The overall death toll from Hurricane Helene across the affected southeastern states has risen to at least 91 people. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people are reportedly unaccounted for in Buncombe County in western North Carolina.
In other news, a 36-year-old Muslim man in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his 60-year-old widowed mother.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Dora, DV, LP, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Canada: Federal Debt Interest Costs Up 30% Since 2023: StatsCan
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the Trudeau government to cut spending after a Statistics Canada report showed interest charges climbed 29% year over year.
StatsCan released its Government Finance Statistics report for the second quarter on Tuesday, revealing the substantial increase in financial interest.
“About 11 cents out of every single dollar from taxpayers is now going to pay interest charges on the debt,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Taxpayers are losing out on more than $1 billion every week that can’t be used to lower taxes or improve services because that money is going to pay interest on the government credit card.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
1,000 People Reported Unaccounted for in North Carolina County Hit Hardest by Hurricane Helene
More than 1,000 people have been reported unaccounted for in a devastated North Carolina county where 30 people have already been confirmed dead after Hurricane Helene, officials said Sunday.
Authorities in Buncombe County reported the horrifying toll in an emergency meeting announcing emergency medical shelters and ongoing rescue efforts in areas almost overwhelmed by stormwater.
They also announced a special website to appeal for help finding those unaccounted for — with “more than 1,000 reports so far,” one local official told the live-streamed meeting.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
William Braddock, a former Republican congressional candidate from Florida, has been charged with threatening to send a “hit squad” to kill his opponent, Anna Paulina Luna, during the 2022 primary election.
According to the Department of Justice, Braddock was recorded in a phone call with a local activist claiming he would dispatch a Russian and Ukrainian hit squad to assassinate Luna, who went on to win the election and serve her district in the US House.
Following his loss, Braddock relocated to the Philippines, where he was later extradited to the US on charges of interstate transmission of a true threat to injure another person, as reported by Politico. Braddock appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday. In an earlier report by Politico, it was revealed that the activist had recorded Braddock advising her not to support Luna, warning that he had access to assassins.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brett Kavanaugh Warns Recent Chevron Ruling Should Not be ‘Overread’
Justice Brett Kavanaugh has made some interesting statements regarding the United States Supreme Court Chevron ruling earlier this year.
The ruling torched the power of bureaucratic federal agencies.
According to Bloomberg Law, while speaking at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington the Supreme Court justice stated that the Chevron ruling shouldn’t be “overread.”
Kavanaugh was referring to the decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.
The ruling overturned the 1984 Chevron Doctrine.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Vetoes Contentious AI Safety Bill That Tech Firms Panned
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday.
The decision is a major blow to efforts attempting to rein in the homegrown industry that is rapidly evolving with little oversight. The bill would have established some of the first regulations on large-scale AI models in the nation and paved the way for AI safety regulations across the country, supporters said.
Earlier this month, the Democratic governor told an audience at Dreamforce, an annual conference hosted by software giant Salesforce, that California must lead in regulating AI in the face of federal inaction but that the proposal “can have a chilling effect on the industry.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conyers Chemical Plant Fire Leads to Evacuation of 17,000
A fire reignited Sunday at a chemical facility in Conyers, officials said, leading to the evacuation order of about 17,000 people and several road closures, including I-20.
Officials said the blaze reignited after being contained Sunday morning at BioLab on Old Covington Highway, the third such incident at the plant over the past seven years. Photos showed a massive plume of smoke in the sky that was visible from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport — about 30 miles away.
“Please remain indoors and keep windows closed to minimize exposure to any potential hazards,” the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
[…]
A fire on the roof caused the sprinkler system to mix with a water-reactive chemical at the plant, Rockdale County fire Chief Marian McDaniel said during a press conference late Sunday. She previously said the a sprinkler head malfunctioned. It’s unclear what started the fire, which was placed under control around 4 p.m. The roof and walls of the plant have since collapsed.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for all of Rockdale County until midnight. Officials said residents will likely see the plume of smoke — now a chemical reaction and not a fire — for several days. There were employees inside the plant but no injuries have been reported at this time. About 17,000 people live in Conyers, located about 25 miles east of Atlanta.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Death Toll Rises From Helene While Supplies Are Rushed to North Carolina and Florida Digs Out
PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Authorities struggled to get water and other supplies to isolated, flood-stricken areas across the U.S. Southeast in the wake of Hurricane Helene as the death toll from the storm rose.
A North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed due to the storm, and several other fatalities reported in North Carolina Sunday pushed the overall death toll to at least 91 people across several states.
Supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water into Ashville — which is known for its arts, culture and natural attractions — by Monday.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Democrat Jerry Nadler Demands NYC Mayor Eric Adams ‘Resign’: ‘Lost the Ability to Effectively Lead’
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has demanded that New York City’s embattled Democrat Mayor Eric Adams “resign” following his indictment.
Adams is facing corruption charges stemming from a federal investigation.
On Thursday, the mayor was served with a five-count indictment that included charges such as bribery, wire fraud, and foreign contribution.
