Category: Opinion

The U.S. coastal sea level is projected to rise by at least one foot over the course of the next 30 years, the same amount recorded over the last century, according to the nation’s leading climate researchers.

The expected sea-level rise will lead to a“profound increase” in coastal flooding, even if heavy rainfall remains at current levels, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said in an extensive 111-page technical report published Tuesday.

“This report is a wake-up call for the United States,” NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad remarked during a press briefing Tuesday.
Major and moderate“high tide flood events” are projected to become as frequent as moderate and minor flood events are today, according to the report. The researchers said domestic coastal infrastructure, communities, and ecosystems will face serious consequences from the tide level rise.

The urgent report blamed global warming for the increasing sea level, saying that conditions could worsen.
“Science is indisputable and urgent action is required to mitigate a climate crisis that is well underway,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

Nelson said that the report showed sea levels rising at a“very alarming rate” which was“endangering communities around the world.”
“For businesses along the coast, knowing what to expect and how to plan for the future is critical,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. “These updated projections will help businesses, and the communities they support, understand risks and make smart investments in the years ahead.”

White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said the report represented a“blinking code red” for the world. She said it’s imperative that the U.S. “redouble” its efforts to cut carbon emissions.

In an effort to combat climate change, President Joe Biden has pushed renewable energy alternatives to traditional fossil fuels, including solar and wind. The White House has outlined plans to ensure the entire U.S. grid is carbon-free by 2035 and the economy reaches net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Biden administration has also waged a war on traditional energy production, nixing the Keystone XL pipeline, ditching an oil drilling project in Alaska, and confirming it would review the possibility of shutting down a Michigan pipeline supplying fuel to much of the Midwest.
While 2021 was colder than 2019 and 2020, it marked the world’s sixth-warmest year on record, the NOAA said. A United Nations report released in August 2021 warned that the world was likely to warm more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

It took some time for former President Donald Trump to shake off now-discredited claims of collusion with Russia, and now revelations continue to surface about just how sophisticated the attempt to connect him to the Kremlin was.

The first attempt to spy on the Trump campaign came from the FBI in the form of the Steele Dossier, a bogus document trying to show Trump’s connection with Russia that the FBI used as an excuse to justify spying on Trump’s campaign. However, Special Counsel John Durham’s probe has uncovered many ways that Hillary Clinton’s campaign used to spy on Trump both before and after he entered office in an attempt to pin him on Russia Collusion.

A Friday filing from Durham alleges that the Clinton campaign hired a tech firm run by Rodney Joffe to “infiltrate” private servers that were kept at Trump Tower and then later at the White House. The goal was to dig up any information that might help link the Trump campaign to the Kremlin. The two-year investigation from Special Counsel Robert Mueller failed to do so.

Durham’s report states that information from the server would be used “to establish ‘an inference’ and ‘narrative’ tying then-candidate Trump to Russia.”

The report adds that Clinton operatives used the information they gathered and went to the CIA and FBI in an attempt to get the organizations to legitimize phony allegations by opening formal investigations.

Durham’s latest report centered on former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who was indicted for lying to federal agents in September. Sussmann worked with tech executive Rodney Joffe on the “infiltration” effort and then subsequently “assembled and conveyed the allegations to the FBI on behalf of at least two specific clients,” one of which was the Clinton campaign, according to Durham.

Trump’s servers continued to be penetrated even after they were moved to the White House, an act Trump himself described Saturday as punishable by death in a “stronger period of time” in the U.S.

“Tech Executive [Rodney Joffe], had come to access and maintain dedicated servers for the EOP [White House’s Executive Office of the President] as part of a sensitive arrangement whereby it provided DNS resolution services to the EOP,” Durham’s report reads. “Joffe and his associates exploited this arrangement by mining the EOP’s DNS traffic and other data for the purpose of gathering derogatory information about Donald Trump.”

Not only was the Trump campaign facing baseless surveillance from the FBI throughout 2016, but they were also facing hacking efforts directly from the Clinton campaign, according to Durham.

“‘The latest pleading from Special Counsel Durham proves indisputable evidence that my campaign and presidency were spied on by operatives paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign in an effort to develop a completely fabricated connection to Russia,” Trump wrote in a statement. “This is a scandal far greater in scope and magnitude than Watergate and those who were involved in and knew about this spying operation should be subject to criminal prosecution.”

“In a stronger period of time in our country, this crime would have been punishable by death. In addition, reparations should be paid to those in our country who have been damaged by this,” he added.

Police arrested a New Mexico resident after he stabbed eleven people while riding his bicycle Sunday evening, according to authorities.

