ANTIFA IN ISRAEL
Israelis press on with protests against new government
 

 

BIBI BIG BROTHER

Israelis gather ahead of a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government, in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. Last week, tens of thousands of Israelis protested Netanyahu's government that opponents say threaten democracy and freedoms.

 (AP Photo/ Oded Balilty)

Sat, January 21, 2023

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to overhaul the judicial system, measures that opponents say imperil the country's democratic foundation.

Israeli media, citing police, said some 100,000 people were out protesting.

The protest followed another demonstration last week that also drew tens of thousands in an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox government — the most right-wing in Israeli history.

The government says a power imbalance has given judges and government legal advisers too much sway over lawmaking and governance. Netanyahu has pledged to press on with the changes despite the opposition.

Protesters filled central streets in the seaside metropolis, raising Israeli flags and banners that read “Our Children will not Live in a Dictatorship” and “Israel, We Have A Problem.”

“This is a protest to defend the country,” said opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who joined the protest. “People came here today to protect their democracy.”

“All generations are concerned. This is not a joke,” said Lior Student, a protester. "This is a complete redefinition of democracy.”

Other protests took place in the cities of Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba.

   

In addition to the protests, pressure has built up on Netanyahu’s government after the country’s attorney general asked Netanyahu to fire a key Cabinet ally following a Supreme Court ruling that disqualified him from holding a government post because of a conviction of tax offenses.

While Netanyahu was expected to heed the court ruling, it only deepened the rift in the country over the judicial system and the power of the courts.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, vowed to continue with the judicial overhaul plans despite the protests. Opponents say the changes could help Netanyahu evade conviction in his corruption trial, or make the court case disappear altogether.

On Friday, Netanyahu's coalition was put for a new test after a disagreement between Cabinet members over the dismantling of an unauthorized settlement outpost in the West Bank.

Defense Minister Yoav Galant, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, ordered the removal of the outpost, upsetting a pro-settlement Cabinet member who had issued a directive to postpone the eviction pending further discussions.

Israel's Netanyahu fires Cabinet ally, heeding court ruling

 

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. 

(AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, Pool)

TIA GOLDENBERG
Sun, January 22, 2023 

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired a key Cabinet ally on Sunday, heeding a Supreme Court ruling commanding him to do so and deepening a rift over the power of the courts.

Netanyahu announced he was firing Aryeh Deri, who serves as Interior and Health Minister, at a meeting of his Cabinet. Israel's Supreme Court decided last week Deri could not serve as a Cabinet minister because of a conviction last year over tax offenses.

The court ruling came as Israel is mired in a dispute over the power of the judiciary. Netanyahu’s far-right government wants to weaken the Supreme Court, limit judicial oversight and grant more power to politicians. Critics say the move upends the country’s system of checks and balances and imperils Israel’s democratic fundamentals.

According to his office, Netanyahu told Deri he was removing him from his post with “a heavy heart and great sorrow.”

“This unfortunate decision ignores the people's will,” Netanyahu told Deri. “I intend to find any legal way for you to continue to contribute to the state of Israel.”

Deri said he would continue to lead his party and assist the government in advancing its agenda, including the legal overhaul.

Deri’s firing is also expected to shake Netanyahu’s governing coalition, a union buoyed by ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, including Deri’s Shas, which is the third largest party in the government. While some Shas lawmakers threatened to bolt the fledgling coalition in the aftermath of the court ruling, it is expected to survive Deri’s absence and to attempt to craft legislation that would pave the way for his swift return.

Netanyahu is now expected to appoint other Shas members to replace Deri, at least temporarily.

Deri has long been a kingmaker in Israeli politics and has become a key ally of Netanyahu’s who has relied on him repeatedly to join his governments and back his agenda.

Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israeli history, has made overhauling the country’s judiciary a centerpiece of its agenda. It says a power imbalance has given judges and government legal advisers too much sway over lawmaking and governance. Critics say the overhaul could help Netanyahu, himself on trial for corruption charges, evade conviction or see his trial disappear entirely.

The plan has drawn fierce criticism from top legal officials, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, former lawmakers and tens of thousands of Israelis who have come out repeatedly to protest the overhaul.

In a move that was seen as crucial to bringing the governing coalition together, Israeli legislators last month changed a law that prohibited a convict on probation from being a Cabinet minister. That cleared the way for Deri to join the government but prompted the Supreme Court challenge.

Deri has faced legal problems in the past. He was sentenced to three years in prison for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in 2000 during a stint as interior minister in the 1990s. He served 22 months in prison but made a political comeback and retook the reins of Shas in 2013.

 

 

Voters have clearly told Republicans to change their ways. So far GOP has said, 'Nope.'

Rex Huppke, USA TODAY
Sun, January 22, 2023 

In the short months since Republicans suffered midterm electoral dysfunction, sitting slack-jawed as the “Red Wave” they envisioned failed to rise, the party and its lawmakers surveyed the clear message voters sent and responded with a thunderous: “Meh.”

Midterm election exit polls showed a populace uninterested in GOP election denialism and the culture-war grievances that animate Fox News viewers. Hot-button right-wing issues like drag shows or critical race theory or the bottomless conspiracy pit into which Hunter Biden’s laptop has fallen didn’t register a blip. If anything, it turned voters off – particularly younger ones better at separating fact from fiction – leading them to buck historical trends and vote for the party of an unpopular president during a time of high inflation.

To make matters worse for the GOP, it was the third straight national election that didn't quite go the way they'd hoped, following the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., takes a selfie with the newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Jan. 6, 2023.

It was a historic stumble and a strong signal that the cruelty-first, MAGA-era version of the Republican Party may be galloping toward political irrelevancy. But the party’s response since November has been to gallop faster, in the same direction, like a slice of lemmings eager to reach the cliff.

