National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drops out of 2024 presidential race, endorses Trump –DeSantis suspends his 2024 GOP presidential campaign six days after a distant second place finish in Iowa and two days ahead of the New Hampshire primary | 21 Jan 2024 | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump two days before the New Hampshire primary. The Florida governor announced his decision to drop out in a social media video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday afternoon… “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis continued. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare this day to attack him.” Trump, who along with his allies spent months fiercely attacking DeSantis, told Fox News Digital that he was “very honored to have his endorsement.” “I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country,” he argued.

WHO director calls for world pandemic treaty to prepare for Disease X | 20 Jan 2024 | World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus has called on countries to sign on to the health organization’s pandemic treaty so the world can prepare for “Disease X.” Ghebreyesus, speaking in front of an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, said that he hoped countries would reach a pandemic agreement by May to address this “common enemy.” Disease X is a hypothetical “placeholder” virus that has not yet been formed, but scientists say it could be 20 times deadlier than COVID-19. It was added to the WHO’s short list of pathogens for research in 2017 that could cause a “serious international epidemic,” according to a 2022 WHO press release. 

Federal secrets spill on COVID origins amid rodent research on risks of lab mods, vax in pregnancy –“I try to always communicate on Gmail because my NIH email is FOIA’d constantly” | 19 Jan 2024 | …Chinese researchers claim to have modified another animal virus that killed every humanized lab mouse it infected, while Turkish researchers said the male offspring of pregnant rats they inoculated with Pfizer’s COVID vaccine exhibited “pronounced autism-like behaviors.” House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said he plans to dig through the “personal email account” for Dr. Anthony Fauci’s senior scientific adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, David Morens, following a six-hour transcribed interview Thursday with unspecified “limited obstruction.” Morens was supposed to testify just before the new year, but the Department of Health and Human Services refused to let him answer questions about COVID origins, Wenstrup said. In 2021, Morens told other scientists trying to discredit the lab-leak theory, including one who said SARS-CoV-2 looked “potentially” engineered: “I try to always communicate on Gmail because my NIH email is FOIA’d constantly” and “I will delete anything I don’t want to see in the New York Times.”

Navy fires nuclear submarine captain because of ‘a loss of confidence in his ability to command’ as investigation is launched –Captain Geoffry Patterson suddenly relieved of command of the USS Georgia –Navy said he was under investigation but wouldn’t give more information | 15 Jan 2024 | A US Navy captain has been suddenly and mysteriously relieved of command of a guided missile submarine. Captain Geoffry Patterson was summarily stood down as commanding officer of the USS Georgia by Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan on Friday. The navy did not give a reason for his sudden sacking, saying only it was “due to loss of confidence in his ability to command.” Submarine Group Ten, of which the USS Georgia is part, revealed Captain Patterson was under investigation, but wouldn’t say more. The USS Georgia is one of four nuclear-powered guided missile submarines in the navy, able to carry up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. They are often also used to support special forces in covert missions by ferrying them to their destinations.

Two missing Navy SEALs lost off coast of Somalia believed dead | 21 Jan 2024 | The pair of Navy SEALs who went missing during a night mission off the coast of Somalia on Jan. 11 are dead, U.S. Central Command announced Sunday. The SEALs were on an interdiction mission, climbing onto the side of a vessel when one fell into the water. The second SEAL dove in after him. After an “exhaustive” 10-day search, they could not be found, Central Command said… The SEALs mission saw the elite unit deployed to intercept a dhow sailing boat bound for Yemen. The team found Iranian missile parts set to be delivered to Houthi militants in Yemen, the group that has for weeks shot at civilian and military ships in the Red Sea. The ship was sunk, and its crew captured by the SEALs. The operation marked an escalation against Iran in the Yemeni conflict, after the U.S. and UK launched joint airstrikes on Houthi targets last week.

U.S. preparing for ‘sustained’ Yemen bombing campaign – report | 20 Jan 2024 | The U.S. is preparing for a “sustained” bombing campaign in Yemen after ten days of airstrikes failed to undermine the ability of Houthi fighters to target ships in the Red Sea, the Washington Post has reported, citing unnamed officials. The administration of Joe Biden does not expect a protracted operation such as the U.S. campaigns in Iraq or Afghanistan, but at the same time it cannot provide a timeframe for when Houthi military capabilities will be adequately diminished, the newspaper reported on Saturday. Washington’s strategy is to curb the ability of the Shiite militant group to target ships off the coast of Yemen, or at least create safe conditions for shipping companies to resume sending vessels through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, sources added.

