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Israel grounds top-notch US fighter jets
Link: https://www.rt.com/news/568905-israel-ground-us-fighter-jets/
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has decided to ground 11 of its F-35A fighter jets on Sunday, following an incident in Texas last week that saw a US Air Force F-35B Lightning II crash during an attempted landing. | The planes appear to have similar deficiencies to the one that crashed in Texas last week. "From the findings and the information transmitted, it was found that these planes require a dedicated inspection in order to rule out the possibility of a repeated malfunction in the Israeli system," an IDF spokesperson told the media. An initial review showed that the US-supplied aircraft might have similar defects that led to the Texas crash, IDF said.
U.S. spies pushed Twitter to censor 'anti-Ukraine narratives,' files show
Link: https://legitgov.org/us-spies-pushed-twitter-censor-anti-ukraine-narratives-files-show%EF%BB%BF
New batch of Twitter Files exposes collusion with 'other government agencies' | The CIA, Pentagon and other US intelligence and law enforcement agencies, referred internally as OGA, were getting increasingly "more aggressive" with their takedown requests, effectively pushing the platform to engage in censorship of foreign policy stories that ran against the Washington-approved narrative, the latest trove of Twitter documents reveals. "The files show the FBI acting as doorman to a vast program of social media surveillance and censorship, encompassing agencies across the federal government - from the State Department to the Pentagon to the CIA," journalist Matt Taibbi wrote in the Christmas Eve edition of the Twitter Files, released with a blessing from the company's owner Elon Musk. Among thousands of censorship requests flowing to Twitter from "Other Government Organizations" through the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, many had nothing to do with purported "foreign meddling" and were linked to purely domestic issues. But when they had, Twitter executives often struggled to validate government claims, and were under constant pressure - but unable to find evidence to blame a foreign actor, Russia in particular.
Over 1,400 flight cancellations reported as winter storm clobbers US
Link: https://ground.news/article/over-1k-flights-canceled-as-winter-storm-sweeps-toward-midwest_a8c6b2
More than 1,400 flights were canceled in the U.S. as of Sunday morning, with a winter storm battering several parts of the country. (Ground News // Articles)
At Least 17 People Reported Dead, 110 Injured in Heavy Snowfall in Japan
At least 17 people have died and 110 more have been injured as a result of heavy snowfall in Japan, the national TV reported on Monday, citing sources in the country's disaster management. | Severe snowfall has been hitting northern and western Japan since December 17. Many people have died or got injured after falling from the roof, while removing snow, or getting buried underneath snow sliding off rooftops. ● Winter storm has continued through Monday, with snow piling up higher than 160 centimeters (5.2 feet) in some areas.Heavy snow has led to power outages across the country, leaving around 1,000 households in the prefecture of Niigata alone without power for over a week.
In many ways, Ukraine and the US are melding into one country
Ukraine’s hot war requires that it get $100 billion in American aid, which includes an extraordinary amount of American weaponry to which Biden has now added the Patriot missile system, a weapon that is a red line for Putin. Despite this, Ukraine’s government has had the time to focus on what’s really important: LGBTQ+ rights. That’s just part of a symbiotic relationship that sees the U.S. and Ukraine looking more alike every day.
■ Украину и США роднит продвижение ЛГБТ и борьба с церковью
China calls US a ‘direct threat’ to the world
Link: https://www.rt.com/news/568880-china-military-us-direct-threat/
Washington is making up excuses to preserve its “hegemony,” Beijing said | Washington intentionally hypes up the “China threat” as an excuse to boost its military spending, all in an effort to maintain its global dominance, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, after President Joe Biden signed the 2023 US National Defense Authorization Act into law. 💬 “Facts have proved more than once that the US is the direct threat to the international order and the culprit of the regional turbulence,” said the ministry’s spokesman, Colonel Tan Kefei. The statement went on to claim that, in pursuit of its own interests, 💬 the US on multiple occasions has “either waged wars against other countries or created conflicts, causing massive casualties and displacement of innocent civilians.”
