March 29, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today's News: December 26, 2018

World News

In Iraq, Trump defends decision to withdraw from Syria

Western Journal – In a surprise trip to Iraq, President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria where they have been helping battle Islamic State militants.

“We’re no longer the suckers, folks,” Trump told American servicemen and women at a base in western Iraq. “We’re respected again as a nation.”

Trump said it’s because of U.S. military gains that he can withdraw 2,000 forces from Syria. During his first visit to a troubled region, Trump also said he has no plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.

“I made it clear from the beginning that our mission in Syria was to strip ISIS of its military strongholds,” Trump told troops clad in fatigues at al-Asad Airbase west of Baghdad.

“Eight years ago, we went there for three months and we never left,” he said. “Now, we’re doing it right and we’re going to finish it off.”

Death Toll From Tsunami in Indonesia Reaches 430 – UN Spokesperson

Sputnik – The death toll following the tsunami that struck the coastal areas in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait on Saturday has risen to 430, and 1,495 more people have been injured, the United Nations Office of the Spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bolton Threatens to Force Africa to Choose Between the US and China

Global Research – The Americans wager that they can exercise veto power over African political alignments by force of arms, through AFRICOM’s massive military infiltration of the region.

“The ‘West’s’ political economies are spent forces, incapable of either keeping up with China’s phenomenal domestic growth or of competing with China in what used to be called the Third World.”

Donald Trump last week trotted out his war dog, National Security Advisor John Bolton, to growl and snarl  over China’s attempts to “gain a competitive advantage” in Africa through “predatory” practices that supposed include “bribes, opaque agreements, and the strategic use of debt to hold states in Africa captive” to Beijing’s global schemes.

Globalists Call for “Celebration” of Plunging Human Fertility As War Against Humanity Accelerates

Infowars – You may recall it was barely two weeks ago that the New York Times published an op-ed applauding the extermination of the human race as a way to “save the planet.” Now, The UK Guardian, a globalist-run propaganda rag that despises human freedom, has published a story saying that declining birth rates of human babies is a “cause for celebration.”

“Declining fertility rates around the world should be cause for celebration, not alarm, a leading expert has said,” reports the UK Guardian.

The story cites Sarah Harper, a former director of the Royal Institution, a globalist-run depopulation front group, who explains that, “far from igniting alarm and panic falling total fertility rates were to be embraced, and countries should not worry if their population is not growing.”

Russia is poised to add a new hypersonic nuclear warhead to its arsenal

Washington Post – Russia on Wednesday conducted a final test of a nuclear-capable glider that flies at 20 times the speed of sound, President Vladimir Putin said, adding that the weapon will be included in the country’s arsenal next year.  

North, South Korea hold ceremony for future road and rail links

Al Jazeera – Construction on ambitious project cannot begin while sanctions over North’s nuclear and missile programmes are in place.

Turkey Amasses Troops, Tanks on Syrian Border as U.S. Preps Pullout

Breitbart – The MailOnine reports: Turkey has begun massing tanks and troop carriers on its southern border with Syria as it prepares to move into the country once American soldiers have left.

U.S. Official: Top Hezbollah Leaders Hit in Alleged Israeli Strike in Syria

Breitbart – Several senior Hezbollah terror leaders were hit by an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria Tuesday night as they boarded a plane bound for Iran, Newsweek reported Wednesday.

Germany paves way for child marriages

Breitbart – The German Federal Supreme Court has made a new ruling on a child marriage case which could have implications on the way child marriages conducted legally overseas are treated in the country.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Trump on shutdown: I’ll wait whatever it takes to get wall funds

Al Jazeera – Trump refuses to back down on request for $5bn in funding for US-Mexico wall as partial gov’t shutdown enters fifth day.

Medical checks ordered for all kids held in US custody after death of 2nd immigrant child this month

USA Today – U.S. Customs and Border Protection has ordered medical exams for all children it holds in custody following the Christmas Eve death of an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy, the second immigrant child to die in federal detention this month.

The updated health testing marks a change in the handling of young children who are detained after entering the United States without required documentation and comes amid a partial shutdown of the federal government over President Donald Trump’s demand for $5 billion to build a security wall at the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

The change also comes amid what CBP and Department of Homeland Security officials on Wednesday characterized as a recent increase in the number of families or unaccompanied immigrant children apprehended or detained at the nation’s borders.

