TRUMP NOT IMPEACHED 2 TIMES IN A YEAR-ISRAEL WARNS HEZZBOLLAH

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 
2020 AMERICAN ELECTION

DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN

REVELATION 6:7-8 (500 MILLION DEAD EACH FROM THE 4 JUDGEMENTS)(2 BILLION TOT DEAD HERE)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).

THE COVID-19 TOTALS.
WORLD OVER ALL CASES 110,602,292 DEAD 2,444,735 AS OF THU FEB 18,21

FRI JAN5,21-THE DEMON POSSESSED HITLER PROPAGANDISTS JOBAMA NETWORK CNN. MANAGED TO GET MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE OUT FROM THE COMMITTES SHE WAS ON. SO NEXT ONE OF THE BABY KILLER ABORTION LOVING WOMAN I THINK IT WAS. MAYBE THAT MORNING NUTCASE WITH BERMAN ALYSIN CAMEROTA OR KATE BOLDUAN OR BRIANNA KEILER OR POPPY HARLOW. I KNOW IT WAS NOT GAY-MUSLIM SUCK HOLE BROOKE BALDWIN. BUT WHICH EVER ONE IT WAS- DONE A SHAWN HANNITY TID BIT CLIP BOARD. TO TRY TO GET RID OF HIM NEXT. IT MUST HAVE FAILED. BECAUSE I NEVER SEEN THE SCAM BY THE DEMON POSSESSED JOEBAMA CLINTON COMMUNIST NEWS NETWRK CNN THE REST OF THE DAY. WED FEB 17,21-I HAVE BEEN TAKING A BREAK FOR THE LAST WEEK OR SO TO WATCH THE FAKE FRAUD MADEUP TRIAL AGAINST MY ISRAEL SUPPORTER DONALD JOHN TRUMPY. I NEVER WATCHED THE DEMOLIBS GLABE ABOUT TRUMP AT ALL. THAT WAS THE SAME OLD TRUMP HATE. I JUST WATCHED THE REPUBLICANS TALK FOR TRUMP. AND OF COURSE JUST BEFORE THE SENATE VOTE. AFTER 3 OR SO HOURS OF GOP DEFENCE. THE DEMOLIBNUTS WANTED A WITNESS VOTED IN. SO THE 2 SIDES VOTED AND THE LIBS WON. THEN SOME TALK BETWEEN BOTH SIDES. AND THE WITNESS STATEMENT WAS SAID BY THE LIBS-A STALING TACTIC JUST TO WASTE TIME. SINCE THE LIBS KNEW THEY HAD NO CHANCE IN FINAL SENATE VOTE. THEN I THINK IT WAS AROUND 4PM WAS THE SENATE VOTE. AND THE FINAL VOTE FOR IMPEACHMENT OF DONALD J 57. AGAINST 43. YOUR SAYING STAN-THE LIBERALS IMPEACHED TRUMP.  BUT I FORGOT TO TELL YOU THE SENATED NEEDED A 2/3RDS VOTE TO IMPEACH TRUMP. THE DEMOLIBNUTS NEEDED 17 GOP TO VOTE FOR IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP. BUT THE LIBS WERE CRYING IN THEIR WATER JUGS. ONLY 7 GOP VOTED FOR IMPEACHMENTOF TRUMP. SO TRUMP BEAT THE CRY BABY LIBERALCASES AGAIN. THATS 2 FAKE-FRAUD-PHONY IMPEACHMENT FAILS BY THE DEMOLIBNUTS IN ONE YEAR. AND 4 YEARS OVER ALL. THEN THE CRY BABIES-OF COURSE NEEDED CRY ROOMS. AROMA AND DOG THERAPY. AND EVERY OTHER THERAPY GOING BECAUSE DONALD J EVEN OUT OF OFFICE DEFEATES THE FRAUD-FALSE SETUPS BY THE PELOSI-SCHUMER DEMOLIBNUTS. THEN ON THE HITLER PROPAGANDA NETWORK CNN. ALL THEY COULD TALK ABOUT IS HOW NOW TRUMP IS GETTING ALL THESE LAW SUITES AND INVESTIGATIONS AGAINST HIM. AND THE LATEST FRAUD SCAM PHONY AGAINSTV TRUMP BY THE DEMOLIBNUTS PELOSI-SCHUMER IS. THEY WANT TO DO AN INDEPENDANT 911 INVESTIGATION INTO THE SO CALLED BLOOD THIRSTY CAPITAL RIOTS BY THE MOB TRUMP SUPPORTERS. BUT MOST OF THE CHARGED WERE FBI OR CIA GOVERNMENT IMFORMANTS OF THE DEMOCRATS. SO THIS IS HOW THE DEMOLIBNUTS TO SET THE FALSE PHONY CAPITAL INSURRECTION UP AGAINST TRUMPO AND HIS SUPPORTERS. ALL THE SINGING CANARY INFORMANTS WERE EITHER PAID OFF BY THE DEMOLIBNUTS TO DO THE CAPITAL SEIGE. OR THE REFUSERS. THE LIBS WOULD BLACK MAIL BY SAYING. YOU DO THE SETUP AGAINST TRUMP AND HIS SUPPORTERS OR OFF TO THE SLAMMER YOU GO FOR YOUR OTHER CRIMES YOU COMMITED. EITHER WAY THE DEMOLIBNUTS SET UP TRUMP AND HIS SUPPORTERS BY THIS FALSE FLAG CAPITAL INSURRECTION. AND THE SINGING CANARY INFORMANTS WERE A BUNCH OF PAYED OFF STOOL PIGEONS OR BRIBED PUPPETS THAT WERE FORCED TO DO IT.  AND THATS THE WEEK IN BRIEF. AND ONE DEMOLIBNUT JOEBAMA GOVERNMENT WORKER WAS FIRED FOR HITTING A REPORTER I THINK IT WAS. AND DEMOLIBNUT BROTHER OF CNN HITLER PROPAGANDIST HACK CHRIS CUOMO-ANDREW CUOMO IS UNDER FIRE AND CALLED FOR IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM-FOR COVERING UP COVID DEATHS IN NEW YORK. AND NOT TELLING THE NEW YORKERS ABOUT IT. SO THEV DEMOLIBNUTS TOOK 2 HITS AGAINST THEM THIS LAST WEEK FOR THE FAKE-PHONY-FRAUD IMPEACHMENT AGAINST TRUMP.  

ALSO FINALLY GAY-MUSLIM SUCKUP TRUMP HATING HITLER PROPAGANDIST BROOKE BALDWIN IS FINALLY QUITTING CNN IN MID APR I BELIEVE.

AND I AM BACK AT PREDICTING MOHARK HARNESS RACING PONIES TONIGHT IN DAY 1 OF A MONTH AND 17 DAYS OF NO RACING.WELCOME TO THE 2021 SEASON.

Gantz: Hezbollah will be ‘fatally wounded’ if Israel drawn into a war in Lebanon-Defense minister warns of possible difficult days for home front after terror group head Nasrallah said it will bomb Israeli cities in response to any attacks in Lebanon-By TOI staff-FEB 18,21-Today, 3:07 pm

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Thursday that Hezbollah will be “fatally wounded” if Israel needs to go to war in Lebanon, after the terror group’s head, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened Israel following an Israel Defense Forces exercise simulating war with the terror group.“If we have to go to battle, Lebanon will tremble and Hezbollah will be fatally wounded,” Gantz said at a ceremony to honor soldiers who fell in battle and whose burial places are unknown.“If there are days of fighting on the various fronts, they will be difficult for the Israeli home front, but it will be difficult and terrible first and foremost for our enemies,” Gantz said. “This is especially true for Hezbollah and Hamas, which are building offensive capabilities from within civilian areas and committing war crimes.”The comments came after Nasrallah issued a warning to Israel on Tuesday, following the IDF exercise.“We don’t seek a fight with Israel, but if it starts a war, we will fight,” Nasrallah said, according to Channel 13, adding that Hezbollah would bomb Israeli cities if the IDF were to bomb Lebanese cities.“No one can guarantee that a few days of combat between us and Israel won’t lead to a wider war,” he said. “We’re following [events] and weighing our decisions. We won’t accept something that will put our country in danger.The Israeli Air Force completed a three-day surprise exercise simulating a large-scale war with Hezbollah this week, including mock strikes on some 3,000 targets in one day, the military said, in a clear threat to the Lebanese terror group.The exercise also simulated Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel, including the firing of cruise missiles and other advanced munitions, as well as standard, albeit massive, rocket launches at both military and civilian targets in the Jewish state, a senior air force officer told reporters.The surprise exercise came amid lingering tension in the region between Israel and Hezbollah over the death of one of the terror group’s operatives in Syria last summer, in an airstrike widely attributed to the IDF. The Israeli military believes Hezbollah still intends to exact revenge for the death of its fighter in order to deter Israel from future strikes.

Not guilty: Senate acquits Trump of impeachment charges-By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK and ERIC TUCKER-February 6, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump won impeachment acquittal in the U.S. Senate, bringing to a close only the third presidential trial in American history with votes that split the country, tested civic norms and fed the tumultuous 2020 race for the White House.With Chief Justice John Roberts presiding, senators sworn to do “impartial justice” stood and stated their votes for the roll call — “guilty” or “not guilty” — in a swift tally almost exclusively along party lines. Trump, the chief justice then declared, shall “be, and is hereby, acquitted of the charges.The outcome Wednesday followed months of remarkable impeachment proceedings, from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House to Mitch McConnell’s Senate, reflecting the nation’s unrelenting partisan divide three years into the Trump presidency.What started as Trump’s request for Ukraine to “do us a favor” spun into a far-reaching, 28,000-page report compiled by House investigators accusing an American president of engaging in shadow diplomacy that threatened U.S. foreign relations for personal, political gain as he pressured the ally to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of the next election.No president has ever been removed by the Senate.A politically emboldened Trump had eagerly predicted vindication, deploying the verdict as a political anthem in his reelection bid. The president claims he did nothing wrong, decrying the “witch hunt” as an extension of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian 2016 campaign interference by those out to get him from the start of his presidency.Trump’s political campaign tweeted videos, statements and a cartoon dance celebration, while the Republican president himself tweeted that he would speak Thursday from the White House about “our Country’s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax.”However, the Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said there will always be “a giant asterisk next to the president’s acquittal” because of the Senate’s quick trial and Republicans’ unprecedented rejection of witnesses.A majority of senators expressed unease with Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that resulted in the two articles of impeachment. But two-thirds of them would have had to vote “guilty” to reach the Constitution’s bar of high crimes and misdemeanors to convict and remove Trump from office. The final tallies in the GOP-held Senate fell far short.On the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, the vote was 52-48 favoring acquittal. The second, obstruction of Congress, also produced a not guilty verdict, 53-47.Only one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, the party’s defeated 2012 presidential nominee, broke with the GOP.Romney choked up as he said he drew on his faith and “oath before God” to vote guilty on the first charge, abuse of power. He voted to acquit on the second.All Democrats found the president guilty on the two charges.Both Bill Clinton in 1999 and Andrew Johnson in 1868 drew cross-party support when they were left in office after impeachment trials. Richard Nixon resigned rather than face sure impeachment, expecting members of his own party to vote to remove him.Ahead of Wednesday’s voting, some of the most closely watched senators took to the Senate floor to tell their constituents, and the nation, what they had decided.Influential GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee worried a guilty verdict would “pour gasoline on the fire” of the nation’s culture wars over Trump and “rip the country apart.″ He said the House proved its case but it just didn’t rise to the level of impeachment.Other Republicans siding with Trump said it was time to end what McConnell called the “circus” and move on.Most Democrats, though, echoed the House managers’ warnings that Trump, if left unchecked, would continue to abuse the power of his office for personal political gain and try to cheat again ahead of the the 2020 election.Even key Democrats from states where Trump is popular — Doug Jones in Alabama and Joe Manchin in West Virginia — risked backlash and voted to convict.“Senators are elected to make tough choices,” Jones said.everal senators trying to win the Democratic Party’s nomination to face Trump — Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar — dashed back from early primary state New Hampshire to vote.During the nearly three-week trial, House Democrats prosecuting the case argued that Trump abused power like no other president in history when he pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, ahead of the 2020 election.They detailed an extraordinary effort by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani that set off alarms at the highest levels of government. After Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine, the White House temporarily halted U.S. aid to the struggling ally battling hostile Russia at its border. The money was eventually released in September as Congress intervened.When the House probed Trump’s actions, the president instructed White House aides to defy congressional subpoenas, leading to the obstruction charge.Questions from the Ukraine matter continue to swirl. House Democrats may yet summon former national security adviser John Bolton to testify about revelations from his forthcoming book that offer a fresh account of Trump’s actions. Other eyewitnesses and documents are almost sure to surface.In closing arguments for the trial, the lead prosecutor, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., appealed to senators’ sense of decency, insisting “right matters” and “truth matters” and Trump “is not who you are.″Schiff told The Associated Press he hoped the votes to convict “will serve as a constraint on the president’s wrongdoing.”“But we’re going to have to be vigilant,” he said.Pelosi was initially reluctant to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump when she took control of the House after the 2018 election, warning against a partisan vote.But a whistleblower complaint of his conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy set off alarms. The president’s call was placed the day after Mueller announced the findings of his Russia probe.When Trump told Pelosi in September that the call was perfect, she was stunned. Days later, the speaker announced the formal impeachment inquiry.The result was the quickest, most partisan impeachment in U.S. history, with no Republicans joining the House Democrats to vote for the charges. The Republican Senate kept up the pace with the fastest trial ever, and the first with no witnesses. Seventeen ambassadors, national security officials and others had testified in the House.Trump’s star attorney Alan Dershowitz made the sweeping, if stunning, assertion that even if the president engaged in the quid pro quo as described, it is not impeachable, because politicians often equate their own political interest with the national interest.McConnell braced for dissent, but with a 53-47 Republican majority he refuted efforts to prolong the trial with more witnesses, arguing the House should have done a better job.Roberts, as the rare court of impeachment came to a close, wished senators well in “our common commitment to the Constitution,” and hoped to meet again “under happier circumstances.”Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had been drawn into the Ukraine affair, signed off on the Senate judgment later Wednesday. “Tonight, it was my pleasure to sign President @realDonaldTrump’s full acquittal,” he tweeted.___Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Matthew Daly, Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor, Zeke Miller and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report.

