National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG.

Breaking: Biden Authorizes Activation of Up to 3,000 Reserve Troops for ‘Operation Atlantic Resolve,’ Including 450 Individual Ready Reserves | 13 July 2023 | On Thursday, Joe Biden issued an Order to “augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve” to include up to 3,000 members of the Selected Reserve, with up to 450 members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Meanwhile, our border remains open with over a hundred thousand arrests made last month alone by overworked U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement officials. The IRR is particularly interesting, as it hasn’t been utilized in almost two decades. This Order does not call them to service but only gives authority to do so if “they deem necessary.” The IRR consists of former active duty and reserve members who are no longer under obligation to drill, conduct annual training, or participate in any military activities until ordered by Presidential Authority.  Essentially, it is junior enlisted officers who have an obligation after leaving their service once their contract has expired. Typically, a contract would be four years followed by four years of IRR service.

Breaking: Loud blast heard in Russia’s ‘atomic city’ – reports –A suspected drone attack was carried out in Kurchatov, a home to a nuclear plant, reports say | 14 July 2023 | A loud explosion was heard over the skies of Russia’s city of Kurchatov, an industrial hub adjacent to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, multiple Telegram channels reported in the early hours on Friday. They said locals found what looked like drone parts on the ground. According to the channel SHOT, windows were shattered in several houses. It added that air defenses have been activated. Photos posted on Telegram show what appears to be drone parts found in the city. The Kursk Region shares a border with Ukraine. The power plant is located roughly 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) outside urban areas. The company Energotex, which makes equipment for nuclear reactors, is also based in Kurchatov.

Central bankers are planning CBDC currency implants ‘under your skin’ – top economist –A central banker reportedly told economist Richard Werner there are plans to issue CBDCs that ‘look like a small grain of rice,’ to be implanted under the skin. | 12 July 2023 | A prominent German economist says central banks plan to concretize central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the form of microchips implanted under the skin, a technology that would enable absolute government control over personal finances. “I was told by a central banker [that] the CBDCs look like a small grain of rice that they want to put under your skin,” said professor Richard Werner, Ph.D., who devised the now widely used (and according to Werner, abused) bank practice of quantitative easing, in a recent interview with Ivor Cummins. Central bank digital currencies, in contrast with other forms of digital currency used today, require that individuals open bank accounts directly with central banks such as the Federal Reserve, giving governments control over citizens’ access to m-ney. “You have to think of CDBCs as a control system [or a permit system], not a currency,” Werner explained, adding that the level of control would be such that our m-ney would no longer be truly our own.

Nigel Farage warns about ‘tyranny’ of cashless society after getting de-banked –After having his bank accounts closed and a total of nine banks turning him away, Farage said, “The ultimate fear is if we get CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), we could finish up like the Canadian truckers — people who were within the law, found themselves outside the law, and had their bank accounts frozen. Controlling people’s money would be the ultimate form of tyranny.” | 13 July 2023 | Mr. Brexit Nigel Farage is crying foul after a British banking group that held his money for over 40 years closed his accounts “without explanation.” …”There is an all-out war on cash,” he exclaimed. “It’s about control of our lives at every level. It will inevitably end up with central bank digital currencies.” Stunned, Farage said he considered leaving the country. “Has Britain gone so far down the road of authoritarianism that it is too late to turn back?” he wondered in an article for The Telegraph. Farage has also stated that members of his own family were targeted. He has since said that he believes he was “de-banked” for “political” reasons. 

Probe opened into FBI targeting of House Intelligence committee staffers during Russia probe | 13 July 2023 | The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday opened a formal investigation into why the FBI snooped on two Republican House Intelligence Committee staffers during the height of the Russia collusion probe, suggesting the seizure of their private email and records may have been retaliation for the panel’s efforts to expose bureau misconduct. The letter from Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to FBI Director Christopher Wray was prompted by reporting in Just the News and the New York Post revealing that Kash Patel, the chief investigator on then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’s team, had his email seized from Google back in late 2017, just before the release of a report that identified significant failures and abuses in the Russia collusion scandal. Patel and a second unnamed committee investigator were not notified until 2022, five years after the seizure, Just the News reported.  

