach that point? Newsom hasn’t said, other than it won’t be on June 15,when the state is expected to lift the stay-at-home order, the mask mandate and the remaining business pandemic restrictions.
“We’re still in a state of emergency. This disease has not been extinguished. It’s not vanished. It’s not taking the summer months off,” he explained Friday during the first drawing in a series of cash prizes to encourage vaccinations.
It’s was not a very illuminating response, and Newsom’s political opponents immediately accused him of trying to have it both ways. They have a point; even as he’s touting the economic recovery and enviable vaccination rates, he is holding on to the broad emergency powers that allow him to unilaterally suspend and alter laws, curtail people’s private movements and award no-bid contracts, an authority Newsom has used at times to direct state dollars to his campaign donors. . . .
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded June 9, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 30 Seconds
Episode 1,009 – Biden’s Impossible Four Perfect Games. Guest is: Steve Cortes.
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded June 9, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 6 Seconds
Episode 1,010 – The Trojan Horse Pandemic. Guests are: Dr. Michael Yeadon, Dr. Reiner Fuellmich.
Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded June 9, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 58 Seconds
Episode 1,011 – Dr. Fauci’s Pathological MSNBC Interview and Vernon Jones Visits the Arizona Audit. Dr. Navarro and Bannon blast MSNBC for a full 30 minutes with Fauci and not a single mention of “gain of function.” Guests are: Dr. Peter Navarro, Natalie Winters, Vernon Jones.
Man With Prior Sex Crime Conviction Sentenced To 29 Years For Enticing Boys To Send Sexually Explicit Images
An Ohio man was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for enticing male minors to send explicit photos and videos over social media, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Brendan Eardly, 50, reportedly messaged over 60 juveniles across the world through multiple social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and messaging app Kik from October 2015 through August 2018, court documents show, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Eardly offered to be a “gay mentor” to some of the minors and would talk to them about sex or provide sexual advice, according to the DOJ. He requested the minors send him nude and sexually explicit content and sent similar messages to them. . . .
White House: Biden considers Manchin a friend despite latest policy break
The White House on Tuesday downplayed any personal rift between President Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as some progressive Democrats ramped up their criticisms of the moderate senator after he voiced opposition to a sweeping voting rights bill and changes to the Senate filibuster.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) on Monday called Manchin “the new Mitch McConnell,” likening the Democrat to the Senate minority leader and accusing him of standing in the way of the For The People Act, which passed the House along party lines earlier this year.
“I think we’re going to leave the name-calling to others,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a Tuesday briefing. “The president considers Sen. Manchin a friend. He disagrees with him on voting rights and the bill that the senator has expressed he won’t support.”
“The president will continue to advocate for the importance of that moving forward and the reasons why that it’s important and vital for our democracy, but we’ll continue to seek ways we can work with Senator Manchin even while we have areas of disagreement,” she added.
Psaki noted Manchin is proud of his independent streak representing a red state as a Democrat. She shrugged off the suggestion that criticisms of the senator were hurtful to him. . . .
Netanyahu’s Likely Departure Is Not Easing the Fears of Palestinians
Attacks by settlers in the West Bank have been on the rise for years—and a new Israeli government is no guarantee of change.
The day after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, I was working in my garden, in Ramallah, in the West Bank, when I heard shooting near my home. Fear gripped me. My first thought was that the settlers from one of the three major settlements perched on the surrounding hills—Beit El, Dolev and Psagot—had attacked. Days earlier, my nephew had called and said that friends of his had been shot at by the settlers in a nearby valley, where I’m fond of hiking. He warned me not to go. Minutes later, I heard another round of shots—this time even closer to my house. I went inside, certain that armed settlers were marching through Ramallah’s streets, firing at civilians. Later, I learned that the shooting was from Palestinians who were celebrating Hamas’s claim of victory.
Two weeks later, there is a feeling of good riddance at the likely removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but no reduction in the fear here. There is no rejoicing that Netanyahu would be replaced by the far-right politician Naftali Bennett, who served as the director general of Yesha, the umbrella organization of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Bennett supports the annexation of much of the occupied territories, and he is committed to the rejection of a Palestinian state. His ascension is a disappointment for anyone who believed that this was a propitious time for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. It is a victory for the far-right settlers whom Palestinians fear. . . .
The Enduring Myths of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
Forty years later, archaeologists look back at what the first Indiana Jones movie got wrong about their profession.
