L.A. County Sheriff Refuses to Enforce Beach Closure Order for July 4th Weekend

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Monday that he refuses to enforce a directive to close beaches for July 4th weekend.

In a statement to Fox Los Angeles reporter Bill Melugin, Villanueva revealed that his office was not consulted regarding the decision. His officers will only enforce the closing parking lots, the sheriff said.

Villanueva told Melugin: “We were not consulted on the beach closure, and will only assist our beach cities in closing parking lots and traffic enforcement on PCH. In regards to enforcing the beach closure, we will not be enforcing it because we are “Care First, Jail Last.”

Earlier Monday, Los Angeles County’s public health department announced the beach closure order, citing the surge in Chinese coronavirus cases. Additionally, public health officials said fireworks will be banned.

The announcement coincided with L.A. County confirming an additional 2,900 virus cases. California has a total of nearly 217,000 cases and around 6,000 deaths. Officials said:

Data show increases in people testing positive for the virus and increases in hospitalizations as a result. Projections by the Department of Health Services show a marked increase in hospitalizations in the coming weeks, which could cause a surge in our healthcare system.

Barbara Ferrer, the county’s director of public health, said in a separate statement:

Closing the beaches and prohibiting fireworks displays during this important summer holiday weekend was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but it’s the responsible decision to protect public health and protect our residents from a deadly virus. The Fourth of July holiday weekend typically means large crowds and gatherings to celebrate, a recipe for increased transmission of COVID-19.

On Sunday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ordered bars in Los Angeles County and six other counties to close, citing the spread of the virus.

Newsom tweeted: “Due to the rising spread of #COVID19, CA is ordering bars to close in Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, San Joaquin, and Tulare, while recommending they close in Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, & Ventura.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/06/29/l-a-county-sheriff-refuses-to-enforce-beach-closure-order-for-july-4th-weekend/

‘A Pitiful, A Parasitic, A Pathogenic Politician’: New York City Protesters Rip De Blasio

Protesters in New York City took direct aim at Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, accusing him of being a “pathogenic politician” among other things.

One protester who was part of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America march took the microphone and announced that they were going to “put Bill de Blasio on trial today.”

He went on to call de Blasio ” a pathetic, a pitiful, a parasitic, a pathogenic politician,” garnering cheers and applause from the gathered crowd.

Another speaker at the march called for “at least a $3 billion decrease to the police budget — far more than some other protesters at City Hall, who are asking for at least $1 billion,” the Daily Caller’s Shelby Talcott reported.

Mayor de Blasio has already rolled out a plan to cut the New York Police Department’s budget by $1 billion.

Hundreds of protesters have occupied the area surrounding the NYC city hall, in a similar manner to the protesters that created the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” in downtown Seattle. Protesters defaced two famous George Washington statues with red paint Monday, according to the New York Post, the paint was later allegedly washed away by city officials.

https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/29/parasitic-pathogenic-politician-new-york-city-protesters-de-blasio/

Flynn’s Lawyer: I Heard More Documents Are Coming

As the case against Michael Flynn is still open, the government may hand over yet more documents dug up by a review of the case ordered by Attorney General William Barr. In fact, according to Flynn’s lead lawyer, Sidney Powell, more documents are coming.

“I heard there’s more to come, more Brady evidence to come,” she told The Epoch Times. Brady evidence refers to exculpatory evidence in the government’s possession that prosecutors are required to provide to the defense.

Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency under the Obama administration and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI in an interview almost a year prior.

In January, he moved to withdraw his plea. In May, the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to dismiss the case after the review, led by U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Jensen, uncovered documents suggesting the FBI questioned Flynn to elicit false statements from him, which isn’t a proper investigative purpose.

Since Powell took up the retired three-star Army general’s case a year ago, she has argued that the FBI and DOJ have been withholding exculpatory evidence.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/flynns-lawyer-i-heard-more-documents-are-coming_3405777.html

US Revokes Hong Kong Special Trading Status, Stops Defense Exports

The Trump administration announced on Monday that it is revoking Hong Kong’s special trading status and stopping its defense equipment exports to Hong Kong, in order to protect U.S. national security amid the passing of Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong.

“With the Chinese Communist Party’s imposition of new security measures on Hong Kong, the risk that sensitive U.S. technology will be diverted to the People’s Liberation Army or Ministry of State Security has increased, all while undermining the territory’s autonomy. Those are risks the U.S. refuses to accept and have resulted in the revocation of Hong Kong’s special status,” Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

“Commerce Department regulations affording preferential treatment to Hong Kong over China, including the availability of export license exceptions, are suspended. Further actions to eliminate differential treatment are also being evaluated.

“We urge Beijing to immediately reverse course and fulfill the promises it has made to the people of Hong Kong and the world,” he added.

