February, 2022 | últimas notícias

New satellite images show advanced Russian military deployments in Belarus – CNN

By Tim Lister, CNN

Updated 11:27 AM ET, Sun February 6, 2022

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/06/europe/russia-military-images-intl/index.html

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DeSantis says GoFundMe handling of Canada protest campaign is ‘fraud’ – Business Insider

GoFundMe shut down a fundraiser for a Canadian protest over cross-border trucker vaccine mandates.
GoFundMe on Friday said it would work with organizers to redistribute the funds to other charities.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called that plan “fraud” saying he’d investigate “deceptive practices.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would work with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to investigate GoFundMe for “deceptive practices” after the company said it would send remaining funds from the “Freedom Convoy” campaign to charities picked by organizers.

On Friday, the platform blocked $10 million in donations that were meant to go to the Canadian trucker vaccine protest. The protests began last weekend over mandates that truckers working across the US-Canada border must be vaccinated.

In a statement, GoFundMe said $1 million was released earlier this week and that fundraising organizers said the funds would be used for people who were traveling to Ottawa to participate in peaceful protests.

“Given how this situation has evolved, no further funds will be directly distributed to the Freedom Convoy organizers — we will work with organizers to send all remaining funds to credible and established charities chosen by the Freedom Convoy 2022 organizers and verified by GoFundMe,” the platform said.

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly told The Washington Post on Saturday that there were a thousand vehicles, roughly 5,000 protesters, and at least 300 counterprotesters in the city.

“This is a siege,” Sloly told the Post. “It is something that is different in our democracy than I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

DeSantis on Saturday morning said, “It is a fraud for @gofundme to commandeer $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing.”

—Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 5, 2022

The governor called for donors to get their money back: “These donors should be given a refund,” he said.

However, his remarks came after GoFundMe already announced it had changed its approach and would instead be sending all donors a refund.

“We will automatically refund all contributions directly — donors do not need to submit a request,” the platform said in a statement.

DeSantis’ office and GoFundMe did not immediately respond to Insider’s email requests for comment.

Source Article from https://www.businessinsider.com/desantis-says-gofundme-handling-of-canada-protest-campaign-is-fraud-2022-2

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‘Taking the Voters Out of the Equation’: How the Parties Are Killing Competition – The New York Times

“The parties are contributing to more and more single-party districts and taking the voters out of the equation,” said former Representative Tom Davis, who led the House Republicans’ campaign arm during the 2001 redistricting cycle. “November becomes a constitutional formality.”

In the 29 states where maps have been completed and not thrown out by courts, there are just 22 districts that either Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump won by five percentage points or less, according to data from the Brennan Center for Justice, a research institute.

By this point in the 2012 redistricting cycle, there were 44 districts defined as competitive based on the previous presidential election results. In the 1992 election, the margin between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush was within five points in 108 congressional districts.

The phenomenon of parties using redistricting to gain an edge is as old as the republic itself, but it has escalated in recent decades with more sophisticated technology and more detailed data about voter behavior. Americans with similar political views have clustered in distinct areas — Republicans in rural and exurban areas, Democrats in cities and inner suburbs. It’s a pattern that can make it difficult to draw cohesive, competitive districts.

No state has quashed competition ahead of the midterm elections like Texas. In the 2020 election, there were 12 competitive districts in the state. After redistricting, there is only one.

Though Mr. Trump won 52 percent of the vote in Texas in 2020, Republicans are expected to win roughly 65 percent — 24 of the state’s 38 congressional seats. (Texas gained two seats in the reapportionment after the 2020 census.)