‘Barbaric attack using Western arms’ – Moscow decries Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk | 21 Jan 2024 | The shelling by Ukraine of the Russian city of Donetsk on Sunday, which claimed the lives of at least 25 civilians and wounded 20 others, was “a barbaric terrorist act” carried out with the support of the West, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said. Sunday’s bombardment of a busy market in the capital of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic was inflicted with weapons supplied to Kiev by the U.S. and its allies, the ministry said in a statement. “This again confirms [the West’s] direct involvement in the conflict and makes it complicit in the criminal acts of the Zelensky regime, which has once again displayed its inhumanity and hatred towards innocent people,” it said. “The West’s unrestrained desire to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia through the hands of their Ukrainian puppets, whom it is eager to support mindlessly and without limit, is pushing the Kiev regime to increasingly reckless steps, including acts of terrorism, massive violations of international humanitarian law, and war crimes,” the ministry added.

UN condemns Ukrainian attack that killed 27 civilians in Russian city | 21 Jan 2024 | The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the attack against the capital of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, but refused to pin the blame for the shelling that left at least 27 civilians killed and over two dozen injured including several children. “The Secretary-General strongly condemns all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including today’s shelling of the city of Donetsk in Ukraine,” the spokesperson for the UN chief said in a brief boilerplate statement on Sunday night. “Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law, are unacceptable and must stop immediately,” it added.

Local Reporter Describes Election Expert Halderman Breaking Into Dominion Voting Machine and Changing Vote Totals During His Georgia Testimony | 21 Jan 2024 | After speaking with election integrity expert Garland Favorito, we discovered the courtroom display was much more serious than originally reported. J. Alex Halderman demonstrated in court how Dominion machines were hacked and altered their tabulations. On Friday, in a federal court In Atlanta, Georgia, University of Michigan Professor of Computer Science and Engineering J. Alex Halderman testified in front of Judge Amy Totenberg’s courtroom about the Dominion voting machines used in the Georgia elections since 2020. As reported earlier, during his testimony, Halderman was able to hack a Dominion voting machine and change the tabulation in front of U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in the courtroom. Halderman used only a pen to change the vote totals.

11 states urge Supreme Court to overrule Colorado in Trump ballot case –If the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the state ruling, no votes for Trump would be counted, according to the Colorado Secretary of State. | 19 Jan 2024 | The U.S. Constitution can’t be used by a state to remove a candidate from its presidential primary ballot, according to a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case involving Colorado and Republican candidate Donald Trump. “This has the potential to tear our nation apart if left unchecked,” Missouri Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said in a statement. Ashcroft led a group of 11 state election officials in submitting an amicus or “friend of the court” brief “in support of neither party,” according to the document. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving Trump’s removal from the March Colorado Republican presidential primary ballot in a ruling by the state supreme court.

Trump to remain on Washington ballot after judge tosses 14th Amendment challenge | 18 Jan 2024 | Former President Donald Trump will appear on the Washington general and primary ballots after a judge on Thursday rejected a challenge to his eligibility under the 14th Amendment. Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson determined that Maine Secretary of State Steve Hobbs had properly included Trump on the list of candidates for the Evergreen State ballots. A group of state residents brought the challenge. “An order directing the secretary of state to take different action, an order from this court, is simply not supported by the statutes and not supported by the affidavit of the electors,” she wrote, according to The Hill.

Ex-wife of Georgia prosecutor Nathan Wade claims he filed for divorce day after being hired by Fani Willis as affair rumors swirl | 19 Jan 2024 | Nathan Wade’s ex-wife claims he filed to divorce her just one day after he was hired by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis — his alleged paramour — to be the lead prosecutor in the Georgia election fraud case against former President Donald Trump, according to court documents filed Friday. Wade then immediately moved to have records related to the breakup sealed by the court handling the proceedings, Joycelyn Wade alleged in a 19-page filing with the Cobb County Superior Court. “Plaintiff [Nathan Wade] was appointed as a special prosecutor by Ms. Willis on November 1, 2021. Plaintiff filed for divorce on November 2, 2021. Defendant [Joycelyn Wade] was served by process server on November 3, 2021,” the document submitted by attorney Andrea Dyer Hastings states. “Before Defendant even filed her Answer and Counterclaim, Plaintiff filed a motion asking the court to seal the record in this divorce action,” the filing continues.

