National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Polish Foreign Minister Says Sending NATO Troops Into Ukraine ‘Not Unthinkable’ | 9 March 2024 | Poland’s foreign minister says the presence of NATO forces “is not unthinkable” and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out that idea. Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland’s NATO membership in the Polish parliament on Friday, and the Foreign Ministry tweeted the comments later in English. Last month French President Emmanuel Macron said the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that prompted an outcry from other leaders. French officials later sought to clarify Macron’s remarks and tamp down the backlash, while insisting on the need to send a clear signal to Russia that it cannot win its war in Ukraine.

Ukraine seizes apartment of 80-year-old Russia supporter – media –The court also sentenced the elderly woman, who left the country years ago, to four years in prison | 10 March 2024 | A court in the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsa has mandated the confiscation of the apartment of an 80-year-old woman for posting pro-Russia comments on social media, the Ukrainian news daily TSN reported on Saturday. Alla Stadnitskaya not only lost her apartment and all her property in Ukraine following the court ruling but was also sentenced to four years behind bars. The woman has been living with her relatives in Russia since the Covid-19 pandemic, so the verdict was issued in absentia. The ruling reportedly marks the first case in Ukraine’s history when a court has ordered the confiscation of someone’s property for expressing such views.

Biden to have U.S. military build a port in Gaza –U.S. military will lead emergency mission to establish a port in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast | 7 March 2024 | President  Biden is to announce on Thursday during his State of the Union address that the U.S. military will build a port in Gaza. The development was revealed earlier Thursday by senior administration officials discussing humanitarian aid for the Hamas-controlled territory. “Tonight in the speech, the president will announce that he’s directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a port in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters,” the official said… “We will coordinate with the Israelis on the security requirements on land and work with the U.N. and humanitarian NGOs. Understand the distribution of assistance within Gaza and Israeli settlements will come via Cyprus enabled by the U.S. military and a coalition of partners and allies. This new significant capability will take a number of weeks to plan and execute the forces that will be required to complete this mission are either already in the region or will begin to move there soon,” the official added.

UNRWA report claims some agency employees admitted Hamas ties under Israeli coercion –11-page document says detained staffers tortured by military to make false accusations, though agency does not provide transcripts of interviews with freed prisoners or evidence | 9 March 2024 | The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees claimed that some Gazan employees released from Israeli detention reported having been coerced into stating that the agency has Hamas links and that staff took part in the October 7 massacre. The assertions are contained in a report by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reviewed by Reuters and dated February 2024, which detailed allegations of mistreatment in Israeli detention made by unidentified Palestinians, including several working for UNRWA. Reuters could not independently confirm the accounts of coercion of UNRWA staff and mistreatment of detainees, although the allegations of ill-treatment accord with some descriptions by Palestinians freed from detention in December, February and March reported by Reuters and other news media… The IDF said its intelligence shows that some 450 terror operatives in Gaza, mostly Hamas members, are also employed by UNRWA.

Liz Cheney, January 6 Committee Suppressed Exonerating Evidence of Trump’s Push for National Guard –Cheney and her committee falsely claimed they had “no evidence” to support Trump officials’ claims the White House had asked for 10,000 National Guard troops. | 8 March 2024 | Former Rep. Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence that President Donald Trump pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation’s capital, a previously hidden transcript obtained by The Federalist shows. Cheney and her committee falsely claimed they had “no evidence” to support Trump officials’ claims the White House had communicated its desire for 10,000 National Guard troops. In fact, an early transcribed interview conducted by the committee included precisely that evidence from a key source. The interview, which Cheney attended and personally participated in, was suppressed from public release until now… Not only did the committee not accurately characterize the interview, they suppressed the transcript from public review.

FDNY boss hunts down staffers who booed NY AG Letitia James, cheered for Trump at promotion ceremony | 9 March 2024 | FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh is hunting down smoke-eaters and other staffers who mercilessly booed New York Attorney General [Soros scum-bag] Letitia James — and cheered in support of Donald Trump — during a department promotion ceremony this week, The Post has learned. FDNY Chief of Department John Hodges fired off an email to other agency honchos warning a reckoning led by the department’s Bureau of Investigation and Trials was coming over the chorus of boos and chants of “Trump” that James received at Thursday’s event. “BITS is investigating this, so they will figure out who the members are,” Hodges wrote FDNY chiefs Saturday in the letter obtained by The Post. “I recommend they come forward. I have been told by the commissioner it will be better for them if they come forward and we don’t have to hunt them down,” he continued.

