McConnell, bowing to pressure from Trump, agrees to criminal justice reform vote

The Senate leader had been hesitant to address the issue this year

After weeks of hesitating due to opposition within the GOP and concerns about time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed to bring a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill to a vote this month, according to USA Today.

The First Step Act, which addresses over-incarceration through sentencing reform and rehabilitation programs for inmates, has been publicly supported by President Donald Trump, White House advisor Jared Kushner, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

"At the request of the president and following improvements to the legislation that have been secured by several members, the Senate will take up the revised criminal justice bill this month," McConnell said on Tuesday.

How did Trump react? "Looks like it's going to be passing, hopefully—famous last words," Trump said. "It's really something we're all very proud of. Tremendous support from Republicans and tremendous support from Democrats. Lot of years they've been waiting for it."

Indeed, efforts to reform the criminal justice system predate Trump's presidency. Former President Barack Obama hoped to pass a similar initiative when he was in office.

What do opponents think? Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) has been one of the leading opponents of the First Step Act, pointing to the possibility of dangerous criminals being released early under the bill's provisions. He said he plans to introduce amendments to the bill on the Senate floor, which could be a roadblock to the bill passing before the end of the year, according to ABC News.

If it doesn't pass before Democrats take control of the House, the future of the bill in its current form is in significant doubt. Democrats, some of whom want even more significant sentencing reforms, could attempt to rewrite the bill next year.

Advocacy groups optimistic: Jessica Jackson, co-founder of #cut50, a criminal justice advocacy organization, said she was disappointed in some of the concessions made in the bill but still pleased with McConnell's decision.

"But this is clearly a compromise bill, and it is just the first step toward fixing the many broken pieces of our federal justice system," Jackson said in a statement sent to TheBlaze. "The broad-based bipartisan support for these policies—in the halls of Congress and in states across the country—show that this first step will undoubtedly be followed by many more."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/mcconnell-bowing-to-pressure-from-trump-agrees-to-criminal-justice-reform-vote

Bomb threat triggers evacuation at Facebook Menlo Park campus

A bomb threat has forced the evacuation of at least one building at Facebook’s Menlo Park office campus.

Police are investigating and have called for the public to avoid the 200 block of Jefferson Drive, where offices housing Facebook and Instagram are located. They were tipped off by an anonymous phone call to New York City Crime Stoppers, according to ABC.

https://www.rt.com/usa/446228-facebook-campus-bomb-threat/

IDF Delegation Goes To Moscow To Brief Russian Military On ‘Operation Northern Shield And Other Operational Issues’

On December 11th, a delegation of IDF officers will visit Moscow to hoold a meeting with the Russian side, the Israeli Defense Forces announced over Twitter on December 10th.

The Israeli delegation is to be led by the Head of the Operations Directorate, Major General Aharon Haliva and will brief the Russian side on Operation Northern Shield and other operational issues.

Following a phone conversation on December 8th, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister, as well as Health, Foreign and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the countries’ two militaries may meet in the following days to discuss cooperation in Syria.

“I talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday. We agreed that the delegations of Russian and Israeli armies on coordination on Syria will meet as soon as possible. I hope this will be in the coming days, most likely in Moscow. And our meeting with President Putin will be held later,” Netanyahu said, according to his press service.

“This [phone conversation] was a follow-up to the talks in Paris, which were very crucial for ensuring the continuing cooperation, which the Russian Army and the Israeli Defense Forces have maintained for several years,” Netanyahu further said. The “talks in Paris” were a brief meeting between the two leaders on November 11th, on the Centenary of the World War I Armistice.

Israel launched the Northern Shield operation near the border with Lebanon on December 4th to spot and destroy tunnels dug by Hezbollah militants into Israel’s territory. It also trained Engineering Corps specialists in Europe in 2017, in preparation of the operation.

The Russian President in a statement “stressed the importance of ensuring stability in the region in strict accordance with Resolution 1701 of the UN Security Council,” referring to the 2006 UN Security Council resolution calling for Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon following the Second Lebanon War.

On December 7th, the Israeli Intelligence and Transport Minister Israel Katz, said that IDF may have to go into southern Lebanon to deal with the tunnels.

