White House Press Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a> defended President Joe Biden after he suggested to voters in Pennsylvania that his Uncle Bosie had been eaten by cannibals in New Guinea after his plane was &#8220;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-uncle-world-war-ii-cannibals-trump-4f3b7d1c988e041fbc07f60f952ca95f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot down</a>&#8221; in the Pacific during World War II.
Jean-Pierre addressed the eyebrow-raising story during a press gaggle on Air Force One while en route to Philadelphia, claiming that the president was very proud of his uncle.
AUDIO:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Karine Jean-Pierre defends Biden&#39;s dubious story about his &quot;Uncle Bosie&quot; being eaten by &quot;cannibals&quot; in New Guinea: &quot;It was a really proud moment for him&quot; <a href="https://t.co/mS5lc5dxX7">pic.twitter.com/mS5lc5dxX7</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1780990688881954859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The conversation began with a reporter jokingly asking Jean-Pierre whether there was a &#8220;cannibal tab&#8221; in the binder she carried to press briefings, prompting a laugh.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no cannibal tab, what are you talking about?&#8221; she joked, adding, &#8220;Is that what you&#8217;re asking about?&#8221;
When the reporter confirmed that was his question, she continued, &#8220;You saw the president, he was incredibly proud of his uncle&#8217;s service in uniform. You saw him at the war memorial, it was incredibly emotional and important to him.&#8221;
She went on to repeat part of the story, saying that Biden&#8217;s uncle had &#8220;lost his life after the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific Ocean off – near New Guinea&#8221; and pivoting quickly to attack Trump, saying that Biden didn&#8217;t believe service members were &#8220;suckers or losers.&#8221;
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When reporters pressed her about the veracity of the story, Jean-Pierre said that she had nothing to add other than the fact that &#8220;it was a really proud moment for him.&#8221;
The <a href="https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzWi4EAE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pentagon&#8217;s account</a> differs greatly from Biden&#8217;s, however:
<blockquote>For unknown reasons, this plane was forced to ditch in the ocean off the north coast of New Guinea. Both engines failed at low altitude, and the aircraft’s nose hit the water hard.
Three men failed to emerge from the sinking wreck and were lost in the crash. One crew member survived and was rescued by a passing barge. An aerial search the next day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the lost crew members.</blockquote>
Biden <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/18/us-news/white-house-admits-biden-uncle-wasnt-eaten-by-cannibals-died-in-pacific-ocean-crash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has claimed</a> that the plane his uncle was on was &#8220;shot down&#8221; and that &#8220;the government went back when I went down there and they checked and found some parts of the plane.&#8221;

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Holds White House Media Briefing

KJP Defends Biden’s ‘Dubious’ Cannibals Story: ‘It Was A Really Proud Moment For Him’

KJP Defends Biden's Dubious 'Cannibals' Story: 'It Was A Really Proud Moment For Him'

Executive

Joe Biden

Karine Jean-Pierre

Pennsylvania

Politics

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> embellished details while telling a story about the disappearance of his uncle during <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/world-war-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World War II</a>, suggesting that he had been eaten by &#8220;cannibals&#8221; after getting “shot down” in Papua New Guinea. 
Biden, who made the comments during a Wednesday visit to Scranton, Pennsylvania, was referring to his uncle <a href="https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzWi4EAE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ambrose Finnegan</a>, a second lieutenant who served in the Fifth Air Force during the war. Finnegan went missing on May 14, 1944, while on a flight from Los Negros Island to Nadzab Airfield in New Guinea. 
“He got shot down in New Guinea and they never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea,” Biden <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/17/us-news/biden-suggests-uncle-eaten-by-cannibals-in-new-guinea-but-military-says-his-wwii-plane-lost-at-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during his speech to steelworkers. 
Biden, 81, told a similar story earlier in the day when visiting a World War II memorial in Scranton. 
“He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals at the time,” the president said. “They never recovered his body, but the government went back when I went down there and they checked and found some parts of the plane.”
Biden&#8217;s comments about the disappearance of his uncle do not align with official government records about the crash, which suggest that the plane went down due to mechanical failure and that three of the men onboard drowned.
“For unknown reasons, this plane was forced to ditch in the ocean off the north coast of New Guinea,” a U.S. military <a href="https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzWi4EAE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> on the incident says. “Both engines failed at low altitude, and the aircraft&#8217;s nose hit the water hard. Three men failed to emerge from the sinking wreck and were lost in the crash. One crew member survived and was rescued by a passing barge. An aerial search the next day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the lost crew members.”
New Guinea was a key battleground during World War II as the Japanese sought to control the island for access to Australia, prompting fierce fighting through the island&#8217;s remote jungles. The island also has a history of cannibalism, with Michael Rockefeller, the son of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, <a href="https://nypost.com/2014/03/15/how-a-young-rockefeller-died-at-the-hands-of-cannibals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> being eaten by a tribe of cannibals on the island in 1961.
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His remarks on Wednesday were not the first time he had made up details related to his relatives&#8217; military service. During a speech in December 2022, Biden said that he got his uncle, Frank Biden, the Purple Heart for service during World War II.
Biden claimed that as vice president, he awarded his uncle the Purple Heart for action during World War II in the Battle of the Bulge, saying the ceremony took place with his father and uncle. However, both Biden’s father and uncle had been dead for years before Biden became vice president in 2009. There was also no evidence that Biden’s uncle had been awarded the Purple Heart for his service.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-RETURN

