[Stars and Stripes] A former Army first lieutenant is going to prison for unlawfully deleting training materials and lying to investigators about a call he made to the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington. Manfredo Martin-Michael Madrigal, 38, was handed a term of four years and six months Thursday during his sentencing in a federal court in Virginia, according to a Justice Department statement the same day.
He had pleaded guilty in July to one count of destroying Army materials and three counts of making false statements. An attorney who was assigned to a staff position at the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Madrigal was under investigation by the Army in early 2022 for not disclosing a previous DUI arrest, the statement said. Amid the investigation, he filmed himself deleting online JAG training materials without authorization and "graphically describing ill will toward the Army," according to the DOJ statement, which didn’t give the date of that crime. The training materials were related to national security, the Charlotte Observer reported in July, citing an FBI affidavit.
Madrigal sent the video he took of himself deleting the materials to a woman described as a former romantic partner, according to the affidavit. Later the same day, Madrigal called the Russian Embassy in Washington.
The Justice Department statement doesn’t provide further details about the call, which lasted about 2 minutes and 26 seconds, the Observer reported. Madrigal told the woman that Moscow wanted to know what he knew and also that he was planning to travel to Russia, according to court filings. On Feb. 22, 2022, Madrigal was discharged from the JAG School, and in an exit statement he denied that he had been in contact with any foreign nationals, according to the Justice Department statement.
[FoxNews] The migrants were mostly Chinese citizens along with citizens from Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador, police said Friday
A group of more than 30 migrants, most of them Chinese citizens, was found inside a U-Haul truck Friday after a report of an alleged abduction, Florida authorities said.
The discovery began when a security guard for a homeowners association in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables reported seeing an abduction around 9:35 a.m., Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. told reporters.
The guard reported seeing a Toyota and a U-Haul truck involved in the incident and immediately alerted a patrol officer, the chief said. The officer then issued a BOLO, a be on the lookout alert, for the vehicles.
The vehicles were stopped by officers, and the woman who was allegedly abducted was taken from the Toyota. Officers then began investigating the U-Haul truck, which had 16 Chinese females, 15 Chinese males, one male from Cuba and a female from Ecuador, according to police.
"Officers opened the back of the truck, which revealed 21 predominantly Chinese nationals," Hudak said.
In addition to the migrants in the Toyota were a Cuban man, a Brazilian woman and a man from Ecuador, police said.
"We do believe these individuals were brought here by the water," the chief said. "They were probably dropped off, we're assuming somewhere around the southern end of Coral Gables and approached on foot to the van where they were loaded into.”
Investigators were looking into whether the woman who was possibly being abducted was trying to escape her alleged smugglers. The Coral Gables Fire Department responded to provide medical care to the migrants, who were "tired" but in good condition, police said.
"Today’s event is a prime example of why FDLE is supportive of the governor’s proposed special session to tackle illegal immigration immediately," Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass said. "The actions of law enforcement are an integral part in preventing these smuggling ventures that happen too frequently on our southern border."
The migrants were handed over to the U.S. Border Patrol, and four others were taken into police custody related to the incident.
"This started off as a crime," Hudak said. "The police department responded to that alleged crime by a very alert citizen. By that, I mean I think we've saved some lives."
Authorities patrolling the waters near the city stopped several vessels but have not identified the boat in which the migrants were transported, authorities said.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
01/18/2025 00:00 ||
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NEW: Parent sends elementary school principal to the hospital after she told the parent 'to keep the kids off the court' because they were disrupting the game
"This is a woman that was there with kids, that was disrupting everything... and she wasn’t watching the kids... and… pic.twitter.com/q6lB2WF8rS
#2
^ #1 Agreed
But given, she likely didn't properly raise the brats. She'll be in the principles' office (with police escort), to collect the expelled brats for future behavioral issues.
#5
She wearing flip flops too, so I'd go with couldn't be bothered to do the wig thing that evening.
If I wanted to get in trouble, I'd guess that it is because the mother couldn't be bothered to get a player to the game and grandma got a last minute call. Again.
[Cigar Officiando] With less than a week left in office, the Biden administration has issued a surprise announcement that it is removing Cuba from the list of states that sponsor international terrorism and lifting other Trump-era sanctions against the island nation, as an apparent quid pro quo for the phased release of 530 Cubans imprisoned after street riots in July 2021.
According to a statement issued yesterday from the White House, the Biden administration has been "informed by the Catholic Church that the Cuban government will soon begin releasing a substantial number of political prisoners."
The statement noted that "in taking these steps to bolster the ongoing dialogue between the government of Cuba and the Catholic Church, President Biden is also honoring the wisdom and counsel that has been provided to him by many world leaders, especially in Latin America, who have encouraged him to take these actions, on how best to advance the human rights of the Cuban people."
