Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy
convicted in campaign financing case
Posted By: Ribicon, 9/30/2021 9:21:04 AM
Paris—French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted and sentenced to a year of house arrest Thursday for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid. The court will allow him to serve the sentence at home by wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, had vigorously denied wrongdoing during the trial in May and June. He can appeal the decision, which would suspend the sentence.(Snip)He was accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5 million euros ($27.5 million) on the reelection bid that he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande. The court stated that Sarkozy “knew”
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A pandemic boost to food stamp benefits has expired, but recipients are set to see a jump in assistance anyway, due to Congress’ decision in 2018 to review how benefits are calculated. Benefits will jump 27% above pre-pandemic levels in October, the largest increase in history, CNN reported. The spike comes after the Department of Agriculture revised the Thrifty Food Plan, which determines how much a person receives under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Beneficiaries will see an increase of $36 per month, on average. With cost-of-living adjustments, the average monthly benefit will be $169. Advocates for the poor told CNN the Thrifty Family Program
The Supreme Court has denied a challenge from New York City public school teachers to block Mayor Bill de Blasio's COVID-19 vaccine mandate from going into effect today. US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled in favor of the city Friday—allowing the mandate to go ahead and paving the way for up to 14,800 unvaccinated school employees to be out of work come Monday.(Snip)Sotomayor, who is the justice for the second circuit including New York, Connecticut and Vermont and so rules on emergency matters in the Big Apple, rejected the teachers' last-ditch effort to block the mandate without giving any explanation.
Vice President Kamala Harris was making an unexplained private trip Friday to the resort town of Palm Springs, California, as Democrats in Congress sought to complete President Biden’s economic agenda.
The White House and Ms. Harris‘ office wouldn’t give a reason for the one-night trip, which began on Friday afternoon with her departure from Joint Base Andrews near Washington. Reporters were not allowed to watch her departure. “The vice president will remain overnight in Palm Springs and return to Washington, D.C., on Saturday,” the White House said. Ms. Harris has no public events scheduled for the visit. Local Democratic officials in southern California told news outlets
The editor of The Lancet, a leading medical journal in Britain, has apologized for a pro-transgender cover about menstruation that referred to women as “bodies with vaginas.” Editor-in-chief Richard Horton issued the apology this week in response to blowback from feminist and medical groups against the journal’s effort to be inclusive of biologically born men who now identify as women. “In this instance, we have conveyed the impression that we have dehumanized and marginalized women,” Mr. Horton said in a statement.(Snip)Feminists and doctors had pointed out that the London-based journal did not likewise refer to men as “bodies with penises.”
San Francisco—California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced the nation’s first coronavirus vaccination mandate for schoolchildren, requiring that all elementary through high school students get the shots once the vaccine gains final approval from the U.S. government for different age groups.(Snip)Once federal regulators fully approve it for that group, the state will require students in seventh through 12th grades to get vaccinated in both public and private schools. Newsom said he expects that requirement to be in place by July 1. California will require the COVID-19 vaccine for students in kindergarten through sixth grades after it gets final federal approval for children 5 to 11.
Judge upholds Univ. of California vaccine
mandate against a professor who cited
natural immunity 14 replies
mandate against a professor who cited
natural immunity 14 replies
A federal judge upheld the University of California’s decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine instead of siding with a professor who said he had natural immunity and didn’t need the shots. It’s believed to be the first ruling of its kind as GOP lawmakers and others urge governments and employers to create exemptions for persons who recovered from COVID-19 and demonstrate antibody levels.
U.S. District Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California, said Thursday the university acted rationally in imposing a mandate designed to protect public health while failing to provide an exemption for those with natural immunity.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly asked his officials whether the department was ready to handle the possibility of up to 400,000 migrants, nearly double the 21-year high seen in July, crossing the border in October.(Snip)Mayorkas asked on the call if the border was ready for a worst-case scenario of 350,000 to 400,000 migrants crossing the border next month, two DHS officials told NBC. Even the lower estimate would be record breaking, but 400,000 border crossings is nearly double the 21-year high hit in July of 210,000. August saw more than 208,000 encounters at the southwestern border.