Biden Claims Uncle’s Body Was Never Found After WW2 Plane Crash Because Of ‘A Lot Of Cannibals’

World War II

A class of drugs even deadlier than fentanyl has contributed to a growing number of deaths in Philadelphia.
Synthetic opioids called nitazene analogues, can be 40 times more powerful than fentanyl, have been connected to at least five deaths in the city, and a dozen more deaths may be attributed to the deadly drugs.
“The health department suspects that a nitazene analogue known as N-desethyl isotonitazene was present in 12 overdose deaths in Philadelphia between November and December 2022,” the Philadelphia Inquirer <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/nitazenes-philadelphia-drug-overdoses-opioids-20240409.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/nitazenes-philadelphia-drug-overdoses-opioids-20240409.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712761220662000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0RLaCGzkDdLL2Bhk8u9NaE">reported</a>.  Two other nitazene analogues were identified in an overdose victim who died in June 2023.
Although the drug naloxone can be used to reverse the effects of fentanyl,  the normal dose of naloxone may not be enough to combat the effects of nitazenes.
Nitazenes apparently cause withdrawal symptoms so intense that sufferers are not able to bear waiting for inpatient treatment. “Often in Philadelphia, people looking to enter inpatient treatment must first go through an intake process that can take hours and sometimes days, researchers at Jefferson University Hospital <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/philadelphia-addiction-treatment-study-jefferson-20240319.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.inquirer.com/health/opioid-addiction/philadelphia-addiction-treatment-study-jefferson-20240319.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712761220662000&amp;usg=AOvVaw30UhSPxFP5CVye35YQCvky">found in a recent study</a>,” the Inquirer noted.
“Someone who’s dependent on a very toxic drug supply has a very small window in which they feel well enough to even consider treatment,” Daniel Teixeira da Silva, the medical director of the city health department’s division of substance use prevention and harm reduction, said. “It’s really a vicious cycle, and this just makes it worse.”
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The U.S. Department of Justice <a href="https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/benzimidazole-opioids.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/benzimidazole-opioids.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712761220662000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1i-vA2ikrNUdHNHNNikAWJ">stated</a> in January of nitazenes, also known as Benzimidazole-Opioids, “Recently, a number of synthetic substances of the benzimidazole structural class are being trafficked and abused for their opioid-like effects. &#8230; The population likely to abuse benzimidazole-opioids appears to be the same as those abusing prescription opioid analgesics, heroin, and other synthetic opioid substances. &#8230; In the illicit drug market, some of these benzimidazole-opioids have been identified in drug seizures. &#8230; Since 2019, there have been over 4,300 reports of benzimidazole-opioids to NFLIS-Drug. &#8230; With no approved medical use, the positive identification of these substances in toxicology cases underscore the public health threat associated with their presence in the illicit drug market.”

Hidden Fentanyl Is Driving a Fatal New Phase in US Opioid Epidemic

Drug 40 Times Stronger Than Fentanyl Plagues Philadelphia

Drugs

Fentanyl

Philadelphia

U.S.