Trump impeachment: Here's how the process works-Trump became the first president impeached twice.ByMeghan Keneally andIvan Pereira-9 February 2021, 06:00

Former President Donald Trump faces an unprecedented second impeachment trial this week. Adding to the historic nature of the proceeding is that he is no longer in office and the members of the Senate who will decide his fate are among the victims in the Capitol siege, which he is accused of instigating.The House of Representatives voted 232-197 on Jan. 13 to impeach Trump for an unprecedented second time for his role in the Jan. 6 riot and breach of the Capitol, which occurred as a joint session of Congress was ratifying the election of President Biden.The extraordinary step of a second impeachment, which charged Trump with incitement of insurrection, took place just days before Trump was set to leave office. Only two other presidents -- Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton -- have been impeached and none have been convicted.Unlike Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 (in which no Republican voted to impeach), 10 members of the House GOP, including conference chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., voted for impeachment and denounced the president’s actions. Democratic House impeachment managers argued in a brief ahead of his trial, which starts in earnest Feb. 9, that Trump bore "unmistakable" responsibility for the siege and called it a "betrayal of historic proportions.""He summoned a mob to Washington, exhorted them into a frenzy, and aimed them like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue," the managers wrote.While some Republicans have spoken out against Trump's rhetoric in the wake of the siege, it is unlikely that the former president will be convicted because it would require at least 17 Republican Senators and all 50 Democrats to agree. Some GOP members have questioned the constitutionality of trying a former president.Indeed, that's the argument that Trump's lawyers made in their own brief ahead of the trial, calling the proceeding a "legal nullity" and leaving the door open to argue the very claims of election fraud that some say sparked the riot."It is admitted that President Trump addressed a crowd at the Capitol ellipse on January 6, 2021 as is his right under the First Amendment to the Constitution and expressed his opinion that the election results were suspect, as is contained in the full recording of the speech," the president's lawyers wrote. The lawyers denied that Trump participated in insurrection.Meanwhile, last week, some 144 constitutional law scholars published a letter in The New York Times, calling a defense based on the First Amendment “legally frivolous.”President Donald Trump greets the crowd at the "Stop The Steal" Rally on Jan. 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.Through impeachment, Democrats seek to bar Trump from post-presidency financial benefits-Here's how the impeachment process works: The presidential impeachment process-An impeachment proceeding is the formal process by which a sitting president of the United States is accused of wrongdoing. It is a political process and not a criminal process.The articles of impeachment (in this case there's just one) are the list of charges drafted against the president. The vice president and all civil officers of the U.S. can also face impeachment.The process begins in the House of Representatives, where any member may make a suggestion to launch an impeachment proceeding. It is really up to the speaker of the House in practice, to determine whether or not to proceed with an inquiry into the alleged wrongdoing, though any member can force a vote to impeach.Over 210 House Democrats introduced the most recent article of impeachment on Jan. 11, 2021, contending Trump "demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law."The impeachment article, which seeks to bar Trump from holding office again, also cited Trump's controversial call with the Georgia Republican secretary of state where he urged him to "find" enough votes for Trump to win the state and his efforts to "subvert and obstruct" certification of the vote.And it cited the Constitution's 14th Amendment, noting that it "prohibits any person who has 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion against' the United States" from holding office.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats accelerated the procedure -- not holding any hearings -- and voted just a week before the inauguration of President Biden.The vote requires a simple majority vote, which is 50% plus one (218), after which the president is impeached.Trump now faces a trial on the article in the Senate.Justification for impeachment-When it comes to impeachment, the Constitution lists "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors," as justification for the proceedings, but the vagueness of the third option has caused problems in the past."It was a central issue with Andrew Johnson, and there was a question during Clinton's proceedings about whether his lie [to a federal grand jury] was a ‘low’ crime or a ‘high’ crime," Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina who authored a book on the impeachment process, told ABC News.According to Suzanna Sherry, a law professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in constitutional law, "nobody knows" what is specifically included or not included in the Constitution’s broad definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”"It’s only happened twice and so the general thought is that it means whatever the House and the Senate think it means," Sherry said before Trump's first impeachment, and even if the House approves the article or articles of impeachment, the senators can choose to vote against the articles if they feel they are not appropriate.Where does the Senate come in? The Senate is tasked with handling the impeachment trial, which is presided over by the chief justice of the United States in the case of sitting presidents. However, in this unusual case, since Trump is not a sitting president, the largely ceremonial task has been left to the Senate pro tempore, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chamber's most senior member of the majority party."The president pro tempore has historically presided over Senate impeachment trials of non-presidents," Leahy said in a statement in January. "When presiding over an impeachment trial, the president pro tempore takes an additional special oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and the laws. It is an oath that I take extraordinarily seriously."To remove a president from office, two-thirds of the members must vote in favor – at present 67 if all 100 senators are present and voting.If the Senate fails to convict, a president is considered impeached but is not removed, as was the case with both Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868. In Johnson’s case, the Senate fell one vote short of removing him from office on all three counts.In this trial, since the president has already left office, the real punishment would come if the president were to be convicted, when the Senate would be expected to vote on a motion to ban the former president from ever holding federal office again.While the Senate trial has the power to oust a president from office, and ban him or her from running for future office, it does not have the power to send a president to jail. Disqualification from holding office, a separate process, requires a simple majority vote, according to the Congressional Research Service."The worst that can happen is that he is removed from office, that's the sole punishment," Sherry said of sitting presidents.Trump's lawyers argued in their brief ahead of the second trial that the Senate cannot bar Trump from holding office in the future under the 14th Amendment because removal is a precondition for disqualification and as a private citizen the body has no jurisdiction over him.That said, a president can face criminal charges at a later point. Sherry points out that in the Constitution "the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law."In a case in which a president was actually removed from office, the vice president would assume office under the 25th Amendment, which was ratified in 1967. Then the new president would nominate a new vice president who would have to be confirmed by a majority of both houses of Congress.What does an impeachment vote mean for a sitting president and for a former president? A president can continue governing even after he or she has been impeached by the House of Representatives.Trump continued to govern after his impeachment in December 2019, and of course, ran for reelection in 2020. After Clinton was impeached on Dec. 19, 1998, he finished out his second term, which ended in January 2001, during which time he was acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial. While Clinton continued governing, and the impeachment had no legal or official impact, his legacy is marred by the proceeding.Past presidential impeachments-The House voted to impeach Trump on Dec. 18, 2019, on two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and one for obstruction of justice, in connection with his alleged quid pro quo call with the Ukrainian president.Following a three-week trial, the Republican controlled Senate acquitted Trump on Feb. 5, 2020, with just one Republican -- Mitt Romney of Utah -- voting to convict.Johnson faced impeachment in 1868 after clashing with the Republican-led House over the “rights of those who had been freed from slavery,” although firing his secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, who was backed by the Republicans, led to the impeachment effort. The articles of impeachment centered on the Stanton event, according to the Senate.Clinton, whose impeachment was connected to the cover-up of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky while in office, was 22 votes away from reaching the necessary number of votes to convict in the Senate.Richard Nixon faced three articles of impeachment related to the Watergate scandal, in which he allegedly obstructed the investigation and helped cover up the crimes surrounding the break-in.But he didn’t let the process get any further, resigning before the House could impeach him.Editor's Note: This story was originally published in 2017 and has been updated periodically.

Trump defiant after impeachment acquittal as Biden reflects on 'sad chapter' in US history-In a typically bold statement, Mr Trump hints he could be back in the political spotlight to "make America great again".Sunday 14 February 2021 08:24,  Sky News

Former US president Donald Trump has been found not guilty in his impeachment trial.Although the final vote came in as 57 "guilty" and 43 "not guilty", the Democrats did not reach the two-thirds majority they needed to secure a conviction.Seven members of Mr Trump's own party (Senators Sasse, Romney, Burr, Collins, Murkowski, Toomey and Cassidy) joined Democrats on the charge of incitement.In a statement after the trial, Mr Trump said it was "a sad commentary on our times" that the Democrats had been given a "free pass to transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree".He added: "I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honourably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate.Three things that make the verdict crucial to all of us.Three things that make the verdict crucial to all of us-"No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago."US President Joe Biden said the acquittal was a reminder that democracy was "fragile", and every American had a duty to defend the truth.McConnell: Trump 'practically and morally responsible'"While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute," he said in a statement."Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate Minority Leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a 'disgraceful dereliction of duty' and 'practically and morally responsible for provoking' the violence unleashed on the Capitol."This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant. That violence and extremism has no place in America. And that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies."Mr Trump had been charged with "incitement of insurrection" over last month's violence when the US Capitol was stormed by his supporters, just as Congress was attempting to ratify the 2020 election result.Just before the 6 January riots, thousands of his supporters gathered at a "Save America" rally on the National Mall, minutes away from the Capitol.It had been organised to challenge the election result and Mr Biden's win.Mr Trump's supporters listened to him speak for 70 minutes, during which at one point the former reality star exhorted them to "fight like hell - or you're not going to have a country anymore".The attack began moments after he took the applause.At the impeachment hearing, Mr Trump's defence team had launched a blistering attack on the Democrats, describing proceedings as a "unjust, unconstitutional witch-hunt".Michael van der Veen, Mr Trump's lawyer, said: "This whole spectacle has been nothing but the unhinged pursuit of a long-standing political vendetta against Mr Trump by the opposition party.He told the hearing Mr Trump was not to blame and that he had told his supporters to protest peacefully.In this image from video, Michael van der Veen, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, speaks during the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021.It was argued that his speech at the rally was "ordinary political rhetoric" and was constitutionally protected free speech.Washington's most powerful Republican, senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, dealt a blow to an ebullient Mr Trump by saying he believed he was "morally responsible" for the Capitol attack, and said he only voted to acquit him because he believed the senate had no jurisdiction over a former president.'Oh, these cowardly senators': Pelosi's reaction-It is the first time in history that a US president has been impeached twice.The first attempt to convict Mr Trump in January 2020, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, saw him acquitted by a majority of 52 votes to 48 for one charge and 53 to 47 for the second.Only one Republican voted against him on one of the charges.Schumer: 'A vote of infamy in the US Senate'In his defiant statement after the conclusion of Saturday's vote, Mr Trump hinted he may return to the political spotlight.He said: "Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun."In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people."There has never been anything like it!"

Murkowski Censure Leaves Romney, Collins Only Republicans Not Punished for Convicting Trump-By Natalie Colarossi On 2/17/21 at 1:09 PM EST

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski became the latest to face a local censure for voting to convict Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial, leaving just Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah to be the only GOP lawmakers left unpunished.During the trial, Murkowski, Collins and Romney joined Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) along with all 48 Democrats and two independents in finding Trump guilty of inciting the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.Among those seven Republicans who voted to convict the former president, five have now received censures from GOP groups in the states they represent.On Wednesday, Murkowski became the latest to be hit with a formal rebuke, after Republican officials in at least five Alaska state House districts approved resolutions to censure her, the Anchorage Daily News reported.Though GOP officials said they became disenchanted with Murkowski for a number of reasons, the vote to convict Trump was "the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back," Jon Faulkner, a Republican district chairman in Homer, Alaska, told the Anchorage Daily News.In Alaska, a censure vote is seen as "an official rebuke and disapproval," but it could also act as a stain against Murkowski's record as she faces re-election in 2022.But the Republican senator has stood by her vote despite facing ongoing criticisms."I stand my ground. If I had to take that vote again, I would vote to uphold my oath of office. And, if the party is to censure me because they felt that I needed to support the party, they can make that statement, but I will make the statement again that my obligation is to support the Constitution that I have pledged to uphold, and I will do that, even if it means I have to oppose the direction of my state party," Murkowski said in a statement.Senator Lisa Murkowski was hit with a censure resolution by local GOP officials in Alaska for her vote to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.Since Trump was acquitted with a 57-43 floor vote on February 13, Burr, Cassidy, Sasse and Toomey have each been censured by either local or state Republican party officials.In Utah, some Republicans have called for Romney to be censured, but the state party has so far declined the resolution and said they defend "diversity of thought."The differences between our own Utah Republicans showcase a diversity of thought, in contrast to the danger of a party fixated on 'unanimity of thought.' There is power in our differences as a political party, and we look forward to each senator explaining their votes to the people of Utah," the Utah Republican Party said in a statement on Monday, referencing Romney and fellow Utah Senator Mike Lee's opposing votes during the trial.For Collins, the Maine Republican Party is still deliberating whether or not to issue a formal censure for her vote to convict Trump, according to WMTW-TV. In response, Collins said her decision to convict was "a vote of conscience" and said she hopes the party will understand that she followed the constitution."There are many Republicans who disagree very strenuously with my decision, but I would hope they would read my speech and realize that I adhered to the Constitution," Collins told the news outlet on Tuesday."The Republican Party needs to go back to focusing on what we stand for, whether it's opportunity, a strong national defense, smaller government, lower taxes, personal responsibility," she added.Newsweek reached out to representatives for Murkowski, Romney and Collins but did not hear back in time for publication.

GOP Ranking Members Demand Pelosi Explain Why She Refuses to Turn Over Documents on US Capitol Security and Why She Delayed National Guard Response for One Hour During Siege-By Jim Hoft-Published February 15, 2021 at 1:40pm

The four ranking members asked Speaker Pelosi to explain her decision to: ** Deny national guard support on January 4th ** What conversations did she or her staff give Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving specifit to January 6th? ** What response did you give security officials on January 6th when National Guard support was initially requested? ** Why are House Officers refusing to turn over documents relevant to that day? The Republican lawmakers claim the hour-long delay in National Guard approval was because the sergeant-at-arms “had to run the request up the chain of command,” including Pelosi.Republicans also note in their letter that Pelosi refused National Guard protection because the “optics” would be bad. Pelosi delayed the request for the National Guard for an hour. Why was this? So was this the reason Democrats folded on Saturday when Trump lawyers announced they would bring in Pelosi for questioning? Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser also refused National Guard protection before January 6th.This just became the most important document in Washington DC-The most important questions in the witness depositions will be—exactly what did Nancy Pelosi know & when? pic.twitter.com/zZitq1kPbv— Tricia Flanagan (R-NJ) (@NewDayForNJ) February 13, 2021-Here is the letter to Pelosi–page 1-page 2-page 3

THIS RAISES SERIOUS RED FLAGS: CNN and NBC Paid Black Lives Matter Leader John Sullivan $35,000 a Piece for His US Capitol Riot Footage-By Jim Hoft-Published February 16, 2021 at 10:22pm

Antifa-Black Lives Matter leader John Sullivan-Antifa-Insurgence leader John Earl Sullivan was arrested in Utah after the US Capitol riots.As reported previously Antifa protester John Sullivan was caught on video posing as a Trump supporter during the rioting at the US Capitol on January 6th.Footage obtained by the Gateway Pundit from militant Black Lives Matter and Antifa activist John Sullivan’s Discord server shows the so-called “civil rights activist” reveling inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6 as he damaged federal property.Sullivan has maintained in multiple interviews that he regularly attends protests only to record what’s going on, but did not actively partake in the insurgence in Washington.  This is a lie.  He is a leader of the Utah Antifa-BLM movement and has been previously arrested.“It’s just recording, solely, and not being active in it,” he told Fox News last week.Sullivan also organized an Antifa-Insurgence rally on January 6th at the Washington Monument at 11 AM before they stormed the US Capitol.The mainstream media refuses to report these facts.On Tuesday Politico reporter Kyle Cheney reported that John Sullivan was paid $35,000 from both CNN and NBC for his footage inside the US Capitol on January 6th.That is quite a haul! Cheney posted the receipts on Twitter on Tuesday.These are the invoices filed with the court today. pic.twitter.com/JdOZ9pXaIa— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 17, 2021-These are the invoices filed with the court today. pic.twitter.com/JdOZ9pXaIa — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 17, 2021-Tayler Hansen, a Gateway Pundit contributor, was also at the US Capitol protests. Taylor is an actual videographer and reporter, unlike John Sullivan who is a Black Lives Matter-Antifa organizer.Tayler told us, “This raises serious red flags.” Tayler told us that the average beat reporter and videographer makes $300 to $1,000 for coverage from an event like the US Capitol riots. — Sullivan made $35,000 for his coverage.Tayler Hansen added this,“With over 6 months of experience as an independent Journalist I have captured some of the most viewed and circulated media content on the internet. I have NEVER made over $1,000 on an individual video. The highest I have ever seen a news source pay for breaking news footage is $3,000. John Sullivan being paid $35,000 by CNN and NBC for ONE EVENT is criminal. An average paid journalist out of Utah makes $3,021 a month, NOT $75,000 IN A MATTER OF DAYS. Let’s not forget that John has always been an ANTIFA and BLM organizer and activist. He has never before reported in a journalistic capacity. Even while “reporting” he is seen breaking a window, telling people he has a knife to get to the front of a crowded hallway, and is heard saying, “LETS BURN THIS SHIT DOWN!”John Sullivan is not and has never been a journalist. He is an avowed BLM organizer and activist, his group InsurgenceUSA has a history of violence. There is something nefarious going on here, and I intend to find out what it is.

