National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Three injured in Ukrainian attack on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant | 7 April 2024 | Multiple explosive-laden Ukrainian drones targeted the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant on Sunday, hitting several parts of the facility, Russia’s nuclear energy agency Rosatom said in a statement. At least three employees were injured in the attack, the agency added. According to a Telegram post by the facility’s Russian management, one kamikaze UAV struck near the power plant’s canteen, damaging a nearby truck. Another drone exploded in the vicinity of the cargo port. The attack on the plant’s canteen left at least three employees injured, Rosatom said in a separate statement. “Twenty minutes before the attack, [International Atomic Energy Agency] experts were conducting an inspection of this territory,” the management said.

Facing Nuclear War | 6 April 2024 | P. Dutton has just published a startling book by Annie Jacobsen titled Nuclear War: A Scenario. The “scenario,” as she describes it in an Author’s Note, begins with a nuclear strike on the Pentagon, a “Bolt out of the Blue” that the U.S. Nuclear Command and Control System (NCCS) calls an “unwarned large [nuclear] attack.” …We learn that the heat from a 1-megaton thermonuclear fireball will ignite everything flammable extending out several miles around it, followed by a great firestorm that consumes everything in a “100-or-more-square-mile area.” In addition to the nuclear fireball’s blinding pulses of light, nuclear blast waves generate wind up to 300 mph–2–times greater than a category 5 hurricane. An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generated by the blast “obliterates all radio, internet, TV [and] cars electric ignition systems in a several-mile ring outside the blast.” This is followed by a 7-10 year long nuclear winter where temperatures stay 40 degrees lower than normal. A 1-megaton (1,000 kilotons of TNT) thermonuclear weapon is sixty-six times more powerful than the 15-kilotons of TNT atomic bomb the U.S. Air Force dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Ukraine Loses Over 280 Troops in Avdeyevka Region in Past 24 Hours – MoD | 6 April 2024 | The Russian armed forces repelled 12 attacks by Ukrainian troops in the region of Avdeyevka, over the past 24 hours, with Kiev losing more than 280 service people in the area as a result, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday… Moreover, the Russian armed forces repelled two attacks by assault groups of Ukrainian troops in the area of the village of Rozdolovka located near the city of Artemovsk, in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, the ministry added. As a result, Ukraine lost over 470 service people, two armored vehicles and eight vehicles, as well as a U.S.-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, a U.S.-made M777 howitzer, four Gvozdika self-propelled artillery mounts, a Rapira anti-tank gun, and a field ammunition depot in the area, the ministry also said.

Kiev has lost more than 80,000 troops since January – Russian MoD –In excess of 1,200 Ukrainian tanks and other armored vehicles have also been destroyed, Sergey Shoigu has estimated | 2 April 2024 | Ukrainian forces have lost more than 80,000 troops since the beginning of the year, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday, adding that the Russian military is continuing to reduce “the enemy’s combat potential.” More than 14,000 pieces of military hardware have also been destroyed by Russian forces since January, including 1,200 tanks and other armored combat vehicles. During the same period, Moscow has liberated some 403 square kilometers of Russia’s new territories, Shoigu told a conference call with the country’s military leadership.

Army mulls introducing robot platoon into armored brigades | 27 March 2024 | The Army may introduce a drone and robotics platoon into its armored brigade combat teams, an Army leader announced Tuesday at the AUSA Global Force conference. A proposal to stand up the new type of platoon has been sent to the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, for eventual inclusion in an update to the service’s force design, said Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team. “Those force design updates are working their way through the system now,” he said. The platoons would be known as robotic and autonomous systems, or “RAS,” platoons. If implemented Army-wide, the new platoons would lead to a dramatic increase in the use of robotic systems, and ground robots in particular.

Forty Members of U.S. Congress Urge Biden to Cease Offensive Arms Supply to Israel – Letter | 6 April 2024 | Forty members of US Congress, including former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have appealed with a joint letter to Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel after a deadly Israeli strike on World Central Kitchen’s (WCK) humanitarian convoy in the Gaza Strip. “We write to express our shared concern and outrage regarding the recent Israeli airstrike which killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including an American citizen. In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed,” the letter read. The members of U.S. Congress also called on Washington to ensure that future military deliveries to Israel, including already authorized transfers, are “subject to conditions to ensure it is used in compliance with U.S. and international law,” the letter said.

Tens of thousands demand Netanyahu’s ‘immediate’ replacement –Demonstrators have accused the Israeli prime minister of slow-walking a ceasefire deal to please hardliners in his cabinet | 6 April 2024 | Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in Tel Aviv to demand the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the return of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. Nearly six months to the day since Israel declared war on Hamas, around 100,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Democracy Square on Saturday evening, protest organizers claimed. Carrying Israeli flags and chanting anti-government slogans, the demonstrators called for early elections and implored Netanyahu to strike a deal with the Palestinian militants to release more than 100 Israelis thought to remain in captivity. Speaking at a pre-protest press conference, Einav Zangauker, whose son was taken to Gaza as a hostage, said: “Netanyahu is failing the deal on purpose and he is standing between us and our loved ones in Gaza.”