Democratic lawmakers and political strategists are eyeing the three Midwestern states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — often referred to as the “blue wall” — to deliver a 2024 re-election victory for President Joe Biden.
Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) told <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4577632-democrats-blue-wall-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hill</a> that the blue wall “was critical” in both 2020, when Biden defeated former President Donald Trump, and in 2016 when Trump won over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Stabenow said she believes the president will fare well in her home state of Michigan, along with the other blue wall states, because the Biden administration is “bringing jobs back.”
“Basically, the Biden administration is doing everything that others — including Donald Trump — have talked about but were never really serious about doing,” Stabenow added. “President Biden is aiming right at the middle class: particularly, bringing jobs home. Rebuild America. You tackle costs, you take on the drug companies. Made in America.”
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) echoed Stabenow’s confidence, predicting that Biden would win in all three blue wall states by focusing on the economy, according to The Hill.
“It’s too early to tell for sure, but I think the economy continues to grow, and we’re seeing the MAGA side of the Republican Party clearly making politics, trying to block making things better at the border, solving some of those problems, for political advantage,” said Hickenlooper.
In each of the past four presidential elections, the winner has taken all three blue wall states with Trump, in 2016, being the only Republican to win all three since Ronald Reagan did it in 1984. Currently, Trump leads Biden in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to the <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/elections/president/2024/battleground-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RealClearPolitcs</a> average of polling, and Biden leads by less than one point in Pennsylvania.
Trump leads in each of the other four battleground states, according to the RCP average, but Biden has recently cut into the Republcan’s polling advantage. According to the polling average as of Monday afternoon, Trump takes six of the seven toss-up states, giving him 293 electoral votes to Biden’s 245.
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The Democrats who spoke to The Hill conceded that Biden pulling off wins in Arizona and Georgia would be tough this year, but they believe there’s an open path for the president to win re-election without those two states. If Biden wins Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, along with the other states he’s expected to take, that would give him exactly 270 electoral votes to Trump’s 268.
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“Generally, the most reasonable way to predict future voting behavior is to look at past voting behavior. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin are all states that, by and large, we’ve done pretty well in over the years — 2016 being the outlier there,” said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, a senior adviser on Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
Both Biden and Trump have visited Michigan and Wisconsin in recent days, with Trump focusing heavily on the border crisis and Biden narrowing in on his economic agenda, pro-abortion policies, and student debt relief efforts. Abortion will likely remain the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-leaders-push-to-make-abortion-the-pivotal-issue-of-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top issue</a> for the Biden campaign, especially in Michigan, where voters chose to add the right to have an abortion to the State Constitution.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-releases-long-awaited-abortion-position-says-policies-should-be-left-to-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a statement</a> on abortion policy on Monday morning, saying he supports states deciding abortion laws and is against federal abortion limitations.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump said.

Biden-Harris

Dems Counting On 3 Battleground States To Deliver 2024 Win For Biden

2024 Election

Donald Trump

Elections

Michigan

Polls

Wisconsin

A former Villanova University football player was found not guilty on Thursday of attempting to sexually assault a classmate back in 2019.
The football player, who will not be named by The Daily Wire because his accuser is not being named by other outlets, was found not guilty after a three-day trial in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The jury made the determination on the same day the trial ended, The Philadelphia Inquirer <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/crime/iyanu-solomon-attempted-rape-villanova-football-acquittal-20240329.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
While the prosecution maintained that the female accuser was traumatized, defense attorney Daniel Bush provided text messages showing the woman continued to spend time with the accused student-athlete after the alleged traumatizing assault. Bush noted that the two shared Uber rides and that the woman invited the accused to her dorm days after the alleged incident.
Bush argued that the woman only made the allegations after the two had an argument.
“A rape allegation is not a sword you pull out of your pants and swing around every time you get mad,” Bush said in his closing statement, according to the Inquirer. “That’s what she did.”
The woman testified that the accused had asked her for nude photos over Snapchat and that she went to his room alone on September 2, 2019, <a href="https://www.delcotimes.com/2024/03/27/alleged-victim-testifies-in-nova-attempted-rape-trial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Delco Times</a>. She claimed she told a friend to get her if she was not back in 30 minutes. She alleged that the accused pulled her onto his lap and she protested, saying she had a boyfriend. She claimed the accused kept her from leaving by holding her wrists and laying on top of her on the bed. She also said she was so afraid she started to recite the Lord’s Prayer, prompting the accused to finally let her go.
The accused, who is the son of Nigerian immigrants, testified that the woman sat on his lap, and he thought she wanted to have sex but that he stopped when she seemed uncomfortable. He also denied that he kept her from leaving, saying he walked her to the front door of the building.
Friends of the woman testified that she told them about the alleged encounter within days, but she also continued to spend time with the accused.
The accused testified that after riding together to a party, the woman became angry with him and accused him of turning her friends against her after the two had an argument. A text message exchange showed in court revealed that she later texted the accused, giving him an ultimatum. The next day, she reported the alleged rape to a resident assistant, who reported it to police. At that time, the woman declined to press charges.
But two years later, she changed her mind, claiming the accused student was following and harassing her. The accused student’s attorney argued in court that campus police could not substantiate the woman’s stalking claims.
Bush, the defense attorney, said that his client had asked the woman to stop spreading rumors that he was a “registered sex offender.” A day after he sent this text, the woman went to police to file rape charges.
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After this woman came forward, two others claimed the accused sexually assaulted them back in 2019 as well, the Philly Voice <a href="https://www.phillyvoice.com/villanova-football-player-sexual-assault-charges-iyanu-solomon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Later this month, a status meeting will be held to determine how to proceed on those allegations.
The accused student was removed from campus and kicked off the football team. After the jury verdict, his attorney said his client would need to rebuild his life.
“This case shows that mere accusations do not mean that someone actually committed a crime, but accusations alone can destroy a person’s world. Law enforcement needs to be more diligent on who they actually charge,” the defense attorney said. “[The accused] has maintained his innocence from day one, and fought hard to prove it.”

