Weekly News Bites #003 | Classified documents held secure in the garage and Prince Harry talks about his "todger"
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Weekly News Bites #003 | Classified documents held secure in the garage and Prince Harry talks about his "todger"
Nibbles of news while you nibble on your toast
Hey Friends!
I sit here, squeezed between two puppies. One is on drugs after spaying, and the other is very concerned about her drugged-up sister.
It’s been a little hectic. First, there was the dramatic and contentious Speaker of the House vote, and now we have a president stashing classified documents in his garage.
Believe it or not, I am still working on a post for the Twitter File. Holy cow! That is some dense information. I have changed my mind about how to put that post together four times, which explains the delay. I think I am finally getting somewhere.
I will release that as an article and podcast for those who listen better.
A reminder, if you want daily news and culture breakdowns, follow me on Instagram. I publish breaking news and live updates in my stories. And don’t forget to turn on notifications because Instagram loves to hide me.
Ok, that is enough. Time for some news bites!
A second batch of classified documents was found at a new location previously used by Biden by White House aides. Peter Doucy of Fox News called out Biden about the second batch of classified documents in Biden’s former home. Biden retorted, saying that the documents were in a locked garage.
Earlier on Wednesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sparred with reporters over the discovery of the first batch of documents, avoiding answering questions on why the administration didn’t inform the public sooner when attorneys for Biden made the discovery on Nov. 2, just six days ahead of crucial midterm elections.
Thursday afternoon AG Garland appoints special counsel to review the documents. During AG Garland’s press conference, it was revealed that an additional document with classified markings was discovered at the president's personal residence in Wilmington, Del.
It was not immediately known how the additional document was discovered and why it was not part of the earlier batch found in Biden's garage. Get a full timeline here.
According to government documents stored on Hunter Biden’s personal computer, Hunter lived at the Wilmington, Del., home in 2018 and 2019where the documents were found. It is unclear precisely when the documents were put in the garage or when Hunter Biden began living at the residence. Still, in May 2018, Hunter Biden was issued a Delaware driver's license listing his father’s home as his primary residence.
House GOP approves resolution to create a panel to investigate the “weaponization of the federal govt.” The committee is to be chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., agreed to create the committee to end last week’s standoff. It will include 15 members and an as-yet-to-be-decided number of Democrats that could include Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
The committee passed along party lines and will investigate whether government officials, including the Jan. 6 Committee, weaponized their power against Trump and other conservatives.
A response to the committee from Rep. Hakeem Jefferies, D-New York, called the committee a “Select Committee on Insurrection Protection.”
What will the committee investigate?
How the executive branch may have used its authority to silence and even punish U.S. citizens
Possible collusion with social media to suppress free speech.
What led to the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board
How much was COVID-related and vaccine information allegedly suppressed?
The committee would also get access to highly-classified information typically only shared with the House Intelligence Committee and federal law enforcement.
Texas Republican files articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas. Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) filed the paperwork for the resolution on Jan. 3, the first day of the 118th Congress. Fallon introduced the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in the House on Monday for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” known as House Resolution 8. The resolution claims Mayorkas “engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties,” claiming Mayorkas neglected the border during the U.S.’s worst border crisis on record.
Fallon’s articles of impeachment against Mayorkas would come in three sections:
Failure to faithfully execute the “Secure the Fence Act of 2006” requires the secretary of Homeland Security to “maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States.”
Being, in “violation of his constitutional oath, willfully provided perjurious, false, and misleading testimony to Congress” for testifying the border was secure during April 26 and November 15 congressional hearings.
For “publicly and falsely slandered” border agents accused of whipping Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. Those accusations were later cleared.
In August 2021, previous to Mayorkas's congressional testimony, Fox News obtained audio of Mayorkas telling agents during a private meeting in Brownsville, Texas, that in the current situation, “cannot continue” and that the system wasn’t designed to handle such high numbers of illegal immigrants.
“A couple of days ago I was down in Mexico, and I said, ‘Look, you know, if, if our borders are the first line of defense, we’re going to lose and this is unsustainable,'” Mayorkas said during the meeting.
“We can’t continue like this, our people in the field can’t continue and our system isn’t built for it.”
House GOP on Oversight Committee launch probes into Hunter Biden and Twitter execs. Republicans are planning for a hearing with former Twitter executives in early February. Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is following up with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and demanding details about questionable business dealings involving Hunter Biden, his associates, and other Biden family members that have been flagged and reported by U.S. banks.
