Kim Jong-GUN: Leather-clad North Korean dictator brandishes an assault rifle while inspecting troops as he tells army to 'intensify actual war drills'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13168171/Kim-Jong-GUN-Leather-clad-North-Korean-dictator-brandishes-assault-rifle-inspecting-troops-tells-army-intensify-actual-war-drills.html

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brandished a gun while inspecting a major operational training base, urging his military to intensify 'actual war drills', state media reported Thursday.

Wearing a black leather jacket, Kim was shown talking to ranks of heavily armed soldiers in camouflage, overseeing firing drills and inspecting weaponry, images in the official Korean Central News Agency showed.

During his Wednesday visit to the base in the country's western region, Kim told the North Korean army to 'steadily intensify the actual war drills aimed at rapidly improving its combat capabilities for perfect war preparedness,' KCNA reported.

His visit comes as Seoul and Washington conduct their annual spring military exercises, known as 'Freedom Shield', which involve field exercises, missile interception drills and some live firing.

Pyongyang has called the drills 'reckless', warning the allies they will pay a 'dear price'. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brandished a gun while inspecting a major operational training base, urging his military to intensify 'actual war drills', state media reported.

His visit comes as Seoul and Washington conduct their annual spring military exercises, known as 'Freedom Shield', which involve field exercises, missile interception drills and some live firing.

KCNA photos also show Kim being applauded by soldiers, who 'pledged their intense loyalty' to him 'in the sacred struggle for the security of the country'.

North Korea has long condemned joint US-South Korea military drills, calling them rehearsals for an invasion.

But Seoul said on Tuesday that its military was thoroughly prepared for North Korea's possible provocations.

The nuclear-armed North has in the past carried out weapons tests as a response to such joint exercises.

So far this year, Pyongyang has declared South Korea its 'principal enemy', jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over 'even 0.001 mm' of territorial infringement.

Leader Kim repeated last month that Pyongyang would not hesitate to 'put an end' to South Korea if attacked.

In January, North Korea fired an artillery barrage near two South Korean border islands, prompting a live-fire drill by the South and evacuation orders for residents after Kim pushed his armed forces into an even more intense regime of military preparedness at the start of the year.

Pyongyang has also carried out a slew of weapons tests including multiple cruise missile launches and an 'underwater nuclear weapon system' test, plus firing a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.

Analysts have warned that North Korea could be testing cruise missiles ahead of sending them to Russia for use in Ukraine, with Washington and Seoul claiming Kim has shipped weapons to Moscow, despite rafts of UN sanctions banning any such moves.

'North Korea could be using recent launches as a way to show Russians the capability of their missiles before sending them off to Moscow,' Han Kwon-hee of Korea Association of Defence Industry Studies.

'The need to do it could be especially acute given recent reports of North Korean shells going awry when used by Russian troops,' he said.

California Republicans want investigation into Newsom's ties to Panera franchisee, new fast food law

https://www.kcra.com/article/california-newsom-ties-to-panera-franchisee-investigation/60030990

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Republican California lawmakers on Thursday called for an investigation into Gov. Gavin Newsom's ties to a billionaire Panera franchisee and the restaurant's exemption from a new state law that will require major fast-food chains to pay their workers $20 an hour.

"He owes everybody an explanation," Republican State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said.

Some Republican lawmakers said they had little faith in the ability of California's Democratic Supermajority Legislature or other top Democrats in state government to investigate the issue. Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, went as far as to say the FBI should get involved.

"Frankly, I don't think the California Attorney General is capable of doing that," Patterson said. "I think it has to be an outside agency that investigates this."

Multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity have confirmed to KCRA that billionaire franchisee and Newsom donor Greg Flynn influenced Newsom's push to carve out chains that sell and make bread on-site from the new law in the final weeks of the legislative session in 2022.

Newsom's office has said that it was the result of two years' worth of negotiations between him and the Legislature. The law goes into effect in April.

"The Governor never met with Flynn about this bill & this story is absurd. Our legal team has reviewed and it appears Panera is not exempt," Newsom's spokesman Alex Stack said on Thursday. Newsom's office said the exemption applies to those who produce bread on-site, and said some bakeries, including Panera, mix dough off-site at a centralized location before sending it to their restaurants for baking and sale. Experts note that appearance is up for interpretation, and stakeholders for years have understood it as an exemption. The legislation also does not define the word "produce."

KCRA 3 asked Newsom why the exemption was in there when he signed the law in September of 2023. He said it was "part of the sausage making … part of the negotiations."

Greg Flynn sent KCRA 3 a lengthy statement on Thursday night:

“It is true that I opposed AB1228, as did thousands of other California restaurant owners. If the intent of the bill was to address alleged labor code violations in fast food restaurants, then the scope of the law should be limited to true fast food restaurants and not include fast casual restaurants like bakeries, bagel shops, delis, etc. I suggested the bill’s language defining “fast food restaurant” should be amended to exclude fast casual restaurants," Flynn said.

"To be clear, at no time did I ask for an exemption or special considerations. In fact, the idea never even occurred to me and I was surprised when the exemption appeared in the final legislation. Such a narrow exemption has very little practical value. As it applies to all of our peer restaurants in the fast casual segment, we will almost certainly have to offer market value wages in order to attract and retain employees," Flynn said.

"I also never met with Governor Newsom about this bill, though I did meet with his staff in a group meeting with other restaurant owners. And finally, although we attended the same high school, I never met him there and in fact didn’t meet him until decades later," he said.

Flynn has not said if he agrees with Newsom's new interpretation of the law, that it may not exempt Panera.

Democratic Assemblyman Chris Holden, who wrote the law, said he did not know why the exemption was put into the bill. He told reporters on Thursday that despite being the author of the law, he was not part of the negotiation to include the carve-out for bakeries.

"It's my bill, but in terms of the negotiations, it was bringing together the business community and franchisees and franchisors and through the governor's leadership, it came together and what came out of that came the amendments of the bill," Holden said.

Holden said he was not aware of the relationship between Flynn and Newsom.

When KCRA 3 asked if, to the average Californian, Panera's exemption from the law may appear questionable, Holden replied, "That's a conversation you'll have to have with others."

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