Law And Justice

Former Villanova Football Player Found Not Guilty Of Attempted Sexual Assault

College Football

Crime

Sexual Assault

In a decision that may affect the swing state of Pennsylvania and possibly other swing states, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed on Wednesday the order of a federal district court and handed the Republican National Committee (RNC) a victory regarding signature verification for mail voting in Pennsylvania.
The case centered around whether mail-in ballots that were mailed in time but either possessed an incorrect date or no date at all under the voter&#8217;s signature should be counted, NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/27/1233743082/pennsylvania-undated-ballots-ruling#:~:text=%22Pennsylvanians%20deserve%20to%20feel%20confident,mail%20ballots%2C%22%20Whatley%20said.">noted</a>.
Democrats argued that the Materiality Provision established in Section 10101(a)(2)(B) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, applies in this case and that the ballots could therefore be counted. The Materiality Provision prohibits denial of the right to vote because of an “error or omission” on paperwork “related to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting,” if the mistake is “not material in determining whether [an] individual is qualified” to vote.
The RNC countered that enforcement of the date requirement for a ballot “does not impinge on the right to vote” because the Materiality Provision “only prohibits immaterial requirements affecting the qualification and registration of a voter,” not additional requirements for casting a ballot.
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The 3rd Circuit decision, in which two of the three judges concurred (all three appointed by Democrats), <a href="https://prod-static.gop.com/media/documents/PA_NAACP_v._Secy_CA3_Opinion_1711580579.pdf">explained</a>:
<blockquote>
States have separate bodies of rules for separate stages of the voting process. One stage, voter qualification, deals with who votes. To register and thus be authorized to vote, applicants must follow prescribed steps and meet certain requirements. It’s like obtaining a license to drive. Another stage deals with how ballots are cast by those previously authorized to vote, which is governed by a different set of rules. To cast a ballot that is valid and will be counted, all qualified voters must abide by certain requirements, just like those authorized to drive must obey the State’s traffic laws like everyone else.
The Materiality Provision is an important federal overlay on state election requirements during the “who” stage: voter qualification. It prohibits States from denying an applicant the right to vote based on an error or omission in paperwork involving his application if that mistake is immaterial in determining whether he is qualified to vote. That is, it is triggered when conduct or laws restrict who may vote. But it leaves it to the States to decide how qualified voters must cast a valid ballot. Pennsylvania has made one such rule—the date requirement—mandatory. The federal Materiality Provision, in our view, does not interfere.
</blockquote>
In the wake of the decision, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley <a href="https://gop.com/press-release/rnc-statement-on-pennsylvania-lawsuit-victory/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThis%20is%20a%20crucial%20victory,or%20incorrectly%20dated%20mail%20ballots.">stated</a>:
<blockquote>
This is a crucial victory for election integrity and voter confidence in the Keystone State and nationwide. Pennsylvanians deserve to feel confident in the security of their mail ballots, and this 3rd Circuit ruling roundly rejects unlawful left-wing attempts to count undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots. Republicans will continue to fight and win for election integrity in courts across the country ahead of the 2024 election.
</blockquote>

