Mom promises to resist school mask mandate with ‘guns loaded’

Virginia mother is accused of threatening school board members over school mask mandates

Activists are calling for the arrest of a Virginia mother after she appeared to threaten school board members with “loaded guns” over a mask mandate in place. Police have responded by saying they are increasing their presence at Page County Public Schools in Laray, Virginia.

The mother, identified as Amelia King, found herself trending on social media after a clip of her comments began spreading. In footage from a Thursday night school board meeting, King can be seen voicing her objection to a mask mandate in place for students, which she says her children will not participate in. As she nears the end of her time, she says her children will not be wearing masks and if the mandate is enforced, she would bring “every single gun.” Gov. Ralph Northam previously implemented a mask mandate for students in the state. 

“No mask mandates. My children will not come to school Monday with a mask on. I will bring every single gun, loaded and ready,” she said.

“No mask mandates. My children will not come to school Monday with a mask on. I will bring every single gun, loaded and ready … I’ll see y’all on Monday.” – woman at a Page County Public Schools board meeting pic.twitter.com/alpEwBxdQ2

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 21, 2022

When King is then informed she’s gone over her allotted three minutes to speak, she tells the room, “see you all on Monday.” 

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School district sorry for ‘unacceptable’ way student treated

Page County schools superintendent Antonia Fox and school board chair Megan Gordon released a joint statement on Friday, saying such threats from parents will not be “tolerated” and are in contact with police.

Luray Police said Friday they have already been in contact with the mother, saying she’d reached out after her statement had caused “public alarm.” She had also emailed the school board following her appearance, apologizing for the way she “phrased” the statement, explaining she was speaking “figuratively.”

“The statement that was made absolutely caused public alarm, the parent that made the statement realized that, and immediately contacted law enforcement to apologize because the statement was not intended the way it was perceived,” they wrote, adding later that she is “cooperating” with authorities. 

King’s apologies and explanations have not squashed the wave of criticism, with some calling for everything from the FBI to arrest to authorities to remove her children from her custody.

Amelia King should be arrested. Where are the police? Who are her employers? This is a real threat! https://t.co/KTFb1kl1nZ

— MoneybaggHo (@KirkWrites79) January 21, 2022

‘Waking Ned Devine’ meets ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ in bizarre attempt to collect money

Witnesses in an Irish town were shocked to see a deceased man propped up by two others trying to collect on his pension

Police were called after a man entered a post office in Ireland’s Carlow, propped up by two others. It was discovered later the men had been attempting to collect on the deceased individual’s earnings under the guise that he was still alive, but were told that the senior resident had to be present in person.

At a small post office in the town of Carlow, employees and customers waiting in line became immediately suspicious, the Irish media reported. One neighbor said her daughter saw the man’s feet dragging as he was pulled into the post office.

Neighbors described the dead man as “lovely” and said they were in “total shock” to discover the attempted scheme, which many social media users found reminiscent of the 1998 film ‘Waking Ned Devine’, which follows a group of townsfolk trying to collect on a winning lottery ticket owned by a recently deceased neighbor, or the US 1989 comedy ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ in which two men do their best to pretend their dead employer is still among the living.

Takes “Waking Ned Devine” to a whole new level. Ireland, oh Ireland 🇮🇪💚🧡🤍 https://t.co/yZNdoJLA0J

— Dr. StephanieB (@sboumedi) January 21, 2022

what in the waking ned devine https://t.co/Wszr3sM4wu

— Jess (@InfiniteJess) January 21, 2022

Brilliant film 👌 https://t.co/bVwGb4rMiY pic.twitter.com/OxUTaDF9We

— NickyC (@rexclark81) January 21, 2022

I HAVE JUST BEEN SENT THIS BY ALMOST EVERY IRISH FRIEND I HAVE IN THE LAST TEN MINUTES. https://t.co/Nq6ngc9nh8

— Aisling Bea (@WeeMissBea) January 21, 2022

Carlow Mayor Fianna Fáil Councillor Ken Murnane said he too was “shocked” to learn of the incident, revealing he’s been to that post office many times in the past.

Gardai confirmed to local media that they are investigating the strange incident and the autopsy of the body will determine where the investigation goes, and a nearby house has been cordoned off as a crime scene while the investigation continues.

Hundreds injured & killed in Saudi strikes

Saudi-led coalition’s bombing left hospitals in Yemen overwhelmed with dead and wounded victims

Scores of people have been killed and potentially hundreds have been injured by airstrikes in Yemen, the latest escalation in the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s war against Houthi rebels in the shattered country.