Developing: Kamala Harris Already Taking Calls from Foreign Leaders for China Joe — Media Still Ignores His Obvious Dementia-By Cristina Laila-Published February 16, 2021 at 11:35am

Kamala Harris is playing a key role in foreign policy just few weeks into a new administration because dementia Joe is not mentally fit to hold office.Joe Biden spent the weekend napping and playing Mario Kart at Camp David as thousands of Americans died of Covid-19.The White House said that Joe Biden had nothing on his schedule for the entire weekend.Biden motorcaded from Camp David to DC Monday evening as Kamala Harris did his job for him and made head of state calls.Kamala Harris spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday and discussed various topics such as Covid, Middle East challenges and “climate change.”“Vice President Harris and President Macron agreed on the need for close bilateral and multilateral cooperation to address COVID-19, climate change, and support democracy at home and around the world,” the vice president’s office said in a statement.“They also discussed numerous regional challenges, including those in the Middle East and Africa, and the need to confront them together,” the statement said.BREAK – Vice President Kamala Harris now appears to be fielding calls with world leaders, while Biden plays Mario Kart at Camp David.This is not satire. https://t.co/NY9MtXrSgD— Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) February 16, 2021

Smoking Gun Email Reveals Comey Told Clapper FBI Unable to ‘Sufficiently Corroborate’ Steele Dossier – Then Signed FISA Warrant Anyway-By Cristina Laila-Published February 15, 2021 at 5:35pm

In January 2017, James Comey sent then-DNI James Clapper an email informing him that the bureau had not verified the contents of the Steele dossier but Comey went on to sign the second FISA warrant on Carter Page anyway.“We are not able to sufficiently corroborate the reporting,” Comey wrote in a Jan. 12, 2017 email to James Clapper in a newly declassified memo.The memo shows a back-and-forth between the US intel community and the FBI discussing Christopher Steele and Carter Page six months into the bureau’s “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation that kicked off in July of 2016.The CIA had already told James Comey’s FBI that Carter Page, a Trump campaign advisor who was a target of spy warrants, was NOT a Russian spy, but rather a CIA asset who had previously helped US intelligence for many years.The FBI had also received warnings about former British spy Christopher Steele that he hated Trump and that Hillary Clinton’s campaign had planted the Russian collusion story in an effort to distract from her email scandal.The FBI terminated Christopher Steele in November of 2016 but Comey used his fake dossier and signed the January 2017 FISA renewal on Carter Page anyway.John Solomon via Just The News reported:It was in that environment in the final days of the Obama administration that Clapper had written Comey earlier on Jan. 12, 2017 to inform the FBI that Clapper had decided to release a public statement declaring that the Steele dossier was only mentioned in an appendix to the intel community’s report because the “IC has not made any judgment that the information in the document is reliable.”Comey tried to push back, suggesting Steele was deemed reliable (he actually had been terminated by the FBI for leaking by that time) and that his network included sources that might be in a position to know things (although the key source had already disavowed the information attributed to him in the dossier).“I just had a chance to review the proposed talking points on this for today,” Comey wrote Clapper. “Perhaps it is a nit, but I worry that it may not be best to say ‘the IC has not made any judgment that the information in the document is reliable.’ I say that because we HAVE concluded that the source is reliable and has a track record with us of reporting reliable information; we have some visibility into his source network, some of which we have determined to be sub-sources in a position to report on such things; and much of what he reports in the current document is consistent with and corroborative of other reporting included in the body of the main IC report.Then Comey added the line that undercut his argument: “That said, we are not able to sufficiently corroborate the reporting to include it in the body of the report.”Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded in a report that Comey’s January 12, 2017 FISA renewal contained several significant errors.Last January, James Boasberg, the presiding FISA judge, admitted in a secret order that at least two of the spy warrants against Carter Page were not lawfully authorized.Boasberg wrote in a January 7, 2020 order that the last two FISA warrants on Carter Page dated April 7, 2017 and June 29, 2017 were not valid.James Comey still has not been indicted for his crimes related to Spygate.So far only one FBI lawyer (Kevin Clinesmith) was charged in the Spygate scandal with one count of making false statements and ultimately sentenced to probation.Smoking gun: Comey told Clapper FBI unable to ‘sufficiently corroborate’ Steele — then signed FISA, newly declassified memo shows. | Just The News https://t.co/agpMxMLORL — John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) February 15, 2021

BREAKING: President Trump Releases Statement BLASTING Mitch McConnell as “Dour, Sullen and Unsmiling Political Hack”-By Cristina Laila-Published February 16, 2021 at 4:17pm

President Trump released a statement Tuesday blasting GOP senate leader Mitch McConnell.McConnell really began viciously attacking President Trump over the weekend from the senate floor after he voted against convicting Trump in the impeachment trial.McConnell suggested that Trump could still be charged with crimes and continued his attacks on Trump in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.Trump had enough of the attacks and took the gloves off.“Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again,” Trump said vowing to back “America First” primary candidates.Trump also said that if Republicans are going to stay with McConnell “they will not win again.”Read the full statement:

Fulton County Director of Elections, Richard Barron, Is Removed From Office – Will They Now Ensure a Valid Audit on Their 2020 Results? Americans Want the Truth!-By Joe Hoft-Published February 16, 2021 at 5:04pm

Just the News reports today:Georgia’s Fulton County’s Board of Registration and Elections voted Tuesday in favor of removing its election director following a mistake-marred and disputed 2020 election cycle.The board removed Director Richard Barron in a 3-2 vote, according to 11alive.com.Problems with balloting in the county emerged in the June primaries and resurfaced in the November General Election when incumbent President Trump narrowly lost the state to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.The county’s efforts were criticized by the state and the Trump campaign, which argued the results were tainted by voter fraud.A similar vote against Barron was held last week but ruled invalid because it was taken in an executive, or private, session, 11alive.com also reports.Dr. Kathleen Ruth, Mark Wingate, two Republicans, and board vice chair Vernetta Keith Nuriddin, a Democrat, voted to remove Barron.Board Chairperson Mary Carole Cooney and Aaron Johnson, two Democrats, voted to retain him.Barron was on TV a lot after the 2020 election.  He was even quoted as saying that no one was told to leave the Atlanta State Farm Arena on Election Night.  He shared this when news of the fake water main break was released and the suspected election fraud occurred late at night by poll counters after all the poll observers went home.Individuals present at the arena Election night signed affidavits saying that they were told to go home that evening.  Barron never signed an agreement stating that they were not told to go home.
It’s no surprise that Barron is gone, now will the Fulton County Board bring in an auditor to review every ballot in the county to ensure every ballot was free of fraud and only valid ballots were counted?

They are Lying to You: States That Claim That Audits of a Few Machines and Ballots Will Confirm Election Validity Are Just Plain Lying-February 17, 2021, 8:00am-by Joe HOFT

Every state that claims that by ‘auditing’ a couple of machines and running a few ballots through these machines, that election results can be confirmed as valid, are lying.  They will never be able to confirm an election’s validity using this approach.A reader shared this with us.  She forwarded our post about the 200,000 ballots in Wisconsin that the Wisconsin Supreme Court said were likely invalid.  Nothing has been done to address these ballots from the 2020 election and we asked why.The response from Wisconsin Senator Alberta Darling was to provide the voter a canned letter from the Wisconsin Election Board (who many believe are corrupt) and end it there.  Senator Darling shared the following:The second page of the canned letter says this:This letter says absolutely nothing and shows Senator Darling does not care.  How could any elected official be alright with this year’s election results?  In Wisconsin over a hundred thousand ballots were dropped late on election night, perhaps some in her district, all for Biden, and she doesn’t seem to give a damn – like so many Republicans across the country.The politicians either don’t want to do anything that will address the issues from the election, or they don’t know what to do.  Five days ago the Wisconsin Senate announced that it was ordering an audit of the state’s 2020 election results:The state’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted six to four along party lines to order the audit, which will be conducted by the Legislative Audit Bureau, a non-partisan body that enjoys the trust of both Republicans and Democrats.All four Democrats on the committee voted against the audit, however, and voiced concerns that it could further undermine trust in the system. There have been widespread unsubstantiated allegations of nationwide voter fraud since the November election.The problem is that the legislative body that will perform the audit does not have the capabilities to perform a forensic audit of the ballots from the 2020 election.  It is doubtful that this body will be able to analyze the Wisconsin ballots like a professional like Jovan Pulitzer can.  It is a step in the right direction but as we’ve seen already, performing work that does not address the target area in an audit is an audit that might as well not be performed.The answer is to perform a forensic audit of all ballots in a designated state or area to determine if the ballots are legitimate or not.  We shared this before.  An audit of a few machines and a review of a few ballots through those machines will not confirm the validity of an audit.  The only way an audit can confirm the validity of the election is to look at every ballot and determine its validity based on the proper characteristics of that ballot (e.g. paper type, the ink used, the structure of ballot, folds in ballots, etc…).  This can be done in a very short period of time using modern technology and inventor Pulitzer has this technology:The people of Wisconsin should demand an adequate forensic review of the 2020 ballots or they will never have free and fair elections again.  The Democrats will steal every single election going forward unless this is done.(The author speaks from an expert’s point of view.  He was involved in hundreds of audits during his career auditing millions of records.  When looking at a large data set of records, the machine functionality is almost irrelevant.  The focus of the audit should be on the input and the output of the system.  The ballots that are counted must be valid and the results should equal the total of valid ballots.  If these don’t agree then you know the machines are not working properly.)

Laura Loomer’s Big Tech Censorship Case Hits Supreme Court Docket-Collage-Allum Bokhari16 Feb 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether or not to hear a case brought by Laura Loomer and Freedom Watch against Google, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter, alleging that the Masters of the Universe have been discriminating on the basis of viewpoint and coordinating with each other in an anticompetitive manner.Loomer is represented by Freedom Watch founder Larry Klayman. The case dates back to 2018, when Loomer and Klayman sued Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Apple over allegations that the platforms violated the First Amendment, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the District of Columbia Human Rights Act.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the dismissal of the plaintiff’s First Amendment case last year, but the plaintiffs have now appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which has not yet heard any major case on the issue of tech censorship.In October last year, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas indicated that he thought legal protections for tech companies are too broad.Via Breitbart News:According to a report by Axios, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that Section 230 of the CDA should be narrowed. Section 230 grants broad legal protections to social media companies with regard to content posted by users.In a statement issued in response to a petition for writ of certiorari, Justice Thomas argued that Section 230 declares that social media platforms are not “publishers,” which means that they cannot be held liable for content posted by their users. Some industry analysts have suggested that platforms should be responsible for certain content on their platform, and for the censorship of content from their platforms, an act that makes them a publisher instead of a platform.Loomer contested Floridas’ 21st congressional district for the Republican party in 2020, the only major political candidate in the country who was denied access to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and PayPal.Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. His new book, #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election, which contains exclusive interviews with sources inside Google, Facebook, and other tech companies, is currently available for purchase.

Associated Press-UN: Huge changes in society needed to keep nature, Earth OK-BY SETH BORENSTEIN-Thu, February 18, 2021, 11:18 AM

Humans are making Earth a broken and increasingly unlivable planet through climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. So the world must make dramatic changes to society, economics and daily life, a new United Nations report says.Unlike past U.N. reports that focused on one issue and avoided telling leaders actions to take, Thursday’s report combines three intertwined environment crises and tells the world what’s got to change. It calls for changing what governments tax, how nations value economic output, how power is generated, the way people get around, fish and farm, as well as what they eat.“Without nature’s help, we will not thrive or even survive,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “For too long, we have been waging a senseless and suicidal war on nature. The result is three interlinked environmental crises.”Thus the 168-page report title is blunt: “Making Peace With Nature.”“Our children and their children will inherit a world of extreme weather events, sea level rise, a drastic loss of plants and animals, food and water insecurity and increasing likelihood of future pandemics,” said report lead author Sir Robert Watson, who has chaired past UN science reports on climate change and biodiversity loss.“The emergency is in fact more profound than we thought only a few years ago,” said Watson, who has been a top level scientist in the U.S. and British governments.The report highlighted what report co-author Rachel Warren of the University of East Anglia called “a litany of frightening statistics that hasn’t really been brought together:” • Earth is on the way to an additional 3.5 degrees warming from now (1.9 degrees Celsius), far more than the international agreed upon goals in the Paris accord. • About 9 million people a year die from pollution. • About 1 million of Earth’s 8 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. • Up to 400 million tons of heavy metals, toxic sludge and other industrial waste are dumped into the world’s waters every year. • More than 3 billion people are affected by land degradation, and only 15% of Earth’s wetlands remain intact. • About 60% of fish stocks are fished at the maximum levels. There are more than 400 oxygen-depleted “dead zones” and marine plastics pollution has increased tenfold since 1980.“In the end it will hit us,” said biologist Thomas Lovejoy, who was a scientific advisor to the report. “It’s not what’s happening to elephants. It’s not what’s happening to climate or sea level rise. It’s all going to impact us.”The planet's problems are so interconnected that they must be worked on together to be fixed right, Warren said. And many of the solutions, such as eliminating fossil fuel use, combat multiple problems including climate change and pollution, she said.The report “makes it clear that there is no time for linear thinking or tackling problems one at a time,” said University of Michigan environment professor Rosina Bierbaum, who wasn’t part of the work.In another break, this report gives specific solutions that it says must be taken.This report uses the word “must” 56 times and “should” 37 times. There should be 100 more because action is so crucial, said former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres, who wasn’t part of the report.“Time has totally ran out. That’s why the word ‘must’ is in there,” Figueres said.The report calls for an end to fossil fuel use and to $5 trillion in government subsidies for fossil fuel and other industries that degrade the environment. It says governments should not tax labor or production, but use of resources that damages nature.Scientists should inform leaders about environmental risks “but their endorsement of specific public policies threatens to undermine the credibility of their science,” said former Republican Rep. Bob Inglis, who founded the free market climate think tank RepublicEn.org.The report also tells nations to value nature in addition to the gross domestic product when calculating how an economy is doing. And it says people and governments “need to be redeployed from transforming nature to transforming the social and economic fabric of society.”Getting there means changes by individuals, governments and business, but it doesn't have to involve sacrifice, said UN Environment Programme Director Inger Andersen.“There's a country that has been on that path for 25 years: Costa Rica,” Andersen said, adding that more than 125 countries pledging to have net zero carbon emissions by mid century is encouraging. “Yes, these are difficult times, but more and leaders are stepping in.”___Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Axios-CNN says Chris Cuomo banned from covering brother, despite early pandemic exception-Fadel Allassan-Thu, February 18, 2021, 8:39 AM

A CNN spokesperson told the Washington Post that a rule prohibiting anchor Chris Cuomo from interviewing or covering his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, "remains in place today."Why it matters: Chris Cuomo hosted his brother for numerous segments of "Cuomo Prime Time" to discuss the coronavirus last year, when New York was at the epicenter of the pandemic and the governor was winning plaudits for his crisis management. Gov. Cuomo is now facing a federal probe and calls to resign over his handling of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free-Chris Cuomo's show has not covered the controversy surrounding Gov. Cuomo — who was accused on Wednesday of threatening a Democratic state lawmaker over the alleged nursing home cover-up — despite other CNN programs reporting on the issue, according to the New York Post.It raises questions about whether the governor should have ever appeared on "Cuomo Prime Time," given the conflict of interest.What they're saying: "The early months of the pandemic crisis were an extraordinary time," a CNN spokesperson told the Washington Post. "We felt that Chris speaking with his brother about the challenges of what millions of American families were struggling with was of significant human interest.""As a result, we made an exception to a rule that we have had in place since 2013 which prevents Chris from interviewing and covering his brother, and that rule remains in place today. CNN has covered the news surrounding Governor Cuomo extensively."