The Albuquerque Police Department arrested 42-year-old Tobias Gutierrez and booked him into jail overnight for the stabbings of eleven victims along Central Avenue and Wyoming Blvd.

The first stabbing was reported Sunday at 11:15 a.m. and led officers to a man with a laceration on his hand. A few miles east a second call came in after Gutierrez ask a man for money, screamed obscenities at him, stabbed him in the arm, then rode away on his bicycle. Gutierrez continued on his stabbing spree attacking one victim at a homeless encampment and another in front of an apartment building. Police also responded to an incident where two victims sustained neck wounds after Gutierrez attempted to stab customers at a convenience store.

Some of the victims were treated and released, while others suffered serious injuries and were admitted to the hospital.

Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the stabbings appeared to be random and primarily took place along Central Avenue at various times.

“There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason,” Gallegos said.

Gutierrez has a criminal history of burglary, drug possession, and driving under the influence. In 2014, he failed to appear in court after being arrested for driving on a revoked license. He responded to the court with a handwritten note saying that he was in federal custody in another county and was working on improving himself.

According to newly filed court papers, Prince Andrew has resolved a sexual abuse complaint brought by complainant Virginia Giuffre in federal court in Manhattan.

Giuffre’s attorney David Boies wrote a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan explaining, “We write jointly with counsel for defendant to advise the Court that the parties reached a settlement.”

The amount of the settlement will not be revealed, according to the document, but Queen Elizabeth II’s middle son will make a significant payment to Giuffre’s foundation in support of victims’ rights.

In a civil suit filed in August, Giuffre claims that the Duke of York sexually abused her three times when she was under the age of 18 at the behest of late financier Jeffrey Epstein and notorious British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan slammed Democrats as well as the liberal media Monday for previously denying that the Clinton campaign spied on former President Donald Trump.

Reports released Friday by Special Counsel John Durham revealed that Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussman worked with tech executive Rodney Jaffe to put together data that would tie Trump to Russia. Reports also showed that Sussman regularly billed the Clinton Campaign for his work on the “Russia Bank-1” allegations.

Jordan said the new allegations of spying on the Trump campaign “is as wrong as it gets” and “even worse” they spied on a sitting president.

“This is what’s egregious and so wrong about it,” Jordan said. “You think about it, they spied on a presidential campaign, that’s as wrong as it gets. But then we found out from this filing that they actually spied on the sitting president which is even worse, so this is just simply as wrong as it can possibly be.”

The representative said that if Republicans reclaim the House in the 2022 midterm elections, the findings need to be investigated.

Jordan said that the Democratic election attorney Marc Elias may have collaborated with former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussman, who was indicted for making false statements to a federal agent in September 2021.

Jordan also called on former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to answer the report’s findings and said that the report was “worse than we thought.”

A 2018 release of a FISA warrant by the Department of Justice led Trump to accuse the FBI of spying on associates of his campaign.

In April 2019, Barr told the Senate that he believed spying occurred against the Trump campaign. He formed a commission to investigate the FBI’s spying on then-candidate Trump in 2016. He testified to Congress that he was concerned about the “conduct” of the FBI.

The NFL announced that they were fully “aware” that rapper Eminem was going to kneel during the Super Bowl LVI halftime performance after a publication had reported they were not.

“That report was erroneous,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement about a report that claimed Eminem was told he couldn’t kneel during the halftime show.

“We watched all elements of the show during multiple rehearsals this week and were aware that Eminem was going to do that,” he added.

Eminem along with Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar performed at the much-anticipated show.

Eminem took the stage where he performed a couple of his hits, then the rapper took a knee turn while performing “Lose Yourself.”

The superstar stayed down on one knee for a moment while Dre sat at the piano and played Tupac’s “I Ain’t Mad at Cha.”

The organization’s denial comes after The Puck had reported that the NFL was against Eminem kneeling during the halftime performance.

Kneeling became controversial in the NFL after former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began using it as a form of protest against police brutality and racial injustice. Eminem appeared to be paying tribute to Kaepernick’s protects.

The quarterback eventually opted out of his contract with the 49ers but never joined another NFL team because he was blacklisted by owners who opposed his anthem protests. Ultimately Kaepernick sued the NFL and received an undisclosed settlement.

A Florida medical examiner released a report detailing the circumstances behind the discovery of Brian Laundrie’s bones which were found in an environmental park late last year.

The 47-page report was issued Monday morning by Florida’s District Twelve Medical Examiner, nearly four months after finding Laundrie.