The Texas state legislators who control redistricting shored up Republican incumbents including Representatives Dan Crenshaw, Beth Van Duyne and Michael McCaul, but in doing so also drew safer districts for Democrats such as Representatives Colin Allred and Lizzie Fletcher.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/us/politics/redistricting-competition-midterms.html

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U.S. airborne infantry troops arrive in Poland amid tensions – Associated Press

RZESZOW-JASIONKA, Poland (AP) — A few dozen elite U.S troops and equipment were seen landing Sunday in southeastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, following President Joe Biden’s orders to deploy 1,700 soldiers there amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hundreds more infantry troops of the 82nd Airborne Division are still expected to arrive at the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Poland’s border with Ukraine. A U.S. Army Boeing C-17 Globemaster plane brought a few dozen troops and vehicles.

Their commander is Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who on Aug. 30 was the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan.

“Our national contribution here in Poland shows our solidarity with all of our allies here in Europe and, obviously, during this period of uncertainty, we know that we are stronger together,” Donahue said at the airport.

In Warsaw, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak hailed the deployment, saying that “deterrence and solidarity are the best response to Moscow’s aggressive policy, to the aggressive attempt at reconstructing the Russian empire.”

Russia has amassed some 100,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, some for joint military exercises in Belarus, but insists it has no intentions of invading Ukraine.

A collective response by NATO members is “the best response to a threat, the only method of assuring security to Poland and to other NATO countries on the alliance’s eastern flank,” Blaszczak said.

He stressed he has held a number of talks on the subject with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Biden ordered additional U.S. troops deployed to Poland, Romania and Germany to demonstrate to both allies and foes America’s commitment to NATO’s eastern flank amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine. NATO’s eastern member Poland borders both Russia and Ukraine. Romania borders Ukraine.

The division can rapidly deploy within 18 hours and conduct parachute assaults to secure key objectives. Based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the division’s history goes back to 1917.

Earlier in the week, U.S. planes brought equipment and logistics troops in preparation for the arrival of part of the division to the airport.

Polish soldiers have previously worked together with the U.S. division on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and have trained together, according to Maj. Przemyslaw Lipczynski, a spokesman for the Polish Army’s 18th Mechanized Division.

Some 4,000 U.S. troops have been stationed in Poland since 2017 on a rotating basis, as a security boost in the face of Russia’s increased military activity.

European officials fear that the continent’s energy supplies are vulnerable i n the case of hostilities over Ukraine.

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This story has been corrected to say that a few dozen troops, not hundreds, have arrived so far Sunday.

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Follow all AP stories about tensions over Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

Source Article from https://apnews.com/00dfbc885db2bd0db007c4665120a332

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U.S. Warns of Grim Toll if Putin Pursues Full Invasion of Ukraine – The New York Times

Ballistic missiles in Belarus, and to the east inside Russian territory, have captured British and Ukrainian attention in recent days. The Iskander-M missiles are mounted on mobile launchers, meaning they can be rolled closer to the border in short order, and they have a range of about 300 miles. That suggests that Mr. Putin, if he chose, could begin attacking cities and military emplacements before he moved any troops over the border.

Mr. Austin and General Milley described to lawmakers a bristling array of additional Russian military assets that have encircled Ukraine. They include 11 amphibious assault ships, in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean, with the capacity to carry five battalions of Russian Marines who could land in Ukraine from the south, the officials said. In addition, Mr. Putin has deployed a number of submarines to the Black Sea, the defense officials told lawmakers.

Mr. Putin has also deployed Special Operations forces — some 1,500 troops — near and even inside the Ukrainian border, the officials told lawmakers. Those troops, they said, work closely with the Russian military intelligence agency, the G.R.U., which has in the past directed cyber- and other attacks on foes.

European officials tend to be more skeptical that Mr. Putin would try to take the country in a large-scale invasion. Some believe that he would seek to take the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where a grinding proxy war has been underway since 2014.

Another theory is that Mr. Putin could expand that operation in an effort to annex all of eastern Ukraine, up to the Dnieper River. Along the way, he could try to decimate Ukrainian troops in that part of the country, roughly half of the Ukrainian military. That could incite panic in the western part of Ukraine — where resistance to Russia might be highest — and prompt people to flee the country. Over time, that could lead top government officials to flee or to try to rule from exile.