Historic Buffalo blizzard leads to deaths, dangerous conditions
Link: https://www.axios.com/2022/12/24/buffalo-blizzard-snow-totals-power-outages
The city of Buffalo is seeing one of the most extreme blizzards in its history, bringing dangerous winter weather to upstate New York amid the holiday weekend. | The extreme winter storm that's plagued much of the country this week brought blizzard warnings and "very heavy lake effect snow" to the Buffalo area, spawning deadly conditions amid the busy holiday travel period. The blizzard has left people stranded on the road with zero visibility and led to thousands of power outages in the area. The storm has already shattered the area's daily snowfall record, with 22.3 inches on Friday, the National Weather Service said. The old record for the date was 12.6 inches in 1976. The latest: Another band of heavy snow is set to slam the Buffalo area Saturday afternoon, heightening fears about drivers stranded on impassable roads with zero invisibility.
■ Blizzard conditions are expected to descend on the city of Buffalo around 4pm and will last into the evening, the NWS warned.
■ Freezing weather hammers US gas output – Bloomberg (RT.com)
■ Arctic Blast Kills at Least 28 in US, Stunting Travel and Causing Blackouts
■ Frigid weather doesn't stop Santas surfing off Florida coast: Freeze warnings are in place for at least half of Florida. Parts of the Florida Panhandle had wind chills that dipped into the single digits. South Floridians were on the watch for falling iguanas. The 14th annual Christmas Eve Surfing Santas festival was held Saturday. (Ground News // Articles)(VIDEO)
Snowden says ‘I told you so’
Link: https://www.rt.com/news/568848-snowden-covid-spying-normalized/
The whistleblower pointed at an AP investigation on how the Covid-19 pandemic has “normalized” spying on citizens | Former CIA and National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has claimed vindication after a media report exposed how surveillance tools deployed to fight Covid-19 are now being abused by law enforcement and other authorities – as he predicted over two years ago. 💬 “I talked about this back in early 2020 and was dismissed as paranoid, as is our tradition when someone points to the predictable outcome of a dangerous but popular new trend,” Snowden said in a Twitter post on Friday. The former US intelligence contractor cited this week’s Associated Press article on how Covid-19 had “accelerated and normalized” use of state surveillance and tracking tools against ordinary citizens and activists. Snowden linked to an April 2020 interview with Vice founder Shane Smith in which he predicted that emergency measures used to deal with the Covid-19 crisis would become permanent and be used to infringe civil liberties.
El Paso housed more than 300 migrants Friday overnight
Link: https://ground.news/article/el-paso-housed-more-than-300-migrants-friday-overnight_0448b3
More than 300 people stayed overnight at the El Paso Convention Center in Texas, as the community works to accommodate a growing number of migrants, El Paso’s Strategic Communications Director Laura Cruz-Acosta told CNN via email Saturday. (Ground News // Articles)
BREAKING: Secret Back Channel Between FTX and White House Closed the Day After FTX Filed for Bankruptcy
A secret back channel between FTX and the Biden White House shut down the day after FTX filed for bankruptcy. | In November TGP reported that billions were sent to Ukraine from the US. Ukraine took some of this money and invested it in FTX. FTX took millions of dollars and invested them in US politicians. The far-left Washington Post reported on March 3 that Ukraine was dealing in crypto.
The Ukrainian government has gathered more than $42 million in cryptocurrency donations since Saturday, plus digital artwork including a limited edition worth roughly $200,000, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The challenge is how the country cashes in on these assets to fund its war needs. ● Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman Fried has come forward to help a crypto donation project. He humbly announced that FTX will be supporting the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance and other communities in collecting crypto donations for the country. The Ukrainian government has received over $60 million in crypto donations from all over the world. ● FTX’s CEO, Sam Bankman Fried highlighted that the war in Ukraine has been dragging on. The country is in full need of humanitarian help and access to global financial infrastructure. He also called attention to sanctions and crypto during this kind of situation. He indicated that crypto exchanges should enforce sanctions announced by the government seriously.