Nevertheless, Adams maintains his innocence and has insisted he is staying in office for the duration, The Hill reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Doctor Raises Alarm Over ‘Epidemic’ of Skyrocketing Cancer Cases
A renowned American physician is sounding the alarm over skyrocketing numbers of young people being diagnosed with deadly cancers.
Dr. Cynthia Yoshida, a professor at the University of Virginia (UVA), warns that this troubling trend has now “become an epidemic.”
Yoshida, who leads UVA’s Health Cancer Center’s Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, is now alerting the public via local media outlets.
Scientists, physicians, and oncologists around the world have been reporting that cancer cases have spiked dramatically since 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tiffany Henyard, the scandal-plagued Democratic mayor of Dolton, Illinois, appears to be facing a new disaster after a local report indicated she is being evicted from her home.
Henyard, dubbed by residents as “the worst mayor in America,” and her boyfriend Kamal Woods owe more than $3,300 in rent on a home they have been renting in the 14600 block of South Harvard for the past three years, FOX32 Chicago reported, citing copies of an eviction notice filed against the couple in Cook County Court.
Henyard also reportedly refused to allow the property to be inspected.
An attorney for Heynard told FOX32 via text message that the claim is false, and the couple has not missed any rent payments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Georgia Residents Evacuate as Toxic Smoke Billows From Inferno at Chemical Plant
Georgia officials are asking some residents to evacuate after a fire at a chemical plant started spreading toxic smoke on Sunday.
The fire began at the BioLab plant in Conyers — which is located around 32 miles southeast of Atlanta — at 5 a.m. on Sunday, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. BioLab is a company that produces pool chemicals, according to its website.
BioLab told Fox News Digital that they are “actively responding” to the incident.
“Our employees are accounted for with no injuries reported,” a spokesperson said. “Our team is on the scene, working with first responders and local authorities to assess and contain the situation. As always, the safety of our community remains our top priority.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. Newsom Vetoes Calif. Bill Requiring Health Warning Labels on Gas Stoves
Sept. 28 (UPI) — Calling its provisions “highly prescriptive,” Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a state measure requiring consumer health warning labels to be placed on gas stoves beginning next year.
Assembly Bill 2513, approved by the California Legislature earlier this month, would have required all gas stoves sold in California to display a warning label detailing the health risks associated with pollutants emitted from gas stoves starting on Jan. 1, 2025.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harvard Cancels Over 30 Courses; Far-Left History & Literature Classes Hardest Hit
Harvard has canceled over 30 fall semester courses encompassing 20 departments, but the History and Literature department took it on the chin the hardest.
According to The Crimson, Hist-Lit Director of Studies Lauren Kaminsky said class offerings dropped from 19 to 13 classes after five lecturers either departed or chose to do something else.
The canceled Hist-Lit courses include “British Soft Power from Shakespeare to Dua Lipa,” “Marx at the Mall: Consumer Culture & Its Critics,” “Global Transgender Histories,” “Indigenous Genders and Sexualities in North America,” “The Making of Race across Latin America,” and “Global Histories of Capitalism.”
The course description for “Global Transgender Histories” noted students “will become familiar with some of the global vocabulary of gender identities beyond the binary and will understand the historical impacts of phenomena such as racism, imperialism, and [the] medicalization on gender identities.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hurricane Helene Wipes Small Town ‘Off the Map’ in Florida
As Hurricane Helene pounded Florida’s Gulf Coast this week it virtually wiped the small town of Steinhatchee “off the map” with 10-foot waves and 140 mph winds.
Although the town was evacuated, the 500 people who saved their lives came back to homes and businesses destroyed by the Category 4 storm. “It’s heartbreaking,” Donna Landon told the New York Post. She suffered the total loss of her mobile home.
The Post toured Steinhatchee on Friday, which is located about 90 miles southeast of the state capital Tallahassee. There were few buildings not blown away by the storms and the ones that survived total demolition were heavily damaged. The human cost has been at least 45 dead.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
John Kerry vs. the First Amendment
If irony had a throne, John Kerry would be leaning on it, monologuing about democracy’s headaches at this week’s World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Meetings. Here, the former Secretary of State and America’s first designated Climate Envoy complained about the modern “crisis” of governance—that awful, inconvenient reality where everyone has a voice. Apparently, too many people are ruining what used to be a good thing.
Kerry, cloistered in the comfort of the Davos bubble, reminded us just how difficult it is to govern when the masses actually get to speak their minds. “It’s really hard to govern today,” Kerry lamented, exuding the charm of someone frustrated that the rabble is talking back. The referees of truth, as he calls them, have been “eviscerated.” You know, those old-school arbiters—the gatekeepers of facts—who made sure the right people got to say the right things, ensuring a comfortable consensus among the elite.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michigan Girl, 7, Stabbed to Death; 13-Year-Old Sister in Custody: Police
A 7-year-old Michigan girl is dead, and her 13-year-old sister is in police custody after officers found the victim lying inside her home with several stab wounds.
The Taylor Police Department was called to a home around 1 p.m. on Saturday to investigate a domestic dispute.
Officers arrived to find a 7-year-old girl with stab wounds, police said, and she was rushed to the hospital where she later died.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Minneapolis Swears in First Non-U.S. Citizen as Police Officer
Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sworn in its first police officer who is not a U.S. citizen, according to reports.
