Today's News: January 22, 2020

World News

India’s Supreme Court refuses to strike down citizenship law

Al Jazeera – Idia’s Supreme Court has sought government response to petitions filed against new citizenship legislation after it refused to stay the law that has sparked widespread opposition and protests across the country.
The top court on Wednesday gave the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi four weeks to reply to a batch of 143 pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed last month.

Jeff Bezos: UN calls for investigation into alleged Saudi hack

The Guardian – UN experts are demanding an immediate investigation by the US and others into evidence indicating Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of the Washington Post, was hacked with spyware deployed in a WhatsApp message sent from the account of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
The special rapporteurs – Agnès Callamard and David Kaye – said in a joint statement they were “gravely concerned” by information they had reviewed about the “possible involvement of the crown prince in surveillance of Mr Bezos, in an effort to influence, if not silence, the Washington Post’s reporting on Saudi Arabia”.
The statement comes after the Guardian reported on Tuesday that Bezos, who is chief executive of Amazon and the world’s richest man, appeared to have had his mobile phone “hacked” in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message apparently sent from the personal account of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Trump impeachment: Senate approves trial rules

Al Jazeera – xIn a party-line vote, Senate approves resolution outlining the rules that will govern Trump’s impeachment proceedings.

State AGs urge Senate to reject impeachment in stinging letter: ‘A dangerous historical precedent’

The attorneys general of 21 states have come forward with a blistering rebuke of the impeachment of President Trump, asserting that it “establishes a dangerous historical precedent.”

The Republican attorneys general, in a letter submitted to the Senate Wednesday morning and obtained by Fox News, urged the chamber conducting Trump’s trial to “reject” the impeachment articles.

Senate Democrats privately mull witness trade in impeachment trial: A Biden for Bolto

Washington Post – Several Senate Democrats are privately discussing the possibility of calling Republicans’ bluff on witnesses, weighing an unusual trade in President Trump’s impeachment trial: the testimony of Hunter Biden for the testimony of a key administration official.
Publicly, most Democrats have scoffed at the growing GOP clamor to hear former vice president Joe Biden’s son testify, dismissing him as irrelevant to the charges against Trump and accusing Republicans of trying to distract from the allegations against the president.
But behind closed doors, a small group of Democratic senators and aides has begun to question that logic, sounding out colleagues on whether to back a witness deal that could lead to testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton or other administration officials with possible firsthand knowledge of the Ukraine controversy, according to multiple Democratic officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private discussions.
These Democrats said they believe having Hunter — or possibly Joe Biden — testify could backfire on Trump and the GOP, giving Biden and the party a platform to strike back and paint Republicans and the White House as obsessed with trying to damage one of Trump’s 2020 presidential rivals.

Gabbard suing Clinton for defamation over ‘Russian asset’ comments

The Hill – ep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is suing Hillary Clinton for defamation over the former secretary of State’s remarks on a podcast characterizing the Democratic presidential candidate as a Russian asset.
Gabbard filed the defamation lawsuit Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Gabbard’s lawyers allege that Clinton’s comments have “smeared” Gabbard’s “political and personal reputation.”

Virginia Senate Advances “Red Flag” Gun Law, Despite Second Amendment Rally The Day Before

Activist Post – On Tuesday the Virginia Senate advanced legislation that would allow authorities to take guns away from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
The Democratic-led Senate gave preliminary approval to approved the so-called “red flag” law. SB 240 would create a process for attorneys and law enforcement to file emergency orders prohibiting a person from purchasing, possessing or transferring a firearm if they pose “a substantial risk of injury to himself or others.”
The move comes a day after tens of thousands of gun-rights activists rallied peacefully at the state Capitol on Monday protesting the proposed anti-gun legislation.
State AGs warning to Senate calls impeachment ‘dangerous precedent’
Fox – The attorneys general of 21 states have come forward with a blistering rebuke of the impeachment of President Trump, asserting that it “establishes a dangerous historical precedent.”
The Republican attorneys general, in a letter submitted to the Senate Wednesday morning and obtained by Fox News, urged the chamber conducting Trump’s trial to “reject” the impeachment articles.
“If not expressly repudiated by the Senate, the theories animating both Articles will set a precedent that is entirely contrary to the Framers’ design and ruinous to the most important governmental structure protections contained in our Constitution: the separation of powers,” they wrote.
The letter accuses House Democrats of impeaching Trump as a politically motivated response to the 2016 election and warned that it poses a threat to the 2020 election as well.

Tulsi Gabbard Sues Hillary Clinton Over ‘Russian Asset’ Remark

The Hill – Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) has filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, accusing the former Secretary of State of defamation for remarks characterizing the Democratic presidential candidate as a Russian asset.
Filed on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Gabbard’s attorneys allege that Clinton “smeared” Gabbard’s “political and personal reputation,” according to The Hill.

