Supreme Court Allows Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Immigration Rule to Take Effect

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The Supreme Court said Monday that it will allow the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule to take effect after the immigration policy had been blocked by lower courts.

The 5-4 vote was divided along partisan lines, with the court’s four Democratic appointees indicating that they would not have allowed the policy to be enforced.

The court’s five conservatives, including Chief Justice John Roberts, formed the majority siding with the administration. The decision came as Roberts was presiding over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate.

The rule, which was proposed in August, will make it more difficult for immigrants to obtain permanent residency, or green cards, if they have used or are likely to use public benefits like food stamps and Medicaid.

Under previous federal rules, a more narrow universe of public benefits, such as cash assistance and long-term hospitalization, were considered in determining whether an immigrant was likely to become a “public charge.” (Read more from “Supreme Court Allows Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Immigration Rule to Take Effect” HERE)

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Report: Prince Andrew Being ‘Uncooperative’ in Epstein Probe

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By Daily Wire. As the British royal family faces intense media scrutiny, Prince Andrew is reportedly being “uncooperative” with investigators regarding his relationship with convicted billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Since Epstein allegedly committed suicide in his jail cell late last year, the FBI and other law agencies have been seeking to interview the Duke of York, but he has been largely unresponsive.

“U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman told reporters Monday that federal prosecutors have not heard back from Andrew,” reports Fox Business. “Despite their request to interview him, the duke has ‘provided zero cooperation’ in their efforts, Berman said, at a news conference outside Epstein’s New York mansion.” . . .

The news of Prince Andrew’s lack of cooperation directly contradicts his past statements indicating he would cooperate with investigators following Epstein’s death. This past November, the Duke of York even announced he would be stepping back from his public duties.

“It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work,” he continued. “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.” (Read more from “Report: Prince Andrew Being ‘Uncooperative’ in Epstein Probe” HERE)

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Virgin Islands AG says Jeffrey Epstein estate executors have a conflict of interest

By New York Post. The attorney general for the US Virgin Islands said she does not trust the two executors of Jeffrey Epstein’s estate to handle the case because they have a conflict of interest, according to new court papers.

Attorney General Denise George alleged in a Jan. 15 lawsuit that Epstein sexually abused so many underage girls on his private islands Little St. James and Great St. James as recently as last year that he needed a computer database to keep track of them. The AG is seeking forfeitures and penalties including the seizure of his two islands.

Now, George wants to intervene in the dead pedophile’s estate case to make sure her claims are represented and to ensure VI laws are followed especially given, George says, the fact that the executors of the estate have a conflict of interest, according to court documents made public Monday.

George says there is a conflict of interest because the two executors of the financier’s estate, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, “served as officers or trustees” of companies and Epstein’s trust which are named in her lawsuit. (Read more from “Report: Prince Andrew Being ‘Uncooperative’ in Epstein Probe” HERE)

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U.S. Air Force Plane Crashes in Afghanistan; Pentagon Denies Enemy Fire but Taliban Claims They Shot It Down

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A U.S. Air Force E-11 plane crashed in Afghanistan on Monday, and at least two pilots were discovered dead, according to reports. The Taliban claimed to have shot down the plane, but the Pentagon has deni

U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett confirmed the crash in a statement to American Military News on Monday afternoon. “A U.S. Bombardier E-11A crashed today in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. While the cause of crash is under investigation, there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire. We will provide additional information as it becomes available. Taliban claims that additional aircraft have crashed are false,” Leggett said.

Four-star Air Force Gen. David Goldfein also confirmed the crash while at a Center for a New American Security event. “It appears we have lost an aircraft. We don’t know the status of the crew,” he said, according to Military.com.

Goldfein confirmed that the plane was an E-11, but could not say whether or not the crash was the result of enemy fire. He added that the incident is under investigation.

Afghanistan government spokesperson Arif Noori confirmed the plane was flying between Kandahar province and Kabul when it went down in the Taliban-controlled Ghazni province south of Kabul, CBS News reported. (Read more from “U.S. Air Force Plane Crashes in Afghanistan; Pentagon Denies Enemy Fire but Taliban Claims They Shot It Down” HERE)

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WATCH: Democratic House Impeachment Manager Admits What Impeachment Is Actually About; Alan Dershowitz Tells Senate Trump’s Impeachment Is Unconstitutional

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By The Blaze. House impeachment manager Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) made a stunning admission Sunday, implying that Democrats want President Donald Trump’s impeachment to impact the 2020 election.

During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper asked Lofgren why she instructed senators last week to not “surrender to the president’s stonewalling” when House Democrats did not pursue subpoenas and force additional witnesses to testify.

“You didn’t pursue it in court. You ultimately withdrew the cases and went to the Senate,” Tapper noted. “Didn’t you surrender to the president’s stonewalling, in that sense?”

Lofgren responded, “Well, in that — I guess, in that sense, we did, because, if we had waited for three or four years, the election would be over. The issue would be almost moot.”