Israel also said that it would continue fighting against Iran’s expanding influence in the Middle East and in Syria in particular.

The relations between Russia and Israel took a downturn when on September 17th a Russian IL-20 was downed by Syrian S-200 missile defense systems, which were targeting four Israeli F-16 fighter jets attacking facilities in Latakia.

Israel denied responsibility. Vladimir Putin initially said that the incident was the result of a “chain of tragic accidental circumstances.”

However, later Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that the Israeli Air Force and those who made the decision to use the Il-20 aircraft as cover are solely to blame for its crash. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenko also placed the entire responsibility for the downing of the Russian plane on Israel’s Air Forces and those who were behind the decision to use the Russian plane as a shield.

Following the incident, Russia supplied S-300 missile defense systems to Damascus in a move which Israel opposed. Moscow said the supply of the advanced anti-aircraft system was necessary in order to prevent further threats to Russian troops and to cool off “hot heads.”

Israel appears to be attempting to undertake steps to improve relations with Russia. However, in order to do so there will be a need for concessions, which Netanyahu’s, almost one-man, government may not be ready to provide.

https://southfront.org/idf-delegation-goes-to-moscow-to-brief-russian-military-on-operation-northern-shield-and-other-operational-issues/

Netanyahu: Israeli Military to Discuss 'Right' to Oppose Iran in Syria in Moscow

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201812121070600166-israel-russia-military-syria-moscow-talks/

Former Disney Star Alleges Sexual Abuse at Age 15 by Man Involved in Her Career

A former Disney star has publicly alleged that an unnamed older man who was involved in her career took advantage of her for nearly two years as a teenager.

Jordan Pruitt told her story in a Dec. 10 Facebook post titled “Secrets Make You Sick.” The 27-year-old singer said she was only 14 when the man started taking control of her life, and the sexual abuse soon followed.

Pruitt earned a name for herself at a young age by singing in Disney Channel original films. She was also a contestant on “The Voice.”

“It looked as if all my dreams were coming true,” she wrote. “And for the most part, they were. But, in the darkest crevice of my heart, would lie an insurmountable, undeniable, irrefutable amount of pain.”

Pruitt grew up just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, where she happily sang in church every Sunday. Her father, the praise and worship minister, always knew she would be a singer.

After signing a record deal, Pruitt was filming the music video for her song “Outside Looking In” on her 15th birthday, when she first realized a certain man was “grooming” her. But at such a young age, she wasn’t sure exactly what that would mean.

“I remember him having full control over what I was wearing and even what makeup they put on me,” she wrote.

One day, her record label hinted that she needed to lose weight, so the man hired a personal trainer for her and even started withholding food from her. She lost more than 20 pounds.

“I do remember having a childish crush,” she wrote. “This person was helping make ALL of my dreams come true, and thought I was so talented at every single thing I did.”

Little by little, the man convinced her to distance herself from her parents, as he became more and more inappropriate with her. She realized later that it seemed like he had done this kind of thing before.

“At fifteen this person had brainwashed me into thinking that the things that were happening were ‘natural’ and ‘okay,'” she said.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/former-disney-star-alleges-sexual-abuse-at-age-15-by-man-involved-in-her-career_2736090.html

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Polio-Like Disease Spreads; Record Number Of Cases Reported As Children Suffer Paralysis

2018 has seen a record number of cases of a polio-like illness which paralyzes children, according to US health officials.

Experts still have no idea what's causing children across the country to lose the ability to move their arms, legs, face, heck, or back - around a week after patients are diagnosed with a fever and respiratory illness. The rare disease which starts off like the common cold affects the nervous system, "specifically the area of the spinal cord called gray matter, which causes the muscles and reflexes in the body to become weak," according to the CDC.

Around half of the children diagnosed were admitted to hospital intensive care units - with many requiring breathing machines. Officials also have no idea why some children recover from the illness, while others are left paralyzed.

Also a mystery - while over 17 countries have reported scattered cases of AFM, none of them have seen cyclical surges like in the United States.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-11/polio-disease-spreads-record-number-cases-reported-children-suffer-paralysis

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