A woman wearing a Vote t-shirt prepares mail-in ballots to

GOP Wins Big In ‘Crucial’ Pennsylvania Mail Voting Lawsuit

Mail-In Voting

Voting

Two teenagers wanted in connection to the <a href="https://local21news.com/news/local/suspects-in-nyc-womans-murder-case-arrested-in-central-pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killing</a> of 52-year-old Nadia Vitels after she reportedly found them squatting in a New York apartment have been taken into custody.
Vitels and the two teens, Halley Tejada, 19, and Kensly Alston, 18, got into a confrontation earlier this month when Vitels went to her late mother&#8217;s apartment and found the pair occupying the home, <a href="https://abc7ny.com/nyc-squatters-murder-pennsylvania/14558280/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to ABC 7 New York</a>.
The 52-year-old was later found stuffed in a duffle bag inside the apartment after Vitels&#8217;s son went to the apartment to check on her. A medical examiner <a href="https://abc7ny.com/womans-body-found-manhattan-apartment-in-duffel-bag-nyc-crime/14530334/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">determined</a> Vitels died of blunt force trauma to the head. She <a href="https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/squatters-beat-woman-to-death-and-stuffed-her-in-bag-in-nyc-apartment-nypd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> had multiple facial fractures, a brain bleed, and broken ribs.
Tejada and Alston were arrested in Pennsylvania, after a car accident. The pair were driving Vitels&#8217;s Lexus.
&#8220;Both Halley Tejada and Kensly Alston were taken into custody in the 200 block of Liberty Court, York, PA on charges of receiving stolen property (RSP),&#8221; a press release from the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force <a href="https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/press-release/us-marshals-service-fugitive-task-force-arrests-manhattan-murder-suspects-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The charges stem from a motor vehicle accident that happened on March 13, 2024, when the vehicle that Kensly Alston was driving collided with another vehicle causing an accident in the 5000 block of Jonestown Road, Dauphin County, PA. It was later discovered that the vehicle belonged to a murder victim out of Kips Bay, NY.&#8221;
The press release noted that investigators were able to identify both Tejada and Alston as persons of interest related to the homicide of Vitels. The pair face possible extradition back to New York.
Squatting has become an increasing problem in cities across the country in the wake of the pandemic. A leftist push for tenants&#8217; rights in conjunction with pandemic-related eviction moratoriums are believed to have spurred the crisis. 
Just last month, a woman in Queens, New York, named Adele Andaloro was <a href="https://abc7ny.com/squatters-standoff-queens-new-york-city/14540298/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> for changing the locks to her own million-dollar home in an attempt to remove at least three people who were living there illegally. 
In early February, the property was taken over by the squatters, who locked Andaloro out of the home. When ABC 7 took cameras to the property to investigate the matter, Andaloro was able to briefly get into her home after one female squatter left the door unlocked. She then had a locksmith change the locks, but just ten minutes later, two male squatters came back to the home and forced themselves inside. The squatters then called the police on Andaloro, the homeowner, and she was arrested for “unlawful eviction.” 
In New York City, squatters have rights after just 30 days. It’s against the law for property owners to turn off utilities, remove belongings, or change the locks. Property owners have to take squatters to court, a legal avenue that can take months or possibly years to resolve. 
Cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Atlanta have also seen alarming trends with illegally occupied homes. For example, the National Rental Home Council in January <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-25/atlanta-landlords-confront-squatting-surge-in-vacant-rental-homes">found</a> that around 1,200 homes in the metro Atlanta area had squatters. 
Some politicians are now taking on the issue. 
The Republican-controlled Florida Senate earlier this month <a href="https://weartv.com/news/local/florida-lawmakers-pass-bill-to-revoke-squatters-rights-protect-property-owners">passed</a> HB 621, which allows property owners to request action by law enforcement to immediately remove squatters and could lead to criminal penalties. Lawmakers in <a href="https://aldailynews.com/briefs-alabama-lawmakers-advance-bills-targeting-squatters-illegal-organ-retention/">Alabama</a> have also advanced a Republican-sponsored HB 182, which gives property owners the right to have a squatter removed by law enforcement within 24 hours of signing a sworn affidavit.

Teen Squatters Taken Into Custody After Woman Found Dead In Duffle Bag

New York

A trans-identifying man from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty on Thursday to killing a 12-year-old girl in 2022.
Joshua Cooper, now 18 and who identifies as female and goes by Ash, admitted to killing the young girl, Morgan Connors, his &#8220;best friend,&#8221; while they were watching Netflix together.
Cooper pleaded guilty to several charges including third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
A Bucks County judge on Thursday sentenced Cooper to 15 to 40 years in jail followed by seven years of state supervised probation.
Also on Thursday, authorities revealed Cooper was adjudicated delinquent, the same as a guilty verdict in adult court, in a previous unrelated sexual assault case before the murder, the Bucks County Courier Times <a href="https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/local/2024/03/21/bensalem-teen-ash-cooper-admits-killing-friend-morgan-connors-home-with-gun-from-safe-bucks-county/72958323007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The victim in the sexual assault case was in the courtroom on Thursday and provided a victim impact statement to the judge.
Few details around the murder have been revealed.
The deadly incident occurred on November 25, 2022 while the pair were watching Netflix in a bedroom at Cooper&#8217;s trailer park home in Bensalem Township just east of Philadelphia.
Court documents show that Cooper, then 16, said he was cleaning and organizing his father&#8217;s gun safe, and at one point Connors went to use the bathroom. Cooper somehow ended up shooting her, but Cooper&#8217;s mother ended the police interview before he could tell the rest of the story.
After the murder, Cooper allegedly called another girl via Instagram video chat claiming to have just killed someone and asking for help cleaning up and disposing of the body.
The girl told her mother that she saw blood and legs in the background of the video chat, and her mother called the police.
When police arrived, they saw Cooper running out of the back of the trailer.
Inside, officers <a href="https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/local/2024/03/21/bensalem-teen-ash-cooper-admits-killing-friend-morgan-connors-home-with-gun-from-safe-bucks-county/72958323007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> the body of a girl with her pants around her ankles on the bathroom floor. She died as a result of a single gunshot wound to her neck and thorax area, an autopsy found.
Cooper initially claimed he had accidentally shot the girl with his father&#8217;s hunting rifle.
A note was found in Cooper&#8217;s bedroom after the murder, but it has not been made public.
Cooper was charged as an adult, but he has been held at the Bucks County Juvenile Detention Center since his arrest.
He was originally charged as Joshua Cooper but now identifies as female, and his attorney requested that the court recognize him as Ash Cooper instead.
Paul Lang, Cooper&#8217;s attorney, referenced Cooper&#8217;s “difficult upbringing” in court and said that &#8220;taking responsibility&#8221; was a &#8220;big step in the healing process.&#8221;
Allen Gold, Connors&#8217; grandfather and legal guardian since she was a baby, also provided a victim impact statement to the court.
“Parents should not have to bury a child. The human heart was not designed for such heartbreak,” Gold wrote, adding that the young girl was &#8220;my whole world&#8221; and had called him dad from the time she began talking.

