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Satanic Temple’s Lawsuit Claiming Texas Law Violates Their ‘Religious Freedom’ to ‘Abortion Rituals’ Dismissed By Federal Judge
A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas dismissed a lawsuit by The Satanic Temple that claimed the state’s abortion laws violate their “religious freedom” to perform “abortion rituals.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Satanic Temple member “Ann Doe,” and argued that Texas’ strict abortion laws violate their “right to a religious accommodation of its members to engage in the abortion ritual under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
The Satanists also claimed that “TST has a constitutional right under the Texas Constitution to the free exercise of their religious practices, including the abortion ritual” and “First Amendment ‘conduct,’ including TST’s religious abortion ritual, is not permitted to be the target of civil actions filed under SB8.”
“SB8’s ban on abortions after six weeks infringes upon our members’ rights to engage with their chosen religion and to participate in religious rites and rituals,” The Satanic Temple’s Director of Campaign Operations Erin Helian said in a press release provided to The Gateway Pundit at the time of the filing. “In accordance with our Third Tenet, The Satanic Temple will push back against the Texas legislature’s violation of our members’ bodily autonomy and freedom of choice.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/satanic-temples-lawsuit-claiming-texas-law-violates-their/
DOJ will not defend Trump as immune in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit
A jury in May held Trump responsible for battery and defamation in a civil trial Carroll brought against him.
Updated: July 11, 2023 - 5:55pm
Article
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The Department of Justice will not defend former President Donald Trump as immune with respect to defamation claims from writer E. Jean Carroll.
The DOJ announced that it would not longer argue Trump's immunity on Tuesday, after previously certifying that Trump made allegedly defamatory statements denouncing Carroll's claims of sexual assault while in his official capacity as president, The Hill reported.
The agency "has determined that it lacks adequate evidence to conclude that the former President was sufficiently actuated by a purpose to serve the United States Government to support a determination that he was acting within the scope of his employment when he denied sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll and made the other statements regarding Ms. Carroll that she has challenged in this action," it announced.
Tuesday's announcement represents a reversal of the DOJ's past position, which supported Trump's immunity claims.
A jury in May held Trump responsible for battery and defamation in a civil trial Carroll brought against him. She had claimed that Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room sometime in the 1990s. The jury determined that Trump's conduct did not amount to rape, but sexual abuse, and also found that Trump defamed Carroll by denying her story through public comments after he left the presidency. That suit did not face immunity questions given the timeframe of Trump's statements for which Carroll claimed defamation.
The suit was separate from Carroll's initial 2019 defamation case, which stems from comments Trump made denying the story while in office. At issue was the matter of Trump's immunity, given he made the statements while president. The DOJ announcement pertains to that case.
U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan in late June rejected Trump's immunity argument in the suit, contending that his denials of Carroll's claims had no bearing on his official duties.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/doj-will-not-defend-trump-immune-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No winning ticket drawn Monday means the Powerball jackpot is an estimated $725 million ahead of Wednesday’s drawing.
No ticket matched the Monday drawing of white balls 7, 23, 24, 32, 43 and red Powerball 18.
The new jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is the seventh-highest in the history of the game. Ticket buyers have a chance at either $725 million paid out in yearly increments or a $366 million one-time lump sum before taxes.
https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpot-powerball-ticket-lotto-1d8d46afa62a1c021f3827564efe5e16
White House greenlights troubled arms deal with Türkiye
The Biden administration has agreed to the sale of F-16 fighter jets after Ankara dropped its opposition to Sweden’s NATO bid
US President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed to push forward with the controversial sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, just hours after Ankara stopped standing in the way of Sweden’s membership in NATO.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed the decision on Tuesday, saying Biden would work with Congress to get the arms deal finalized.
“He has placed no caveats or conditions,” Sullivan told reporters at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. “He intends to move forward with that transfer in consultation with Congress.”
A group of US senators threatened to block the aircraft deal in February unless Ankara approved the bid by Sweden and Finland to join the US-led military bloc. Finland became a NATO member in April.
https://www.rt.com/news/579572-white-house-approves-f16-sale-to-turkey/
California Assembly Blocks Legislation That Would Have Made Child Trafficking Punishable By Life in Prison
The California Assembly Committee on Public Safety has squashed a bill that would have increased the charges for human trafficking, despite it passing through the state’s Senate with bipartisan support.
ali would have made human trafficking of children a “serious felony,” on par with murder, rape, or other crimes that could carry life in prison or the death penalty.
On Tuesday, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee blocked the measure, prompting a victim to scream out “horrible” through sobs.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/california-assembly-blocks-legislation-that-would-have-made/
Zelensky fumes as NATO rejects fast-track entry process for Ukraine
Russia has identified Ukraine's push to join the alliance as one of its key reasons for invading the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is livid as NATO countries declined to set a timetable for Kyiv's entry into the alliance amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
The member countries, at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, agreed to create a Ukraine-NATO council and to support closer relations with Kyiv, but declined to fast-track its admission or set a timetable at all, The Hill reported. President Joe Biden stands as one of the biggest detractors to such a plan, though other members of NATO remain hesitant to make more definite promises on admission to Ukraine.
NATO's refusal to set a timeline earned Zelensky's ire.
"Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect," he said. "But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine. And I would like to emphasize that this wording is about the invitation to become NATO member, not about Ukraine's membership."
"It’s unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership. While at the same time vague wording about "conditions" is added even for inviting Ukraine," he continued. "It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance."
"This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine's membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror," he declared. "Uncertainty is weakness."
Ukraine has sought definite commitments from NATO to admit it as a method of deterring Russia in its invasion. The alliance, however, maintains a collective defense article that would likely be invoked should Ukraine join mid-war, essentially dragging the whole alliance into the conflict.
