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Thursday, November 21, 2024

In Unanimous Vote, Los Angeles City Council Gives Themselves Sanctuary City Status

National Review: The Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed an ordinance on Tuesday to make the southern California city a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, as president-elect Donald Trump vows to carry out mass deportations during his second term. The ordinance, which passed the city council with a 13-0 vote, will prohibit city officers and resources from being used to enforce federal immigration laws, except under limited circumstances. The legislation will likely be signed into law by Democratic mayor Karen Bass, as she released the draft ordinance last week in the wake of Trump’s reelection victory (National Review). Fox News: Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive in 2019 that offered protections to immigrants. Los Angeles has followed sanctuary city guidelines but an ordinance was never codified into law. Additionally, the Los Angeles Police Department mandates that its officers not inquire about immigration status or make arrests related to a migrant’s legal status. Newly appointed Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell has said the department won’t participate in immigration enforcement (Fox News).

Speaker Mike Johnson Protects Women’s Bathrooms on Capitol Hill

Wall Street Journal: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Wednesday that transgender individuals would not be allowed into restroom facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth, announcing the rule change about two weeks after Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware became the first openly transgender individual elected to Congress… This week, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) introduced a resolution to ban transgender women from female bathrooms in the Capitol. The resolution does not specifically name McBride, but Mace said Tuesday that “it’s 100 percent because of McBride” and that the future congresswoman “doesn’t get a say” in shaping the first-of-its-kind policy (Washington Post). Charlie Kirk: Speaker Mike Johnson has just announced that men are banned from the women’s bathrooms and locker rooms in the Capitol and House Office Buildings: “Women deserve women’s only spaces” (X).

Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) Introduces Legislation Defining Men, Women

Daily Wire: Kansas Senator Roger Marshall on Wednesday introduced a bill taking aim at the core tenants of transgender ideology by defining “male” and “female” in terms of “biological truth.” The “Defining Male and Female Act of 2024” would enshrine in law the biological differences between men and women. The proposed legislation, which is backed by a handful of conservative organizations, says the definition is required to combat “increasing confusion about the definition of sex as a biological truth” (Daily Wire).

Americans Are Ready for President Trump

Post Millennial: According to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 54 percent of registered US voters approve of Trump as he has become the president-elect, and 40 percent do not approve of him. For Republicans, his approval rating is at 91 percent. 49 percent of Independents approve of the president-elect and only 22 percent of Democrats do thus far… This comes as Trump has been speedily picking up cabinet picks and is starting his transition into office for his second term (Post Millennial). Patrick Ruffini: Donald Trump has a 57-38 fav/unfav among 18-29 year old voters (X).

Danish Navy Alleges Chinese Vessel Severed Telecom Cables in Attempt to Sabotage NATO

Newsweek: A Chinese vessel has been implicated in what has been described as the sabotage of undersea telecom cables in the Baltic Sea, a body of water dubbed the “NATO Lake” due to its location between alliance members. International concern surrounds the cutting of the 730-mile C-Lion 1 cable connecting Finland and Germany and the 130-mile link between Sweden and Lithuania on Monday. A legal expert has told Newsweek that any investigation into the incidents “could span years” and could set precedents for future alleged incidents of underwater sabotage… The Yi Peng 3 had passed close to both cables around the time each was cut on Sunday and Monday, according to maritime tracking group Marine Traffic. The vessel was then followed by the Danish Navy, according to open-source intelligence analysts (Newsweek). Ed Morrissey: Authorities there and in Finland and Germany insist that the two breaks could not have happened accidentally. The US had warned that Moscow would escalate its attacks on “critical undersea infrastructure” a few weeks ago, which makes this seem even more suspicious. Oddly, though, CNN reports that US officials are pouring some cold water on the idea that this was an actual attack. Hmmmm. Why would the US warn of precisely this kind of attack, and then scoff when such damage mysteriously emerges — twice within 24 hours? Both Russia and China deny having anything to do with it, and maybe the Biden administration wants to de-escalate the situation. Then again, they just gave Ukraine permission to use American long-range ATACMS missiles on targets in Russia, along with a lot of the kind of anti-personnel mines that Joe Biden had campaigned to eliminate earlier. De-escalation in Europe does not appear to be an administration priority at the moment (HotAir).