Gen Z voted and it was a W for democracy: We can no longer be a political afterthought.
You're angry about abortion restrictions? OK, we'll try to restrict more abortions

Voters were angry about the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health care. In the five states that had abortion-related initiatives on the ballot, voters resoundingly supported abortion rights.

Swiftly after being sworn in this month, Republicans who narrowly won control of the U.S. House of Representatives passed abortion-related bills that put restrictions on federal funding for abortions (something that wasn’t happening anyway because of the Hyde Amendment) and imposing new regulations on how abortion providers handle infants born alive after abortions, something exceedingly rare and already covered by federal law.

Abortion-rights advocates in Philadelphia protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade on Friday, June 24, 2022.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina responded to that early legislative push by saying: “We learned nothing from the midterms if this is how we're going to operate in the first week. Millions of women across the board were angry over overturning Roe v. Wade.”

Voters supported abortion rights. Here's what anti-abortion leaders should learn from it.

GOP attacking inflation by making life easier for the rich

But that has been the tip of the not-reading-the-room iceberg.

Inflation was a top concern for voters, and Republicans campaigned heavily on saving hard-working Americans from the tyranny of President Joe Biden’s economic policies, or some such thing.

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hits the gavel after being elected Speaker in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 07, 2023 in Washington, DC.

So naturally, one of the first moves GOP House lawmakers made was voting to cut tens of billions of dollars in IRS funding intended to help the agency go after wealthy tax cheats. That move by the always-deficit-conscious Republicans would add $114 billion to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The bill will go nowhere, of course, but it shows voters how little the party respects their concerns.

How about a 'fair tax' that's really fairer to the wealthy?

In order to get enough votes to become House Speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy agreed to bring a whack-a-doodle thing called the “Fair Tax” up for a vote on the House floor. This legislation would do away with the IRS and effectively wipe out the U.S. tax code and replace it with a monstrous 30% national sales tax on everything. It’s a great way to make sure the average American voter worried about inflation gets to shoulder more of the tax burden than the wealthy donors who line the pockets of Republicans willing to pretend this is a good idea.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

War on Woke wasn't wanted, GOP fights on

Along with ignoring the financial concerns of non-millionaires, Republicans are aggressively going after the “woke” culture-war issues that younger voters – the ones who will determine elections to come and lean heavily toward diversity and inclusion – made clear they find repellent.

A demonstrator holds up a sign during a march to mark International Transgender Day of Visibility in Lisbon, March 31, 2022. At least 32 transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in the United States in 2022, the Human Rights Campaign announced Wednesday, Nov. 16, in its annual report ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday, Nov. 20. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)More

GOP legislators across the country have continued attempts to ban drag queen shows, take away access to gender-affirming care and target transgender people. The American Civil Liberties Union found that since the start of the year, more than 120 bills restricting LBGTQ rights have been introduced in statehouses across the country.
African American studies? That sounds woke, better ban it

Nowhere is the culture-war drum being beaten louder than in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely considered a frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is transforming the state into a beacon of intolerance.

This past week, he sent a survey to all state universities requesting numbers and demographic data on students who sought or received treatment for gender dysphoria, an obvious attempt to intimidate transgender students and those who provide them support and care.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts after publicly signing HB7, "individual freedom," also dubbed the "stop woke" bill during a news conference in April.

Florida’s State Board of Education released a statement in conjunction with the the Florida College System presidents that “rejects the progressivist higher education indoctrination agenda, and commits to removing all woke positions and ideologies by February 1, 2023.” For most normal people in this country, that quote is a bunch of loony-sounding mumbo-jumbo.

My daughter found her perfect campus: Now Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to destroy it.

DeSantis’ administration even blocked a new high school Advanced Placement course on African American studies, because apparently learning non-white stuff is just too darn woke.

Republicans tell voters to pound sand

If you look at all of this, it’s a stunning rebuke of the broader American public.

I’ll leave the cogent political analysis to others and just say this to elected Republican leaders: Have you lost your damn minds? (Don’t respond, I know the answer.) Because you’re well on your way to losing future elections.

There are, without question, conservative ideas that are more broadly palatable, and America, despite what right-wing hysteria spouters might say, is not on the verge of becoming a radical leftist nation. There’s a big ol’ middle out there that will gladly tilt toward whichever side happens to be making more sense.

That’s the problem, really. Far-right Republicans have stopped making sense to anyone who doesn’t inhabit their tight, weirdly conspiratorial, constantly agitated bubble.

To paraphrase the great cartoonist Walt Kelly, “They have seen the enemy, and it is them.”

And apparently they like what they see.



Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk, or contact him at rhuppke@usatoday.com

More from Rex Huppke:

House GOP heard the American voters. They definitely want Hunter Biden investigations!

Noted political loser Donald Trump announces plan to lose presidential race again.

After the 'red wave' flop, we need new male political experts who are always wrong. I'm in.

GOP ANTI-PROGRESSIVE RACE WAR ON RIGHTS

Tennessee cuts HIV program with Planned Parenthood ties

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee answers questioning during a panel discussion at the Republican Governors Association conference on Nov. 15, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. According to a letter from Planned Parenthood, Tennessee's Department of Health in November alerted the organization that it would no longer receive HIV prevention grants starting in 2023, as well as warn that the state was terminating its partnership with the organization to provide HIV testing. Planned Parenthood declared that Lee's administration was choosing the “nuclear option” in order to avoid having to work with the organization. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) 

KIMBERLEE KRUESI
Fri, January 20, 2023 at 2:17 PM MST·5 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Top Tennessee health officials attempted to oust Planned Parenthood from a program designed to prevent and treat HIV before eventually deciding to forgo federal funding for the program, despite warnings that doing so will have a devastating impact on marginalized communities, documents show.

