National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG.

U.S. state sues Pfizer over ‘misleading’ Covid-19 vaccine claims –The company hid evidence linking its shots to heart inflammation conditions, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has claimed | 18 June 2024 | The U.S. state of Kansas has initiated legal action against Pfizer over “misleading claims” that the pharmaceutical giant allegedly made regarding its Covid-19 vaccine’s effectiveness and the risks associated with it. Several manufacturers began developing Covid-19 vaccines in the months after the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared a pandemic in March 2020. Governments across the world subsequently began mandating inoculation… On Monday, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit claiming that Pfizer had deliberately hidden evidence linking the vaccine to myocarditis and pregnancy complications. “Pfizer made multiple misleading statements to deceive the public about its vaccine at a time when Americans needed the truth,” Kobach said in a statement.

IDF Approves Plans for ‘Offensive in Lebanon’ | 18 June 2024 | The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has officially approved plans for an “offensive in Lebanon” against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group illegally occupying southern Lebanon that has been firing at northern Israel since October. In a statement, the IDF said: “Today (Tuesday), the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, and the Head of the Operations Directorate (J3), MG Oded Basiuk, approved operational plans and held a joint situational assessment in the Northern Command. As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field.”

IDF knew of Hamas’s plan to kidnap 250 before October 7 attack – report –The IDF had precise information about Hamas’s intentions, but due to prevailing conceptions within the security establishment and possible [?] negligence by senior officials, the warning signs were not acted upon. | 17 June 2024 | A newly surfaced document has revealed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence systems had detailed knowledge of Hamas’s plan to raid Israel and kidnap 250 people weeks before the October 7 massacre. The document, which was compiled in the Gaza Division, outlined Hamas’s intentions and was known to top intelligence officials, according to a report by Kan News. The document, titled “Detailed End-to-End Raid Training,” was distributed on September 19, 2023, and described in detail the series of exercises conducted by Hamas’s elite units. These exercises included raiding military posts and kibbutzim (collective communities in Israel), kidnapping soldiers and civilians, and maintaining the hostages once they were in the Gaza Strip. The report by Kan News stated, “Security sources told Kan News that the document was known to the intelligence leadership, at the very least in the Gaza Division.”

S-500 Deployed Earlier Than Expected – Posture Now Consistent With Nuclear First Strike | 13 June 2024 | Overnight, Russia deployed the second generation of its S-500 air defense systems…around Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Russia’s strategic nuclear missile silos. This second generation system – the undisputed pinnacle of air defense systems in the world – was not expected to be ready for deployment for at least another six months. The fact that Russia deployed them last night, and did so in very significant numbers for which mass-production wasn’t even known to be ready, never mind active, around Moscow, St. Petersburg AND their strategic nuclear missile silos, has now changed the balance of power completely. There’s no gentle way to say this, so I’m just going to say it: This posture is one that would be expected if Russia was planning a nuclear first-strike upon the West, and was readying to defend itself from the counter-strike.

Senate Armed Services Committee Proposes Military Draft Registration for Women in FY25 Defense Policy Bill | 15 June 2024 | The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has proposed to include a provision in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that mandates draft registration for women. Under the latest National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), not only will men aged 18 to 26 be automatically registered for selective service, but an amendment also proposes mandatory draft registration for women. Note that he version of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House of Representatives is distinct from the version advanced by the Senate Armed Services Committee. In May, the FY25 NDAA received strong bipartisan support as it was approved by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) vehemently criticized the new proposal, stating, “You can go straight to h-ll. Over my dead body. [House GOP]” Rep. Mike Davis (R-UT) also expressed his opposition, saying, “We will not draft women. I stand with [Chip Roy] — this will happen over my dead body.”

Bird flu infects seventh Iowa dairy farm, state agency says | 17 June 2024 | Another dairy herd infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza has been reported in Sioux County, making it the fifth such outbreak in the northwest Iowa county. The Iowa Department of Agriculture said Monday that bird flu, known as H5N1, was reported in a Sioux County herd with 10,000 cows. It’s the seventh outbreak in a dairy herd in Iowa since the first case was reported earlier in June. The virus is deadly to chickens, turkeys and other poultry, and flocks where it is detected are destroyed to contain the virus. So far, however, the effects on dairy cows have been limited to symptoms like reduced appetite and milk production, and they are able to recover with supportive care.

Bird flu spreads to seventh Australian poultry farm | 17 June 2024 | Highly pathogenic avian influenza has spread to a seventh poultry farm near Melbourne, the government of Australia’s Victoria state said on Monday. Six of the properties have an H7N3 flu strain and a seventh has an H7N9 strain, it said. “Restricted and control areas are in place surrounding all infected premises,” Victoria’s agriculture department said in a statement. The infected properties include six egg farms and a duck farm. Around 1 million chickens, roughly 5% of Australia’s egg-laying flock, have been or will be killed at affected farms to contain the virus, the government said last week.