Trump administration appealing latest asylum ban ruling – CNN

CNN – The Trump administration said Wednesday it is appealing a federal judge’s order that blocks the administration from implementing asylum restrictions on the southern border.

According to a court filing, the administration told the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals it plans to appeal federal District Judge Jon Tigar’s December 19 order, which extended an initial block on the new rules.

President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation last month that would bar migrants who illegally cross into the United States over the southern border from seeking asylum outside of official ports of entry.

Trump, first lady in Iraq for surprise visit with troops

Fox – President Trump and the first lady appeared in Iraq on Wednesday for a surprise visit with troops and senior military leadership at Al Asad Air Base, where he said he has “no plans at all” to remove any of the 5,000 U.S. troops from the country.

The Latest: 2 people die in South Dakota plane crash

Yahoo – The Latest on a small plane that crashed in a South Dakota city (all times local):

10:40 a.m.

Police say two people died when a small plane crashed in a residential neighborhood in a South Dakota city.

Sioux Falls Police Capt. Loren McManus confirmed a second fatality at a news briefing Wednesday morning. McManus says the two people killed were the only occupants of the single-engine plane that crashed between four homes about 5 p.m. Tuesday. No one on the ground was injured.

Facebook Slams Dem Operatives For Using Russian Bots To Tilt Alabama Election

Infowars – Facebook has suspended several accounts connected to Democrat operatives who orchestrated a campaign to fool Alabama voters into thinking Russian bots were promoting Republican Roy Moore’s senatorial campaign.

The action comes after reports surfaced that Democrats created thousands of Twitter accounts posing as Russian bots to smear Moore and bolster Democrat candidate Doug Jones.

“We’ve recently removed five accounts run by multiple individuals for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook around the Alabama special election, and our investigation is ongoing,” Facebook said in a press statement Saturday.

“We take a strong stand against people or organizations that create networks of accounts to mislead others about who they are or what they’re doing.”

The deceitful campaign to smear Moore proved successful, as it was picked up by the likes of The New York Post and The Washington Post.

Potholes, water woes: New Orleans seeks more tourist tax…

AP – A night’s stay at a New Orleans hotel can take as much as a 15 percent bite in taxes and fees. Yet barely more than 1 in 10 of those tax and fee dollars — out of an estimated $166 million collected annually — finds its way into city coffers in this leading Southern tourist destination.

That’s according to estimates by an independent research agency that last calculated the figure in 2015. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s still-new administration says the city needs and deserves a bigger share.

Judicial Watch: Mueller probe won’t ‘wrap up’

WND – The head of Washington watchdog Judicial Watch said on Wednesday special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation – of Democrats’ claims the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russia – is just harassment of the president.

On Fox News channel, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said of the investigation, “I don’t think it’s going to wrap up in any traditional sense of the word, even if there’s an interim report…

“I think it’s just going to be a continuing vehicle for enemies of the president to harass the president.”

Fox introduced the interview explaining that while Mueller’s spent $25 million in tax funds, he’s so far released “no proof” of collusion involving the Trump campaign.

Fitton explained he believes the Mueller investigation is being used by Democrats with “impeachment fantasies.”

“It’s going to continue to harass the president,” he explained, even though two major indictments that have named Russians or Russian entities have been devoid of evidence concerning the Trump campaign.

Fitton said Trump should take action to shut it down.

“This is just harassment at this point,” he said.

Shine a Light’: ACLU Sues 7 US Federal Agencies to Expose Government Hacking

Sputnik – On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Privacy International and Civil Liberties and Transparency Clinic at the University of Buffalo filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against seven federal criminal and immigration enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

According to a press release by the ACLU, the lawsuit demands that the agencies reveal “which hacking tools and methods they [these agencies] use, how often they use them, the legal basis for employing these methods and any internal rules that govern them.” It also calls for internal audits or investigations of the agencies.