American and European officials have made clear that a physical attack over the borders of Ukraine would lead to enormous sanctions on Russia’s banks, trade restrictions on semiconductors and other high-tech items and the freezing of the accounts of Russian oligarchs and leaders. But there is far less unanimity, as President Biden himself has acknowledged, about how to respond to a “minor incursion.” Or even what a minor incursion might be.

European and American officials worry that Mr. Putin might try to stage a coup in Kyiv. Another possibility is a cyberattack devised by Russia that tries to bring down parts or all of Ukraine’s electric and communications infrastructure, similar to the 2015 and 2016 attacks on parts of the country’s electric grid.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/us/politics/russia-ukraine-invasion.html

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Crowds of demonstrators join rallies across Canada as Covid-19 trucker protests spread – CNN

(CNN)From the western province of Alberta, moving east to Quebec City, and in cities and towns in between, thousands of Canadians have hit the streets in trucks, tractors, cars and on foot to protest the nation’s Covid-19 restrictions.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/05/americas/canada-trucker-protest-covid-19/index.html

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Rayan: How Morocco held its breath for the boy stuck in a well – BBC News

Emergency crews, including firefighters, helped excavate a huge hole in the side of the hill before digging a separate horizontal tunnel to the well shaft in an attempt to safely access Rayan, who was trapped after plunging 32m (104ft) through the well’s narrow opening.

Source Article from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60276219

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Hundreds in Minneapolis protest police killing of Black man in raid – Reuters

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Saturday demanding justice in the fatal police shooting of a young Black man, Amir Locke, during a “no-knock” raid on his apartment earlier this week.

The boisterous but peaceful crowd, chanting Locke’s name and the slogan “no justice, no peace,” rallied at Government Plaza in Minnesota’s largest city three days after Locke, 22, was shot on his couch by police.

The day after the killing, police released video footage from the raid, which showed Locke was holding a gun as he twisted beneath a blanket on his sofa after being roused by officers moments before he was slain.

Police have said the officers were exercising a “no-knock” search warrant, which authorizes police to enter private property without first alerting occupants or announcing their presence.

The warrant was issued in relation to a homicide probe led by detectives from the neighboring Saint Paul Police Department. Locke was not named in the warrant, and Minneapolis police have acknowledged it was unclear how or whether he was connected to that investigation.

On Thursday, interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman told a news conference the county attorney’s office was reviewing the shooting, and that video from the incident appeared to show Locke’s gun pointed toward officers when they opened fire.

Activists at the protest said Locke had a right to possess a weapon in his own home and was never given the chance to disarm himself in the chaotic moments as police stormed into his apartment without warning.

At least 500 demonstrators assembled in below-freezing temperatures on Saturday, demanding an unconditional ban on no-knock warrants, the dismissal and arrest of officers involved in the shooting, and the resignation of the mayor and police chief.

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Children hold up Black Lives Matter signs during a protest for Amir Locke, a Black man who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police’s SWAT team, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., February 4, 2022. REUTERS/Tim Evans

A series of speakers led the crowd through chants demanding racial justice and denouncing police violence against Black people, who organizers said have been disproportionately targeted by heavy-handed, and discriminatory law enforcement tactics.

Live video footage of the protest from Reuters showed the crowd remained orderly, while police kept a low profile presence on the fringes of the rally.

On Friday, Mayor Jacob Frey responded to the Locke shooting, ordering a moratorium on “no-knock” search warrants, saying he was acting to “ensure safety of both the public and officers until a new policy is crafted.”

The Locke shooting was the latest of a string of incidents to put Minneapolis-area police department under scrutiny.

Almost two years ago, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a white officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes during an arrest on suspicion of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. Outrage over Floyd’s death sparked a nationwide movement challenging police brutality and bias in the U.S. criminal justice system.

