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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Suffered Injury While in East Palestine
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Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine was injured during a tour of East Palestine, where a train derailment led to the release of hazardous materials earlier this month.

Mr DeWine suffered a displaced distal fibula fracture above his ankle during the tour of the community last week amid calls for his resignation over his handling of the crisis.

The governor’s office told Fox 8 Cleveland that Mr DeWine will have to wear a walking boot for the next several weeks.

Mr DeWine told the Columbus Dispatch that his “foot caught on something” as he walked down the stairs of the First Church of Christ on Tuesday.

“I’m fine,” he told the paper on Sunday. “I’m just not walking my dog as much.”

A health assessment clinic has been set up at the church following the 3 February train derailment.

Both the governor and the Environmental Protection Agency were the subjects of protests at the weekend, with Mr DeWine facing calls that he leaves his role.

The EPA has told the train company, Norfolk Southern, to “temporarily pause” the shipping of waste to disposal areas located in Michigan and Texas, according to Newsweek.

Lawmakers and worried residents outside of Ohio have urged the EPA to dispose of the waste in the state. The EPA said on Sunday that the waste would now be handled at two sites within the state and noted that it has “decades of experience dealing with hazardous waste”.

The federal agency took charge of the handling of the waste over the weekend after Norfolk Southern had previously been “solely responsible”.

After the derailment, toxic chemicals were found in the soil near the site of the crash and in waterways in the area.

Following the lifting of an evacuation order, returning residents have reported experiencing symptoms connected to being exposed to toxic chemicals; and those living in the area with private wells have been told to drink bottled water.

Mr DeWine visited the area when the evacuation order ended on 8 February. He hasn’t declared the incident to be an emergency or a disaster, limiting the federal response.

On Saturday, protesters gathered at the Ohio governor’s mansion in Bexley, east of Columbus, chanting “Mike must resign”.

The EPA has said that the shipping of waste would start again on Monday, with some liquid waste being taken to an underground injection well in Vickery, Ohio and some solid waste to an incinerator in East Liverpool.

Fifth region administrator Debra Shore said during a press briefing on Sunday that “all of this is great news for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding community because it means clean-up can continue at a rapid pace”.

“We owe it to East Palestine and residents nearby to move waste out of the community as quickly as possible,” she added.

She noted that further possible disposal sites were being sought.

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Read 49 Comments
  • sheila says:

    Talk about Karma….though it should have been his neck to qualify as Karmic Justice.

  • JD says:

    Why are they upset with DeWine? Schumer had already started lying that the train wreck was caused by Pres Trump and the policies Trumps administration set into play. Biden and his band of idiots are as clean as the wind driven snow.

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    The case centered around whether mail-in ballots that were mailed in time but either possessed an incorrect date or no date at all under the voter’s signature should be counted, NPR noted.

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    States have separate bodies of rules for separate stages of the voting process. One stage, voter qualification, deals with who votes. To register and thus be authorized to vote, applicants must follow prescribed steps and meet certain requirements. It’s like obtaining a license to drive. Another stage deals with how ballots are cast by those previously authorized to vote, which is governed by a different set of rules. To cast a ballot that is valid and will be counted, all qualified voters must abide by certain requirements, just like those authorized to drive must obey the State’s traffic laws like everyone else.

    The Materiality Provision is an important federal overlay on state election requirements during the “who” stage: voter qualification. It prohibits States from denying an applicant the right to vote based on an error or omission in paperwork involving his application if that mistake is immaterial in determining whether he is qualified to vote. That is, it is triggered when conduct or laws restrict who may vote. But it leaves it to the States to decide how qualified voters must cast a valid ballot. Pennsylvania has made one such rule—the date requirement—mandatory. The federal Materiality Provision, in our view, does not interfere.

    In the wake of the decision, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley stated:

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    Trump Meets with Emotional Family, Friends of Slain Officer at Wake, Calls for ‘Toughening Up’ Law and Order

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    Former President Donald Trump addressed mourners and the media outside of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s wake on Thursday, calling for the “toughening up” of law and order.

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    Sam Bankman Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

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    A federal judge on March 28 sentenced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors of $8 billion in the fallen cryptocurrency exchange.

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    “The defendant’s assertion that FTX customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading, it is logically flawed, it is speculative,” Judge Kaplan said. “A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole.”

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    IDENTIFIED: ‘Knifeman’, 22, Charged After Four People Were Killed

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    The man accused of slaughtering four people and injuring others during a brutal rampage in Illinois on Wednesday has been charged with multiple counts of murder, attempted murder and home invasion.

    Christian Ivan Soto, 22, was booked into Winnebago County Jail in the early hours of Thursday, around 12 hours after the bloody killing spree began.

    In total, four people are dead, including a 15-year-old girl and a 49-year-old mailman. The other victims were a 22-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman.

    Witnesses described Soto as being ‘bloodied’ and ‘resisting arrest’ as he was hauled away by arresting officers.

    During a press conference in the aftermath of the horror, the local police chief said that investigators had not uncovered a ‘clear motive’ for the bloodshed that occurred around 90 miles west of Chicago.

    Police in the area responded to a series of locations at 1:14pm after receiving calls about a burglary. From there, a manhunt began resulting in the suspect being arrested in the vicinity at 1:35pm.

    One victim, who survived, was stabbed in the face as she tried to escape the deranged attacker.

    Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, one died later at a local hospital.

    Five other people were rushed to local hospitals to be treated for injuries, four were released as one person is still being treated in serious condition.

    ‘We are reeling as a community from another senseless act of violence,’ Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara told the media in the aftermath of the tragedy.

    One local, Eric Patterson, told the Rockford Register Star that he saw two teenagers bloodied from an attack and a middle aged woman being taken away in an ambulance.

    Patterson said that the mailman was run over by a pick up truck. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd earlier confirmed that not all of the victims were stabbed but none were a shot

    ‘We don’t have a clear motive in regard to what caused this individual to commit such heinous crimes,’ the chief added.

    Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana told the media that one of the victims was stabbed as they tried to stop the attacker from fleeing the area. That person is not among those killed.

    ‘She young lady ran from him. She got some stab wounds in her hands and in her face. She is currently at a hospital, and she is intubated. She is in serious condition,’ he said.

    Caruana said another of the victims was a ‘young female’ who ran from a home that the attacker broke into.

    Vanessa Hy, who lives in the community, described the scene when the cops descended on the sleepy town.

    ‘All of a sudden, we heard police run up on both sides of the house screaming: “Stop! Get down!” Then they ran into the backyard and after a few minutes we saw them bringing the suspect down the driveway in handcuffs and he was very bloody,’ Hy told WREX-TV.

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    Redd said residents in the area were being asked to review their home surveillance camera footage for anything related to the attacks.

    Rockford’s population is about 150,000 and it’s 90 miles (145 kilometers) miles northwest of Chicago. The violence Wednesday came days after a teenage employee of a Walmart in Rockford was stabbed and killed inside the store.

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    Venezuelan TikToker Grimaces in His Mugshot After Being Nabbed by ICE for Crossing Into US Illegally

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    The mugshot of the Venezuelan migrant who shares tips on how to live off the US government on social media has been revealed.

    Leonel Moreno, 27, has been on the run from immigration since he crossed the border at Eagle Pass, Texas, illegally in April 2022, ICE told DailyMail.com.

    ICE had lost track of Moreno until his videos telling migrants how to live off the state started going viral. They now have him listed as possibly living in Columbus, Ohio.

    The migrant’s TikTok account @leitooficial_25, where he had amassed half a million followers, was suspended after his controversial clips.

    A spokesman for TikTok told DailyMail.com the platform doesn’t allow users to promote criminal activities.

    Moreno enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, which lets migrants on parole go free while officials track them until their next court date. But he didn’t show up for his court date in Miami in November, 2022, and is now listed as an ‘absconder’ from the program.