“That belongs in a museum!” Indiana Jones shouts at the man in the Panama hat, instantly creating the most memorable archaeological catch phrase of all time, though perhaps the competition isn’t all that fierce.
Forty years after Raiders of the Lost Ark premiered to the public on June 12, 1981, the outsized shadow of Indy still looms large over the field he ostensibly represented. Over three movies in the 1980s, plus a prequel television series and a fourth film that came out in 2008, Harrison Ford’s portrayal of Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr., became indelibly tied to American archaeology. Despite it being set in the 1930s, an homage to the popcorn serials of the 1940s, and a cinematic blockbuster of the 1980s, Raiders of the Lost Ark is still influential to aspiring and veteran archaeologists alike. Even in the 21st century, several outdated myths about archaeological practice have endured thanks to the “Indiana Jones effect.” And contemporary archaeologists, many of whom harbor a love/hate relationship with the films, would like to set the record straight. . . .
‘TRUE DAT N***A’: Hunter Biden Frequently Used Urban Slang In Texts With White Lawyer, Saved Meme Of His Dad Calling Barack Obama A ‘N***a’
A new report from the Daily Mail revealed on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s erstwhile son Hunter had a habit of using African American Vernacular English, often referred to in urban communities as ebonics, while communicating via text with his lawyer, who is also white.
Hunter Biden repeatedly used the word “n***a” during the text exchanges, and also saved a meme where former President Barack obama grants Hunter’s dad Joe permission to call him a “n***a.”
“How much money do I owe you,” Hunter asked attorney George Mesires during texts exchanged in December 2018. “Becaause [sic] n***a you better not be charging me Hennessey rates.” Mesires replied, “That made me snarf my coffee,” to which Hunter explained, “I just made that phrase up by the way” and, “I should have had your lineage.”
Hunter went on to say “That’s what im saying ni…” and tell Mesires, “I’m sorry for sexting you accidentally that was meant for another friend named Georgia.” In response to the “sext” photo sent by Hunter, Mesires replied, “Why are you so tan?”
Other urban phraseology such as “OMG n***a” and “True dat n***a” also appears in the text exchanges, as well well as multiple messages by Hunter remarking on the size of his penis. “And I only love you because you’re black,” one message to Mesires declared.
Hunter also saved a meme of his father Joe begging former President Barack Obama for permission to call the latter “my n***a,” a request which Obama grants in the caption of the meme. “You my n***a, Barack,” the memes quotes Joe as saying.
No indications were given as to why Hunter had the meme stored on his laptop, which reportedly also contained a pornographic video of an orgy involving a woman and multiple black men. Photos and videos of Hunter smoking crack and engaging in sex acts with various women went viral when they were released last year.
EXPLAINED: ‘Breaking the News’ Reveals Tricks the Media Use to Contort Every Story to Fit Their Agenda
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow’s “Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption” details the tricks the media use to contort every story to fit their fixed agenda— also known as the rules to properly decipher the New York Times.
Alzheimer’s drug approved despite not one FDA adviser recommending it
Click here to watch the investigation on Alzheimer’s drug that aired prior to its approval The FDA has just approved a new treatment for early Alzheimer’s that’s being billed as the first potential “cure” that addresses the root cause rather than just treats symptoms. The drug, aducanumab, could provide hope to millions of patients and […]
Inside Durham’s Investigation: Deep State Strikes Back | Truth Over News
We continue by examining how John Durham’s investigation narrowed during the presidential election year and the potential impacts of a Biden presidency. Welcome to Truth over News with Jeff Carlson and Hans Mahncke. . . .
Epshteyn: 25% of Ballot Boxes in Maricopa Do Not Match
Boris Epshteyn gives an update on the ongoing audits within the US and their findings.
June 8, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 45 Minutes 38 Seconds
Man Slapped French President at Public Event; Encrypted App Led to 800+ Criminal Arrests. An encrypted messaging platform developed by the FBI led to a series of raids and over 800 arrests, an anonymous buyer in Miami used cryptocurrency to buy a $22 million penthouse, and shocking footage shows the French president getting slapped in the face during a meet-and-greet in southern France.
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded June 8, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 31 Seconds
Episode 1,006 – The One Party State … MTG on the National Socialist Democrats. Guests are: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mo Brooks, Naomi Wolf.
