ICE arrests Brazilian illegal immigrant child rapist in Martha’s Vineyard
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week that it arrested an illegal immigrant Brazilian fugitive – who is wanted in his home country for failing to serve a prison sentence for raping a 5-year-old child — in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. ICE said the Brazilian, identified as 37-year-old Saulo Cardona Ferreira, had received “multiple criminal convictions” in Brazil in 2019 for raping the child and had been sentenced to 14 years in prison, but he had fled the country. The town of Sorriso, Mato Grosso, had issued a warrant for his arrest. The agency said that at an unknown time and place, he entered the U.S. illegally, meaning he evaded Border Patrol as a “gotaway.” DENVER SPENDS MILLIONS ON TRANSPORTING MIGRANTS TO OTHER PARTS OF US He was apprehended by ICE’s Fugitive Operations Team in the Massachusetts vacation spot during a vehicle stop. A spokesperson said that after being alerted via a law enforcement data review to his potential presence in the area in September, ICE began an investigation and apprehended him near his address on Nov. 14. He is now in custody awaiting a court appearance before an immigration judge. “This undocumented Brazilian national represented a significant threat to the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in a statement. MASSACHUSETTS GOV. HEALEY WARNS MIGRANTS ARE PUSHING STATE’S SHELTER SYSTEM TO CAPACITY “He sexually assaulted a five-year-old child in his homeland and then ran from authorities when held accountable for his actions. ERO Boston will not allow such predators to threaten our residents. We will continue to apprehend and remove anyone who attempts to use our New England community as a refuge from justice,” he said. ICE said that in FY 2022, it arrested 46,396 illegal immigrants with criminal histories, which included 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses. Martha’s Vineyard was at the center of migration-related controversy last year when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew dozens of migrants to the liberal vacation destination. However, there appears to be no connection between those flights and Cardoso Ferreira — who likely arrived years earlier. The arrest comes as the U.S. remains in the throes of a historic crisis at the southern border. There were more than 249,000 migrant encounters in October after a historic 2.4 million seen in FY 23. Cities have declared themselves overwhelmed, with Massachusetts officials also calling for more federal help as they face what they say is a “federal problem.” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed recently that there were more than 600,000 gotaways in FY 23, and Fox News reported that there have been more than 1,000 a day since the new fiscal year began in October.
Social media burns Biden over ‘fire hazard’ flaming birthday cake: ‘America represents the cake’
A social media firestorm erupted over President Biden’s fiery birthday cake that was lit with 81 candles. Biden continued making history Monday, marking another year as the oldest sitting American president at the age of 81. A photo was posted on the president’s X account featuring his flaming treat that was immediately burned by social media users for its “carbon emissions” and being a “fire hazard” given the amount of candles. “As Biden celebrates his birthday —America represents the cake. Regardless of whether you are Republican, Democrat or Independent we are all feeling the heat from Biden’s failed policies,” commentator Mehek Cooke posted. BIDEN’S BIRTHDAY BLUES: WHITE HOUSE APPEARS TO DOWNPLAY SPECIAL DAY, CRITICS SAY AGE IS MORE THAN A NUMBER “Joe Biden is so old, his birthday cake is a fire hazard,” conservative communicator Steve Guest wrote alongside the viral image. “Joe Biden pictured with inflation,” Stephen L. Miller joked. TRUMP MEDICAL REPORT RELEASED AS BIDEN FACES CONCERNS OVER AGE, HEALTH “There’s a portal to hell on a plate in front of him” said radio host Dana Loesch. “The candles on President Biden’s birthday cake seemed to cast more light than his policies and leadership have over the past 3 years. America is in desperate need of clear, strong leadership, not the diminishing approach we’ve been witnessing,” one individual wrote. “Anybody tracking the carbon emissions from Biden’s birthday cake?” said Larry O’Connor. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I thought this was a parody account at first glance. That pic wasn’t the best idea,” another social media user said. “TONIGHT: Biden has bonfire in the White House to celebrate his 81st birthday,” an account belonging to the Republican National Committee posted on X. “Is there anything he doesn’t set on fire?” Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe posted on X. Biden’s birthday comes amid increased concerns over the president’s age and whether he will be able to complete another full term if re-elected in 2024. The age concerns come at the same time multiple polls have shown Biden trailing former President Trump in a head-to-head matchup, with many voters expressing the opinion that Biden’s age is a factor. “We’ll make sure y’all’s invitation to Dark Brandon’s birthday rave comes with a trigger warning,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Missouri judge to decide if voters can be required to show photo ID to cast ballots in 2024 election