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    ‘I am in danger of death in the US! I need protection! I am being persecuted! My account has been blocked!’ he said as liquid dropped from his nose.

    ‘My people, I need you to pay attention to what’s happening because my family is on danger. They erased my TikTok accounts. I have received threats from powerful people. Help!’

    In another video he added: ‘My people, they have gotten what they wanted! The envy has reached my family! Everything that’s happening is because of your evilness!

    ‘The want to silence me!’

    It appears Moreno does not plan on stopping his particular brand of content, as he shared a clip on Wednesday counting hundred dollar bills and saying he doesn’t need to work to make money.

    In one of his now-viral videos, Moreno instructed his followers how to ‘invade’ American homes and invoke squatter’s rights, claiming that under US law, ‘if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.’

    Moreno also made headlines in February, after he demanded Venezuelans unite to help a 15-year-old migrant accused of shooting a tourist and trying to kill a NYPD officer in Times Square.

    The videos have been widely shared as Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country’s collapse become one of the largest nationalities arriving at the US-Mexico border.

    Venezuelans have taken to social media to denounce him as a troll, accusing him of using their situation to become an influencer while sparking hatred against migrants who plan on working for a better life in the US.

    ‘He’s gone absolutely viral for all the wrong reasons and is a complete an utter embarrassment and disgrace to my home country,’ wrote Daniel Laplana on X.

    ‘I have nothing but contempt for the guy and his insufferable caricature of a Venezuelan migrant,’ said Venezuelan-American Rafael Estruve, president of Houston Young Republicans.

    ‘His charade is gross blend of incompetence and arrogance put on full display, and he is by far one of the absolute worst representations of Venezuelans on a public platform.’

    Others accused Moreno or ‘rage baiting’ many Venezuelans believe he is purposely trying to stoke anger in order to receive more views and be profitable on TikTok as the US receives record numbers of Venezuelans.

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    On Friday, Moreno livestreamed himself sleeping, with as many as 270 people watching the static image and sending donations.

    One of the comments left by his fans read: ‘Making money while you sleep jajaja you are the best.’

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    In several clips Moreno shows viewers a the filthy area under a bridge that he claims would serve as a great living space while saving to rent a home.

    Many of his fans appear to see Moreno as some sort of comedian, with comments claiming he is playing up the stereotype of a migrant in the US.

    However, regardless of Moreno’s intentions or real positions, his comments have sparked outrage among Americans already concerned with the crisis at the border, largely fueled by Venezuelans fleeing socialism.

    One comment on Moreno’s TikTok read: ‘We Americans are going to vote for politicians in November that will deport you back to Venezuela as soon as possible.’

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    News

    Judge Rules Ex-Trump Lawyer John Eastman Should Lose Law License

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    A California judge on Wednesday recommended disbarring a lawyer at the center of former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

    State Bar Judge Yvette Roland found John Eastman culpable on 10 of the 11 counts filed by the California State Bar last year. The state bar sought to strip Eastman’s license to practice law in the state due to his “false and misleading statements” about purported election fraud and his role in “provoking” the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

    “In view of the circumstances surrounding Eastman’s misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends that Eastman be disbarred,” Roland wrote in a 128-page decision.

    The judge also recommended that Eastman be ordered to pay $10,000 in monetary sanctions to the State Bar of California Client Security Fund.

    Eastman’s legal team said he would appeal Wednesday’s ruling, and the case will ultimately end up before the California Supreme Court. In the meantime, the judge ordered Eastman be transferred to inactive status, meaning he won’t be able to practice law.

    Roland’s ruling follows a trial last year that lasted more than 30 days, at which Eastman himself testified. Just before the proceedings concluded in November, the judge found Eastman preliminarily culpable. Roland was appointed by Toni Atkins, a Democrat who at the time was Speaker of the California State Assembly.

    Eastman spearheaded the legal strategy attempting to subvert the election results in several key 2020 states, including by using slates of alternate electors to swing the election’s outcome in Trump’s favor. The plan also relied on then-Vice President Mike Pence throwing out the real electors for the “fake” ones, with Eastman writing memos that spurred the pressure campaign on Pence.

    Roland wrote in her decision that Eastman exhibited an unwillingness to admit to “any ethical lapses” in his behavior.

    “This lack of remorse and accountability presents a significant risk that Eastman may engage in further unethical conduct, compounding the threat to the public,” the judge wrote.

    Though Roland’s ruling marks a significant legal defeat for Eastman, she did side with him on one of his 11 counts.

    The state bar accused Eastman of moral turpitude over his Jan. 6 Ellipse speech, connecting it to the violence later in the day, but the judge dismissed the count after finding the bar “presented no evidence to show that Eastman’s statements contributed to the assault on the Capitol.”

    In court filings, Eastman’s lawyers described the disbarment proceedings as “Orwellian,” insisting he was fulfilling his ethical duty to zealously represent Trump’s interests and that he had a First Amendment right to make his public statements at Trump’s Jan. 6 rally and elsewhere.

    “Dr. Eastman maintains that his handling of the legal issues he was asked to assess after the November 2020 election was based on reliable legal precedent, prior presidential elections, research of constitutional text, and extensive scholarly material,” Eastman’s legal team said in a statement following the ruling.

    “The process undertaken by Dr. Eastman in 2020 is the same process taken by lawyers every day and everywhere – indeed, that is the essence of what lawyers do,” the statement continued.

    The state bar insisted that Eastman was fabricating “an illusion of legality to an illegal effort,” demanding he be disbarred.

    “Every California attorney has the duty to uphold the constitution and the rule of law,” Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona, whose office brought the discipline charges, said in a statement.

    “Mr. Eastman repeatedly violated that duty. Worse, he did so in a way that threatened the fundamental principles of our democracy,” Cardona continued.

    Eastman also faces criminal charges alongside Trump in Georgia, where they and more than a dozen other Trump allies are accused of attempting to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. Eastman has pleaded not guilty to the eight counts he faces.

    Several other lawyers connected to Trump’s 2020 campaign have also faced repercussions for their false claims of election fraud and efforts to swing the election in the former president’s favor.

    Longtime Trump ally Rudy Giuliani had his New York law license suspended in 2021, and a D.C. Bar Association disciplinary panel said in June his license in the district should be revoked. Ex-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis was publicly censured in Colorado for her false statements tied to the election, and lawyer Lin Wood retired after the State Bar of Georgia said it would not pursue disciplinary proceedings against him should he do so.

    A disciplinary trial for lawyer Jeffrey Clark, an ex-Justice Department official who helped Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, is also underway. The D.C. Bar’s Board of Professional Responsibility is attempting to strip his law license for using “the authority of the Department of Justice to overturn the election, based on a lie.”

    Eastman also holds a law license in Washington, D.C.

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    George Soros Pledged $1 Million to ‘Hamas Propaganda’ Organization Linked to Terrorism

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    The philanthropy of Democratic megadonor George Soros has awarded at least $1 million combined in grants over the last decade to a group in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with deep ties to Palestinian terrorists, financial disclosures show.

    In its own telling, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights exists “to promote respect for and protection of human rights,” particularly in Palestinian territories. Public records tell another story: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, which is accusing Israel of genocide for retaliating against Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack last year and calling on the United Nations and other bodies to investigate the Jewish state, hosts events with terrorists and is led by people with sprawling connections to Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

    But to Soros, these ties do not appear to pose an issue. His $25 billion left-wing Open Society Foundations grantmaking network “is proud to be among the many international funders of Al Mezan, alongside the European Union and governments including Sweden and the Netherlands,” OSF spokesman Jonathan Kaplan told the Washington Examiner.

    Kaplan, the former State Department communications director under former President Barack Obama, declined to comment on Al Mezan’s ties to terrorists when provided with examples.

