National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, has died at 100 years old | 29 Dec 2024 | Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and a former peanut farmer whose vision of a “competent and compassionate” government propelled him into the White House, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday, the Carter Center confirmed. He was 100. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the Carter Center, the late president’s nonprofit organization, made an announcement on X. His specific cause of death was unclear. Carter’s death followed the passing of his wife Rosalynn on Nov. 19, 2023. She died at the age of 96 with her family by her side at the Carter home in Plains, just days after she had been admitted to hospice care.

Spy bosses ‘silenced’ Defense Department, FBI scientists from briefing Biden on COVID lab leak evidence | 26 Dec 2024 | Spy chiefs “silenced” researchers in the Defense Department and FBI who discovered strong evidence that COVID-19 most likely leaked from a Chinese lab, The Post has learned. As a result, their findings were kept out of an August 2021 report to Joe Biden on the origins of the global pandemic. That report concluded that the virus behind COVID “was probably not genetically engineered.” The analysis was conducted by John Hardham, Robert Cutlip and Jean-Paul Chretien, three scientists in the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Center for Medical Intelligence. Among their shocking findings: –The COVID virus contained a feature allowing for easier transmission to humans that was constructed in a manner similar to that described in a years-old Chinese study —A Chinese military researcher applied for a patent for a COVID-19 vaccine just weeks after the virus was first sequenced in 2020. (He later died after falling from the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology’s roof, according to U.S. investigators.) —WIV researchers worked with U.S. researchers who trained them to construct viruses without leaving a trace of them being engineered. The spy chiefs further forbade the scientists from sharing the information with Congress — even after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) expressly requested them in a March 2021 letter — or from rebutting a since-disgraced May 2020 paper — prompted by Anthony Fauci — that sought to discredit the lab leak theory.

State Department’s ‘Global Engagement Center’ accused of blacklisting and censoring Americans shuts its doors | 26 Dec 2024 | The State Department’s foreign disinformation center, accused by conservatives of censoring U.S. citizens, shut its doors due to lack of funding this week. Elon Musk had deemed the Global Engagement Center (GEC), established in 2016, the “worst offender in U.S. government censorship & media manipulation,” and its funding was stripped as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon’s yearly policy bill. “The Global Engagement Center will terminate by operation of law [by the end of the day] on December 23, 2024,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. “The Department of State has consulted with Congress regarding next steps.”

Democratic Lawyers Call for Congress to Block Trump From Taking Office | 26 Dec 2024 | Two Democratic lawyers called for Congress to block President-elect Donald Trump from taking office in an op-ed published by the Hill on Thursday, prompting disbelief and ridicule from Republicans. In the piece titled “Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must act now,” lawyers Evan A. Davis and David M. Schulte argued that the Constitution says an insurrectionist is ineligible to be president and “the evidence of Donald Trump’s engaging in such insurrection is overwhelming.” They argued that the “matter has been decided in three separate forums” — one of which they said was the Rep. Nancy Pelosi-appointed January 6th Committee — which a recent House Republican review into the committee concluded was “designed to promote a political narrative” and a “tool to attack President Trump.”

NATO state seeking more cemetery space for potential war dead – AP | 29 Dec 2024 | Funeral associations in Sweden are looking to secure enough land to bury thousands of people in the event of a war, the Associated Press has reported. The Nordic country joined NATO earlier this year, amid the U.S.-led military bloc’s growing involvement in the Ukraine conflict. The burial association in Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, is trying to acquire additional land to ensure casket sites for some 30,000 dead, on top of what is needed for graveyards for regular use, AP wrote on Saturday. Swedish media outlets reported earlier this month that the authorities were bracing for up to half a million potential fatalities if the country were to enter a full-scale war.

Telegram blocks Russian media in EU | 28 Dec 2024 | The Telegram channels of multiple major Russian news outlets were rendered inaccessible across the EU on Sunday. The affected channels now display a notification stating that access to their content has been restricted over alleged “violation of local laws,” with all the content unavailable. According to media reports, the affected channels include such Russian majors as RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Rossiya 1, Channel One, NTV and Rossiyskaya Gazeta. While it was not immediately clear whether the bans are EU-wide, the restrictions have been reportedly rolled out in Poland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and the Czech Republic.

Two American Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in ‘friendly fire’ incident, U.S. military says | 22 Dec 2024 | Navy pilots flying over the red sea were shot down in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S. military said. The U.S. military was conducting airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels and mistakenly hit two U.S. Navy pilots. Both were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries. “The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman,” Central Command said in a statement.