The video of Locke’s arrest showed police unlocking his apartment with a key and officers shouting, “Police, search warrant, get on the ground,” as they entered.

An officer then kicks at the couch where Locke was lying and as Locke turns, his arm emerges from under the blanket with a gun seen in his hand. Almost immediately, police fired at least three shots.

Lawyers for Locke’s family said he had no criminal history and legally possessed a firearm at the time of his death.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hundreds-minneapolis-protest-police-killing-black-man-raid-2022-02-06/

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Patrick Henry High School student killed in Blacksburg shooting, four injured; suspect taken into custody – Roanoke Times

In a statement issued Saturday night, Blacksburg police identified the person killed in the shooting as Isiah O. Robinson, 18. They said that six warrants have been issued for Jamel D. Flint, 24: for first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of using a gun to commit a felony.

Source Article from https://roanoke.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/patrick-henry-high-school-student-killed-in-blacksburg-shooting-four-injured-suspect-taken-into-custody/article_f52efd72-865b-11ec-ba07-ab74407bba9e.html

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Mother’s desperate search for answers in son’s death gets rare victory against police – NBC News

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UN finds North Korea increased missile capabilities: report | TheHill – The Hill

A confidential United Nations report found that North Korea developed its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and gained millions of dollars in revenue from international cyberattacks, according to Reuters, which obtained an excerpt of the report on Saturday.

In an annual report submitted to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, independent sanctions monitors detailed the extent of North Korea’s weapons development in 2021. While the country did not test any nuclear weapons or launch any intercontinental ballistic missiles, the nation did continue to develop its capabilities for the production of “nuclear fissile materials,” according to the report, per Reuters.

North Korea, which launched at least seven missiles last month alone, also continued to invest in its ballistic missile program and build out infrastructure for nuclear and missile development last year, according to the report, Reuters reported.

“Maintenance and development of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure continued, and North Korea continued to seek material, technology and know-how for these programs overseas, including through cyber means and joint scientific research,” the report said.

North Korea “demonstrated increased capabilities for rapid deployment, wide mobility (including at sea), and improved resilience of its missile forces,” it added, per Reuters.

Inspectors from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency have been expelled from monitoring North Korea’s nuclear program since 2009, but raised the alarm in a report in August that the country had potentially restarted a reactor in its nuclear complex. The agency called the development “deeply troubling.”

North Korea has not tested long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons since 2017. But after nuclear talks with the U.S. under former President TrumpDonald Trump UN finds North Korea increased missile capabilities: report DeSantis, state AGs pledge to investigate GoFundMe removing page for Canadian vaccine mandate protest The ruling class and the Supreme Court MORE broke down, the nation resumed short-range missile testing.

After a spate of missile tests last month, U.S. officials said they were pushing to negotiate with North Korea again but have yet to hear from Pyongyang on the proposal.

The U.N. report also found that “cyberattacks, particularly on cryptocurrency assets, remain an important revenue source” for North Korea.

In 2021, hackers stole more than $50 million from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia, according to the report, Reuters reported.

The report also noted that cybersecurity firm Chainalysis said North Korea had stolen at least $400 million worth of digital assets last year in attacks on cryptocurrency platforms, per the wire service.

Source Article from https://thehill.com/regulation/national-security/592996-un-finds-north-korea-increased-missile-capabilities-stole

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Russia Military Buildup Near Ukraine Grows, Heightening U.S. Concern – The Wall Street Journal

A series of Russian military moves and potential political steps has heightened concern within the Biden administration that Moscow could launch a major military attack in Ukraine within weeks, U.S. officials said.

Russia currently has 83 battalion tactical groups poised near the country, a substantial increase from the 53 groups it had in December and 60 last month, according to officials familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments.

