National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

No elections now – Zelensky –Ukraine’s leader has said a vote can’t be held while martial law is in effect | 6 Nov 2023 | The time is not right for elections in Ukraine, President Vladimir Zelensky said on Monday, after months of pressure from the West to organize a parliamentary vote in order to preserve the perception of democracy. “We must decide that now is the time of defense, the time of battle, on which the fate of the state and people depends,” Zelensky said in his daily address. “I believe that now is not the time for elections,” but for Ukraine to stay united, he added. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmitry Kuleba, said last week that Zelensky was “weighing” whether to hold a presidential election in 2024.

U.S. and UK oppose anti-Nazi resolution at UN | 4 Nov 2023 | The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution condemning the glorification of neo-Nazism, racism and other forms of hatred, despite the opposition from many Western countries – including the U.S., UK and Canada. The resolution that condemns “the persistence and resurgence of neo-Nazism, neo-Fascism and violent nationalist ideologies based on racial and national prejudice” was adopted on Friday by a vote of 111-50, with 14 abstentions. Without singling out any country, the document further expresses “deep concern” about the glorification of Nazi figures and movements, including former members of the Waffen SS and other units that fought against the anti-Hitler coalition during World War II.

Blinken Tells Abbas He Asked Israel to Use ‘Smaller Bombs’ on Gaza | 5 Nov 2023 | U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on another multi-day tour of the Middle East, where this time Arab leaders have finally acquiesced to meet with him as the Gaza crisis continues, at a moment the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say that Gaza City is surrounded. On Sunday, Blinken visited Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas of the internationally backed Palestinian Authority (PA). Blinken reportedly told Abbas that the U.S. is pressing Israel to “minimize civilian harm.” Blinken had previously again met with Netanyahu Friday where according to fresh reports he pressed the Israeli prime minister to use “smaller bombs.”

Pentagon confirms U.S. spy drones over Gaza –The admission comes after journalists spotted Reaper drones circling the Palestinian enclave | 4 Nov 2023 | The U.S. military has acknowledged carrying out “unarmed” drone flights over the Gaza Strip, saying the UAVs were deployed to help locate hostages taken by Hamas. American officials cited by the media insist the aircraft are not supporting Israeli operations in the area. In a brief statement on Friday, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder confirmed that the drone missions “began after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel,” during which the Palestinian militant group took over 200 hostages.

Gaza death toll tops 10,000; UN calls it a children’s graveyard | 6 Nov 2023 | Gaza is becoming a “graveyard for children,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, amplifying demands for a ceasefire in the enclave, where Palestinian health authorities said the death toll from Israeli strikes had exceeded 10,000. Both Israel and the Hamas militants who control Gaza have rebuffed mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. Israel says hostages taken by Hamas during its rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 should be released first; Hamas says it will not free them or stop fighting while Gaza is under assault.

House Passes Resolution That Suggests Using Force Against Iran | 2 Nov 2023 | The House on Wednesday passed a resolution that suggested the U.S. would use force against Iran in the future in the name of preventing the country from acquiring nuclear weapons. The resolution says a nuclear-armed Iran is “unacceptable” and declares that the policy of the U.S. is to “use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” A U.S. intelligence report recently affirmed that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons… The same officials do not officially recognize that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal. The resolution passed in a vote of 354-53, with 50 Democrats and three Republicans voting against the measure.   

CDC expands infectious disease surveillance program at 4 major U.S. airports | 6 Nov 2023 | The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is expanding its infectious disease surveillance program at four major airports. The CDC is looking for more than 30 pathogens, including RSV and the flu. Testing will happen at Boston Logan International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. It currently operates at six major US international airports.

Pandemic ‘had lasting impact’ on brain health of people aged 50 or over –UK study finds cognitive function and working memory in older adults declined even if they were not infected with virus | 1 Nov 2023 | The pandemic has caused sustained harm to the brain health of people aged 50 or over, rapidly speeding up cognitive decline regardless of whether or not they caught Covid, researchers have discovered. A study has found that cognitive function and working memory in older adults declined more quickly during the first year of the pandemic between March 2020 and February 2021, even if they were not infected with the virus. The trend continued into 2021-22, suggesting an impact beyond the initial lockdowns… 

Trump’s Attorney Has Perfect Response When Judge Says ‘Control Your Client’ | 6 Nov 2023 | The combustible atmosphere in the civil trial of former President Donald Trump on allegations of fraud turned into open fireworks Monday in a New York courtroom as Trump took the stand. Legal analyst Lisa Rubin posted on X one snippet of the sniping that took place as Judge Arthur Engoron vented to Trump defense attorney Chris Kise his displeasure with the 2024 presidential candidate’s answers on the stand. “Mr. Kise, can you control your client? This is not a political rally…Maybe you should have a talk with him right now,” Rubin quoted Engoron as saying. Kise instead said it would be better to let the “former and future chief executive of the United States” answer.