The Minnesota Police Dept. has reported that Lesly Vera, a native of Somalia, was sworn in on Thursday as the department’s first non-citizen officer.
Vera was seen at the swearing-in ceremony wearing a hijab over her head as she took the oath of office and received her badge.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYT Slammed for Claiming Hezbollah Founder Hassan Nasrallah Wanted ‘Equality’ for All Religions
The New York Times faced widespread criticism and mockery after it published an article critics said tried to soften the image of slain Hezbollah founder Hassan Nasrallah — claiming the terror leader who advocated for the annihilation of Israel was a champion of “equality” for all religious groups in the region.
The article, titled “Protesters Mourn Nasrallah’s Death Around the World” — published Saturday without a byline — heaps praise on Nasrallah as a “gifted orator” who “maintained that there should be one Palestine with equality for Muslims, Jews and Christians.”
Nasrallah fervently believed in the destruction of the Jewish state — and his organization carried out numerous horrific attacks on Jews around the world.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Portland State U. Considers Divestment After Protesters Cause $1.23 Million in Damages to Library
Portland State University just reopened its library after pro-Palestinian protestors took over and vandalized the building in April, causing $1.23 million in damages.
Now, the university is considering protesters’ demands to divest from companies with connections to Israel — prompting criticism from one scholar.
The Millar Library re-opened Sept. 16 after a lengthy repair process that cost $1.23 million, university spokesperson Katy Swordfisk told The College Fix in a recent email.
The protesters’ occupation of the library last spring proved very destructive. Walls, windows, computers, books, furniture, and more were damaged or destroyed, and images showed large parts of the building spraypainted with anti-Israel graffiti.
The fire safety system also was damaged, making it unsafe even for staff to have “consistent access” to the building for several months, according to an update on the library’s website.
Afterward, 22 protesters were arrested, including seven students, the Portland Police Bureau told KOIN News at the time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Primanti Bros Faces Boycott After Barring JD Vance From Approved Campaign Stop in Western PA
The Pittsburgh-based sandwich chain Primanti Bros. is facing boycott calls after it abruptly canceled a scheduled campaign event for Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance at one of its locations.
Vance’s team had previously arranged for him to speak at the North Versailles store on Saturday and the sandwich shop had initially approved the campaign stop. However, when the day came, staff reportedly refused to let him inside, stating they had not been informed about the event in advance. Paying customers were inside asking to meet Vance but he was denied entry and resorted to speaking with his voters in the parking lot.
Footage from inside the restaurant showed many of Vance’s supporters criticizing the store’s decision, with some calling for a boycott. One video captured a woman alleging that the store’s manager told Vance’s team they would “call the police if [Vance] comes out [of his car],” according to a report from the Daily Mail.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. Running Mate Nicole Shanahan Tells Roseanne Barr ‘Tech Broke Politics’
Nicole Shanahan, the Silicon Valley attorney who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate before he suspended his presidential campaign, recently made an appearance on Roseanne Barr’s podcast to share her insights into how the Democratic Party has become intertwined with major tech corporations in Silicon Valley.
Shanahan pointed to the 2016 election, specifically the blame placed by the tech world on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump. “Mark Zuckerberg was blamed for the loss of Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump,” she explained, referencing the Russia-gate scandal and the controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data.
“This was made a massive deal in Silicon Valley. It changed everything,” Shanahan continued. “It made everyone realize in the valley that this little motley crew of wealthy millennial assholes were changing the entire landscape of geopolitics.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Riley Gaines Wins in Court Against University of New Mexico $5K+ Security Fee
The University of New Mexico is temporarily stopped from imposing a $5,384.75 security fee on its Turning Point USA chapter for hosting Riley Gaines, a federal judge ruled recently.
The ruling stems from the public university’s fee charge for an event last October involving the women’s sports activist and a subsequent lawsuit from Southeastern Legal Foundation.
District Judge David Urias ruled that the university must stop all security fees for “speech events,” as part of his ruling on Thursday. “Defendants are enjoined from enforcing the security fee policy vis-à-vis speech events and the collection of payment for security fees related to the Gaines event,” Urias wrote. The prohibition does not relying to sporting events.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
San Antonio’s Animal Control Caught Silencing Dissent Over Euthanasia Practices
A “unanimous vote” on opinions that pertain to life and death. And, in the US, there should be no such thing as stifling lawful public free speech and debate, on any topic.
Euthanasia (of animals) meets the First Amendment here. Euthanasia in itself is a massive issue that will never see any kind of consensus, whether it concerns people, or dogs and cats — companions for thousands of years and a part of their lives.
So — let people discuss it.
Yet — San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) decided it was its way or the highway for hundreds of Facebook comments. More precisely, the organization decided that even if those were merely the voices heard on ACS’s Facebook page, they had to be, well — destroyed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Mark Warner Urges Biden-Harris to Boost Big Tech Collusion for 2024 Election Censorship
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a prominent Democrat, is pressuring the Biden administration to expand its collaboration with Big Tech and local governments in an effort to curb what he calls “election disinformation” ahead of the 2024 elections.