They will also call Twitter execs Yoel Roth, Vijaya Gadde, and James Baker to testify over the suppression of conservatives leading up to the 2020 election.
FAA outage is attributed to decades-old technology that hadn’t been upgraded. Canada’s aviation system crashed on the same day, causing some to speculate the govt is covering up a cyberattack targeting both systems.
The White House announced Wednesday that President Biden had been briefed on the massive FAA outage, though asserting that there’s no evidence any cyberattack caused it.
Multiple pilots who spoke to Fox News anonymously said the FAA ground stop of all U.S. flights is an “overreaction.” There are plenty of backup systems in place, such as the radio to send non-emergency advisories, similar to what is found in the NOTAMS (Notice to Air Missions, formerly known as Notice to Airmen).
President Joe Biden visited the US-Mexico border on Sunday for the first time as president, but he did not appear to see or meet with migrants, including during a trip to a migrant respite center. FY 2022 saw a historic record of 2.3 million migrant encounters. Over 600,000 migrants have poured over the border in FY 2023 as of Dec. 29, totaling an average of 6,858 encounters per day.
El Paso councilmember calls clean-up of migrant camps ahead of Biden border visit 'very unfortunate.' Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who were released onto the streets of El Paso in recent months pitched makeshift homeless camps on city sidewalks. But all of that eyesore is being swept away ahead of the president’s visit.
During his visit to El Paso, Texas Gov. Abbott handed Biden a letter. The letter says, “Your visit to our southern border with Mexico today is $20 billion too little and two years too late.” Abbott also blasts city officials for temporarily “cleaning up” border towns to hide the effects of the crisis ahead of Biden’s visit.
Following his trip to the border, Biden announced on Thursday that the U.S. will allow in 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela — while also ordering the rapid deportation of those who illegally enter the US from those countries.
“My message is this: If you’re trying to leave Cuba, Nicaragua or Haiti . . . or have agreed to begin a journey to America, do not — do not just show up at the border,” Biden said at the White House.
“Stay where you are and apply legally from there. Starting today, if you don’t apply through the legal process you will not be eligible for this new parole program.”
California’s five “progressive” laws go into effect.
SB 107: ‘Sanctuary State’ for ‘Transgender Kids’ – protects the use of drugs or surgery to provide so-called “gender-affirming care” to children from other states where such treatments are restricted or criminalized. It prohibits doctors from releasing information to other states and prohibits California courts from interfering in child custody over such treatments.
AB 2098: ‘COVID Misinformation’ – requires California’s medical licensing boards to take disciplinary action against doctors involved with the “dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or ‘COVID-19’.” The law does not consider that authorities like Dr. Anthony Fauci changed their recommendations over time.
AB 2147: Decriminalizing Jaywalking Because of Racism – This law, called the “Freedom to Walk Act,” presumes that jaywalking is a racist crime because it is supposedly enforced unevenly — by the nation’s most left-wing state — in “communities of color” where people supposedly cannot afford to pay the fines. The law prevents police from stopping people crossing the street illegally unless they are in danger.
SB 1375: Allowing Nurses to Perform Abortions Without Doctors – expand access to abortion by allowing qualified nurses to perform certain abortion procedures in the first trimester of pregnancy without the supervision of a doctor. This new law will take effect alongside a new provision in the California constitution, passed by a referendum in 2022, guaranteeing the right to abortion and contraception.
SB 357: Decriminalizing Loitering for Prostitution – decriminalizes loitering in public to commit prostitution (which remains a crime). It also allows those convicted of such loitering to petition courts for the dismissal and sealing of their cases. The law aims to remove the social stigma of sex work; it also comes amid a statewide crime wave.
“Transage” activists claim age is a social construct, paving the way to justify pedophilic proclivities. The activists also say “transage” describes adults who feel and act like children. Listed labels include “agere, abdl, ageplay, little, etc."
New CA Law Could Further Complicate Trans Child Custody Battle. As more states enact laws related to transgender treatment for children, Texas father Jeff Younger's ex-wife moved to California only days before a sanctuary law went into effect. He fears the new California law claiming to provide "sanctuary" to "trans kids" will allow his ex-wife to transition the young child medically against his wishes.