    The checks to Al Mezan underscore how the Soros-backed OSF has long helped keep the lights on for sympathizers and allies of terrorists attacking Israel. Soros, 93, is Jewish and a Holocaust survivor.

    And after Oct. 7, a day that saw Palestinian terrorists massacre more than 1,200 Israelis, the billionaire’s grants to anti-Israel zealots domestically and overseas have come under heightened scrutiny from terrorism financing experts and Republicans: They are concerned his staggering wealth could be falling into the hands of violent factions going to war against the Jewish state.

    ‘Hamas propaganda’

    Since at least 2012, funding from the Soros-backed network flowed into the Gaza-based group from his Foundation to Promote Open Society and Open Society Institute, two separate nonprofit organizations registered with the IRS. Open Society Institute also spent thousands of dollars in 2013 and 2014 for at least one individual to intern at Al Mezan, according to tax records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

    In fact, the internship grants were awarded around the same time Palestinian politician Kamal El-Sharafi, Al Mezan’s chairman since at least 2015, met with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Jamil al Majdalawi in Cairo, Egypt, according to a social media post. Politician Kamal El-Sharafi called him “a comrade.”

    El-Sharafi has posted images on social media showing him at memorial services for PFLP leaders, including Maher al Yamani, a PFLP co-founder who reportedly helped plan a 1968 hijacking of an Israeli plane and was sentenced to 31 years in prison.

    Through his role as head of the board of trustees for the Gaza-based Al-Aqsa University, El-Sharafi has also hosted PFLP officials, such as Jamil Mazhar, who was recently crowned as deputy secretary general of the terrorist group, a social media post shows.

    OSF’s grants to El-Sharafi’s group have been for it “to monitor and document violations against Palestinians and pursue accountability for abuses,” as well as to track “human rights and international humanitarian law violations in the Gaza Strip,” according to earmarks on OSF financial disclosures for 2019 and 2021 awards carrying three-year terms.

    Moreover, tax forms filed in 2012 by the Open Society Institute list a $160,000 grant to the center for a similar purpose.

    In turn, Al Mezan has become a well-funded operation seeking to apply pressure on the United Nations to support the International Criminal Court in prosecuting Israeli officials over alleged “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to the center’s statements to the U.N.’s Human Rights Council and International Criminal Court submissions. Donors to Al Mezan have also included the European Union, the Netherlands, Sweden, and a group called Save the Children Norway, among others, financial disclosures show.

    On Tuesday, Al Mezan hosted an event at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva “exploring the settler-colonial nature of Israel’s genocidal military campaign in #Gaza,” according to a social media post. Last month, Al Mezan addressed the U.N. at its 55th regular session and demanded it conclude Israel engaged in genocide in Gaza — calling for the U.N. “to address Israel’s settler-colonialism, apartheid, illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, and denial of Palestinian self-determination,” according to a written statement.

    And on Oct. 8 of last year, just one day after the terrorist attack, Al Mezan released a statement blaming Israel for having the gall to retaliate against Hamas. The statement was made alongside Al-Haq, an Israeli-designated terrorist organization that is also funded by Soros and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which has extensive PFLP ties, according to research compiled by NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog group.

    “Under the facade of human rights, they promote Hamas propaganda, and the links to the PFLP terrorist group are clearly documented,” NGO Monitor President Gerald Steinberg, a politics professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, told the Washington Examiner.

    While Al Mezan recently appears to have removed a section on its website listing its board of directors, the Washington Examiner located their names through an archived link with viewable versions from 2015 through 2023.

    ‘Comrade’

    Al Mezan listed its vice chairman of the board as Talal Awkal, whom the Associated Press quoted in a story days after the Oct. 7 attack as a “political analyst”

    Back in 2010, Qatari-funded Al-Jazeera identified Awkal as a former member of the PFLP, the leaders of which he openly praised as “great historical leaders” in a 2015 op-ed in the Palestinian Al-Hadaf digital magazine. Awkal notably wrote a 2013 article about then-Secretary of State John Kerry on the official website for the PFLP.

    Board member Nafiz Al-Madhoun has recently been director general for the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Legislative Council, according to social media posts and his LinkedIn account. He’s also been referred to as a Hamas leader by Arabic language media outlets.

    Another Al Mezan employee is Hussein Hammad, who received an award in 2017 from a PFLP branch, according to social media posts.

    Meanwhile, the Soros-backed center in Gaza and its personnel have played key roles at certain events with terrorists.

    In 2013, Al Mezan organized a “Transitional Justice in Palestine” conference, according to its annual report that year. The conference featured Khaled al-Batsh, PFLP official Kayed al Ghoul, and Hamas official Yahya al Abadseh, Donia Al-Watan reported.

    Al Mezan organized a 2015 conference featuring speeches on the International Criminal Court from senior Hamas official Khalil al Hayya and Khaled al Batsh, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader. Al Mezan Center General Director Issam Younis spoke at the event, according to the Gaza-based group.

    Younis through his prior role as commissioner general for the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights has participated in at least one meeting in recent years with leaders from Hamas, the PFLP, and other groups, according to an archived press release.

    Al Madhoun, the Al Mezan board member, participated in a March 2023 event in Gaza called “Jurists Confronting the Occupier” alongside Hamas officials Mahmoud al Zahar and Musa Abu Marzouq, according to a report by the Israeli-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, which called him the “former secretary general of Hamas’ Legislative Council.”

    ‘Loopholes’

    Pressed over Al Mezan’s ties to terrorists, OSF’s Kaplan said none of the grantmaker’s foreign partners have been designated by the United States as supporting terrorism.

    “There is strict U.S. anti-terrorist legislation that determines which organizations a foundation like OSF can fund,” the spokesman said. “We devote a lot of effort to ensuring full compliance.”

    “The Open Society Foundations do not support Hamas,” Kaplan added. “The Open Society Foundations abhor terrorism in all its forms. Accusations that are being repeated in the media and that have been picked up by some officials are false.”

    But to one terrorism expert, U.S. laws desperately need to be strengthened to block tax-exempt groups from being able to fund terrorist-linked foreign entities, including Al Mezan.

    “All it takes for Soros to avail himself of these loopholes is to find an intermediary between the sanctioned person or group and OSF,” said Marc Greendorfer, an attorney and president of the Zachor Legal Institute think tank.

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    CBS New York Anchor Emotionally Signs Off in Final Broadcast After 34 Years

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    Longtime WCBS-TV evening news anchor Dana Tyler bade farewell in an emotional, tear-filled sign-off during her final newscast after more than 30 years.

    “This is my last newscast, my last 6 o’clock news with you here at Channel 2, it’s my last day at Channel 2, 34 years I’ve been here,” Tyler said Wednesday alongside her co-anchor Dick Brennan.

    Tyler, 65, began her career with the network in 1990, serving as a weekend co-anchor and general assignment reporter. She and Reggie Harris became the first black anchor team in New York, according to the outlet.

    Tyler, in a pre-recorded message, thanked her co-workers and the viewers after a video tribute celebrated the longtime journalist’s illustrious career.

    “I’m so honored to be here, so honored to say thank you to my several thousand co-workers in every department here, who over the past 34 years, and to this very second have collaborated with me, challenged and taught me, given me valuable, constructive criticism and encouragement.

    “We’ve laughed, we’ve cried together, we’ve tried to do our best for you, and my heart is full of gratitude and respect for my co-workers.”

    Tyler said she was proud to have shared the truth with the New York metro area while “enacting change for the people for whom we work.”

    “I say thank you, Channel 2 viewers, you’re loyal, you’re kind, you keep us on our toes,” Tyler said. “I’ve always felt privileged for these 34 years that you’ve invited me, us, into your homes, your firehouses, your bodegas, so many places.”