In a letter obtained by Reclaim The Net, Warner urges Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), to work closely with social media companies, researchers, and local officials to tackle online content that could influence voters.
Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, claims that election officials are under severe pressure to handle an “unprecedented rise in targeted election disinformation campaigns.” He has urged CISA to use all available tools to support election administrators in building resilience against these so-called “information manipulation campaigns.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule arrived safely at the International Space Station on Sunday, where it will eventually ferry back to Earth the two Boeing Strainer astronauts who have been stuck in space for months.
The SpaceX ship flew NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the ISS for their five-month science mission to bring home the stranded Boeing astronauts.
The Crew Dragon has two empty seats onboard which will be occupied by Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams during a return trip scheduled for February — bringing an end to the duo’s troubled journey that began when Starliner malfunctioned on June 5.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mykela ‘Keiko’ Jackson, founder of the Food Trap Project Bodega in Minneapolis has sparked controversy by restricting access to the pantry for black and indigenous people only.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Designates Venezuelan Tren De Aragua as Terrorist Organization
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has designated the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization and says Texas is “will put them behind bars.” On Sept. 16, Abbott announced several steps to stop the expansion and eradicate Tren de Aragua in the state.
Abbot posted on X: “Vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has taken over many countries already. We must stop them in their tracks.I designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization & launched a statewide operation to target & arrest them. Texas is hostile territory to this dangerous gang.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tim Walz Appears to Flip Off Michigan College Kids Shouting ‘Trump 2024, Baby!’ at Football Game
Vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) appeared to give the finger to Michigan college students in Ann Arbour Sunday where he was attending the Michigan-Minnesota college football game. Michigan fans booed Walz, told him to “get out of here” and shouted “Trump 2024, baby” at the governor.
Walz watched the game in a private box shared by former US Rep. Beto O’Rourke, according to Fox News. The Michigan football team ended up defeating Minnesota’s football team 27-24.
Human Events senior contributor Charlie Kirk posted on X: “Tim Walz gets heckled by students at the Michigan game and then appears to flip off the students. Really showing his ex-teacher, vice presidential maturity getting rattled by some college kids. Weak!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Campaign Pushes Back on ‘SNL’ Skit About Assassination Attempts: ‘Disgusting’
The Trump campaign’s social media account pushed back on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) on Saturday after the season premiere featured a skit about assassination attempts against former President Trump.
James Austin Johnson played Trump in the cold open and referenced the first assassination attempt that occurred July 13 in Butler, Pa., as he depicted the former president at one of his rallies.
“Where the hell is everyone going? Where are you going? I see you trying to leave, but the doors are locked. Come on back — we’re having fun. We love my rallies, except when someone does the ‘bing, bong, bing, bing, bing’ right at me. You know that happened because of the rhetoric of the radical left? They say that me blaming the Democrats for inciting violence is the pot calling the kettle black,” Johnson said.
The Trump campaign posted to social media, “There were two assassination attempts against President Trump within a span of seven weeks. @nbcsnl apparently finds that funny. Disgusting.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Zero Republican Professors Found in Six Humanities Departments at UNC Chapel Hill
Students hoping to hear from a Republican professor in the philosophy, classics, and history department are likely going to be disappointed at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
That is because there does not appear to be any Republican professors in those departments. The same goes for the studio art, art history, and American Studies departments, according to research conducted by The College Fix.
The Fix looked up professors’ political party affiliations using the North Carolina State Board of Elections’ Voter Search tool.
The Fix identified affiliations of 239 of the 333 professors across 11 departments at the public university. Most of the departments were humanities, although economics was also included. The entire breakdown can be found at the end of the article.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bloc Threatens to ‘Bring Down’ Trudeau Gov in October
The Trudeau government survived a non-confidence vote by a margin of 211 to 120 on a warning it may be a short reprieve. “This is a limited-time offer,” said Bloc Québécois House Leader Alain Therrien in a thinly veiled threat.
“There will be plenty of non-confidence votes between now and Christmas and we see no need to hit the ground running,” Therrien told the Commons. “We will have plenty of opportunities,” he added. “There is no rush.”
The vote on Thursday was the first since New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh formally repudiated his 2022 Supply And Confidence Agreement on September 4.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Expose the Traitors! 11 Parliamentarians Are Working for Foreign States
Eleven parliamentarians, between the House of Commons and Senate, have betrayed the trust of Canada and allowed themselves to be tools of foreign states. But Canadians won’t know before the next election. Yes, you heard that right.
But we want to expose these traitors to Canada — and if you do too, go to ExposeTheTraitors.com and help us send them a message.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Public Health Agency of Canada Releases First Report on Psychological Manipulation of Citizens
Canada’s public health agency has established a behavioural science office (BeSciO) and has recently released its first report detailing its persuasion of public compliance under the guidance of Chief Medical Officer of Canada, Theresa Tam.
Tam, who also serves on various World Health Organization committees, has been heavily scrutinized for this conflict of interest in recent years.