Source Article from https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-military-buildup-near-ukraine-grows-heightening-u-s-concern-11644114047

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Russia has 70% of the military capabilities in place for full-scale invasion – CNN

By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent

Updated 9:30 PM ET, Sat February 5, 2022

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/05/politics/russia-military-ukraine/index.html

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Rescuers recover body of 5-year-old boy trapped in Moroccan well – NBC News

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Thousands protest vaccine mandates in Canada, further fraying nerves – Reuters

TORONTO/OTTAWA, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Thousands of people demonstrated in Canadian cities, including the financial hub Toronto, on Saturday as mostly peaceful but noisy protests against vaccine mandates spread from Ottawa, the capital.

The “Freedom Convoy” began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.

“We’re all sick and tired of the mandates, of the intimidation, of living in one big prison,” said Robert, a Toronto protester who did not give his last name. “We just want to go back to normal without having to take into our veins the poison which they call vaccines.”

Protesters have shut down downtown Ottawa for the past eight days, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they wanted to dissolve Canada’s government.

“The protesters in Ottawa have made their point. The entire country heard their point,” said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, who urged protesters to “go home and engage elected officials.”

Ottawa police said hate crime charges were laid against four people and they were investigating threats against public figures jointly with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The well-organized blockade, which police say has relied partly on funding from sympathizers in the United States, saw protesters bring in portable saunas on Saturday to combat frigid temperatures.

One man rode through the area on horseback, carrying a Trump flag, social media videos showed. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken out in support of the truckers against “the harsh policies of far-left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates.”

GoFundMe took down the Freedom Convoy’s donation page on Friday, saying it violated the platform’s terms of service due to unlawful activity. The group had raised about C$10.1 million.

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People wave flags near the National Assembly of Quebec, as truckers and their supporters protest against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates, in Quebec City, Canada February 5, 2022. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger

The website originally said it would give refunds for any requests made by Feb. 19 and would remaining funds to verified charities, but on Saturday GoFundMe said it would refund all donations automatically.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has previously criticized vaccine mandates, called GoFundMe “professional thieves.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican state lawmakers vowed to investigate the California-based company over the move. read more

About 5,000 people demonstrated in Ottawa, police said, while hundreds more gathered in Toronto, Canada’s biggest city, and Quebec City, coinciding with the city’s annual winter carnival. Four people were injured in Manitoba after a pick-up truck drove into a crowd late Friday, police said.

In Toronto, about 500 healthcare workers and supporters rallied downtown in opposition to the trucker convoy, according to a Reuters witness.

Several Toronto healthcare workers said they received advice from their hospitals to not wear hospital scrubs in public in light of the protest.

“The notion that we have to somehow skunk around or be afraid of who we are and what were doing, I think, is offensive and regrettable, and I think, a sad commentary on our society,” emergency room doctor Raghu Venugopal told Reuters.

Some Ottawa residents, who have endured near-incessant honking, smashed windows and harassment for wearing masks themselves, criticized Ottawa Police earlier this week for not doing more to end the blockade. One resident filed a class-action lawsuit against convoy organizers, seeking up to $10 million in damages and an injunction to end the protests.

Ottawa police, which warned on Friday of a crackdown on the protest and dedicated more officers, do not have enough resources to end the protests, the city’s police chief said on Saturday. Trudeau ruled out the use of troops against truckers in the capital earlier this week.

“This is a city under siege, this is a threat to democracy, this is a nationwide insurrection, this is madness,” Chief Peter Sloly said at a police services’ board meeting. “We have done our very best.”

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadian-cities-brace-more-anti-vaccine-mandate-protests-2022-02-05/

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Police Killing of Amir Locke Brings Out Protesters in Minneapolis – The New York Times

Mr. Hanneman joined the department in 2015 and the SWAT team in 2020, according to department records. He has had three previous complaints in his file, all of which were closed without discipline.

