Author: J.P. Knowles

A group of Republican House members composed a letter urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to “immediately remove” Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.

The letter was written in response to reports over Swalwell’s past connections with a Chinese spy, who had posed as a college student, worked her way into the good graces of up-and-coming American officials, and allegedly had sexual relations with two Midwestern mayors.

“Because of Rep. Swalwell’s position on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, his close interactions with Chinese intelligence services, however unintentional they may be, are an unacceptable national security risk,” they said in the letter.

They also noted that the committee “handles some of the most sensitive information our government possesses – information critical to our national defense… we urge you to immediately remove Rep. Swalwell from his position on the House Intelligence Committee.

The letter was signed by 17 representatives including Minority Whip Steve Scalise, Rep. Jim Banks, Rep. Chip Roy, Rep. Liz Cheney, and  Rep. Paul Gosar.

The group also pointed out that in 2017 Pelosi accused former Attorney General Jeff Sessions of being “not fit to serve” after reports revealed he failed to disclose to Congress several meetings with the Russian ambassador. Pelosi called for Sessions to resign at the time.

“Rep. Swalwell withheld information for five years from the House Intelligence Committee about an ongoing Chinese espionage operation targeted at him and his own colleagues,” the letter continues. “Obviously, Rep. Swalwell’s interactions with a Chinese spy were more dangerous and unusual than AG Session’s meetings with a Russian diplomat.”

The group of House members argued that Swalwell abused his position on the House Intelligence Committee by leveling attacks on “President Donald Trump’s unproven ties to Russia” while leaving out information about his own ties to the Chinese spy.

Senator Bernie Sanders is calling on his fellow Democrats to reject a $748 billion bipartisan coronavirus relief proposal because it does not include a second round of stimulus checks for millions of suffering Americans.

Sanders slammed the bill as “totally inadequate” and criticized his Democratic colleagues for supporting it after months of pushing for a $2.2 trillion emergency aid package.

“What kind of negotiation is it when you go from $3.4 trillion to $188 billion in new money? That is not a negotiation. That is a collapse,” said Sanders. “We cannot go home until there [are] strong unemployment benefits plus $1,200 per adult, $500 per kid for every working person and family in this country.”

The recent proposal of $748 billion includes funding for education, vaccine distribution, transportation, federal unemployment aid, and small business relief. A $160 billion add-on that has stalled negotiations for months would include aid for state and local governments and a liability shield for businesses against COVID-related lawsuits.

The members of the bipartisan group all agree on the lesser measure and requested that leaders bring it to the floor for a vote this week.

There’s been no word from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on the proposal but last week they indicated they would support a more targeted bill.

Sanders did say that he had given Schumer his opinion on the matter and urged Democrat leaders to not settle for the smaller bill.

“Democrats pass a $3.4 trillion bill, you have the Republicans in the administration talking about $1.8 trillion,” he said. “And now you’re down to about $188 billion in new money [in the bipartisan bill], which does not include one nickel in direct payments for working families in this country.”

He added, “Totally unacceptable, and this has got to be rejected.”

President-elect Joe Biden’s team of inauguration planners have said the event’s festivities will be cut way back and are asking supporters to refrain from coming to the White House to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Dr. David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner who was recently appointed chief medical adviser for the inauguration said in a statement, “The pandemic is continuing to have a significant public health impact across the nation. We are asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends, and communities.”

The moment when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take their oaths of office slated to take place on January 12 is usually a day filled with excitement and ceremonial splendor. Thousands of supporters and onlookers would gather to watch the monumental historic event.

But this time around Biden’s team is considering canceling the traditional ceremonial aspects, such as the luncheon with members of Congress and a pre-ceremony tea with the outgoing president.

The team said in a statement, “The ceremony’s footprint will be extremely limited, and the parade that follows will be reimagined.”

The inauguration committee is working closely with the production team that planned the Democratic National Convention. Their plans are to incorporate similar features into the election event such as the virtual roll call from every state.

There is still no word from President Trump on whether he will be attending the event. When asked about his attendance during a Fox News interview all he would say was, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

Trump still refuses to accept the results of the election even after the Electoral College confirmed Biden’s victory earlier this week.

Rumors are floating around that the president is planning to announce he will be running in the 2024 election on the same morning of Biden’s inauguration during one last big hurrah in Florida in an attempt to upstage the incoming president on his big day.

Since 2005 Reverend Raphael Warnock has been the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and now he is tossing his hat in the ring of politics by running to unseat Senator Kelly Loeffler.

That means everything he has ever said or done will be put under a microscope and come back to bite him in the butt.

In a 2013 speech, Warnock was asked to discuss the Nation of Islam’s to Christian churches, and if the “Black church” was having the same problems with attendance as “mainstream White churches and synagogues.”

Warnock responded by saying the Nation of Islam was an “important” voice for African Americans and compared Black power religions to “mainline Protestantism.”

He added that the Nation of Islam is “significant” but its numbers can’t hold a candle to Christian churches.

“Its voice has been important for the development of Black theology,” Warnock said, referring to an ideology created by Black preachers during the Civil Rights era to fight White supremacy within Christianity.