Another emergency for United Airlines as Mexico-bound plane is forced to land in LA –Another United flight “rolled onto the grass” at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Texas | 9 March 2024 | A United Airlines flight en route to Mexico City made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Friday after a reported hydraulics issue. United flight 821 departed from San Francisco International Airport and was en route to Mexico City International Airport when it was diverted to LAX. The plane landed safely around 4:30 p.m., according to a statement released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). All 110 individuals on board, including five crew members, were deplaned safely. Customers on the flight traveled to Mexico City on a new aircraft, United Airlines told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Federal judge rules that Biden administration cannot divert funds from border wall construction | 9 March 2024 | A federal judge ruled on Friday against the Biden administration’s plans to re-direct funds from border wall construction to other projects more to its liking, such as environmental remediation. Judge Drew B. Tipton, of the Southern District of Texas, said that it is up to Congress how that m-ney is spent. Congress allocated nearly 1.4 billion for wall-building for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, according to The Washington Times. But the Biden regime argued that the “remediation projects” they wanted to spend that m-ney on were ancillary to the wall, and that it should be allowed. Judge Tipton said that based on the way the law was written, it was clear and specific that the m-ney was intended to be spent on barriers along the border.

Democrats kill GOP bid to block illegal immigrants from impacting House districts, electoral votes –No Democrat voted for the measure in the Senate | 9 March 2024 | An effort by Senate Republicans to stop non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, from being counted on the census for the purposes of apportionment for House seats and the Electoral College was shot down later Friday after the measure failed to gain the support of a single Democrat. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., moved to include an amendment, attached to the 460 billion spending package, that would require the Census Bureau to include a citizenship question in any future census, and then bar anyone who isn’t a U.S. citizen from being counted for purposes of congressional district and Electoral College apportionment. While the bill would also exclude legal immigrants on temporary visas and green cards from the census, the move has been undertaken explicitly to stop illegal immigrants from being counted amid millions of new arrivals at the southern border.

Democratic senator blocks GOP bill to detain illegal immigrants charged with violent crime | 6 March 2024 | Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, attempted to force a floor vote Wednesday on a law that would require illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the hope of preventing avoidable attacks and resulting deaths. The Iowa Republican’s unanimous consent request was thwarted by Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who objected to the request. Ernst requested unanimous consent from her colleagues in order to advance Sarah’s Law to the floor for a vote. During her speech, she pleaded with colleagues to pass her bill, recalling the death of Sarah Root and also referencing the recent death of Laken Riley, both allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants. The bill would require ICE to take into custody illegal immigrants who are arrested and charged with causing the death or serious injury of another.

Illegal migrant from Mexico is arrested for crashing his vehicle into a Washington state trooper while ‘intoxicated’ killing the 27-year-old cop and dad | 6 March 2024 | An illegal migrant from Mexico was arrested after he crashed his car into a Washington State Trooper and killed the cop. Trooper Christopher Gadd, 27, tragically lost his life around 3am Saturday along Interstate 5 as he patrolled the road for reckless drivers. Raul Benitez Santana, 33, crashed his SUV into Gadd’s patrol car as he veered into the shoulder while speeding, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. According to court documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle, at the time of the deadly crash, Santana had bloodshot eyes and admitted he had smoked weed and drank two beers before driving. An ICE official confirmed the suspect is from Mexico and unlawfully entered the U.S. on an unknown date. He also has a lengthy criminal record in Washington.

Biden apologizes for calling illegal alien who killed Laken Riley an ‘illegal’ —Biden suggests illegal immigrants “built the country” and are the “reason our economy is growing.” | 9 March 2024 | Joe Biden apologized Saturday for calling the illegal alien who killed Georgia nursing student Laken Riley an “illegal” and suggested illegal immigration is helping America. “Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing,” the president told MSNBC in an interview when talking about illegal immigrants. Biden had faced criticism for two days from liberal Democrats in Congress for referring to the man who killed Riley as an “illegal.” He said Saturday that his use of the term was wrong. “I shouldn’t have used illegal,” Biden said. “It’s undocumented.”