In the wake of national outcry over the murder of Mr. Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Mayor Jacob Frey issued a new policy in 2020 requiring officers executing no-knock warrants to announce their presence and purpose before they enter, except for extreme circumstances. Before the policy, the department executed 139 no-knock warrants per year, according to the mayor’s office.

This year, the number of no-knock warrants is already on track to reach about the same number: 11 have been issued so far this year.

“It’s become clear that no-knock warrants continue to be overly sought by the Minneapolis Police Department and overly granted,” Mr. Storms said in an interview.

He went on to add that “the entire country learned the lessons of the danger of no-knock warrants via the tragic death of Breonna Taylor,” referring to the Black medical worker who was fatally shot by the police in Louisville, Ky., in 2020 during a no-knock search. “Minneapolis had a chance to learn from that.”

Mr. Storms also said that the video shows that Mr. Locke’s finger was not on the trigger when he was shot, but rather on the barrel, and that the gun was pointed down. At the news conference on Thursday, Ms. Huffman said that the officer who shot Mr. Locke was outside the frame of the video but in the “direction of that barrel emerging from the blanket.”

“It’s very clear that when Amir grabbed the gun he grabbed it in such a manner that he did not know whether or not he would shoot,” Mr. Storms said. “Amir utilized good trigger discipline and the officer didn’t.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/us/amir-locke-minneapolis-police-shooting.html

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Trump attacks Dem NY gerrymander, blasts GOP inaction: ‘We’ll lose 4 seats’ – New York Post

Former President Donald Trump scorched Democrats’ aggressive redistricting efforts in New York and across the nation in a furious Saturday statement to supporters.

“Republicans are getting absolutely creamed with the phony redistricting going on all over the Country,” he emailed through his Save America PAC.

“We were expecting to do well in New York and now, we’ll lose 4 seats,” he griped — referring to the state’s new congressional map that has Empire State Republicans crying foul.

The key 11th District, which encompasses Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, was redrawn this week to replace conservative neighborhoods like Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights with the blue bastions of Park Slope, Sunset Park and Gowanus — a boundary change that could oust Trump ally Rep. Nicole Malliotakis from Congress in November.

Meanwhile, in Republican-majority states like Ohio and North Carolina, courts have overturned new maps that were claimed to be overly generous to the GOP.

Trump cast blame on Republicans for allowing the Democrats’ gerrymandering to plow forward.

“The Old Broken-Down Crow, Mitch McConnell, sits back and does nothing to help the Party,” he sneered.

A group of 14 New York voters filed a lawsuit Thursday against Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state officials, alleging that the new district lines she signed into law this week are unconstitutional.

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2022/02/05/trump-attacks-dem-ny-gerrymander-blasts-gop-inaction/

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Trump Fears What Pence Could Say, Suggests Conway: ‘Surprisingly Weak’ – Newsweek

Attorney George Conway suggested that former President Donald Trump is “afraid” of what former Vice President Mike Pence could say.

Trump on Friday evening released a statement taking aim at Pence after the former vice president explained that Trump was “wrong” to claim that he had the authority to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The ex-president argued this week that Pence should have unconstitutionally rejected the electors from key swing states in a bid to keep him in the White House.

Conway, the husband of Trump’s former senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, has long been a critical of the his wife’s ex-boss. In a Saturday Twitter post, Conway shared Trump’s statement targeting Pence and suggested the former president is “weak.”

“Surprisingly weak. Do you suppose Trump is afraid of something Pence could say?” Conway wrote.

In his Friday evening statement, Trump said: “Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count.” The former president went on to insist that “I was right and everyone knows it.”

Earlier on Friday, Pence told attendees at a conservative Federalist Society event in Florida that he disagreed with Trump regarding the vice president’s power over the election results.

“But there are those in our party who believe that as the presiding officer over the joint session of Congress, I possessed unilateral authority to reject electoral college votes. And I heard this week, President Trump said I had the right to ‘overturn the election,'” the former vice president told the audience.

