Rep. Jim Banks to Introduce Bill to Stop China’s ‘Predatory’ Acquisitions of American Companies

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Navy veteran and House Armed Services Committee member, will introduce a bill on Tuesday to prevent the Chinese government from making “predatory” investments in American companies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Banks said in a statement:

Our job is to ensure the Chinese Communist Party doesn’t profit off a pandemic of their own making. President Trump won an election vowing to stop China from taking advantage of Americans. I am glad to be working with him now to stop Chinese predation.

The Restricting Predatory Acquisition During COVID-19 Act would expand the scope of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review purchases of American companies by companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the coronavirus pandemic.

CFIUS is a committee staffed by members of the administration that reviews certain foreign investments and real estate transactions to determine their effect on U.S. national security.

Specifically, the bill would increase the scope of cases CFIUS reviews and sends to the president prior to a financial transaction.

It would also prevent companies with ties to the Chinese government from owning more than 51 percent of shares in critical infrastructure, organizations engaged in production and dissemination of news media, or entities otherwise determined to be critical to national security, critical infrastructure, or culturally significant by the president.

According to a May 2019 report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Chinese foreign direct investment in U.S. companies is a primary method for its government to acquire valuable technology, intellectual property, and knowhow, in its bid to become the world’s leading superpower.

According to a report summary:

These efforts are often made at the direction of and with assistance from the Chinese government, part of Beijing’s larger effort to develop its domestic market and become a global leader in a wide range of technologies. These acquisition attempts frequently target advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and virtual reality, which are still in the early stages of development but could provide dual military and civilian capabilities in the future.

Banks was one of the first members of the House to raise alarm bells that the coronavirus was a serious threat, as Democrats celebrated impeachment.

He has taken a leading role in the House on holding the Chinese government accountable for allowing the coronavirus to spread across the world from its epicenter in Wuhan, China.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/04/exclusive-rep-jim-banks-to-introduce-bill-to-stop-chinas-predatory-acquisitions-of-american-companies/

Paris Hospital Discovers It Treated COVID-19 Patient in France as Early as 27 December

The patient is said to have infected two members of his family during a 15-day struggle with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease. French health authorities are reportedly carrying out a tracing investigation to see whether he was the first person to bring the the novel virus into the country.

A French hospital has found out that it had treated a COVID-19 patient on 27 December 2019, approximately one month before France’s Ministry of Health announced the first virus infections in the country, said Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier hospitals in Paris, to the French BFM TV channel on Sunday.

The discovery was made after the hospital retested samples from 24 patients treated with the flu in December 2019 and January 2020. The samples have been retested multiple times to ensure accuracy and one tested positive for the coronavirus.

“Of the 24, we had one who was positive for Covid-19 on 27 December,” Cohen said.

The doctor said that it is too early to assume whether this patient was the country’s “patient zero”, noting that a tracing investigation is undergoing.

“He was sick for 15 days and infected his two children, but not his wife, who works in a supermarket,” Cohen said. “He was amazed. He didn’t understand how he had been infected. We put the puzzle together and he had not made any trips. The only contact that he had was with his wife”.

Cohen said that the wife of the patient, who had never been to China, worked at a sushi stand in a supermarket with Chinese colleagues. The health expert said that authorities would investigate whether those Chinese workers had recently traveled to China.

“We’re wondering whether she was asymptomatic,” he said. “He may be the ‘patient zero’, but perhaps there are others in other regions. All the negative PCRs for pneumonia must be tested again. The virus was probably circulating.”

On 24 January, France confirmed its first three COVID-19 infections, one of which was in Paris, along with two others in Bordeaux.

On 31 December, the Wuhan Municipal Health Committee informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) of 27 “cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology [cause]” detected in the Chinese province of Wuhan.

On 30 January, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”. On 11 March the UN agency declared COVID-19 a pandemic after over 118,000 people had been infected worldwide.

As of Monday, France has registered 169,583 coronavirus-related infections, of which 25,204 have died, according to data assembled by Johns Hopkins University.

Globally, the overall number of people infected with the virus has topped 3.5 million, with over 251,500 deaths.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/202005051079197856-paris-hospital-discovers-it-treated-covid-19-patient-in-france-as-early-as-27-december/

Men Accused of Raping Children Among 830 Inmates Freed in Massachusetts

Two men accused of raping children are among the nearly 830 Massachusetts inmates that have been freed in the last month over concerns of the Chinese coronavirus crisis spreading in prison facilities.

