Explosion hits capital of Ukraine breakaway region

The blast took place in the vicinity of the building hosting the breakaway region’s administration

A massive explosion in the center of Donetsk on Friday evening was the work of a car bomb that detonated outside the government headquarters, the authorities in the breakaway region in eastern Ukraine have said.

Multiple reports of the blast came shortly after both Donetsk and Lugansk, the two regions that seceded from Ukraine in 2014, announced an evacuation of civilians into Russia, fearing an attack by the Ukrainian military.

RT correspondent Roman Kosarev, who is on the ground in Donetsk to report on the evacuation, has also confirmed that he heard the explosion.

Images from the scene show a completely destroyed car in the parking lot about 100 meters or so outside the seat of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, with significant damage to other vehicles nearby.

The targeted vehicle belonged to the head of the DPR People’s Militia, Denis Sinenkov, who told Interfax that he was not injured in the blast.

Tensions are currently running high in eastern Ukraine, as the two breakaway regions – known colloquially as Donbass – allege the government in Kiev is planning a military operation to take their territory by force. They cite a sharp increase in incidents along the armistice line, including the use of artillery, mortars, and tanks by the Ukrainian military. Ukraine has been denying any plans to take the regions by force.

Meanwhile, the US and NATO have accused Russia of intending to invade Ukraine, though their predicted start date of February 16 came and went without incident. Moscow has repeatedly rejected the accusations as ‘fake news’. Both sides have accused the other of planning a ‘false flag’ attack to create a pretext for a military operation.

The authorities in Donetsk are asking residents to remain calm, stay on alert, and limit movement around the city as much as they can.

https://www.rt.com/russia/549901-donetsk-explosion-ukraine/

Biden’s Fully Vaxxed and Boosted Surgeon General Vivek Murthy – and His Entire Family – Test Positive For Covid

Joe Biden’s fully vaxxed and boosted Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Friday announced he tested positive for Covid.

Murthy’s wife and two young children – Three of which are VAXXED AND BOOSTED – also tested positive for Covid and are experiencing symptoms.

Recall, Vivek Murthy said vaccinated Americans need to wear masks to protect the unvaccinated.

Perhaps Murthy should have worn a mask at home and in the shower to have better protected his family?

Last month Dr. Vivek Murthy called for Joe Rogan’s podcast to be censored in order to end the pandemic.

Murthy complained that social media companies are not doing enough to ‘stop the spread’ of Covid misinformation before calling on Spotify to silence Joe Rogan.

“A critical part of how we get through this pandemic” is “limiting the spread of misinformation” from shows like Joe Rogan, Murthy said on Tuesday.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/bidens-fully-vaxxed-boosted-surgeon-general-vivek-murthy-entire-family-test-positive-covid/

Missouri AG Eric Schmitt Informs T-Mobile an Investigation Was Launched on Their Censorship of Conservative Viewpoints Following Gateway Pundit Complaint

Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Communists were known for their airbrushing. If a top official lost favor with Stalin they were eliminated and airbrushed from society as if they never existed.

Who would have ever thought this Marxist practice would come to American shores one day?

And yet here we are.

In early January we learned the tech giants are using a frightening new method to censor and control what you are able to see, read and discuss online. T-Mobile was disappearing our links. You could not send our links through T-mobile. They would disappear them. Your friends would not even know that you sent them a Gateway Pundit article.

Dozens of our readers sent us proof that this was happening.

The Gateway Pundit was one of the top 250 websites in the country in 2021. We had over 900 million page views in 2021. TGP continually offers breaking news and our reporting is second to none. As the mainstream media continues to shovel out their BS and lies and refuses to report the truth, The Gateway Pundit continues to grow year after year. Because of this, the American left hates us and does EVERYTHING — and we mean EVERYTHING — possible to destroy us.

One of our readers reached out to T-Mobile through chat support and was sent a link to a Reuters article discussing an FCC decision on censoring texts. The decision was actually meant to stop robotexts and spam messages, not individual texts. The customer service representative admitted that the carrier has been censoring websites via the transmission of text messages.

This was a new tactic of the left.

They were now eliminating conservative articles in text messages!

This is a Marxist tactic used in communist regimes – not America.

In January we sent a letter to Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmidt and filed a complaint.

The Gateway Pundit is demanding the Missouri Attorney General investigate this matter.

The letter was sent to all five of the Missouri Attorney General’s offices in January.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/missouri-ag-eric-schmitt-informs-t-mobile-investigation-launched-following-censorship-conservative-viewpoints-following-gateway-pundit-complaint/

Ottawa Police Threaten to Arrest Media Covering Freedom Convoy Arrests

The Ottawa Police have threatened to arrest members of the media who are covering the Freedom Convoy arrests.