A Missouri judge is expected to decide this week if voters in the state will be required to present photo identification in order to cast their ballots in upcoming 2024 elections. In October 2022, Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem had already rejected a lawsuit brought by the Missouri League of Women Voters, NAACP and two voters challenging a law passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature making it mandatory that voters show photo identification to cast a regular ballot. Under the 2022 law, people within a valid government-issued photo ID are still able to submit provisional ballots, which will be counted if they return later that day with a photo ID or if election officials verify their signatures. However, a third voter has since joined the lawsuit, and Beetem is presiding over a trial on the matter that began last week and is expected to continue until Wednesday. Last year, Beetem ruled that neither of the first two voters “alleged a specific, concrete, non-speculative injury or legally protectable interest in challenging the photo ID requirement,” FOX 2 St. Louis reported. The new, third plaintiff is John O’Connor, a 90-year-old man from Columbia, Missouri, with poor vision and trouble walking. According to the Missouri ACLU and Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, which added O’Conner to the litigation against the state, the elderly resident had an expired passport and driver’s license when the law took effect last year. The lawsuit says O’Conner, who was born in New York and had trouble locating his birth certificate, later secured a non-driver’s license with his wife’s help. However, that was only because officials accepted his expired driver’s license, going against guidance from the state Revenue Department that long-expired licenses are not permissable records to use when seeking new IDs, according to ABC News. MISSOURI’S VOTER ID LAW IS BACK IN COURT. HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT IT DOES Republican Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office is defending the law at trial. “I will always fight to maintain Missouri’s accessible, secure and creditable elections. Regarding this case – every person has been able to vote – no one has been denied a ballot because they didn’t have an ID,” Ashcroft said in a statement. “As specified in statute, my office will help get an ID for anyone who needs one to vote. Furthermore, if someone does not have an ID on Election Day, if they are registered, they can still vote.” “Missouri has passed voter ID three times to protect our elections and I keep getting sued to stop the law. Today we are back in court defending voter integrity,” Ashcroft added on X Monday. The state legislature previously passed laws in 2006 and again in 2020 to require voters to present photo ID but both those measures were struck down in court. Republicans said the goal of the 2022 law was to deter voter fraud, but the plaintiffs in the case argue the legislation places unconstitutional hurdles on voting, suppressing turnout. During opening arguments Friday, Assistant Attorney General Peter Donohue defended the 2022 legislation as a “common-sense law designed to uphold that sacred right” to vote. Claiming the burdens are minimal and that the benefits are substantial, he added that Missouri will issue an identification card for a voter who needs one at no cost and help them obtain the documents. WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR VOTER ID AND MAKING EARLY VOTING EASIER: NATIONAL POLL “Protecting the integrity of elections is absolutely a compelling governmental interest,” Donohue said. Rutgers University political science professor Lorraine Minnite testified Monday that she concluded “instances of voter fraud nationally and in Missouri is exceedingly rare.” Another expert witness for the Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters, Kenneth Mayer, a political scientist from the University of Wisconsin, testified that about 175,000 votes cast in St. Louis County – or 8.4% of the total – between 2018 and 2022 were cast by people who did not have a Missouri-issued driver’s license, nondriver identification or a federally issued ID with their birth date, The Missouri Independent reported. Those figures were slightly higher in Jackson County, Mayer said, and nearly double in Boone County. Denise Lieberman, director of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, told FOX 2 that more than 137,000 valid Missouri registered voters do not have any Missouri ID on file with the Missouri Department of Revenue. Additionally, an additional 140,000 have an expired form of ID that would not be eligible to allow them to vote, she said. Before the 2022 midterm elections, it was acceptable for Missourians to present a voter registration card, a student identification card, a bank statement or utility bill or a valid out-of-state driver’s license to cast their ballots in the state. Mayer testified that overall turnout for 2022 was about 20% lower than the presidential year of 2020, but the number of provisional ballots cast was four times higher. “Voters frequently misunderstand the kind of ID that is required,” he claimed.