The decision is the latest development in a ruby red state where abortion is already banned. Republicans leaders, however, have actively tried to cut off public ties with the organization for any other services, due to its long history of offering and defending abortion care.

According to a letter from Planned Parenthood, Tennessee's Department of Health in November alerted the organization that it would no longer receive HIV prevention grants starting in 2023, as well as warn that the state was terminating its partnership with Planned Parenthood to provide HIV testing.

The letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press, was sent to the health agency's general counsel, Mary Katherine Bratton, on Nov. 16.

The document states that United Way — which distributes the HIV federal funding grant on the health agency's behalf — said the department wanted to sever ties with Planned Parenthood “for reasons wholly unrelated to the purpose of the program.”

“As United Way reported: ‘TDH said given the current political climate we are not moving forward with funding Planned Parenthood,’ and TDH 'can no longer directly or indirectly fund (Planned Parenthood),'” wrote Planned Parenthood's attorney Alan E. Schoenfeld.

Schoenfeld added that Planned Parenthood wanted to avoid litigation and requested a meeting later that month. The issue was eventually dropped until this week, when the Department of Health announced it was choosing to walk away from the federal HIV prevention, detection and treatment funding and instead would rely on state funding for such efforts starting June 1. The Commercial Appeal was the first to report the announcement.

The department’s move was a shock to many of the participating organizations tasked with providing vital HIV services across the state. Planned Parenthood, which has worked with the state to distribute free condoms for more than a decade, declared that Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s administration was choosing the “nuclear option” in order to avoid having to work with the organization.

“This is yet another public health crisis manufactured by Gov. Lee,” said Ashley Coffield, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi. “They are using Planned Parenthood as the entry way to take down the whole sexual and reproductive health care system. We’re often the most public target, but this affects so many groups.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health declined to directly answer questions about why they attempted to cut Planned Parenthood from the HIV program in November. Instead, they provided a Jan. 17 letter explaining that “prior administrations” had decided to accept the federal funding for HIV surveillance but the state has determined “it is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the State to assume direct financial and managerial responsibility for these services.”

“The funding for this HIV prevention program is very important and it’s important that it is spent effectively and efficiently in the ways that best serve Tennessee,” Lee told reporters Friday. “We think we can do that better than the strings attached with the federal dollars that came our way and that’s why we made that decision.”

Tennessee’s health agency’s website says the CDC grant helps fund: “HIV counseling, testing and referral, HIV partner counseling and referral services, HIV health education and risk reduction programs, HIV prevention for positive individuals, public information programs, a toll-free HIV/STD hotline, capacity building programs, and a quality assurance and evaluation component.”

The website goes on to say that state funding provides additional support for HIV testing, but it does not give an amount.

Separately, Lee appointed Ralph Alvarado as the new health commissioner in late November. Alvarado is a former Kentucky state senator who has publicly opposed most abortion access. Alvarado officially took over the role on Monday, just two days before the department announced it would cut off the HIV federal funding.

Planned Parenthood has since been removed from the health agency’s website that lists community organizations that distribute free condoms.

“There’s nothing pro-life about punishing people who are living with HIV and enabling this virus to spread undetected,” said Democratic state Sen. London Lamar of Memphis.

Lamar added that public health efforts have helped slow the spread of HIV in Tennessee and that cutting off federal funding “endangers the lives of Tennesseans.”

Planned Parenthood has partnered with Tennessee’s Department of Health to provide HIV testing since 2008, when Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen was in office. Four years later, under then Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, the health agency attempted to remove Planned Parenthood from the program — a move that was ultimately challenged in court.

A district court later found that the department had targeted Planned Parenthood “based upon their First Amendment activity for advocating abortion” and issued a permanent injunction preventing the state from dissolving any partnership with the organization because of their abortion care advocacy. That injunction is still in place.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has been forced to stop all abortion services ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion last year.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise contributed to this report.

Tennessee says it's cutting federal HIV funding. Will other GOP states follow?



Erika Edwards
Fri, January 20, 2023 

Health officials in Tennessee say they will reject federal funding for groups that provide services to residents living with HIV.

Earlier this week, the Tennessee Department of Health announced it would no longer accept grant money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earmarked for testing, prevention and treatment of HIV.

In an email reviewed by NBC News, the Department of Health told certain nonprofit organizations that provide these services that the state would turn down the federal funding as of June, relying only on state funds afterward. "It is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the State to assume direct financial and managerial response for these services," the email read.

When asked for comment by NBC News, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said that "the letter speaks for itself."


An estimated 20,000 people in Tennessee are living with HIV, though not all would be affected by the cuts. There was no further guidance on how the state planned to fund such programs on its own.

The move stunned HIV experts.

"I can't understand why the state would give back funds targeted toward health care," said Diane Duke, president and chief executive officer of Friends for Life, a Memphis group that provides services to people living with HIV. Friends for Life was among the groups that received notice from the state. "It's outrageous," she said.

Shelby County, where Memphis is located, is among the nation's counties with the highest rates of HIV and AIDS. In 2020, 819 per 100,000 Shelby County residents had HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And those were only the people who'd received an official diagnosis.

"A lot of people are walking around with HIV, and they don't even realize it," Duke said. Providing testing for the virus is a major part of the work Friends for Life carries out. "Once somebody has tested positive, we are able to get them into care immediately," she said.

Greg Millett, director of public policy for the nonprofit group amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, called the decision "devastating." He is concerned that Tennessee health officials are setting a dangerous precedent.

"If other states follow suit," Millett said, "we're going to be in trouble."