HuffPost-FBI Opens Investigation Over Cuomo's Nursing Home Death Scandal [UPDATED]-Sebastian Murdock and Dominique Mosbergen-Wed, February 17, 2021, 3:25 PM

The FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, New York, have reportedly launched a preliminary investigation into how New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his coronavirus task force handled nursing home data during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Albany Times Union first reported news of the investigation Wednesday. The paper said the probe is in its early stages and is scrutinizing the work of some of the task force’s senior members.Richard Azzopardi, a spokesperson for the governor, told NBC News that Cuomo’s administration has been cooperating with federal investigators at the Department of Justice.“As we publicly said, DOJ has been looking into this for months. We have been cooperating with them and we will continue to,” Azzopardi said.Cuomo has received an outpouring of criticism over allegations that he covered up the true number of coronavirus-related deaths at nursing homes across the state.Earlier on Wednesday, a New York lawmaker said that Cuomo had threatened his career over the scandal.Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim told CNN that the governor called him last week and said he “hadn’t seen his wrath and he can destroy me.”“Cuomo called me directly on Thursday to threaten my career if I did not cover up for Melissa [DeRosa] and what she said,” Kim told CNN.Last week, top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa acknowledged in a private virtual call with lawmakers that the governor’s administration had withheld data on the deaths from state lawmakers for months because state officials “froze” over worries that the information was “going to be used against us” by then-President Donald Trump.Kim, who represents Queens, told CNN that Cuomo tried pressuring him into releasing a statement in support of the governor.“He tried to pressure me to issue a statement, and it was a very traumatizing experience,” Kim said. He added that Cuomo told him “‘we’re in this business together and we don’t cross certain lines,’ and he said I hadn’t seen his wrath and that he can destroy me.”Kim’s wife also told CNN she overheard portions of the call, including Cuomo using the words “my wrath.”An adviser for Cuomo denied Kim’s description of the call.“No man has ever spoken to me like that in my entire life,” Kim told CNN. “At some point he tried to humiliate me, asking: ‘Are you a lawyer? I didn’t think so. You’re not a lawyer.’ It almost felt like in retrospect he was trying to bait me and anger me and say something inappropriate. I’m glad I didn’t.”Kim said he has hired a lawyer out of caution.Last week, a reporter had asked Cuomo if state Attorney General Letitia James should investigate the allegations against the governor and his team.“There’s nothing to investigate there,” Cuomo responded.This story has been updated with news of the FBI investigation.This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Deadly Texas winter storm leaves millions without power amid frigid temperatures-Temperatures plunge below zero in some Texas towns as flights delayed, canceled-By Evie Fordham | Fox News-National Forecast, Feb. 15-Janice Dean has your FoxCast.

An unusually harsh winter storm in Texas has killed at least one person and left millions of customers without power in the state amid dangerously low temperatures.A spokesman for the Harry County Sheriff's Department told reporters Monday afternoon that a homeless man living in a van had been found dead from suspected exposure to the cold. Meanwhile, fire officials in Harris County said they were responding to a home in Houston where six people -- including 4 children -- who had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. Officials said the family had been burning a fire for warmth for about four hours. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday that Texas "is facing a very dangerous winter storm" over the coming days that will "make movement virtually impossible."He called the storm "unprecedented" in the state's history.Temperatures in north Texas remained below zero as of Monday morning, with Amarillo reporting a temperature of minus seven degrees, according to WeatherWX.com. Dallas had reached 10 degrees by mid-morning, with Houston at 20 degrees.HISTORIC WINTER STORM SLAMS TEXAS WITH RECORD COLD, ICY ROADS-Rotating power outages were initiated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, early Monday morning, meaning thousands went without electricity for periods of time as temperatures fell into the teens near Dallas and 20s (about minus 5 degrees Celsius) around Houston.Austin's electric utility Austin Energy told residents the outages may be longer than usual, prompting angry social media replies from Texans who said they'd been without power for five or more hours."Typical events allow short durations of each outage, but outages are longer if the ERCOT grid requires -- which is what we're seeing in today's event," Austin Energy wrote on Twitter.The utility advised residents to keep their keep their thermostat set to 68 degrees or lower, and to avoid using their oven or washing machine. Businesses were likewise advised to minimize operations to conserve energy.Some turned to social media to vent their frustration with the outages."My parents, who are elderly, have been without power since 2am," one user wrote. "They are over 70years old. How can I get them some power?!""This is downright dangerous," wrote another user. "No power for 5+ hours and sub zero windchills."Kent and Brazos counties, on opposite sides of the state, were hardest hit with nearly all customers losing power early Monday morning, according to an online power outage tracker."The electricity grid continues to lose generation," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told residents on Twitter. "If you are without power, you may be without power throughout the day. Please do your best to stay warm safely. Check on our seniors."Temperatures are expected to plunge again Monday night, and more snow and wintry precipitation is forecast to fall Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.President Biden also declared an emergency in Texas in a statement Sunday night. The declaration is intended to add federal aid to state and local response efforts.The storm has also snarled travel. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin canceled all flights on Monday, while Dallas-Fort Worth Airport said all inbound flights would be held at their origins until 11 a.m. CT on Monday "due to snow and ice."More than 760 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and at Dallas Love Field most of the nearly 200 flights for Southwest Airlines, the airport’s main carrier, were canceled on Sunday.American Airlines said about 345 of its flights were canceled at DFW Airport, its hub, by early Sunday afternoon. The airline said the storm was also affecting its flights across the region, with operations reduced and canceled at airports across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.The current storm system formed Friday night, stretching across much of the Ohio Valley and Appalachians into the Northeast. Texas issued a winter storm warning for the entire weekend and the early part of the week.OKLAHOMA CITY MASSIVE PILEUP FORCES HIGHWAY CLOSURE AFTER ICY ROADS SEND CARS FLYING-"Maximum cold weather preparations MUST be completed today," Jeff Lindner, a Harris County Flood Control District meteorologist, tweeted Sunday morning. "Time is running out and conditions will quickly deteriorate late this afternoon and evening."The storm dropped heavy snow across Oklahoma, creating dangerous driving conditions. Several people were hospitalized after a fiery crash involving multiple semi-trucks and passenger vehicles on a highway near Oklahoma City, according to Fox 25's Connor Hansen. "Do not get out if you don't have to," the Oklahoma Highway Patrol warned Sunday.Road safety will be a top priority after Fort Worth saw a pileup last week involving over 130 vehicles, including 18-wheelers and passenger cars, which resulted in six deaths and dozens of injuries.In El Paso, a 15-car pileup on Sunday morning served as a warning to anyone wanting to travel, but fortunately no deaths were reported as of Sunday, KFOX14 reported.Fox News' Peter Aitken and the Associated Press contributed to this report.Fox Nation.

USA TODAY-'Just a real mess': 100M from the South to the East Coast in path of a new winter storm; 2.1M power outages across 8 states-Doyle Rice, USA TODAY-Thu, February 18, 2021, 12:48 AM

Winter's brutal assault continued Wednesday night as another snowstorm roared its way across the nation through the end of the week, hitting areas where millions were already without electricity in record-breaking cold.More than 100 million Americans are in the path of the storm as it tracks from the southern Plains to the East Coast over the next few days, the National Weather Service said.But the nation's heartland will get some relief over the weekend, the weather service reported, as the frigid air will begin to moderate over the next couple days.But first, much of Texas and the Southeast will have to endure heavy snowfall and "ice accumulations of a light glaze to a few hundredths of an inch" through Thursday. Heavy snow is forecast to move work its way as far north as southern New England on Thursday.Meanwhile, the Southeast will also have to contend with a slight risk of severe thunderstorms, as well the chance of tornadoes Thursday morning, forecasters said.More than 30 people have died because of the intense cold and a series of storms that moved from coast to coast since the weekend. In the Houston area, one family succumbed to carbon monoxide from car exhaust in their garage; another perished after flames spread from a fireplace.At least 13 children were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, hospital officials said.In Texas, more than 1.6 million homes and businesses remained without power late Wednesday night, and some also lost water service. Texas officials ordered 7 million people — a quarter of the population of the nation's second-largest state — to boil tap water before drinking it. All of Austin is under a water boil notice, city officials announced Wednesday night.Texas wasn't the only state contending with power issues. Other states where outages numbered in the tens of thousands included Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio and Oregon, according to poweroutage.us, a utility tracking site.'Massive failure': Why are millions in Texas still without power? Utilities from Minnesota to Texas and Mississippi implemented rolling blackouts to ease the burden on power grids straining to meet extreme demand for heat and electricity as record low temperatures were reported in city after city.In Austin, officials said the boil notice is due to the city's largest water treatment facility, the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant, losing power. They said water pressure had also dropped below minimum standards, and thawill be in place until further notice.Josh Sklar, from northwest Austin, said his family lost power Thursday. After getting it back for a brief time Sunday, he said his family is again huddled together in a closet for warmth."We have zero confidence in ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) and Austin Energy caring about us or doing anything," Sklar said.Many residents are frustrated, including Amber Nichols of north Austin."We are very angry," she said. "I was checking on my neighbor, she’s angry, too. We’re all angry because there is no reason to leave entire neighborhoods freezing to death. This is a complete bungle."The power grid manager did not have firm estimates Wednesday for when power would be restored for Texans, millions of whom have been without electricity in frigid temperatures since early Monday.ERCOT President Bill Magness said he hoped many customers would see electricity at least partially restored – on a rotating basis, with outages coming in and out – by later Wednesday or Thursday.The next winter storm will bring more snow and ice and “just a real mess” to many areas of the country, including the South, Midwest and Northeast, AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.As the storm advances to the northeast through Friday, snow is forecast to fall along a 2,000-mile-long swath from northwestern and north-central Texas to northern Maine, AccuWeather said. Freezing rain and sleet will occur to the south and east of the snow zone, extending from central Texas to southeastern New York state.Ice accumulations of a quarter to as much as three-quarters of an inch are forecast in some areas. "In the areas that contend with these devastating ice accumulations, residents can expect dangerous travel conditions, numerous power outages and extensive tree damage," the weather service said.While many areas deal with the bitter cold, some parts of the Gulf Coast were likely to contend with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes Wednesday, the Storm Prediction Center said. The severe storm threat will continue Thursday in portions of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.The extreme weather threatened to affect the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination effort. President Joe Biden’s administration said delays in vaccine shipments and deliveries were likely. After visiting Milwaukee on Tuesday, Biden said the weather was as “cold as the devil up there.”The Federal Emergency Management Agency has supplied generators to Texas and is preparing to move diesel there to help ensure the availability of backup power, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing Wednesday.She said FEMA is also supplying Texas with water and blankets at the state’s request.There is a glimmer of hope for those dealing with outages, major disruptions in daily activities or just plain exhaustion from all the winter storms: "Behind this winter storm, there may be a break in the relentless pattern of cross-country snow and ice," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Courtney Travis said."While a full week of dry weather may not be the case, the central and eastern parts of the country may get some relief from the constant storminess during the final week of February," Travis said.Contributing: Elinor Aspegren and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; The Austin-American Statesman; The Associated Press-This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:

Reuters-Freak cold in Texas has scientists discussing whether climate change is to blame-Tom Balmforth-Wed, February 17, 2021, 3:12 PM

(Reuters) - The freak cold spell that has killed at least 21 Americans and shut down power for days in Texas has revived scientific discussion over whether climate change could be delivering this week's chill.Scientists say global warming – specifically the rapid warming of the Arctic – is a possible, if not likely, culprit in the extreme weather.Historically, frigid temperatures have typically been contained within the Arctic by a jet stream circling the polar region. In fact, along with the spinning of the planet, it's the contrast in temperatures and atmospheric pressures between the Arctic and lower latitudes that results in the winds.But as the Arctic has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average over the last three decades, that contrast can be less pronounced, said Paul Beckwith, a climate system scientist in Ottawa. That could cause the polar jet stream to slow down and meander, so that it carries more warmer air toward the pole and frigid air further south, he said."What we're seeing this year is an extreme example of what happens when the jet stream trough goes really deep southward," Beckwith said."I think it's a rock-solid case," he said. But "it might take a bit of time for the science to catch up and find all the details" to prove it.This polar vortex theory, first proposed in 2012, has some researchers like Beckwith worried about what future warming might mean for traditionally temperate lands further south.Others caution that it's still too early to draw conclusions. The theory "remains speculative, and it is the reporting of it as fact that is not justified," climate scientist Geoffrey Vallis at the University of Exeter tweeted on Tuesday. "It may be true, but perhaps more likely not."Cold weather is something to expect in winter, after all, and extreme cold could be a result of natural variability, some say.However, scientists have found a strong correlation between extreme winter weather in 12 U.S. cities and warmer temperatures in the Arctic over the last 50 years, according to research published in 2018 in the Nature Communications journal.The United States may not be the only country affected, either.Temperatures fell to a bone-chilling minus 60 Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit) in Russia's Siberian region of Yakutia last month, according to the Roshydromet meteorological service. Much of Russian Siberian had one of its 15 coldest Januaries on record, it said.Vladimir Semenov, a climate scientist at the Moscow-based Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, said the recent cold spell in Russia could be another likely consequence of a wobbly jet stream.While Semenov acknowledges there is still not enough data to establish a firm climate link in the pattern, he said research pointing to the theory of a "wavier" polar jet stream due to Arctic warming was compelling.Computer simulations of climate and weather patterns have resulted in contradictory findings on the issue though, he said. "Thus, the uncertainty still remains."(Reporting by Tom Balmforth in Moscow; editing by Katy Daigle and Lisa Shumaker)

Axios-CNN says Chris Cuomo banned from covering brother, despite early pandemic exception-FEB 18,21

A CNN spokesperson told the Washington Post that a rule prohibiting anchor Chris Cuomo from interviewing or covering his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, "remains in place today."Why it matters: Chris Cuomo hosted his brother for numerous segments of "Cuomo Prime Time" to discuss the coronavirus last year, when New York was at the epicenter of the pandemic and the governor was winning plaudits for his crisis management. Gov. Cuomo is now facing a federal probe and calls to resign over his handling of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeChris Cuomo's show has not covered the controversy surrounding Gov. Cuomo — who was accused on Wednesday of threatening a Democratic state lawmaker over the alleged nursing home cover-up — despite other CNN programs reporting on the issue, according to the New York Post.It raises questions about whether the governor should have ever appeared on "Cuomo Prime Time," given the conflict of interest.What they're saying: "The early months of the pandemic crisis were an extraordinary time," a CNN spokesperson told the Washington Post. "We felt that Chris speaking with his brother about the challenges of what millions of American families were struggling with was of significant human interest." "As a result, we made an exception to a rule that we have had in place since 2013 which prevents Chris from interviewing and covering his brother, and that rule remains in place today. CNN has covered the news surrounding Governor Cuomo extensively."Go deeper: Cuomo allegedly threatened a state lawmaker over nursing home scandalLike this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

Security breach at heavily guarded Negev complex-Suspected car thief breaks into Israel’s most important air base, home to F-35s-Helicopters, special forces lead manhunt at massive Nevatim military facility, which houses fighter jets, other advanced planes-By Judah Ari Gross-feb8,21

A suspected car thief broke into the Israeli Air Force’s Nevatim Air Base in the northern Negev Desert on Monday, after abandoning a car he had allegedly stolen from the nearby town of Dimona, prompting a massive manhunt, police and the military said.“Police forces, assisted by the Israel Defense Forces, are searching the area,” police said in a statement. The IDF confirmed that it was on searching for a suspect.Nevatim is considered the air force’s most important base, as it is home to Israel’s fleet of F-35 fight jets, the most advanced aircraft in the military’s arsenal, as well as several other advanced planes, such as the C-130J Super Hercules cargo plane.Nevatim is also a massive, sprawling facility, roughly the size of a city, which will make the search more difficult.According to the military, the suspect drove through an open gate into the base, but punctured the tires on the security spikes on the road.He then abandoned the car and took off on foot deeper inside the base.Military helicopters were brought in to assist in the search, as were teams of the air force’s elite Shaldag special forces unit.The effort was led by the commander of the air base, Brig. Gen. Omer Tishler.As a precautionary measure, the families of officers who live on the base were warned to stay inside their homes.The embarrassing breach shed light on the holes in the security of what is meant to be a heavily guarded military facility and also demonstrated the degree of lawlessness in parts of southern Israel, where there is minimal law enforcement.