In addition to removing Cuba from the State Department’s terrorism list, the White House stated it would once again waive Title III of the 1996 Helm’s-Burton legislation that allows U.S. companies and individuals to sue international companies that are operating on expropriated properties in Cuba. Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama had all similarly waived that provision of the legislation, but President Trump imposed it during his first term.
The White House also said it would terminate the Trump-era "Restricted Entities List" which prohibits U.S. companies and citizens from engaging with Cuban businesses that are administered by the military. In addition to that list, the administration said it would end "additional regulations on engagement by U.S. persons and entities with Cuban persons and entities."
The 11th hour accord, negotiated between Washington and Havana through still-secret back-channel diplomacy, involved the Cuban Catholic Church, as well as Pope Francis who played a role a decade ago in a clandestine talks between the Obama administration and Raúl Castro to normalize relations. President Biden was scheduled to meet the Pope at the Vatican on January 10, but cancelled his trip because of the fires in Los Angeles; the two conferred via phone instead.
#2
The White House also said it would terminate the Trump-era "Restricted Entities List" which prohibits U.S. companies and citizens from engaging with Cuban businesses
The actual reason likely involves money and gambling.
#5
Considering the election results, both. Its all very gay passive aggressive. I don't mean that as a slur here, its that very catty gay passive aggressive even normie gays hate.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President-elect Donald Trump held a telephone conversation, Xinhua reported on Friday, January 17.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping held a telephone conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday," the statement said.
No further details are provided.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on November 16, 2024, Xi Jinping announced Beijing's readiness to work with the Trump administration. He emphasized that China is interested in maintaining stable relations with the United States.
The following day, at a meeting with outgoing US President Joseph Biden, the Chinese leader noted that the discrepancy between statements and actions on the part of the American authorities could lead to Beijing losing confidence in Washington.
On December 13, it became known that Xi Jinping will not attend the inauguration of the US president-elect in January 2025. China will be represented at the event by a “high-level delegation.”
On January 15, at a hearing in the US Senate, CIA director nominee and former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe said that US intelligence should focus on China as the main threat to Washington.
[NY Post] How about some time in the gray-bar Hotel, next to Fauci?
The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday barred EcoHealth Alliance and the group’s former president, Peter Daszak, from receiving federal funding for five years after they failed to report potentially dangerous gain-of-function research experiments to the government.
HHS determined that a five-year period of debarment for the Manhattan-based nonprofit and Daszak was “necessary to protect the Federal Government’s business interests,” according to a letter sent to both parties by the government agency.
The House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic had been investigating the novel bat virus research that EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak conducted out of China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The panel uncovered evidence last year indicating that EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak “willingly” and “repeatedly” violated multiple requirements of a multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health grant for the controversial project.
“Justice for the American people was served today,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement after releasing HHS’ debarment notices.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/18/2025 11:45 ||
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] CNN star Jim Acosta could soon be banished to 'the Siberia of television news' in an effort from the network to curry favor with incoming President Donald Trump.
The CNN veteran, 53, has been locked in a longstanding feud with Trump, who has described him as a 'rude, terrible person' and accused him of reporting 'fake news' during Acosta's time as a White House correspondent in the first administration.
Now, CNN chief Mark Thompson has reportedly floated moving Acosta's successful, high-rating 10am show to the dreaded timeslot of midnight, the Status newsletter reports.
'They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump,' an insider told the publication.
'Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.' A VERY low bar to clear
This move would 'effectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news,' the report stated.
Thompson allegedly hopes to slot Acosta into programming from midnight to 2am ET, with assurances that the show would in turn be airing during prime time on the West Coast and be streamed internationally.
Acosta's ratings in his current 10am slot are some of the network's best.
The timing of the call - just days before Trump is due to take office again - has raised suspicions CNN is trying to build a better relationship with the incoming President.
Acosta's relationship with Trump was so sour during the first term that the White House revoked his press pass in 2018 after a heated clash.
That decision was later challenged when Acosta and CNN presented it in front of a federal judge.
Acosta's back-and-forth with Trump went viral, and resulted in Trump telling him to 'sit down', while aides wrestled the mic from his hands.
Trump said: 'CNN should be ashamed of itself having you work for them. You are a rude terrible person. You shouldn't be working for CNN.'
Then, during a separate press conference in 2020, Acosta said: 'Mr. President, I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes.'
'Let me tell you about your record, your record is so bad you ought to be ashamed of yourself,' Trump shot back. 'You have the worst record in the history of broadcasting.'
On another occasion, Acosta asked Trump: 'What do you say to critics who say that you are creating a national emergency? That you're concocting a national emergency here to get your wall.'
Trump snapped back: 'Your question is a very political question because you have an agenda. You're CNN. You're fake news.'
