Author: J.P. Knowles

President Joe Biden was guided away from a group of people Monday during the White House’s Easter Egg Roll after someone in the crowd asked him about Afghanistan.

Biden was answering questions about Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying “Afghanistan should be [inaudible] people free.” A giant Easter bunny, aka White House director of message planning Meg Hays, walked up to the president, stepped in between the president and the crowd and shuffled him away.

Monday marked the first Easter Egg Roll at the White House since the pandemic began. A video which was posted on Twitter shows Biden and First Lady Jill Biden speaking to the crowd and wishing everyone a “happy, happy Easter.”

“All of you, have fun today. Welcome to the White House, welcome to your house, and happy, happy Easter.”

The First Lady then begins to wave before telling Biden twice to “wave.”

The White House event that dates back to 1878, transformed the South Lawn into a school community in line with the First Lady’s “EGGucation” theme. Guests could enjoy a reading nook, basketball and football and an egg hunt.

Newly released 911 audio tapes captured an intruder’s screams of pain after rapper DaBaby shot him outside of his North Carolina home Wednesday.

DaBaby shot the unwelcome guest in the leg and then called 911 as the injured man continued to scream in the background while the rapper spoke to the dispatcher.

DaBaby stood next to the wounded trespasser while speaking to the 911 dispatcher. When the dispatcher requested information about the incident, DaBaby answered that someone had entered his property.

“I shot him in his leg,” he said. “He’s trespassing on my property and called me by my name,” the star could be heard saying on the 911 audio.

The intruder can clearly be heard screaming on the tape. When the dispatcher asked if he was breathing, DaBaby replied “yes, he’s shot in his leg.” When asked if there was any serious bleeding, DaBaby’s response was, “I’ve got to say yes, bro,” according to the audiotape.

The rapper seemed irritated by the dispatcher’s questions when he was asked if the intruder was “completely alert.” DaBaby replied, “Do you not hear this man, bro?”

The dispatcher ask DaBaby to secure his weapon, and he answered that it was secure “right here in my hand.” He said, “I’m not putting it down.” The rapper described an open area behind a wall on his property where the intruder had entered and said he was going to keep his gun in his hand. “I need to make sure there’s nobody with him that’s sneaking up on me,” he said.

DaBaby gave another update on the screaming victim’s condition saying, “he’s still good, he’s still breathing,” he told the dispatcher.

The trespasser was taken to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening wound.

The Treasury Department announced new sanctions Thursday against an Ethereum wallet belonging to a North Korean state-backed group of hackers known as the Lazarus Group.

The wallet was stolen from the Ronin Network and contains roughly $615-$620 million in the Ether and USDC tokens. The assets were linked to the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity, which was developed and run by Sky Mavis.

The March 2022 hack is likely the largest loss of digital assets in history.

The FBI has identified links between the hack and the North Korean Lazarus Group, leading to sanctions against the wallet. To ensure that the group cannot “cash out” the funds, American citizens and entities are no longer allowed to make transactions with the wallet.

“The FBI continues to combat malicious cyber activity including the threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the U.S. and our private sector partners,” the FBI wrote in a statement. “Through our investigation we were able to confirm Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors associated with the DPRK, are responsible for the theft of $620 million in Ethereum reported on March 29. The FBI, in coordination with Treasury and other U.S. government partners, will continue to expose and combat the DPRK’s use of illicit activities – including cybercrime and cryptocurrency theft – to generate revenue for the regime.”

The Lazarus Group has been tied to several major cyberattacks, including the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures. The latest attack comes amid concerns that digital assets will be used by North Korea and Russia to evade U.S. sanctions.

On Friday, firefighters from New Jersey rappelled down an elevator shaft to save six children who were trapped inside an industrial elevator that became stuck between levels.

According to the Daily Voice, police and firefighters were dispatched to Rockin’ Jump, a trampoline park in Wayne, New Jersey, at 5 p.m.

Six children, aged 10 to 14, were found inside an elevator car that had been stuck near the ground floor and whose doors would not open, according to police.

According to Wayne Fire Company #5, firefighters and an elevator mechanic attempted to reset the elevator for almost an hour without success.

With the temperature inside the elevator reaching deadly levels, firefighters decided that the only choice was a rope rescue.

“Elevator rope rescues are always a last resort and only performed when all other options have been exhausted or the quick removal of the patient is crucial to their well-being,” the fire department explained.

To access the stopped car, firefighters set up a pulley system on a higher floor and lowered two firefighters around 25 feet down the elevator shaft.

Each child was securely lifted out of the elevator after being secured. There were no injuries to the youngsters or firefighters.

On Thursday, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation prohibiting abortions beyond 15 weeks.

The bill only allows abortions after 15 weeks if there is a “fatal fetal defect,” and there are no exceptions for rape or incest. The rule reduces the amount of time an abortion can be performed by nine weeks, although abortions were previously prohibited in the state after 24 weeks.

DeSantis stressed that the law is just one part of his pro-life agenda, noting that it also includes funding to expand the number of infant mortality review boards across the state.