Millet said that the CDC provides Tennessee as much as $10 million in HIV funding. It remains unclear how much of that money will be turned away.

He said he worries that the state's directive will lead to discrimination against marginalized groups most at risk for HIV.

"The overwhelming majority of new HIV cases are among gay and bisexual men, transgender populations, heterosexual women, as well as people who inject drugs," he said.

"We have the tools needed to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in terms of prevention and care," Millett said. "If Tennessee is not using those tools, not using CDC funding and not focusing on the groups most at risk for HIV, we have the possibility of an outbreak."

The CDC provides millions of dollars each year to states for HIV testing kits, condoms and medications to prevent infection, called PrEP.

In a statement provided to NBC News on Friday, the CDC said that it was unaware that Tennessee — or any other state — planned to stop accepting the grant money.

"We have not received any official notification from the Tennessee Department of Health withdrawing from CDC's HIV prevention funding," the CDC said. Without such notice, the CDC will automatically continue payments to the state.

The federal agency also said that it would "certainly be concerned if the services people in Tennessee need to stay healthy were interrupted or if public health capacity to respond to HIV outbreaks and bring an end to this epidemic were hindered."

Follow NBC HEALTH on Twitter & Facebook.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

PENTAGON ABANDONED THEM

Afghan soldier seeks asylum after arrest at US-Mexico border

Sami-ullah Safi holds photographs of his brother, Abdul Wasi Safi, as he talks about his brother's journey to the U.S. during an interview Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Houston. Safi's brother, who's called Wasi by his family, was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas.

 (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

JUAN A. LOZANO
Sat, January 21, 2023 

HOUSTON (AP) — Abdul Wasi Safi kept documents detailing his time as an Afghan soldier who worked with the U.S. military close to him as he made the monthslong, treacherous journey from Brazil to the U.S.-Mexico border.

He fled Afghanistan fearing retribution from the Taliban following the August 2021 American withdrawal, and hoped the paperwork would secure his asylum in the U.S. Despite thick jungles, raging rivers and beatings, he kept those documents safe.

But after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas, in September, Wasi Safi was arrested on a federal immigration charge. He remains jailed at a detention center in Eden, Texas, and fears his asylum claim may be denied.

Wasi Safi's brother, attorneys, military organizations and a bipartisan group of lawmakers working to free him say his case highlights how America’s chaotic military withdrawal continues to harm Afghan citizens who helped the U.S. but were left behind.


“He tried every way possible to save these certificates in the hopes that once he ... presents his appropriate documents at the southern border ... he would receive a warm welcome and his service would be appreciated and recognized,” said Sami-ullah Safi, his brother.

If sent back to Afghanistan, he could be killed by the Taliban, which since its takeover has killed more than 100 Afghan officials and security force members, according to a United Nations report.

“It’s honestly just shameful that we’ve treated people that helped protect our country this way,” said Jennifer Cervantes, one of Wasi Safi’s immigration attorneys.

Wasi Safi, 27, had been an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. forces with information on terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi, 29, who goes by Sami.

Sami Safi had been employed by the U.S. military as a translator since 2010, making him eligible for a special immigrant visa for interpreters and others paid by the U.S. government. The visa allowed him to move to Houston in 2015.

But Wasi Safi was not eligible for that visa because he was not employed directly by the U.S.

When American forces withdrew from Afghanistan, Wasi Safi went into hiding and learned that friends in the Afghan military had been killed by the Taliban.

He was able to get a visa for Brazil and traveled there in 2022. But he realized he wasn’t much safer as he and other migrants were beaten and robbed by gangs.

In the summer of 2022, Wasi Safi began his journey to the U.S.

When he crossed a huge river in the Darien Gap, the imposing and dangerous stretch of thick jungle between Colombia and Panama, Wasi Safi kept a backpack with his documents above his head, so they wouldn’t get wet.

When police officers in Guatemala tried to extort him and took his backpack, Wasi Safi endured their beatings until he got the documents back, according to his brother.

On his journey, Wasi Safi suffered serious injuries from beatings, including damaged front teeth and hearing loss in his right ear. Zachary Fertitta, one of his criminal defense attorneys, said Wasi Safi has not received proper medical care while in detention. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for medical care if he’s released.

Sami Safi said his brother has become disillusioned since his detention, believing the documents he thought would save him are worthless.

But Fertitta said those documents show “he’s clearly an ally, was trained by our troops, worked with our troops.”

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, last week sent a letter to President Joe Biden, asking him to pardon Wasi Safi for his immigration related charges. She said Thursday that his documents show he’s “an individual who obviously loved this country ... and was willing to die for this country.”

Republican Congressmen Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Michael Waltz of Florida, as well as more than 20 veterans groups have also called for Wasi Safi's freedom while his asylum claim is reviewed.

The White House declined to comment on Friday, referring questions to the Justice Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, which is prosecuting his case for the Justice Department, and Customs and Border Protection didn’t immediately return emails seeking comment.

During a news conference Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said he couldn’t comment on Wasi Safi’s case but that the Defense Department is “supportive of any efforts that we can make to ensure that we’re taking appropriate care of” the country’s Afghan allies.

Fertitta said Wasi Safi’s criminal case has to first be resolved before his asylum claim can be considered, and he’s hoping that resolution doesn’t include a conviction, which could imperil the asylum request.

Nearly 76,000 Afghans who worked with American soldiers since 2001 as translators, interpreters and partners arrived in the U.S. on military planes after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. But their immigration status remains unclear after Congress failed to pass a proposed law, the Afghan Adjustment Act, that would have solidified their legal residency status.

Fertitta said Wasi Safi’s case highlights the country’s “broken immigration system” and its failure to help Afghan allies.