    The longtime anchor admitted having reported plenty of “bad news” but said it’s because every story is important to different individuals.

    “There is bad news, violence, disease, abuse, drugs,” she admitted. “Oh, we’ve endured tragedies, haven’t we, in the New York area?

    “I’ve always tried to be respectful and compassionate and bear witness to what’s happening because I know every story is an individual, a family, a community.”

    A self-described “grammar nerd,” Tyler said she was always proud to cover the good news of heroics, parades, good grades and good people.

    “You raise our spirits.”

    Tyler has won six Emmy Awards for her coverage of breaking news events in and around New York City, including her 2009 coverage of “Flight 1549 Lands in the Hudson River.”

    She also received several Emmy nominations, which include her reporting on the 1994 World Trade Center bombing.

    Tyler was presented with the New York Association of Black Journalists’ 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award and has been honored by the Friars Club and McDonald’s.

    Tyler was inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2022.

    She shared one of the most important aspects that has affected her personally, and how the CBS affiliate has worked to improve it.

    “One of the biggest changes, and yeah it took a while, is diversity, here where I work on our air, a reflection of who our audience is and in our coverage.

    “Still a lot of work to be done, but we’ve done a lot of work on it and I’m so, so proud to be a part of that history.”

    When the cameras returned to Tyler at the anchor desk, she appeared emotional and gave an acknowledgment to her family before remembering her late uncle, David Harris, who had recently died.

    Harris was the first black pilot for a major US airline, Tyler shared. He died on March 8.

    Tyler isn’t the only one giving up their chair on the 6 p.m. newscasts, as Dick Brennan is also set to be leaving the time slot.

    The two anchors will be replaced by Maurice DuBois and Kristine Johnson, who co-anchor the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts, and will expand their air time through 6:30 p.m.

    Tyler, the longest-tenured anchor in the history of the CBS affiliate, will contribute stories and interviews on the channel’s over-the-air broadcast as well as its streaming platform, according to an internal memo circulated by the station earlier this month.

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    4 Killed, 7 Wounded in Illinois Mass Stabbing Attack

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    Four people were killed and seven were hurt when a man went on a stabbing rampage Wednesday across multiple locations in a northern Illinois community, authorities said.

    A 22-year-old man is in police custody and was being questioned, according to Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd. She said one of the people who was wounded remained in critical condition.

    “My heart goes out to the families right now that are suffering a loss,” Redd told reporters.

    She said the Rockford Police received a medical call at 1:14 p.m. followed by additional calls for police and paramedics.

    “We don’t believe there’s any other suspects that are on the run or at large at this particular time,” Redd said. “Right now, we don’t have a clear motive as to what caused this individual to commit such a heinous crime.”

    Not all of the victims found at multiple addresses in the city had stab wounds and none were shot, according to Redd.

    Rockford Police initially said five people had been injured. Cori Hilliard, a public information officer with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, told The Associated Press Wednesday evening that two more victims were among those hurt.

    Three people died at the scenes. The fourth died at a hospital.

    Police later identified those victims as a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, a 49-year-old man and a 22-year-old man. Their names were not released.

    Redd said residents in the area were being asked to review their home surveillance camera footage for anything related to the attacks.

    Rockford’s population is about 150,000 and it’s 90 miles (145 kilometers) miles northwest of Chicago. The violence Wednesday came days after a teenage employee of a Walmart in Rockford was stabbed and killed inside the store.

    “Today, we are shocked by another horrific act of violence against innocent members of our community,” Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said. Now that the suspect is in custody, he continued, “Our primary concern is ensuring that our community members directly impacted by this violence are supported throughout their healing and recovery.”

    The mayor wrote on the city’s Facebook page that “multiple jurisdictions” are “working on multiple crime scenes to develop an understanding of what transpired in an effort to prevent this from happening again.”

    The suspect was arrested by a Winnebago County sheriff’s deputy after they were called to a reported home invasion, Sheriff Gary Caruana said.

    “The young lady ran from him,” Caruana said of one of the survivors. “She got some stab wounds in her hands and her face. She is in serious condition. One of the good Samaritans stopped to help her out. He did get some stab wounds. He is being checked out.”

    Resident Eric Patterson said he was struggling to make sense of the violence on his street.

    “You can’t rationalize this,” Patterson told the Rockford Register Star. “It’s almost like playing a video game, but it’s reality. It makes no sense. It’s like Grand Theft Auto. ‘I’m going to run over the mailman here. I’m going to stab a couple people there. I am going to go in this house over here.’”

    Another resident, Vanessa Hy, told WREX-TV in Rockford that the experience of witnessing the arrest was unreal, “like a movie.”

    “All of the sudden, we heard police run up on both sides of the house screaming ‘Stop! Get down!’” Hy told the station. “Then they ran into the backyard and after a few minutes we saw them bringing the suspect down the driveway in handcuffs and he was very bloody.”

    Cassandra Hernandez, another neighbor, told the Rockford paper that she is friends with one of the victims.

    “You never expect this here,” Hernandez said. “We have such great neighbors.”

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    UPDATE: Authorities Recover Bodies in Submerged Pickup Truck After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

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    Maryland authorities on Wednesday said divers recovered two bodies during a search for the workers who plunged into the water after a cargo ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday.

    Divers found a red pickup truck submerged under approximately 25 feet of water in the middle span of the bridge and found the two bodies trapped inside.

    Maryland State Police Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Roland Butler identified the victims as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk.

    Butler said the men’s families have been notified by authorities.

    “Based upon the conditions, we’re now moving from a recovery mode to a salvage operation because of the superstructure surrounding what we believe are the vehicles and the amount of concrete and debris; divers are no longer able to safely navigate or operate around that in the areas around this wreckage,” Butler said.

    Four other construction workers remain missing, but are presumed dead. The victims were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Butler said.

    All search efforts have been exhausted, and based on sonar scans, authorities “firmly” believe the other vehicles with victims inside are encased in superstructures and concrete from the collapsed bridge, Butler said.

    A co-worker of the people missing said Tuesday that he was told the workers were on break and sitting in their trucks parked on the bridge when it crumpled.

    U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said at a news conference that authorities had been informed that the ship was going to undergo maintenance. He added that they were not informed of any problems.

    The ship collided into a support pillar early Tuesday, causing the span to collapse.

    The investigation picked up speed as the Baltimore region reeled from the sudden loss of a major transportation link that’s part of the highway loop around the city. The disaster also closed the port that is vital to the city’s shipping industry.

    “The collapse of the Key Bridge is not just a Maryland crisis. The collapse of a key bridge is a global crisis,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said during Wednesday afternoon’s press conference. “The national economy and the world’s economy depend on the port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in the country.”

    Synergy Marine Group, which manages the ship, said the impact happened while it was under the control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help guide vessels safely in and out of ports.

    The ship, which was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel.

    The ship was traveling under a Singapore flag, and officials there said they will be conducting their own investigation in addition to supporting U.S. authorities.

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    Joe Lieberman, Former US Senator and VP Candidate, Dies at 82

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    Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who represented the Nutmeg State in Washington for 24 years and was the Democratic Party’s 2000 vice presidential nominee, has died.

    He was 82.

    A statement from Lieberman’s family said he passed away Wednesday in New York after suffering complications from a fall.

    The former senator’s death was first reported by Punchbowl News.

    “Senator Lieberman’s love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest,” the family statement read.

    Lieberman, a former Connecticut state senator and attorney general, was elected to the Senate in 1988 and developed a reputation as a moderate Democrat with a prominent voice on foreign policy and a staunch supporter of Israel.

    In an oddity that would repeat itself decades later, Lieberman was boosted in his first Senate election by the backing of a prominent conservative — National Review founder and Connecticut resident William F. Buckley Jr., who endorsed Lieberman in the influential magazine’s pages while dubbing his liberal Republican opponent, Lowell Weicker, “the Number One Horse’s Ass in the Senate.”

