National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Ron DeSantis says he will refuse any extradition request after Trump indictment: ‘Questionable circumstances’ –DeSantis slammed the charges against Trump as ‘un-American’ | 30 March 2023 | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state “will not assist” in any extradition request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg amid what he called “questionable circumstances” while slamming the charges against former President Donald Trump as “un-American” and as a “weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda.” The former president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. “The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,” DeSantis tweeted Thursday. “It is un-American.”

Army Black Hawk helicopters crash, killing 9 service members – official | 30 March 2023 | An Army official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday all nine service members aboard the two Black Hawk helicopters that crashed Wednesday night in Trigg County, Kentucky – near Fort Campbell – have died. Two HH60 Black Hawks of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) were conducting a training exercise at approximately 10 p.m. when they crashed, Brendalyn Carpenter-Player, the director of the Fort Campbell Public Affairs, told Fox News Digital… Brig. Gen. John Lucas, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Deputy Commander, said Thursday that a team specialized in aircraft safety, from Fort Rucker in Alabama, is expected to arrive today to start looking at “every possible contributing factor” that led to the crash. Lucas said the helicopters went down in an open field next to a residential area.

Breaking: New York Grand Jury Votes to Indict Former President Trump –Trump has not yet been arrested but he will face arraignment on the charges, be fingerprinted, and may be handcuffed. | 30 March 2023 | A Manhattan grand jury has reportedly voted to indict former President Donald Trump over his alleged role in a payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016, making him the first former president to face criminal charges. The felony indictment is under seal but the exact charges are likely to be announced soon. A source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed the indictment to Just the News. Trump has not yet been arrested but he will face arraignment on the charges, be fingerprinted, and may be handcuffed. The case involves a payment of $130,000 that Trump’s then-personal attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels. Trump later paid the same amount to Cohen and listed that payment as a legal fee.

Senate Votes 68-23 to End Covid Emergency | 29 March 2023 | The Senate on Wednesday voted 68 to 23 to end the Covid emergency. The House already passed the resolution 229-197. Joe Biden is not expected to veto the resolution. The Hill reported: “The Senate on Wednesday passed a GOP-led resolution that would end the COVID-19 national emergency that’s been in place since 2020. The measure passed the upper chamber 68-23. A similar resolution sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) passed the Senate last year, but did not advance in the Democratically-controlled House. This year it passed the House 229-197, with 11 Democrats joining all Republicans.”

70-car train derails, spilling hazardous materials in North Dakota | 27 March 2023 | A 70-car Canadian Pacific Railway freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed outside of Wyndmere, N.D., officials said. Richland County Emergency Manager Brett Lambrecht said 31 of the cars derailed, according to local outlet KFGO. A Canadian Pacific spokesperson said there is no public safety threat, but some of the cars carrying hazardous materials are leaking.

Katie Hobbs’s Press Secretary Resigns After Tweet Advocating Gun Violence Against ‘Transphobes’ on the Heels of Transgender Shooter Killing Six in Nashville | 29 March 2023 | Josselyn Berry, the press secretary for Arizona Governor [sic] Katie Hobbs, has resigned after a tweet advocating gun violence against “transphobes.” The tweet came just hours after transgender woman killing six people at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee. The tweet featured a gif of a woman holding two handguns, ready to fire, with the caption “us when we see transphobes.” In the first tweet in the thread, Berry wrote: “If you work in the progressive community and are transphobic, you’re not progressive. Period. End of story. It’s not hard to understand but you’re bigotry masquerading as feminism absolutely is.”

‘Pro-democracy’ Arizona Democrats sue to block third party from ballot in bid to protect Biden’s ‘re-election’ chances | 30 March 2023 | After campaigning on fighting for democracy, the Arizona Democratic Party is reportedly suing to stop a third-party organization from accessing the state’s presidential ballot in the 2024 election. The lawsuit targets No Labels, a centrist group that aims to give voters a non-extreme presidential option next year and has secured ballot access in three states, including Arizona. Democratic officials will file a complaint Thursday in state court in Phoenix alleging that Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, erroneously accepted signature petitions from the group, The Washington Post reported. The lawsuit claims that accompanying affidavits from proposed electors were signed before all the petitions were gathered, in violation of state statute. “As a result, the Arizona Democratic Party claims the affidavits purporting to verify the petitions should be considered false and the petitions invalid,” the Post reported.