The report starts with a land acknowledgment and outlines the Public Health Agency of Canada’s progress in establishing BeSciO from April 2021 to March 2023. Launched in Spring 2021, BeSciO emphasizes the importance of human behaviour in public health and supported the government’s pandemic response with critical advice and evidence.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rebel News Refuses to Cower After Billboard Truck Attacked by Rabid Activists
Astute viewers of Rebel News are likely aware that we were covering duelling protests at Toronto’s Queen’s Park last week. One group consisted of concerned parents who want schools to embrace education over indoctrination. The other group consisted of radicalized “spirit unicorns” and their Antifa allies. Pop quiz: can you possibly guess which group came across as civil and articulate and which group came across as unhinged maniacs?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ruling Bars Public Release of “300 Far-Right Groups” List Funded by Liberal Gov
Ontario’s privacy commissioner has sided with Ontario Tech University “anti-hate” researcher Dr. Barbara Perry in keeping her 300 active Canadian “far-right” hate groups list secret.
Perry’s work, which identifies hundreds of so-called far-right groups, has gained significant attention in mainstream media and has been cited while crafting legislation. This research has benefited from the patronage of the Liberal government, including a $396,385 grant from Public Safety Canada. Perry is also the Director of OTU’s Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism.
However, despite her initial promises to make the list public, Perry has so far failed to disclose even a single group on the list.
In 2022, True North filed a freedom of information request to obtain Perry’s research, including the methodology she used to designate groups as far-right and the names of the groups involved.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
2024 Czech Senate Election: Govt. Parties Weaken, But Retain Majority
The Czech Senate election concluded with a runoff round on Sept. 28, with both opposition party ANO, led by former PM Andrej Babis, and the current government coalition led by PM Petr Fiala claiming victory. While ANO won the most seats out of any single party, the coalition parties are expected to maintain their majority in the Senate moving forward.
ANO won eight out of the 27 contested seats, marking the first time the party has won the most seats in an election for the Czech Senate. In contrast, government coalition parties collectively won 15 seats, leading both sides to declare victory. Voter turnout was 17.5 percent, slightly up from the previous elections in these districts in 2018 despite the recent floods.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria’s Freedom Party Secures First Far-Right National Election Win Since World War II
VIENNA — The Freedom Party secured the first far-right national parliamentary election victory in post-World War II Austria on Sunday, finishing ahead of the governing conservatives after tapping into anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine and other issues. But its chances of governing were unclear.
Preliminary official results showed the Freedom Party finishing first with 29.2% of the vote and Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party was second with 26.5%. The center-left Social Democrats were in third place with 21%. The outgoing government — a coalition of Nehammer’s party and the environmentalist Greens — lost its majority in the lower house of parliament.
Herbert Kickl, a former interior minister and longtime campaign strategist who has led the Freedom Party since 2021, wants to be chancellor.
But to become Austria’s new leader, he would need a coalition partner to command a parliamentary majority. Rivals have said they won’t work with Kickl in government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Extremism is on the Rise, German President Warns at WWII Memorial
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern at the rise of nationalist and right-wing extremist forces in his country during a visit to Italy to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Marzabotto massacre on Sunday.
“Forces that wish to weaken or undermine democracy — in my country, of all places — that worries me,” Steinmeier said.
There was a greater responsibility than before to stand up and fight for the values of a united Europe and its democracies, he said.
Steinmeier travelled to Italy immediately after Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s three-day visit to Germany.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lithuanian FM Warns Russia Can Do ‘So Much Damage to Its Neighbors’
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. — Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis shared with Fox News Digital his perspective as someone on the border of the Ukraine invasion, including concerns Russia can do “so much damage” even as its power wanes.
“In 2014, before the first war in Ukraine, people in the U.S. and … Western leaders would say ‘Russia is going down, it’s on its way down, its regional power — it’s not a global power anymore, its influence is waning,’“ Landsbergis said. “But on its way down, it can do so much damage to its neighbors.”
“It’s not the right assessment,” he added, saying that even if Russia were declining as much as Western leaders think, the death “convulsions” of such a great power could “last for decades.”
“Who knows when or how it would stop … it’s a very difficult thing to imagine, to predict,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Prepares for Mass Transport of Wounded Soldiers in Scenario of War With Russia
Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute
As the North Atlantic alliance ramps up preparations for war with Russia, Brussels is considering how it might remove a large number of wounded NATO soldiers from the frontlines should conflict with Moscow breakout.
Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, the head of NATO’s logistics command, discussed the plans with Reuters. “The challenge will be to swiftly ensure high-quality care for, in the worst case, a great number of wounded,” he said.
Sollfrank believes that NATO will be unable to have air superiority over the frontlines in a conflict with Russia. He said the bloc is considering using hospital trains and buses to move the wounded soldiers.
Sollfrank explained, “For planning reasons, all options to take a great number of wounded to medical installations need to be considered, which includes trains but potentially also buses.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Norway is Mulling Building a Fence on Its Border With Russia, Following Finland’s Example
HELSINKI (AP) — Norway may put a fence along part or all of the 198-kilometer (123-mile) border it shares with Russia, a minister said, a move inspired by a similar project in its Nordic neighbor Finland.
“A border fence is very interesting, not only because it can act as a deterrent but also because it contains sensors and technology that allow you to detect if people are moving close to the border,” Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said in an interview with the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK published late Saturday.