    In September 1998, Lieberman became the first national Democrat to publicly criticize President Bill Clinton for his extra-marital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, calling Clinton’s behavior “not only inappropriate,” but “immoral” and “harmful” in scathing remarks from the Senate floor.

    The following year, Lieberman voted to acquit the 42nd president on articles of impeachment accusing Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with the Lewinsky liaison.

    In 2000, Lieberman made history when Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore, selected the senator as his running mate — making Lieberman the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket.

    Lieberman would have been the first Jewish vice president but for Gore’s narrow Electoral College defeat, which was settled by 537 votes in Florida following a weeks-long recount battle.

    Four years later, Lieberman sought the Democratic presidential nomination, but dropped out following a series of disappointing primary finishes.

    Despite Lieberman’s support of gay rights, abortion rights and environmental causes, his staunch backing of the Iraq War had made him intolerable to liberal activists by 2006.

    That year, Lieberman lost his Senate primary to future Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, but won re-election as a third-party candidate under the Connecticut for Lieberman banner.

    With the endorsement of prominent Republicans and conservatives — including ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, author and commentator Ann Coulter, and Buckley again — Lieberman beat Lamont in the general election by 10 percentage points.

    The actual Republican nominee, former Derby Mayor Alan Schlesinger, failed to crack 10% of the vote.

    To date, Lieberman’s 2006 victory is the last time a third-party candidate has won a Senate seat.

    Upon his return to Washington, Lieberman described himself as an “Independent Democrat” and endorsed his longtime friend, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president in 2008 — even speaking on his behalf at that year’s Republican National Convention and laying into the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama.

    “In the Senate, during the 3 1/2 years that Sen. Obama has been a member, he has not reached across party lines to … accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party to get something done,” Lieberman said.

    “Eloquence is no substitute for a record.”

    Rumors were widespread that McCain was considering tapping Lieberman to be his running mate. However, the Arizonan ultimately opted for then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, one of the most-discussed running mate choices in recent presidential politics.

    After the election, some Democrats agitated for Lieberman to be stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as payback, with then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) calling Lieberman’s attacks on Obama “beyond the pale.”

    However, at the new president’s urging, Lieberman was allowed to keep his chairmanship, which he held for the rest of his tenure.

    With polls showing Lieberman to be increasingly unpopular in Connecticut, he opted against seeking a fifth term and retired from the Senate in January 2013.

    In his final Senate speech, delivered in December 2012, Lieberman urged his colleagues about the necessity of “reaching across the aisle and finding partners from the opposite party.”

    “That is what is desperately needed in Washington now.”

    “Connecticut is shocked by Senator Lieberman’s sudden passing,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Lieberman’s successor, said in a statement. “In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity. One of one. He fought and won for what he believed was right and for the state he adored.”

    “While the senator and I had our political differences, he was a man of integrity and conviction, so our debate about the Iraq War was serious,” Lamont said in a statement. “I believe we agreed to disagree from a position of principle. When the race was over, we stayed in touch as friends in the best traditions of American democracy. He will be missed.”

    After leaving public office, Lieberman joined the New York office of Kasowitz Benson Torres as senior counsel, remaining there until his death.

    “We are profoundly saddened at the passing of our firm’s senior counsel Senator Joe Lieberman,” founding and managing partner Marc E. Kasowitz said in a statement.

    “We were honored when this great statesman joined our firm when he retired from the Senate over ten years ago.

    “We are grateful for his many contributions to our success, and we are proud that he continued to the end to be such an important voice for America’s greatest values,” Kasowitz added.

    “Joe was the wisest adviser, the most collegial colleague, and the warmest friend, and he will be greatly missed.”

    A funeral service for Lieberman will be held Friday in his hometown of Stamford, with a public memorial service to be set for a later date.

    Lieberman is survived by his second wife, Hadassah, his three children, and a stepson from his wife’s previous marriage.

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    Disney Drops Lawsuits Against DeSantis-Backed Tourism District

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    Disney has dropped its lawsuits against a special district backed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that revoked the corporation’s self-governing status in the state, multiple outlets reported on Wednesday.

    DeSantis signed legislation in February 2023 replacing Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, setting off nearly a years-long legal battle between the two entities. Disney has decided to drop the pending litigation on Wednesday, resulting in a win for the Florida Republican, according to multiple outlets.

    “We are pleased to put an end to all litigation pending in state court in Florida between Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District,” Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle told CNBC in a statement. “This agreement opens a new chapter of constructive engagement with the new leadership of the district and serves the interests of all parties by enabling significant continued investment and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunity in the State.”

    The Reedy Creek Improvement District anticipated DeSantis’ legislation early last year, and made a last-minute agreement to give Disney the full control of development rights and privileges. DeSantis subsequently announced legislation to nullify such an arrangement, arguing it was filled with legal issues and wasn’t formed with the appropriate notice.

    The corporation later sued DeSantis for launching what they believed to be a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” against Disney. The DeSantis-backed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board responded with a lawsuit of their own.

    A federal judge dismissed Disney’s lawsuit in January, ruling that the corporation “lacks standing” to sue the DeSantis administration.

    Disney is now conceding that the last-minute agreements are “null and void,” the National Review reported, citing DeSantis’ office.

    “No corporation should be its own government,” DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin told the outlet in a statement. “Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the District to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”

    The feud started in 2022 when Disney announced opposition to DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education Bill, calling for the law’s repeal over what the corporation viewed to be discriminatory.

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    Jon Stewart Benefited by 829% “Overvalue” of His NYC Home Even as He Labels Trump’s Civil Case “Not Victimless”

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    Comedian Jon Stewart ranted this week that Donald Trump’s civil real-estate case overvaluing his properties was “not victimless,” yet when it came to his own home, Stewart benefited from a similar inflation.

    On Monday night, Stewart, 61, unpacked Trump’s $454 million appeal bond, calling out experts framing the former president’s New York civil case as not causing direct harm to any individual.

    “The Daily Show” host rolled a clip of CNN’s Laura Coates interviewing “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, who commented that the ruling didn’t “go over well” with the real estate industry that was now fretting over the possibility of becoming the next target.

    Coates responds to O’Leary by highlighting that Trump was found liable for falsifying business records in the second degree, issuing false financial statements, insurance fraud and conspiracy, all due to asset inflation.

    “Everything that you just listed off is done by every real estate developer everywhere on Earth in every city. This has never been prosecuted,” O’Leary replied.

    In response, Stewart asked: “How is he not this mad about overvaluations in the real world?”

    “Because they are not victimless crimes,” he said.

    To further his point, Stewart argued that “money isn’t infinite. A loan that goes to the liar doesn’t go to someone who’s giving a more honest evaluation. So the system becomes incentivized for corruption.”

    Stewart also contended that failing to declare a higher market value on a property, while paying taxes based on a lower assessed value, constitutes fraudulent behavior.

    “The attorney general of New York knew that Trump’s property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties,” Stewart added. “It was all part of a very specific real estate practice known as lying.”

    But it didn’t take long for internet sleuths to look into Stewart’s own property history, which shows his New York City penthouse sold for 829% more than its assessed value, records confirmed by The Post reveal.

    In 2014, Stewart sold his 6,280-square-foot Tribeca duplex to financier Parag Pande for $17.5 million. The property’s asking price at that time is not available in listing records.

    But according to 2013-2014 assessor records obtained by The Post, the property had the estimated market-value at only $1.882 million.

    The actual assessor valuation was even lower, at $847,174.

    Records also show that Stewart paid significantly lower property taxes, which were calculated based on that assessor valuation price — precisely what he called Trump out for doing in his Monday monologue.

