News of the World

[kyonides]

US NEWS

---

California Senate hopeful Rep. Adam Schiff claimed primary residences in Maryland and California

For more than a decade, California Senate hopeful Rep. Adam Schiff has claimed his primary residence is a 3,420 square foot home he owns in Maryland, according to a review of mortgage records.

At the same time, Schiff has for years taken a homeowner’s tax exemption on a much smaller 650 square foot condo he owns in Burbank, California, also claiming that home as his primary residence for a $7,000 reduction off the 1% property tax, amounting to a roughly $70 in annual savings. He did not take an exemption on his home in Maryland.

While Schiff has signed documents asserting both the Maryland property and the significantly smaller Burbank condo as his primary residences, tax records indicate that he paid his California property taxes in 2017 with a check featuring his Maryland address – the only year he paid with a personal check. And a review of past comments, pictures shared on his public social media, and records indicate Schiff makes his full-time home in Maryland.

Schiff is in a competitive primary in California for the Senate seat against Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, and his dual residency claims could present a political problem for the congressman. Schiff announced his run in January 2023.

Deed records show Schiff, who was elected to Congress in 2000, designated the Maryland home as his primary residence in 2003. In 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 Schiff refinanced his mortgage and again indicated it was his primary residence.

Capitol, we got a problem! According to the US Constitution, that's not even possible.

"Articles on why Schiff and Laphonza are cheating"

Article I  Legislative Branch
Section 2 House of Representatives
Clause 2 Qualifications

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

And guess what? Back in October 19th, Butler informed the press that she wouldn't be running to keep representing California...

Newly appointed California Sen. Laphonza Butler says she won’t run to keep the seat in 2024

Laphonza Butler, a Democrat who was appointed this month to fill the seat of Dianne Feinstein of California, said Thursday that she won’t seek a full Senate term next year.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Butler ... after Feinstein's death last month at age 90. She was sworn in Oct. 3.

"Knowing you can win a campaign doesn’t always mean you should run a campaign," Butler said in a statement.
...
The New York Times first reported her decision. Butler, who is the third Black woman to serve in the Senate, said she'll finish the rest of Feinstein's term, which ends in January 2025, with "every ounce of energy and effort that I have."

Newsom had said before Feinstein's death that he planned to make an “interim” appointment if he needed to fill her seat, arguing he didn’t want to tip the scales toward any of the current Senate candidates in next year's election, who include Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.

 Is that all we need to know about this race?
 Well, it seems there's more than meets the eye... Especially ever since October 2nd...

California governor names Maryland resident Laphonza Butler to Feinstein Senate seat

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has selected Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, to fill the U.S. Senate seat made vacant by the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
...
Newsom spokesman Anthony York said the governor did not ask Butler to commit to staying out of the race. The deadline for candidates to submit paperwork to seek the office is Dec. 8. Should Butler enter the contest, she could set up a competition for the relatively small but influential group of Black voters in California and possibly undercut Lee’s chances.

Emily’s List is known as a fundraising powerhouse, and raising huge sums of campaign cash is a must in any statewide California race. Newsom’s statement said she will step down from the organization.
...
Butler currently lives in Maryland, according to her Emily’s List biography. Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for Newsom, said Butler owns a home in California. She is expected to reregister to vote in California before being sworn in. That could happen as early as Tuesday evening when the Senate returns to session.

Butler said Monday she had accepted Newsom’s nomination to serve “a state I have made my home.”

Thus, we learn that it's not just a matter of Schiff not being elligible in the first place, but Butler herself shouldn't have been sworn in as a California representative at all.

7th Circuit: AR-15s Not Protected by Second Amendment

On Friday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned an injunction against Illinois’ “assault weapons” ban, deciding that AR-15s are not protected by the Second Amendment.

The preliminary injunction was issued in Barnett v. Raoul by U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, a Donald Trump appointee.

McGlynn’s decision was appealed to the Seventh Circuit, where a three-judge panel decided 2 to 1 against the injunction.

The three judges were Ronald Reagan appointee Frank Easterbook, Bill Clinton appointee Diane P. Wood, and Donald Trump appointee Michael P. Brennan.

Easterbrook and Wood constituted the panel majority in overturning the injunction. They noted that Heller (2008) held, “[l]ike most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.”

They went on to note that in Heller, the Supreme Court of the United States found that machine guns were not protected under the Second Amendment because they were not “bearable” arms, and that is “because they can be dedicated exclusively to military use.”

Easterbrook and Wood then focused on similarities they found between AR-15s and M16s, the latter of which can be fired in full-auto or three-round burst modes.

Newsom-Backed California State Rep. Arrested for DUI at ‘Double the Legal Limit or More’

A California assemblywoman — endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and running for a hotly contested Los Angeles City Council seat — was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of drunk driving after crashing her car with a blood alcohol content at “double the legal limit or more,” police said.

State Rep. Wendy Carrillo (D-CA), 43, was arrested after police responded to a report of a driver crashing into two parked cars in Northeast Los Angeles around 1:30 a.m., reported the Los Angeles Times.