“If you’re looking at what we’ve done this week, we’re promoting fatherhood in Florida,” DeSantis said. “We want our kids to have dads in the home. We want the fathers present and to take responsibility. It’s the most important thing you can do is to take responsibility for the upbringing of your kids.”

Florida Enacts Protections for Unborn Babies at 15 Weeks https://t.co/IeOANY8LxM

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 14, 2022

At the bill signing, DeSantis was joined by a large number of pro-life protestors. Some campaigners told of regrettable abortions, while others told of adopting infants who had survived abortion attempts.

“There are two types of people that have led me to speak up,” said Heather Grall-Barwick, who said she had an abortion when she was 21. “The women who say that abortion does not cause mental distress, and the women in their 70s who had abortions and testified that just now they’re able to speak about them and the regret that they have felt for over 40 years.”

“I made a mistake that I cannot change, but I can let others learn from my mistake,” she added.

The law is expected to take effect on July 1st. DeSantis’ decision comes after Texas passed a six-week abortion ban. Last year, Mississippi similarly enacted a 15-week abortion restriction. The Supreme Court has heard challenges to both the Mississippi and Texas laws. The Texas ban will remain in effect while the issue is being decided by the Supreme Court, which is a contentious choice in and of itself.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor chastised her colleagues for allowing the restriction to remain in place until December.

“The chilling effect has been near total, depriving pregnant women in Texas of virtually all opportunity to seek abortion care within their home State after their sixth week of pregnancy,” she said. “The Court instead hides behind a wooden reading of Young, stitching out-of-context quotations into a cover for its failure to act decisively.”

New Jersey public elementary school students could soon be taught that puberty blockers are an acceptable way to “manage” puberty and that masturbating “a few times a day” is a healthy way to relieve stress, according to sample lesson plans being reviewed by state school districts.

New Jersey public school students as young as second grade will be taught lessons related to gender identity under state sex education guidelines that will take effect in September.

State Sen. Holly Schepisi, a Republican said the materials are “completely overboard with cringy detail for young kids.”

One of the fifth-grade lesson plans titled “It’s All About the Hormones,” requires students to watch an animated video called, “Puberty and Transgender Youth.”

“Whether you identify as male, female, gender queer or something else, you’re perfectly normal, and there are lots of ways to manage puberty so that it can be a fun, exciting time rather than a scary or stressful one,” the video says.

“If you feel you want more time to explore how you feel about your gender before your body starts to change, it’s important to talk with a parent, counselor, therapist or doctor about the feelings you have regarding your gender,” the video continues. “After some discussion and counseling, you may be referred to an endocrinologist. Endocrinologists specialize in hormones, and they’re the most likely to prescribe puberty blockers for someone who wants them. Puberty blockers are medications that will stop your body from changing.”

Another fifth grade lesson includes a video called, “Masturbation: Totally Normal,” that teaches kids that masturbating up to “a few times a day” is a “physically safe way to express sexual feelings.” The animated video shows a boy dropping his pants and writhing under a blanket until he finishes and grabs a tissue. A similar video targeting girls promotes masturbation as “a way to relieve stress” and shows a girl examining herself with a hand-held mirror.

A lesson titled “What is Love Anyway?,” instructs students to watch an AMAZE video about sexual orientation.

“While many people know their sexual orientation at a very young age, it is also common at this age to feel confused about your thoughts and feelings regarding who you find attractive,” the video says. “In fact, you may find yourself thinking about people of the same sex and of the opposite sex and be unsure.”

A spokesperson for Westfield Public Schools said last week that the teaching materials were a “sample list of resources” aligned with state policy.

Republicans like Schepisi say the proposed lessons cross a line.

“I truly think New Jersey has lost its damn mind,” she wrote.

Concerning the broader state plan to teach kids as young as 7 about gender identity, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said it’s “just a further indication of the crazy liberal policies of my successor, Phil Murphy.”

“He’s on the left of the progressive movement, and this kind of stuff just should not be going on,” Christie said on Monday. “But the fact is that the individual school districts in New Jersey feel empowered by the people who are now in charge of education. Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey and his, you know, the people he’s absolutely beholden to the teachers union and the mayor in New Jersey. Those are the people who are running the show now, and it’s just wrong.”

Instagram model Courtney Clenney was spotted with her father at the Grand Beach Hotel’s lobby bar after the April 3 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Christian Tobechukwu Obumseli.

In a video that was posted to social media, Clenney and her father can be seen getting up and leaving the hotel lobby while another guest shouts at them to go.

“You should go. Yeah, you should go,” the guest tells Clenney and her father in the video.

Charges have not been filed in the case and Clenney’s lawyer, Frank Preito, claims she was defending herself.

Preito said that Clenney and her father were staying at the hotel because they are cooperating with the Miami Police Department in the investigation, and she did not want to stay in her Miami apartment where the fatal stabbing occurred last weekend.