(Read more from “Democratic House Impeachment Manager Admits What Impeachment Is Actually About” HERE)

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Alan Dershowitz Tells Senate Trump’s Impeachment Is Unconstitutional

By USA Today. Alan Dershowitz, a celebrity lawyer on President Donald Trump’s defense team in the Senate impeachment trial, argued Monday that the articles charging abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are unconstitutional because they didn’t allege a violation of federal crime.

Dershowitz argued that even if reports about former national security John Bolton were true, they would not be impeachable to Trump. Bolton wrote a book that said Trump withheld $391 million in military for Ukraine while pressuring that country to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

“It is inconceivable that the framers would have intended so politically loaded and promiscuously deployed a term as abuse of power to be weaponized as a tool of impeachment,” Dershowitz said. “It is precisely that the kind of vague, open-ended and subjective term that the framers feared and rejected.” . . .

The Constitution allows impeachment for treason, bribery or “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Dershowitz argued that the framers of the Constitution wanted to limit impeachment to crimes similar to treason or bribery. He added that a crime is implicitly required by the Constitution because the Senate holding the trial will acquit or convict the president. (Read more from “Alan Dershowitz Tells Senate Trump’s Impeachment Is Unconstitutional” HERE)

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A Naked Man Tried to Force His Way Onto a School Bus Full of Children

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A naked man was arrested in Arkansas after attempting to force his way onto a school bus with several children onboard. . .

The bus driver with the Vilonia School District told police that he saw the naked man heading towards the bus so he locked the doors. When the man tried to pry open the doors on the bus, the driver said he kicked his fingers.

Maumelle police said that the man tried to resist arrest when they arrived, but that they were able to arrest him with the assistance of a bystander. Several bystanders had chased him and were yelling at him. . .

They said that they found his belongings outside the entrance of a nearby hotel. They found prescription drugs and what they believe was a baggie of marijuana. They also found his two dogs, which were handed off to Maumelle Animal Services.

Police say Stegman denied being on drugs, but he was sent to a hospital for evaluation. (Read more from “A Naked Man Tried to Force His Way Onto a School Bus Full of Children” HERE)

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Missile Attack Hits U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

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By Breitbart. A barrage of rocket fire targeted Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on Sunday, hitting part of the U.S. embassy complex in that country. Saudi Arabia’s al-Arabiya news agency noted that the American compound “has been regularly hit by rockets in recent months.”

Both the American and Iraqi governments have confirmed a rocket attack on the complex but offered little information regarding the attack. No country or non-state actor has taken responsibility for this round of attacks.

No reports of any deaths have surfaced and estimates as to the wounded range from one to three people. Early reports do not specify the extent of the physical damage to the compound.

CNN and the Agence France-Presse (AFP) both reported that the facility hit by the rocket fire was a dining area or cafe, both citing unnamed sources. AFP’s source claimed that five Katyusha rockets fell in the Green Zone – a highly secure neighborhood in the Iraqi capital that houses most foreign embassies and other important government buildings – and appeared to target the U.S. embassy, and as many as three may have landed. Iraq’s al-Sumaria News reported that one rocket hit the embassy compound.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned months ago but has not organized elections and appears to show no signs of leaving, issued a statement confirming and condemning the attack, and specifically confirming anonymous reports that rockets hit the U.S. embassy compound. He did not offer any suggestions regarding who could have organized the attack, nor did he suggest Iraq had arrested anyone in response to the rockets. (Read more from “Missile Attack Hits U.S. Embassy in Baghdad” HERE)

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Rockets ‘Hit U.S. Embassy’ in Iraq Capital Amid Anti-Gov’t Protests

By Al Jazeera. The US embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone came under attack from rocket fire on Sunday evening.

Five rockets crashed into a riverbank near the embassy in the Iraqi capital without causing any injuries, the US Joint Operations Command said in a statement, but AFP news agency citing a security source said three of the rockets “directly hit the US embassy”. One slammed into a cafeteria at dinner time, it added. . .

Meanwhile, one protester was killed in Baghdad, police sources told Reuters news agency, and more than 100 demonstrators were hurt in violence in the capital and several other cities after the security forces tried to clear sit-in protest camps.

Medical sources said 75 of those hurt were in the southern city of Nasiriyah, where a witness told Reuters protesters set fire to two security vehicles, and hundreds of other demonstrators controlled key bridges in the city.

The protesters are demanding the removal of what they consider a corrupt ruling elite and an end to foreign interference in Iraqi politics, especially by Iran. (Read more from “Rockets ‘Hit U.S. Embassy’ in Iraq Capital Amid Anti-Gov’t Protests” HERE)

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ISIS Child Soldier Executes Nigerian Christian Student, Declares ‘We Will Not Stop’

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The Nigerian man who was executed by a child militant in a video released by a Boko Haram offshoot group aligned with the Islamic State days ago has been identified as a 22-year-old Christian college student.