Transgender Pride Flag

Trans-Identifying Male Pleads Guilty To Killing 12-Year-Old Girl ‘Best Friend’

Trans-Identifying Male Pleads Guilty To Killing 12-Year-Old Girl 'Best Friend'

Gender

Transgender

The majority of voters in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pennsylvania</a> oppose restrictions on natural gas production while a plurality say that they trust former President Donald Trump more than President Joe Biden on the issue of affordable energy, according to a new poll.
The <a href="https://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Commonwealth-Foundation-Survey-3.19.24-Presentation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a>, put out by the Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania based public policy group, comes as both Trump and Biden attempt to win voters in the battleground state, one key for Trump&#8217;s victory in 2016 and Biden&#8217;s in 2020. Those polled were also skeptical of climate initiatives that would restrict domestic energy production and said that the issue of energy affordability was a major issue for them heading into 2024.
“Pennsylvania voters have made it clear they prioritize energy affordability and reliability over climate alarmism,” said André Béliveau, the Commonwealth Foundation’s senior manager of energy policy. “Likewise, Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support economic freedom and oppose excessive government regulations and red tape.”
When asked who they trusted more with energy, 37% said they backed Trump, 34% supported Biden, 15% were undecided, 4% favored Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the rest were split by a variety of other candidates who have since dropped out of the 2024 race.
At a briefing on the polling attended by The Daily Wire, Béliveau said that the data showed that Pennsylvanians were prioritizing “affordability and reliability over anything else,” especially over “climate alarmism.”
“Energy affordability is going to be a top priority for voters in Pennsylvania, especially as we’re leading up to the elections in November,” he said. Fifty-four percent of voters said they opposed Biden’s recent decision to pause the approval of new liquefied gas exports, a decision that has been questioned by Democrat Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman as Pennsylvania is one of the largest state exporters of natural gas.
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The poll also found that 55% of voters agreed with a statement saying that there was too much red tape on energy production leading to higher costs, while 30% said that there were not enough penalties for companies over their carbon emissions. Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed said that affordable energy should be a higher priority for the government as opposed to focusing on climate change.
When asked by The Daily Wire why energy prices were continuing to rise, Béliveau said that the amount of permitting and regulations involved in developing natural gas had slowed down how quickly natural gas could get into the market. He said that many regulations pushed energy producers into neighboring states with fewer regulations like West Virginia and Ohio.

Marcellus Shale Gas Pipeline Header

Voters In Key Swing State Oppose Restrictions On Natural Gas, Favor Trump Over Biden On Energy Policies: Poll

