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Friday, April 26, 2024

AOC Attacks Columbia University for Asking Law Enforcement for Help in Dealing With Campus Protests

Daily Wire: Top New York City Police Department officials slammed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Thursday for demonizing law enforcement’s response to anti-Semitic protests on Columbia University’s campus. Ocasio-Cortez responded to a video posted on X that showed NYPD counterterrorism officers on campus who were there to ensure that the far-left extremists did not become violent (Daily Wire). AOC: Not only did Columbia make the horrific decision to mobilize NYPD on their own students, but the units called in have some of the most violent reputations on the force (X). NYPD Chief of Patrol: Truly amazing! Columbia decided to hold its students accountable to the laws of the school. They are seeing the consequences of their actions. Something these kids were most likely never taught. Good SAT scores and self-entitlement do not supersede the law. I am sure you would agree that we have to teach them these valuable life skills (X).

Student Protests Break Out at Brown University, Northwestern University

ABC: Brown University students began an encampment on campus Wednesday, with a student group warning other students that the university is threatening to crack down on protesters. Students participating in the encampment “have been informed they will face conduct proceedings,” Brown said in a statement. Students at Northwestern University began setting up an encampment on campus grounds Thursday morning, joining the growing list of students across the country demanding their schools divest from Israel and companies that support its campaign on Gaza. Northwestern says setting up a tent encampment is “prohibited” under university policies and campus police are at the encampment, working to have the tents removed (ABC). Northwestern (Evanston, Illinois) Student Anita: Students and faculty at NorthwesternU are now attacking police using tactics in a militant pamphlet circulated yesterday by Malak Afaneh and other radical activists (X).

Supreme Court Willing to Accept Some of Donald Trump’s Immunity Arguments

Wall Street Journal: The Supreme Court, hearing a last-ditch appeal from Donald Trump, appeared open Thursday to granting some level of immunity to protect former presidents from being prosecuted for alleged crimes committed while in office. Over nearly three hours of oral argument, the court’s conservative majority expressed greater concern that a future president might flinch from bold action for fear of prosecution than the possibility that Trump could avoid accountability on charges he attempted to steal the 2020 presidential election from Joe Biden. The risk, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was that a Trump trial could open the door to a new era of American politics where prosecution of ex-presidents became routine, much as the use of special counsels accelerated after the Watergate scandal (Wall Street Journal). Fox News: Trump echoed his past argument that without immunity, the president would be reduced to just a “ceremonial” position (Fox News).

Iran Uses Proxies to Attack U.S. Troops in Iraq, Syria

Townhall: According to the Department of Defense, “Iran malign militia groups conducted two unsuccessful attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria” on April 22 — the first such attacks on coalition forces since February 4. Underscoring that “these attacks put coalition and Iraqi personnel at risk,” the DoD called on Iraq’s government “to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety” of American service members in the region against such attacks. “If these attacks continue, we will not hesitate to defend our forces, as we have done in the past” (Townhall). Reuters: The drone and rocket fire were the first such incidents since a near three-month pause in what had been almost daily attacks that culminated in the January killing of three U.S. soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan. The U.S. has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in eastern Syria on an advise-and-assist mission (Reuters).

U.S., 17 Countries Issue New Call for Release of Hostages Held by Hamas

Townhall: In a joint statement released Thursday, the United States and 17 other nations whose citizens are being held hostage by Hamas called for their release. Hamas has been holding the hostages for more than 200 days, the White House said, and their fate “is of international concern.” The statement comes after Hamas released a proof-of-life propaganda video showing American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Townhall). Times of Israel: A senior administration official tells reporters in a briefing call previewing the joint statement that the US had tried to issue a joint statement like this earlier on in the war, but there had been disagreements among the countries regarding the language that prevented its publication. During a meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan roughly two weeks ago, American relatives of the hostages asked the Biden administration to try again to put a joint statement together (Times of Israel).