Ropvil Daciya Dalep hailed from the Pankshin Local Government Area of the Plateau state and attended the University of Maiduguri in Borno state. His execution video gained media attention this week.

Dalep was a biology major who was returning to school from Christmas break when he was abducted on Jan. 9 allegedly by the Islamic State West Africa Province, according to the United Kingdom-based NGO Christian Solidarity Worldwide. . .

In the video released by the Islamic State-affiliated Amaq News Agency, the child reportedly claims that Dalep’s killing was revenge for the “bloodshed” committed by Christians.

“In particular, this is one among the Christians from Plateau State,” the child is reported to have said in the video. “We are saying to Christians, we have not forgotten what you have done to our parents and ancestors and we are telling all Christians around the world, we have not forgotten and will not stop. We must avenge the bloodshed that has been done like this one…” (Read more from “ISIS Child Soldier Executes Nigerian Christian Student, Declares ‘We Will Not Stop'” HERE)

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FBI Restricts Information Obtained From Carter Page FISA Surveillance

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The FBI has restricted all the evidence obtained through the wiretapping of former Trump campaign staffer Carter Page.

Revealed in a Jan. 7 filing by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that was made public on Thursday, the government said the bureau chose to “sequester all collection the FBI acquired pursuant to the Court’s authorizations” to grant a warrant and three extensions for the electronic surveillance of Page, a U.S. citizen who was suspected of acting as an agent of Russia but was never charged with any wrongdoing.

The filing, signed off by presiding FISA court Judge James Boasberg, further stated that the “sequester” would remain in place until the completion of a further review of the DOJ inspector general report on the Page FISA warrants and the “outcome of related investigations and any litigation.”

“The government has not described what steps are involved in such sequestration or when it will be completed,” Boasberg wrote. “It has, however, undertaken to ‘provide an update to the court when the FBI completes the sequestration.'”

Boasberg’s filing made headlines on Thursday for showing the Justice Department conceded that there was insufficient evidence to justify the last two of four orders covering the final several months of electronic surveillance of Page during the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign. The initial order came in October 2016, and the electronic surveillance stretched into the summer of 2017 with a trio of extensions at three-month intervals. It remains unclear whether the Justice Department believes the first two orders targeting Page were similarly flawed. (Read more from “FBI Restricts Information Obtained From Carter Page FISA Surveillance” HERE)

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NBA Legend Kobe Bryant and 13-Year-Old Daughter Killed in Helicopter Crash

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Former NBA star Kobe Bryant is dead after his private helicopter crashed near Calabasas, California, killing everyone on board.

Bryant, 41, was traveling from Newport Beach, California, to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles in his Sikorsky S-76 chopper when the aircraft caught fire, according to TMZ. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department warned people to avoid the area as authorities work to address the scene.

The former player’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna, was also aboard the helicopter and died in the crash. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva confirmed in a press conference Sunday afternoon that nine people were killed in the accident, including the pilot. He declined to confirm any names of the victims until the coroner notified their families.

The county’s Fire Chief Daryl Osby confirmed that the helicopter crash started a brush fire that covered a quarter acre. He explained that emergency responders were hoisted down to the crash site to search for survivors while firefighters on the ground worked to put out the brush fire surrounding the helicopter ruins.

(Read more from “NBA Legend Kobe Bryant and 13-Year-Old Daughter Killed in Helicopter Crash” HERE)

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WATCH: Buttigieg Has a Disgusting Response to a Pro-Life Democratic Woman

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Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg told a pro-life woman in Iowa she had no place in the Democratic Party. The comment came during a town hall with Fox News’ Chris Wallace in Des Moines, Iowa when a voter asked Buttigieg if he supported a change in the party’s language.

“I am a proud pro-life Democrat, so do you want the support of pro-life Democrats, Democratic voters? There’s about 21 million of us,” voter Kristen Day asked Buttigieg. “And, if so, would you support more moderate platform language in the Democratic Party to ensure that the party of diversity and inclusion really does include everybody?”

“Well, I respect where you’re coming from and I hope to earn your vote, but I’m not going to try to earn your vote by tricking you,” he replied with a smile. “I am pro-choice and I believe that a woman ought to be able to make that decision.” . . .

“Here’s what I can tell you – I know that the difference in opinion that you and I have is one that we have come by honestly and the best that I can offer – and it may win your vote, if not I understand – the best that I can offer is that if we can’t agree on where to draw the line, the next best thing we can do is agree on who should draw the line,” he explained. “And, in my view, it’s the woman who’s faced with that decision in her own life.” . . .

The voter replied, saying she was unsatisfied with Buttigieg’s response. He failed to answer the second part of her question, which is whether or not he would support a change in the party’s language and platform. (Read more from “Watch: Buttigieg Has a Disgusting Response to a Pro-Life Democratic Woman” HERE)

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