News of the World

[DerVVulfman]

TRUMP CABINET PICKS TARGETED BY BOMB THREATS

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A number of President-elect Donald Trump ‘s most prominent Cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and “swatting attacks,” Trump’s transition team said Wednesday. The FBI said it was investigating.
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

The attacks ranged from bomb threats to swatting, in which attackers initiate an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretenses, she said. The tactic has become a popular one in recent years.

Leavitt said law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted and Trump and his transition team are grateful.

Among those targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations; Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general; Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, whom Trump chose to lead the Department of Labor, and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Law enforcement officials are also looking into whether Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general whom Trump has chosen as Gaetz’s replacement, and other incoming administration officials were also victims — as well as how each was targeted, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity as the investigation continues.

Wiles and Bondi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The FBI said in a statement that it was “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and was investigating with its law enforcement partners.
White House spokesperson Saloni Sharma said President Joe Biden had been briefed and the White House is in touch with federal law enforcement and Trump’s transition team.

Biden “continues to monitor the situation closely,” Sharma said, adding the president and his administration “condemn threats of political violence.”

Stefanik’s office said that, on Wednesday morning, she, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence in Saratoga County.

Police swept Stefanik’s home on Wednesday morning in response to the bomb threat but did not locate any explosive devices, New York State Police said.

Zeldin said in a social media post that he and his family had also been threatened.

“A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message,” he wrote on X. “My family and I were not home at the time and are safe.”

In Florida, the Okaloosa County sheriff’s office said on Facebook that it “received notification of a bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area” Wednesday.

. . .

The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday that anytime a member of Congress is the victim of a swatting’ incident, “we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners.” The force declined to provide further details, in part to “minimize the risk of copy-cats.”

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the threats “dangerous and unhinged.”

“This year, there was not just one but TWO assassination attempts on President Trump,” he wrote on X. “Now some of his Cabinet nominees and their families are facing bomb threats.” He added: “It is not who we are in America.”

YOUTH ARRESTED IN GERMANY

ON SUSPICION OF PLANNING PIPE BOMB ATTACK

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BERLIN (AP) — A youth suspected of planning to build pipe bombs to carry out an Islamic extremist attack has been arrested in western Germany, authorities said Thursday.

The suspect, whose name and exact age weren’t released, was arrested on Tuesday evening, prosecutors in Koblenz said in a statement. He is accused of preparing a serious act of violence.

Prosecutors said they believe he became radicalized online and shared propaganda glorifying the actions of the Islamic State group. A search of his home in October found two bayonets and four sections of pipe.

Investigators say the suspect planned to produce pipe bombs and use them in an attack. He got instructions on how to produce such bombs from the internet, prosecutors said.

Another search of his home this week found “further utensils” which may have been intended for use in producing an ignition mechanism, they added.

There were no indications that the suspect planned an imminent attack. Investigators didn’t find any explosives or substances that could be used to make them.

A judge on Wednesday ordered the suspect kept in custody pending a possible indictment.

UKRAINE TO TEMPORARILY CEDE TERRITORY

TO RUSSIA FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP

President Zelensky believes any ceded territory can eventually be reclaimed through diplomatic means

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested he would temporarily cede Ukrainian territory to Russia in exchange for joining Nato.

Mr Zelensky said Nato membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country to end the “hot phase” of the war and appeared to accept eastern parts of the country would fall outside this deal.

It comes after reports claimed one of US president-elect Donald Trump’s plans to end the war might be for Kyiv to cede the land Moscow has taken in exchange for Ukraine joining the alliance.

“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” Mr Zelensky told Sky News.

“We need to do it fast. And then on the occupied territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.”

He said Nato should “immediately” cover the part of Ukraine that remains under Kyiv’s control, something he said Ukraine needs “very much otherwise he [Putin] will come back”.

In September 2022, Russia unilaterally declared its annexation of areas in and around the Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia following referendums that were not internationally recognised.

Mr Zelensky’s long-held position is that the territory remains Ukrainian, that Russia’s occupation of the land is unlawful and that Kyiv will not cede any of its territory in order to strike a peace deal.

. . .

ISRAEL AND HEZBOLLAH BOTH CLAIM

CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS

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Beirut — Israel on Thursday carried out its first airstrike on Lebanon since a truce with Hezbollah announced this week, saying it targeted the militant group's activity at a rocket storage facility in southern Lebanon that breached the ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities reported scattered incidents of Israeli mortar attacks, strikes and shots fired that wounded two people trying to return to southern Lebanon. Lebanon's state-run media said the wounded were civilians, while the Israeli military described them as suspects who violated the terms of the truce that ended more than a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that "several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire. The IDF opened fire toward them."

"The IDF remains in southern Lebanon and will actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement," the military said.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli fire wounded two civilians in Markaba, a village close to the border that has been a scene of intense fighting over the past 14 months. It also reported Israeli tank fire hitting some villages and farms in the south, causing no casualties.

The bursts of violence — with no reports of serious casualties — reflected the uneasy nature of the ceasefire that otherwise appeared to hold Thursday as Lebanese troops began to deploy in parts of southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has based its operations.

. . .

The Lebanese army also accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire several times on Thursday by conducting strikes on Lebanon with "various weapons" and continuing to patrol and surveil Lebanese skies with warplanes and drones. The army said it was "following up on these violations in coordination with the relevant authorities," without elaborating.

An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has not issued any public statements on the alleged Israeli ceasefire violations but Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah acknowledged the incidents. When asked by reporters how Hezbollah would respond, he was cautious.

"We don't want to rush things," he said, adding that Hezbollah "has the right to self-defense." 

