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Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Vows To Cross Biden’s Red Line in Rafah

National Review: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he would move forward with an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, ignoring President Joe Biden’s warning over the weekend that Israel would be crossing a “red line” if it proceeds with an attack on the densely populated area. Israel is facing significant international pressure over its intention to invade Rafah: German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said last month that an attack on Rafah would be a “humanitarian catastrophe.” The White House has been pushing for a two-state solution as part of a permanent cease-fire, while Israel has insisted that their can be no such solution while Hamas remains the de facto governing authority in Gaza (National Review). Just the News: Netanyahu, however, rebuffed Biden’s criticism on Sunday when he was asked about whether Israeli forces would enter Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. “We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave them. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again,” Netanyahu said. Rafah is where four Hamas battalions are located (Just the News).

CA Democrats Look to Provide Legal Aid to Illegals Who Are Violent Felons at Taxpayer Expense

BizPac Review: The introduction of a bill that would benefit illegal aliens who are violent felons begged the question: “California’s most insane bill yet?” In the era of omnibus spending packages, taxpayers have been routinely fleeced to cover costs beyond the purview of the government. Now, a Golden State lawmaker is attempting to expand a grant program so that foreign nationals convicted of a felony could have legal services covered by the citizens of California. Introduced by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, an outspoken member of the state’s reparations task force, Assembly Bill 2031, also called the Representation, Equity, and Protections (REP) for All Immigrants Act, is aimed at amending the One California Immigration Services Funding program introduced in 2015 (BizPac Review). End Wokeness: California’s most insane bill yet? Meet AB 2031, a new bill just introduced by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer. The bill seeks to grant illegals convicted of SERIOUS and VOlLENT crimes with legal assistance, such as helping them avoid deportation. These services will be paid by taxpayers (X). Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez: CA Dems are pushing a bill for illegal immigrants convicted of violent felonies to receive taxpayer-funded legal aid & avoid deportation! AB 2031 is completely UNACCEPTABLE. Why do they want to prioritize immigrant rapists & murderers over everyone else (X)?

Biden Administration Releases Massive $7.3 Trillion Budget

Washington Examiner: The White House on Monday released a proposed budget for fiscal 2025 that contains a wish list of tax increases and spending proposals favored by Democrats. The budget includes $7.3 trillion in spending and a $5.5 trillion in tax revenue, bringing the deficit for 2025 to nearly $1.8 trillion. The proposals for new federal spending programs and taxes will not become law this year, given Republican control of the House of Representatives. But they provide a sense of what initiatives President Joe Biden would pursue if he wins a second term. The budget would significantly raise taxes, from roughly 18% of GDP to over 20%. But it would not close the deficit in the 10-year budget window and would see the federal debt held by the public rise as high as 106% of GDP. Biden’s budget includes raising the headline corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, a push he has unsuccessfully made in the past. The 2017 tax cuts, championed by then-President Donald Trump, lowered the corporate rate from 35%. Biden also wants to raise the corporate minimum tax from 15% to 21% and introduce more stringent limits on corporations’ ability to deduct wages of high-paid employees (Washington Examiner). Daily Mail: President Joe Biden’s budget proposal includes a 25% tax hike on billionaires, tax breaks for families, new social programs, and lower health care costs – all designed to appeal to voters as he seeks a second term (Daily Mail).

Peter Navarro, White House Aide to President Trump, Must Report to Prison for Violating Subpoena from Jan. 6 Committee

Post Millennial: Peter Navarro, a former White House aide to President Donald Trump, has been ordered to report to a Miami prison on March 19 to begin serving his sentence. Navarro plans to continue his appeals to try to overturn his conviction. Navarro was sentenced in January to four months in prison for not complying with a subpoena issued by the January 6 House Select Committee. He was convicted in the case in September, being found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress. Navarro has urged a federal appeals court to stay his sentence while he works to overturn his conviction (Post Millennial). Politico: Navarro was the second former Trump aide convicted for refusing to cooperate with the Jan. 6 panel. Steve Bannon was convicted by a jury in July 2022 for similarly blowing off a subpoena from the committee. However, the judge in Bannon’s case, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, agreed not to enforce Bannon’s four-month sentence while he appeals his conviction to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (Politico).