She said the Norwegian government is currently looking at “several measures” to beef up security on the border with Russia in the Arctic north, such as fencing, increasing the number of border staff or stepping up monitoring.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Family Suffers ‘Huge Shock’ as 9-Year-Old Boy Dies Suddenly: ‘Completely Out of the Blue’
A soccer-playing 9-year-old schoolboy has tragically died suddenly, his devastated family has revealed.
Freddie Pritchard’s heartbroken parents are desperate for answers after their young son mysteriously dropped dead.
His family says Freddie’s death was a “huge shock” and came “completely out of the blue.”
The young boy passed away suddenly while the family was returning to their home in Wales from a vacation on the Spanish island of Tenerife.
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A prominent Labour MP has quit the left-wing party amid the growing gifts scandal surrounding Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and top members of his government, declaring that the “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale.”
Canterbury Member of Parliament Rosie Duffield announced Saturday evening that she will leave Labour to become an independent lawmaker, accusing the prime minister of failing to uphold left-wing principles, using “heavy-handed management tactics” to quell dissent among the backbench, and displaying a lack of “political instincts” in the handling of the so-called freebies scandal.
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UK: You Don’t Say! Boris Johnson Admits He’s ‘Not Sure’ Coronavirus Lockdowns Actually Worked
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has belatedly admitted that he is “not sure” if the draconian lockdown measures imposed on the nation by his government during the Chinese coronavirus were effective in stemming the tide of the illness.
In an excerpt of his upcoming memoirs published in the Daily Mail, Mr Johnson appears to have admitted to being swept up in the panic of the Wuhan virus, sensationally revealing that he considered a literal invasion of The Netherlands to obtain covid vaccines being blocked by the EU, as well as admitting that he had growing doubts about the effectiveness of the lockdown regime he foisted upon the British people.
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Associated Press Called Out for Headline on Death of Terror Leader: ‘Charismatic and Shrewd’
Social media users blasted the Associated Press for its recent obituary headline for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, describing it as kinder to the terror leader than the outlet’s obituary for late U.S. senator Jim Inhofe.
The AP News headline marking Nasrallah’s death this week referred to the Hezbollah boss as “charismatic and shrewd,” while the outlet’s headline for Inhofe’s death in July painted the late lawmaker in a bad light, reminding readers he “called human-caused climate change a ‘hoax.’“
Observant X users noticed the difference in tone between the two obituaries. Prominent conservative account @AGHamilton29 remarked, “This is actual enemy of the people stuff.” He also noted that the article left out Hezbollah’s “entire history of terrorism, describes their mass starvation and murder as ‘taken part in the conflict in neighboring Syria’, and tries to paint him as a ‘moderate.’“
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IDF Announces Death of Another Senior Hezbollah Official Following Nasrallah Death
Israel’s military says it has killed yet another high level member of Hezbollah with an airstrike on Sunday.
The IDF says the strike killed Nabil Qaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council, though they did not offer details on where the strike took place. The claim comes just days after an IDF strike killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued to fire barrages of missiles and rockets toward one another as they appear to be on the brink of all-out war.
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U.S. Navy Repels Red Sea Attack: Shoots Down Barrage of Houthi Missiles, Drones
U.S. Navy warships shot down a barrage of Houthi terrorist cruise missiles and drones launched Friday from Yemen at the shipping lanes of the Red Sea.
The Pentagon confirmed the attack and the successful response on Friday.
“We did see a complex attack launched from the Houthis that ranged from cruise missiles and [unmanned aerial vehicles],” said Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the Defense Department.
Stars and Stripes reports the Iran-backed Houthi claimed to have damaged three U.S. Navy warships in a concentrated bombardment of 23 missiles and bomber drones.
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16 Injured in Russian Attacks on City of Zaporizhzhia
Russia hit the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with multiple guided bombs on Sunday, wounding at least 16 people and damaging railways, infrastructure and residential and commercial buildings, Ukrainian officials said. Russian forces hit three districts in the south-eastern city with a total of 13 guided bombs between 5am and 7am, the governor of Zaporizhzhia region said. The strikes injured at least 16 people, including two children aged eight and 17, Ivan Fedorov said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app that several residential buildings, the city’s infrastructure and railways were damaged, and posting pictures from the attack sites showing charred cars, a hole blown through a residential building and rescuers battling fires. Local officials said trains were delayed and diverted while rescuers cleared the debris.
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Kremlin Spokesman Defends Putin’s Changes to Russian Nuclear Doctrine
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Sunday that Moscow’s revised nuclear weapons doctrine is needed because NATO infrastructure is approaching Russia’s borders ever more closely.
Peskov told Russian state television that Western powers are seeking victory over Russia through their arms deliveries to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin announced an updated policy on the use of nuclear weapons, citing tensions with Western powers over their support for Ukraine.
Responding to a question about who would make the decision to deploy nuclear weapons in the light of Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, Peskov said that this was for military experts.
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Russia Downs Over 100 Ukrainian Drones in One of the Largest Barrages of the War
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia Sunday, officials said, sparking a wildfire and setting an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that it had shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions. The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defenses.