Ford dramatically scales back EV plant amid plummeting sales in blow to Biden’s green energy goals
U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company is dramatically scaling back an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant under construction in Michigan as its EV business continues to lose billions of dollars. In an announcement Tuesday, Ford said it would resume the Marshall, Michigan, project, but reduce its scope by more than 40% and the number of jobs it is projected to create by more than 30%. Ford, which has struggled to make a profit from its ongoing shift to EVs as sales decline and costs soar, added that it remained confident in the future viability of its EV business. “While we remain bullish on our long-term strategy for electric vehicles, we are re-timing and resizing some investments,” Ford said in a statement Tuesday. “As stated previously, we have been evaluating BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall.” “We are pleased to confirm we are moving ahead with the Marshall project, consistent with the Ford+ plan for growth and value creation,” it continued. “However, we are right-sizing as we balance investment, growth, and profitability. The facility will now create more than 1,700 good-paying American jobs to produce a planned capacity of approximately 20 GWh.” NEW REPORT UNMASKS TRUE COSTS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATES: ‘REMAIN MORE EXPENSIVE’ The automaker added that the facility is still expected to be Ford’s first battery plant of its kind to enter operations when it is scheduled to open in 2026. The plant will, once it is operational, manufacture lithium iron phosphate batteries common in EVs. Ford’s decision to decrease the size of the factory comes less than a year after it first announced the project alongside Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Ford pledged in February to invest $3.5 billion in the factory, create 2,500 “good-paying jobs” and have a gigawatt capacity of 35 gigawatt hours. BEIJING-BACKED GREEN ENERGY FIRM IS EXPANDING IN US, POSING SERIOUS NATIONAL SECURITY RISK: REPORT “Today’s generational investment by an iconic American company will uplift local families, small businesses, and the entire community and help our state continue leading the future of mobility and electrification,” Whitmer said at the time. “Let’s continue bringing the supply chain of electric vehicles, chips and batteries home while creating thousands of good-paying jobs and revitalizing every region of our state.” The Whitmer administration also agreed to help fund the project with nearly $2 billion in direct subsidies and tax breaks. It is unclear if the state will lower its subsidy levels for the project in light of Tuesday’s announcement. Whitmer’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment. “The bad deal the governor and Democrats negotiated for Michigan taxpayers just got a whole lot worse,” Michigan state House Republican Leader Matt Hall said in a statement. “Even with Democrats’ premature push for electric vehicles and $1.8 billion in state incentives, Ford is cutting back the project and slashing job creation because most people just won’t buy unaffordable, inconvenient EVs.” “Gov. Whitmer was desperate to land a Ford plant after losing out to more economically competitive states, so she rammed through an expensive deal to get a handful of low-wage jobs,” he added. “This deal was a disaster from the start, and now Ford is cutting job plans by 32%. If the original proposal misrepresented Ford’s plans, the hundreds of millions of dollars tied to job creation should be revoked under the contract. The governor must right-size state funding and ensure taxpayers aren’t left on the hook for her failure.” HOUSE CCP PANEL PROBES BIDEN ADMIN OVER CHINESE GREEN ENERGY PROJECT ON US SOIL Ford projected earlier this year that its EV division was projected to lose a staggering $4.5 billion in 2023 alone despite higher revenues. And last month, the company reported a loss of $1.3 billion in its EV division during the third quarter, the period between July and September, which amounts to a $62,016 loss per EV sold in that time span. The company’s announcement Tuesday further represents a blow to President Biden’s green energy agenda, which includes policies to promote the rapid growth of the EV industry. Biden has set the goal of ensuring half of all U.S. car purchases are zero-carbon by 2030 and his administration has taken action restricting