A witness who helped Carrillo from her damaged vehicle told ABC7 it was “really clear” she was intoxicated, reporting that he “could smell alcohol.”

“She was slurring her speech. She was very impaired,” the witness recalled to the outlet.

Humiliating footage provided by FOX 11 shows the city council hopeful appearing to lose her balance while attempting to perform a field sobriety test.

Former Trump State Department Official Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Prison for January 6 Capitol Riot

A Marine Corps veteran who served as a politically appointed State Department official in former President Donald Trump’s administration was sentenced on Friday to nearly six years in prison for attacking police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Federico Klein joined other Trump supporters in one of the most violent episodes of the Jan. 6 siege — a mob’s fight with outnumbered police for control of a tunnel entrance on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Klein repeatedly assaulted officers, urged other rioters to join the fray and tried to stop police from shutting entrance doors, according to federal prosecutors.

Klein “waged a relentless siege on police officers” as he tried to enter the Capitol and stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory over Trump, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Klein, who didn’t testify at his trial, declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced him to five years and 10 months in prison.

“Your actions on January 6th were shocking and egregious,” the judge told Klein.

McFadden also ordered Klein to pay a $3,000 fine and $2,000 in restitution. He will report to prison at a date to be determined.

LATIN AMERICAN NEWS

---

Bolivia Is Iran’s ‘Most Successful Project’ in Latin America

Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS), asserted that Bolivia is Iran’s “most successful project” in Latin America in an interview published by the Argentine news outlet Infobae on Friday.

Humire warned that, for the past 40 years, Iran has been working to increase its influence in Latin America and has achieved significant success in countries governed by socialists. While there are governments in Latin America that are allied with Iran, he emphasized, the Latin American people are not.
...
“Iran has been working on this project for 40 years, and it has already penetrated deeply into the region. This year they sent a warship, their president, and now they are showing their diplomatic muscle.”

“Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Bolivia are the governments that are doing their work in the region,” Humire observed.

“Iran has been very clear about its objectives ... its obstacle is the United States. In the region it is Israel, but globally it is the United States. And to hinder the United States they have to strengthen their capacity in Latin America,” he continued.

Iran, under the auspices of the socialist governments of strongman Evo Morales (2006-2019) and current President Luis Arce, has managed to deepen its ties with Bolivia in the past decade. Bolivia formally established ties with Iran in 2007 during Morales’ first presidential term.

In July, Bolivia brokered a deal with Iran for the purchase of Iranian drones during an official visit by Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo to Tehran. Novillo and Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani signed an undisclosed memorandum of understanding reportedly on defense and security. Novillo said he hoped his trip to Iran would pave the way for wide-ranging cooperation.
...
Novillo responded by claiming that Iran “is a model for Bolivia to achieve the freedom of nations.”

Arce’s government announced on Tuesday that it had severed all diplomatic ties with Israel. The decision, the Bolivian Foreign Ministry explained, was in response to Israel’s “disproportionate” operation against Hamas following the October 7 terrorist attack and invasion of Israel committed by the Iranian-funded jihadist terrorist group. Bolivia, under Morales, had previously cut ties with Israel in January 2009, also at a time in which Israel was forced to confront the threat Hamas poses against its citizens.

Mexican Government Downplays Abduction of Colombian Family

Mexican authorities in the cartel-controlled state of Zacatecas are trying to downplay the abduction of a Colombian family who are believed to have been taken by gunmen. Through the use of semantics and word games, government officials are hiding the raging cartel violence in Zacatecas.

The abduction took place on October 27, when Jorge Alejandro Garcia Villamil, 44,  his wife Yulieth Andrea Alfonso Alfonso,36, and their children David Alejandro, three, and Mia Garcia Alfonso, six, and their brother Daniel Jose Martinez Alfonso, 11, were in the town of Calera when a group of gunmen took them by force, Mexico’s Reforma first reported. Other versions of the event claim that a group of gunmen took the family from a passenger bus while they were traveling.

Days later, Zacatecas state authorities issued a series of Amber alerts for the children and similar alerts for the adults, asking for information on their whereabouts. However, Zacatecas Secretary of State Rodrigo Reyes Muguerza claimed the information about the abduction was false. Reyes Muguerza tried to play word games to claim they had issued the alerts at the request of the Colombian government, who notified them that the family was reported as missing. According to the politician, the family traveled by bus from Mexico City to Ciudad Juarez and were last seen in Zacatecas.

MIDDLE EASTERN NEWS

---

Turkey Recalls Ambassador from Israel, Cuts Contact with Netanyahu

Turkey said Saturday it was recalling its ambassador to Israel and breaking off contacts with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in protest at the bloodshed in Gaza.

Ankara announced the decisions on the eve of what promises to be a difficult visit to Turkey by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Palestinian ally Turkey had been mending torn relations with Israel until last month’s start of the Israel-Hamas war.

But its tone hardened against both Israel and its Western supporters — particularly the United States — as the fighting escalated and the death toll among Palestinian civilians soared.

The Turkish foreign ministry said ambassador Sakir Ozkan Torunlar was being recalled for consultations “in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians, and Israel’s refusal (to accept) a ceasefire”.
...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan separately told reporters that he held Netanyahu personally responsible for the growing civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip.

“Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We have written him off,” Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying.

Israel had earlier withdrawn all diplomats from Turkey and other regional countries as a security precaution.

The Israeli foreign ministry said last weekend it was “re-evaluating” relations with Ankara because of Turkey’s increasingly heated rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.

Hamas Terrorists Attack Evacuation Corridor for Palestinian Civilians, Israel Defense Forces Say

The Israel Defense Forces accused Hamas terrorists of launching attacks on an evacuation corridor established by Israel to allow civilians in Gaza to flee the conflict.

On Saturday, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-language spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, announced the opening of an evacuation corridor along the Salah al-Din road so that Palestinian civilians could escape to safety from the fighting against the Islamist Hamas terrorists that Jerusalem is seeking to eradicate from Gaza following the October 7th terror attacks that claimed the lives of over 1,400 people.

However, the IDF claimed that Hamas, which has ruled over the Gaza Strip after taking over the territory in a violent coup in 2007, took advantage of the situation and waged attacks on the evacuation of the very people it claims to protect.

The IDF published footage on social media which it claimed showed Hamas terrorist mortars and anti-tank guided missiles attacking the humanitarian corridor.

The Israel Defence Forces also published audio from a soldier on the ground, who said: “As far as we are concerned, population movement has begun. Wait a minute, I think they fired on us. RPG Fire, we hear an RPG explosion.”

In a statement provided to Breitbart News, the IDF said: “The Hamas terrorist organization exploited the humanitarian window that the IDF provided to residents of the Gaza Strip to move southwards, and the terrorists fired mortars and anti-tank missiles at IDF troops who arrived and operated to open the route.”

No Israeli soldiers were injured during the incident, the IDF said.

EUROPEAN NEWS

---

Pro-Palestine Protesters Occupy London Train Stations, Clash With Police During Anti-Israel Demo

Thousands of anti-Israel activists once again took to the streets of the UK capital, staging sit-in protests in major thoroughfares of London, including Oxford Circus, which was blockaded by demonstrators until it was cleared by the Metropolitan Police. Protesters also ‘occupied’ key transport hubs including the Charing Cross and Waterloo train stations.

At least three protestors were arrested at Piccadilly Circus, including one who was arrested for allegedly displaying a placard that “could incite hatred, contrary to Section 12 of the Terrorism Act,” the Met said. Another was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, while a third was arrested for allegedly breaching the Public Order Act.
...
In another example of radical rhetoric being spouted, pro-Palestine protesters were filmed on a London Underground train chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “There is only one solution, Intifada revolution.” The Met said that it had informed British Transport Police of the incident.

Meanwhile, outrage was sparked as police barricaded the Cenotaph National War Memorial, which also had its flags removed ahead of the protest.

Former Member of the House of Lords, Viscount Matt Ridley said: “As a great-grandson of the architect who designed the Cenotaph, I deeply resent the fact that it has to be fenced off and stripped of flags to appease yet again a baying mob that supports or excuses those who perpetrated a horrific atrocity.”

The Metropolitan Police said that the flags were removed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which they claimed was done annually for cleaning ahead of Armistice Day.

“Is it fenced off for cleaning too? Or might there be another reason?” questioned Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox.

Meloni Presents Constitutional Reform to Allow Italians to Directly Elect Prime Minister

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni presented a constitutional reform bill Friday that would allow voters to directly elect the premier, a move designed to curb chronic political instability.

Meloni’s right-wing government, which has been in office for a year, is Italy’s seventh in the past decade — a fact the premier said should justify the change in the constitution.

“This is the mother of all reforms,” Meloni told journalists after a cabinet meeting introducing the bill, which would fix the office of prime minister at five years and increase its power to govern.

That would favour “the stability of the government and (its) political direction”, said a statement.

Currently, Italian voters choose party lists, with the head of government — who does not necessarily need to be a politician — then chosen according to results and parliamentary alliances.

The government also wants the list linked to the prime minister to be assured of at least 55 percent of seats in parliament “so as to ensure governability”.

Should the prime minister need to be replaced, in case of sickness or death, for example, he or she could only be replaced by a parliamentarian from the majority, and “only for the purpose of continuing the implementation of the same government programme,” said the statement.

Belarus Sentences Newspaper Editor to Four Years in Prison

Belarusian authorities on Friday convicted the chief editor of a prominent independent regional newspaper of “discrediting the Republic of Belarus” and sentenced him to four years in prison, as the country continues its crackdown on dissent.

A court in Molodechno, a city in central Belarus, also ordered Aliaksandr Mantsevich, chief editor of the popular Regionalnaya Gazeta newspaper, to pay a fine of 94,000 Belarusian rubles (about $30,000), the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported.

The authorities accused Mantsevich and his newspaper of using content that had been declared extremist – a label loosely applied in recent years to any materials critical of the Belarusian government.
...
The Regionalnaya Gazeta newspaper was being published in Molodechno since 1995 and has remained a popular independent source of news in the central and western parts of Belarus.

 Why can't I say I'm surprised by the article above?