“It is unfortunate that a member of the public, knowing absolutely nothing about the circumstances and events surrounding the death of Mr. Obumseli, would take the opportunity to harass the Clenney family during a time when they are trying to be supportive of Courtney,” Prieto said. “Courtney was seated at a table in the hotel lobby area where there is also a bar. Courtney’s father was standing there trying to order a drink to take outside so they could be in private on the beach.”

The attorney claimed “Courtney is a victim of physical, emotional and mental abuse at the hands of Mr. Obumseli” based on his firm’s investigation of the incident.

“We are also investigating whether Courtney was the victim of human trafficking,” he added.

“Mr. Obumseli was in the act of committing a forcible felony that tragic evening last Sunday. He had previously gained access to Courtney’s apartment without permission on several occasions in the days leading up to that night,” Prieto said. “Courtney acted in self-defense; the investigation by both the City of Miami Police Department and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office will conclude such. With that said, we would ask for the public’s understanding about observing the Clenney family’s privacy at this time.”

Video was captured of a distraught woman drenched in blood, handcuffed and sitting on a balcony speaking with police.

Authorities said they had interviewed a woman who was involved in “a physical altercation” with Obumseli and that homicide detectives were investigating. A law enforcement source said that Clenney was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.

Pop superstar Britney Spears indicated Monday that she’s pregnant leaving her fans confused.

Spears wrote, “I lost so much weight to go on my Maui trip only to gain it back … My husband said “No you’re food pregnant silly !!! So I got a pregnancy test … and uhhhhh well … I am having a baby. 4 days later I got a little more food pregnant. It’s growing !!! If 2 are in there …I might just loose it … I obviously won’t be going out as much due to the paps getting their money shot of me like they unfortunately already have.”

“it’s hard because when I was pregnant I had perinatal depression … I have to say it is absolutely horrible … women didn’t talk about it back then … some people considered it dangerous if a woman complained like that with a baby inside her … but now women talk about it everyday … thank Jesus we don’t have to keep that pain a reserved proper secret … This time I will be doing yoga every day !!! Spreading lots of joy and love !!!” Spears concluded the Instagram caption, suggesting that she is indeed pregnant with her third child.

Spears already shares two children with ex-husband Kevin Federline, Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden James, 15.

Spears has been open about her desire to have more children, which was a key point in the fight to end her conservatorship.

The pop star’s wording in the post has left fans confused about whether she’s having a baby-baby or a food-baby.

A 72-year-old woman who is accused of hate crimes against her neighbor has agreed to sell her Seattle-area home as part of a civil agreement with the victim and her family.

As part of the agreement, Jan Myers, who is white, is expected to sell her home in Shoreline, Washington, within the next six months and pay the victim, Thi Pham, who is Vietnamese American $45,000 from that sale. If Myers does not move before the six months is up the case could be referred to a civil jury.

In April 2021 Pham said she was in her front yard when she noticed Myers in the road staring at her as she began to move her car back and forth. Fearful about what could happen next, Pham began recording Myers as she yelled several racial slurs and threats.

In the video, Myers is heard calling Pham “slant eye” and “Miss Vietnam” and threatening “you’re not going to live very long.” Pham told police that two weeks prior Myers had walked onto her patio naked from the waist down making obscene gestures in front of her two-year-old son.

Myers was charged with a hate crime in April 2021, but was released without bail shortly after. Pham and her husband, Bill Healy, filed a civil lawsuit in King County Superior Court in August 2021, claiming Myers had violated a no contact order and continued to harass them. The couple claim that Myers screamed at them and drove her car directly at Healy.

Attorneys for Pham and Healy announced the civil settlement Thursday.

“I am happy that I can safely live in my home without racial harassment,” Pham said. “We hope Jan Myers follows through the agreement and move quickly.”

“That was what made it very difficult, is when I realized my wife and my family, their physical well-being and their life was being threatened by this person,” Healy said.

“We need to make the people who are harassing people because of their race pay and make them pay the victim,” Pham and Healy’s attorney Jeffery Campiche added.

The next hearing in the criminal case is set for April 25. Myers’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 8.

President Joe Biden authorized $800 million in additional military assistance for Ukraine on Tuesday.

The latest military assistance brings the total aid money given to Ukraine since the invasion began to over $2.4 billion. The newly approved aid will provide “weapons, ammunitions, and other security assistance,” as well as “new capabilities” not previously given by the administration, Biden said in a statement.

“This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine,” Biden said. “These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers. I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters. In addition, we continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from our Allies and partners around the world.”

Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the latest package Tuesday, according to the White House.

“The Ukrainian military has used the weapons we are providing to devastating effect. As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself,” Biden added.

While speaking in Iowa on Monday Biden described Putin’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide” for the first time. He doubled down on his comment shortly afterwards, noting that they’d “let the lawyers decide, internationally, whether or not it qualifies.”

“The evidence is mounting,” the president said. “We’ll let the lawyers decide, internationally, whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.”

Zelenskyy commended Biden’s declaration afterwards, tweeting that they were “true words of a true leader.”