Energy

Natural gas

A 26-year-old suspect was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly shot and killed three people in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, and stole a vehicle at gunpoint before barricading himself inside a home with others. Those in the home with the suspected shooter safely made it outside while the suspect remained inside, according to police.
The suspect, who is not being named in accordance with Daily Wire policy, was later apprehended while he was walking on a Trenton, New Jersey, street, police said, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/falls-township-shootings-pennsylvania-03-16-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. After the alleged shooter barricaded himself in a Trenton home, police and a SWAT team set up a perimeter around the house.
&#8220;However, apparently, before the perimeter was completed, the suspect was able to get out of the location unseen. However, our information was that he was still in there,&#8221; said Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said police found the suspect two blocks from the home, and &#8220;he cooperated and gave his identity to police themselves.&#8221;
Police believe the suspect knew each of the three victims that he allegedly killed. Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said the alleged shooter killed his 52-year-old stepmother and 13-year-old sister before he then killed the 25-year-old mother of his two children at a different residence.
Residents of Falls Township, which is just a few miles south of Trenton, were told to shelter in place as authorities searched for the suspect. The shelter-in-place order for Falls Township was lifted after police found the suspect in Trenton.
“We are investigating a spree killing that took place in the township this morning,” Jeff Dence, chairman of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors, told CNN. “It is domestic related. Three people were killed at two different residences.”
Officers were first called to Viewpoint Lane in Levittown just before 9:00 a.m. Saturday where police said the suspect shot and killed two people who lived at the residence, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/active-shooter-reported-falls-township-pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. Just minutes later, he allegedly went to a home on Edgewood Lane, where he shot and killed another person. The suspect then allegedly carjacked a person at gunpoint in a Dollar General parking lot before driving to Trenton. Police said that he did not know the carjacking victim, and the victim was not injured.
Police added that the suspect is “believed to be currently homeless and has ties to the Trenton, New Jersey, area.” He is considered to be “extremely dangerous.”
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“He is believed to be in possession of an assault rifle which he used to commit these crimes. It is believed that the suspect may be in possession of additional weapons,” the Falls Township Police said in a statement.
The stolen vehicle was located and unoccupied on Miller Street in Trenton before police and a SWAT team surrounded the home where the suspect is believed to be barricaded with hostages.
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Trenton police are surrounding a duplex in the area of Phillips Ave. and Nassau St. believed to be connected to the gunman suspected of killing 3 people this morning in Falls Township, Bucks County. SWAT officers with long guns are running and a tactical vehicle is on standby. <a href="https://t.co/DgbnHv6wvd">pic.twitter.com/DgbnHv6wvd</a>
&mdash; Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) <a href="https://twitter.com/MWrightReports/status/1769048214324322326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

US-CRIME-SHOOTING

Suspected Shooter Apprehended After Allegedly Killing 3, Barricading Inside Home

New Jersey

Police

Shooting

Pittsburgh police will no longer personally respond to calls that aren’t considered “in-progress emergencies” after recent department policy changes.
Calls not considered “in-progress emergencies” will be <a href="https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/big-changes-pittsburgh-bureau-police-staffing-are-effect/ME4OY4CRSVG4HHDA53GFEYENSU/">assigned</a> by dispatch to a telephone recording unit. The city&#8217;s website states, &#8220;Creation of an enhanced Telephone Reporting Unit (TRU) operating from 7-3 a.m. daily, including weekends. Dispatch will assign reports to the TRU for calls that do not require an in-person response by officers. TRU will NOT be assigned to any &#8220;In Progress&#8221; call where a suspect may be on scene, any crime where a person may need medical aid, any domestic dispute, calls with evidence, or where the Mobile Crime Unit will be requested to process a scene.&#8221;
In addition, between 3 and 7 a.m., when reportedly far fewer 911 calls are made, no desk officers will be present at the six police stations in the city. Instead, call boxes linked to 911 have been installed. During some overnight shifts, there may be only <a href="https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/big-changes-pittsburgh-bureau-police-staffing-are-effect/ME4OY4CRSVG4HHDA53GFEYENSU/">22 officers</a> to cover the entire city.
“It’s enough to cover the entire city in those hours when we have 8% of the time people are calling &#8230; I’m confident in the decisions that we make, that it impacts this bureau and this city in much better way than we have in the past,” Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto stated.
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Pittsburgh police will no longer respond to certain calls including theft, harassment, criminal mischief, and burglary alarms.
Between 3AM-7AM there will be no officers at any police stations.
Buy guns. Buy ammo. 
The police will not protect you. <a href="https://t.co/ZoQbkREQUs">pic.twitter.com/ZoQbkREQUs</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1766897488202768818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Scirotto cited staffing shortages after the city plunged to 740 police officers; at the start of 2023, the city had 835; a full staff is considered 900.
Scirotto said that prior to the changes, roughly one-third of officers worked overnight, but about two-thirds of the call volume came between 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. “So we’re running one shift ragged, under-resourcing it, and over-resourcing another,” he said. “That was why I thought this exercise was so important.”
“Average night, we’d have seven officers out on the road in each zone, so [we had] like 42 officers, generally,” Scirotto told the <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2024/03/03/pittsburgh-police-changes-staffing-safety-shifts-wellness-scirotto/stories/202403010078#:~:text=The%20changes%2C%20launched%20last%20week,better%20focus%20on%20officer%20wellness.">Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</a> last week. “We cut 12. People think I cut 112.”
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Bob Swartzwelder, president of the Fraternal Order of Police #1, criticized the plan, saying, “They’re running out of manpower very, very quickly, and they’re getting very taxed.” He acknowledged there could be 25 to 30 officers working during the 3-7 a.m. shift, but said they are executing specialized work. “I think the strategy at this point is a hope and a prayer that they can base everyone on data,” he said. “It may pan out to be correct. It may be disastrous.”