He explained, “It was the Black Muslims who challenged Black preachers and said, ‘you’re promulgating … the White man’s religion. That’s a slave religion. You’re telling people to focus on heaven, meanwhile, they’re catching hell.”

According to Warnack, the Nation of Islams was necessary to “put a fire” under Black preachers to keep them “honest” about the messages they were conveying.

However, the Nation’s message of Black empowerment has since been overshadowed by some of its more controversial theological teachings that label Jews as “satanic” and forbids race-mixing. The Southern Poverty Law Center would even go as far as to say the Nation of Islam is a “hate group.”

For over 40 years, Louis Farrakhan has led the Nation and has stirred up trouble over the decades with his incendiary remarks, most notable for his attacks on Jews, whom he has called “satanic” and “termites.”

Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush is considered the newest member of the “Squad” and she is calling on President-elect Joe Biden to grant clemency to the prisoners remaining on death row by arguing that execution is just “murder in the name of justice.”

“Joe Biden cannot leave the lives of those on death row in the hands of future presidents,” said Bush in a Time Magazine op-ed while addressing the Trump administration’s decision to continue federal executions.

Bush wrote, “If [Biden] truly opposes the death penalty he must do everything in his power to stop it for good. Granting clemency to all on federal death row is his most effective tool.”

She also said she would support legislation brought forward by another Squad member, Ayanna Pressley, that would ban the death penalty in response to violations of federal law.

But until that legislation becomes law, it is the responsibility of the executive branch to put an end to state-sanctioned murder.

“Ending the death penalty is about justice,” Bush explained. “It’s about mercy. It’s about putting a stop to this nation’s dark history of lynching and slavery. It’s about making it clear that our government should not have the power to end a life. We must build a fair criminal-legal system on a foundation of mercy, due process, and equity. We must break the cycles of death, devastation and trauma that have broken Black and brown communities like mine.”

On Thursday, the Trump administration carried out its ninth federal execution of the year and the first during a lame-duck period in 130 years, putting to death a gang-member from Texas for his role in the killing of a couple from Iowa.

Then on Friday, a Louisiana truck driver was also put to death for abusing his 2-year-old daughter for several weeks then killing her.

In an interview with “Fox & Friends,” President Trump said that he and his campaign will continue with their legal challenges against the election, despite the Electoral College casting their votes.

Trump said that even though the Supreme Court recently rejected a case brought on by Texas against several key swing states over their election procedures, he’s not done yet.

“No, it’s not over. We keep going and we’re going to continue to go forward. We have numerous local cases,” said the president while still claiming that he won Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia.

President Trump was asked about the Electoral College vote and he said that he understands there is a time crunch.

“We’re going to speed it up as much as we can, but you can only go so fast,” said Trump. “They give us very little time. But we caught them, as you know, as fraudulent, dropping ballots, doing so many things, nobody can even believe it.”

“This wasn’t like a close election,” Trump explained. “You look at Georgia. We won Georgia big. We won Pennsylvania big. We won Wisconsin big. We won it big.”

Trump expressed his worries about the U.S. “having an illegitimate president.”

When asked whether he would be attending Biden’s inauguration, Trump would only say, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

He also lashed out at the Supreme Court for throwing out the Texas case claiming that Georgia Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin changed their election statutes. The court’s reasoning was that the state did not have standing to sue over this issue.

“The Supreme Court, all they did is say we don’t have standing,” Trump argued. “So they’re saying essentially the president of the United States and Texas and these other states, great states, they don’t have standing.”

The Supreme Court explained their decision by saying that “Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.”

One of history’s most notorious killers from the 1960s and ’70s is still only known today as the “Zodiac Killer.” For years the only thing the police had to go by was an obscure sketch of the suspect, several taunting letters sent to the San Francisco Bay Area press, and a mysterious cipher called the “340 Cipher” that is made up of 340 different letters and characters.

For over 50 years the secret messages baffled the police and anyone who tried to crack its code.

Until now.

A team of code breakers in the United States, Australia, and Belgium claimed to have deciphered the letters and reported their findings to the FBI.

A spokesman for FBI San Francisco, Cameron Rogers Polan said in a statement, “The FBI is aware that a cipher attributed to the Zodiac Killer was recently solved by private citizens. The Zodiac Killer case remains an ongoing investigation for the FBI San Francisco Division and our local law enforcement partners.”

“The Zodiac Killer terrorized multiple communities across Northern California and even though decades have gone by, we continue to seek justice for the victims of these brutal crimes,” Polan continued. “Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, and out of respect for the victims and their families, we will not be providing further comment at this time.”

Team member and expert code breaker David Oranchak said one of the cipher’s messages includes, “I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me… I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradise all the sooner because I now have enough slaves to work for me.”

Oranchak spent many years studying the 340 Cipher. He said in an email to the Chronicle, “Last weekend, a team I’m on solved the 340 and submitted it to the FBI. They have confirmed the solution. No joke! This is the real deal.”