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India: Muslim Man Gets Life Term for Raping His Mother, Asking Her to Live With Him as Wife
A 36-year-old Muslim man from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his 60-year-old widowed mother and attempting to force an incestuous relationship, demanding she live with him as his wife.
Upendra Bharati | HENB | New Delhi | Sept 29, 2024:: A 36-year-old man, identified as Aabid, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district for raping his 60-year-old widowed mother. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 51,000 on the accused. According to public prosecutor Vijay Sharma, the incident occurred on January 16 last year when the mother-son duo had gone to a farm near their home to fetch fodder from the animals.
This sentence reflects the severity with which courts view such heinous crimes, ensuring justice for the victim and emphasizing the importance of protecting vulnerable individuals from exploitation and abuse.
According to public prosecutor Vijay Sharma, Aabid brutally assaulted his 60-year-old mother while she was gathering fodder. He stuffed a cloth in her mouth to silence her, then raped her. Afterward, Aabid demanded that his mother live with him as his wife, threatening to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.
Defying her son’s threats, the courageous woman shared her traumatic experience with her neighbors, who promptly informed her younger son. This brave decision led to Aabid’s prosecution and eventual life imprisonment.
On January 22, 2023, the Bulandshahr police registered a First Information Report (FIR) and took Aabid into custody. Following a year-long trial, the court delivered a guilty verdict and sentenced Aabid to life imprisonment. Additionally, the court imposed a fine of Rs 51,000.
Psychologists suggest that a cultural or familial environment tolerant of incestuous relationships may contribute to the underlying factors leading to such crimes.
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Slaughter in Bangladesh and the International Cover-Up
Editor’s Note: This article was published under an erroneous byline, and the author’s name has since been corrected.
On August 5, 2024, Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country and take refuge in India following a month-long anti-government movement led by Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), ultra-Islamist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Hizb Ut Tahrir and other Islamist organizations in the country. It was earlier perceived by many that the Biden administration had been trying to topple Sheikh Hasina from power and install Muhammad Yunus as head of the government.
Muhammad Yunus is one of the major donors of Clinton Foundation, and according to a cable leaked by Wikileaks, back in 2007, Hillary Clinton made frantic bids and exerted pressure on Bangladesh Army to make her friend Yunus head of the then military-backed interim government.
Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, Muhammad Yunus returned to Bangladesh on August 7, 2024 from France and on the subsequent day took oath as the “Chief Advisor” of the military-backed revolutionary regime. Meanwhile, since August 5, 2024, massive attacks on Hindus, including their homes, businesses and temples began, while local media were barred from covering these incidents, as the Yunus regime has been arresting critics and journalists and bringing murder cases against them.
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Canada: Feds Processed Record 41,350 Asylum Claims at Airports Last Year
Federal border agents processed a record number of asylum claims last year at airports, following the closure of Roxham Road last March.
According to recent Immigration data, 41,350 asylum claims were made at airports last year. More than half of claimants landed at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, dubbed the “new Roxham Road.”
Despite the closure of Roxham Road on March 24, 2023, thousands more now arrive by air, mainly at the airports in Toronto and Montreal.
Canadian airports are currently on pace for another record year in 2024, processing 31,000 asylum claims between January and July — three times the number that have been processed at land ports of entry.
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Hundreds of inflatable boats, rubber rings and engines have been seized in Bulgaria to stop them being used to smuggle migrants into Britain.
A joint operation by British and Bulgarian authorities resulted in 33 separate interceptions and the seizure of 125 inflatable boats, 128 engines, 300 rubber rings and more than 700 pumps.
Law enforcement experts predict the seizures will have denied the organised crimenetworks around £16.6 million in profit they would have made from crossings using the equipment.
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Kamala Harris Appears to Wear $62,000 Tiffany Necklace to Visit US-Mexico Border: Report
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was spotted making an extremely rare appearance at the southern border on Friday as she seemingly remembered she was once tasked by President Joe Biden with dealing with border security and illegal immigration. Harris went to the Arizona border town of Douglas to pose with some US Customs and Border Protection agents, the New York Post reported.
Harris was well turned-out, wearing stylish sunglasses and a necklace that looked like it came from the legendary jewelry cases of Tiffany & Co. If so, the bauble is worth a cool $62,000.
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Massachusetts Illegal Immigration Crisis: ICE Has Made 30+ Arrests in Recent Months
At least 30 illegal immigrants have faced legal repercussions for a slew of crimes within the past few months across Massachusetts, according to a Herald analysis of ICE-issued news releases since the start of August.
The analysis came days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Patrick L. Lechleitner disclosed national data that brought light to what he described as the country’s “broken immigration system.”
In Massachusetts, Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston has published roughly 30 news releases on ICE-made arrests across the Commonwealth since Aug. 1.
Illegal immigrants taken into custody mostly came from El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ecuador and Mexico.
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Ex-NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly warned Sunday that the country’s largest Police Department is still badly “hemorrhaging” staff and should team up with the FBI to take on the migrant gang Tren de Aragua.
