News of the World

[kyonides]

US Moves Closer to Holding CCP Accountable
With House Passage of Anti-Forced Organ Harvesting Bill

The Chinese Communist Party’s forced organ harvesting has appalled Washington and united lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

As a bill seeking to end the atrocity continues to advance—having passed the House by a vote of 413-2—members of Congress cheered the development and reaffirmed their determination to hold the regime accountable.

“Forced organ harvesting is cruel and immoral, often targeting ethnic and religious minorities and some of the most vulnerable groups in the world,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who co-leads the Senate version of the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act.

As a co-chair of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, he expressed pride in seeing the bill pass the House and getting “closer to empowering the Biden administration to take action against those who practice this despicable crime.”
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Newly passed through the House, the bill is the first of its kind in the United States to combat the bloody act through legislative tools, a feat lauded by human rights groups.

Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Case DA Steps Away, Appoints New Special Prosecutors

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced on Wednesday she will no longer handle the prosecution of Alec Baldwin for the fatal October 2021 shooting on the “Rust” movie set.

The decision comes two weeks after New Mexico state Rep. Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor in the “Rust” case, resigned on the premise that she didn’t want questions over her dual roles as a lawmaker and prosecutor to “cloud the real issue at hand.”

In their place, attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis will take over as special prosecutors on the case against “Rust” actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who are accused of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
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“Carmack-Altwies will continue her record of prosecuting drunken drivers, collaborating with local law enforcement, increasing diversion efforts and securing convictions against the most dangerous and prolific offenders.”

The appointment of Morrissey and Lewis comes a day after Carmack-Altwies was denied her request to select a new special prosecutor alongside an assistant district attorney from her office to prosecute the “Rust” case. Judge Mary Marlowe Summer ruled that the DA’s office had to choose to either prosecute the case itself or recuse itself entirely and select a special prosecutor as a replacement.

The appointment of Morrissey and Lewis also comes a day after Carmack-Altwies was denied her request to bring in an outside lawyer to fill the position left vacant by Reeb.

House Republicans Say
Homeland Security Chief’s $60 Billion Budget
Concedes Border Cannot Be Secured

According to DHS, there have been 4.7 million “encounters” with illegal immigrants reported at the nation’s southern border since the Biden administration assumed office in January 2021.
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An estimated 1.3 million “got-aways” have eluded border agents and escaped into the country—a figure many say is underestimated by up to 20 percent.

As a result critics, which include the entire Republican Congressional contingent as well as some Democrats, say there were more than 1,100 attacks on U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents while the flow of fentanyl remains unabated across the southern border, contributing to more than 75,000 poisoning deaths attributed to the drug in 2022.

“Mr. Secretary, you are failing at doing your job. These numbers speak for themselves,” Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Minn.) said.

“The policies of this administration have directly contributed to this failure. In my mind, it is very clear this has been a complete failure in you doing your job and we need new leadership.

“What will it take for you to resign and step down from this … because I see this as a complete failure. What will it take?” Hinson asked.

Mayorkas didn’t directly respond to Hinson’s query during his two-and-a-half-hour March 29 hearing before the House Appropriation Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee.

The writer said they wanted Mayorkas' head on a platter so to say. Well,  count me in, too.

Democrats Reintroduce Gun Control Bill in Response to Nashville Shooting

Four Democrat lawmakers have reintroduced the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act, which would provide $50 million annually for the next five years to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to further research and prevention efforts to address the gun violence epidemic in the United States.

Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Representatives Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), and Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.) announced the reintroduction of the bill on March 29, just days after the Nashville school shooting.
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“My legislation would bolster gun violence prevention research with the help of our nation’s top medical, scientific, and public health researchers so that we can chart a path out of this public health crisis and save lives.”

The bill builds on existing efforts to secure $100 million for federal gun violence prevention research between fiscal years 2020 and 2023, which included funding for more than 20 individual research projects studying gun violence prevention.

The legislation aims to expand research on the unique harms posed to young people, mitigate gun violence in high-risk communities, and prevent firearm suicides among military service members and veterans, among other efforts.

Open Editorial

Why ain't I surprised by this?  
Sadly, the Babylon Bee's sketch where you could see a DA and a judge condemning a rifle for harming people looks quite realistic nowadays.

Even if you ban guns, there are  knives criminals can still use. And guess what? That's exactly what's happening in the UK every so often. Some radical Muslim shows up suddenly, thinking everybody is an infidel, and goes on a rampage and tries to stabs as many people as he can. This has also happened in France and Spain. So nope, the ban won't solve your issues. The main reason is that movements like the woke culture are violent and rebellious in nature, confusing, and can make people get totally crazy out of the blue. The governments don't care about such stuff, they simply believe that they can talk it out at one of their community buildings they promote and that's it.