Ex-GB News presenter’s career was ‘killed’ by Ofcom after it ruled his show breached broadcast code with its Covid vaccine coverage, High Court hears | 11 June 2024 | A former GB News presenter’s career was “killed” by Ofcom twice ruling his show breached its broadcasting code, the High Court has heard. Mark Steyn is taking legal action against the regulator over its decisions in 2023 that two of his shows in 2022, which both related to the Covid vaccine rollout, amounted to breaches of its rules. The Canadian broadcaster is asking a High Court judge to quash the decisions, with his lawyers claiming they lacked “clarity and coherence” and risked an “obvious potential chilling effect.” However, barristers for Ofcom claim the regulator was free to make its decisions to protect the public from potential harm. Speaking in a packed courtroom in London on Tuesday, Jonathan Price, for Mr. Steyn, said: “The rulings against his show have killed his career, killed his career in the UK, and given rise to what he describes as crude defamation…recycled through the London papers as if they had the force of criminal convictions.” [The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications, and postal industries of the United Kingdom (Wikipedia).]

Journalist threatened with jail over publishing trans shooter’s manifesto | 16 June 2024 | A journalist from the Tennessee Star is being summoned to appear in court and faces jail time for publishing journal writings of transgender shooter Audrey Hale, sparking freedom of the press concerns. The article revealed that Hale, who shot and killed six people at the Covenant Elementary school in March 2023, wrote that she would “kill” to get puberty blockers weeks before her horrific act. For more than a year, Nashville Chancellor I’Ashea Myles has been presiding over a public records case wherein the plaintiffs are suing to get the right to release documents related to the shooting…But since the case in ongoing, Myles is claiming that the Tennessee Star may have published “certain purported documents and information” that should have remained under seal. At Myle’s request, Tennessee Star editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy will appear in court Monday to explain why his news outlet didn’t violate the court order.  

Trump-backed candidate wins Virginia’s Republican Senate primary to take on Tim Kaine | 18 June 2024 | Hung Cao won the Virginia Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, getting the party’s nod to take on incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in November. The most prominent contenders in the Senate GOP primary besides Cao were former DeSantis staffer and Club for Growth employee Scott Parkinson and constitutional attorney Jonathan Emord. Former President Trump endorsed Cao last month, writing on Truth Social, “A Combat Veteran and Highly Decorated Special Operations Officer, Hung Cao will be a tireless fighter to stop inflation, grow our Economy, secure our Border, strong support our incredible Military/Vets, and defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”

Biden offers path to citizenship to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in U.S. | 18 June 2024 | Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a new effort to provide a path to citizenship to hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who are married to U.S. citizens, an election-year move that contrasts sharply with Republican rival Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportations. The new Biden program will be open to an estimated 500,000 spouses who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, officials said on Tuesday. Some 50,000 children under age 21 with a U.S.-citizen parent also will be eligible. The program will almost certainly face legal challenges and a future president could attempt to end it. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican whose state has battled Biden in court over immigration policy, said in a statement that the new effort was “blatantly illegal” and “pandering for votes.”

How non-citizens are getting voter registration forms across the U.S. | 14 June 2024 | Welfare offices and other agencies in 49 US states are providing voter registration forms to migrants without requiring proof of citizenship, leading Republicans and conservatives to call for swift federal action to stop the handouts. Every state but Arizona — which recently passed a law barring the practice on state but not federal forms — gives applicants for either welfare benefits, driver’s licenses, or in some cases, mail-in ballots voter registration forms without demanding proof of citizenship. There is currently no requirement on federal voting forms to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, though it is illegal to falsely claim one is a citizen or for a non-citizen to cast a ballot in a federal election. But millions of migrants with humanitarian parole, refugee or asylum status are eligible for benefits that would bring them to the offices where voter registration takes place.

Rachel Morin murder: Illegal immigrant from El Salvador charged in rape, killing of Maryland mom of 5 | 15 June 2024 | An illegal migrant from El Salvador is responsible for the murder of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, police announced. In a press conference on Saturday, Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler said that Victor Martinez-Hernandez was arrested late Friday night and booked on Saturday morning. “Five hours after meeting with [Morin’s] family and just before midnight our time, police in Tulsa, Oklahoma assisted by our federal partners, located and arrested Rachel’s murderer: Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez,” Gahler said. He was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape. The 23-year-old migrant illegally crossed into the United States in February 2023, police announced.

Good Samaritans beat, tied up Ecuadorean migrant busted in rape of 13-year-old girl at Kissena Park | 18 June 2024 | A group of good Samaritans helped nab the 25-year-old Ecuadorean migrant wanted for the brutal sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl at a Queens park — smacking him around and tying him up with a belt. Dramatic video and photos obtained by The Post shows the shirtless suspect – later identified by police as Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi – cowering on the sidewalk early Tuesday as the angry mob pounds him and calls him out as “a rapist.” Inga-Landi faces a slew of charges, including rape, kidnapping and sex abuse, after cops arrested him thanks to a flood of help from the public, including the good Samaritans who lassoed him on the street, NYPD brass said later Tuesday.

Nvidia becomes world’s most valuable company | 18 June 2024 | Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company on Tuesday, dethroning tech heavyweight Microsoft, as its chips continue to play a central role in a race to dominate the market for artificial intelligence. Shares of the chipmaker climbed 3.2% to 135.21, lifting its market capitalization to 3.326 trillion, just days after overtaking Apple to become the second most valuable company. The stock has surged about 173% so far this year.