“The problem in the NYPD now is personnel. They can’t hire enough people to backfill the people that are leaving. They are still experiencing hemorrhaging,” said Kelly, the longest serving police commissioner in the history of the department, on 770 WABC radio’s “The Cats Roundtable.”
He said he doubled the size of the NYPD’s gang unit to crack down on thugs during his 12-year reign as commissioner — but today, it’s not enough for such threats as the notorious Venezuelan-based Tren gang.
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Syrian Migrant Arrested as Alleged Arson Rampage Leaves Over 30 Injured in Germany
41-year-old Syrian man has been arrested in Essen, Germany after allegedly ramming a van into storefronts Saturday and setting two fires that injured over 30 people, including two small children.
The suspected migrant attacker is due to appear before a judge on Sunday facing charges of aggravated arson and attempted murder.
The Syrian national is accused of driving a van into two stores and starting two fires, which left two children in critical condition due to smoke inhalation and dozens more injured as exits were blocked off, broadcaster NTV reports.
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Elon Musk has weighed in on the mainstream media’s silence regarding a recent ICE report revealing that more than 420,000 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes are currently residing freely in the United States.
The report, released last week, detailed that among the convicted criminal illegal immigrants are over 62,000 individuals convicted of assault, more than 13,000 convicted of homicide, and over 15,000 convicted of sexual assault. None of these individuals are being held in detention.
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Trump Fires Back Over Kamala Harris’ Trip to Southern Border: ‘What a Disgrace’
Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris took a trip to the border on Friday as she seeks to convince voters that she’s tackling the illegal immigration crisis.
According to reports, Harris attempted to turn the tables on President Donald Trump by telling reporters that he “tanked” a “border security” bill earlier this year.
The vice president is attempting to claim that Trump is responsible for the chaos and crisis at the Southern Border.
For a majority of her term as President Joe Biden’s “border czar,” Harris has stood back and watched as the immigration crisis has spiked to unprecedented numbers.
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Canada: Pastor Derek Reimer Found Not Guilty in Drag Queen Story Time Protest Incident
Pastor Derek Reimer of Mission 7 Ministries appeared in court on Tuesday, facing charges of mischief and causing a disturbance stemming from a February 2023 incident at a “Reading with Royalty” drag queen story time event at Seton Public Library.
The incident drew significant attention after a video was widely circulated online, in which parents can be seen aggressively escorting Reimer out of the event.
On May 6 of this year, the judge opted to bypass further proceedings regarding these charges and set the verdict date for July 2. This date was later postponed and rescheduled for September 24.
After a lengthy battle for Reimer and his legal team, Calgary judge Allan Fradsham ruled that Reimer’s actions were inconsiderate and disrespectful of others but did not cross the line into criminal behaviour.
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NPR Blames Men Who Eat Beef for Climate Change
National Public Radio knows who is driving climate change as an existential threat: men who eat meat. And they found the origins of the current crisis in a 2006 television ad for Burger KIng that heralded the fast food chain and its appetite-satisfying whopper as a source of masculine culinary delight totally unlike the small portions of vegetarian food offered by places where women like to frequent.
That ad began running when Malcolm Regisford, whom NPR interviewed for the story, was 10 years old, Regisford saw this commercial often in between his cartoons. “Beef is marketed to men — steaks and hefty burgers — like, ‘that’s what a man’s supposed to eat,’“ he told NPR. Regisford kept hearing these messages all through middle and high school and into college, where he played Division 1 basketball. “It’s thought that animal products yield a certain sense of strength,” he told the taxpayer-funded media outlet. “Some form of masculinity.”
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Great story re 36 year old muslim raping his mother.
“‘Toddlers’ Four-Step Program of Problem Solving—problems caused by ‘toddlerism.
Step One: Refuse to acknowledge the problem, whatever it is. Call those who suggest otherwise “RACISTS”.
Step Two: Use gaslighting to project your own hysteria onto those who initially identified the problem.
Step Three: Announce there IS a problem, but it’s either temporary or minor in severity.
Step Four: Once the problem becomes a readily apparent 600-pound gorilla, make sad face, stomp your feet (for attention), scream-at-the-sky and blame it on “Orange Hitler” and/or [non-hyphenated] AMERICAN citizens.
Wash, rinse, repeat.” —posted to fb (Nov 2021)
To wit…
“The Democratic presidential nominee [The Blacktivist Queen, aka TBQ —me] spoke with Stephanie Ruhle about her economic vision to elevate America’s struggling working class.” —MSLSD (25 Sep 2024)
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/read-transcript-kamala-harris-msnbc-interview-rcna172771
[NOTE: in ‘toddler-land, legal=ILLEGAL]
MSLSD: “Communities around the country that have legal immigration, many have said, we’re at capacity. And many feel like the government has said to them, well, adapt, sit down, be quiet, this is how it is. What would a Harris administration do for those communities who’ve taken in many, many legal immigrants, but are at capacity?”
TBQ: “The United States Congress came together…proposed a border security bill [the salient purpose of which was to legalize all ILLEGALS —me]…Donald Trump got word of the bill, realized it was going to fix a problem he wanted to run on, and told them to kill the bill.”
As’s been said (ad nauseum), ‘toddlers’re as predictable as a well-regulated Rolex.