“You have all of those things colliding at our border and it’s a very difficult problem to sort out,” Fertitta said.

Sami Safi said he remains hopeful.

“I am hoping that President Biden and those who have authority over this case step up and save his life. He has given enough sacrifice for this country. My whole family has sacrificed for this country,” he said.

__

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

___

 

W.Va. bills pass on carbon sequestration, hydrogen hubs


West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berekley), left, and Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay), chat during West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's annual State of the State address in the House Chambers at the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. 

(AP Photo/Chris Jackson)

LEAH WILLINGHAM
Fri, January 20, 2023 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two bills designed make it easier for West Virginia to attract hydrogen hubs and carbon sequestration projects to the historically coal-dependent state are headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice.

The bills, which won final approval from the state legislature on Friday, would allow some kinds of state-owned land to be leased or sold for economic development projects that remove harmful gas emissions from the atmosphere and store it underground.

Carbon sequestration and storage has long been touted as an answer to global warming, a way to curb the energy industry’s burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. The bills could also open up land for storing emissions for a potential hydrogen hub project.

Lawmakers did not disclose whether the bills are tied to a specific project proposal, and Justice has not indicated whether or not he will sign the bill into law — although it appears likely he will. State officials have been openly vying for a share of the billions of dollars for hydrogen hub project proposals included the federal bipartisan infrastructure law.

Lawmakers' votes on the carbon sequestration bills represent a shift in West Virginia, one of the nation's top coal producers, as state leaders seek cleaner forms of producing energy as a way to preserve the state's roots. In the last year, the state has seen a slew of major announcements for alternative energy projects including green battery plants and a Warren Buffett-backed industrial park powered by renewable energy.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is leading a nuclear reactor demonstration in Wyoming at the site of an existing coal-fired power plant, visited West Virginia just last week. He said he's looking for sites to expand his efforts to the East Coast.

But the votes were also indicative of growing pains in a state that relied on coal production for over a century. Ruled by Democrats for decades, the state has since become home to one of the country's most Republican-dominated state legislatures.

Money supporting future projects will likely see significant support from President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation drafted by Sen. Joe Manchin, the only remaining Democrat holding statewide office in West Virginia. Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito voted in favor of the infrastructure law, but not the Inflation Reduction Act.

Before voting in support of one of the bills Thursday in the House of Delegates, Republican Del. Todd Longanacre asked colleagues to “proceed with caution.”

Longanacre said the current Republican supermajority legislature has been “the body to try to undo 90 years of Democratic policy in a state that had us at the bottom of the barrel economically."

State GOP leaders have slowly started turning the state's economy around, in large part due to policies that encourage economic development, he said.

“It could in fact create jobs, and we do in fact need employers in West Virginia,” Longanacre said of the legislation. "But I hope I will not regret voting for Joe Biden’s ‘Green New Deal’ just renamed policy that's floating down here to our state."

Democratic Del. Shawn Fluharty, one of only 12 Democrats remaining in the 100-member House, also said he'd be voting in support — but called out state Republicans in a floor speech to “give credit where credit is due.”

“I really want to thank those truly responsible — Democrats in Washington, D.C. — Joe Manchin," he said.

“I want to make sure we thank Joe and not Jim,” added Fluharty, referring to the Republican Gov. Justice.

Fluharty said he expects to see a major announcement soon on a new economic development project involving carbon sequestration, but didn't elaborate.

One bill headed to Justice's desk would allow the state Division of Natural Resources to sell, lease or dispose of wildlife management areas and other state land in West Virginia that is not being used. The second allows for pore spaces beneath state land to be used for underground carbon sequestration. Pores are microscopic spaces between particles of rock or sand.

Before he voted Thursday against the bill in the House, Republican Del. Henry Corbett Dillon said he knows the interest the Biden administration has taken in decarbonization.

“This is just one more step in that direction,” he said. This is taking us down that green new energy trail. We have to decide as a House whether we’re gonna go down that trail all the way — I urge that we don’t do that.”

“I urge that we don’t look at the jobs and money and ignore that sometimes those come with other costs — long term costs," he continued.

CNH Industrial union workers end strike at two U.S. plants with deal


Local union members of United Auto Workers (UAW) arrive at Starbuck Middle School to vote on CNH Industrial latest contract offer in Racine

Sat, January 21, 2023 

(Reuters) - Members of two local unions at CNH Industrial NV factories in Wisconsin and Iowa reached an agreement over a new labor contract on Saturday, ending a strike that has been ongoing since last May, the United Auto Workers union said.

The contract, which was voted on as an improved "last, best, and final offer" by CNH Industrial workers, included wage increases, shift premium increases, classification upgrades and as other improvements, the UAW said in a statement.

The UAW, which represents more than 1,000 hourly workers at the two plants, did not disclose details of the vote.

CNH officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

More than 1,000 union members in Racine, Wisconsin, and Burlington, Iowa, walked off their equipment-making jobs in May after a six-year contract expired at the facilities.

The agreement came after the local unions had this month rejected a tentative contract.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)

Shock Mississippi poll has Elvis Presley cousin, a Democrat, within four points of upsetting GOP governor

Chris Pandolfo

Sat, January 21, 2023 

A surprising new poll shows Mississippi Democrats within striking distance of capturing the governor's mansion in the 2023 gubernatorial election.

Democratic candidate Brandon Presley trails incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves by only four points, 39%-43%, in a Mississippi Today/Siena College poll released Thursday. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points, making the two declared candidates statistically tied 10 months out from the November election.

"Mississippians want someone new in the Governor’s office," said Presley, a four-term Public Service Commissioner, former mayor of Nettleton, and distant cousin of rock icon Elvis Presley. "It’s clear, the people of Mississippi are ready to fire Tate Reeves."