Amid Staff Cuts, Pittsburgh Police Will Be Limited in 911 Call Responses Between 3-7 AM

Daily Wire: Pittsburgh police will no longer personally respond to calls that aren’t considered “in-progress emergencies” after recent department policy changes. Calls not considered “in-progress emergencies” will be assigned by dispatch to a telephone recording unit. The city’s website states, “Creation of an enhanced Telephone Reporting Unit (TRU) operating from 7-3 a.m. daily, including weekends. Dispatch will assign reports to the TRU for calls that do not require an in-person response by officers. TRU will NOT be assigned to any “In Progress” call where a suspect may be on scene, any crime where a person may need medical aid, any domestic dispute, calls with evidence, or where the Mobile Crime Unit will be requested to process a scene.” In addition, between 3 and 7 a.m., when reportedly far fewer 911 calls are made, no desk officers will be present at the six police stations in the city. Instead, call boxes linked to 911 have been installed. During some overnight shifts, there may be only 22 officers to cover the entire city (Daily Wire). End Wokeness: Pittsburgh police will no longer respond to certain calls & will instead be redirecting people to a telephone unit. Those crimes include thefts, harassment, criminal mischief, burglary alarms, etc. Additionally, there will be only 20 police officers patrolling the ENTIRE CITY from 3AM-7AM. This comes amidst staffing shortages (X).

CVS Requires Participants in Leadership Program To Swear Fealty to DEI

Daily Wire: A required leadership training program at retail pharmacy giant CVS asks participants to confess their privilege as part of a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) action plan, as well as pledge their allyship to various social justice causes, according to documents obtained by The Daily Wire. The training, titled “Creating a DEI Action Plan,” was given last month to employees in the General Management Development Program, an accelerator program that prepares CVS professionals for careers in management. The training is labeled “GMDP Rotation 2 Curriculum” and demands that participants conduct a personal audit of their biases and commit to pushing the DEI agenda as allies (Daily Wire). Spencer Lindquist: The training is called “Creating a DEI Action Plan” and asks participants “Where are areas that you tend to have biases? What privileges do you have that others do not?” They’re also asked to identify “the inclusive trait I want to develop” in service of the DEI agenda (X).

Taco Bell Closes Several Dining Rooms in Oakland

HotAir: Back in January the only In-N-Out location in Oakland announced it was closing permanently. That particular restaurant had been in place for 18 years but a recent spike in robberies and concerns over the safety of workers led to a decision to close. And now Taco Bell seems to be taking a slightly different approach. Instead of closing stores, it is closing dining rooms. The restaurants are still serving food but only to people who order in the drive-thru line (HotAir). CBS: The owner of the franchise, a company called Diversified Restaurant Group, has closed the dining rooms at all four of their Taco Bell locations in Oakland. As annoying as the inconvenience might be, most just see it as just a sad reminder of how bad things have gotten in Oakland (CBS).

FBI Director Chris Wray Warns of Threats Coming Across the Border via Illegal Immigration

Fox News: FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday warned of a “wide array” of dangerous threats coming from the U.S. border, including drug trafficking, violent gangs and smugglers with ties to ISIS. Wray was asked by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about the threats at the border, including the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. Wray said he couldn’t speak to a specific gang, but said that there were dangerous individuals entering via the southern border (Fox News). Daily Mail: One top concern is the ongoing migrant crisis at the porous southern border that has seen over 7.2 million individuals enter since President Biden took office. When pressed by Cornyn about whether terrorists may be among the over 1.8 million ‘gotaways’ who have evaded capture by border officials, Wray said it’s possible. The Texas senator brought up the fact that there were just 26 co-conspirators in the 9/11 attacks, killing over 3,000 people. Another top issue of concern to the FBI director is the report from over the summer that exposed that individuals from Uzbekistan were smuggled by an ISIS terrorist into the U.S. after being screened by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As a result, the FBI became aware about the ISIS terrorist cell that used human trafficking operations to infiltrate the US (Daily Mail).

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Pleads Not Guilty to New Obstruction, Extortion Charges

Just the News: Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., pleaded not guilty on Monday to the latest indictment he faces with a dozen new charges, including obstruction of justice and extortion. U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan heard his not-guilty plea on Monday. In addition to the extortion and obstruction charges, Menendez was indicted last week on charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent (Just the News). PBS News Hour: U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife pleaded not guilty to new obstruction of justice charges recently added to a broad corruption indictment threatening the Democrat’s re-election chances (X).

10.

Sports Blog Deadspin Sold to European Company, Entire Staff Laid Off Months After Targeting Child

New York Post: Sports blogging site Deadspin was sold to a European start-up and the entire staff was reportedly fired with barely any notice Monday — just months after the publication was forced to apologize for accusing a young Kansas City Chiefs fan of wearing “blackface.” Jim Spanfeller, the CEO of parent G/O Media, broke news of the sale and the layoffs in a memo to shocked staff. “Recently we were approached by the European firm Lineup Publishing expressing interest in purchasing Deadspin to add to their growing media holdings,” Spanfeller said. Lineup Publishing will “not carry over any of the site’s existing staff and instead build a new team more in line with their editorial vision for the brand,” the CEO added. “While the new owners plan to be reverential to Deadpin’s unique voice, they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage. This unfortunately means that we will be parting ways with those impacted staff members” (New York Post). Collin Rugg: The media is going broke in real time. Deadspin was well-known for defaming a young boy as wearing “blackface” at a Kansas City Chiefs game (X).