Targets struck on Friday reportedly included a prison and an airport in the northern city of Sa’ada, various government facilities and a telecommunications building in Hodeidah. Many of the victims were rushed to Al-Gumhourriyeh Hospital in Sa’ada, which received 138 wounded and 70 dead, according to the aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Al-Gumhourriyeh is so overwhelmed that it can’t accept any more patients, and at least two other hospitals in the city have received large numbers of casualties, MSF said. There are still many bodies at the scene of the most devastating strike, at the prison in Sa’ada.

“It is impossible to know how many people have been killed,” said Ahmed Mahat, MSF’s head of mission in Yemen. “It seems to have been a horrific act of violence.”

The Red Cross said it sent medical supplies to two of the hospitals that were flooded with casualties. The bombing in Hodeidah knocked out internet service nationwide and allegedly killed at least three children. The online blackout has reportedly hampered efforts to deliver aid and gather information about the airstrikes. 

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Saudi jets bomb Yemen after Abu Dhabi drone attack

The Saudi-led coalition said it had struck the port of Hodeidah and “military targets” in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. According to the state-owned Saudi Press Agency, the strikes were carried out “in response to the threat of hostile attacks.”

The coalition intensified airstrikes in Yemen earlier this week in response to Houthi drone attacks in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s partner in the war.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare’e claimed the attacks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were retaliation for the coalition’s escalating aggression in Yemen. After Friday’s devastating airstrikes, Sare’e signaled another cycle of retaliation, saying “we advise the foreign companies in the Emirates to leave because they invest in an unsafe country, and the rulers of this country continue in their aggression against Yemen.”

Court deals Biden another blow on vaccine mandates

Federal judge in Texas blocks enforcement of Covid-19 vaccine mandate for government employees

President Joe Biden has suffered another legal setback to his efforts to coerce Americans into getting vaccinated against Covid-19 – this time with a federal court blocking mandated jabs even for employees of his own administration.

US District Court Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown in Texas ruled on Friday that the mandate overstepped Biden’s authority as president. After finding that the plaintiffs will likely prevail at trial, the judge issued a nationwide injunction, meaning the Biden administration will be barred from enforcing its vaccine order anywhere in the US.

The mandate applied to more than 3.5 million federal workers. It provided no option for submitting to regular Covid-19 testing in lieu of vaccination. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday that 98% of government employees had either been vaccinated or sought medical or religious exemptions. “We are confident in our legal authority here,” she said.

Brown disagreed, saying that it was a “bridge too far” for Biden – “with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress” – to force millions of employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of employment. The judge cited last week’s US Supreme Court ruling striking down Biden’s order requiring private-sector employers to force their workers to get inoculated.

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White House responds to SCOTUS blocking Biden’s vax mandate

The president clearly has authority to regulate employment policies, Brown said, but “the Supreme Court has expressly held that a Covid-19 vaccine mandate is not an employment regulation.” Interpreting the high court’s ruling in that way could set a significant legal precedent in claims against other employers that force their workers to get vaccinated.

While some private employers, such as Starbucks, have nixed their vaccine mandates in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, others have said they’ll continue to require vaccination against Covid-19 without any government order. Carhartt, a maker of popular work clothes, is facing a boycott after its decision to double down on forced vaccines angered conservatives.

Brown served on the Texas Supreme Court from 2013 until 2019, when he was appointed by then-President Donald Trump for a federal court judgeship.

Arrest warrants considered acceptable ID to fly

Americans need federal ID to fly, but TSA says illegal immigrants can show arrest warrants

Citizens and US permanent residents seeking to fly need to show a federally issued ‘real ID’ with a matching photo at airports, but people who are in the country illegally are allowed to use their arrest warrants as an alternative, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The agency confirmed media reports to that effect on Friday, in a letter to Congressman Lance Gooden (R-Texas), saying that the “Warrant for Arrest of Alien” and a “Warrant of Removal/Deportation” issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are considered acceptable forms of alternate identification for non-citizens, who then have to go through additional screening.

“TSA is committed to ensuring that all travelers, regardless of immigration status, are pre-screened before they arrive to the airport, have their pre-screening status and identification verified at security checkpoints, and receive appropriate screening based on risk before entering the sterile area of the airport,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske wrote.