Russia has identified Ukraine's push to join the alliance as one of its key reasons for invading the country.
The rejection of Ukraine's speedy admission comes as Washington moves to send highly controversial cluster bombs to Kyiv to bolster its war effort. The weapons effectively serve as shotgun missiles by dispersing dozens of smaller submunitions to target hostiles over a wide area. Human rights groups have condemned their use due to the propensity to inflict civilian casualties.
The submunitions have a high failure rate, meaning many remain undetonated for years until disturbed by civilians after the conflict, potentially inflicting additional casualties. Neither Ukraine, nor Russia, nor the U.S. has signed an international treaty banning their use, though the Biden administration last year contended that Russian use of cluster munitions could constitute a war crime.
Former President Donald Trump condemned the Biden administration on Tuesday for sending such munitions to Ukraine, warning that the president "is needlessly and dangerously leading us into World War III."
Trump further addressed Biden's stated rationale for their delivery, namely that the U.S. was running out of conventional ammunition with which to provide the Ukrainians.
"There could be no more vivid proof that Joe Biden's policy of endless war in Ukraine has tremendously weakened the United States than the humiliating admission that the USA is now out of ammo, something our enemies are undoubtedly salivating over," he said. "This 'admitted' weakness is an invitation to enemies all over the world."
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/zelensky-fumes-nato-rejects-fast-track-entry-process-ukraine
Millstones! ;)
Most Germans dissatisfied with government – poll
A recent survey indicated that most supporters of the three ruling coalition parties are unhappy
The majority of Germans are unimpressed by the performance of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, a recent poll has shown. Dissatisfaction with the ruling traffic light coalition is apparently prevalent even among the voters who support the three constituent parties.
According to the survey conducted by Institut Forsa and published on Tuesday, 77% of respondents said they were somewhat or completely dissatisfied with the government.
The study found that 52% of SPD voters, Chancellor Scholz's political party, are dissatisfied. Among Green Party and Free Democratic Party supporters, which make up the rest of the ruling coalition, 55% and 71% were dissatisfied respectively.
The poll commissioned by RTL and NTV media outlets drew on responses from 1,002 people last Thursday through Friday.
https://www.rt.com/news/579539-germany-poll-government-dissatisfaction/
Used electric car prices crater as much as 40% in value, data suggests
The biggest fallers, which were all EV's, fell thousands of dollars each, while the biggest risers, all combustion engines, rose by comparison.
Used electric vehicles are seeing an unprecedented drop in value this year, with one EV model plunging by as much as 40%, while internal combustion engine cars have become more valuable, according to an exclusive report from UK newspaper the Daily Mail.
Using data from car valuations company cap hpi, the report names 20 “second-hand cars” that have seen the biggest drop in prices, and 20 of the largest value risers from January through June of 2023. All 20 fallers are electric vehicles, while none of the 20 risers are.
Listing the price changes in British pounds, Just the News converted the Daily Mail's figures into USD.
For EV’s, the Hyundai Ioniq, Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona, Kia Soul, and SEAT Mii Electric were among the biggest losers and are listed below.
Hyundai Ioniq: -33.1% (-$7,831)
Nissan Leaf -33.2% (-$7,944)
Hyundai Kona -33.5% (-$9,556)
Kia Soul -36.7% (-$8,537)
SEAT Mii Electric -40% (-$7,446)
Tesla Model S, Honda e, and BMW i3 were also listed among the "biggest used car price fallers."
The outlet notes in its report that the mammoth EV company Tesla did not fall into the top 10 biggest losers because US brand electrics "dramatically declined in the final months of 2022," and the data for the cars in the article begins in January of 2023.
Business Insider reported in December that used Tesla's were dropping in value four times faster than other brands of used cars in the market. Some models dropped by more than $11,500 between July and November of 2022.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/used-electric-car-prices-crater-much-40-value-data-suggests
DEVELOPING: Vermont Dam One Foot From Failing Amid Historic Flooding
A major Vermont dam is one foot away from failing amid catastrophic floods.
Northeastern states such as New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont were hit with torrential downpours this week.
Joe Biden declared a state of emergency.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/developing-vermont-dam-one-foot-failing-amid-historic/
China makes suggestion on Fukushima discharges
UN nuclear watchdog and others who claim Japanese reactor’s wastewater is safe should drink it, a Chinese official has said
Beijing has responded to the UN nuclear watchdog’s controversial support for plans by Japan to dump contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean by arguing that those who believe the water is safe should drink it and swim in it.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin addressed the issue during a press briefing on Tuesday, when he was asked about recent statements by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi touting the safety of Fukushima’s wastewater. He mocked Grossi’s claims that the water was even safe for drinking or swimming.
“If some people think that the nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima is safe to drink or swim in, we suggest that Japan save the nuclear-contaminated water for these people to drink or swim in instead of releasing it into the sea and causing widespread concerns internationally,” Wang said.
https://www.rt.com/news/579566-china-mocks-iaea-claims-on-fukushima-wastewater-plan/
Armed Gunman at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas – Seen Throwing Items Out Window – SWAT Involved in Standoff
LVMPD said they received a report of a domestic disturbance at the hotel. When they attempted to make contact with the people in the room, a male refused to open the door and said he was armed, police reported.
SWAT and Crisis Negotiators have been dispatched to the scene.
(…)
Police have said the situation is ongoing, while a single male and female are believed to be in the room. A window to the room was broken and objects were thrown out of it, while negotiators are speaking with the male subject.
No shots have been fired by police or the suspect at this point, police said. The floor of the hotel where the room is located has been locked down.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/armed-gunman-caesars-palace-las-vegas-seen-throwing/
Of all the /pol's/ you selected /kun/.