News of the World

[kyonides]

US NEWS

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Maine Shooting Suspect Found Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

Robert Card, the shooting suspect in Wednesday’s attacks that left 18 dead in Lewiston, Maine, was found dead of a reported self-inflicted gunshot Friday night.

During a Friday night press conference, officials in Maine revealed the body of Robert Card was discovered in a recycling yard in Lisbon, Maine. His body was still in the same clothing that Card was pictured wearing in the photographs police released Wednesday night.

Gov. Janet Mills (D) spoke at the press conference, saying, “The Maine State Police located the body of Robert Card, he is dead.”

She added, “I’m breathing a sigh of relief knowing that Card is no longer a threat to anyone.”
Details on Card’s death are scant, but WCVB indicated the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office announced, “The suspect in Wednesday night’s shootings has been located and is deceased.”

A manhunt for Card has been underway since late Wednesday night. The manhunt involved various police departments from Maine, departments from other states, the FBI, and other federal agencies.

Breitbart News noted that Card used a .308 sniper rifle that was “legally” purchased.

Biden Pushes Lawsuits Against Gun Makers Following Maine Attacks

On Thursday, in response to the Maine shootings, President Joe Biden pushed for a repeal of protections that protect gun makers from frivolous lawsuits, universal background checks, and other gun controls.

WhiteHouse.gov published Biden’s statement, which opened with him saying, “Today, Jill and I are praying for the Americans who’ve lost their lives, for those still in critical care, and for the families, survivors, and community members enduring shock and grief.”

He then urged residents in Maine’s Lewiston area to heed all law enforcement’s warnings, including alerts to shelter-in-place.

Biden eventually transitioned to the summer 2022 passage of the gun control he passed with Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) help, noting, as always, that gun control is not enough.
...
For example, on March 1, 2022, Breitbart News noted Biden was claiming gun manufacturers are shielded from “liability” and cannot be sued.

In reality, gun manufacturers are not shielded from liability. Rather, they are protected from frivolous lawsuits over the criminal use of guns that are legally made and legally sold.

Suspect in Killing of Maryland Judge Found Dead

The man suspected of fatally shooting Maryland Judge Andrew Wilkinson over a child custody decision was found dead Thursday morning following a weeklong manhunt.

Pedro Argote, 49, had been sought after by law enforcement since the October 19 slaying of Washington county circuit court Judge Wilkinson, who had ruled in favor of Argote’s estranged wife in a child custody dispute just hours earlier. Police believe that Wilkinson’s decision to give the mother full custody of their four children and to ban Argote from any contact besides a $1,120 monthly child support payment motivated Argote to go to his home and shoot him dead, NBC News reported.

Wilkinson, 52, was found dead in his driveway. Argote was on the run until he was found at 11 a.m. Thursday, when a search in Williamsport led to the discovery of his body.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Argote was found deceased in a heavily wooded area about one mile away from where his vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz SUV, was found Saturday.

Yellen: Rising Cost of Debt Is Due to Strong Economy, Not Large Deficit

During an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the rise in Treasury yields that increases the cost of the U.S. government borrowing money isn’t largely connected to the deficit...

Yellen responded, “I don’t think much of it is connected to that. This is a global phenomenon in advanced countries. We are seeing yields go up in most advanced countries of the world. And, largely, I think it’s a reflection of the resilience that people are seeing in the U.S. economy that we’re not having a recession, that consumer spending and demand continue to be strong, the economy is continuing to show tremendous robustness. And that suggests that interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer. And so, part of the increase in yields, I think, is simply a reflection of the strength of the economy, the notion that interest rates will be higher for longer. Now, whether or not that’s really true if we look out five or ten years what are interest rates likely to do, honestly, for a very long time we have felt that interest rates over decades had been coming down — real interest rates — and that there were deep structural reasons for that, in part relating to demographics. And those underlying trends, they’re still there, they’re still in force. So, I think it’s perfectly possible that we will see longer-term yields come down, but nobody really knows for sure. But I see the higher yields as, certainly, importantly, a reflection of a stronger economy.”

Hayward: Gavin Newsom’s China Diplomacy Undermines Biden’s Negotiations with Communists

Fox News on Friday quoted some grumblings that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is undermining President Joe Biden’s China policy, and perhaps even running his own “shadow campaign” for the presidency, by meeting with dictator Xi Jinping and other Chinese Communist officials during his trip to Beijing.

“The track record is not good for him to be gallivanting around the world doing basically a shadow campaign for president, just waiting for the moment when they finally decide to throw Biden under the bus,” said Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA).

LaMalfa compared Newsom to the “backup quarterback” at a football game and suggested the governor would better serve his constituents by attending to the many problems in his state.

LaMalfa was especially critical of Newsom for spending time talking about “climate change” with the mandarins of China — the world’s worst polluter — instead of addressing issues of immediate concern to Californians, such as soaring taxes, business flight, and deteriorating infrastructure.