Palestine asks for UN membership –The Palestinian Authority has relaunched its bid to join the UN after a failed attempt in 2011 | 3 April 2024 | The Palestinian Authority (PA) has formally requested that it be admitted as a full-fledged member of the United Nations. The State of Palestine has held observer status at the UN since 2012, but full membership would amount to a recognition of Palestinian statehood, which Israel opposes. “Today, the State of Palestine, and upon instructions of the Palestinian leadership, sent a letter to the Secretary General requesting renewed consideration to [our] membership application,” the Palestinian Authority’s permanent envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. In a separate letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the Arab Group, Organization for Islamic Cooperation, and Non-Aligned Movement all backed Mansour’s request.

CDC issues bird flu health alert to clinicians, state health departments, public after Texas farmer infected | 5 April 2024 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert Friday to inform clinicians, state health departments and the public of a case of avian influenza in a person who had contact with dairy cows in Texas. A farmworker on a commercial dairy farm in Texas developed conjunctivitis last week, and subsequently tested positive for bird flu, the agency said. The positive bird flu diagnosis came after milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas tested positive for the disease. The infection follows a 2022 case in Colorado, and is the second person to test positive for the bird flu virus in the U.S.

This could be 100 times worse than Covid’: Bird flu warning from scientists who say HALF of infections with H5N1 in people are fatal – as White House says it’s “monitoring” the situation –Experts warn there is a higher risk of bird flu starting to spread between humans | 4 April 2024 | A bird flu pandemic could be “100 times worse than Covid” and kill up to half of everyone it infects, experts have warned — as the White House says it is “monitoring” the situation. Speaking at a briefing, virus researchers said the H5N1 strain of bird flu may now be getting “dangerously close” to triggering a pandemic. Multiple cases of the infection in a variety of mammals, including cows, cats and, more recently, humans, are all raising the risk of the virus mutating to become more transmissible, they said… The panel was quickly convened on the heels of news that a dairy farm worker in Texas tested positive for the virus, alongside 12 herds of cows in six states and three cats also in Texas that subsequently died. Testing done on the worker showed the patient’s virus had already mutated to spread more easily — although the CDC said this mutation had been recorded before, that the risk was low and that there was no sign of human-to-human transmission.

Agenda 2030: Largest U.S. Egg Producer Finds Bird Flu in Chickens at Texas Plant | 3 April 2024 | The largest producer of fresh eggs in the U.S. has temporarily halted production at a Texas plant after detecting bird flu in chickens, the company announced on Tuesday, noting that the virus was also found at a facility in Michigan. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. — which is based in Ridgeland, Mississippi — said in a statement that an estimated 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets were destroyed after being infected with avian influenza at the facility in Parmer County, Texas. That number accounts for approximately 3.6 percent of the facility’s total flock, The Associated Press reported. The company said it sells most of its eggs in the midwestern, mid-Atlantic, southeastern, and southwestern regions of the United States, according to the report.

Puerto Rico declares public health emergency as dengue fever cases rise | 27 March 2024 | Puerto Rico has declared a public health emergency as the number of dengue fever cases continues to rise. So far this year, there have been 549 cases reported with the plurality occurring in San Juan, according to the island’s health department. There has been a 140% increase this year in cases from Jan. 1 to March 21, compared to the same period last year, the department said. The public health emergency order will remain in place for 90 days.  

Tennessee passes chemtrail bill banning airborne chemicals | 2 April 2024 | Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill banning the release of airborne chemicals that critics deep-state trolls say is inspired by “chemtrails” conspiracy theories. The bill forbids “intentional injection, release, or dispersion” of chemicals into the air. It doesn’t explicitly mention chemtrails, which conspiracy theorists believe are poisons spread by planes. Instead it broadly prohibits “affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight”. The Republican-sponsored bill passed along party lines on Monday. If it is signed by Tennessee’s governor, Republican Bill Lee, it will go into effect on 1 July.  

Massive container ship loses power near NYC’s Verrazzano Bridge days after Baltimore Key Bridge disaster | 7 April 2024 | A massive container ship lost power in the waters around New York City and was brought to a rest near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Friday night –– less than two weeks after failure on another massive cargo vessel caused it to smash into Baltimoreæs Francis Scott Key Bridge. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that its Vessel Traffic Service received a report that the 89,000-ton M/V Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed Kill Van Kull waterway -– the shipping lane between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey. An image shared on X by John Konrad, CEO of maritime-focused news outlet gCaptain, shows the 1,100-foot Qingdao floating uncomfortably close to the span that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island.  

U.S. district judge rejects Trump’s bid to dismiss classified documents case | 4 April 2024 | US District Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday denied a motion filed by former President Donald Trump seeking to dismiss the criminal charges against him in his classified documents case. Trump, 77, had argued that under the Presidential Records Act of 1978 he had the authority to designate sensitive documents as his personal property after leaving the White House. Cannon ruled “the Presidential Records Act does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss” the 40 charges against the former president… Her three-page order, however, left the possibility open for Trump to use the Presidential Records Act to defend himself at trial. Cannon slammed special counsel Jack Smith’s demand that she make a ruling on whether Trump can use the legal theory as part of his defense in the West Palm Beach, Fla., federal court, calling it “unprecedented and unjust.”