The solution, at last — Zodiac 340 cypher cracked by code expert 51 years after it was sent to the SF Chronicle https://t.co/YuVYPQQosg #ZodiacKiller

— Kevin Fagan (@KevinChron) December 11, 2020

 

The Zodiac Killer is believed to have been responsible for at least five murders in the San Francisco area in 1968 and 1969.

Unlike most other serial killers, the Zodiac Killer sent letters to the newspaper and police taunting them with the strange ciphers and letters in which he claimed to have killed as many as 37 people.

As of today, the identity of the killer remains unknown but he still has a spot on the list of history’s most infamous serial killers.

The armed suspect that opened fire during a Christmas concert outside of the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine in Harlem, New York, has been fatally shot by the police.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at 3:45 p.m. a man shouted “kill me” from the crowd and fired shots outside the church doors near the end of the caroling concert.

Shea said a police officer, a sergeant, and a community affairs detective were nearby and responded immediately. When they arrived at the scene they fired 15 shots into the gunman one of which struck him in the head. He was in critical condition when transported to a hospital and later died from his injuries.

Watch as @NYPDShea updates the media on a police involved shooting that took place earlier today at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. pic.twitter.com/8JMgP3WoBk

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 13, 2020

Shea thanked the officers for their brave actions.

“I can tell you from the preliminary body camera – and again, this is quick – that we watched, you see three officers acting heroically, sergeant, detective, and police officer engaging an armed perpetrator, putting themselves in harm’s way to pull people that are literally hiding behind these poles behind me caught in the crossfire,” he said. “So it is by the grace of God today that we don’t have anyone struck.”

Two semi-automatic firearms owned by the suspect were recovered by police at the scene.

These are the two guns recovered from the suspect at the scene of the shooting. pic.twitter.com/XSutdtpqwK

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 13, 2020

Police also found a bag nearby containing a full can of gasoline, rope, wire, multiple knives, a bible, and tape.

The identity of the gunman has not yet been released as police are waiting on fingerprint verification and an investigation into the motive behind the attack is being conducted.

There has been a shooting at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine after their Christmas concert—my Chief of Staff and press secretary who were present are safe. We don’t have a lot of information but our gratitude goes out to first responders @NYPD24Pct @NYPDnews.

— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer) December 13, 2020

“We don’t have a lot of information but our gratitude goes out to first responders,” Shea added.

But then the three younger kids in the group immediately wanted hot chocolate too. I offered to make them all some at home, and they could continue playing at our roof deck. They tried lobbying for Morningside Park, but the adults thought sunset was fast approaching.

— Shayoni Mitra (@ShayoniMitra) December 13, 2020

Mitra recalled the incident in a tweet, “We started walking back, me with two other Barnard colleagues one of whom with close ties to St John the Divine. And as we rounded to 110th street people were already running. One person said there was a shooting. We heard what sounded like loud hammering.”

The cathedral issued a statement saying that everyone connected to the church attending the event is safe.

“It is horrible that our choir’s gift to New York City, a much-needed afternoon of song and unity, was cut short by this shocking act of violence. We will remain strong, together, and serve as a safe space for prayer, meditation and celebration during the upcoming holiday season,” the church wrote.

The church’s statement continued, “We are grateful to our first responders, and our prayers are with all those affected by this event.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware is taking a hard look into Hunter Biden’s “tax affairs” in an investigation that began back in 2018.

The president-elect’s son said,” I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs. I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.”

According to a source, Hunter Biden could be the subject or target of the grand jury investigation. The source said that being a “subject” means you “don’t know for sure” if someone committed a crime and a “target” is a person with a “high probability” of having committed a crime. They added that Joe Biden is not currently a subject of any grand jury investigation.

The source also said that this investigation was partly predicated by Suspicious Activity Reports in regards to suspicious overseas transactions from “China and other foreign nations.”

A Treasury Department official would not comment on the investigation but said that SARs are only filed by financial institutions “if there is something out of the ordinary about a particular transaction.”

The official pointed out that just because a SARs is filed doesn’t necessarily mean there has been a criminal act or violation of regulations but merely flags that a transaction is “out of the ordinary” for the customer.

However, the official noted that a SAR could be part of a money laundering or tax investigation.

Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the FDA state and local health departments and providers will need more funding from the government to get the vaccinations out to the public.

This update came after the members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to approve the COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 years and older. ACIP member and pediatrician at the University of California Los Angeles, Dr. Peter Szilagyi said there is a big need for “substantially increased government funding to actually implement the recommendation.”

“I know we’re going to have very tough and sad times ahead because of the surge and a limited vaccine supply,” said Szilagyi, “but I am really hopeful that this is the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Dr. Beth Bell, an ACIP member and a clinical professor of global health at the University of Washington, emphasized Szilagyi’s comments, saying it wouldn’t be unfair to compare how much funding the federal government contributed for the vaccine’s development to how little was provided for distributing the shots.

Bell said, “I think that the imbalance between that kind of money and the funding that has been provided for the vaccination programs and for implementation is really shocking and needs to be corrected because we are not going to be able to protect the American public if we don’t have a way to deliver the vaccines to them.”