NEW: In a statement to @FoxNews, TSA confirms they are allowing illegal immigrants to use arrest warrants as ID at airport security checkpoints. They receive additional screening, and their DHS documents are validated by cross checking CBP databases. pic.twitter.com/U2PjCrOkgH

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) January 21, 2022

Pekoske added that the alien identification number found on the DHS document is checked against the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One mobile app, TSA’s National Transportation Vetting Center (NTVC) database, or both.

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New law allows non-citizens to vote in US

As for the scale of this undertaking, Pekoske’s letter said that the TSA processed 45,577 non-citizens through the NTVC – of which 44,974 had their documents verified – and “around 60,000” through CBP One, between January 1 and October 31, 2021.

“TSA’s response confirms the Biden administration is knowingly putting our national security at risk,” Gooden told the Daily Caller. “Unknown and unvetted immigrants shouldn’t even be in the country, much less flying without proper identification.”

Gooden sent the inquiry to the TSA on December 15, after he received word from a Border Patrol officer that the DHS often has to “take migrants at their word that they are who they say they are” when issuing them documents the agency now says it accepts as valid ID.

Biden federal judge nominee’s pro-Chevron work questioned

One of Joe Biden’s latest federal judge nominees has environmental activists questioning the Democrat’s connections to Big Oil

President Joe Biden nominated a list of judges this week, and one has particularly stood out due to her history with the Republican Party, including Donald Trump, and her involvement in a lawsuit by Chevron against environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger. 

“Outraged to learn that Biden has named @Chevron lawyer Jennifer Rearden to be a federal judge,” Donziger tweeted on Thursday in reaction to the nomination, highlighting the lawyer’s work with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP on behalf of Chevron, and claiming that she helped “jail [him], attack Indigenous peoples, and cover up a massive oil spill in the Amazon.”

“Biden must align with Planet Earth. Corrupt,” Donziger added. 

BREAKING: Outraged to learn that Biden has named @Chevron lawyer Jennifer Rearden to be a federal judge. She was paid millions at @gibsondunn to help jail me, attack Indigenous peoples, and cover up a massive oil spill in the Amazon.

Biden must align with Planet Earth. Corrupt. pic.twitter.com/Tm0JhHOOe4

— Steven Donziger (@SDonziger) January 20, 2022

Donziger was one of the lawyers behind a 2011 ruling of over $9 billion against Chevron in an Ecuadorian court, where the oil company was accused of causing massive pollution damage that greatly affected parts of the Amazon and Indigenous communities. Three years later, however, the company found support from a US federal court, which blocked the money from being collected. 

Donziger was also found guilty of professional misconduct and disbarred. He has denied any wrongdoing, and environmental activists continue to call for his release from house arrest, blasting the legal campaign against him as politically motivated. Donziger has been in what he dubs “illegal detention” since August 2019. 

Thanks @SusanSarandon for your unrelenting leadership in demanding justice for Ecuador and my immediate release after 900 days of illegal detention. https://t.co/13hw4pCPYW https://t.co/jazpnQIp2K

— Steven Donziger (@SDonziger) January 21, 2022

Environmental activist Stella Sage — who wrote me inspiring letters from Germany when I was in prison — just posted this note of support. Asking everyone to do a similar post to mark my 900th day of illegal detention. https://t.co/13hw4pCPYW pic.twitter.com/DXYo5zvBld

— Steven Donziger (@SDonziger) January 21, 2022

Fossil Free Media founder Jamie Henn called Rearden’s nomination “atrocious.” 

Reason #1,457,238 of why we have to burn it all down. https://t.co/WtEqSSffMV

— Alexandria Villaseñor (@AlexandriaV2005) January 21, 2022

What’s up with Biden??? https://t.co/UmvoSTFpym

— Brandi Morin (@Songstress28) January 21, 2022

Joe Biden nominated Jennifer Rearden to be a federal judge. Rearden is a Trump appointee who donates to GOP politicians and represented Chevron in a super corrupt case against Steven Donziger. @POTUS should withdraw his nomination and pick someone the American people can trust.

— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) January 21, 2022

Others reacted with disbelief upon learning that Rearden was previously nominated to serve as a federal judge in the Southern District of New York by none other than Trump. She was one of dozens of nominees to not receive a Senate confirmation vote. Rearden’s nomination was pushed in part by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), according to a report from the Intercept. 

Rearden has been a donor to Gillibrand in the past, but also numerous Republican politicians, including giving $2,300 to former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani during his unsuccessful run for president in 2008.