A Cornell University law professor who advocated ending banking 'as we know it' and praised the Soviet Union's financial system over its lack of a gender pay gap has been tapped by the White House to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Saule Omarova's nomination to head the regulatory agency overseeing the country's largest banks is a controversial choice that's alarmed banking groups. She's advocated for moving Americans' financial accounts from private banks to the Federal Reserve and force banks to lose leverage on federal subsidies by becoming 'non-depository lenders.'
It would diminish the stature of the institutions she's supposed to regulate.
Nebraska is already promising to defy a Biden proposal that would require banks to hand over data on transactions over $600 on individual bank accounts to the IRS. 'My message is really simple. The people of Nebraska entrusted me to protect the privacy of these accounts and I am not going to comply with this. If the Biden administration sues me, we will take it all the way to the Supreme Court. We are going to fight every step of the way,' state treasurer John Murante told FOX Business.(Snip)Murante said he believes other states would also refuse to comply. 'We have members across the country who are committed
Cops are hunting for a masked marauder who sucker-punched three elderly strangers during a string of unprovoked attacks in Brooklyn, officials said Thursday. The punchy perpetrator’s three victims were left bruised by the surprise attacks, which all took place within a six-block stretch of Sheepshead Bay on Tuesday, cops said. The spree began about 4:20 p.m. when the teen assailant walked up to an 81-year-old man on E. 27th St. near Avenue Y. “Where is the B44 bus?” the teen asked the victim, cops said. When the victim began directions, the teen punched him in the face and ran off toward Avenue Y.
Paris—French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted and sentenced to a year of house arrest Thursday for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid. The court will allow him to serve the sentence at home by wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, had vigorously denied wrongdoing during the trial in May and June. He can appeal the decision, which would suspend the sentence.(Snip)He was accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5 million euros ($27.5 million) on the reelection bid that he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande. The court stated that Sarkozy “knew”
Dr. Anthony Fauci has moved the goalposts on what it means to be “fully vaccinated,” and I’m sure you can guess how it has changed.
For many months now, being “fully vaccinated” meant that you had to have two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine, but now, according to Fauci, you’re not fully vaccinated unless you get the booster shot. “It is likely, for a real complete regimen, that you would need at least a third dose,” Fauci told The Atlantic in an exclusive interview.(Snip)“I’ve made it clear that my opinion has always been that I believe that a third-shot booster
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The Biden administration is poised to make its next unconstitutional power grab in the former of a ‘vaccine mandate’ for interstate travel within the United States, according to reports on Capitol Hill. Congressional Republican lawmakers are attempting to get ahead of the forthcoming expected decree by introducing legislation to block an executive order or directive.“In a Wednesday speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), joined by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), introduced legislation that would bar the Biden administration from implementing vaccine passports requirements for interstate travel,” the Epoch Times reported.
Many breathed a sigh of relief when President Biden was elected, not for policy but for a reunification of the country after four years of tumult and fiery division under President Trump. But eight months into the new presidency, America's deep disunity might not be letting up. A new poll has revealed that political divisions run so deep in the US that over half of Trump voters want red states to secede from the union, and 41% of Biden voters want blue states to split off. According to the analysis from the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, 52% of Trump voters at least somewhat agree with the statement:
Chicago to mount bleeding control kits
throughout city to help adapt to new ‘environment’ 39 replies
throughout city to help adapt to new ‘environment’ 39 replies
Democrat-controlled Chicago has come up with at least a partial solution, albeit sad and weak, to the epidemic of deadly gun crime that turns almost every weekend into a municipal bloodbath.Officials are installing 400-plus, wall-mounted bleeding control kits in nearly 300 public buildings in the Windy City as well as at medical clinics, senior facilities, and possibly subway stations and parks. The kits are evidently meant to be used as a stopgap measure before EMTs arrive to render treatment to victims.“Each of the kits contain enough supplies to treat eight victims, with tourniquets, gauze, shears, gloves and an instruction manual,” NBC Chicago reported about the initiative.
The archbishop of San Francisco is calling for a "massive and visible campaign of prayer and fasting" for the conversion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's heart as she pursues what pro-lifers have called "radical" abortion legislation.
"Witness the House of Representatives’ passage of HR 3755, which would impose abortion on demand nationwide at any stage of pregnancy," Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said of the California Democrat in a statement Wednesday.