Angry backlash, misinformation fears after Facebook blacks out news in Australia-Critics of wide-reaching move say professional journalism acted as a check on the spread of fake news; now it’s been barred from feeds on the social media platform-By Holly Robertson-FEB 18,21-Today, 6:45 pm

BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Facebook’s news blackout in Australia has raised fears misinformation could come to dominate the platform in the country, with fake news and conspiracy theories left untouched while credible sources have been cut off.From Thursday Australians were unable to post links to news articles or view the Facebook pages of local and international news outlets, while Aussie news sources disappeared from the site worldwide.The social media giant was acting in response to tough new regulations that will force it and Google to pay for the news stories shown on their platforms.The shock move sparked an angry backlash.Several critical government agencies — tasked with issuing emergency COVID-19, bushfire, flood and cyclone advice — were initially caught up in the news ban before Facebook began restoring them.An assortment of other Australian pages were also rendered blank, including cancer and homelessness charities, major businesses and even popular satire accounts.But unaffected by the blackout were a series of pages owned by purveyors of fake news and conspiracy theories — despite their frequently posting about current events.Among them were several pages identified by AFP’s fact-checking team as sharing false claims that circulate to tens of thousands of users.The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance said the professional journalists it represents acted as a check on the spread of misinformation before their work was barred from Facebook feeds.“By restricting independent, professionally produced news in Australia, Facebook is allowing the promotion of conspiracy theories, misinformation, fake news and QAnon crackpots on its platform,” representative Marcus Strom said.“This irresponsible move by Facebook will encourage the dissemination of fake news, which is particularly dangerous during the COVID pandemic and is a betrayal of its Australian audiences,” he added.A Facebook spokesperson said the company’s “commitment to combat misinformation on Facebook has not changed.”“We are directing people to authoritative health information and notify them of new updates via our COVID-19 Information Centre,” they said, also pointing to its ongoing fact-checking partnerships.AFP is among the organizations currently working with Facebook’s fact-checking program. Facebook pays to use fact checks from around 60 such organizations, including media outlets and specialized fact-checkers, on its platform and on Instagram.The Facebook blackout came just days ahead of Australia’s planned vaccine rollout, raising concerns official health messaging could be drowned out by anti-vaxxer voices.“I would say again to Facebook, think again. You may be in it for the money, but the rest of us are in it for safety, protection and responsibility,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said. “This is the moment to return to your origins. Where you were meant to be, as a company, focused on community, engagement, not on the money.”Facebook has said it generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Australian media organizations via clicks.Critics hit out at the speed and scope of Facebook’s action against Australia after years of what they described as its apparent reluctance to clear the platform of violence, hate speech and misinformation.“And people wonder why this didn’t happen with certain hate groups in other parts of the world, why there wasn’t such an attempt to remove that content wholesale,” Lucie Krahulcova of Digital Rights Watch told AFP.“Because I think Facebook really lagged and dilly-dallied and failed many social movements as a result,” she said.Facebook was already under fire for not doing enough to curb misinformation and vitriol globally before this latest controversy.Last month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was seeking to “turn down the temperature” on its sprawling platform by reducing the kind of divisive and inflammatory political talk it has long hosted.The social network has also set about banning groups that share debunked COVID-19 claims and highlighting health advice from reliable official agencies that remain accessible.But Reset Australia, which aims to counter digital threats to democracy, said the Australian news blackout revealed “just how little the platform cares about stopping misinformation.”

US and Israel announce work on new Arrow 4 air defense system amid Iran tensions-With ‘extraordinary flight and interception capabilities,’ the latest generation in the family of anti-ballistic missiles is set to replace the Arrow 2 in the coming decades-By TOI staff and Agencies-FEB 18,21-Today, 5:25 pm

Israel and the US have begun developing the Arrow 4, the latest generation in the family of Israeli anti-ballistic missiles and an essential part of the country’s multi-layered defense system, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday.“The defense establishment is working round the clock to shield Israel’s skies from ballistic threats,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said, praising the joint development with US partners. “It will bring a technological and operational leap to the future battlefield,” he added.According to Gantz, the Arrow 4 anti-ballistic missile will include upgraded capabilities and will join the existing Arrow family to “address a wide range of evolving threats in the region” adding that it is expected to replace the Arrow 2 in the coming decades.Vice Admiral Jon Hill, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, said the Arrow 4 joint development operation “expresses the United States’ commitment to assist the State of Israel in strengthening its national defense system against the missile threat.Israel says the Arrow system is a critical element in its multi-layered defense system, which includes powerful radar systems, the Iron Dome anti-rocket system, the Arrow 2 and the Arrow 3, which entered operational use in 2017. The existing systems have undergone a series of improvements with successful interception tests in Israel and Alaska, according to the Defense Ministry.“Arrow 4 will have extraordinary flight and interception capabilities, to ensure Israel will remain one step ahead of the enemy,” said Moshe Patel, head of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization.Earlier in February, the Israel Defense Forces and the United States European Command launched a joint air defense exercise, dubbed Juniper Falcon, focused on the threat of ballistic missile attack.In January, Iran held a series of ballistic missile drills, amid tensions with the US.Iran has a missile capability of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), far enough to reach Israel and US military bases in the region. Last January, after the US killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, Tehran retaliated by firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops, resulting in brain concussion injuries to dozens of them.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of being behind the November killing of the country’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the alleged mastermind of Iran’s rogue nuclear weapons program, and has vowed to avenge his death.

MIKE LINDELL ON DEMOLIBNUT FIXED VOTER ELECTION FOR BIDEN 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVYD49IoTU0   (P-1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBLf69TCcR8   (P-2)
REBUILD THIRD TEMPLE NOW-TEMPLE INSTITUTE IS TRUE (THESE ARE ALL MYTHS) - MYTH 3RD TEMPLE COMES FROM HEAVEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HTA5H_l0P4
MYTH ONLY THE MESSIAH CAN BUILD THE 3RD TEMPLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCeEjWqV5bM
MYTH - NOT IN HEAVEN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP4xKP1LAVA
DR ZELENKO ON COVID-19 RECOVERY-TAMAR YONAH
https://soundcloud.com/israel-news-talk-radio/while-cautious-im-not-so-afraid-of-the-coronavirus-anymore-the-tamar-yonah-show
DR VLADMIR ZE'EV ZELENKOS MIXTURE FOR RECOVERY OF COVID-19
https://www.vladimirzelenkomd.com/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TaRDwXMhQHSMsgrs9TFBclHjPHerXMuB87DUXmcAvwg/edit
CANADA-AMERICA LETS BAN ABORTION ALSO-LIBERAL BABY MURDERERS UPSET BECAUSE OF ALMOST TOTAL ABORTION BAN IN POLAND.
HERES MY PETITION TEXT YOU WILL BE ASKED TO SIGN TO BAN ABORTION IN AMERICA AND CANADA.
https://www.change.org/p/citzens-of-canada-and-america-stop-abortion-now-we-must-stop-abortions-in-canada-and-america-sign-here?recruiter=1177433789&recruited_by_id=65fdbbe0-62f1-11eb-ab78-a1ffa963d674&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard

THE PROPAGANDA HITLER MEDIA AND THE FUTURE EU WORLD DICTATOR

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 2020 AMERICAN ELECTION RESULTS BY STATE TRUMP VS LOSER LIBERAL SLEEPY (SLOPPY JOE) BIDEN.

ON D-74 OF THE TRUMP WIN OF THE PRESIDENCY. THU JAN 14, 21.

Key dates for the Electoral College and what they mean-AEIdeas-DECEMBER 14,20

What are the key dates for the workings of the Electoral College?

November 3 — Election Day

Election Day is November 3. We may or may not know the winner of the presidential contest on election night, but we certainly will not have a final tally and certified results until weeks later. States vary widely in the time they allot for certifying their election results. Some may give a final certification the week after Election Day. Others may take over 30 days. And there is the possibility of recounts and judicial contests of elections which could extend the time to determine an official winner of a state.
Ballots are passed out to 16 Electors on the Michigan Senate floor for them to cast their formal votes for the president and vice president of the United States in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., December 19, 2016. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

December 8 — Safe Harbor

December 14 — The meeting of the Electors

Two key dates loom in December. On December 14, presidential electors must have been selected by the states and will meet as a group in their states to cast electoral votes for president and vice president. But December 8 is also a significant date, the so-called “safe harbor” date. The Electoral Count Act sets this date as an important date for states to make their official selection of electors, as those electoral votes will be given greater protection from challenge when Congress counts the electoral votes in January. The Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore assigned great significance to this date in Bush v. Gore.

January 3 — The convening of the new Congress

January 6 — Congress counts the votes

January 20 — Inauguration Day. The new presidential term begins at noon.

On January 3rd, the new Congress will take office, and on January 6th it will meet to count the electoral votes and declare a president- and vice president-elect. On January 20th at noon, the current presidential term will end and the next one will begin.This is excerpted from the new fourth edition of After the People Vote, edited by John Fortier, senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a member of AEI’s Election Watch team.John C. Fortier-AEI Adjunct Scholar-SENOIRFELLOWKarlyn Bowman-Senior Fellow

THE HITLER MEDIA CNN AND ALL THE DEMOLIBNUTS AND MORE MEDIA ARE HAVING A HAY DAY WITH THIS FAKE TRUMP IMPEACHMENT. NOW THERE SAYING TODAY TRUMP WILL BE GIVING LOTS OF PARDONS OUT TODAY TO DISTRACT FROM THE 2ND FAKE IMPEACHMENT AGAINST TRUMP. ITS 9.09AM-AND THIS RIOT BY A FEW HUNDRED FAKE LEFTWING TRUMP SUPPORTERS. WAS A TOTAL PLANNED SETUP BY THE DNC-DEMOLIBNUTS IN GOVERNMENT-OBAMAS AND CLINTONS I BELIEVE TO DESTROY TRUMP AGAIN. IT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT AN EX LIB ARMY LADY ASHLI IT SOUNDED LIKE WAS GIVING DETAILS OF WERE TO GO ONCE THE LIB RIOTERS GOT INSIDE THE CAPITAL. SHE WAS GIVING SPECIFIC DETAILS WERE TO GO. SO THIS DEFINATELY WAS A DEMOLIBNUT INSIDE JOB. SHE SAID GO HERE-THEN DOWN THERE ETC. THIS WAS A SETUP BY THE LIBDEMONUTS TO MAKE THE PEACEFUL TRUMP PROTESTERS AND TRUMP LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF DOMESTIC EXTREMIST TERRORISTS. BECAUSE THATS EXACTLY WHATS BEEN GOING ON BY THE HITLER PROPAGANDA DEMOLIBNUTS MEDIA. EVER SINCE LAST WEDNESDAY. NOW THE LEFT NUT JOBS ARE SAYING THE FAKE SO CALLED DOMESTIC EXTREMIST TERRORISTS ARE GOING TO HIT ALL 50 CAPITALS IN AMERICA FROM JAN 16-20, 2021. IF THIS WAS A LEGIT THREAT-THEY WOULD BE ROUNDING UP ALL THE SETUP DEMOLIBNUT RIOTERS THAT ARE PAID RIOTERS BY THE DNC AND JAIL THEM ALL BY THE 16TH IN 2 DAYS. I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW IF ANY WERE KEPT IN JAIL. OR ALL OUT WAITING FOR A COURT DATE. IF THERE ALL OUT. THEY WERE DEFINATELY PAID PROTESTERS SET FREE TO DO SETUPS AT OTHER CAPITALS. LIKE THE FBI AND OTHER SECURITY SERVICES CLAIM. TO GRAB THE FREE SPEECH OF CITIZENS AND TRUMP. AND PROBABLY SO THE DEMOLIBNUTS IN POWER ON THE 20TH CAN CALL FOR AN AMERICA WIDE GUN BAN. AND GIVE TOTAL CONTROL OF AMERICA OVER TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER-ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT CROWD. AND SINCE THE BIBLE SAYS THE EUROPIAN UNION WILL BE IN CONTROL OF THE WORLDS ECONOMIES THREW TRADE BLOCS. YOU CAN LOOK FOR AMERICA AND ALL THE WORLDS STATES TO JOIN THE EU BY JOINING INTO TRADE BLOCS WITH THE EU. PROBABLY 10 MAIN EU COUNTRIES WILL CONTROL THE 7 CONTINENTS THREW THESE ASSOCIATE WORLD TRADE BLOCS. EITHER THERE WILL BE A WORLD STOCK MARKET CRASH AFTER THE EU HAS ASSOCIATE TRADE BLOCKS WITH EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH. AND THE EU WILL COMMAND ALL IN THE COUNTRYS ON EARTH MUST HAVE A MICROCHIP IMPLANTED UNDER THEIR SKIN. SO THE EU CAN KEEP TRACK OF ALL PEOPLES TRANSACTIONS. AND ALL THEIR TRADE WITH THAT STATE. AND THE EU CAN BE THE LEADER TO DISTRIBUTE CASH TO NATURAL DISASTER AREAS. BY FORCING ALL THER ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ON EARTH THREW SOCIALIST BELIEFS. TAKE FROM COUNTRIES-GIVE TO DISASTERS-COVID-19 VACCINES ETC. AND IF YOU WANNA LEAVE THIS DICTATORIAL SOCIALIST LEADER. YOU WILL BE THREATENED WITH SANCTIONS-NO FOOD ETC. OR THREATS THAT THE EUS ARMY WILL CONTROL THAT STATE BY MARTIAL LAW. SAME WITH IF YOU WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE EUS MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD. YOU AS A SINGLE CITIZEN WOULD BE HUNTED DOWN BY THE EU MUSLIM ARMY AND BEHEADED ON THE SPOT. WHEN FOUND. YOU EITHER GO BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE EU. OR YOUR BEHEADED FOR YOUR CHRISTIAN BELIEFS - OR EXTREMIST BELIEFS AGAINST THE EU DICTATOR OR HIS SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE HITLER PROPAGANDA MEDIA LEAD BY CNN ARE SAYING RIGHT NOW. THEIR SAYING THE PROTESTERS ARE EXTREMISTS WHO SAY THE SAME STUFF DONALD J TRUMP SAYS. WE CAN SEE WE MUST BE CLOSE TO THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD. AND THE EARTH DEBUT OF THE FUTURE EUROPIAN UNION WORLD DICTATOR. WHO COMES IN PEACEFULLY LIKE THE DEMOLIBNUTS CLAIM THEY ARE NOW. SIGNS A 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY WITH ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY ISRAEL HATERS. THERES PEACE FOR 3 1/2 YRS. THEN HE TURNS ON THE ISRAELS WHO THINK HES THEIR MESSIAH FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YRS. AND HE KILLS MOSES AND ELIJAH WHOS BEEN PREACHING FOR 3 1/2 YRS. THEY COME BACK TO LIFE AFTER 3 1/2 DAYS. AND ARE RAPTURED TO HEAVEN. I BELIEVE A JEWISH TERRORIST WILL THEN MURDER THE EU LEADER FOR MURDERING MOSES AND ELIJAH. AND THE EU LEADER AFTER 3 DAYS-AFTER A FALSE RESURRECTION. WILL COME BACK TO LIFE SATANICALLY INDUCED BY SATAN. THEN THE EU LEADER WILL STOP THE ANIMAL SACRIFICES BEING DONE IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS. HE WILL SET UP HIS THRONE IN THAT 3RD TEMPLE. AND CLAIM SINCE HE WAS RESURRECTED TO LIFE LIKE JESUS WAS. HE IS A REINCARNATION OF JESUS AND HE IS THE GOD OF THE WHOLE EARTH NOW. THE WHOLE EARTH WILL ACCEPT HIM AS GOD NOW HE SAYS. OR YOU ALSO WILL BE BEHEADED. HE THEN GOES AFTER THE ISRAELIS TO PULL ANOTHER HITLER OUT OF THE HAT. HE TRYS TO DESTROY THE ISRAELIS WITH A TSUNAMI. BUT GOD CAUSES AN EARTHQUAKE TO OCCURR SO THE GROUND BREAKS OPEN AND SWALLOWS UP ALL THE TSUNAMI FLOOD. THEN 1/2 OF THE ISRAELIS IN ISRAEL ARE QUICKLY AIR LIFTED BY ALLIES AND ISRAEL AIR COMPANIES. TO PETRA JORDAN WERE THEY WILL BE PROTECTED BY THE IDF FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD. AND THE LEADER OF THE EU NOW BECOMES THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT LEADER OF THE WHOLE EARTH. AND FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YRS OF THE 7 YR PERIOD. HE WILL LEAD IN WARS AND NUKE ALL ENEMIES THAT COME AGAINST HIM. AND AT THE END OF THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD. A TOTAL OF 4 BILLION OR HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION - WILL BE KILLED OFF BY NUKE WARS OR GODS 21 JUDGEMENTS THAT HAVE HIT THE WHOLE EARTH. TO TEACH ALL -JESUS IS THE ISRAELIS MESSIAH. AND JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO BE SAVED-NO OTHER. AND EVERY WORD OF THE BIBLE IS TRUE.