In the press release, the ACLU references several instances of government hacking. In one case, the US government allegedly set up a “watering hole” attack that might have spread malware to innocent people who visited fake websites that mimic popular web pages, according to the nonprofit organization. The specifics of the case were not revealed.=

Economy & Business

“Fewer People Can Afford A House”: US Home Price Growth Slowest Since Trump Elected

Zerohedge – The rapid slowdown in US home price growth is accelerating with Case-Shiller reporting a 5.03% YoY gain in October – the weakest since Nov 2016.  Slowing for the 7th month in a row, if printing modestly above expectations of 4.80%, home prices rose 5.03% Y/Y, down from 5.21% a month ago, and confirming that the US housing market is clearly suffering.

U.S. stocks and oil rebound after pre-holiday thumping

Reuters – Stocks and oil prices rebounded on Wednesday as the Trump administration attempted to shore up confidence.

India tightens e-commerce rules, likely to hit Amazon, Flipkart

Reuters – India will ban e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com <AMZN.O> and Walmart <WMT.N>-owned Flipkart Group from selling products from companies in which they have an equity interest.

In a statement, the government also said that the companies will be prevented from entering into exclusive agreements with sellers. The new rules will be applicable from February 1.

China Is Officially Over US Soybeans, US Farmers Are Not Happy With Situation

Quartz – China did not import a single US soybean in November, the first time sales to the country have dropped to zero since US president Donald Trump initiated a trade war with the country earlier this year.

In place of American soybeans, China bought more than five million metric tons of the seeds from Brazil last month, nearly twice the 2.76 million metric tons it purchased from Brazilian farmers a year earlier, Reuters reported, citing data from the General Administration of Customs.

Health

Shocking research: Prozac could be driving the antibiotic resistance crisis

NaturalNews – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls antibiotic resistance “a global threat” and “one of the biggest public health challenges of our time.” Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria and other germs develop the ability to beat the antibiotic drugs designed to kill them. Infections caused by these pathogens can be difficult – or even impossible – to treat.

Each year, over two million Americans develop an antibiotic resistant infection, resulting in the death of at least 23,000 people. Experts estimate that by the year 2050, antibiotic resistant infections will kill 10 million people each year.

The misuse and overuse of antibiotic drugs in both humans and animals has played a large part in the development of these “superbugs,” but a recent study has warned that the use of other medications is also driving the development of antibiotic resistance.

The study, published in the journal Environment International, confirmed that the antidepressant drug fluoxetine – commonly known as Prozac or Sarafem – “directly causes multi-antibiotic resistance via genetic mutation.” (Related: Antibiotic resistance poses ‘catastrophic threat’ to mankind over next 20 years: Breaking report.)

Vitamin D can STOP the development of liver problems, researchers find

NaturalNews – Many health-conscious people worry about maintaining a healthy weight and keeping their blood pressure or cholesterol under control, but few people give much thought to their liver – until something goes wrong. Unfortunately, that’s far more likely than you might think as 20 to 30 percent of Americans are now said to have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The good news is that there is something you can do to keep your liver healthy, and it could be as simple as stepping outside a few times a week.

An international team of researchers from the U.S., India and Saudi Arabia recently carried out a review, and they concluded that vitamin D can prevent and treat liver diseases, including liver cancer.

3,778 Patients at Medical Center Possibly Exposed to HIV, Hepatitis

Western Journal  – More than 3,000 patients who underwent procedures at a New Jersey surgery center during the first nine months of this year could have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis B and hepatitis C, according to NBC4 in New York.

The New Jersey Department of Health reported that affected patients had been treated at the HealthPlus Surgery Center in Saddle Brook between Jan. 1 and Sept. 7 of 2018.

According to NBC4, center administrator Betty McCabe said  the exposure is due to “deficiencies in infection control” as it relates to cleaning instruments and administering medications, NBC4 reported.

The total number of patients exposed was 3,778, according to McCabe, and she has encouraged all those exposed to get tested, the station reported.

Additionally, McCabe said that the surgery center is offering pay for testing associated with the exposure, Fox News reported.

CDC warns of respiratory virus affecting kids and adults

Fox – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to alert you about a respiratory infection that can affect your children and even some adults.

As it gets colder, parents should make sure their children add on the layers and bundle up so they don’t get sick, but the CDC is warning parents to watch out for Respiratory Syncytial Virus or ‘RSV.’

RSV can start out as looking like a common cold. It is a respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms and most people recover in a week or two.

But RSV can also be serious, especially for infants and older adults. In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.

It is also a significant cause of respiratory illness in older adults.

Social Share Buttons and Icons powered by Ultimatelysocial