"A conversion of heart of the majority of our congressional representatives is needed on this issue, beginning with the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Post offices nationwide will begin to see some delays in mail service beginning on Friday as part of the postmaster general’s new plan to cut costs and save money.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced the 10-year plan in the spring, which outlined new investments in technology, training and fleets of delivery vehicles.
The USPS will implement the new service standards Friday, which could lead to longer transit times for some long-distance first-class mail and first-class packages.
Shorter post office hours will also affect delivery times(snip)
The changes are not expected to affect better than 90% of periodicals and 60% of first-class mail, USPS spokesperson Kim Frum told NPR.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly asked his officials whether the department was ready to handle the possibility of up to 400,000 migrants, nearly double the 21-year high seen in July, crossing the border in October.(Snip)Mayorkas asked on the call if the border was ready for a worst-case scenario of 350,000 to 400,000 migrants crossing the border next month, two DHS officials told NBC. Even the lower estimate would be record breaking, but 400,000 border crossings is nearly double the 21-year high hit in July of 210,000. August saw more than 208,000 encounters at the southwestern border.
Dozens of congressmembers have demanded the immediate release of Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller after he was jailed for defying orders to stop publicly criticizing the nation's Afghanistan withdrawal. Scheller, 40, was arrested and jailed at the Camp Lejeune brig Monday for allegedly breaking four military laws by refusing orders to stop posting critical videos on social media.He was scheduled to make his first court appearance in North Carolina today, but the public – including elected officials and the media – are prohibited from attending. The court hearing has been postponed until next week,
An institution representing more than 90,000 school officials across the US begged Joe Biden Wednesday to send FBI and Secret Service agents to protect them from 'mobs' of angry parents irate over vaccine and mask mandates forced upon their children - asserting their protests should be treated as 'domestic terrorism' by 'extremist hate organizations.'In a letter penned to the president and published online, the National School Boards Association implored the US government to take a stand against these vexed parents, stating that teachers and other school staffers are under 'immediate threat' because of their burgeoning 'acts of malice, violence, and threats.'
Monica Lewinsky says that her thoughts of suicide during the Clinton investigation led her to ask independent counsel Ken Starr's legal team what would happen if she died — and now, years later, she is shocked that no one considered seemed concerned enough to do anything about it. The 48-year-old discussed the toll that the investigation and the subsequent public shaming took on her mental health in a new episode of David Axelrod's CNN podcast 'The Axe Files,' describing the aftermath of her affair with then-President Bill Clinton as a 'tumultuous' time that had her thinking about ending her life.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has returned prime beachfront land worth an estimated $72 million to the descendants of a black family it was seized from in 1924.
Newsom signed a law transferring the ownership of Bruce's Beach, a small park now worth an estimated $72 million, back to the Bruce family. Original owners Willa and Charles Bruce's great-great-grandson Anthony Bruce was there for the signing ceremony. He will now take ownership of the plot, alongside his dad Derrick and brother Michael. The plot currently serves as a grassy park and lifeguard training facility.
Rural Americans now dying of COVID-19
at twice the rate of those in urban environments: research 28 replies
at twice the rate of those in urban environments: research 28 replies
A study released this month found that the rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths in rural areas have far surpassed those being observed in metropolitan communities, with rural mortality rates more than double that of urban ones.
The study from the Rural Policy Research Institute's (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy found that as the summer ended, the coronavirus infection and mortality rates of rural and urban communities began to diverge.
RUPRI noted in its study that the initial surges of COVID-19 cases at the start of the pandemic were largely concentrated in urban areas. Subsequent surges saw increases in both urban and rural parts of the U.S.
Soon-to-be divorced hedge fund billionaire John Paulson has whisked away his new Instagram guru girlfriend to Italy for a friend's wedding. Paulson, 65, and Alina de Almeida, 33, were spotted attending the event on the shores of Lake Como days after the hedge funder announced his high-profile divorce from his wife Jenny, 50. The couple flew in for the nuptials of Blackstone executive Mark Moffat and Sarah Mintz in lakeside Villa d'Este on September 25 and were 'inseparable' and 'canoodled all day and night', Page Six reported.
Comments:
Doesn't seem like much of a sentence, but here in the USA, nothing at all happens to our wonderful politicians when they transgress.