Hopes for global vaccine ‘green passport’ said dampened as some EU states object-Germany, Austria, Belgium, others reportedly fear document will create indirect obligation to get inoculated; Israel said set to expand shots to those aged 45+, as cases stay high-By TOI staff-JAN 14,21-Today, 11:54 am

Israeli hopes for an international “green passport” that will enable those vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel the globe without quarantine restrictions have been dampened due to objections voiced by several major countries, according to a report Wednesday.The planned green passports were seen as a mean of granting some benefits to Israelis who have received their second vaccine doses, such as permission to attend cultural and other public events. There have been hopes that a similar strategy would be adopted on a global level, restoring the ability to travel abroad to those who have been inoculated.But according to Channel 12 news, prospects for such an international document are in doubt after several European states voiced fears in talks held by the World Health Organization (WHO) that it would indirectly force people to get vaccinated and overly limit individual rights.The report said the objections were being led by Germany, Austria and Belgium. It cited Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Itamar Grotto as expecting more countries to express doubts in the coming days about the green passport plan.Still, the document is going ahead at least on a national level, with Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen telling the Kan public broadcaster Thursday that it will be rolled out at the end of the month.He added that more than 3 million Israelis would receive both vaccine shots by the end of February and be able to return to something close to normal life.Health Ministry figures published Thursday morning said there were 9,388 cases confirmed Wednesday, similar to recent days, with 7.9 percent of tests coming back positive.The total number of cases since the pandemic began grew to 522,974, including 78,826 active cases — an all-time high. Of them, 1,063 were in serious condition, including 305 in critical condition and 273 on ventilators.The death toll reached 3,826, registering an alarming 56 deaths in 24 hours.According to the data, 1,934,685 Israelis have received their first vaccine shots, including more than 80% of all citizens aged 70 and up. A second dose was administered to 104,346 people.Israel has seen a shortage of vaccines in recent days, but Pfizer has stepped up deliveries once again and is expected to send hundreds of thousands of doses a week. Another half a million doses are expected to arrive in Israel early next week.After all Israelis over the age of 50 became eligible to get inoculated, Army Radio reported Thursday that that could be expanded to anyone aged 45 and up as early as this coming Sunday.Thursday night will mark one week since Israel entered a tightened lockdown that is scheduled to last until January 21, although officials have repeatedly said the rules will likely extend beyond that date.Coronavirus czar Nachman Ash expressed optimism despite the high infection numbers, estimating that the current tightened lockdown could be extended for just a week and be over as early as January 28.Thanks to much of the at-risk population becoming immunized, and if serious cases start going down, measures could be eased even if confirmed cases remain high, Ash told the Ynet news site on Thursday.Health Ministry officials believe virus morbidity in the third wave sweeping the country has peaked and is set to decline, and are weighing loosening the current lockdown restrictions, a separate report said Wednesday.Netanyahu will meet with Health Ministry officials on Thursday to discuss whether to extend the restrictions. Some health officials support loosening the rules if there is a decline in the number of serious cases, Channel 12 News reported.Netanyahu’s discussions on Thursday will also include talks on the green passport plan.Channel 13 News reported on Wednesday Health Ministry guidelines for easing the lockdown: In the first stage, kindergartens and grades 1-4 and 11-12 will partially reopen, as will street-front stores, the report said. In the second stage, grades 5-10 will resume studies and green passport holders will be given certain freedoms, such as permission to attend cultural events. In the third stage, restaurants and cafes will reopen.

Twitter chief backs need for Trump ban, but says it sets ‘dangerous’ precedent-Jack Dorsey says censorship has serious ramifications and blames drastic step on ‘a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation’-By AFP-JAN 14,21-Today, 6:20 am

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter chief Jack Dorsey backed the messaging platform’s ban of US President Donald Trump, but said Wednesday it sets a “dangerous” precedent and represents a failure to promote healthy conversation on the social network.“Having to ban an account has real and significant ramifications,” Dorsey said in a string of tweets inviting feedback from users.“While there are clear and obvious exceptions, I feel a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation.”Trump’s access to social media platforms he has used as a megaphone during his presidency has been largely cut off since a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington last week.Operators say the embittered leader could use his accounts to foment more unrest in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.Late last week Twitter shut down Trump’s account, booting him from the global platform he has fervently used throughout his term in office to make proclamations, accusations and spread misinformation.Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Trump is considered overdue by critics who argue he has gotten away with abuses, but has inflamed members of the far right who say it stifles free speech.Twitter said in a blog post explaining its decision that after close review of the president’s recent tweets it had “permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”Twitter also blocked efforts by Trump to sidestep the ban when he posted tweets from the official presidential account @POTUS and the @TeamTrump campaign account.“We understand the desire to permanently suspend him now,” ACLU senior legislative counsel Kate Ruane said at the time.“But, it should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions.”Dorsey said Wednesday that while he believes Twitter made the right decision to ban Trump, it “sets a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation.”“Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation,” Dorsey said.“This moment in time might call for this dynamic, but over the long term it will be destructive to the noble purpose and ideals of the open internet.”Twitter is far from the only major platform to oust Trump, with bans also in effect by Facebook plus Snapchat, and YouTube temporarily suspending his channel.Dorsey rejected the notion that social media giants coordinated these efforts, reasoning that it was more likely they each came to the same conclusion about the potential for violence.

Subdued Trump condemns ‘calamity’ Capitol invasion, doesn’t mention impeachment-In first remarks after being impeached a 2nd time, US president calls for unity, says no true supporter of his would ever take part in violence; doesn’t specify Biden won election-By TOI staff and Agencies-JAN 14,21-Today, 3:28 am

Hours after becoming the first US President to be impeached twice, on Wednesday Donald Trump for the first time condemned the “calamity” of the mob invasion of the Capitol and urged his followers to refrain from further violence.Holed up at the White House, watching proceedings on TV, Trump later released a video statement in which he made no mention at all of the impeachment but appealed to his supporters to refrain from any further violence or disruption of US President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.“Like all of you, I was shocked and deeply saddened by the calamity at the Capitol last week,” he said, his first condemnation of the attack. He appealed for unity “to move forward” and said, “Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for.”“No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement,” he said.In the videotaped speech, Trump said he was “calling on all Americans to overcome the passions of the moment and join together as one American people. Let us choose to move forward united for the good of our families.”pic.twitter.com/FIJbvCYGJ6— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 13, 2021-Apparently repudiating his supporters who assaulted Congress a week ago, an event that triggered his second impeachment in the House of Representatives, Trump said, “There is never a justification for violence. No excuses, no exceptions: America is a nation of laws.”“Those who engaged in the attacks last week will be brought to justice,” he said, before launching into a condemnation of “censorship” following the decision by tech companies to ban his social media accounts.Trump did not mention the impeachment or specifically acknowledge Biden’s election victory, although he did note the need for a peaceful “transition.”Trump appeared subdued in the video, a marked contrast from his fiery speeches the week before, which saw him accused of inciting an insurrection and the mob that stormed the Capitol.Analysts suggested his remarks were aimed at leading Republican senators such as Mitch McConnell, who has indicated he could support a Senate vote for impeachment.The New York Times reported that Trump had to be pressured to put out the video and was deeply uneasy about it afterward.“Several officials urged him to shoot the video, with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, enlisting aides and even Vice President Mike Pence to tell him it was the right thing to do,” the report said. “After it was recorded and posted, Mr. Trump still had to be reassured it was the right thing, according to administration officials.”The speech was largely written by White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, his deputy, Pat Philbin, and Trump’s main speechwriter, Stephen Miller, the Times said.Trump earlier became the first US president in history to be impeached twice when the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to charge him with inciting last week’s mob attack on Congress.“Today, in a bipartisan way, the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said afterward.The Senate will not hold a trial before January 20, when Biden assumes the presidency, meaning the real estate tycoon will escape the ignominy of being forced to leave early.He is set, however, to face a Senate trial later and if convicted he might then be barred in a follow-up vote from seeking the presidency again in 2024.“Donald Trump has deservedly become the first president in American history to bear the stain of impeachment twice over,” said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who in a week’s time will become Senate leader.“The Senate is required to act and will proceed with his trial.”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., signs the article of impeachment against President Donald Trump in an engrossment ceremony before transmission to the Senate for trial on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)-In the House of Representatives, the only question was how many Republicans would join the lockstep Democratic majority in the 232-197 vote. At final count, 10 Republicans broke ranks, including the party’s number three in the House, Representative Liz Cheney.“I am in total peace today that my vote was the right thing and I actually think history will judge it that way,” said Adam Kinzinger, a vocal Trump critic and one of the Republicans who crossed the aisle.Following the mayhem inflicted by Trump’s followers when they invaded Congress, fears of violence remained high.Armed National Guards deployed across the capital and central streets were blocked to traffic.In the Capitol building itself, guards in full camouflage and carrying assault rifles assembled, some of them grabbing naps early Wednesday under the ornate statues and historical paintings.Speech to mob-Trump survived a first impeachment almost exactly a year ago when the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him of abusing his office to try and get dirt on Biden’s family before the election.This time, his downfall was triggered by a speech he delivered to a crowd on the National Mall on January 6, telling them that Biden had stolen the presidential election and that they needed to march on Congress and show “strength.”Amped up on weeks of election conspiracy theories pushed by Trump, the mob then stormed into the Capitol, fatally wounded one police officer, wrecked furniture and forced terrified lawmakers to hide, interrupting a ceremony to put the legal stamp on Biden’s victory.One protester was shot dead, and three other people died of “medical emergencies,” bringing the toll to five.Pelosi told the chamber before the impeachment vote that Trump “must go.”“He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love,” she said.Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar branded Trump a “tyrant,” saying that “for us to able to survive as a functioning democracy there has to be accountability.”But Nancy Mace, a newly elected Republican congresswoman, said that while lawmakers “need to hold the president accountable,” the speed of the impeachment “poses great questions about the constitutionality.”The top Republican in the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, said that while Trump deserves censure, hurriedly impeaching will “further divide this nation.”-McConnell open to voting for conviction-Trump, who has been stripped of his social media megaphones by Twitter and Facebook, and finds himself increasingly ostracized in the business world, is struggling to impose his message — let alone any kind of resistance.His refusal to accept any responsibility for the horrifying scenes on January 6 — including his insistence Tuesday that his speech was “totally appropriate” — has infuriated allies and opponents alike.The main question now is to what extent former Republican allies in the Senate will turn on their party’s figurehead once the Democrats take over control of the chamber.Current Senate leader McConnell says he will not call for an impeachment trial before Trump’s January 20 exit. However, he said he is open to the possibility of voting to convict Trump in a later trial after Biden becomes president.“I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate,” McConnell said.The New York Times reported Tuesday that McConnell is signaling privately that he believes Trump did commit impeachable offenses.This presents a potentially fatal shift in the ground under Trump’s feet, because it could lead other Republican senators to join in convicting Trump with the goal of turning the page in the turbulent relationship between the party and former reality TV host and real estate magnate.

Amid impeachment, Pompeo says Trump should win Nobel for Israel-Gulf peace-US secretary of state tweets photo from signing of Abraham Accords between Israel and UAE and Bahrain and tags prize committee-By TOI staff-JAN 14,21-Today, 4:16 am

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting Arab-Israeli ties.Pompeo’s suggestion, made on his official Twitter account, came as the House was voting on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the US Capitol last week.Trump and many of his allies have made no secret of their desire to see him honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which is one of the world’s most distinguished awards.Their campaign on his behalf has raised eyebrows because self-promotion for the prize is considered unseemly.Pompeo tweeted a photo of Trump waving from a White House balcony with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and tagged the Nobel Committee.cc: @NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/XtjW6ehEMt — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 13, 2021The photo was taken in September last year when Israel normalized relations with the UAE and Bahrain under the so-called Abraham Accords, which were negotiated by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Since then Morocco and Sudan have also agreed to normalize ties with Israel.Following the signing, a Norwegian lawmaker said he had nominated the US president for the award.“For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees,” Christian Tybring-Gjedde, who heads Norway’s delegation to NATO, told Fox News.Tybring-Gjedde wrote in his nomination letter to the Nobel Committee that “as it is expected other Middle Eastern countries will follow in the footsteps of the UAE, this agreement could be a game changer that will turn the Middle East into a region of cooperation and prosperity,” the report said.Trump himself retweeted dozens of news stories announcing his nomination, replying “thank you” to one of them.Kushner later said that Trump was “very, very honored” to be nominated for the prize 'President Trump was very, very honored to be nominated this morning for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in bringing the Middle East closer together and the peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, told reporters.US President Donald Trump, center, with, from left, Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, September 15, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)-Tybring-Gjedde already nominated Trump for the same prize in 2018 after the US president held a summit with North Korean dictator Kin Jong Un.The lawmaker, who belongs to a conservative-leaning populist party, denied trying to curry favor with Trump through the nomination.Since then, several other people have nominated Trump for the prize, often together with Netanyahu, along with the leaders of Arab nations who have signed up for the accords.Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama got the prize in 2009 in a controversial decision, for what the Nobel Committee described as his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland presents Then-US president Barack Obama with the Nobel Prize medal and diploma during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Raadhuset Main Hall at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, December 10, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)-The winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize — selected by a five-member committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament — will not be announced until October.Nominations can be made by a select group of people and organizations, including national lawmakers, heads of state and certain international institutions. In 2020, the committee received 318 nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, of which 211 are individuals and 107 are organizations.In 2019, Trump predicted he would win the Nobel Prize “for a lot of things if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t.”The Norwegian Nobel Committee doesn’t publicly comment on nominees. Under its rules, the information is required to be kept secret for 50 years.The process of considering candidates and awarding the Nobel Peace Prize is done in Norway, in contrast to the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded in neighboring Sweden.