The threat comes one day after a vow from Interim Police Chief Steve Bell to crack down on the protest.

“All media who are attending the area, please keep a distance and stay out of police operations for your safety. Anyone found within areas undergoing enforcement may be subject to arrest. There will be a media availability later today at 474 Elgin Street,” the department tweeted from their official account.

Speaking to the press on Thursday, Bell said, “do not come to our downtown court. We are tired of what’s been happening there. We’re sick of what’s happening in our streets so leave our area. We will continue with that message this weekend. What you’re seeing is an increased enforcement presence. And we won’t be allowing people to come down for the unlawful activities of engaging in demonstrations.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/ottawa-police-threatens-arrest-media-covering-freedom-convoy-arrests/

Utah’s Republican Governor Vows To Veto School Voucher Bill After Taking $75,000 From Nation’s Largest Teachers Union

Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox vowed to veto a school choice bill on Thursday as school choice advocates point out that the Governor accepted $75,000 in campaign funds from the nation’s largest teachers union.

Cox said during his monthly news conference that he would veto House Bill 331, which would create an educational voucher program that establishes “scholarship accounts on behalf of eligible students to pay for private education goods and services” for the 2023-2024 school year, according to a local news outlet.

“Yeah. Yeah, I would,” Cox said on vetoing the bill. “At some point, I will be absolutely willing to support vouchers, but that point is not now because we are underfunding our schools.”

Cox’s office directed the Daily Caller to his radio show for further comments on his decision to veto the bill. The Governor said that he will support funding a voucher program when the starting salaries for teachers hits $60,000.

School choice advocates pointed out that the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), donated $75,000 to Cox’s 2020 campaign. The Utah Education Association (UEA), an affiliate of the NEA, also endorsed the Republican Governor.

The UEA is vehemently opposed to House Bill 331, according to its website. The union’s Government Relations Director said that the bill requires “exactly zero reporting about student learning outcomes” and condemned the program for allegedly paying “twice as much state funding to students attending a private school.”

Funding for government-run public schools goes up under House Bill 331.

“Educators have been crystal clear that what they need most are time, resources, and respect and HB 331 delivers absolutely none of these things. None,” said UEA President Heidi Matthews.

https://dailycaller.com/2022/02/17/utah-gov-spencer-cox-veto-school-voucher-national-education-association/

Senate RINOs Mitt Romney, Jim Inhofe, Lindsey Graham, and Richard Burr ‘No Shows’ for Vote Defunding Biden Mandates Leaving Mandates in Place

You really don’t have a political party when a certain percent of your leaders are on the other side.

When your party is full of American haters and those who side with the other side, you really don’t have a party. The Palmieri Report shared yesterday:

RINOs in the GOP are a disgrace.

GOP Senators Mitt Romney, Jim Inhofe, Lindsey Graham, and Richard Burr all did not show up for a vote on an amendment to defund Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates.

Them not showing killed the amendment. This also gave Democrats an excuse that the opposition to not defunding them was bipartisan.

This was in reference to a report at Breitbart on a recent vote in the US Senate.

Four Senate Republicans failed to show up to vote on an amendment that would have defunded President Joe Biden’s remaining vaccine mandates, thus ensuring its failure.

The Senate voted on Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) amendment to the continuing resolution (CR), which would defund Biden’s remaining vaccine mandates. The measure failed 46-47, with Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Richard Burr (R-NC) failing to show up, depriving Senate Republicans a potential majority to pass the amendment to the CR.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) set the vote threshold to a majority, and it remains possible that he could have set the threshold to 60 if Republicans had enough votes to pass with a majority; however, Democrats broke and voted to defund Biden’s private employer mandate the last time they voted on vaccine mandates. This could have put more pressure on Democrats to support the defunding of Biden’s vaccine mandates.

Representative Chip Roy shared this on Twitter.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/outrageous-senate-rinos-mitt-romney-jim-inhofe-lindsey-graham-richard-burr-no-shows-vote-defunding-biden-mandates-leaving-mandates-place/

Cop Downloads Child Porn onto His Phone, Shares it at Dept. Meeting as Fellow Cops ‘Laugh and Joke’

Ross Township, PA — In today’s digital age, revenge porn and sexual images posted online without the subject’s consent, is an unfortunate and all too common reality. It is also a complex legal minefield and has authorities unsure on where to draw the line. One thing, however, is clearly established — and that is the fact that any of this material involving children, is entirely unacceptable, repugnant, and illegal.

One would think that because children sex videos are universally frowned upon by society — who locks people in a cage for it — that cops would know not to engage in it. Sadly, however, as the following case illustrates, one would be wrong.

