News of the World

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Secret Service investigating death threats against Pence

Source reveals while Pence was sheltering amid riot, Trump did not reach out to him

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating death threats against Vice President Mike Pence made by pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood, Fox News has learned.
Wood, who was banned from Twitter last week, is suspected of writing a now-deleted post on Parler: "Get the firing squads ready. Pence goes FIRST."
The Secret Service and other federal agencies also are investigating others seen on a video inside the U.S. Capitol yelling "Hang Pence."

It sounds fishy indeed. By the way, it's obvious Democrats love Pence for not doing what the US Constitution seemed to clearly allow him to do last Wednesday at the Capitol.

Black Lives Matter Activist Took Part in Storming of Capitol

A Black Lives Matter activist was part of the group that entered the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
John Earle Sullivan, who has advocated for an armed revolution on social media, was arrested in July 2020 for making a threat of violence and criminal mischief. He organized a protest with Black Lives Matter activists and members of the far-left Antifa network. According to the Deseret News, Sullivan damaged vehicles and urged people to block roadways. Video footage captured him threatening to beat a woman.
Photographs showed Sullivan inside the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6. Sullivan has since given interviews claiming he took part in the illegal breach of the building as part of an effort to understand supporters of President Donald Trump.
Sullivan said he was detained on Thursday night and questioned about what he saw during the storming of the Capitol. The Metropolitan Police Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Pompeo Lifts Restrictions on US Contact With Taiwan Officials

The United States will remove all “self-imposed restrictions” on contact with Taiwanese officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Jan. 9, laying the groundwork for closer relations with the democratic island.
The announcement, made during the final days of President Donald Trump’s term, marks the latest move to deepen ties with the self-governed island. The Chinese regime views Taiwan as part of its territory, to be brought under its control, by force if necessary, and opposes any U.S. official contact with the island.
The secretary lifted decades-old “complex internal restrictions” that have regulated diplomats, service members, and other officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts, according to a statement.

This sounds quite great indeed.
Sadly, I dunno how long these kind of measures will last under the Biden administration. 

Iran to execute 2nd wrestler, sparking outrage from US State Department
Execution of decorated wrestler Mehdi Ali Hosseini is imminent

A top U.S. State Department official came out swinging Sunday against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s plan to execute another wrestler, after Tehran’s rulers publicly hanged the champion wrestler Navid Afkari in September on widely criticized, trumped-up charges.
The execution of the decorated wrestler Mehdi Ali Hosseini is imminent. He is from Andimeshk in the province of Khuzestan, and was arrested in 2015 and charged with pre-meditated murder, supposedly committed during a group brawl. It is unclear whether Iran’s regime forced Hosseini to confess to a crime he did not commit.

Well, if you're not guilty, the Iranian regime will say you definitely are responsible for any charges they can come up with.

US Motions Expand Drug Claims Against Honduras President

U.S. federal prosecutors have filed motions saying that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández took bribes from drug traffickers and had the country’s armed forces protect a cocaine laboratory and shipments to the United States.
The documents quote Hernández as saying he wanted to “’shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos’ by flooding the United States with cocaine.”
The motions filed Friday with the U.S. Southern District of New York do not specifically name the [Honduran] president, referring to him as “CC-4,” or co-conspirator No. 4, but clearly identify him by naming his brother and his own post as president.

New Law Cracks Down on Shell Companies to Combat Corruption

For years as a federal prosecutor in New York, Daniel R. Alonso led teams that had to search through a maze of anonymously owned corporate entities to expose criminal activity.
Now, thanks to a watershed overhaul of U.S. money laundering laws, locating the proceeds from foreign bribery, drug trafficking and financing for terrorists could be as easy as a few keystrokes.
The new legislation quietly passed by Congress last month after a decade-long fight is the most sweeping banking reform of its kind since passage of the Patriot Act, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
For the first time, shell companies will be required to provide the names of their owners or face stiff penalties and jail sentences. The information will be stored in a confidential database accessible to federal law enforcement and shared with banks who are often unwitting accomplices to international corruption.

This sounds as a good addition to the law enforcement agencies' efforts to combat crime in the US indeed.

Nancy Bush Ellis, sister of former President George HW Bush, dies due to COVID-19

Nancy Bush Ellis, sister of President George H.W. Bush and aunt of President George W. Bush, died Sunday at her home in Concord, Mass., due to complications related to COVID-19. She was 94.
Ellis’ son told The New York Times that Ellis was hospitalized with a fever on Dec. 30 and tested positive for COVID-19.
Born to Prescott and Dorothy Walker Bush on Feb. 4, 1926, Ellis was the third of five children, fewer than two years younger than the brother who would become the nation’s 41st president.

Chinese Soldier Arrested on Indian Side of Disputed Border

The Indian army arrested a Chinese soldier on Dec. 8 who had crossed onto the Indian side of the disputed border at the southern banks of the Pangong Tso lake.
The Indian army is investigating the circumstances under which the soldier crossed the border and the situation is being dealt with according to the protocols laid between the two countries, reported The Print.
The transgression happened as a harsh winter has descended on the trans-Himalayan region while the tense military build up that happened after a bloody conflict in June continues. The military commanders on both sides are in communication about the detained Chinese soldier who is likely to be handed back after the investigation is completed.

Chinese Regime Introduces New Commerce Rules in Response to US Sanctions

China’s Ministry of Commerce issued new rules on Jan. 9 in a bid to push back on sanctions and restrictions imposed by foreign governments against Chinese companies and individuals.
An order on “unjustified” foreign legislation published on the Ministry’s website instructs Chinese entities to report within 30 days if they are affected by foreign laws that “improperly prohibit or restrict” Chinese citizens, companies, and organizations from conducting “normal economic, trade, and related activities with a third state or its citizens.”
The Ministry will then determine whether the legislation affects China’s “national sovereignty, security, and development interests.” If the foreign law is judged to be “unjustified,” China’s State Council can issue an injunction against “recognition, enforcement, and compliance” with the foreign laws.
In addition, Chinese individuals and entities that suffer “significant losses” for noncompliance with foreign laws are entitled to receive “necessary support” from Chinese authorities, according to the order.
The order also states that Beijing may “take necessary counter-measures” in response to such foreign laws.