“President Trump is wrong,” he said, adding that he “had no right to overturn the election.” Pence’s remarks came after Trump earlier in the week suggested Pence should be investigated for refusing to unconstitutionally overturn the results.

Although Conway’s wife Kellyanne Conway was one of Trump’s key advisers and top defenders in the media, he constantly slammed the former president throughout his White House tenure. Speaking to CNN on Monday, Conway responded to Trump’s suggestion that Pence could have “overturned the election.”

“He is just incriminating himself with all of these statements,” the conservative lawyer said. Conway added, “this is just absurd, he’s just not smart.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s allies have lined up to attack Pence.

“If you ever had any doubt whatsoever that former Vice President Mike Pence was a duplicitous, disloyal POS, this stunning article will remove any doubt. Pence and his staff of ‘political advisors’ were working to undermine President Trump [and replace him with Mike Pence] from day ONE,” right-wing strategist Roger Stone wrote in a message to his Telegram subscribers on Thursday. Stone linked to a Substack article written by Emerald Robinson, titled The Treachery of VP Mike Pence Explained.

Steve Bannon, who served as CEO of Trump’s 2016 campaign, called Pence a “coward” in a segment of his War Room podcast on Friday. “Pence, you’re going to carry this thing eventually to your grave, OK?” Bannon said. “Because it is a mark of shame. You are a stone-cold coward.”

George Conway suggested on Twitter Saturday that former President Donald Trump is “afraid” of what former Vice President Mike Pence could say about efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Above, Trump speaks as Pence looks on at the White House on November 24, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Newsweek reached out to Pence and Trump for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

Source Article from https://www.newsweek.com/trump-fears-what-pence-could-say-suggests-conway-surprisingly-weak-1676573

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One dead, four injured in shooting at hookah lounge near Virginia Tech – WTOP

Four people were hospitalized and one person has died after a shooting just before midnight Friday in downtown Blacksburg, Virginia, near Virginia Tech, according to the university.

The Blackburn police department has since identified that Isiah Robinson,18, of Roanoke, Virginia was killed and the university has confirmed that a male student at the university was injured and entering surgery Saturday afternoon.

More Virginia News

Blacksburg Police responded to reports of shots fired at Melody Hookah Lounge on Main Street, according to a police statement.

They have since identified a suspect, 24-year-old Jamel D. Flint of Roanoke, in the shooting death of Robinson. The Blacksburg Police Department added that six felony warrants — one count of murder in the first degree, one count use of of a firearm while committing or attempting to commit murder and four counts of attempted murder in the first degree.

Officials in Blacksburg brought Flint into custody nearly 24 hours after the shooting, saying that he was arrested in Roanoke without incident.

“Though Mr. Flint is in custody this continues to be an ongoing investigation and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Blacksburg Police Department,” the statement read.

Virginia Tech was placed on lockdown, the university tweeted warning students to stay indoors around midnight. The university lifted the lockdown around 3:15 a.m. but asked people to avoid going downtown as the investigation continues and informed students that transit would be limited.

The school has since confirmed that Blacksburg Transit has returned to normal operations and that the student injured in the shooting is doing well. Virginia Tech’s vice president for student affairs Frank Shushok Jr., said that they were grateful for the outpouring of support for the student, adding that they are working to support the community after the shooting.

“We can rarely control the challenges life brings our way, but our response is very much in our hands. I am proud of our community and grateful [for] how we pull together in difficult moments,” Shushok said.

The incident is being investigated as a homicide.

Police are asking anyone with information about this case to contact the Blacksburg Police Department at 540-443-1400 or to remain anonymous by call the department’s tip line at 540-961-1819 or email ciu@blacksburg.gov.

Virginia Tech was also subject to a deadly shooting on campus that killed 32 people in 2007.

Friday night’s shooting near Virginia Tech’s campus is the second case of a shooting on or near a Virginia college’s campus in less than a week. Two officers were killed when confronting a 27-year-old former student at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia on Tuesday. The victims were identified by the college as campus Police Officer John Painter and campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Stay with WTOP for the latest.