White House: China Can Have Talks in the Middle East that We Can’t Do as Well

Kirby answered, “Good, constructive conversation today between our national security adviser and Director Wang, and lots on the agenda. Absolutely, the situation in the Middle East was on the agenda. I don’t want to get into revealing the diplomacy here. But we know that China also can have a dialogue with certain actors in the region that we may not be able to or may not be able to do as effectively as, perhaps, they can. They’re going to be president at the U.N. Security Council next month, and, certainly, we’ll look to see what kind of actions and what kind of leadership they try to show in trying to help the international community continue to support Israel. We’ll see where it goes. And, as for the meeting with President Xi, nothing to announce today, but, as you know, President Biden has made it clear that he wants to meet with President Xi. He fully expects to meet with President Xi in the future. We’re working towards that goal. We’re working towards that goal as aggressively as we can.”

EUROPEAN NEWS

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French Government Ignored Notre Dame Fire Warnings And Has Learned Nothing Since, Decries Historian

Didier Rykner, French historian and journalist who is editor of La Tribune de l’art and whose report on the near total loss of the cathedral of Notre Dame in 2019 was published this month has spoken out on the continuing danger to such world-class heritage buildings. Leveling his criticism at the French government this week, he warns governments are more dedicated to imposing new ecological standards on ancient structures than protecting them from being consumed by fire during renovation work.

Speaking to Le Journal du Dimanche about his concerns and what he discovered in the course of writing his report, Rykner said the devastating Notre Dame fire could have been avoided, and the government had already been warned about insufficient fire protection at the site shortly before the blaze. These warnings, he claims, were ignored.

He told Le Journal that France’s former culture minister Audrey Azoulay — who is now the Director-General of U.N. heritage protection body UNESCO — “closed down” a study warning how vulnerable Notre Dame was to fire in 2016. No further action was taken at the time despite the fire warning, he said.

Rykner said of the lack of preparedness that even now nobody knows how or where the fire started because observation of the great cathedral during a time of heightened danger — while reconstruction work was underway — was so lacking. He told the paper: “we do not know where the fire started, because there are not enough personnel to monitor the cathedral. I actually think that we have not given ourselves the means to avoid it”.

First their target was the Brandenburger Tor and now it is the Glass Pyramid of the Louvre!

Climate activist spray Louvre pyramid with orange paint

Climate activists have scaled the Louvre in Paris and thrown orange paint over the iconic museum.

The video shows the activists climbing the building before spraying it with orange paint.

Around a dozen protestors could be seen throwing paint balloons at the pyramid as security attempted to stop them.

The group has called on the French Government to commit 12 billion euros toward enhancing thermal insulations to help reduce carbon emissions.

MIDDLE EASTERN NEWS

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Israeli Army Says Ground Forces ‘Expanding’ Activities in Gaza After Strikes Disrupt Internet Service

Internet and phone services collapsed in the Gaza Strip under intensified bombardment Friday night, largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from the outside world and each other, as Israel’s military said it was “expanding” its ground operations in the besieged territory.

The military’s announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago

Frequent explosions from airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City after nightfall Friday, when the black-out in internet, cellular and landline services hit. The Red Crescent said it lost all contact with its operations room and medical teams. It said it feared people would no longer be able to contact ambulance services. Other aid groups said they were unable to reach staff on the ground.

The Palestine Telecommunications Company, Paltel, announced “a complete disruption of all communication and internet services” due to bombardment.

Israeli military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said ground forces were “expanding their activity” in Gaza and that it “is acting with great force … to achieve the objectives of the war.”

You might think it's barbaric in modern times, but the truth is that they had no choice. Thanks to news media like the New York Times publishing the location of Israeli forces, they can't let them gather any intel from liberal media and all kind of  spies around the world.

Iran-Controlled Militias Expand Attacks on U.S. Troops to Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran-controlled Shiite militias in Iraq on Thursday claimed responsibility for rocket and drone attacks on two bases housing U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq.

The militias claimed their strikes on bases in Rojava and Erbil hit their intended targets “directly.” The Pentagon confirmed the attack on Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, but said it caused “no casualties” and only “some minor damage to infrastructure.”

The claims of responsibility were made on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram by the umbrella group for Iran’s Shiite militia proxies, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” (IRI).

IRI claimed it hit the Abu Hajar airport, located near the city of Rmelan in Syria’s Rojava province, with a “barrage of rockets.”

Rmelan is located near Syria’s border with Iraq. The Pentagon did not immediately confirm the attack, but a Lebanese news network affiliated with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization reported rockets hitting the airport on Wednesday night.

ASIAN NEWS

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Ex-China Premier Li Keqiang, Sidelined by Rival Xi, Dies ‘Suddenly’ at 68

Li Keqiang, the former premier of China, is reported to have died “suddenly” on Thursday less than a year after stepping down from his post as the country’s second-highest-ranking leader. He was 68.

A heart attack has been blamed for the death of the English-speaking economist who had once been considered a contender for the country’s top job, but was passed over in favour of Xi Jinping and then sidelined.

He was the only incumbent top official who didn’t belong to Xi’s loyalists group, the BBC reports.

State media said he died at 10 minutes past midnight on Friday despite “all-out” efforts to revive him.

His death is reportedly being widely mourned on Chinese social media, with many expressing shock and grief – though comments on many posts appear to have been restricted.