Trump: Northam Putting Virginia ‘in Play’ with Gun Control Push

Breitbart – In a sit-down interview with Maria Bartiromo which aired Wednesday on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” President Donald Trump said Virginia is “in play” for him to win in 2020.
Trump pointed to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) push to take away guns, arguing Northam wants to do away with the Second Amendment.

New Bill to Allow Cops to Detain Citizens, Force Them to Explain Who They Are, What They’re Doing

Free Thought Project – An ominous bill that is currently making its way through the Kentucky Senate aims to give police unprecedented unconstitutional powers. These new powers will allow cops to stop anyone they want and demand that person tell them who they are, where they are going, and explain their actions. Naturally, it has civil rights advocates up in arms, but it doesn’t seem to be slowing down the bill’s momentum.

Energy & Environment

Donald Trump: Greta Thunberg Should Focus on Other Polluting Countries

Breitbart – President Donald Trump said teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg should save her anger for other countries in the world that were worse polluters than the United States.
The president spoke about Thunberg during a press conference at Davos before he left Switzerland to return to the United States.
He said the United States was experiencing great environmental numbers while other countries were worse polluters of the air and putting tons of garbage in the Pacific ocean.
“I think Greta has to start working on those other countries,” Trump said.
“Pretty much nothing has been done,” Thunberg lamented at a World Economic Forum event on climate change.
“Since last summer, I have been repeating these numbers over and over again in almost every speech, but honestly, I have not once seen any media outlet or person in power communicate this or what it means,” she added.
Trump told reporters he would have loved to see Thunberg’s speech but missed it.
“How old is she?” Trump asked. “Seventeen? Oh, that’s good, she beat me out on TIME magazine.”

Utah becomes 19th state to ban conversion therapy

CS Monitor – he discredited practice of conversion therapy for LGBTQ children is now banned in Utah, making it the 19th state and one of the most conservative to prohibit it.
Supporters navigated a winding path to passage and some dissent remains, but barring it in Utah could give a boost to similar efforts in other right-leaning states, said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
“It’s really given people a lot of hope,” said Mr. Minter, whose group has pushed for bans around the United States. Virginia is considering a ban, and the issue could also come up in this year in Texas and Kentucky, he said.
The change in Utah comes after the state hammered out a regulatory rule that had the support of the influential Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Leaders had opposed a previous version because it didn’t have certain exceptions for clergy.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert took the unusual step of calling on regulators after a proposed law was derailed by changes made by conservative lawmakers. Stat

Health

RFK, Jr. Assembles Legal Team to Sue FCC over Wireless Health Guidelines

Liberty Beacon – obert Kennedy Jr. Assembles Legal Team to Sue the FCC – The team includes RFK, Jr., IRREGULATORs’ Attorney Scott W. McCollough & Dafna Tachover
Contributed to TLB by: The Children’s Health Defense Team
Robert Kennedy, Jr., Chairman of Children’s Health Defense (CHD) has committed to be proactive on the concerns regarding excessive exposure of our children to 5G and wireless radiation. To fulfill this promise,
CHD will be submitting a lawsuit on February 3rd against the FCC for its December 4, 2019 decision to decline to review its 1996 guidelines, and for its determination that the guidelines are protective of human health.
The Dec. 4 determination provides a rare opportunity to sue the FCC and expose its disregard for public health that has been causing so many injuries and deaths, including among children. We will be representing the many children who have been injured. This is the opportunity we have been waiting for; a successful lawsuit on this will be a game changer.
We need your help to raise $100,000 to fund this effort.
To have the best chances of succeeding, we have assembled an ideal team of Attorneys to lead this case! Each one brings different strengths to the case:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., CHD’s Chairman, is a leading Environmental Attorney who has been involved with many groundbreaking lawsuits including the recent successful cases against Monsanto. He was a senior attorney for the NRDC and now leading cases for the protection of children’s health rights.

Masks and airport checks for Chinese SARS-like virus are there to keep population calm

RT – As the Chinese coronavirus spreads rapidly around the globe, governments worldwide are making a show of doing something. But are their measures effective, or just exercises in population control?

The Mysterious New “SARS-Like Virus” That Is Killing People In China Has Now Spread To Japan

Michael Snyder – On top of everything else that has happened so far in 2020, a very mysterious “SARS-like virus” that doctors have never seen before is causing grave concern among global health officials. It has been identified as “a coronavirus”, but that category covers a very broad range of illnesses. If you have a common cold right now, it was caused by a coronavirus. But SARS and MERS also came from the same virus family, and those two outbreaks made headlines all over the world. In 2002 and 2003, SARS infected more than 8,000 people worldwide, and more than 700 of them ended up dying. Global health officials are hoping that what we are now facing won’t be any worse than that, but at this point they just don’t know enough about this mysterious new virus to make any firm projections.
What we do know is that this outbreak just started, and China has just announced that this virus has claimed a second life.