    Pande, who purchased the penthouse from Stewart, then resold the property at a nearly 26% loss, according to the Real Deal — at just over $13 million — in 2021.

    Timothy Pool, a political commentator known for more right-leaning views, alleged on X that Stewart was being a hypocrite.

    “Did @jonstewart commit fraud when he sold his penthouse for $17.5M? NY listed its market value at $1.8M an AV at around 800k… Who did he defraud?? I am SHOCKED,” he wrote.

    “This is right in [Letitia James’] jurisdiction! I look forward to the grand jury indictment,” a user quipped in response to the tweet.

    Meanwhile, the New York assessor valuation on Stewart’s former penthouse is the exact same citation method and metric that New York Attorney General Letitia James used to value Trump’s private and personal properties, and then sued him for inflating those assets.

    Market value was not considered throughout the case.

    This includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, known as his main residence, which was assessed at only $18 million at the time.

    Real estate brokers had valued the property at 50 times more than that amount.

    Same for his private 200-acre New York family estate in Westchester, which was assessed between $30 million and $56 million.

    Trump had valued the property, known as Seven Springs, at $261 million.

    The difference between Stewart and Trump’s cases is that a judge ruled that Trump sometimes exaggerated to lenders about how big his properties were, including the square footage of his Trump Tower apartment.

    Last month, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million — and temporarily banned him from doing business in the state — relying heavily on the assessed valuations of the properties to determine the ruling.

    The $454 million bond to appeal the ruling marks the highest bond ever recorded in United States history against a single individual.

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    Venezuelan Migrant Influencer Who Sparked Fury with TikTok Squatting Tips Is a Fugitive After Fleeing ICE Custody

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    A Venezuelan illegal migrant infamous for sharing tips on how to invade vacant homes and live off the US government is on the run from ICE, it’s been revealed.

    Leonel Moreno’s TikTok account @leitooficial_25, where he had amassed half a million followers, has been suspended after his controversial videos went viral. A spokesperson for TikTok told DailyMail.com the platform doesn’t allow users to promote criminal activities.

    It has now emerged that Moreno has been on the run from immigration authorities since he crossed the US-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, illegally in April 2022, as reported by The New York Post.

    Moreno enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, which lets migrants on parole go free while officials track them until their next court date.

    But Moreno, who now apparently lives near Columbus, Ohio, didn’t show up for his court date in Miami in November, 2022, and is now listed as an ‘absconder’ from the program.

    ‘We have witnessed yet another individual who was allowed entry into the US under the ATD program, only to abscond and make TikTok videos explaining how to break the law,’ former ICE field office director John Fabbricatore told The Post.

    ‘The question stands – how many thousands more are out there unaccounted for after fleeing this program?’

    DailyMail.com has reached out to ICE and TikTok for comment on this story.

    On Tuesday, Moreno posted several clips seemingly sobbing on a newly-created account, as he claimed he was being persecuted and threatened after his original TikTok account was suspended on Saturday.

    ‘I am in danger of death in the US! I need protection! I am being persecuted! My account has been blocked!’ he said as liquid dropped from his nose.

    ‘My people, I need you to pay attention to what’s happening because my family is on danger. They erased my TikTok accounts. I have received threats from powerful people. Help!’

    In another video he added: ‘My people, they have gotten what they wanted! The envy has reached my family! Everything that’s happening is because of your evilness!

    ‘The want to silence me!’

    It appears Moreno does not plan on stopping his particular brand of content, as he shared a clip on Wednesday counting hundred dollar bills and saying he doesn’t need to work to make money.

    In one of his now-viral videos, Moreno instructed his followers how to ‘invade’ American homes and invoke squatter’s rights, claiming that under US law, ‘if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.’

    Moreno also made headlines in February, after he demanded Venezuelans unite to help a 15-year-old migrant accused of shooting a tourist and trying to kill a NYPD officer in Times Square.

    The videos have been widely shared as Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country’s collapse become one of the largest nationalities arriving at the US-Mexico border.

    Venezuelans have taken to social media to denounce him as a troll, accusing him of using their situation to become an influencer while sparking hatred against migrants who plan on working for a better life in the US.

    ‘He’s gone absolutely viral for all the wrong reasons and is a complete an utter embarrassment and disgrace to my home country,’ wrote Daniel Laplana on X.

    ‘I have nothing but contempt for the guy and his insufferable caricature of a Venezuelan migrant,’ said Venezuelan-American Rafael Estruve, president of Houston Young Republicans.

    ‘His charade is gross blend of incompetence and arrogance put on full display, and he is by far one of the absolute worst representations of Venezuelans on a public platform.’

    Others accused Moreno or ‘rage baiting’ many Venezuelans believe he is purposely trying to stoke anger in order to receive more views and be profitable on TikTok as the US receives record numbers of Venezuelans.

    Indeed, the coverage helped Moreno increase his followings – back in February, when one of his videos first went viral, he had under 219,000 followers, about half what he had when his account was suspended last week.

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    Mike Lindell Confirms MyPillow Evicted from Warehouse

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    In the wake of accruing over $200,000 in unpaid rent, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, was hit with a court-ordered eviction from its warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota.

    Details emerged as the landlord presented evidence of the company’s financial delinquency to a Scott County judge, who subsequently agreed to enforce the eviction.

    However, it was amicable, Lindell said to Newsweek via phone call on Wednesday, adding that the situation was a little tricky.

    “The landlords said they’d rather foreclose … than [let] us go out and find another sublease here. And I said I agree.”

    Lindell said the warehouse, which rents for $90,000 per month, hadn’t been used by MyPillow for a year and that the company has other facilities. Initially, a sublease agreement was in place with a new tenant planning to use the space for storing food.

    However, just two days before the scheduled move-in, the tenant withdrew, leaving MyPillow with a vacant and cleaned warehouse and on the hook financially.

    “They came in to sublease for the remainder of the lease. We got the building cleaned because they were going to store sugar beets. And they backed out two days before they were moving in on March 1,” Lindell told Newsweek.

    Lindell clarified MyPillow’s position regarding the financial responsibilities for the warehouse, indicating ongoing efforts to assist the landlord in finding a new sub-lessee and willingness to cover the financial gap.

    “We’re working with the Realtor,” Lindell said.

    “We’re still going to help them get a sub-leaser. And then I just would have to pay the difference. That’s no big deal,” he said.

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    Walmart, 7-11 and Chick-fil-A Start Drone Delivery Service

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    Walmart, Chick-fil-A, and 7-11 are rolling out new technology that aims to deliver items to customers in a matter of minutes.

    The three mega-brands will be the first companies to launch a new drone delivery service with the Virginia startup DroneUp.

    DroneUp CEO Tom Walker introduced the company’s proprietary autonomous drone “ecosystem” on Tuesday, saying it could revolutionize last-mile logistics.

    The system differs from existing drone delivery because it includes a climate-controlled locker, referred to as DBX, where drones pick up packages.

    The DBX is said to be smaller than a single parking space, allowing smaller retailers to use the new technology too.

    The lockers can serve as delivery hubs on college campuses and in cities, giving more people access to drone delivery.

    The company says the secure lockers will help ward off porch pirates and can be used by customers seeking to make returns as well.

    When making deliveries, the drones automatically know where to go in the sky, and have the power to avoid any aircraft along the way.

    Throughout the last few years, our work with leading retailers and quick-service restaurants has provided us with valuable insights into the speed and convenience that end customers desire from drone delivery.”

    DroneUp CEO Tom Walker

    They travel 60 miles per hour within a 30-mile range and pick up packages using a claw-like grabber that can carry up to 10 pounds safely.

    How It Works

    The first step in the drove delivery is a customer placing an order online.

    Retail or restaurant staff will then box up the customer’s order and attach a specific barcode to the package.