Texas investigates Boeing supplier’s DEI commitments amid string of air travel scares | 29 March 2024 | Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced an investigation into Boeing parts supplier Spirit AeroSystems regarding its operations, as well as the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Spirit AeroSystems is one of the largest manufacturers of aircraft parts in the world and makes the fuselages for the Boeing 737 and 787, as well as the Airbus A350 and the wings for the A220. The company’s work with Boeing has faced scrutiny in the wake of the midair blowout of a 737 Max 9’s door plug panel. Paxton notified Spirit AeroSystems of the investigation in a letter requesting that the company produce documents related to manufacturing defects in its products. He is also calling for the company to produce documents related to its DEI commitments and whether those commitments are compromising its manufacturing processes. “The potential risks associated with certain airplane models are deeply concerning and potentially life-threatening to Texans,” Paxton said in a press release.

Berlin to Build 16 New Migrant Container Villages | 28 March 2024 | Local mayors in Berlin are breaking ranks against a state Senate decision to build 16 new container facilities to house over 6,000 asylum seekers across the German capital, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is quick to point out that the ruling government in Berlin is supposedly led by supposedly conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). Berlin’s state legislature recently approved plans to construct container villages in several locations where local politicians have already sounded the alarm over saturated public services. Up to 6,130 new arrivals will be housed in the accommodation to be built by 2026, suggesting state lawmakers have no intention of tackling the spiraling asylum applications gripping the nation, but local mayors are at least putting up some resistance to the plans.

200,000 deportation cases dismissed because DHS failed to file paperwork | 6 April 2024 | About 200,000 deportation cases have been thrown out by immigration judges, according to a new report published by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. TRAC researchers evaluated data from January 2021 to February 2024 and found that 200,000 asylum or other immigration cases were dismissed because the Department of Homeland Security didn’t file paperwork with the courts in time for scheduled hearings. TRAC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit data research center, is affiliated with the Newhouse School of Public Communications and Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.  

Homeland Security arrests 3 at suspected migrant squatter house | 3 April 2024 | Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents arrested three people Wednesday afternoon at a New York City house that has been at the center of a squatting, drugs and guns story involving migrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were also at the scene to help with the arrests, which were captured live on America Reports. Documents viewed by Fox News Digital reveal that the landlord moved to evict tenants from the building in October after their lease term ended on Oct. 13… Federal agents showed up at the house in the Bronx where six suspected migrant squatters, who were arrested on drugs and weapons charges last week, were understood to be living. The six had been set loose by a New York City judge on no-cash bail, despite prosecutors requesting they post bail as high as 150,000 c-sh for one migrant who had previously been arrested and charged with attempted murder.

U.S. foreign-born population shatters record as border crisis escalates | 28 March 2024 | The immigrant population has exploded by an unprecedented 6.4 million under Joe Biden amid the migrant crisis — an increase four times higher than under former President Donald Trump, a new study reveals. Overall, a record-shattering 51 million people living in the United States were born in another country, a surge triggered by the millions of migrants crossing the border, the report by the Center for Immigration Studies found. “We’ve never seen anything like this before over a three-year period of time. All prior records have been surpassed,” said Steven Camarota, the research director for CIS and author of the analysis.

Fury as FDNY firefighters are forced to remove Stars and Stripes honoring 9/11 heroes after Democratic lawmaker branded it a ‘fascist symbol’ | 31 March 2024 | Authorities at the New York City Fire Department commanded a ladder company in the East Village to remove a flag honoring six of the company’s men who perished on 9/11 after a resident complained it was a “fascist” symbol. The order arrived on March 22 after a man who the New York Post reports claimed to be a staffer for progressive Manhattan Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, confronted firefighters at Ladder Company 11. The man pulled up to the firehouse on a bike and told firefighters he works for Rivera and that the politician’s office had complained several days earlier about the flag… Several hours later, now-Commissioner Laura Kavanagh reversed the decision and allowed the flag back on the truck – though the damage has been done.

Germany Begins Felling Ancient Forest for Wind Turbines | 22 March 2024 | Work has started on the clearing of up to 120,000 trees in the central German “fairy tale” forest of Reinhardswald, but [this step] is the partial destruction of the 1,000-year-old ancient wood itself. The forest, the setting for many of the Brothers Grimm mythical stories, is being damaged to provide access for an initial 18 giant wind turbines around the Sababurg “Sleeping Beauty” castle. Who is opposing this massive destruction of the ancient forest teeming with wildlife with trees over a thousand years old? Certainly not the Green Party, now in power at national and local level. In fact, the project is being led by local Hesse Green Minister Priska Hinz, who is reported to have said: “Wind energy makes a decisive contribution to the energy transition and the preservation of nature. It is the only way to preserve forests and important ecosystems.”