Senile Biden’s insult to families of Marines murdered in disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal –Biden also infamously checked his watch on the tarmac before the soldiers’ coffins were brought out. | 20 Dec 2024 | Joe Biden kept the grieving relatives of the Marines killed in Afghanistan waiting for three hours while he napped on Air Force One on the tarmac before a dignified transfer, multiple military families have told Daily Mail. The shocking allegation comes today amid growing calls for the Biden regime to be investigated over its scandalous cover-up of the president’s ailing health. Biden, it has emerged, has not been present for key moments of his presidency, nor has he been involved in major decisions like the disastrous withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in August 2021. Instead, an unknown team of handlers made the decision to hastily pull out of the region. It was his second insult to their families that day, according to the sister of Rylee McCollum, one of the men who died. “(Biden) made us wait an extra three hours to receive the bodies of our dead family members because he couldn’t pull it together,” Roice McCollum told DailyMail dot com.

Healthcare workers fined 190,000 for challenging vaccine mandate, U. California case continues | 28 Dec 2024 | COVID-19 vaccine mandate litigation took opposite turns in American and Canadian courts this month, with class-action plaintiffs moving toward trial against the University of California System while fired Ontario healthcare workers were fined 190,000 for just bringing suit. American vaccine-injury victims are also putting current and former feds on notice they can’t escape legal liability for alleged censorship-by-proxy just because the Biden administration is ending, getting help from a federal judge to serve one who couldn’t be found in person. The California Supreme Court denied a petition for review of lower court rulings that prevented UC employees from arguing the jab-or-job mandates violated the Nuremberg Code on informed consent in medical experimentation, which is incorporated into California law. The plaintiffs accuse the system of using “unapproved modified gene Covid-19 injections without full and free informed consent and for withholding medical care to those injured by its system-wide mandatory injection program.”

Moderna’s mRNA vaccines to be exempt from Australian safety advisory committee scrutiny under 2bn secret deal — Critics say exemption ‘deeply concerning’ and risks creating separate assessment systems | 9 Dec 2024 | Australians will be offered [deadly] respiratory “vaccines” from next year without the usual assessment that ensures they are the most effective available at the best possible price, under the confidential 2bn onshore manufacturing deal the Morrison government struck with Moderna. The agreement exempts Moderna’s mRNA vaccines from assessment by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, a government memorandum has revealed. The contract signed with the American pharmaceutical company in 2021 commits successive Australian governments to buying locally produced Moderna vaccines for at least a decade. The accompanying explanatory memorandum sheds new light on the secretive contract, including its exemption from assessment by the PBAC. The memorandum says the Moderna vaccines “will not go through the…PBAC process and therefore will not be listed as designated vaccines on the National Immunisation Program.”

Bird flu virus shows mutations in first severe human case in U.S., CDC says | 26 Dec 2024 | The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday its analysis of samples from the first severe case of bird flu in the country last week showed mutations not seen in samples from an infected backyard flock on the patient’s property. The CDC said the patient’s sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in it attaching to host cells. The health body said, opens new tab the risk to the general public from the outbreak has not changed and remains low. Last week, the United States reported its first severe case of the virus, in a Louisiana resident above the age of 65, who was suffering from severe respiratory illness.

War of words over crashed South Korean jet as experts say bird strike would NOT have crippled landing gear –Also, emergency touch-down with longer runway may have saved some of the 179 killed | 29 Dec 2024 | Aviation experts say a bird strike should not have crippled the landing gear of the doomed plane that crashed in South Korea and killed 179 people. The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people is believed to have encountered a flock of birds as it came in to land at Muan International Airport on Sunday morning. Unverified video footage reportedly of the aircraft shows a burst of fire coming out of the jet’s right engine supposedly showing the moment the bird struck the plane… But experts have raised doubts with Australian airline safety expert Geoffrey Dell saying: “I’ve never seen a bird strike prevent the landing gear from being extended.” Airline News editor Geoffrey Thomas said bird strikes happen “far more often, but typically they don’t cause the loss of an airplane by themselves.”

Top Democrat torches Biden for vetoing bill that Senate voted unanimously to pass | 24 Dec 2024 | A top ally of Joe Biden is “disappointed” after he vetoed a bill that would have increased the number of federal judges currently serving. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who served as a campaign co-chair for both of Biden’s recent presidential campaigns, stressed that he and his Republican colleague Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., kept bipartisanship top of mind when crafting the bill. Republicans in turn have accused Biden of making threats to veto the bill — which he issued two days before the House voted on it — to avoid giving President-elect Trump new roles to fill. The bill would have added 66 federal district judicial roles, spreading their creation out over more than 10 years to prevent a boon on new appointments for any one administration. At the time of its Senate passage, Democrats’ morale was high after Biden ducked out of the 2024 race and was replaced by Kamala Harris.