    Once the box is scanned into the system, an employee will place it into the DBX locker, where it is weighed and shelved for pickup.

    The locker is climate-controlled, meaning the items are kept at the right temperature.

    When the item is ready, a drone is dispatched to the landing pad on top of the DBX.

    The drone lands on top of the locker and the item is loaded onto the drone via a platform that raises from the top of the DBX.

    The company says that the drones are remotely piloted for speed and efficiency as the item heads to its dropoff location.

    The entire process is shown in a video on DroneUp’s website, which notes that each drone can make 50 deliveries per hour.

    “Order goes from store to customer in a matter of minutes,” the company said.

    The customer then grabs the box from the dropoff point, whether it be their front step or another convenient location.

    ‘Democratizing Airspace’

    DroneUp has been working with retailers and quick-service restaurants for years, gaining valuable insight into the speed and convenience that customers want from drone delivery, the CEO said.

    Walker believes that combining “flying robots” with ground-based automation will allow retailers to lower the cost of delivery.

    The average cost of drone delivery is $38 per trip, but 80% of that cost is due to labor, according to Walker.

    “When we put in a DBX, all that labor cost comes out. So overnight, my delivery cost goes from $38 to sub-$10,” the CEO told Axios.

    “I’m now competitive with every other last-mile provider, but I’m faster and more reliable.”

    Walker believes that this solves many common problems involved in the delivery process.

    “We’re going to democratize the airspace,” he said.

    “You could be Joe’s Tailor Shop and you can have access to this for the same price that a Walmart has access to it.

    “All you have to do is print out the barcode and put the barcode on the package.”

    DroneUp has already rolled out the DBX in Virginia Beach and Dallas and plans to expand to other markets in late 2024.

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    Sean ‘Diddy Combs’ Breaks His Silence and Says He’s a Victim of a ‘Witch Hunt’

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    Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs says he’s the victim of a ‘witch hunt’ and bemoans ‘military-level force’ used against him as he finally spoke out following the Monday double raid on his estates.

    Aaron Dyer, an attorney for the rapper, broke Combs’ silence just over 24 hours after the Homeland Security investigation with a statement to DailyMail.com.

    ‘Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences. There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated,’ Dyer said.

    ‘Mr. Combs was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities,’ he added. ‘Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way.’

    Combs was seen speaking to customs agents at an airport 15 minutes from his Miami Beach Monday evening but never arrested.

    ‘This unprecedented ambush — paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence — leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits,’ Dyer continued.

    ‘There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.’

    The rapper, 54, has not been seen since homeland security agents descended on his properties in Miami and Los Angeles as part of their investigation into alleged sex trafficking.

    Sources told Page Six that Combs was planning to fly to the Bahamas to spend time with his 17-year-old twins, Jessie and D’Lila, when the agents swooped in on his properties.

    They gathered evidence including a ‘number of’ electronic devices, ABC News reports. No criminal charges have been filed, and Diddy has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.

    Flight data shows the rapper took off from the Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles at 9 am on Monday.

    He was then spotted around 3 pm at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, just a few hours after the raids started.

    However, information on the rapper’s personal LoveAir LLC Gulfstream 5 jet is no longer available on plane tracker service.

    Diddy was last seen pacing around the customs office at the Miami airport, though he was not being detained in any fashion.

    Meanwhile, two of his sons were detained at the scene of the Holmby Hills, California, home while the warrant was executed but released without charges.

    Armed agents entered luxury properties on both East and West Coasts of the United States, with video footage showing helicopters circling overhead.

    The agents, who were wearing vests, gathered in the home’s backyard near the pool.

    Multiple officers were seen carrying bags and boxes of evidence to a van with assistance from police dogs.

    There was no immediate official confirmation about what precipitated the raids, but Diddy is currently embroiled in several lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault.

    It comes just weeks after one of Diddy’s accusers was ordered to reveal her identity.

    The rapper and music mogul has been fighting various legal battles, including one against an unnamed woman who claimed he and two friends sexually assaulted her when she was 17.

    After allegedly supplying the woman with ‘copious amounts of drugs and alcohol,’ Diddy and two pals are accused of taking turns violently raping the teen as she drifted in and out of consciousness, leaving her in so much pain that she could barely stand or remember how she got home, according to her complaint.

    She says she suffered in silence for 20 years until the R&B singer Cassie sued Combs, her former mentor and ex-boyfriend, for allegedly subjecting her to savage beatings, drug-addled hotel orgies and rape.

    Combs denied the claims in that case and the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement barely 24 hours after the suit was made public in November 2023.

    After the flurry of subsequent allegations, Diddy tweeted out a new statement under the heading ‘Enough is enough.’

    Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades.

    Formerly known as Puff Daddy, he built one of hip-hop´s biggest empires, blazing a trail with several entities attached to his famous name.

    While the woman’s identity has yet to be revealed in the lawsuit, a judge just ruled she would no longer be able to stay anonymous if the suit proceeds.

    Diddy has filed a motion to have the woman’s case thrown out, and she will reportedly remain anonymous until the judge rules on that motion.

    The accuser was the fourth woman to accuse Diddy of sexual assault in quick succession last year after his ex, the singer Cassie, sued him in November 2023, with the two settling out of court.

    Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Cassie and another one of the Jane Does accusing Diddy, responded to the search in a statement to DailyMail.com

    ‘We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.’

    Music producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones Jr., who worked with Combs on ‘The Love Album: Off the Grid,’ is among his accusers.

    He filed a lawsuit against the rapper claiming he was ordered to recruit sex workers and have sex with them for the star’s pleasure, and has hundreds of hours of video documenting Combs’s ‘serious illegal activity’.

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    ​​Usher’s Shocking Revelations About Living with Diddy at Age 13 Resurface

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    Am old interview clip featuring R&B singer Usher has resurfaced amid federal raids on the homes of music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – who is facing multiple accusations of sexual abuse.

    The clip shows the now 45-year-old’s candid recollections of his time living with Diddy, 54, at the age of 13, shedding light on a world of hedonism and shady sexual practices.

    Diddy, widely credited for nurturing up-and-coming talents like Usher, played a pivotal role in shaping the singer’s early career.

    Following a record deal with LA Reid, Usher found himself under Diddy’s mentorship, residing in the music mogul’s New York home for a year, an experience dubbed ‘Flavour Camp.’

    In a now-chilling 2004 interview with Rolling Stone, Usher vividly recounted Diddy introducing him to ‘a totally different set of s*** — sex, specifically.’

    Describing an environment decidedly inappropriate for a tween, Usher detailed encounters with orgies and other explicit scenes, offering a window into a lifestyle prevalent in the music industry at the time.

    ‘Sex is so hot in the industry, man,’ he said, recalling, ‘There was always girls around. You’d open a door and see somebody doing it, or several people in a room having an orgy. You never knew what was going to happen.’

    Years later, Usher revisited these memories on the Howard Stern show, where his revelations painted a vivid picture of his formative years. Describing his time at Diddy’s home as ‘pretty wild,’ Usher emphasized witnessing ‘curious things.’

    ‘In the nineties, do you understand what that’s like?’ Usher questioned seriously. ‘I went there to see the lifestyle,’ he continued. ‘And I saw it. But I don’t know if I could indulge and understand what I was even looking at. It was pretty wild. It was crazy.’

    Watch:

    Despite the allure of the kind of life Diddy was modelling for his young mentee, Usher expressed uncertainty about fully comprehending what he saw at the time, underscoring the complexities of navigating fame and temptation at a young age.

    Stern probed further, asking Usher whether he would send his own child to live with Diddy, to which Usher emphatically responded, ‘Hell no.’

    The resurgence of Usher’s interview coincided with federal raids on Diddy’s residences in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex trafficking investigation. While Diddy has vehemently denied all allegations against him, the raids have prompted scrutiny and reactions from many.