Pentagon's "End-of-Year" Wishlist for Ukraine's Military Falls Far Short
FBI paid Twitter $3.5M 'to do its bidding': Taxpayers' money was used for 'processing requests' from the bureau amid Hunter Biden censorship scandal - as anger grows over secret state censorship of the American people
The FBI handed nearly $3.5 million of taxpayers money to Twitter to pay its staff to handle requests from the bureau as it sought to ban accounts. | A Twitter employee wrote in a February 2020 email that the company's Safety, Content & Law Enforcement (SCALE) had "collected $3,415,323" in less than two years from the FBI for "law-enforcement related projects." The email, which was revealed by journalist Michael Shellenberger, stated that SCALE had instituted a "reimbursement program" in exchange for devoting staff hours to "processing requests from the FBI." The emails was entitled "Run the business - We made money!." The accounts the FBI asked Twitter to ban were largely linked to conservatives and "foreign influence operations."
Massive winter storm freezes U.S. and strands travelers
Link: https://www.axios.com/2022/12/24/cold-weather-power-outages-travel-delays-blizzard
The extreme winter storm and Arctic outbreak hammering swaths of North America have left many parts of the U.S. facing frigid temperatures and travel nightmares. | The big picture: Much of the country woke up on Christmas Eve to cold temperatures, power outages, travel delays, and dangerous — even deadly — weather conditions. ● The winter storm that swept through the United States late this week is now mostly affecting the northern Midwest and Northeast as it rages into Canada.
● At least 15 people have died from the massive storm, CNN reports.
● The city of Buffalo, New York, is in the midst of a historic blizzard, which has brought record-breaking snowfall and zero visibility. Thousands are without power and many vehicles were stranded in the snow.
● "Enhancement from the ice-free Great Lakes will aid in producing 2-4 foot totals in favored snow belts," the National Weather Service said in a bulletin Saturday.
● "In some spots, the wind gusts could approach or exceed 60 MPH resulting in damage and power outages," the NWS added.
■ Hochul deploys National Guard to Buffalo region as ‘life threatening’ storm batters area
■ Multiple dead across U.S., Nat'l Guard called out in N.Y. amid winter storm
■ El Paso scrambles to help migrants in Christmas border crisis | Immigrant groups and volunteers in El Paso, Texas, are working overtime this Christmas season to help a massive wave of migrants and asylum-seekers endure the historic arctic freeze that's sweeping the United States.
4 dead after nearly 50-car pileup shuts down Ohio Turnpike near Sandusky
4 dead after nearly 50-car pileup shuts down Ohio Turnpike near Sandusky | A nearly 50-car pileup that left four dead and multiple injured closed down the Ohio Turnpike Friday afternoon. Ohio State Highway Patrol crews respond to multiple crashes on I-80 eastbound between Route 53 and State Route 4 in Groton Township in Erie County. Troopers have confirmed that at least four people are dead and multiple injuries have been reported. Buses were used to take people from their vehicles to a local facility so they could stay warm.
Less than 1 percent of Israel army probes yield prosecution: watchdog
Link: https://www.newarab.com/news/under-1-israel-army-probes-yield-prosecution-watchdog
Out of more than a thousand cases of alleged offences by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians, only 11 have yielded an indictment, according to the rights group Yesh Din. | Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip over the last five years have been indicted in less than 1 percent of the hundreds of complaints against them, an Israeli rights group reported. The watchdog argued that Israel's military systematically fails to conduct a credible prosecution of itself. ● Between 2017 and 2021, the Israeli military received 1,260 cases of alleged offenses by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians, including 409 cases involving the killing of Palestinians, according to military data obtained by the group Yesh Din and released Wednesday after a freedom of information request. ● The Israeli military opened 248 criminal investigations into instances of possible misconduct in response to those complaints — just 21.4 percent of the total, Yesh Din said. Only 11 investigations during that five-year period have yielded indictments. In those cases, Israel’s military prosecutors acted with leniency toward convicted soldiers, the group added, with those sentenced for killing Palestinians serving only short-term military community service.
■ Norway to review Israel investments to ensure they do not fund illegal settlements: report
Arizona lawyers: Kari Lake election loss lawsuit lacks merit
Link: https://ground.news/article/arizona-lawyers-kari-lake-election-loss-lawsuit-lacks-merit_352ae8
Republican Kari Lake didn’t offer evidence to back her claims of widespread, intentional misconduct on Election Day at her two-day trial challenging her loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs in Arizona governor’s race, lawyers for the state said Thursday. (Ground News // Articles)
Monster winter storm and Arctic blast disrupt holiday travel across U.S.