The Ross Police Department in Pennsylvania is under fire and investigation this week after that very act allegedly occurred. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has launched an investigation into a Ross police officer over his actions involving a sex video of a local child.

The video was posted to Facebook and sparked a separate police investigation.

WTAE reports that a letter by the leadership of the union representing Ross police triggered the investigation, calling the department’s reaction to the video “disturbing”. The letter also criticizes Ross police Chief Joseph Ley’s handling of the incident because he took no action.

When contacted about the letter, Ross Township Board of Commissioners President Dan DeMarco responded, saying, “The Ross board of commissioners is aware of the allegations set forth in the letter and take them seriously. We have no other information regarding this matter, which has been turned over to the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General for investigation.”

According to the letter, during a police roll call, the unnamed police sergeant took out his personal phone — where he had downloaded and saved the video — and began playing it for his fellow officers. Instead of questioning why this cop had child pornography on his phone, the other officers began “laughing and joking about it” as he did.

Only a single officer raised a red flag after being “offended and shocked” at their fellow cops casually viewing child porn during an official meeting and reported the incident. That officer went through the proper chain of command to report what they had witnessed, and was largely ignored by the chief and everyone else who downplayed the incident. What’s more, according to the letter, the officer blowing the whistle was blackballed.

As WTAE reports:

An attorney for the union confirms the executive board of Ross’ police union wrote the detailed letter about the concerns to Ross Township’s board of commissioners. The letter says the chief “failed to take the required immediate action in a potential felony incident against a child.” It calls that “negligent and irresponsible.”

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-downloads-child-porn-onto-his-phone-shares-it-at-dept-meeting-as-fellow-cops-laugh-and-joke/

Key Freedom Convoy leaders arrested as police establish 100 checkpoints in Ottawa to clamp down on trucker protest

Key leaders of the Freedom Convoy were arrested on Thursday by police in Ottawa. Tamara Lich and Chris Barber – prominent organizers of the Canadian trucker protest – were seen being taken into custody by police.

According to the Ottawa Police, Barber was charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief, counseling to commit the offense of disobey court order (s. 127), and counseling to commit the offense of obstruct police. Lich has been charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief.

Barber – one of the leaders of the Freedom Convoy and a truck driver from Saskatchewan – was seen on video being arrested in Ottawa.

On Tuesday, Barber said, "We'll follow any direction of law enforcement. We've said it right from day one: If you're confronted by a police officer and the handcuffs come out, put your hands behind your back. Take it like a man. I've never been arrested by police. I've never had handcuffs on … If that comes, I'll be the first guy to get arrested."

An emotional Lich shared a video on Wednesday night, where she acknowledged that she would be taken to jail, but said she was "okay with that."

"I want you to know that I'm not afraid," Lich said in the video posted to social media.

"Just please stay peaceful and take care of each other," Lich tells the other Freedom Convoy protesters. "And know this too will pass."

"And there will be a tomorrow, and we will get through this," Lich said. "The only way this is going to succeed is if we always come from a place of love."

"I pray and I hope that you make your choices from love," she continued. "You have to know that they're trying to provoke us."

Lich – who launched the GoFundMe campaign that raised over $10 million for the Freedom Convoy before the crowdfunding website shut it down – also claimed that her personal bank account had been frozen.

The head of the Freedom Convoy, @Tamara_MVC, is preparing to be arrested. "I think it is inevitable. I want you to know that I am not afraid. Stay peaceful, and please take care of each other." \nIf Canada is ever governed by a non-tyrant, Tamara deserves the Order of Canada.pic.twitter.com/5Dzoe0gwcg

— Keean Bexte (@Keean Bexte) 1645118411

https://www.theblaze.com/news/freedom-convoy-trucker-protests-organizers-arrested

https://www.theblaze.com/news/freedom-convoy-trucker-protests-organizers-arrested

Minnesota GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn dead at age 59 after cancer fight

Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.) has died following a battle with kidney cancer, his family revealed on Friday. He was 59.

“It is with a broken heart, shattered spirit and overwhelming sadness I share my husband Congressman Jim Hagedorn passed away peacefully last night,” Hagedorn’s wife, former Minnesota state GOP chair Jennifer Carnahan, said in a Facebook tribute.

“Jim loved our country and loved representing the people of southern Minnesota,” Carnahan added. “Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others. There was no stronger conservative in our state than my husband; and it showed in how he voted, led and fought for our country.”

Hagedorn was elected to represent Minnesota’s First District, which covers the southern portion of the state, in 2018. He was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in February 2019, just six weeks into his first term and two months after marrying Carnahan.