The poll also showed that 57% of voters would prefer "someone else" over Reeves in the November election, compared to 33% who support the governor. Reeves announced his candidacy for reelection last week, telling Fox News in an interview that he intend to eliminate the state income tax if he wins a second term later this year.

Tate Reeves, governor of Mississippi, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, Aug. 5, 2022.

A significant number of Republican respondents, 33%, said they would prefer someone other than Reeves, as did a majority of Independents (67%). Mississippi has an open primary system, meaning voters to not have to register as Republicans to vote in the Party's primary election, and independents will often vote in Republican primaries. Reeves has support from just 24% of independent respondents in the poll. Also, 29% of Democrats who responded said they planned to vote in the Republican primary on Aug. 8, and 77% of Democratic voters surveyed say they want someone else other than Reeves.

A Reeves campaign spokesman downplayed the poll's findings.

"Every four years, Mississippi’s most liberal reporter, Bobby Harrison, tells his readers Tate Reeves is going to lose based on some over-cooked media poll and every four years, Bobby Harrison is wrong. It’s just click-bait for his left-wing readers," the spokesman said.

"Governor Reeves will win re-election because Mississippians approve of his record of cutting the income tax, attracting record investment in new jobs, increasing teacher pay, and driving historic academic achievement gains in Mississippi schools," the spokesman added.

There is good news for the governor in the poll. In addition to his narrow lead over Presley, Reeves holds a strong advantage over potential Republican primary challenger Bill Waller Jr., a former Mississippi Supreme Court chief justice. Waller had challenged Reeves in the 2019 gubernatorial primary, forcing Reeves into a runoff, but a 61% majority of registered voters said they did not know enough about him to give an opinion for the 2023 election.

Head-to-head in a hypothetical primary, Reeves beats Waller 52% to 29% among poll respondents.

Reeves previously told Fox News that he's confident he'll win the primary as the most conservative candidate in the race.

"Well, I would tell you that Republican primary voters are going to vote for a conservative," Reeves said. "I have a record of returning money back to the taxpayers, of creating jobs, of having the strongest economy in our state's history, of having the lowest unemployment rate in our state's history, of having more people working in our state than any time in our state's history.

Tate Reeves, governor of Mississippi, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas, Aug. 5, 2022.

"Our educational attainment levels are improving, our fourth grade reading and fourth grade math results are up, our high school graduation rates are up," he added. "We are fighting for our conservative values. We led the charge to overturn Roe. We are fighting to protect the young girls in our state by saying that we're going to let boys play boy sports and … we're going to let girls play girl sports. We're fighting the radical transgender agenda, particularly amongst those under the age of 18. And we will continue to do so."

In the general election, Reeves has significantly higher name ID than his Democratic challenger Presley, who is relatively unknown despite his distant relation to the "King of Rock and Roll." Only 21% of Mississippi voters said they had a favorable view of Brandon Presley, 15% had an unfavorable opinion of him, and the majority of voters, 61%, said they did not know enough about him to have an opinion.

The last Democrat elected governor of Mississippi was Ronnie Musgrove, who won election in 1999 and served for one term.

The Mississippi Today/Siena College Research Institute poll surveyed 821 registered voters from Jan. 8-12.

TALES OF THE SECURITY STATE

Biden tanked Jimmy Carter's nominee for CIA over mishandled classified docs


Brooke Singman

FOX NEWS
Fri, January 20, 2023 a

As a senator in the 1970s, Joe Biden tanked then-President Jimmy Carter’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency over the nominee's illegal possession of classified documents.

Carter chose Ted Sorenson to serve as his CIA director in 1977.

Sorenson had admitted to taking boxes of classified records home with him after leaving the White House in 1964, and using the materials for his work in writing a biography of former President John F. Kennedy. Sorenson's admission to this came in affidavits used in cases involving the Pentagon Papers.

At the time, Biden considered the affidavit and joined with Republicans to block Sorenson from being confirmed by the Senate. Biden also suggested Sorenson may have violated the Espionage Act.

Then-Sen. Joe Biden found a nominee's use of classified documents as something that should disqualify him from being nominated to lead the CIA.

During Sorenson’s confirmation hearing, Biden said the "real issue" was "whether Mr. Sorensen intentionally took advantage of ambiguities in the law, or carelessly ignored the law.

"If he did so, can he now bring the activities of the intelligence community within the strict limits of the law?" Biden asked. "We will expect that in the future of intelligence agencies. If that is to be the case, then we must hold the Director — DCI — accountable as well."

Carter eventually withdrew Sorenson’s nomination, though Sorenson defended himself by saying his "handling of classified information was at all times in accordance with the then-existing laws, regulations and practices," according to a 1977 Washington Post report on the withdrawal of his nomination.

Biden voted against a nominee of then-President Jimmy Carter because of questions about the use of classified documents.

Decades later, Biden finds himself under special counsel investigation for his improper retention of classified records from his time as vice president during the Obama administration.

Attorney General Merrick Garland last week appointed former U.S. attorney Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the president’s possible unauthorized removal and improper retention of classified documents and records discovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., and in his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware.

President Biden is under investigation for three batches of classified documents found in his former office and his home.

Classified records were found inside the Washington, D.C., offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank on Nov. 2, but the discovery was only disclosed to the public last week. A second stash of classified documents were also found inside the president’s garage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and over the weekend, additional classified records were found inside the president’s home.

The White House has said it was cooperating with that DOJ review, and maintains it will continue its full cooperation with Hur’s investigation.