FBI said to warn of attacks on state capitols, lawmakers’ homes during inaugural-Over 70 arrests made of rioters who participated in assault on Capitol, as Washington DC shuts down to combat threat posed by extremist Trump backers a week before Biden sworn in-By TOI staff and Agencies-jan 14,21-Today, 3:28 pm

The FBI has warned police forces across the United States to be on high alert and share intelligence on threats ahead of next week’s presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, a report said Wednesday.FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of “potential attacks on state capitols, federal buildings, the homes of congressional members and businesses,” the New York Times reported, citing one of the police chiefs on the call.“They don’t want to be dismissive of anything,” the report cited Chief Jorge Colina of the Miami Police Department. “So even if it sounds aspirational, even if it’s just like, ‘Yeah, it’d be great if the whole place is burned down,’ they don’t want us to think, ‘Ah, that’s just some knucklehead, pinhead,’ and be dismissive.”A separate bulletin published Wednesday by the National Counterterrorism Center and the Justice and Homeland Security Departments warned that extremists could view the death of protester and QAnon supporter Ashli Babbit during the Capitol riots as an “act of martyrdom,” according to the NYT.The officials warned that “the shared false narrative of a ‘stolen’ election’ may lead some individuals to adopt the belief that there is no political solution to address their grievances and violent action is necessary.”The FBI has previously warned that armed protests by violent supporters of outgoing US President Donald Trump were being planned in all 50 state capitals as well as in Washington for the days leading up to the inauguration of Biden.According to NYT, more than 70 people have been arrested over participation in the breach of the Capitol, including at least three police officers who were off-duty — two from Rocky Mount Police Department in Virginia who face charges of disorderly conduct and entering a restricted space, and one from Houston police who hasn’t yet been charged.Apart from an Olympic gold medalist, a rioter who wore a shirt saying “Camp Auschwitz” and a son of a Jewish judge who breached the Capitol in fur pelt, those arrested also include a firefighter from Sanford, near Orlando, who is charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct, the report said.Meanwhile, CNN reported that evidence points to the raid of the Capitol being planned ahead of time rather than a spontaneous decision or a rally that spiraled out of control.Authorities suspect that some participants left the rally early and went to get weapons and other items used in the Capitol assault, the report said.Downtown Washington was fenced off and boarded up Wednesday, with concrete barriers blocking avenues, police at street corners, and armed National Guard soldiers patrolling Capitol Hill.The city at the heart of US democracy has been a shadow of itself during pandemic shutdowns, but now it is also under heavy guard after the January 6 deadly attack by Trump supporters on the Congress building.National Guard soldiers in body armor and camouflage spent the night inside the Capitol, their black rifles leaning against the polished stone walls of the building’s halls.“Clearly we are in uncharted waters,” said Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.Last week’s “violent insurrection” at the Capitol by supporters of Trump has “impacted the way we are approaching working with our federal partners in planning for the 59th inauguration,” Bowser said Wednesday.Between the pandemic and the security threat, Bowser is flat-out asking people not to come to the District of Columbia for the inauguration. And at Bowser’s request, a National Special Security Event declaration was moved up to January 13, a distinction which she said “puts in place an entirely different command and control structure” for security.The NSSE status is normal for a presidential inauguration and other major events like an international summit or the Super Bowl. But it’s rare to start the lockdown so far in advance of the event.Police vehicles sealed off a huge swath of downtown DC Wednesday, causing immediate traffic snarls. Starting Wednesday, Bowser said, anyone inside the inauguration perimeter might be stopped and questioned. Starting Friday, all parking garages in the downtown restricted zone will be sealed through the inauguration.Bowser is also being pushed to deny lodging options to potentially violent protesters. The local Black Lives Matter affiliate and Shutdown DC issued a joint statement Wednesday urging all downtown hotels to voluntarily close and pay their staffs. In addition to the threat of violence, the activist groups say Trump supporters are a threat to the health of hotel staff for their general refusal to wear facemasks amid the pandemic. Several downtown hotels, including one which had become a favorite hangout of the militant Proud Boy faction, chose to avoid trouble by closing last week.“Closing hotels completely for these six nights is the only way to guarantee the safety of hotel workers, neighbors, vulnerable and unhoused residents, incoming administration officials, members of Congress, and our democracy,” the statement said. “If hotels do not willingly close, we ask Mayor Bowser to extend today’s emergency order and close all hotels in the city.”On Wednesday, Airbnb announced it was canceling all reservations in the Washington metro area. Bowser said she had been in regular contact with Airbnb officials since last week, but did not specifically request this step.“We are aware of reports emerging yesterday afternoon regarding armed militias and known hate groups that are attempting to travel and disrupt the Inauguration,” a company statement said. “We are continuing our work to ensure hate group members are not part of the Airbnb community.”On the ground, much of the most visible security will come in the form of more than 15,000 National Guardsmen from multiple states, some of them armed.According to officials, the number of Guardsmen who will actually be carrying guns will be limited. Some Guard members nearer the Capitol will have long guns, and others will have their sidearms.It is likely that those closer to the crowds or on fence lines won’t be armed, but those up closer to the building may be. National Guard members operate under strict rules of engagement on the use of force. But generally speaking, troops can use lethal force to protect the lives of others and themselves.Officials also said that while 15,000 Guard members have been activated, more may be called. DC Police Chief Robert Contee estimated Wednesday that more than 20,000 National Guardsmen would be active in the District of Columbia on Inauguration Day.Officials are continuing to review requests from law enforcement, and some believe several thousand more could be brought in. Defense and military officials have been calling governors and adjutants general to ask if they might have people they could send, if requested.So far, officials said state leaders have said that protecting their own capitols will be their top priority, but they still have some Guard members they will be able to send, if needed.

‘It pierces the heart’: Jewish leaders alarmed over anti-Semitism in Capitol mob-US community heads say riot was not so much a ‘tipping point’ for Jew hatred, but rather ‘the latest explicit example of how it animates the narratives of extremists’ By ELANA SCHOR-jan 14,21-Today, 8:12 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a mob of supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol last week clamoring to overturn the result of November’s presidential election, photographs captured a man in the crowd wearing a shirt emblazoned with “Camp Auschwitz,” a reference to the Nazi concentration camp.Two white nationalists known for racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric livestreamed to their online followers after breaking into the Capitol during the deadly insurrection. And video circulated on social media showed a man harassing an Israeli journalist who was trying to do a live report outside the building.The presence of anti-Semitic symbols and sentiment at the Capitol riot raised alarms among Jewish Americans and experts who track discrimination and see it as part of an ongoing, disturbing trend. As the threat of further chaos lingers over Washington and state capitals ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, they called for more forceful rejection of the conspiracy- and falsehood-driven worldviews on display among the mob.The insurrection was “not so much a tipping point” for anti-Semitism but rather “the latest explicit example of how (it) is part of what animates the narratives of extremists in this country,” said Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.“People are going to have to ask themselves, were they clear enough in condemning the hatreds that coalesced on Jan. 6?” he added.On Tuesday, the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the Network Contagion Research Institute released a report that identified at least half a dozen neo-Nazi or white supremacist groups involved in the insurrection.Anti-Semitic incidents in the US hit a four-decade high in 2019, according to the ADL’s internal tracking.Although some high-profile recent anti-Semitic attacks were not linked to far-right groups — such as the 2019 assault on a New York rabbi’s Hanukkah party — several others were, most prominently the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Three-quarters of extremist-related murders in the U.S. over the past 10 years were committed by right-wing extremists, Segal said, citing ADL data.Eric Ward, executive director of the progressive anti-discrimination group Western States Center, linked the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon, adherents of which were at the forefront of the insurrection, to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the infamous 20th-century screed that falsely claimed Jews were colluding to take over the world.QAnon’s unfounded assertion of a shadowy cabal “mirrors exactly the anti-Semitic track, the false narrative, of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” Ward said. “That is the real danger of the anti-Semitism in this moment.” QAnon believers also allege a false conspiracy to harm children, paralleling another anti-Semitic trope, he noted.“It is no stretch to say there were visible signs of anti-Semitism in the makeup” of the riot, Ward said, “but the real power of anti-Semitism in the events on Wednesday is actually buried within the narrative.”The man photographed wearing the Auschwitz shirt was arrested in Virginia Wednesday. Robert Keith Packer, 56, was arrested in Newport News, charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority.Despite anti-Semitic elements, at least one Jewish participant was drawn to take part in the assault on the Capitol: Federal agents on Tuesday arrested Aaron Mostofsky, the son of a New York judge, who was part of the crowd that broke in. Mostofsky, who was seen sitting in the building clad in furs and a police vest, told the New York Post he believed the baseless claim that the election was stolen from Trump.Ward called Mostofsky’s involvement a sign of the patchwork nature of the far-right coalition and noted broadly that “authoritarianism and anti-democratic tendencies are not merely the terrain of white people.”David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said not everyone who came to the Trump-promoted rally that preceded the assault on Congress was “stoked” by extremist and hate-fueled ideologies.But he urged those people to ask themselves, “‘Who am I enabling, however unintentionally, and how do I channel my own protest without being co-opted by the lunatic fringe?'”During the rise of Nazism, Harris added, “it was the soft-core group, not the hard-core group, that allowed itself to be co-opted.”Segal of ADL agreed: “One of the dangers of anti-Semitism and extremism is it wraps people up,” he said, “and takes them into situations that now have serious consequences.”Many Jewish Americans were dismayed by what they saw broadcast from the Capitol halls, such as one rioter strolling through its halls carrying a Confederate flag.Rabbi Jay Kornsgold of Beth El Synagogue in New Jersey, who serves as treasurer for the Rabbinical Assembly, said his Holocaust-survivor parents taught their children they should do everything possible to make sure discrimination against Jews doesn’t return to the fore.“When you see it in the nation’s capital, right in front of your face, it pierces the heart,” Kornsgold said.In the wake of the insurrection, which left five people dead including a Capitol Police officer, two online stores that had permitted the creation and sale of “Camp Auschwitz” shirts removed them from their sites.Looking ahead, Harris of AJC urged Jewish leaders to do their part in combating the rise of QAnon.“It seems to me even as a matter of education, Jewish organizations and Jewish clergy have a responsibility to alert members of the Jewish community to the menace of QAnon and its ilk,” he said.

Takes the cake-Democrat Nadler noshes on babka at Trump impeachment hearing-Jewish lawmaker seen in House chamber with bag from famed New York Upper West Side grocery Zabar’s-By Gabe Friedman-JAN 14,21-Today, 5:27 pm

JTA — As chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler has been busy this week creating impeachment history. But he hasn’t gone hungry, apparently.C-SPAN caught Nadler carrying a bag from Zabar’s, the famed New York grocery and appetizing store located in his Upper West Side congressional district, as he took his seat on Wednesday. The bold orange logo would be unmistakable to anyone familiar with the store.Multiple news organizations — including New York Magazine and West Side Rag, a hyperlocal blog — reached out to Nadler’s office to find out what was inside the bag.The response, from Nadler’s deputy press secretary Julian Gerson: “A babka and the constitution, what else?”Nadler is one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s nine chosen managers for the impeachment process, along with fellow Jewish representatives David Cicilline, Jamie Raskin and Adam Schiff.Jerry Nadler brought Zabar’s to the impeachment. pic.twitter.com/2Xf0GpMmr0 — Alex Richanbach (@AlexRichanbach) January 13, 2021

Analysis-Iran trying to deepen roots in Syria despite signs it may no longer be welcome-An article from an Assad ally suggests that Damascus may be looking to shift away from the Shiite axis even as Tehran tries to build up local support with Lebanon-style project-By Avi Issacharoff-jan 14,21-Today, 4:59 pm

Last month, Hasan Ismaik, a Jordanian billionaire with close ties to the Syrian government, published an opinion piece arguing that Iranian entrenchment in Syria was keeping it from being able to end nearly a decade of strife.“Today, Syria is experiencing a serious impasse, where the country is living in a state of ‘no war, no peace,'” he wrote. “There are no clear battles on the ground, nor is there the peace which would allow the reconstruction process to begin. Every insight into the situation in Syria and each path in the maze to finding a solution lead to the same complex problem and a huge obstacle: Iran and its influence in Syria.”It’s far from certain that Ismaik’s words reflect the official opinion in Damascus and it’s impossible to know if they were written with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s knowledge or consent. But given Ismaik’s intimacy with the Syrian government, his words may be a sign that Assad is trying to signal to the West that Iran is a problem not only for the region’s moderate Sunni Muslim states, but for his country as well.The ‘Syrian-Iranian alliance’ [is] a burden on Damascus, which is aware of the risks and dangers of its relationship with Iran at political, military and cultural levels,” he wrote. “This makes reaching a deal [with the West] possible, and even something to be expected.”The recent reconciliation between the Gulf Sunni states and Qatar, after years of open enmity and severed relations, may be inspiring thoughts of a similar rapprochement with Damascus. One wonders if a collaborative Sunni effort to help rebuild Syria would convince Damascus to reconsider its stance toward Iran and the carte blanche it has given to Tehran to operate within its borders.For years, Iran and its regional proxies have been hard at work establishing a foothold in Syria, a project supported by the Syrian regime and tolerated by its main benefactor Russia, despite a years-long campaign by Israel, backed by the US, to stymie the effort.The Israeli campaign has stepped up considerably in recent weeks and on Wednesday a reported Israeli sortie struck at least 15 targets in eastern Syria, hitting arms depots said to belong to Iran and Iran-backed forces. Dozens of pro-Iran fighters were reported killed in the strikes, one of the largest-yet bombing runs in over five years of attacks aimed at pushing Iran out of Syria and thwarting weapons transfers.In southern Syria, one of the main places Iran has attempted to dig in, the initiative has persisted despite increasing signs that local militias and others are no longer willing to put up with the presence of the Iranians and their allies.At the same time, there are indications that Iran is shifting its strategy to one of soft power, pushing social initiatives and building a proxy network made up of locals rather than foreign fighters — a hybrid approach that recalls the creation of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.The group, Hezbollah Syria, is the latest franchise in Tehran’s terror network, which also includes the aforementioned Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah.As it did in southern Lebanon, Iran is attempting to build a support base in southern Syria near the border with Israel. This mainly revolves around the triangle between Sweida, Daraa and Quneitra in the Syrian Golan.The effort has involved investments in youth programs, religious activities and welfare initiatives, filling a vacuum left by the government and meeting needs created by the region’s collapsing economy and harsh poverty.Militarily, the Iranians are active near the border, integrating into the Syrian army’s 1st Division, alongside Hezbollah fighters (in Syrian army uniforms), while continuously establishing more and more Shiite mosques and study halls.The area is one that has seen fighting persist, despite the virtual end of the civil war elsewhere. Battles between armed militias in the area result in some 40 to 60 casualties a week, according to estimates by Israeli sources.But many of the main actors have shown signs of growing impatience with Iran’s campaign.Among those are the Russians, who have tried, mostly without success, to mediate between the warring militias. In Daraa and al-Suwayda, this has included so-called reconciliation centers, staffed by Arabic-speaking officers who warn or reprimand whichever faction has stepped out of line.Syrian government supporters wave Syrian, Iranian and Russian flags as they chant slogans against US President Trump during demonstrations following a wave of US, British and French military strikes to punish President Bashar Assad for suspected chemical attack against civilians, in Damascus, Syria, April 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)-The Russians are also interested in keeping Iran in check and keep a close eye on developments near the frontier with Israel.Among the Druze, who are mostly concentrated near Suwayda, one can observe on social media a major split fomenting regarding the future of their ties with the regime.The community backed Assad throughout the war, but is now unhappy that the result has been Iran and Hezbollah getting more than a foothold in its region. The financial situation is quickly deteriorating, and there are reports of drug use and prostitution.Among those now opposing Damascus is the Ghazal el-Carmel (Men of the Carmel) militia, which fought alongside the regime during the civil war.Some local groups of fighters have also turned against the regime and Iran.The largest and most surprising of these is a militia headed by Ahmad Odeh, a former rebel commander who agreed two years ago to join the Syrian army, together with his10,000-strong Shabab al-Sunna paramilitary brigade.These troops now make up the 8th brigade of the 5th corps, but their salaries are not paid by Damascus. Rather, they are bankrolled by the Russians, under whose command they operate. For $200 a month per troop, the Russians have bought themselves a brigade of the Syrian army.Odeh is no fan of Iranian or Hezbollah involvement in the area, and is known as something of a renegade. He’s confronted ostensibly allied forces, and even exchanged gunfire with them, though these were mostly shows of force to make sure everyone knows who’s running the show in the region. At the graduation ceremony of his brigade’s officers – an official ceremony of the Syrian army – songs were sung denouncing the Syrian regime and praising the locals.But at the same time, there are armed groups that do still back the Iranians.The army’s 4th Division, which is commanded by Assad’s brother Maher and essentially acts independently of the Syrian military and in collaboration with Hezbollah and the Iranians, is one such group. A recent investigation found that the group was allegedly involved with Hezbollah in a massive operation to make and sell counterfeit Captagon, the amphetamine that helped fuel Islamic State’s reign of terror. Over $1 billion worth of the drug was recently seized in Italy and traced back to the group and the Syrian regime.The Syrian Army’s 1st Division is deeply entangled with Hezbollah, which is in effect the tail that wags the dog. Those in charge of training the soldiers of the 1st Corps of the Syrian army are the men of Hezbollah’s Southern Command, under the command of Hajj Hashem.In 2017, the Israeli military released video footage claiming to show the head of the 1st Division helping Hezbollah set up a base in the region, and warned the Syrian regime that it would be held responsible “for all enemy activities emanating from its territory.”In his piece, Ismaik highlighted the wealth of differences between Syria and Iran, from their approaches to secularism to the Shiite-Sunni split. He claimed that many Syrians are unhappy with statements by high-ranking Iranians making Iran out to be Syria’s savior or insinuating that Damascus is a vassal of Tehran.But with Iran ingratiating itself deeper and deeper within Syria, the question should not be whether Assad wants to remove Iran, but whether it is even possible anymore to disentangle Syria from the Shiite axis and bring it back into the fold.