Link: https://www.axios.com/2022/12/23/winter-storm-cold-temperatures-holidays-photos
A "tremendously impactful" winter storm has overtaken much of the U.S. and a "powerful Arctic front" was sweeping into the eastern third of the nation overnight just days before Christmas, per the National Weather Service. | Over 200 million people, or roughly 60% of the U.S. population, are under some form of winter weather warning or advisory due to the "historic" storm, the NWS said in a Friday morning update. 💬 "Winter weather hazards will stretch from border to border across the central and eastern U.S. and from coast to coast from the east coast to the Pacific Northwest," the NWS said.
■ The Arctic air, strong winds and an associated bomb cyclone could be deadly to anyone caught outside, per Axios' climate reporter Andrew Freedman.
■ The developing extreme weather event was already causing widespread disruption to holiday travel and bringing with it the threat of potential power outages from projected high winds, heavy snow, significant icing and overall increased power consumption.
■ Outages were of particular concern in Texas, where the state's power grid faced its biggest test since new winterization standards took effect after the deadly 2021 freeze.
What to expect: "Widespread record low maximum temperature values are possible Friday from the Lower Mississippi Valley, northeastward into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and stretching across large sections of the east from the Southeast, through the Southern to Central Appalachians and into the Mid-Atlantic on Friday," the NWS said in a Friday morning update.
■ Here's how many flights have been delayed, canceled by the bomb cyclone
Jan. 6 final report alleges Trump engaged in "multi-part conspiracy"
Link: https://www.axios.com/2022/12/23/january-6-committee-final-report
The House Jan. 6 select committee on Thursday released its long-awaited final report, which includes detailed evidence compiled by the panel relating to the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. | The report provides the clearest look yet at what transpired before, during and after one of the most consequential events in American history. ● The panel estimates that between the November election and the Jan.6 insurrection, former President Donald Trump or his inner circle "engaged in at least 200 apparent acts of public or private outreach, pressure, or condemnation, targeting either State legislators or State or local election administrators, to overturn State election results," per the report.
■ Jan. 6 committee releases final report (Ground News // Articles)
FTX founder released on $250mn bail
Link: https://www.rt.com/business/568779-ftx-bankman-crypto-fraud-bail/
Sam Bankman-Fried has been allowed to await trial at his parents’ home after posting a record-high bond | Sam Bankman-Fried, the man accused of defrauding cryptocurrency investors out of nearly $2 billion, will be awaiting trial at his parents’ house in California, rather than in a New York jail cell, after a Manhattan judge agreed to release the FTX founder on a $250 million bond. ● The shaggy-haired Bankman-Fried, who ranked as the second-largest donor to Democratic Party political campaigns in 2022, walked out of the US District Courthouse in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon, flanked by US marshals, lawyers and his parents. The bond, which matched the highest in federal court history, was reportedly secured by the 30-year-old entrepreneur’s parents, who pledged the equity in their home, and two wealthy individuals.
■ FTX founder Bankman-Fried allowed $250M bond, house arrest (Ground News // Articles)
Sweden Confirms 'Baltic Titanic' Was Used for Secret Military Transports
The Estonia’s sinking in 1994 killed 852 people and is seen as the second-worst peacetime maritime disaster, ranking only behind the Titanic. With decades having gone by, questions about the tragedy abound, despite survivors’ numerous calls for justice. | In a sensational confession, the Swedish Armed Forces have admitted that the Estonia passenger ferry, whose demise in 1994 is seen as one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century, was used for secret military transports. ● Ever since the Estonia sank on September 28, 1994, there have been rumors that the ferry had military cargo on board on the night of the accident. The accident commission appointed shortly afterwards dismissed the rumors as unsubstantiated fantasies. However, in 2004 Swedish media revealed that at least on two occasions, two weeks and one week before the accident, cars loaded with military gear were transported to Sweden. ● In a new document, “a handful” of military transports from the Baltic countries with the Swedish Armed Forces as recipients were finally confirmed, yet without exact dates. However, the document features “electronic equipment without any connection to weapons systems” transported in civilian vehicles.
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