Amazon lays off 18,000 workers, breaking the record of the recent tech industry layoffs. The layoff decisions, which Amazon will communicate starting Jan. 18, will largely impact the company's e-commerce and human resources organizations. The layoffs significantly exceeded the initially predicted 10,000.
Inflation slowed for a sixth month straight as of December. December’s inflation rate reached 6.5%, down from 7.1% in November and July’s 9.1% peak. But still remained above the Federal Reserve’s target as the central bank weighs pressing with interest rate hikes.
Several staple grocery items posted eye-popping increases in December, even as inflation cooled. Eggs jumped by 59.9%, dairy products increased by 15.3%, and poultry rose by 12.2%.
Lowering inflation continues to be a big campaign promise by both Dems and GOP.
Biden just extended the COVID vaccine mandate for certain travelers. The Biden administration has extended a U.S. government requirement that all non-citizen travelers to the country must be vaccinated for COVID-19 until April 10, 2023.
China has removed almost all of its Covid-19 restrictions after three years after the initial outbreak. Tens of thousands of travelers pour into China as Covid-era border restrictions are lifted. China hopes tourism will help its flailing economy stifled by the lockdowns.
However, those crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China are still required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 48 hours — a measure China has protested when imposed by other countries.
WHO was exposed for creating a manual on handling “negative news” about vaccine injuries and deaths. Their "Vaccine Crisis Communication Manual" offers a step-by-step guide on how to respond to "events which may erode the public's trust in vaccines" and "the authorities that deliver them."
The Pentagon officially drops the military Covid vaccine mandate. US forces are no longer required to receive the coronavirus vaccine after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin formally rescinded his August 2021 mandate late Tuesday.
Thousands of military service members were permanently suspended for refusing to take the Covid vaccine. Those discharged for refusing the vaccine still will not be reinstated.
Idaho killings suspect Bryan Kohberger appears in court, waives right to speedy probable cause hearing. The 28-year-old criminology PhD student made a brief appearance in Latah County Courthouse in Moscow on Thursday morning for a status hearing in his murder case.
Dressed in an orange t-shirt with what is speculated to be shaving cuts on his face, Mr. Kohberger spoke only to answer “yes” when asked if he understood his rights to a speedy preliminary hearing within the next 14 days and if he agreed to waive those rights.
8 found fatally shot in Utah home, including 5 children. Eight family members, five children, were found dead from gunshot wounds in an Enoch, Utah home last Wednesday, according to authorities who did not provide more details or a potential motive for the killings.
Enoch police are still investigating what led to the deaths. Authorities said Tausha Haight recently filed a divorce petition against her husband, Michael, a 42-year-old insurance agent who they believe killed her, their five children, and Tausha's mother, who was staying at the family's home.
The Pentagon plans to bring Ukrainian troops to Oklahoma to train them on the Patriot missile defense systems starting next week, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday. Supporters are in favor of equipping Ukraine to fight against Russia. Critics fear training Ukrainian troops on U.S. soil will incite a Russian military response against the U.S.
Thousands of Brazilians storm the Presidential Palace and Congressional buildings, dressed in national green and yellow. The protesters call for military intervention to remove leftist President Silva, who took office last week, and the reinstatement of the allegedly illegally removed conservative President Bolsonaro.
Why? Police have been accused of working with backers of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. They stormed the buildings of all three branches of government on Sunday.
Where things stand: Some 1,500 people have been detained for questioning, and investigators identified multiple business executives suspected of financing the attack.
Prince Harry’s Controversial New Book Drops. Prince harry’s ‘Spare’ breaks publisher’s sales record, selling 1.4 million copies in one day. Harry’s controversial new memoir, Spare, hit bookstores everywhere Tuesday. The release comes as the Duke of Sussex has already made headlines with his shocking claims about the Royal Family in high-profile interviews this month.
An independent bookstore in England has gone viral after the shop’s window display showed copies of Prince Harry’s new tell-all memoir next to a novel called “How To Kill Your Family.”
Lisa Marie Presley was rushed to the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest. The only child of Elvis Presley — died Thursday after being hospitalized earlier that day, her mother said in a statement. The singer was 54. The death of Lisa Marie was a shock since she had just attended the Golden Globes on Tuesday night.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Saturday thanked his fans for all their support in his first message just days after suffering a cardiac arrest during a game and asked that they keep praying for his recovery. Hamlin says, “The Love has been overwhelming,” and “I’m thankful for every single person that prayed for me and reached out.
Later!