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded June 8, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 25 Seconds
Episode 1,007 – The Ten Year Plandemic… How Globalists Used Wuhan as a Springboard for World Control. Guests are: Dr. Naomi Wolf, Dr. Reiner Fuellmich, Drew Hernandez, Phillip Rizzo, Hirsh Singh.
Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded June 8, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 58 Seconds
Episode 1,008 – Fauci and Daszak’s Collusion With the CCP and Kamala Harris Laughs Off Border Crisis. Guests are: Natalie Winters, Boris Epshteyn.
Big Tech Watches Tide Turning on Taxes After Its Years of Plenty
A tax deal between the world’s richest countries brings global governments a step closer to clawing back some power from technology giants that have used century-old regimes to build up wealth eclipsing the economies of most nations.
Biden’s DOJ Vows to Stop Spying on Journalists Months After Placing Gag Order on New York Times
The New York Times has revealed shocking details about an unsuccessful attempt by the Trump administration, and then the Biden administration, to secretly obtain the email logs of four reporters at the newspaper. As part of the campaign, the Biden Justice Department placed a gag order on the Times in March to prevent many at the paper from even knowing about the request until a federal court lifted it. In recent weeks the Justice Department also disclosed the Trump administration had secretly obtained the call records of four journalists at the Times, as well as three journalists at The Washington Post and one at CNN. Jameel Jaffer, founding director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, says subpoenas for journalists’ records are “really troubling” because of their potential chilling effect on critical journalism. “It’s about the right of the public to have access to information about the government,” he says. . . .
AP wins 2 RFK Journalism Awards
An investigation exposing widespread abuse in the palm oil industry and searing photos of Ethiopians fleeing war earned The Associated Press two Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards on Thursday.
AP investigative reporters Margie Mason and Robin McDowell won the RFK Journalism Award for international print for a series of stories that uncovered the exploitation of an invisible workforce of millions of men, women and children from some of the poorest corners of Asia. . . .
EXCLUSIVE As China plans new rules, global automakers move to store car data locally
BMW, Daimler and Ford have set up facilities in China to store data generated by their cars locally, they told Reuters, as automakers come under growing pressure in the world’s biggest car market over how they handle information from vehicles.
Cars are being fitted with an ever-increasing array of sensors and cameras to assist drivers.
But the data they generate can also be used by manufacturers to help develop new technologies, such as autonomous driving systems, raising privacy and security concerns, particularly when the information might be sent abroad.
U.S. electric carmaker Tesla (TSLA.O) is under public scrutiny in China over its storage and handling of customer data in the country.
Last week, Reuters reported that staff at some Chinese government offices were told not to park their Tesla cars inside government compounds due to security concerns over vehicle cameras, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. . .
Black Conservative Gives Pro-America, Anti-Biden Speech That Will Have You Run Through a Wall
Meet Mark Robinson. He’s the lieutenant governor of North Carolina. In about three and a half minutes, he’s going to MAKE you wanna gnaw through a raw porterhouse steak before running through a brick wall screaming “CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN’T LOSE!” All while waving an American flag, but I assumed that was understood.
Mark Robinson: “We are Americans”
[On 9/11] we saw policemen and firemen run into those buildings, basically RUN INTO THEIR DEATHS to go help others, because they saw trouble and they knew that they were needed. That’s got to be us in this day right here. We’ve got to run to the trouble, folks. And what is the trouble? The trouble is the Biden administration that is seeking to turn this country into a socialist hellhole. The problem is Antifa, that wants to roam the streets and beat you into submission. The trouble is Black Lives Matter. It claims to care about the lives of black people, but it’s turned a blind eye while violence in black communities is taking lives at a genocidal rate. They’ve turned a blind eye. That’s where the trouble is, and that’s what we’ve got to run to.
And we’ve got all the right in the world on our side. And there ain’t no reason to be afraid. And there ain’t no reason to not take the challenge dead on. … It doesn’t matter what color you are, what nation your folks hail from, or how much money you got. We all share the same name. We are Americans.
Mark Robinson is the epitome of what our Founding Fathers envisioned our elected officials to be. Robinson was nothing more than a concerned citizen who grabbed attention speaking out against gun control at a city council meeting. That was his introduction to politics. Two years later, he’s the second-highest-ranking official in the state of (in Michael Jordan cadence) NORTH -CAR-O-LI-NA! He’s a regular dude (i.e., not a lawyer or college professor) who was called to serve.