Police block street for protesters during the If Not Now

Pittsburgh Police Cuts Staff Between 3-7 A.M., No Longer Respond If Not ‘In-Progress Emergency’

Domestic Violence

General

Pittsburgh

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pennsylvania</a>&#8216;s senators, both Democrats, have withdrawn a request for $1 million in taxpayer money to support a renovation and expansion project for an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lgbtq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LGBT</a> center in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/philadelphia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia</a> after federal funds for the organization were <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/william-way-house-republicans-funding-lgbtq-organizations-boyle-houlahan-democrats-20230718.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blocked</a> in the House last year.
Sens. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-fetterman">John Fetterman</a> (D-PA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) wrote to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to declare they no longer want an earmark for the William Way LGBT Community Center in spending legislation for the current fiscal year.
&#8220;After further review, I am writing to withdraw my support and request the removal of the below Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally Directed Spending project included in the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/cdsletters24/THUD_Casey_CDS_Updated_Certification_24_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two</a> <a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/cdsletters24/THUD_Fetterman_CDS_Updated_Certification_24.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letters</a> said.
The senators had earlier requested the $1 million for &#8220;The William Way Renovation and Expansion Project&#8221; which Casey&#8217;s letter said would &#8220;renovate and expand the existing LGBT Community Center into an inclusive, fully accessible, and welcoming space for all individuals to gather, learn, and find life-giving support.&#8221;
Word of the $1 million earmark request getting pulled spread on social media on Tuesday evening. The popular Libs of TikTok account on X, run by Chaya Raichik, <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1765189101429637283" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> a screenshot of the letter signed by Fetterman. She noted that it followed the account&#8217;s &#8220;Exposé&#8221; featuring screenshots of advertisements for adults-only events at the center that featured sexually explicit content.
Fetterman released a <a href="https://twitter.com/SenFettermanPA/status/1765438467146756503" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Wednesday praising the William Way LGBT Community Center but acknowledged his funding request would not make it through the appropriations process. He blamed Republicans.
&#8220;The William Way LGBT Community Center has been doing critical work in Philadelphia for decades. I do not believe that we should penalize this center based on events that are entirely legal among consenting adults. I have no problem with what consenting adults do in their private time,&#8221; Fetterman said.
&#8220;Unfortunately, at the 11th hour my staff was made aware that funding for William Way, which was in the bill because I championed it, would not pass in the FY24 appropriations process. The choice was either to pull it or watch it get stripped out, attacked by Republicans, and ultimately killed. This is not the end of this fight and I am going to fight for William Way to secure their funding in the FY25 appropriations process,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I’m new here, but I wasn’t aware that Democratic values and priorities are dictated by Libs of TikTok.&#8221;
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Congressional leaders <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/28/politics/house-votes-government-funding/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last week they had reached a deal on several appropriations bills, including the one for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, with the goal of passing them by March 8. Other spending bills to fund other facets of the federal government have a deadline of March 22 thanks to another stop-gap measure.
Rep. Brandon Boyle (D-PA), who represents a district in the Philadelphia area, had also <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/documents/FY24%20Transportation%2C%20Housing%20and%20Urban%20Development%2C%20and%20Related%20Agencies%20-%20CPF%20Table%20Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requested</a> the $1 million earmark for the William Way LGBT Community Center. While the request appears in a <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/documents/FY24%20Transportation%2C%20Housing%20and%20Urban%20Development%2C%20and%20Related%20Agencies%20-%20CPF%20Table%20Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Final Table&#8221;</a> of community funding projects on the House Appropriations Committee website, an <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/documents/FY24%20Transportation%2C%20Housing%20and%20Urban%20Development%2C%20and%20Related%20Agencies%20-%20CPF%20Table%20Final%20Updated%203.6.2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Updated Table&#8221;</a> does not include the item. The <a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy24_thud_cds_table.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">same</a> <a href="https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy24_thud_cds_table_updated.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deletion</a> is reflected on the Senate Appropriations Committee website.
As recently as Sunday, Boyle had been celebrating funds for the center that have since disappeared. &#8220;House Republicans tried to strip funding I secured for the William Way LGBT Community Center here in Philadelphia,&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/CongBoyle/status/1764464454492672092" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X, alluding to a previous $1.8 million earmark that got <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/william-way-house-republicans-funding-lgbtq-organizations-boyle-houlahan-democrats-20230718.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blocked</a> in committee last year. &#8220;I&#8217;m happy to announce that their bigotry lost — and that this much-needed funding for the William Way Center was included in the 2024 funding bills released today.&#8221;
The Daily Wire reached out to Casey&#8217;s office, Boyle&#8217;s office, and the William Way LGBT Community Center seeking comment on the withdrawal request.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)

PA Senators Fetterman And Casey Withdraw Request For $1M To Fund LGBT Center

PA Senators Fetterman And Casey Withdraw Request For $1M In Funds For LGBT Center

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