U.S. Fertility Rate Reaches Record Low in 2023

National Review: The U.S. fertility rate hit a new record-low last year, continuing a persistent trend that will have significant consequences for American society. The total fertility rate dropped to 1.62 births per woman last year, a 2 percent decline from the year before, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control. The figure is below replacement level, meaning Americans are not having enough children to replace themselves, a development with major implications for the American economy. The total fertility rate recorded by the CDC is the lowest since the U.S. government began tracking it nearly a century ago (National Review). CDC: The rate has generally been below replacement since 1971 and consistently below replacement since 2007 (CDC).

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Biden Forces Women to Say Goodbye to Title IX

National Review: In a sweeping new Title IX rule, the Biden administration has usurped Congress to undermine free speech, dissolve due process, and redefine sex to include “gender identity.” The rule, effective August 1, will force all educational entities in receipt of federal funds to allow males access to female spaces, sports, and scholarships whenever they claim transgender status (National Review). Albert Mohler: Let’s be clear. You can’t have equity for girls and women and support the transgender agenda. You can’t do so at the same time. Effectively, the Biden administration has just made a huge declaration: Women and girls, you can kiss Title IX goodbye (Townhall Review).

Harvey Weinstein’s Conviction Thrown Out by NYC Appeals Court

Wall Street Journal: Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for sex crimes was overturned Thursday by New York’s highest court, a decision that upends one of the leading cases of the MeToo movement. The court, in a divided ruling, said a trial judge committed fundamental errors, including admitting testimony that shouldn’t have been allowed. “The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial,” the court said. A New York jury had found Weinstein guilty of third-degree rape for a 2013 encounter in which he allegedly had sex with aspiring actress Jessica Mann against her will. Jurors also found him guilty of a first-degree criminal sex act stemming from accusations that he forced oral sex on production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Thursday’s ruling won’t make Weinstein, 72 years old, a free man. In a separate case, a California jury convicted Weinstein in 2022 of rape and other offenses. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison (Wall Street Journal).

Haitian Prime Minister Resigns After Failures in Face of Gang Violence

Wall Street Journal: Embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry formally resigned, officials said Thursday, opening the way for a new caretaker government that would welcome a foreign, U.S.-backed security force to combat the gangs that have laid siege against the state. The resignation came as a new nine-member transitional council was inaugurated Thursday morning in the National Palace in Port-au-Prince. The council is made up of seven voting members and two observers representative of Haitian political parties and civil-society groups. Michel Boisvert, a former Haitian economy and finance minister and who had been Henry’s deputy, was named as acting prime minister, according to the government’s official gazette. The transitional council now has the challenge of trying to restore security in the Caribbean nation and organize presidential elections (Wall Street Journal). Washington Post: Henry, Haiti’s de facto leader since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, initially enjoyed the support of the United States and other foreign nations, but he proved ineffective at reducing endemic gang violence or restoring order in the hemisphere’s poorest nation (Washington Post).

10.

Russia Vetoes U.N. Resolution Banning Nuclear Weapons in Outer Space

Hill: Russia on Wednesday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have called on all states to prevent the placement of nuclear weapons in space and not take steps to develop weapons of mass destruction that could be deployed above Earth. Thirteen member nations voted in approval of the U.N. Security Council resolution, including the U.S. and Japan, which spearheaded the measure. While Russia was the lone no vote, Moscow is a permanent member and can veto resolutions. China abstained from the vote (Hill). BBC: Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, called the move “baffling.” “Russia has vetoed a straightforward resolution that affirms a legally binding obligation,” she said. “President Putin himself has said publicly that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. “So today’s veto begs the question, why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? What could you possibly be hiding?” In February, White House spokesperson John Kirby said Russia was developing a “troubling” new anti-satellite weapon, though added that the weapon was not yet operational. The weapon was space-based and armed with a nuclear weapon to target satellites (BBC).