Sure, speeches don’t matter much when they aren’t backed up with action. A recurring problem on the right. But it’s not like he’s a Washington politician who thinks “fighting” is holding a hearing and sneaking out the back. Robinson has only been in office for less than six months. The right also has a problem with leaders unable to motivate people outside of saying they are more to the right than their opponent. Motivating voters and the people he serves is clearly a problem Robinson does not have. . . .
Lightfoot’s Attorneys Promise To Clarify Policy That Denied Interviews To White Journalists
From The Daily Caller:
-
- Attorneys for Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday they would provide a sworn declaration to clarify a policy that denied interviews to white journalists.
- During the Monday hearing related to a suit brought by the Daily Caller News Foundation and Judicial Watch, a district judge ordered Lightfoot’s office to file within the week a declaration under oath about whether the mayor’s policy allowing interviews solely to journalists of color is still in effect or will be in effect in the future.
- The suit alleged that Thomas Catenacci, a reporter for the DCNF, was denied an interview with Lightfoot after repeated inquiries to her office.
- “There is no evidence that this policy is not in effect,” an attorney for Judicial Watch said, adding that Lightfoot’s office “hasn’t provided any non-racial reason as to why the interview has not been granted.”
- An attorney for Lightfoot’s office responded that “the plaintiff has no evidence this policy is in effect.” Lawyers for Judicial Watch replied that “there have been no statements or sworn testimony that the stated policy was rescinded.”
Attorneys for Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday they would provide a sworn declaration to clarify a policy that denied interviews to white journalists.
During the Monday hearing related to a suit brought by the Daily Caller News Foundation and Judicial Watch, U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee ordered Lightfoot’s office to file within the week a declaration under oath about whether the mayor’s policy allowing interviews solely to journalists of color is still in effect or will be in effect in the future. The suit alleged that Thomas Catenacci, a reporter for the DCNF, was denied an interview with Lightfoot after repeated inquiries to her office.
Judicial Watch sought an injunction last week asking the court to immediately end Lightfoot’s policy, but the mayor’s lawyers argued in the hearing Monday that it was unnecessary, saying the policy is not currently in effect. The plaintiffs disagreed, arguing that the mayor has not provided any evidence of that.
“There is no evidence that this policy is not in effect,” an attorney for Judicial Watch said, adding that Lightfoot’s office “hasn’t provided any non-racial reason as to why the interview has not been granted.”
An attorney for Lightfoot’s office responded that “the plaintiff has no evidence this policy is in effect.” Lawyers for Judicial Watch replied that “there have been no statements or sworn testimony that the stated policy was rescinded.”
Lee disclosed at the start of the hearing that he and Lightfoot worked at the same law firm in the mid-1990s, but that their previous professional relationship did not present a conflict on interest. Attorneys for Lightfoot did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We look forward to Mayor Lightfoot’s filing on Friday,” Michael Bekesha, senior attorney at Judicial Watch, said in a statement. “The Court is requiring the Mayor to file a statement under oath about whether her racially discriminatory policy still applies to Catenacci’s and the DCNF’s interview request. More than two weeks later, we still haven’t seen any evidence that it doesn’t.”
The suit was originally brought on May 27, just over a week after Lightfoot announced the policy on Twitter May 19. Catenacci attempted to secure an interview on May 20, 21 and 24, according to the lawsuit. After repeated non-responses, Catenacci said there was “no excuse” for Lightfoot’s policy.
“There is no excuse for racial discrimination,” Catenacci said. “Every day that goes by without the Mayor granting my interview request because of my race violates my rights and tramples on the First Amendment.”
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The post Lightfoot’s Attorneys Promise To Clarify Policy That Denied Interviews To White Journalists appeared first on Judicial Watch.
More Latinos Bid ‘Adios’ to Democrats
For decades some conservatives, yours truly among them, have argued that Latino Americans, with their ethic of faith and family and work, ought to be natural Republicans. On Saturday in a South Texas city on the Mexican border, Javier Villalobos gave America a glimpse of what this future might look like when he became the first Republican elected mayor of McAllen—the 85% Latino seat of Hidalgo County.
“Villalobos’ election should surprise absolutely no one who followed how counties in the Rio Grande Valley swung heavily toward Trump in the last election,” says Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and author of “The Plot to Change America: How Identity Politics Is Dividing the Land of the Free.”