Illegal Immigrant Who Murdered Lakin Riley Found Guilty

National Review: A Venezuelan illegal immigrant was convicted of murder on Wednesday in the killing of Laken Riley, the University of Georgia student whose death helped fuel the nationwide backlash to illegal immigration. Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard reached his verdict after Jose Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial. After his arrest, federal authorities revealed that Ibarra had entered the United States illegally in 2022 but was permitted to remain on American soil as his asylum claim was being processed (National Review). Libs of TikTok: The illegal who kiIIed Laken Riley is found guilty on all charges (X). Townhall: The district attorney who declined to seek the death penalty against illegal alien Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan national convicted of murdering 22-year-old Georgia student Laken Riley, is a criminal justice activist and outspoken Kamala Harris supporter. She “takes into account collateral consequences to undocumented defendants” when charging criminals… Democrat DA Deborah Gonzalez only sought a sentence of life behind bars without the chance of parole, which the judge overseeing Ibarra’s bench trial granted Wednesday (Townhall).

U.S. Senate Strikes Down Legislation From Bernie Sanders Blocking Arms Sales to Israel

Newsweek: The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly rejected three measures proposed by independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders that aimed to block around $20 billion in U.S. arms sales to Israel. Sanders introduced three Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) in late September, almost a year after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, whose subsequent military ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed over 43,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Much of Gaza has been destroyed. United Nations officials have warned that with more than 1.8 million Palestinians there experiencing “extremely critical” levels of hunger, famine is imminent. On Wednesday evening, in a final push for senators’ support, Sanders urged them to not “turn a blind eye” to the humanitarian crisis and U.S. involvement in supporting “mass starvation,” in a speech on the Senate floor. The Senate on Wednesday evening voted 18 to 79 in striking down Sanders’ S.J. Res. 111 measure. Given Israel’s strong support in the upper chamber, they were not expected to pass, but the motions signal internal Democratic disapproval of President Joe Biden’s position on the continuing war (Newsweek). Hill: Israel launched a war in Gaza against Hamas, which is the governing authority of Gaza. It did so after Hamas attacked Israel and killed more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Sanders cited the deaths of more than 40,000 people in Gaza, a number compiled by the Palestinian Health Ministry, an agency in the Hamas-run government, and the destruction of most of Gaza’s infrastructure (Hill).

Ukraine Fires U.K. Missiles Into Russian Territory

Wall Street Journal: Ukrainian forces fired British-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory for the first time on Wednesday, the second instance in as many days that Kyiv has hit targets inside Russia with newly authorized Western missiles. Ukraine launched at least 10 Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia’s Kursk region, according to a Ukrainian and Western official. Kyiv has controlled more than 100 square miles of territory there since a surprise invasion in August, but in recent weeks Moscow has launched an offensive and has been clawing back some of that land. The missile has a range of 155 miles and relies on U.S. technology to guide it. The Biden administration earlier this week gave authorization for Ukraine to use U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to strike and disrupt Russia’s military miles from the front (Wall Street Journal). Bloomberg: The prospect of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January and his pledge to end the war in short order has created a new sense of urgency among Western allies to strengthen Ukraine’s hand ahead of any talks. The Kremlin said on Wednesday it’s prepared to discuss a potential cease-fire in Ukraine with Trump (Bloomberg).

Americans in Ukraine Ordered to Shelter in Place Amid Significant Threat of Russian Strike; Embassy in Kyiv Temporarily Closes

Townhall: American citizens in Ukraine received a message from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv warning that it has “received specific information of a potential significant air attack” on Wednesday. As a precaution, the Embassy said it will be closed and instructed employees to shelter in place. U.S. citizens were told to “be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.” The message came after the Embassy cautioned U.S. citizens on Tuesday about continued Russian attacks (Townhall). New York Times: Such drone attacks have become increasingly common in recent weeks. During 1,000 days of war, Russia has targeted the capital with more than 2,500 missiles and drones, according to data collected by the city’s military administration. Around half of the attacks took place this year (New York Times).

10.

California Voters Reject Proposition to Increase Minimum Wage

Daily Wire: For the first time in California history, a ballot measure seeking a statewide minimum wage increase has failed. The ballot measure results were finally called by the Associated Press on Tuesday, two weeks after Election Day. California Proposition 32, which would have increased the minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2026, failed by approximately 240,000 votes, a less-than-2% difference. The proposition was strongly opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce, which argued that the measure would increase taxes and force businesses to cut jobs. Earlier this year, Democrat-led California instituted a $20-an-hour minimum wage for fast-food workers, a move that caused many restaurants to hike prices and cut back on staff (Daily Wire). Associated Press: Voters in California have rejected a ballot measure that would have raised the state minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2026, the highest in the country (X).