The agreement, brokered by the United States and France, includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah militants are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. As Israeli forces withdrawal, the buffer zone will be patrolled by Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers moving in to take their place, but it is expected to take weeks, and Israel retained full security control over both sides of the border region as of Thursday.

. . .

While the detailed terms of the ceasefire agreement have not been made public by the U.S., President Biden made clear when he announced it on Tuesday that Israel retained the right to self-defense, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that any violations of the deal would be met with a swift and harsh military response. 

. . .

ITALY'S UNIONS VOW TO TURN
COUNTRY 'UPSIDE DOWN' AFTER NATIONAL STRIKE

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ROME, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A nationwide strike in Italy on Friday disrupted air traffic, public transport, schools and hospitals, in a protest by two of the country's largest unions against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government budget plans.

CGIL, Italy's biggest union, said it was opposing planned cuts in spending on social security, public services and investments, while the UIL union demanded measures on health and safety after a series of workplace accidents.
"It is time to turn this country upside down, because injustices have reached a level that is no longer tolerable," Maurizio Landini, who leads the left-leaning CGIL, said during a rally in Bologna.

CGIL and UIL said in a joint statement that more than 70% of workers participated in their strike, and thousands of people took part in 43 separate rallies held across the country against government policies.

"Squares as full (as this) show that we are on the right track," Landini said.

The protest was not supported by a third large union, the centrist CISL, but nevertheless represented a challenge for Meloni, who faces backlash over efforts to tighten spending in order to bring Italy's finances into line with EU rules.

Italian media reported some clashes between police and demonstrators in the northern city of Turin, where groups of students and activists occupied the tracks of one of the city's main train stations.

Despite strained public finances, the government last month approved a budget with around 24 billion euros ($25.3 billion) of tax cuts and increased spending, reducing income tax and social contributions for middle- and low-income earners.

Although the strike was initially scheduled to last a full day, Transport Minister Matteo Salvini this week signed an injunction limiting the stoppage to four hours only for the transport sector, in order to limit disruption.

Others were allowed to walk out for the full 8-hour working day, while railways and freight services were excluded from the strike.

PALWORLD DEV MAY HAVE FOUND AN UNEXPECTED ALLY
IN NINTENDO LAWSUIT: AN OLD GTA5 MOD

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Earlier this month, Palworld developer PocketPair detailed the patent infringement claims that make up Nintendo's ongoing lawsuit. The case itself is still underway, with both parties building their arguments, but a new prediction from a Japanese patent attorney suggests that PocketPair may be finding support in the most unlikely of places (thanks, Automaton).

The support in question may come from an eight-year-old Grand Theft Auto V mod — yep, that GTA 5 — which, patent attorney Ryo Arashida told Nikkei Business, might prove that Nintendo's patented throwing/catching mechanics could be found out in the wild long before the claim was submitted.

The Siarasia attorney doesn't specify the exact mod, though he does mention that it was released publicly in 2016 and involved Poké Ball-like catching mechanics in Rockstar's open world. LudicrousBeach's Pokémon GO-inspired mod appears to be the most likely source at the moment (we've attached a video of it in action below), which saw many familiar 'mon take to the streets of Los Santos to be 'caught' by a player in an Ash Ketcham-style get-up.

According to Arashida, the mod features many of the same mechanics that appear to be key in Nintendo's lawsuit — particularly Patent No. 7545191, which relates to catching creatures in an open field by throwing a sphere-like object at them. This, he states, leaves "a possibility that the GTA5 Pokémon mod will be recognised as a precedent by the court,” invalidating one of Nintendo's three key patents by proving its use before registration.

While the three patents were each applied for between February and July 2024, they are related to a 'Parent Patent' from 2021, presumably linking them and their mechanics to those found in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Now, Palworld does contain actions similar to those outlined in Nintendo's patents (specifically the throwing of "Pal Spheres" to catch monsters and the subsequent ability to ride on them), but the mechanic's appearance in LudicrousBeach's GTA V mod, which was released five years prior to the Nintendo parent patent, might bring up some questions about the validity of Nintendo's claim.

Of course, this is all still speculation at this point. Automaton points out that patent claims are only valid in the region they were granted, so a GTA V mod might not hold too much sway over the Japanese case. However, it seems that Nintendo is seeking to get the patents approved overseas too, so who knows what allies PocketPair will be seeking should the case come to the US.

BIDEN PARDONS HIS SON HUNTER DESPITE PREVIOUS PLEDGES NOT TO

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WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members.

The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden's legacy. Biden, who time and again pledged to Americans that he would restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump's first term in office, ultimately used his position to help his son, breaking his public pledge to Americans that he would do no such thing.

In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”

As recently as Nov. 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”

.  .  .

In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice."

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden added. "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son.”

“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden added, claiming he made the decision this weekend. The president had spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts with Hunter and his family, and was set to depart later Sunday on what may be his last foreign trip as president before leaving office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

He was set to stand trial in September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.

. . .

The tax charges carry up to 17 years behind bars and the gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines were expected to call for far less time and it was possible he would avoid prison time entirely.

. . .

  Understanding is a two edged sword. We understand that the Hunter Biden Laptop story was being discredited as recalled (HERE).  We know that Hunter's Tax Evasion case in California had been on-going for five years as shown (HERE).  And we know that his possession of a firearm was a federal crime investigated  (HERE) and was found guilty. This was not weaponization nor a miscarriage of justice when these charges were legitimate.

Worse, Biden's Pardon is a Long-Running 10 years worth of pardons from 2014-2024 which includes Barisma and all other offences under investigation.

EDIT:    I guess Joe didn't realize that this carte-blanche 10 year pardon prevents Hunter from Pleading the 5th, refusing to testify on the grounds of incriminating themselves... if ever called to testify before Congress or the courts for anything in those dates.