Source Article from https://wtop.com/virginia/2022/02/blacksburg-police-respond-to-shooting-near-virginia-tech/

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Moroccan boy trapped in well has died, according to state media – CNN

By Samantha Beech, Celine Alkhaldi and Kareem El Damanhoury, CNN

Updated 5:16 PM ET, Sat February 5, 2022

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/05/africa/morocco-well-rescue-intl/index.html

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Covid-19 Live Updates: Vaccines and Testing News – The New York Times

Days before the first phase of Washington’s vaccination entry requirement went into effect on Jan. 15, The Big Board, a family-owned bar in the popular H Street Corridor, tweeted that it would “always” be open to everyone.

The Big Board’s owners kept their promise, at a high cost. This week, the bar, a mile from the U.S. Capitol, was shut down after refusing to abide by Mayor Muriel Bowser’s order to check that patrons over the age of 12 had at least one dose of a Covid vaccine.

But the bar already seems to have another life, at least in conservative circles.

After a city health inspector posted a closure notice on The Big Board’s door on Tuesday saying that the bar “presents an imminent health hazard to the public,” Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, dined at the bar with staffers, according to The Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller, two conservative news outlets. But since then, the bar has remained closed to the public.

Mr. Paul has introduced a bill before Congress to overturn Washington’s vaccination requirements. He also previously claimed that “masks don’t work,” despite the consensus among public health officials that they do limit the spread of the virus. A California study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week also showed that consistent use of high-quality masks offers strong protection to wearers.

The Examiner and The Daily Caller reported that several other Republican members of the House joined Mr. Paul on Tuesday night, all of whom have also publicly criticized vaccine mandates, including Representatives Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, and Ronny Jackson, Republican of Texas. Grinning and maskless, some of the lawmakers posed for pictures with a co-owner of the bar, Eric Flannery.

In a YouTube video made that evening, Mr. Flannery, with some of the congressional representatives standing next to him, vowed to “keep on fighting” and said the mayor’s order needed to be challenged in D.C. Superior Court.

Mr. Massie then saluted Mr. Flannery’s defiance. “If the mandate is illogical, the only logical thing to do is to defy it,” Mr. Massie said. “If the mandate is unconstitutional, it is constitutional not to follow it. If the mandate is unscientific, the only scientific thing to do is to ignore it. And so God bless you and thank you for being in the fight.”

And Representative Tim Burchett invited Mr. Flannery to relocate. “If you want to come to Tennessee, we’re a freedom-loving state, and we’d love to have you, brother,” he said.

The video was uploaded by the Daily Signal, a conservative site, and later shared by The Big Board on its Facebook page.

On Thursday, Glenn Beck, the unvaccinated conservative radio host who has previously been criticized for spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines, also interviewed Mr. Flannery and promoted the bar, directing listeners to a fund-raising campaign on GiveSendGo, a self-described Christian crowdfunding site. Another conservative talk radio show, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, which took over the time slot previously filled by right-wing talk radio star Rush Limbaugh, interviewed Mr. Flannery on Thursday and linked to the crowdfunding site. By Saturday afternoon, that site had logged more than $16,500 in donations.

And an earlier GoFundMe campaign for The Big Board’s owners set up by a correspondent with the Daily Caller on Jan. 19 and tweeted by Mr. Paul had logged more than $32,700 in donations by Saturday afternoon.

Mr. Flannery and The Big Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In December, when Mayor Bowser announced that the vaccination entry requirement would be put into place, Washington was experiencing surging rates of positive Covid tests as the Omicron variant became dominant.

Covid deaths in the district have risen only slightly in the aftermath, likely because more than 92 percent of the population has had at least one dose of the vaccine.

— Aishvarya Kavi

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/05/world/covid-test-vaccine-cases

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