Investigators uncovered “a handwritten half note” at the site but the contents of the note were not detailed. They also discovered skeletal animal remains and a pair of green shorts, slip-on shoes, a backpack “with unknown contents,” a hat with a “MOAB Coffee Roasters” emblem, and a backpack “with unknown contents.”

Among the identified human remains were “multiple skull fragments along with the maxilla and mandible,” and several others.

Laundrie was a wanted man after it was revealed that he was a suspect in the murder and disappearance of Gabby Petito. The FBI had issued a warrant for his arrest based on accusations of illegal use of a bank card.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that COVID-19 “misinformation” and “false or misleading narratives” inspired violent terrorism during 2021 but refuses to provide proof to support their accusations.

DHS issued a terrorism advisory bulletin Monday warning the public about the dangers of online misinformation, which the agency said has been exploited by “threat actors” to inspire acts of terrorism.

“The United States remains in a heightened threat environment fueled by several factors, including an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors,” DHS said in the bulletin. “These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence.”

The agency specifically cited COVID-19 misinformation and false claims about election fraud as fueling violence.

“For example, there is widespread online proliferation of false or misleading narratives regarding unsubstantiated widespread election fraud and COVID-19. Grievances associated with these themes inspired violent extremist attacks during 2021,” the DHS bulletin said.

The agency offered no examples of violent terrorist attacks during 2021 that were inspired by false claims related to COVID-19, only the January 6 Capitol riot, that was inspired by election fraud claims.

The DHS bulletin also claimed that “threat actors” were attacking immigrants and stoking resentment toward Afghan migrants resettled in the U.S. following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

“A small number of threat actors are attempting to use the evacuation and resettlement of Afghan nationals following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan last year as a means to exacerbate long-standing grievances and justify attacks against immigrants,” the agency said.

Border Patrol in Del Rio had two separate encounters with two five-year-old girls crossing from Mexico into Texas without an accompanying adult over a two-day period.

Border agents discovered the girls in the Del Rio sector of the southwest border, where border agents have encountered more than 160 unaccompanied migrant children between Feb. 4-11, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a Friday press release. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021, border agents in the Del Rio sector encountered 2, 280 unaccompanied minors, compared to 1,305 during the same time period the previous year.

One of the 5-year-old girls from Guatemala was discovered on Feb. 7, walking alone near Eagle Pass where she told CBP agents that she had crossed the Rio Grande river alone.

The other 5-year-old girl from Honduras was encountered on Feb. 9 along with three other unaccompanied children, two 16-year olds and a 14-year-old all from Mexico that had entered the Del Rio Port of Entry. Each child had crossed the Rio Grande within an hour of one another before being encountered.

President of the National Border Patrol Council in the Del Rio sector Jon Anfinsen said that agents continue to encounter children that have made the dangerous journey. Many of them have horrifying outcomes. He said the dangers of a child crossing alone could cost them their life.

“Border Patrol agents keep finding small children abandoned at the edge of the Rio Grande river, and we’re grateful that these two are safe,” Anfinsen said. “But there have been other children who were not so lucky. For years, agents have found children in the river after drowning while trying to cross, and it has to stop.”

“Unfortunately, the policies of this administration are only encouraging parents to send their children on the dangerous trek across the border,” he added. “Until the White House and Congress figure out how to stem the flow across the border and create an orderly process for those seeking asylum, current policies are only going to lead to more children tragically drowning.”

Unaccompanied children are brought to border patrol stations, where they are identified and receive health screenings, according to CBP. In Del Rio at the Uvalde Border Patrol Station, juvenile coordinators aid in the care and processing of the children. Once processing is complete, the juvenile coordinators support the transfer of the children to the Office of Refugee Resettlement and Health and Human Services.

CBP did not comment on whether there was an effort to contact or locate the two young girls’ parents.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to be a speaker at the New York State Democratic Convention next week.

“She’s beloved by the mainstream members of the Democratic Party and her popularity is likely higher than that of President Biden,” a private source said. “It’s good for her because it keeps her relevant, and her appearance is likely meant to galvanize the party and the audience.”

According to the chief of staff to New York State Democratic Party chair the party “reached out to a number of people to speak and, you know, we’re waiting back on confirmation from a number of people. So there are a few things in the works.”

“We’ve reached out to a number of folks,” he said but wouldn’t confirm Clinton’s invitation adding, “we’re not going to say who we’ve reached out to.”

Clinton’s rumored appearance coincides with recent speculation that the former New York senator is considering a political comeback while polling numbers for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris continue to plummet.

Clinton swore in the past to not run for political office again, however, former allies of hers recently published an op-ed describing “a perfect storm in the Democratic Party” that could pave the way the way for Clinton to take another stab at the presidency.