future gas-powered vehicle sales. And Ford has also received widespread criticism and congressional scrutiny over its Marshall battery factory. Ford said when it unveiled the project in February that it had reached an agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), a Ningde, China-based firm, to manufacture its battery cells at the plant using services provided by the Chinese company. Republicans and national security experts have blasted the company for teaming up with CATL, citing the firm’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party. CCP-TIED ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY AWARDED MORE THAN $500 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY FOR SECOND US PLANT Although it is not state-owned, Chinese investors tied to the CCP have held financial stakes in CATL, according to a New York Times review. The Chinese government has also taken strategic steps over the last decade to bolster CATL and other electric vehicle industry companies based in China. In addition, Zeng Yuqun, who founded CATL in 2012 and remains its top executive, was identified last year as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee. According to a U.S. government report published in 2018, the CPPCC is a “critical coordinating body” that brings together representatives of Chinese interest groups and is led by the CCP’s Politburo Standing Committee. The CPPCC highlighted Yuqun’s work with CATL fortifying China’s lithium supply chains, which are crucial for electric vehicle production and other green energy development. In September, a group of House Republicans – led by Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith, R-Va. – wrote to Ford CEO Jim Farley, expressing concern over the proposed plant. “While Ford has labeled this project a ‘commitment to American manufacturing’ and asserts it will create 2,500 new American jobs, we are concerned that Ford’s partnership with a Chinese company
Longer Congress government remains in power, the more damage it will inflict on Rajasthan: PM Modi at rally in Kota
Elections for 199 assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 25 and counting will be held on December 3.
Longer Congress government remains in power, the more damage it will inflict on Rajasthan: PM Modi at rally in Kota
Elections for 199 assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 25 and counting will be held on December 3.
Israel Hamas War: Hezbollah Launches 25 Rockets, 3 Suicide Drones In Northern Israel, Worries US!
Plumes of smoke were seen rising from northern Israel on Nov 20 after Hezbollah from Lebanon launched 25 rockets, 3 suicide drones. The violence is a spillover from Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza strip. Hezbollah forces and Israel continue to trade rocket and missile fire in areas near the border. Several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while others landed in open areas. The three explosive-laden drones hit an IDF post on the border, reported Times of Israel. As per Israel, opponent cell had attempted to launch anti-tank missiles from the Marwahin area in Lebanon.
Shocking Video! Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Share Chilling Clips Of Hijacking An India-Bound Ship
Yemen’s Houthis released video footage showing armed men dropping from a chopper and seizing cargo ships in the southern Red Sea. The footage was released by the movement’s TV channel, Al Masirah, a day after the ship was hijacked by the Iran-backed group, which said the ship was linked to Israel. Israel said the seized vessel was a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship. Israel has described the incident as an ‘Iranian act sof terrorism’ with consequences for international maritime security. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said this was
Two reporters killed near Lebanese border with Israel – Lebanon state news agency
Two journalists and a third person were killed by a rocket strike near Lebanon’s border with Israel on Tuesday, the Lebanese state news agency reported.
Tesla launched its own car insurance. Customers waited months for repairs, payouts
Elon Musk promised cheaper, better – even “revolutionary” – car insurance after Tesla started losing out on sales over high premiums. But understaffing left some customers waiting endlessly for compensation, or even return phone calls, as they continued making payments on crashed cars. About 2,500 words, by Steve Stecklow, Koh Gui Qing and Norihiko Shirouzu.