The lawmaker went public with his diagnosis in February 2020 after undergoing surgery and more than a year of immunotherapy treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/18/minnesota-gop-rep-jim-hagedorn-dead-at-age-59-after-cancer-fight/

Ohio AG: Study Links Opioid Deaths to Stimulus Checks

A study released Thursday by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost links COVID-19 stimulus checks to increases in deaths caused by opioid overdoses across the country.

The study, which Yost said in a news release had been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication by the International Journal of Drug Policy in April, used data from the Ohio Department of Health.

“The link between pandemic relief money and opioid overdose deaths is now evident,” Yost said. “The intent was to help Americans navigate this deadly pandemic but it also fueled a tidal wave of overdoses.”

The data, Yost said, showed spikes in opioid-related overdose deaths during the second quarter of 2020 coincided with the delivery of federal stimulus checks. More Ohioans died of opioid overdoses in the second quarter of 2020 than at any point since 2010, Yost said.

However, the report concluded the spike in deaths could be a result of many factors, not only the stimulus payments, and it said more research is needed to investigate the connection between the payments and the overdose deaths.

According for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses from April 2020 to April 2021, the most recorded in a 12-month period since the CDC began publicly tracking opioid deaths in 1999, Yost said.

https://www.ntd.com/ohio-ag-study-links-opioid-deaths-to-stimulus-checks_741590.html

COVID Forever! Lockdown Loving Minister Rejects ‘Freedom Day’ term, Says Coronavirus Will Last 10 YEARS

Germany’s lockdown loving health minister has rejected the term ‘freedom day’, saying that he expects the Chinese Coronavirus to last 10 YEARS.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach — known as a lockdown extremist before he even got into the role with the new German government — has said that he believes the use of the term ‘freedom day’ is inappropriate, as he does not expect the crisis to be over by the time Germany eases restrictions in March.

Instead, the epidemiologist — who has openly voiced his support for forced vaccination for all over 18s — has said that he thinks the federal republic will be dealing with Chinese Coronavirus for 10 years.

According to a report by Der Spiegel, Lauterback denounced the use of the term ‘freedom day’ during an interview on Wednesday.

“I don’t use this term at all and I don’t think it’s appropriate either,” the minister is reported as saying, claiming that some older people will never be totally free again post-pandemic.

“There will never be full freedom for these people,” he continued. “So I don’t think it’s right to pretend that there is complete normality for everyone.”

While the minister also reportedly voiced his support for some limited easing — which is expected to take place in Germany in late March, compared to other European countries who have already lifted the majority of restrictions — he also warned that he expected his country to be dealing with COVID for a decade.

“I think we’re going to be dealing with COVID for ten years, but with decreasing intensity,” Lauterbach said, noting that things would not be the same as in pre-pandemic times should measures be eased in late March.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/02/18/covid-forever-lockdown-loving-minister-rejects-freedom-day-term-says-coronavirus-will-last-10-years/

Gov. Newsom Announces Full Time Team to Combat COVID ‘Propaganda Machines’

Newsom named Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, WarRoom, Infowars as chief propagandists

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his new plan to manage the COVID-19 “endemic” Thursday. He said California would be moving to a more long-term plan for the virus as immunity against it builds.

Newsom’s new endemic plan, known as SMARTER (shots, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education, Rx treatments) changes up how California is responding to pandemic.

Last week Gov. Newsom issued a press release announcing as part of his proposed COVID-19 Emergency Response Package that he signed a $1.9 billion early action measure to meet the state’s immediate COVID response needs, “including funding to boost testing capacity and vaccination efforts, support frontline workers, strengthen the health care system and battle misinformation, with a focus on the hardest-hit communities.”

During Thursday’s press conference in Fontana, CA, the governor addressed what he referred to as the COVID “propaganda machine,” naming Alex Jones’ Infowars, Steve Bannon’s WarRoom, One America News, Newsmax and Fox News as the propagandists.

The governor said OAN was a “great disinformation spreader,” and referred to Fox News’ “propaganda lineup.” Newsom even said that people died because of the misinformation spread by these news outlets.

When asked what he plans to do about this, Newsom said he already has “a team of people at HHS battling in the trenches and on social media trying to push back.”

He announced that he is creating “a brand new unit in State Government working full time on this.”

Gov. Newsom said he and his team created COVID-19 “Mythbuster” videos while combating misinformation, all of which is in partnership with 250 ethnic media outlets.

Newsom added, “We are asking the people who promote the lies and misinformation to stop.”

Gov. Newsom also said he would be “Scaling back Executive Order provisions and terminating provisions as they cease to be necessary,” but no specifics were given.

You can watch the press conference here:

https://californiaglobe.com/articles/gov-newsom-announces-full-time-team-to-combat-covid-propaganda-machines/