Monitoring group: UNRWA textbooks glorify terror, deny Israel’s existence-Watchdog says educational materials distributed for distance learning during pandemic are ‘rife with hate’; UNWRA chief says content was distributed in error-By TOI staff-JAN 14,Today, 3:47 pm

An Israeli watchdog found that a new series of educational textbooks produced by a United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees contains incitement to violence and hatred, and glorifies terrorism.The new textbooks were produced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a branch of the international body that runs schools, health clinics and other social services for millions of Palestinian refugees around the Middle East.The books were part of a new curriculum issued by the agency during the coronavirus pandemic to facilitate distance learning.The review conducted by The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an Israeli watchdog that analyzes Palestinian textbooks, found UNRWA-produced material “to be rife with problematic content that contradicts stated UN values.”Palestinian students affiliated with the United Nations “UNRWA” wear face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, on November 25, 2020. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90-According to IMPACT-se’s report, the materials included incitement to violence. The watchdog found that children were asked to do mathematics problems using martyrs from the First Intifada to calculate equations, told students to “defend the motherland with blood,” and pushed the claim that Israel deliberately dumps radioactive and toxic waste in the West Bank.“UNRWA is complicit in radicalizing schoolchildren through the glorification of terrorists, encouragement to violence and teaching of blood libels to Palestinian schoolchildren,” said IMPACT-se director Marcus Sheff.Palestinian Authority textbooks have come under fire in the past for what critics have deemed to be hateful, anti-Semitic content. However, IMPACT-se said that the “UNRWA-created material is, in places, more extremist than PA material it complements.IMPACT-se also said that Israel is omitted from maps in the UNRWA-produced materials, with the entire territory being labeled as a modern-day Palestine with no demarcation lines. When it is mentioned, Israel is referred to mostly as “The Enemy” or the “Zionist Occupation.”The organization’s findings also showed that the materials characterized Dalal Mughrabi, who took part in the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, as a role model, contrary to the UN’s position that she was a terrorist. Mughrabi and several other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus and killed 38 civilians, 13 of them children, and wounded over 70.The European Parliament passed a resolution last year condemning the Palestinian Authority for continuing to include hate speech and violent material in school materials, stating it “is concerned that problematic material” in Palestinian school textbooks had not been removed.“UNRWA has for years refused point-blank to make public its ‘Curriculum Framework’ that it claims combats incitement in the Palestinian textbooks. Now we know why: some of its own content is even worse than that of the Palestinian Authority,” said IMPACT-se’s Sheff.In a statement released following the publication of the report, UNWRA vowed again to crack down on incitement.“UNRWA has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and for incitement to hatred and violence in its schools and in all of its operations. Any breach reported is dealt with firmly. The Agency adheres, in its education program, to the highest standards of neutrality, humanity and tolerance,” the UN body said in a statement.Responding to the criticisms, UNWRA chief Phillipe Lazzarini said in a tweet that “there was no place [for] incitement to hatred/violence in UNWRA schools.” He asserted that the inciteful material had been published by accident.“Local reference to inappropriate pages from textbooks that were mistakenly distributed during #COVID19 lockdown were quickly replaced with content that adheres to UN values,” Lazzarini said on Thursday.Israel has long pushed for UNRWA’s closure, arguing it helps perpetuate the conflict with the Palestinians, since it confers refugee status upon descendants of those originally displaced around the time of Israel’s War of Independence.US President Donald Trump’s administration supported Israel’s stance by cutting aid in 2018. Washington had been providing UNRWA $300 million a year, roughly a third of its core annual budget.

Explosives-carrying drones apparently could reach IsraeL-Iranian kamikaze drones said spotted in the possession of Yemen’s Houthis-Tehran fires cruise missiles during naval exercise in apparent show of force; Newsweek publishes satellite images purporting to show advanced UAVs-By Judah Ari Gross-JAN 14,21-Today, 2:37 pm

The American magazine Newsweek published satellite images purporting to show advanced kamikaze drones in Yemen that the outlet said Iran could use to attack countries in the region, including Israel.These unmanned aerial vehicles, identified as Shahed-136 loitering munitions, were more advanced than the models of suicide drones already known to be in the Houthis’ possession, with an operational radius of approximately 2,000 to 2,200 kilometers (1,240 to 1,370 miles), meaning Israel is within their range.An unnamed expert who provided the satellite images to Newsweek said the purpose of these drones was to give Iran the ability to conduct strikes on a variety of targets in the Middle East without them being clearly traced back to Tehran.“What they’re trying to achieve is plausible deniability,” the expert told the outlet, “as in being able to strike either a US, Saudi, Gulf, or Israeli target and then having the strike traced back to Yemen, and hoping for deniability against any kind of retribution.”The Houthi rebel group in Yemen has possessed suicide drones — UAVs packed with explosives that are designed to be flown directly at targets — for several years, but the variety seen in the Newsweek report Thursday were more powerful.Also on Thursday, the Iranian military fired several cruise missiles as part of a naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, state media reported, in an apparent show of force amid heightened tensions with Israel and the United States.Various kinds of surface-to-surface cruise missiles successfully hit their targets in the gulf and northern part of the Indian Ocean, the report said.“Enemies should know that any violation and invasion of Iranian marine borders will be targeted by the cruise missiles from both coast and sea,” said Adm. Hamzeh Ali Kaviani, spokesman for the exercise.The two-day drill began Wednesday when the country’s navy inaugurated its largest military vessel. The exercise took place as Tehran squared off against the United States in an escalating tit-for-tat over its nuclear program and amid a long-simmering conflict with Jerusalem, which bubbled to the surface this week as the Israeli military reportedly conducted a massive series of airstrikes on Iran-linked targets in eastern Syria in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning.These reports came as advanced air defense batteries were seen deployed around the southern Israeli city of Eilat, amid concerns of an attack from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis.Iron Dome and Patriot missile defense batteries were first spotted earlier this month. The Iron Dome is generally used against rockets and mortar shells, but can also intercept small drones and cruise missiles. The Patriot system is used primarily to defend against ballistic missiles and larger aircraft like fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles, including the types of suicide drones mentioned in the Newsweek report.In recent weeks, the Israeli military has also reportedly sailed a submarine through the area, sending the vessel through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea. Due to the shallow depth of the canal, submarines can only pass through it above the water, where they can easily be spotted. As such, the move was generally seen as a show of force directed toward Iran.In an interview last month, IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said Israel was tracking Iranian movements around the region, and that Israeli submarines were quietly “sailing everywhere.”

Analysis-With Iran held in check by Biden hopes, Israel grabs chance to hit hard in Syria-With US in transition, the IDF sees Tehran as less likely to retaliate, and is making hay by expanding and intensifying its air campaign against Iranian forces across the border-By Judah Ari Gross-JAN 14,21-Today, 1:23 pm

Over the past two and a half weeks, Israel has reportedly conducted at least four rounds of airstrikes on Iran-linked sites in Syria, including a major bombardment in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning according to media outlets there, in a major step up from the normal scope and frequency of attacks.Wednesday’s attack was a major operation against Iran’s efforts to establish a permanent military presence in the country, one of the largest reported Israeli airstrikes in years, with over 15 sites bombed in eastern Syria some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Israel, according to Syrian reports.The bombing was both more intense than normal — in comparison, the Israel Defense Forces said it struck some 50 targets in Syria in all of 2020 — and took place much farther from Israel than most attacks attributed to the Jewish state. The three other rounds of airstrikes in last few weeks took place in areas closer to Damascus and the Syrian Golan.The IDF had no comment on the late-night strikes, in accordance with its policy to neither confirm nor deny its operations in Syria save for those in retaliation to an attack on Israel from the country.The significant increase in the frequency and scope of the attacks stems from an assessment by the Israel Defense Forces, shared with The Times of Israel, that Iran is unlikely to retaliate in a major way to these strikes in the short term.In general over the past year, Iran has not responded to Israeli airstrikes — either not finding a way to do so or being stopped by Israel from doing so — and currently Tehran appears to be preparing to enter into negotiations with US President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration, which would be more difficult were it to be actively engaged in fighting with Washington’s key ally in the region. While Iran takes a wait-and-see approach, Israel is taking advantage.Even if the frequency of IDF strikes decreases in the coming weeks, it would more likely be due to operational restrictions than the incoming Biden administration trying to curb Israel. The same window of opportunity is expected to remain as long as Tehran holds out hopes of talks with the new president, allowing Israel to continue its efforts in Syria, which are intended to keep Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the country and using it to move weapons that would threaten the Jewish state.“The Biden administration won’t stop Israel from striking [in Syria],” Amos Yadlin, a former Military Intelligence chief, told the Times of Israel.According to Israeli officials, the campaign against Iran in Syria has been on the whole successful, stymieing Tehran’s plans for the country and largely keeping the bulk of its forces further from Israel’s borders.“They wanted to shape [Syria] in the model of Hezbollah, to have masses of soldiers there, with missiles, with the ability to strike Israel, to exhaust Israel,” Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told the Kan broadcaster Wednesday.“In the past four years… they failed to turn Syria into something like the second Hezbollah. They tried to build there a military force and Israel — time after time — destroyed those attempts and that infrastructure. They haven’t given up, they haven’t quit, but they have failed,” he said.Last month, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi made a similar claim, telling reporters in a year-end briefing that the IDF has noted a marked drop over the previous two years in the number of Iran-backed fighters in Syria, an increase in the number of Iranian military bases being closed in the country, and a significant decrease in the amount of weaponry being transported into and through Syria.“Iranian entrenchment in Syria is in a clear trend of slowing down as a direct result of IDF activities, though we still have a way to go to reach our goals on this front,” Kohavi said.Yet the Islamic Republic has not thrown in the towel and still maintains a significant military presence in the country, even if it is smaller than it desires.According to Syrian media reports, the targets of the Wednesday strike were primarily weapons warehouses around the Deir Ezzor and Boukamal regions, areas known to contain significant numbers of Iran-backed militias, which are more difficult for Israel to strike due to their greater distance from the border.E. #Syria: more evidence showing aftermath of #Israel|i airstrikes today in #DeirEzzor province:– ammo warehouse W. of DeZ-city (1)– informal border crossing with #Iraq, near #AbuKemal (2-3)-Death toll of 50+ (SOHR) is however fabricated. pic.twitter.com/UzAcnFNRta— QalaatM (@QalaatM) January 13, 2021-Israeli and Western intelligence officials, as well as Syrian opposition media, have said that these areas are used by Tehran as part of a so-called land corridor to transport weapons from Iran through Iraq into Syria and, in some cases, on to Lebanon, where its most significant proxy, Hezbollah, is based.Boukamal was also targeted multiple times in 2018 and 2019 in a failed bid to block the construction of the infrastructure likely used to transport missiles into Syria in recent weeks.“The other side, as I understand, is not prepared to surrender because they invested a huge fortune and massive resources in the success of Assad and they want to collect their fee from Assad, which is their ability to operate freely from within Syria, which they saved from falling into the hands of the rebels,” Hanegbi said.According to Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who runs DeirEzzor24, a pro-opposition media collective with researchers on the ground in eastern Syria, these warehouses contained a particularly large shipment of missiles that had been brought into the area by the Iran-backed Fatimiyeon militia in recent weeks.In a highly irregular move, a senior US intelligence official confirmed to the Associated Press that Israel was behind the Wednesday strikes. The official said the intelligence behind the attack was provided by the US. It’s unlikely, though, that Israel would launch such a significant raid based solely on American intelligence, based on its standard operating procedure.More curiously, the official also claimed the warehouses that were targeted were used to transport components that support Iran’s nuclear program — though not that these materials were themselves targeted in the strikes. This is an eyebrow-raising proposition, given the fact that Deir Ezzor was the site of Syria’s own nuclear reactor before it was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 2007.Institute for National Security Studies Chairman Amos Yadlin attends the Annual International Conference of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv January 23, 2017. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)-Yadlin, the current head of the influential Institute for National Security Studies, dismissed this claim as “fake news” and said that these were simply not the supply lines used by Iran for its nuclear program.Asked if the attribution to a senior US intelligence official didn’t lend some credence to the claim, Yadlin told The Times of Israel: “A former senior Israeli intelligence official is saying this report has no logical [basis].”-Nuclear brinksmanship-Recent months have seen rising tensions between Iran and the US and Israel, amid speculation that outgoing US President Donald Trump would use his final week in office to launch a military strike against Tehran.The US has deployed B-52 heavy bombers to the Middle East, sent an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf and sought to diplomatically challenge Iran by releasing intelligence tying the Islamic Republic to the Al-Qaeda terror group earlier this week. The US has also stepped up its sanctions on Iranian entities.The head of Iran’s military nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was also killed in November in an attack that was widely attributed to Israel.This combination of photos shows US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP and Miriam Alster/Flash90)-In a somewhat subtler move, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen traveled to Washington, DC, this week, meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a public space, prompting widespread speculation on what the two discussed.Iran, in turn, has taken a number of provocative steps on the nuclear front, announcing that it was beginning to enrich uranium to 20 percent, a major breach of the 2015 nuclear deal, which it has been steadily violating since Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018. On Wednesday, Tehran announced it was also advancing research into uranium metal, a key component of nuclear weapons, with limited civilian uses.In addition, the Iranian military has staged two large exercises, one focusing on drones and the other on the navy.Iran also seized a South Korean oil tanker that had been sailing through the Persian Gulf, an apparent act of revenge for some $7 billion in Iranian assets that were frozen by Seoul.Likud’s Tzachi Hanegbi attends an event at Kedem in the West Bank on September 5, 2019. (Hillel Maeir/Flash90)-Despite these growing signs of tensions, Hanegbi said Israel did not anticipate some kind of attack in the coming week.“The [Israeli] assessment is that nothing dramatic will happen during this week,” he said. “This is the calm before the storm.”The minister, who is considered a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, explained that the “storm” would be what comes as the United States negotiates a new nuclear deal with Tehran, saying that if Israel did not feel such an agreement ensured its security, it would attack Iran’s nuclear program.Biden has publicly stated his intention to rejoin the accord — known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — provided Iran also returns to the terms of the deal and use that agreement as a jumping off point for further negotiations.Those opposed to the JCPOA, as well as some proponents of it, argue that a simple return to the deal would give up the considerable leverage that Trump’s sanctions regime has achieved. Instead, those people argue, Biden should attempt to negotiate a far stronger deal, one that does not have the expiration dates of the JCPOA, with greater access for international inspectors, and also addressing Iran’s ballistic missile program and malign influence in the region. Supporters of Biden’s plan maintain that a significantly more robust deal is not feasible now, but could be negotiated going forward.This is the calm before the storm-“If the United States government rejoins the nuclear deal — and that seems to be the stated policy as of now — the practical result will be that Israel will again be alone against Iran, which by the end of the deal will have received a green light from the world, including the United States, to continue with its nuclear weapons program,” Hanegbi said.“This of course we will not allow. We’ve already twice done what needed to be done, in 1981 against the Iraqi nuclear program and in 2007 against the Syrian nuclear program,” he said, referring to airstrikes on those two countries’ nuclear reactors.