Wray has no apologies for targeting parents: FBI acted ‘the way it should’ | 12 July 2023 | FBI Director Christopher Wray offered no apology for the bureau’s alleged targeting of parents protesting at school board meetings in response to a grilling from House Judiciary Committee Republicans, who used a Wednesday hearing to air allegations of politicization and bias within the ranks of federal law enforcement. The director agreed, however, that there was “no compelling nationwide law enforcement justification” for Attorney General Merrick Garland’s directive for tracking alleged threats against school boards. “This committee’s investigation concluded that the Justice Department’s own documents demonstrated it was no compelling justification for the attorney general’s directive. Do you have any reason to dispute that conclusion?” Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) asked on Wednesday. “No,” Wray said.

DOJ Quietly Removes Child Sex Trafficking Information From Its Website | 13 July 2023 | The Department of Justice (DOJ) has quietly taken down a series of sections from its website related to both domestic and international child sex trafficking, including a portion that offers information about U.S. minors being “recruited and exploited” into the commercial sex industry. According to an archived version of the website, the agency previously provided detailed information about “International Sex Trafficking of Minors,” “Domestic Sex Trafficking of Minors,” and “Child Victims of Prostitution.” The updated version of the webpage completely erased all three sections, which were added during President Donald Trump’s tenure on May 28, 2020, to counsel Americans about tactics that are being used by pimps and human traffickers targeting vulnerable children and luring them into prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation using psychological manipulation.

Trump to host screening of ‘Sound of Freedom’ on July 19 | 13 July 2023 | Donald Trump has announced that he will be hosting a screening of the anti-child trafficking film Sound of Freedom on July 19 at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. The event will be open to club members and supporters. The former president is set to be joined by the film’s producer, Eduardo Verástegui, acting star, Jim Caviezel, as well as founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad, Tim Ballard. In a statement, Trump praised the film, highlighting its success at the box office. “Sound of Freedom grossed 41.7 million in the first week of its release and opened at No. 1 in Texas, Florida, and Arizona theaters,” he said. “The feature has taken the nation by storm, beating out Disney’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in July Fourth movie ticket sales despite appearing in fewer theaters, securing the top position in the box office for the day.”

TSA Rolling Out ‘Voluntary’ Facial Recognition Program to Another 400 Domestic Airports | 13 July 2023 | In March of this year, TSA administrator David Pekoske again noted the process is still (supposedly) optional, but that it’s not going to stay that way for long. How long that will be remains to be seen, but as Wilfred Chan reports for Fast Company, the rollout is continuing with hundreds more airports on the horizon: “The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is preparing to expand its controversial facial recognition program to around 430 airports over the next “several years” after finding “extremely promising” results from its pilot program, an agency spokesperson tells Fast Company. The expansion comes amid allegations by rights advocates that the agency is improperly coercing travelers to participate.” The TSA is currently “assessing” the facial recognition program at 25 airports. TSA press secretary Robert Langston said this small sample size has been an unmitigated success, with the TSA’s algorithm reportedly matching people with a 97% success rate “across demographics.”

Maine Becomes Latest U.S. State to End COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Health Care Workers | 13 July 2023 | The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has filed a proposal to remove the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers. The proposal, which was filed with Maine’s Secretary of State, is based on evolving scientific evidence and trends including available clinical and epidemiological data about COVID-19, increased population immunity owing to vaccinations and previous infections, and decreased severity of the virus, the department said in a July 11 statement. In Maine, multiple health care workers filed lawsuits over the vaccine mandate, which prohibited religious exemptions and was considered to be one of the strictest in the nation, when it was first rolled out. The measure resulted in nearly 10 percent of the state’s health care workforce leaving their jobs, according to 2021 data… In order to remove the vaccine mandate for emergency medical technicians, the Maine Department of Health will need to file a separate proposal.

Insane in the membrane: No fingerprints, DNA sample or leads from cocaine found at the White House, the Secret Service says | 13 July 2023 | No fingerprints or DNA turned up on the baggie of cocaine found in a lobby at the White House last week despite a sophisticated FBI crime lab analysis, and surveillance footage of the area didn’t identify a suspect, according to a summary of the Secret Service investigation obtained by The Associated Press. There are no leads on who brought the drugs into the building. U.S. Secret Service agents found the white powder during a routine White House sweep on July 2, in a heavily trafficked West Wing lobby where staff go in and out, and tour groups gather to drop their phones and other belongings. “Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered,” Secret Service officials said in the summary.