Acosta's reported move is the latest in a series of shake ups the network is reportedly considering, and would pave the way for longtime anchor Wolf Blitzer, 76, to slide into a new morning timeslot to replace him.
He currently enjoys a plum spot on the cusp of primetime manning The Situation Room weekdays from 6pm to 7pm ET. He has done so for the past two decades, and the new shuffle could see him gain an extra hour of exposure.
However, some suggested the move could be a way 'something of an off-ramp' for the broadcaster, as he enters his golden years.
The revelation comes hours after Acosta was mocked for holding a placard hailing his own achievements live on air.
He held up a bright pink sign that reads: 'I march for Jim Acosta and a free press.'
Journalist Glenn Greenwald shared the clip and added: 'This nakedly partisan b**** really does think he's the Conscience of America.
'Never seen a more self-important, sanctimonious blow hard in my entire life. And no, I'll never get over the fact that he wrote a book bought by dumb liberals where he depicted himself as endangered.'
Earlier in the segment, Acosta referenced Biden's farewell address which took place on Wednesday night, in which he openly lamented a supposed rising oligarchy in the United States.
'[President Biden] warned the free press is crumbling in this country, I would add that's only if we the people let that happen.
'Journalists exist to seek the truth, to tell people stories, to lift up voices that may not be heard otherwise.
'To shine a light on injustice and hold the powerful accountable, we are not the enemy of the people we are the defender of the people.'
CNN has more problems than just one blowhard reporter, and they don’t know how big the final bill will be. See here for details.
#1
So their ratings are in the toilet, yet they intend to take their best preforming product and shitcan to NoWheresVille?
Why don’t they just call for All Engines Ahead Full as they drive into that iceberg?
No shortage of stupidity over there.
#2
It is a curious use of their best asset. Given that Trump won the popular vote, maybe the shine is off being the anti-Trump network, and they are looking to re-brand. Perhaps something to do with actual news.
[FoxNews] Special Counsel Robert Hur's report called President Biden 'an elderly man with a poor memory'
CNN host Jake Tapper reminded Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., how he was "relentlessly harsh against Special Counsel Robert Hur" and his report on President Biden despite it being "pretty accurate."
During a segment on Thursday, Tapper brought up Schiff's questioning of President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, particularly after she claimed most Americans no longer trust the Justice Department.
Schiff blamed Republicans "trashing" the DOJ, but Tapper remarked that he and other Democrats have also attacked the Justice Department in the past.
"President Biden gave a pretty harsh assessment of the investigation into his son Hunter," Tapper began. "He basically threw the Justice Department under the bus there for those investigations. And Democrats, including you, were relentlessly harsh against Special Counsel Robert Hur for making an observation that proved pretty accurate, about how Joe Biden might appear to a jury as a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’"
"I was critical of that for good reason," Schiff argued. "And that is, you don’t put gratuitous personal observations like that in a prosecutorial memo. You just don’t. And it was done for a political reason. So it’s not that, you know, everyone, including special counsels, necessarily follow [Department of Justice] policy the way I believe they should. And when they don’t, I call it out. And as indeed I did, I disagreed with the president’s comments about the prosecution of his own son."
Schiff continued to blame Republicans for a "a multi-year campaign" to paint the Justice Department as the "deep state." Tapper briefly explained the context of Hur’s comments before moving on to another topic.
"I think Robert Hur would say he needed to explain why he wasn’t going to prosecute President Biden for what he thought was a violation of the law," Tapper said.
Though Hur found that Biden willfully retained classified materials in violation of the law, he ultimately wrote in his February report that he would not recommend charging him based on his diminished mental capacity.
"Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," Hur wrote.
Schiff viciously attacked Hur on this report when he questioned him during a House hearing in March.
The Main Stream Media did not just fail us, it deliberately played and schemed against US, the Voters.
It knowingly spewed lies and actively played the role of a Gov. Propaganda Machine, censoring actual facts and persons exposing the agenda of lies.
Instead, acting as an independent investigative reporting arm of a free, citizen/voter run nation, and keeping a suspiciously elected Government in check.
It joined the Regime/Coup and openly became a Propaganda tool.
Spewing a daily wave of lies:
* placing 100's of millions of US Citizens in harms way.
* placed the nation in a serious risk posture.
* that allowed shadow puppet government to operate.
* that incited 100's of 1,000's to loot and riot.
* all of which resulted in the harm and or death of 1,000's of US Citizens.
* that made the Elite $$$ Billions.
There is actually legal evidence of Brandon's cognitive testing from the FBI private interview. What was that, three years ago? All this signing, all this amendment process by tweet, all bullshit. I'd put together a wild weasel team to pursue that angle. It has to be blocked, because it has to, because if it would succeed anything signed comes undone. But just resources and illumination would put points on the board.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] CNN star 
CNN host 