UFO'S ARE A PHENOMENA OF THE COLD WAR*

‘Something is in our airspace’: Rep. Tim Burchett explains why he's so obsessed with UFOs


Devarrick Turner, Knoxville News Sentinel
Fri, January 20, 2023

Have you ever looked up at the sky and thought you saw something that looked strange – a flying saucer, maybe? Or perhaps you’ve pondered the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Whether you believe in "unidentified flying objects" visiting Earth, the number of UFO reports is increasing, 171 of which the U.S. government says remain "uncharacterized and unattributed" and may “have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities (that) require further analysis."

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett doesn't harbor doubts. He calls them a national security concern and believes the federal government has been hiding the truth about UFOs since the 1940s.

“What is really concerning to me is that something is in our airspace that we have no control over, that we have no idea why it's there or what it's doing or where it came from and, to me, that is very concerning from a security standpoint,” the Republican congressman from Knoxville told Knox News.

Congressman Tim Burchett speaks during a monument unveiling ceremony at Powell High School in Powell, Tenn., on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2022. The monument honors 13 veterans killed in action spanning from WWII, the Vietnam War and the Korean War who graduated from the high school.

How military pilots persuaded Rep. Tim Burchett that UFOs exist

Burchett has been speaking out about UFOs after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its 2022 report confirming it has investigated 510 total cases of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” – or UAP as they are called now, rather than UFOs. Since June 2021, a total of 247 incidents have been reported, many of those filed by U.S. Navy and Air Force pilots.

Many were determined to have been caused by drones, balloons, weather events, airborne plastic bags or even birds. But 171 others are simply unexplained.

This isn't the first time Burchett has been open on this topic. He has long believed the government was covering up knowledge about UFO sightings and otherworldly aircraft, technology and materials.

“I get it. People will talk down to me and they'll make fun of me and make comments about little green men,” he told Knox News. “But I've had people that are actual pilots that have shared photos with me. Military people that, at one time, had some pretty good credentials.

“I've met with scientists, some of the top people in the world, that tell me that we have extraterrestrial craft in our airspace on a regular basis,” Burchett added.

He encourages people to watch the "tic-tac" video, and other videos recorded by military pilots and released by the Pentagon that depict flying objects inexplicably moving at incredible speeds, quickly spinning and changing directions, and mysteriously disappearing.

A Congress-sanctioned report on UFOs was released in June 2021.

Why Burchett believes the government is covering up the existence of UFOs

The Tennessee congressman contends arrogance in the federal government is preventing transparency and truth on this topic that carries a stigma against those who believe.

“I just think open records are the best thing for any kind of government. I think the more secrets you have, the more it creates corruption and other things,” Burchett told Knox News.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence report does not specifically reveal any decades-long cover-up of UAP material or knowledge. In fact, it states “limited data on UAP continues to be a challenge.” However, it does acknowledge that UAP present a hazard to flight safety and pose a threat from adversaries – presumably earthly or beyond.

Multiple government agencies, including the Department of Defense and the intelligence community, are working together to collect and analyze UAP data.

“We are confident that continued multiagency cooperative UAP prosecution activities will likely result in greater awareness of objects in and across the air, space, and maritime domains … in the future,” the report says.

Burchett doesn’t put much stock in these claims, though. He shared with Knox News that he’s been told by trusted people with knowledge that the government has evidence of extraterrestrial material but has continued to publicly deny its existence.

“According to (the federal government), our little minds just can't handle (the truth), and that's that arrogance,” he said. “I just don't buy that.”

With added whistleblower protection for those who report UAP sightings and information, Burchett is hopeful more people will publicly come forward with information.

Burchett – who has made appearances on History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens” – does caution against fake reports.

“Knowledge is good,” he said, but programs like “Ancient Aliens” can sensationalize the issue. For him, what really matters is scientific analysis and reports from experienced military pilots and personnel who have had security clearances and access to government information.

“I think it's gonna shock people about the vastness of our universe. You really, honestly, think we're the best that God can do?” Burchett asked.

Who do you call if you see a UFO?

If you happen to spot “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” what do you do? According to the Federal Aviation Administration, you should report it to an organization such as the National UFO Reporting Center or even alert local law enforcement.

FAA Unidentified Flying Object reporting guidelines listed online say:

"Persons wanting to report UFO/unexplained phenomena activity should contact a UFO/ unexplained phenomena reporting data collection center, such as the National UFO Reporting Center, etc.

"If concern is expressed that life or property might be endangered, report the activity to the local law enforcement department."

Burchett mistrusts how the federal government would handle such reports. “I would suggest if you reported anything to the federal government that it will either be covered up or they will not act on it,” he said.

He suggests contacting organizations like the Mutual UFO Network, a nonprofit that has studied UFO reports worldwide since 1969.

You can even reach out to Burchett's office if you have an encounter by calling 865-523-3722 or sending an email through his website, Burchett.house.gov.

You never know when you might have to make that contact.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter for Knox News. He can be reached by email at devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. 

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rep. Tim Burchett explains why he's so obsessed with UFOs

*WHICH IS WHY RT, SIBERIAN TIMES AND OTHER RUSSIAN MEDIA LOVE UFO STORIES TOO

A bored hacktivist browsing an unsecured airline server stumbled upon national security secrets including the FBI's 'no fly' list. 

She says what she found reveals a 'perverse outgrowth of the surveillance state.'


Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert
Sat, January 21, 2023 

A TSA agent at LAX.Brady MacDonald/Insider

A Swiss hacker says she found a copy of the FBI's "no-fly" list on an unsecured server.

The 2019 list, with over 1.5 million entries, includes an overwhelming number of Muslim passengers.

The server, maintained by CommuteAir, also held private employee data, such as passport numbers.

The FBI Terrorism Screening Center's secret "no-fly" list just got a lot less mysterious thanks to a bored Swiss hacker who was exploring unsecured servers in her free time.