Father fumes at ‘despicable’ Joe Biden after he commutes sentence of rapist who killed his daughter and granddaughter | 24 Dec 2024 | A Michigan father has hit out at Joe Biden after he commuted the death sentence of the rapist who murdered his daughter and granddaughter. Marvin Gabrion, 71, had been awaiting his execution for the 1997 murder of Rachel Timmerman, 19, before his sentence was commuted to life without the possibility of parole. Timmerman disappeared two days before she was set to testify against Gabrion for raping her. Gabrion restrained the teen, covered her eyes and mouth with duct tape, before chaining her to cinderblocks and throwing her into a lake while she was still alive. Gabrion is also believed to have murdered Timmerman’s 11-month-old daughter Shannon Verhage, whose body was never recovered. Timmerman’s father Tim has since spoke with WoodTV after being informed of the commutation. “We thought the timing was despicable. We felt that President [sic] Biden could have waited until after the holidays. I think President Biden offered a Christmas gift to the perpetrators of murder, but he offered only pain to the victims of the families.”  

Violent Venezuelan gang members expanding operations in Midwest | 28 Dec 2024 | Members of the violent Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), continue to expand criminal operations nationwide, including in the midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. In Illinois, Chicago has long been plagued with illegal border crosser crime, serving as a major hub for drug trafficking operations run by the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and transnational criminal organizations working with street gangs, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has reported. As the border crisis escalated over the past few years, a record number of Venezuelan illegal border crossers, more than one million, were reported under the Biden administration. As hundreds of thousands were released into the U.S., including TdA members, violence spread nationwide, including in the so-called sanctuary city of Chicago.  

Court orders Biden regime to stop selling border wall materials, was ‘illegally subverting’ laws – Texas AG | 27 Dec 2024 | The Biden administration on Friday said it would stop selling off materials slated to be used to build a border wall ahead of the incoming Trump administration, which has promised to bring back tougher efforts to combat illegal immigration. The Biden administration confirmed to a court that it will agree to a court order preventing it from disposing of any further border wall materials over the next 30 days, allowing President-elect Trump to use those materials, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. The Biden regime has been auctioning off border wall parts since at least 2023, with parts listed for sale on auction marketplaces, after it abruptly shut down most border wall construction in 2021.

Guardian Angels resume NYC subway patrols for first time since 2020 after shocking arson murder | 29 Dec 2024 | The Guardian Angels are resuming their patrols of the Big Apple’s subways as if it were crime-riddled Gotham in 1979, after the horrifying arson murder of a sleeping straphanger on a train last week, founder Curtis Sliwa said Sunday. The red-beret-wearing volunteer vigilante squad is beefing up its ranks to its level 45 years ago, Sliwa said. “We’re going to have to increase our numbers, increase the training and increase our presence as we did back in 1979,” Sliwa said at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island station in Brooklyn where the woman was killed. Ever since last week’s shocking slaying, “hundreds of citizens” have requested the Guardian Angels return to patrol the subway cars, Sliwa claimed.

Illegal migrant allegedly set train passenger on fire and watched her burn to death –NYPD officials said man watched as the woman burned to death on the subway train | 22 Dec 2024 | A migrant from Guatemala was arrested in connection to the heinous death of a woman who was lit on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday. Sources identified the person of interest to Fox News Digital as 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta. While police did not identify the person of interest, a high-level NYPD source told Fox News Digital the individual entered the U.S. illegally from Guatemala in 2018, when President-elect Trump was president during his first term. The person of interest has no prior arrests in New York City and one prior arrest in Arizona, the source said, though details about the arrest were not available.

Bald eagle protects eggs as tornado-warned storm rages in Louisiana –Radar from Saturday afternoon confirmed a tornado passed through the area of Kisatchie National Forest | 29 Dec 2024 | As tornadoes tore through the South on Saturday, a bald eagle was caught on camera fiercely protecting its eggs. Video from Louisiana’s only national forest showed an eagle in its massive nest during the storms. A camera facing the nest, located high in the trees, caught a perfect view of the strong wind gusts whipping through the trees that surround the nest. As the bald eagle stood guard over its eggs, the wind blew so hard that the eagle’s tail feathers blew upward, away from the eggs.