Donald Trump attorney Alina Habba tears into ‘unhinged’ Judge Arthur Engoron for going ‘red’ in the face, slamming the table and telling her to sit down –Habba said ‘red-faced’ judge ‘yelled’ at her and tried to ‘silence’ her client –Trump called prosecuting attorney general Letitia James a ‘hack’ | 6 Nov 2023 | President Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba called Judge Arthur Engoron “unhinged” for slamming the table during the former president’s testimony and “yelling” at her to sit down. In an impassioned defense of her client outside court Habba claimed Judge Engoron believed Trump committed fraud before “we even walked into this courtroom.” Trump is accused in the 250million civil fraud trial in New York of inflating his net worth and property values in order to secure l-oans on favorable terms [even though the l-oan was repaid and there was no injured party]. During a break in proceedings Habba stood outside the court building and railed against the judge, describing his face “going red” when Trump was on the witness stand. She accused the judge of wanting to “silence” Trump during his answers to questions about his business empire and the value of Mar-a-Lago.

Trump leads Biden in 5 battleground states in New York Times poll | 5 Nov 2023 | Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in five of the six major swing states, according to new polls released Sunday, as voters largely express disapproval of the current president. Trump leads Biden by 10 points in Nevada, 6 in Georgia, 5 in Arizona, 5 in Michigan and 4 in Pennsylvania, according to new polls by The New York Times and Siena College. He is down by 2 points in Wisconsin. Biden carried all six of the states in 2020, but now, 59% of voters in those states say they disapprove of Biden’s job performance, while 38% say they approve. Meanwhile, 71% of respondents said Biden is “too old to be an effective president,” compared to 39% who said the same about Trump.

House, Senate Democrats Push Background Checks for Ammo Purchases | 4 Nov 2023 | Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are pushing legislation to require background checks for ammunition purchases. They are joined by other Democrats, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). The Democrats are pushing the Ammunition Modernization and Monitoring Oversight Act (AMMO Act). In addition to requiring background checks for ammo purchases, Redstate noted the Act would also limit the number of rounds law-abiding citizens can buy over a five-day period and mandate that ammo dealers get a license separate from the Federal Firearms License (FFL) required for gun sales.

The ‘Great Reset’: Obama to push ‘inclusive capitalism’ at 15th reunion weekend | 3 Nov 2023 |Former President Obama on Friday will issue a call to action on “inclusive capitalism” as he kicks off a reunion weekend in Chicago that will reunite 2,500+ Obama alumni on the 15th anniversary of his historic election as America’s first black president. At the Obama Foundation’s second-annual Democracy Forum, the former president will call for “a new economic framework that addresses inequality and prepares citizens for the coming changes in how we live and work that reaches a higher purpose beyond material consumption,” according to a preview for Axios. 

Election fraud cases break out in 3 Democratic states, new voting ordered in one | 5 Nov 2023 | A new primary election has been ordered by a Connecticut state court amid alleged fraud, while Democrats in Massachusetts and New Jersey are also accused of or charged with election fraud. This brings the total of election-related criminal cases across the country to at least three. Democrats in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey are facing various allegations of election fraud, as two instances are related to this year’s elections while two more are with regard to prior elections. On Wednesday, Bridgeport Superior Court Judge William Clark overturned the results of a Democratic mayoral primary and ordered a new election in connection to allegations of absentee ballot abuse.

Judge Overturns Bridgeport, CT, Primary Election, Calling Evidence of Fraud ‘Shocking’ | 2 Nov 2023 | A primary election in Connecticut has been overturned by a judge, who said the evidence presented was “shocking.” The Sept. 12 Democratic primary for the race to become Bridgeport’s mayor included thousands of absentee ballots. John Gomes, one of the candidates, presented evidence indicating some of the ballots were cast fraudulently. State law enables absentee voting but contains multiple rules, including that a person who helps distribute more than five absentee applications must register with the town clerk as a distributor.  

Nashville Mayor’s Office, MSM Flips Out After Trans Shooter Manifesto Leaks; Authenticity Confirmed | 6 Nov 2023 | The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said Monday that the three images included with the alleged first three pages of the Christian Covenant School shooter’s manifesto are not “crime scene images,” the Daily Caller reports. Conservative political commentator Steven Crowder posted photographs of three pages which he alleged are part of a manifesto written by the now-deceased Audrey Hale, who killed six people inside the Covenant School with a firearm in Nashville, Tennessee, back in March. An officer killed Hale as she continued opening fire on the second floor of the building. “The MNPD is in communication with the Metropolitan Department of Law as an investigation, begun this morning, continues into the dissemination of three photographs of writings during an on-line discussion about Covenant School. The photographs are not MNPD crime scene images,” the statement reads. Authorities confirmed they discovered a manifesto written by Hale in which she had allegedly planned the attack for several weeks.

Britain’s ‘loneliest sheep’ rescued after two years at foot of cliff | 4 Nov 2023 | A ewe that was hailed Britain’s loneliest sheep has been rescued by a group of farmers from a remote shingle beach in the Scottish Highlands. The sheep, called Fiona and wearing a huge fleece, had been stranded at the foot of cliffs on the Cromarty Firth for at least two years, with an animal welfare charity having deemed rescue attempts “incredibly complex.” But five farmers managed to haul her up a steep slope, and now plan to deliver her to a farm park. The rescue mission was organised by Cammy Wilson, a sheep shearer from Ayrshire and a presenter on the BBC’s Landward programme, after seeing media coverage of Fiona’s plight.