Maia arson crimew, described by the Department of Justice as a "prolific" hacker in an unrelated indictment, said she was clicking around on an online search engine full of unprotected servers on January 12 when she accessed one maintained by a little-known airline and found the highly sensitive documents, along with what she called a "jackpot" of other information.

The Daily Dot first reported on Thursday that the server, hosted by CommuteAir, a regional airline that partners with United Airlines to form United Express routes, contained among its files a redacted 2019 version of the anti-terrorism "no-fly" list. The files "NoFly.csv," and "selectee.csv" found by crimew contain over 1.8 million entries including names and dates of birth of people the FBI identifies as "known or suspected terrorists" who are prevented from boarding aircraft "when flying within, to, from and over the United States."

A spokesperson for the airline confirmed the authenticity of the files to Insider and said personally identifiable information belonging to employees was also found in the hack.

"Based on our initial investigation, no customer data was exposed," Erik Kane, a spokesperson for CommuteAir, said in a statement to Insider. "CommuteAir immediately took the affected server offline and started an investigation to determine the extent of data access. CommuteAir has reported the data exposure to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and also notified its employees."

The Transportation Security Administration confirmed to Insider that it had been made aware of the incident.

"We are investigating in coordination with our federal partners," Lorie Dankers, a spokesperson for the TSA, said in a statement to Insider.

The FBI did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Easily accessible secrets

Crimew told Insider it took just minutes for her to access the server and find credentials that allowed her to see the database. She said she was exploring the servers as a way to combat boredom while sitting alone and didn't intend to discover something with US national security implications.

While browsing files in the company's server, "it dawned on me just how heavily I had already owned them within just half an hour or so," crimew wrote in a blog post detailing the hack. The credentials she found, which gave her access to the files, would also allow her access to internal interfaces that controlled refueling, canceling and updating flights, and swapping out crew members — if she were so inclined, she wrote.

The massive files, reviewed by Insider, contain over a dozen aliases for Viktor Bout, the Russian "Merchant of Death" who was traded in a prisoner swap for basketball player Brittney Griner, as well as a large number of names of people suspected of organized crime in Ireland. However, crimew said there was a notable trend among the names.

"Looking at the files, it just confirmed a lot of the things me, and probably everyone else, kind of suspected in terms of what biases are in that list," crimew told Insider. "Just scrolling through it, you will see almost every name is Middle Eastern."

Edward Hasbrouck, an author and human rights advocate, wrote in his analysis of the documents that the lists "confirm the TSA's (1) Islamophobia, (2) overconfidence in the certainty of its pre-crime predictions, and (3) mission creep."

"The most obvious pattern in the data is the overwhelming preponderance of Arabic or Muslim-seeming names," Hasbrouck wrote in an essay published Friday by Papers, Please, an advocacy group dedicated to addressing creeping identity-based national travel rules.

"No Fly" mission creep

The "no fly" list was created under the George W. Bush administration, originally beginning as a small list of people prevented from flying on commercial flights due to specific threats. The list was formalized and vastly expanded in scope after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York, a national tragedy that spawned a spike in anti-Muslim discrimination and hate crimes across the country, according to the DOJ.

Inclusion on the list prevents people the FBI identifies who "may present a threat to civil aviation or national security" from boarding planes flying within, to, from, or over the United States. They do not need to have been charged or convicted of a crime to be included, just "reasonably suspected" of aiding or planning acts of terrorism.

In the years since the original "no fly" list was formed, it has gained official federal recognition and grown from just 16 names, according to the ACLU, to the 1,807,230 entries in the documents found by crimew.

When looking at the list, Crimew told Insider, "you start to notice just how young some of the people are." Among the hundreds of thousands of names on the list are the children of suspected terrorists including a child whose birthdate indicates they would have been four years old or five years at the time they were included.

"What problem is this even trying to solve in the first place?" crimew told Insider. "I feel like this is just a very perverse outgrowth of the surveillance state. And not just in the US, this is a global trend."

In the early 2000s, there were many reports of people being wrongly placed on the "no fly" list, including then-Senator Ted Kennedy and peace activists Rebecca Gordon and Jan Adams. In 2006, the ACLU settled a federal suit over the list, prompting a release of its then 30,000 names and the TSA's creation of an ombudsman to oversee complaints.

Not the first hack

Crimew, a staunch self-described leftist and anti-capitalist, was indicted for conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft related to a previous hack in 2021. The DOJ alleges she and several co-conspirators "hacked dozens of companies and government entities and posted the private victim data of more than 100 entities on the web."

The outcome of the 2021 case is still pending, crimew told Insider. Though she hasn't been contacted by law enforcement in relation to the latest hack, she said she wouldn't be surprised that she had once again caught the attention of federal agencies.

"It's just a whole lot of personally identifiable information that could be used against people, especially in the hands of non-US intelligence agencies," crimew wrote in a statement to Insider. For that reason, she said she chose to release the list through journalists and academic sources instead of freely publishing it on her blog. "I just feel iffy about publicly releasing a list full of people some government entity considers 'bad.' (Not that the US doesn't use it against people, it just doesn't need to get in the hands of even more people doing harm)."

CommuteAir faced a similar data breach in November, CNN reported, after an "unauthorized party" accessed information that included names, birthdates, and partial social security numbers held by the airline.

Crimew told Insider the company's lack of investment in its cybersecurity was an oversight caused by corporate greed, saying it is cheaper for the company cut corners in its security procedures and pay to take care of the aftermath than to invest properly into a safer system.

"Even the fact that they had already been hacked before apparently wasn't enough for them to really invest in it. And that really just shows like where the priorities lie," Crimew told Insider: "I just hope they maybe learned their lesson the second time."