Fani Willis and Nathan Wade traveled together amid Trump probe, bank statements show | 19 Jan 2024 | Bank records show Nathan Wade bought tickets for himself and alleged lover Fani Willis to fly to San Francisco in the midst of their probe into Donald Trump and election fraud in Georgia. Wade was hired by Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, as a special prosecutor to bring charges against the former president and 18 others. They have since been accused of having a romantic relationship, jeopardizing the integrity of the case, which appears to be backed up by the charges on Wade’s personal card. As well as the flights, in May 2023, Wade ran up a bill of over 800 at the Doubletree Napa Valley American Canyon hotel, according to the filing by Wade’s estranged wife Jocelyn, seen by The Post.

New York, California, other blue states succeed in altering 2020 census numbers, report says | 21 Jan 2024 | Democratic run states such as New York and Illinois are increasing 2020 census numbers after successfully asking for a review of the once-a-decade population survey that helps determine federal funding distribution as the states struggle with population losses. The distribution of the population of California is also being changed following a review, The Associated Press reported Thursday. That report notes “the once-a-decade census produces population figures that help determine political power and the annual distribution of 2.8 trillion in federal funding…Nearly 200 requests for reviews were filed by tribal, local and state governments for the 2020 census.” The updates can be used in future population estimates through the rest of the decade to determine federal funding, but the new information cannot be used to redraw political districts or alter the number of congressional seats each state received during the post-census apportionment process.

U.S. travelers outraged by airport signs appearing to allow migrants onto flights without ID: ‘I’m quite offended’ | 19 Jan 2024 | American travelers are outraged by signs appearing at U.S. airports appearing to allow migrants onto flights without showing proper identification. U.S. citizens traveling domestically have to show a valid identification card or a passport to board a plane, but signs at certain airports say there are different rules for some newly arrived migrants. The signs claim the Transport Security Administration is working with Customs and Border Protection to “validate adult non-U.S. citizen travel documentation when the traveler does not otherwise have an acceptable form of identification.” In practice, this means migrants who have entered the country using the CBP One app – some 45,000 people a month – can use it as their travel document and even choose whether to allow officers to take their picture.

Grieving mom whose daughter was raped and murdered by an MS-13 gang member files $100million lawsuit against the feds for lax policies – ‘Nobody at the border did their job and checked his background’ –The suit names DHS and DHHS as defendants, and demands the sum in damages | 21 Jan 2024 | A mourning mom whose daughter was raped and killed by an MS-13 gang member in 2022 has filed suit against feds alleging they failed to stop him at the border. The lawsuit names both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as defendants, and demands 100million in damages. It was filed by Tammy Nobles and her attorney this week, roughly a year and a half removed from the incident in question. Allegedly occurring in July of 2020, it saw Nobles’s daughter, 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton, strangled with a phone cord by the then 16-year-old suspect. The lawsuit alleges both agencies failed the woman by letting in the unnamed El Salvadoran, after not verifying his status with a phone call, and allowing him to be placed in a holding facility.

Haitian Illegal Charged With Raping Disabled Victim Released by MA Judge Despite ICE Detainer | 18 Jan 2024 | An illegal alien from Haiti charged with raping a disabled person in Massachusetts was apprehended by immigration authorities after he was released from jail by a judge who ignored a detainer lodged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On Wednesday, ICE announced that a male Haitian national in his early 30s had been taken into custody on January 9 by Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents in Boston. The suspect entered the United States illegally via a port of entry in Brownsville, Texas, in December of 2022. Despite being deemed “inadmissible” at the time, he was given a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge in Boston at an undisclosed later date and released into the U.S. In September of 2023, the Haitian was arrested by Boston police and charged in the rape of a developmentally disabled person.