Convicted child rapist Glenn Christie, 54-years-old, and 29-year-old Matthew Parris, accused of raping two teenage girls this year, have both been released from Massachusetts prisons after the state’s supreme court has ordered the routine release of hundreds of accused and convicted criminals.

As of April 26, Massachusetts officials have released 824 inmates from state prisons since April 3. This means that the state is releasing about 36 inmates every day with no end in sight, all in an effort to empty jails to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

There are about 11o confirmed cases of the coronavirus among inmates in Massachusetts prisons out of more than 310 inmates tested for the virus. A total of 81 correctional officers and 23 other staffers in the state prison system have also tested positive.

Christie is one of the inmates set free thanks to the court order. In 2018, Christie was convicted for repeatedly raping a 12-year-old boy.

Parris, also freed from prison thanks to the court order, was arrested less than two months ago and charged with raping and sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

According to the charges, Parris had been working as a teaching assistant at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School when he contacted a 15-year-old student through Instagram. The two met at a local cemetery, according to police, and Parris allegedly attempted to kiss her and touch her breast. The victim said Parris gave her a bag with a sex toy in it before she fled.

More than a week later, police said Parris threatened and forced the girl to perform oral sex on him in the middle of a school day inside a closet. A second victim told police that Parris had similarly contacted her through Instagram.

When the two met in person, police said Parris forced the girl to perform oral sex on him and threatened the victim’s family. A day later, police said Parris forced the girl to get undressed in his car before driving to a location where he allegedly sexually assaulted her.

Parris had already pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated statutory rape, rape of a child with force, and kidnapping of a child.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/04/men-accused-of-raping-children-among-830-inmates-freed-in-massachusetts/

FBI Releases 2019 Statistics on Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty

According to statistics reported to the FBI, 89 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2019. Of these, 48 officers died as a result of felonious acts, and 41 officers died in accidents. Comprehensive data tables about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks are included in Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2019, released today.

Felonious Deaths

The 48 felonious deaths occurred in 19 states and in Puerto Rico. The number of officers killed as a result of criminal acts in 2019 was 8 less than the 56 officers who were feloniously killed in 2018. The 5- and 10-year comparisons show an increase of 7 felonious deaths compared with the 2015 figure (41 officers) and a decrease of 7 deaths compared with 2010 data (55 officers).

Officer Profiles. The average age of the officers who were feloniously killed was 40 years old. The victim officers had served in law enforcement for an average of 13 years at the times of the fatal incidents. Of the 48 officers:

45 were male

3 were female

40 were white

7 were black/African American

1 was Asian.

Circumstances. Of the 48 officers feloniously killed:

15 died as a result of investigative or law enforcement activities

6 were conducting traffic violation stops

4 were performing investigative activities

2 were drug-related matters

2 were interacting with wanted persons

1 was investigating suspicious person or circumstance

9 were involved in tactical situations

3 were barricaded/hostage situations

3 were serving, or attempting to serve, search warrants

2 were serving, or attempting to serve, arrest warrants

1 was reported in the category titled “other tactical situation”

5 were involved in unprovoked attacks

4 were responding to crimes in progress

2 were robberies

1 was larceny-theft

1 was reported in the category titled “other crime against property”

3 were involved in arrest situations and were attempting to restrain/control/handcuff the offender(s) during the arrest situations

3 were assisting other law enforcement officers

2 with vehicular pursuits

1 with foot pursuit

3 were responding to disorders or disturbances

2 were responding to disturbances (disorderly subjects, fights, etc.)

1 was responding to a domestic violence call

3 were involved in vehicular pursuits

2 were ambushed (entrapment/premeditation)

1 was serving, or attempting to serve, a court order (eviction notice, subpoena, etc.).

Weapons. Offenders used firearms to kill 44 of the 48 victim officers. Four officers were killed with vehicles used as weapons. Of the 44 officers killed by firearms:

34 were slain with handguns

7 with rifles

1 with a shotgun

2 with firearms in which the types of firearms were unknown or not reported

Regions. Felonious deaths were reported in four U.S. regions and Puerto Rico.

27 officers were feloniously killed in the South

9 in the Midwest

9 in the West

1 in the Northeast

2 in Puerto Rico

Suspects. Law enforcement agencies identified 49 alleged assailants in connection with the felonious line-of-duty deaths.

36 of the assailants had prior criminal arrests.

12 of the offenders were under judicial supervision at the times of the felonious incidents.

https://breaking911.com/fbi-releases-2019-statistics-on-law-enforcement-officers-killed-in-the-line-of-duty/

https://ucr.fbi.gov/leoka/2019