    Diddy’s lawyer denounced the raids as a ‘gross use of military-level force’ against an ‘innocent’ man, stressing that neither Diddy nor his family members have been arrested.

    Amid ongoing lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct, Diddy’s legal team has staunchly defended his innocence, labelling the accusations as baseless.

    The federal raids occurred at Combs’ $40million home in LA’s Holmby Hills neighbourhood and his Miami, Florida home on Star Island.

    Reports from Fox 11, claiming to have been first on the scene at the LA raid, revealed that multiple individuals were detained although Combs himself was not among them.

    ‘Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available,’ an HSI spokesman said in a statement, according to the LA Times.

    This comes after it was revealed in court documents filed in the US last month that Diddy held sex-trafficking parties to which he drew guests with promises of his ‘access to celebrities,’ including Prince Harry.

    The documents do not suggest any wrongdoing on Prince Harry’s part.

    These investigations follow a series of legal battles involving Combs. In February of this year, a male producer on Combs’ latest album, The Love Album: Off The Grid, filed a lawsuit. Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones accused Combs of coercing him into sexual activities with sex workers, as well as allegations of drugging and threats spanning over a year.

    Responding to the lawsuit, Combs’ legal representatives dismissed the claims as fabricated and aimed at sensationalism. They asserted having overwhelming evidence to disprove the accusations and expressed readiness to address them in court. Attempts to communicate this evidence to the plaintiff’s lawyer reportedly went unanswered.

    In addition, Combs faced accusations of rape and physical abuse from his former partner and R&B singer Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura in November 2023. Initially denying Ventura’s allegations, Combs swiftly settled with her out of court.

    Subsequently, two more accusers emerged, one alleging Combs was involved in drugging and sexually assaulting her, while the other accused Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall of rape in 1990 or 1991. Combs refuted both claims, declaring his intent to defend his reputation and integrity. Aaron Hall has yet to respond to the allegations.

    In another incident from that December, Combs faced allegations of involvement in the ‘gang rape’ of a 17-year-old girl, which he has vehemently denied.

    As investigations unfold and public interest intensifies, Usher’s candid reflections offer a poignant glimpse into Diddy’s excessive lifestyle.

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    Democrat Wins Special Election in Republican District of Alabama, Running on Abortion and IVF

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    Democrat Marilyn Lands won an Alabama legislature special election on Tuesday considered a bellwether contest on abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF) ahead of the 2024 November elections.

    Lands, who made reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign in deep red Alabama early on by launching an ad in which she shared the story of her own abortion decades ago, defeated Republican Teddy Powell to win the open state House District 10, The Associated Press reported, citing unofficial returns Tuesday.

    The suburban district considered one of the few purple, swing seats encompassing parts of Huntsville and Madison in the deep red state was vacated when former Republican state Rep. David Cole pleaded guilty to voter fraud last year amid allegations he rented a closet-size space to fraudulently run for office in a district where he did not live.

    Powell, a member of the Madison City Council, issued a statement conceding the race and congratulating Lands on her victory.

    “Well I am so excited to get down to Montgomery, and I think this is a giant step forward for Alabama. I think it’s a victory tonight for women, for families, for Alabama in general,” Lands said on camera. “I want to get down there and repeal the bad ban on no exceptions abortion, I want to protect IVF and contraception, but I also want to be a champion for healthcare, mental healthcare but healthcare in general. I really feel like we need somebody down in Montgomery who understands mental health issues, and I’m that one.”

    The rare victory for Democrats in the Deep South state, where Republicans hold all statewide offices and hold a lopsided majority in the Alabama Legislature, comes after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments should be considered as having the same status as children under state law in wrongful death lawsuits.

    Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed a bill into law earlier this month protecting IVF treatments after the February decision prompted some fertility clinics to pause their procedures.

    The ruling was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed at a fertility clinic when a patient from the hospital walked into the storage area, removed the embryos from a cryogenic freezer and dropped them on the ground.

    The decision resulted in a flury of warnings about the potential impact on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, which had previously been considered property by the courts.

    Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, came out in support of protecting access to IVF after the ruling.

    But Lands’ campaign also centered on Alabama’s ban on most abortion procedures ushered in after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

    State House District 10 represents parts of the cities of Madison and Huntsville, which is home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

    Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams called the victory a “political earthquake in Alabama.”

    “This special election is a harbinger of things to come. Republicans across the country have been put on notice that there are consequences to attacks on IVF – from the bluest blue state to the reddest red, voters are choosing to fight for their fundamental freedoms by electing Democrats across the country,” Williams said.

    Lands, a licensed counselor, unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022 but lost by seven points to Cole. She will finish the term and will be up for election in 2026 when the governor’s office and other races will be on the ballot. Her opponent Powell, a former Defense Department budget analyst, had leaned into issues including the economy and infrastructure while Lands centered on abortion and IVF.

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    Bloomberg Poll: Biden Leads Trump in Wisconsin, Tied in Two Other Swing States

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    President Biden has narrowly pulled ahead of former President Donald Trump in the key state of Wisconsin and is even with his predecessor in Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to a new 2024 election poll.

    Trump still leads Biden 47% to 43% across seven battleground states, per the March survey conducted by Bloomberg News/Morning Consult — but the Democrat is gaining ground against his presumptive Republican opponent for the first time in five months.

    Biden, 81, is backed by 46% of registered voters in Wisconsin while 45% support Trump, 77, in a head-to-head battle.

    Registered voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan broke evenly for Biden and Trump, with each getting 45% support in both states.

    In February, Biden trailed Trump by four percentage points (46%-42%) in Wisconsin, six percentage points (49%-43%) in Pennsylvania, and two percentage (46%-44%) points in Michigan, according to the same survey.

    Trump still holds sizable leads over Biden head-to-head in Arizona (48%-43%), Georgia (49%-42%) and North Carolina (49%-43%) — as well as a narrow edge over the incumbent in Nevada (46%-44%).

    The 45th president leads Biden in six of the seven battleground states when third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein and Cornel West are added to the ballot test. In Michigan, Trump and Biden are tied at 40% each among registered voters, with Kennedy getting 9%, West getting 3% and Stein 2%

    A separate Morning Consult nationwide poll released Tuesday gave Biden a one-point lead over Trump among registered voters (44%-43%).

    Trump has been ahead of Biden in almost all election surveys since September 2023, according to the RealClearPolitics polling aggregator.

    The survey took place over the week following Biden’s State of the Union address, which supporters of the president seized on in an attempt to throw off concerns about his age.

    The favorability ratings for both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris remain underwater, with 55% having an unfavorable opinion of the president and 53% having an unfavorable opinion of the vice president.

    More than half of registered voters in the battleground states (53%) also have an unfavorable view of Trump.

    Asked whether they were voting for their preferred candidate or against their opponent, fewer than three in 10 Trump supporters said they were casting a ballot against Biden.

    But nearly half of Biden voters said they were voting to block Trump’s path to the White House for a second nonconsecutive term.

    In Wisconsin, six in 10 registered voters who will support Biden said they did so to oppose Trump.

    The poll also found that a majority of swing state voters who have a favorable opinion of former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said they will vote for Trump over Biden on Election Day 2024.

    Around six in 10 voters surveyed also said that vice presidential picks will carry more weight in their choice of candidate, given the respective ages of Trump and Biden.

    The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll surveyed 807 registered voters in Pennsylvania, 796 in Arizona, 788 in Georgia, 699 in North Carolina, 698 in Michigan, 697 in Wisconsin and 447 in Nevada.

    Respondents filled out online surveys March 8-12 in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, March 8-14 in Arizona and Wisconsin, and March 8-15 in Nevada.

    The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, four percentage points in Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin and five percentage points in Nevada.

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