Not Once But Thrice: Drugs Discovered Three Times at Biden’s White House Since 2022, Boebert Reveals After Secret Service Briefing | 13 July 2023 | In a not a so-surprising revelation following a Secret Service briefing on Thursday, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) announced that cocaine discovered at the White House on July 2 was not the first incident of drugs found at Biden’s White House, citing two other instances within the last year. The Gateway Pundit reported earlier that Secret Service had announced the conclusion of its investigation into the recent cocaine discovery at the White House. Despite having narrowed down a list of 500 potential individuals, no suspects have been officially identified. Interestingly, the investigation has ended without administering drug tests to these individuals… According to the Secret Service statement, “There was no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited the found substance in this area. Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered.”

DOJ indicts missing man who claims to have information on Biden family’s China ties –Gal Luft was arrested in Cypress in February | 10 July 2023 | A fugitive who claimed to have provided the FBI with information on the Biden family’s business dealings in China is facing decades behind bars for alleged arms trafficking and other charges involving Iran. Gal Luft, a 57-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, is charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China and seeking to broker the sale of Iranian oil in violation of sanctions, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Monday. The indictment also accuses Luft of recruiting and paying a former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent as required by law.

Biden confuses Ukraine with Russia, Zelensky with Putin during gaffe-filled trip –Biden previously claimed Putin was ‘losing the war in Iraq’ | 12 July 2023 | Biden committed multiple speaking gaffes during his trip to Lithuania this week to shore up support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia, including confusing the two nations, as well as their leaders. While speaking to the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday Biden referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “Vladmir,” seemingly confusing Zelensky with Russian President Vladmir Putin. Appearing to not realize his mistake, Biden went on to say he “shouldn’t be so familiar,” and referred to Zelensky as “Mr. Zelensky.” …At a later speaking event following the summit, Biden confused the two nations, referring to Ukraine as Russia.

Russia should stop attacking Russia – Biden –The U.S. leader delivered his most recent gaffe during a keynote speech at the NATO summit | 12 July 2023 | Joe Biden mixed up Russia and Ukraine during a speech at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday. His gaffe came just days after a U.S. State Department spokesman made a similar slip of the tongue when referring to the current conflict. “Russia could end this war tomorrow by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine, reconing [sic – what a moron] its international borders and ceasing its attacks on, its inhumane attacks, on Russia,” Biden said on Wednesday. “I mean by Russia, on Ukraine,” he quickly corrected himself. On Tuesday evening, an unnamed US official had told reporters that Biden was preparing for the “big speech tomorrow” and had just finished “four full days of official business,” and would skip a dinner hosted by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. Critics responded by posting photos of Biden relaxing on the beach in Delaware on Sunday, ahead of his trip to Europe.

Election Watchdog Sues to Stop Acceptance of Ballots After Election Day | 13 July 2023 | An election integrity group is suing North Dakota to block its law that allows the state to accept and count mail-in ballots so long as they arrive within 13 days after Election Day. There are reportedly 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, that accept mailed ballots that are delivered after Election Day. Congress created an exception to the law for military and overseas voters, whose mailed-in ballots are counted even if they arrive after Election Day. If the new federal lawsuit is successful, it could lead to other lawsuits that aim to compel election officials in other states to stop accepting ballots that come in after Election Day. Democrats vigorously oppose efforts to curtail mail-in voting but then-President Donald Trump criticized the practice on Sept. 23, 2020. Mr. Trump said at the time that mail-in “ballots are out of control.” The next day Mr. Trump said that voting by mail was “a whole big scam.”

Stunning video exposes how trans activists ‘conquered American life’ –‘One of the most sophisticated ideological pipelines in politics’ | 11 July 2023 | A new, powerful, concise video by investigative journalist Christopher Rufo exposes the monied interests, activist intellectuals and influential doctors behind the aggressive “trans” revolution in America. The video, “The Transgender Empire: How the trans movement conquered American life,” is produced by the Manhattan Institute… Rufo is a senior fellow at the institute and one of the nation’s leading authorities on (trans)”gender ideology,” its “queer theory” foundation, and “critical race theory,” or CRT. Rufo exposes the quasi-Marxist nature of trans ideology and “queer theory.” He quotes “queer” theorist Susan Stryker (a man attempting to live as a woman), who argues that “the transsexual body is a technological construction that represents a war against Western society,” Rufo explains.