2 charged with sex trafficking minor in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Two people set up “dates” for a juvenile sex trafficking victim, then either robbed the men who showed up, or collected money from the “transaction,” a Metro police report alleges.

Ralpheal Joyner, 29, and Laura Williams, 20, were arrested Aug. 26 on two counts of trafficking for a commercial sex act.

The police report alleges the two would use Facebook to set up a sexual encounter between a man and the juvenile trafficking victim in Nashville. When men would arrive, the men would either be robbed or the sex would happen and the two would collect money from the “transaction,” the report states.

One of the charges stems from an incident in December, when Metro police said a man was robbed after showing up at a location on Due West Avenue to meet the juvenile trafficking victim for sex.

Police said search warrants were executed on Facebook and CashApp, which show who money was paid to and how much. It was not immediately clear if the men who showed up for sex with the juvenile were charged, as well.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/crime-tracker/2-charged-with-sex-trafficking-minor-in-nashville/

Same-sex couple’s child born in England is a U.S. citizen, judge rules

ATLANTA — A federal judge in Atlanta has ruled that the daughter of a married same-sex couple in Georgia who was born via surrogate in England has been an American citizen since birth, and ordered the State Department to issue a U.S. passport for her.

U.S. District Judge Michael Brown wrote in an order issued last week that the girl is not required to be biologically related to both of her U.S. citizen parents to be eligible for citizenship.

“We are so relieved that the court has recognized our daughter, Simone, as the U.S. citizen she has been since the day she was born,” Derek Mize, one of the fathers, said in a statement. “When we brought Simone into this world, as married, same-sex parents, we never anticipated our own government would disrespect our family and refuse to recognize our daughter as a U.S. citizen.”

The State Department, which has appealed similar orders in other cases, is aware of last Thursday’s ruling and is reviewing it with the Department of Justice, according to an an agency spokesperson.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday that the State Department’s policy was not discriminatory against gays and lesbians.

“That pertained to surrogacy, and it had nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the parents,” McEnany said. “And this — this administration [and] president will proudly stand on a record of achievement like leading a global initiative to end the criminalization of homosexuality throughout the world, launching a plan to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 and easing a ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men.”

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-09-01/judge-gay-couples-child-born-in-england-is-a-us-citizen

Philippines will not follow US in blacklisting China firms: official

The Philippines will not follow the US lead in blacklisting Chinese companies involved in the construction of artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, the president's spokesman said Tuesday, arguing Manila needed Beijing's investment.

Washington last week announced sanctions against 24 Chinese state-owned companies – including subsidiaries of China Communications Construction Co, which is involved in a $10 billion airport project in Manila.

The US has been pushing back against Beijing's military buildup in the South China Sea, where sovereignty is contested by several countries – including the Philippines.

China claims the majority of the area, invoking its so-called nine-dash line to justify its alleged historic rights to a key waterway through which trillions of dollars of international trade pass every year.

President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman told reporters Tuesday that Chinese involvement in major Philippine infrastructure projects would go ahead despite Washington's sanctions – including turning Sangley Point, a US naval station until the early 1970s, into a commercial airport.

"The Sangley project will push through," Harry Roque told reporters, adding the Philippines "will not follow the American directive because we are a free and independent state and we need investments coming from China".

China's ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, said the US sanctions were aimed at driving "a wedge between China and regional countries".

"I believe that any attempt to undermine the normal economic cooperation between China and the Philippines will never succeed," he said.

China has reinforced its claim to the South China Sea by building up small shoals and reefs into military bases with airstrips and port facilities.

It rejected a 2016 UN-backed tribunal's ruling that its claims were without legal basis.

https://news.yahoo.com/philippines-not-us-blacklisting-china-120336209.html

>>10492310

Don't wanna nom myself for notes bakes…but this is pretty important since the surrogate is British, therefore the child should be British not an American citizen …possibly done to support Kumala

But it's up to you 👍🏻

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Aug. 31, 2020

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Aug 31, 2020, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting dis-aggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

Total U.S. Navy Battle Force: 295

Deployed Ships Underway 62

Non-deployed Ships Underway 29

Total Ships Underway 91

https://news.usni.org/2020/08/31/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-aug-31-2020

>>10492349

<the girl is not required to be biologically related to both of her U.S. citizen parents to be eligible for citizenship.

That's what stood out to me the most

California bill eliminating sex offender list inequity toward LGBTQ people passes

State Sen. Scott Wiener carried a bill to remove automatic sex-offender registration for young adults who are convicted of having anal or oral sex with a minor, leaving the decision up to judges.

SACRAMENTO — California would eliminate a disparity in its statutory rape laws that critics say is a discriminatory vestige of the historic criminalization of gay sex, under a bill sent Monday to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

SB145 by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would remove automatic sex-offender registration for young adults who are convicted of having anal or oral sex with a minor, leaving the decision up to a judge. Newsom has until the end of September to act on the measure.

Wiener’s bill would treat all sex acts the same: Although minors cannot legally consent, if a teenager ages 14 to 17 voluntarily had sex with an adult who is less than 10 years older, the judge would have discretion over placing the adult on the sex-offender registry.

“This eliminates discrimination against LGBTQ youth in our criminal justice system,” Wiener said on the Senate floor.

The bill squeaked through the Legislature on the last night of session, passing the 80-member Assembly on a bare minimum 41-18 vote before it was approved 23-10 in the 40-member Senate. Several members raised objections to a policy that they argued condoned mistreatment of minors.

Many law enforcement agencies say California’s sex offender database, with about 100,000 registered offenders, has become too large to fulfill its purpose of tracking potential predators. They have previously supported other legislation allowing people convicted of less-serious crimes to cycle off the list.

Although it had no organized opposition, Wiener’s bill stalled last year after becoming a political flash point in a legislative race. Wiener said right-wing conspiracy theorists picked up on the measure over the summer and began falsely accusing him of trying to legalize pedophilia and sending him death threats online.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-bill-eliminating-sex-offender-list-15529263.php

>>10492465

>>10492510