The United States previously treated Hong Kong as a separate entity from mainland China in the areas of trade, investment, and immigration. This has meant that current U.S. tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods have not applied to Hong Kong.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-revokes-hong-kong-special-trading-status-stops-defense-exports_3406453.html

Infographic: Google Could Take Hit On Advertising Revenue, First Time In Its Life

While the world’s largest tech companies have so far been left relatively unscathed by the COVID-19 pandemic, they too aren’t completely immune to the fallout from the crisis, which is currently wreaking havoc on the world economy. While Apple faces demand and supply challenges and Amazon is forced to spend billions to keep its vast logistics network safe amid the coronavirus outbreak, Facebook and Google are experiencing a drop in ad spending, which threatens their revenue base.

According to estimates from eMarketer quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Google could even suffer its first decline in advertising revenue on record this year, due in large part to a sharp decline in travel advertiser spending, which constitutes a significant part of Google’s search advertising revenue. “Travel has been the hardest-hit industry during the pandemic, with the most extreme spending declines of any industry,” said Nicole Perrin, a principal analyst at eMarketer. According to Kantar, travel companies Expedia and Booking.com were both among the top 10 advertisers on Google Search last year, illustrating the importance of the ailing travel sector to Google’s ad sales.

As the following chart shows, Google’s U.S. advertising business has been steadily growing over the past one and a half decades, swelling from just under $7 billion in 2008 to more than $40 billion last year. Even the financial crisis couldn’t break Google’s stride in 2009, when growth temporarily slowed to a crawl. The search giant’s growth streak could now come to an end, however, as eMarketer expects the company’s U.S. ad sales to decline by 5% to $39.6 billion this year.

https://www.ibtimes.com/infographic-google-could-take-hit-advertising-revenue-first-time-its-life-3002775

Two Terrorists Killed as India and Pakistan Exchange Gunfire in Major Skirmish on Border in Kashmir

On Monday, three terrorists including a top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander were killed following a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the police chief of the Indian territory, Pakistan is trying to infiltrate using more terrorists to carry out attacks in the Kashmir Valley.

Two unidentified terrorists have been killed in a gunfight with security forces that broke out in Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday morning, police said.

According to Dilbag Singh, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir police, the gunfight broke out after a cordon and search operation by security forces following specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the Waghma area of Anantnag district.

"As our forces reached the suspected spot, the hidden terrorists fired upon the security forces, who retaliated. The two terrorists who have been eliminated were involved in the recent killing of a paramilitary personnel and a 5-year-old child in the Bijbehara area," Singh said.

The authorities have suspended internet access in the area as a precautionary measure to prevent additional violence.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, Pakistan allegedly initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) along the Line of Control (LOC) in Baramulla area of Jammu and Kashmir by firing mortars and other weapons, an Indian Army official said.

He further stated that no lives have been lost so far and Indian troops had returned fire. The border skirmish was still underway at the time this report was published.

India and Pakistan have accused each other of violating the ceasefire and targeting civilians in the cross-border firefight. The two countries have been fighting over Kashmir for the last seven decades and have traded accusations of sponsoring terrorism. Diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Islamabad deteriorated when India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.

https://sputniknews.com/india/202006301079753944-two-terrorists-killed-as-india-and-pakistan-exchange-gunfire-in-major-skirmish-on-border-in-kashmir/

Annexation will not happen on July 1 - US sources

Gantz says fighting coronavirus, unemployment higher priority than peace plan; Netanyahu still talking about sovereignty over all settlements and Jordan Valley.

Israel will not take steps to extend its sovereignty in the West Bank this week, multiple American sources with knowledge of the matter told The Jerusalem Post in recent days. US Special Envoy for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz and Scott Leith of the National Security Council are in Israel to hold meetings with senior Israeli officials.

The coalition agreement between Likud and Blue and White allows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring sovereignty moves to a vote on Wednesday, July 1, at the earliest. But plans and US approval of them will not be ready by then.

In a meeting Monday morning, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Berkowitz and Leith he does not see July 1 “as a holy date,” adding that fighting the coronavirus pandemic and bringing down unemployment are higher priorities for him. Gantz reiterated his position at a Blue and White faction meeting.

Netanyahu, however, told Likud MKs in the Knesset he is conducting discrete talks with the American diplomatic team, and “This issue is not dependent on Blue and White. It is not the relevant authority here.”

Berkowitz and Leith, the latter of whom is a member of the US-Israel mapping committee that is determining which parts of the West Bank will come under Israeli civil law, met with Netanyahu on Saturday night and plan to meet with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on Tuesday.

Even before the meeting with Gantz, they planned to return to the US without approving specific Israeli action after their meetings for further discussions with Special Adviser to the US President Jared Kushner. US President Donald Trump has not yet weighed in on the matter, as he is currently occupied with domestic issues such as the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing protests across the country, among other concerns.

Though Israeli officials previously worked on the assumption that any expansion of sovereignty would have to take place this summer, which would mean that there would be time between the blowback and the US presidential election, Trump administration sources this week said the matter does not need to be dealt with urgently.

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/gantz-to-berkowitz-coronavirus-more-pressing-than-annexation-633165