As Mr. Gonzalez notes, the auguries were there for anyone who cared to look. In 2016 Hillary Clinton carried Hidalgo County by 41 points. But in 2020, Joe Biden won by only 17 points. Meanwhile Zapata County—what the Washington Post calls “the bluest of blue counties along the river”—flipped for Donald Trump in 2020, the first victory for a GOP presidential candidate there since Warren G. Harding a century ago. . .
Microsoft Appears to Censor 1989 Tank Man Image
Eighteen million virus tests were administered in three days and supermarket shelves stood empty, as a new virus spike in a southern Chinese city makes officials nervous. Lawmakers in the United States, the European Union, and nine other countries are urging their governments to boycott Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympics. China’s censorship extends to the United […]
Former Bush Press Secretary supports a Trump outsider party vs DC insider one
“The issue Republicans have to balance with that is not to say or do crazy things that make us lose votes in the suburbs,” Fleischer said.
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 1 | Recorded June 7, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 04 Seconds
Episode 1,003 – Run Toward Trouble … MAGA’s Roaring Comeback with DC Draino and in McAllen, Texas. Guests are: Rogan O’Handley a.k.a. DC Draino, Bianca Gracia, Jack Francis.
Bannon’s War Room | Morning Edition Hour 2 | Recorded June 7, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 20 Seconds
Episode 1,004 – War-Time Footing… How MAGA Candidates and the America First Agenda Will Save the USA. Guests are: John Fredericks, Bernie Kerik, Joe Kent, Hirsh Singh, Dr. Maria Ryan.
Bannon’s War Room | Evening Edition | Recorded June 7, 2021 | Video: 48 Minutes 59 Seconds
Episode 1,005 – Foot-Washing for the Establishment … The Wuhan Cover Up and Victory in McAllen. “Just like any rational human being knew that the virus came out of the Wuhan lab last spring, every rational human being knows this election was stolen by the Democrat machine,” he said. Guests are: Boris Epshteyn, Javier Villalobos, Sharri Markson, Darren Beattie.
Microsoft Blocks Images of Tiananmen Square Protests on Massacre Anniversary
Microsoft’s search engine Bing appeared to censor images of the protester who stood in front of a Chinese tank during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
A Bing Images search of “tank man” yielded no results and a prompt for the user to check their spelling as of Friday afternoon. However, an identical search on Google Images produced hundreds of results including many of the iconic moment.
The famous “tank man” photo was taken on June 5, 1989, one day after the 1989 massacre in which Chinese troops fired indiscriminately upon civilians demonstrating against the government, killing hundreds. The photo showed a Chinese protester, who has since become known as “tank man,” standing in front of a procession of Chinese tanks rolling through Tiananmen Square.
“I’d love to hear [Microsoft President Brad Smith’s] explanation on this,” Shane Huntley, the director of Google’s Threat Analysis Group, tweeted on Friday. “I know Microsoft censor for the [Chinese Communist Party] in China, but this search is from the US.”
Other users noted that the “tank man” image search yielded no results in the U.K. as well. “This is due to an accidental human error and we are actively working to resolve this,” a Microsoft spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
An images search of “Tiananmen Square” in Bing produced scenic photos of the plaza while the same search produced pictures of the 1989 protests in Google Images as of Friday afternoon. However, a search conducted by the DCNF of “Tiananmen Square massacre” on Bing Images yielded a few photos of the protest.
Bing is the third-largest search engine in China behind the Chinese-owned websites Baidu and Sogou, according to Statista. China has blocked a variety of American websites including Google from operating within its borders, but Bing isn’t among those sites, Business Insider reported in 2019.
Microsoft has reportedly censored content for years at the behest of the Chinese government. The company has complied with the government’s authoritarian rules, which ban content that mentions the Tiananmen Square massacre, Taiwan being its own sovereign nation and the Dalai Lama on both Bing and LinkedIn, according to Wired, The Guardian and Business Insider.
Bing was briefly blocked from the Chinese internet in 2019 for “illegal content” before Microsoft resolved the issue, CNN reported.
Friday marked the 32nd anniversary of the massacre.
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Thomas Catenacci is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
The post Microsoft Blocks Images of Tiananmen Square Protests on Massacre Anniversary appeared first on The Georgia Star News.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Should End Science as an Institution. We Need Full Public Hearings