Trump pays tribute to Laken Riley, blasts Biden border policies as ‘crime against humanity’ | 9 March 2024 | Donald Trump met with Laken Riley’s family and unleashed a blistering attack Saturday on Joe Biden’s border policies as a “crime against humanity” as the two likely general candidates staged dueling events in the battleground state of Georgia. “Joe Biden has no remorse, no regret, no empathy, no compassion, and worst of all, he has no intention of stopping the deadly invasion that stole precious Laken’s beautiful American life,” Trump told a rally in Rome, Ga., the home district of close ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. “What Joe Biden has done on our border is a crime against humanity, and the people of this nation, for which he will never be forgiven,” he added. The former president also paid tribute to Riley, the nursing student killed by an illegal alien on a college campus in Georgia, after meeting with her family backstage at the event.

Republican lawmakers rally around Gold Star father arrested after heckling Biden at SOTU | 8 March 2024 | Republican lawmakers mobilized behind the Gold Star father arrested after heckling Joe Biden during the State of the Union address on Thursday. Steve Nikoui, the father of a U.S. Marine killed by a suicide bomber during the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, stood up and repeatedly shouted, “Abbey Gate,” in reference to the attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport that occurred during the military’s exit from the country. Nikoui shouted after Biden said, “America is safer today than when I took office.” Capitol Police escorted Nikoui out of Biden’s address and arrested him. Republicans have since taken to social media to rally around the Gold Star father.

Biden assails ‘predecessor’ Trump, GOP in sharply partisan State of the Union speech –Biden invoked Trump nearly a dozen times throughout his State of the Union address | 7 March 2024 | President Biden’s third State of the Union address was filled with political moments, as he chided Republican policies, proposals and repeatedly invoked and blasted his predecessor and GOP opponent for the White House in 2024, former President Donald Trump. Biden’s address Thursday night was criticized as resembling a campaign speech as he touched on numerous Democratic political issues and talking points that his campaign has highlighted in its re-election efforts. Members of the Democratic caucus in the audience even spent time chanting “four more years.” Biden invoked Trump nearly a dozen times throughout his address, but never mentioned him by name.

Biden botches name of migrant-murdered ‘Lincoln’ Riley in Trump-bashing State of the Union speech | 8 March 2024 | President Biden stunned listeners Thursday as he veered from his highly partisan State of the Union address script to call out Georgia nursing student Laken Riley’s murder last month by an illegal immigrant — erring twice by calling her “Lincoln.” Biden, 81, began his campaign-style speech by highlighting his best-polling positions — railing against former President Donald Trump on issues such as abortion, NATO and the Capitol riot — but was derailed by persistent Republican heckling, finally responding to their demands that he say Riley’s name hours after the House passed legislation in her honor to require migrants who commit certain crimes be sent to federal custody. The president then held up a pin bearing Riley’s name, which Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) had handed him on his way into the chamber, with Biden telling the congresswoman, “I know how to say her name.” “Lincoln – Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” Biden said, both botching her name and using a term considered politically incorrect by most Democratic officeholders.

California suspects accused of murdering 96-year-old widow who was baking cookies for her birthday – police | 9 March 2024 | California authorities recently identified four suspects allegedly involved in the 2022 murder of a 96-year-old woman in Santa Barbara County. Porter Ranch resident Pauline Macareno, 48, and Van Nuys resident Harry Basmadjian, 58, were both named as suspects in the murder of Monecito resident Violet Alberts, 96, on Thursday. Los Angeles resident Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, and Tujunga local Henry Rostomyan, 33, were also listed as suspects. According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Macareno was charged with elder abuse, fraud and manipulation of legal documents. The other three suspects face charges ranging from murder to conspiracy and solicitation of murder.

NYC burns pizzerias with new rule cutting smoky pollutants by 75%: ‘You’re going after pizza?’ | 10 March 2024 | New York City has quietly approved a controversial green plan to require pizzerias and matzah bakeries using decades-old wood- and coal-fired stoves to cut their smoky pollutants by 75%. Mayor Eric Adams’s Department of Environmental Protection said the fresh edict takes effect April 27, with some city businesses having already coughed up more than 600,000 for new smoke-eating systems in anticipation of the expected mandate. “You are going after pizza? Glorious New York pizza?” groused Mike Dabin in a recent online comment to the city DEP. Businesses using wood and anthracite stoves can apply for a variance but need evidence to prove they are unable to comply with the mandate.