More than two dozen Democrats join GOP in opposing Biden gas stove ban –“Clearly, the plan to ban gas stoves was already in the works even before federal bureaucrats said the quiet part out loud earlier this year.” – Rep. Palmer | 29 March 2023 | The House of Representatives approved an amendment — with help from several Democrats — late Wednesday that would prevent the Department of Energy (DOE) from implementing strict new regulations on gas stoves that most stoves on the market today would not be able to meet. The House voted 251 to 181 in favor of the amendment from Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., to a larger energy policy bill, and 29 Democrats voted with the GOP. Republicans have been looking to defend the use of gas stoves ever since the Consumer Product Safety Commission indicated it could ban stoves for health reasons. That idea was scrapped, but it was followed by a proposed DOE regulation that would impose tough new energy efficiency standards for gas stoves.

‘Trans Day of Vengeance’ WILL go ahead at Supreme Court despite Nashville school trans shooter Audrey Hale killing six –Trans Radical Activist Network to hold demonstration outside Supreme Court | 29 March 2023 | An activist group is due to hold a “Trans Day of Vengeance” demonstration outside the Supreme Court on Saturday, warning against “astronomical amounts of hate from the world” and following the horrifying Nashville shooting which left seven dead on Monday. The Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN) will host the event in Washington, D.C., from 31 March until 2 April, starting Friday and marching on the Supreme Court at 11 a.m. on Saturday. On their website they cite gender-affirming care ban bills and the political climate as motives for the demonstration. But commentators are up in arms over the decision to go ahead with the protest as police say they are investigating the role of Nashville shooter Audrey Hale’s gender identity and a sense of “resentment” that may have inspired the attack on the shooter’s Christian former school.

After 6 people murdered at Christian school, media relentlessly smears prayer, religion | 29 March 2023 | Pastors and conservative leaders weighed in on reaction by journalists and entertainers who have mocked prayer and brought attention to Tennessee’s drag show ban amid the Christian elementary school massacre that took six lives Monday. As the nation grapples with the murders of three adults and three children at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, faith leaders responded to the criticism by journalists, commentators, entertainers and activists who have mocked prayer and blamed conservatives for outlawing drag shows for kids and not guns. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins reiterated that people should still turn to prayer as a way to combat the “spiritual battle” that “is raging for our country and our culture” which “is targeting our children.”

Active shooter calls believed to be hoax reported across Pittsburgh area | 29 March 2023 | (Update) Law enforcement from across the Pittsburgh area are responding to reported active shooter calls that are believed to be a hoax. Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus tells Channel 11 that there are no injuries and no evidence of any shootings at local schools. There was a massive police response at both Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic high schools in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, but Pittsburgh police said both schools have since been cleared and declared safe. Pennsylvania State Police in Uniontown said they also responded to Laurel Highlands Senior High School for an active shooter threat. State police said the threat is believed to be a “computer generated swatting call.”

Taxpayers fund ‘radical gender ideology to create psychopaths,’ 2024 candidate says after Nashville shooting | 28 March 2023 | Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, called out the Department of Education for investing billions in “radical gender ideology to create psychopaths” while schools experience a lack of security after the tragic shooting in Nashville. On Monday afternoon, a shooter entered and opened fire inside The Covenant Christian School in Nashville. The shooter, a former student who identified as transgender, killed three 9-year-old students and three teachers in the horrific attack, before being killed by police… The GOP candidate highlighted the Education Department spending taxpayer dollars on what he called “gender ideology,” even as school shootings are becoming more frequent in recent years. “We spend $80BN+ per year through the U.S. Dept of Education that helps fund radical gender ideology to create psychopaths, yet don’t protect kids in our schools from being killed by them. That’s wrong.” Ramaswamy added that he would invest in school safety if elected in 2024.