What those people badly need is a really large dose of reality to wake up, and that includes facing serious consequences like getting life sentences as well. Oh and go arrest all those illegal immigrants at once, too!

Trump Praises Manhattan Grand Jury,
Says He’s ‘Gained Such Respect'

Former President Donald Trump praised the grand jury impaneled in the Manhattan district attorney’s inquiry targeting him amid reports that he may be indicted soon.

“I have gained such respect for this grand jury, & perhaps even the grand jury system as a whole,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“The evidence is so overwhelming in my favor, & so ridiculously bad for the highly partisan & hateful district attorney, that the grand jury is saying, hold on, we are not a rubber stamp, which most grand juries are branded as being, we are not going to vote against a preponderance of evidence or against large numbers of legal scholars all saying there is no case here. Drop this sick witch hunt, now,” he continued to say.

The former president did not elaborate. It’s not clear if Trump was reacting to leaked information that was published by media outlets or if he had insider information.

Anonymously sourced reports that emerged Wednesday claimed the grand jury would take a break for a month. A report from Politico that cited “a person familiar with the proceedings” said that evidence in the case won’t be heard by the grand jury due to a “scheduling hiatus.”

Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, told The Epoch Times via email Wednesday that the DA’s office is “bringing repeat witnesses in and it appears the grand jury is not having it. It is not normal to take a three week break when you are up against a statute of limitations.”
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A Trump-associated lawyer, Robert Costello, told Newsmax on Tuesday that he believes former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified before the grand jury. Reports claimed that Pecker met with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen in August 2015 to suppress stories about alleged affairs.

Taiwanese president arrives in US amid Chinese threats

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York on Wednesday for a stopover amid threats from China that there would be retaliation if she met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Tsai is en route to Central America, where she will meet with leaders of Guatemala and Belize, two of the few countries that recognize Taiwan diplomatically.

She will stay in New York until Saturday and will also visit Los Angeles on her return from Central America. Tsai is expected to meet McCarthy in California, although this is not officially confirmed.

Meanwhile, one of Tsai's most prominent domestic opponents, former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, embarked on a trip to China on Wednesday, the first such visit by a former Taiwanese leader.

Beijing has warned against any meeting between Tsai and McCarthy and vowed to take "resolute measures to fight back" if it goes ahead.

Xu Xueyuan, the charge d'affaires at the Chinese embassy in Washington, said she had spoken directly to US officials numerous times and warned them that Tsai's trip would violate China's core interests.

Nationwide German transport strike causes major disruptions

Almost all planes, trains and buses in Germany were at a standstill on Monday after a nationwide 24-hour strike began at midnight.
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Two major unions are deadlocked in negotiations with public sector employers in several transport sectors — including rail, local public transport, and airport ground staff — and organized the strike to coincide with the start of a third round of talks.

Frank Werneke, head of the Verdi union that represents around 2.5 million public sector employees, spoke of the biggest strike in decades.

The German rail network was similarly paralyzed. The EVG union said more than 30,000 railway workers have joined the strike.

Cargo transport on both the rail network and at the country's ports has also been hit as dock workers join those on strike.

Last week, national rail operator Deutsche Bahn took the unusual step of calling off all long-distance rail services in the country scheduled for Monday.

Often Deutsche Bahn tries to prioritize these services, several of which also cross international borders. Comparable past strikes in Germany had had a more pronounced impact on local services.

Germany's public debt reaches new record high

Total public debt is up in Germany, reaching a new record of over €28,000 per person. Much of the debt on the national level is connected special COVID and energy funds from the last years.

Germany's total public debt reached €2.37 trillion (roughly $2.6 trillion) at the end of 2022 — a new record high — Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Wednesday.

The level of debt corresponded to a 2% — or €46.1 billion — rise from the end of 2021, when the coronavirus pandemic was still in full swing.

According to Destatis, the national public debt has reached the equivellent of €28,155 per person in Germany.

Federal debt was up 4.6%, or €71.9 billion, to a total of €1.62 trillion.

"This is above all due to the continued high funding needs in light of the pandemic over the past years and the current energy crisis," the statistical agency said.

The rate of increase was also reduced in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020, amid the most pronounced COVID-related disruptions.
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Much of the increase in borrowing in recent years was to fill up a special coronavirus fund which was then extended to act as an energy fund as the energy crisis hit following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The coronavirus special fund had amounted to debts of €52.4 billion by the end of 2022, at the same time debts in the energy fund exceeded €30 million for the first time.