Trump calls for jail sentence for desecrating flag: ‘Stupid people’ will say it’s unconstitutional
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 07/25/24 8:42 AM ET

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4792101-donald-trump-urges-jail-sentence-burning-flags-protests/

Former President Trump said there should be a one-year jail sentence for anyone who desecrates the American flag in the wake of anti-Israel protests over the war in Gaza outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., that included a group burning an American flag.

Trump, who has previously called for criminalizing burning the flag, scoffed at those who point out it’s not illegal to do so.

"You should get a one-year jail sentence if you do anything to desecrate the American flag,” Trump said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” when asked about the protests.

“Now, people will say, ‘Oh, it’s unconstitutional.’ Those are stupid people. Those are stupid people that say that,” the former president continued. “We have to work in Congress to get a one-year jail sentence. When they’re allowed to stomp on the flag and put lighter fluid on the flag and set it afire, when you’re allowed to do that — you get a one-year jail sentence, and you’ll never see it again.”

In the 1989 case Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the act of burning an American flag is constitutionally protected free speech under the First Amendment.

Republicans and Democrats have both condemned the demonstrations outside Union Station on Wednesday while Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke down the road in the U.S. Capitol to members of Congress about his country’s ongoing war with Hamas.

Protesters took down an American flag and replaced it with a Palestinian flag and at one point burned the U.S. flag before someone ran into the crowd and snatched it away.

Donald Trump's healing well after the attempt on his life, 'cause he's not wearing the bandage on his ear anymore -- and, frankly ... it's still a bit of a mystery if he got hit at all.

The ex-Prez sat down for an audience with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday ... and, pics are now circulating of his uncovered right ear -- and, ya gotta see them 'cause there's seemingly no lasting damage. That, or he's healed up in record time.

Check out the photos for yourself ... it's obviously not taken right next to the ear, but there's no major scarring/scabbing to see -- surprising given his former doctor Ronny Jackson told a couple interviewers the bullet blew off part of his ear, so you'd expect some damage.

Speaking of Trump's doctor ... Jackson provided another update on Trump's condition ... and, directly contradicted FBI Director Christopher Wray.

He says there's no evidence to suggest Trump was hit with shrapnel instead of a bullet like Director Wray claimed in his testimony to Congress earlier this week ... calling Wray's comments totally out of line.


As we told you ... immediately after the shooting, a source who had spoken to the Secret Service told us a piece of glass had broken off something and cut Trump's ear -- at least, it was one possibility the Service was looking into.

But, Jackson's convinced a bullet grazed the president ... yet, no lasting damage to his ear as far as these photos go -- which certainly won't stop people online from speculating on what hit Trump during the terrifying shooting.

Trump himself has repeatedly blown up at claims he wasn't shot ... and, his campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called Wray's claims "conspiracy bulls***."

In any case ... looks like Trump's experiencing a miraculous recovery -- and, he's still got both ears to hear everything world leaders like Netanyahu have to say!

https://www.tmz.com/2024/07/26/donald-trump-seen-no-bandage-first-time-since-shooting-injury/

Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, has sued the Biden administration over a longstanding federal program that provides teenagers access to contraception without parental consent, the state’s latest attack against the federal government’s reproductive healthcare policies.

“This suit is likely a preview of where the Texas GOP – and national Republicans – stand on attacking contraception access,” says Mary Ziegler, a professor at University of California, Davis, School of Law and reproductive health expert. “While Republicans say they don’t want to take aim at contraception, this is another sign that this is actually where we’re headed.”

Title X, created in 1970, offers comprehensive family planning and preventive health care services for low-income and uninsured residents. Texas is among a handful of states that require parental consent before a teenager can get birth control – but Title X-funded contraception was the exception. Under the program, minors can receive contraception confidentially.

Texas has the highest repeat teen birth rate and one of strictest abortion bans in the US.

In 2022, US district judge Matthew Kacsmaryk dealt a blow to Title X when he ruled that the program denied Texas father Alexander Deanda’s “fundamental right to control and direct the upbringing of his minor children”. Texas now stands as the only state that requires Title X-funded clinics to mandate parental consent before granting teens birth control.

An appeals court largely upheld Kacsmaryk’s decision in March, finding that Title X does not supersede Texas parental rights law, but left in place a Title X rule that explicitly forbids clinics from requiring parental consent before providing services.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/26/texas-teenage-birth-control-lawsuit

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1j7kg2nk0o

A Russian man has been arrested in France on suspicion of plotting acts of "destabilisation" during the Paris Olympics, prosecutors have said.

Local media reports that a 40-year-old man was arrested on Sunday and an investigation opened into the possible passing of "intelligence to a foreign power in order to arouse hostilities in France".

The alleged plot is not believed to have been for a terror attack.

It comes just days before the games get under way, with the opening ceremony set to take place in central Paris on Friday.

Prosecutors said a search had been carried out at the man's Paris apartment at the request of the French interior ministry.

A source close to the investigation told Le Parisien agents had discovered evidence that suggested the man was preparing "pro-Russian operations" to destabilise France during the games.

Another source said the alleged plot was a "large-scale project" that could have had "serious" consequences.

No further details have been given other than that the investigation is being carried out by specialists in counter-espionage, not counter-terrorism.

The man was indicted on Tuesday evening and placed in pre-trial detention.

The crimes being investigated are reportedly punishable by a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80e86d1kl3o

>'Nuclear fusion prototype will be 'UK's Nasa moment'

A nuclear fusion energy plant being built in Nottinghamshire has been described as the "UK's Nasa moment" as it races to become the first of its type in the world.

The experimental work, based at the decommissioned West Burton A power station near Retford, is aimed at creating a new energy source.

The project, called Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), was showcased at a launch event on Tuesday in Gainsborough, just over the border in Lincolnshire.

Nuclear fusion recreates the same process that powers the sun and if plans are approved, backers said the project was expected to be constructed by 2040.

MEXICO CITY, July 25 – Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, is in U.S. custody, two sources familiar with the operation told Reuters on Thursday.

Zambada founded the Sinaloa Cartel along with now-jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and he faces a litany of indictments for crimes relating to drug trafficking and organized crime in the United States.

U.S. federal prosecutors in February charged Zambada with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, which U.S. officials say is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

https://nypost.com/2024/07/25/us-news/mexican-drug-kingpin-ismael-el-mayo-zambada-who-co-founded-sinaloa-cartel-in-us-custody-sources/

US VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris has signalled a shift on US Gaza policy, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seal a peace deal and insisting she would not be “silent” on the suffering in Gaza.

Ripping up outgoing President Joe Biden’s playbook of mostly behind-the-scenes pressure on Israel, the vice president said after meeting Netanyahu that it was time to end the “devastating” war.

“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” Harris told reporters.

“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”

The 59-year-old — now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after Biden said over the weekend he would not stand in November’s election — said she pressed Netanyahu on the dire situation in the “frank” meeting.

She said she “expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians”.

“And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there.”

Biden, for his part, held Oval Office talks with Netanyahu and called on him to swiftly “finalize” a deal on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages, and “reach a durable end to the war in Gaza,” according to a White House readout of the meeting.

Harris also called for the establishment of a Palestinian state and, similar to Biden, urged both Netanyahu and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal to end the war.

“As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” she said.

https://www.thejournal.ie/kamala-harris-says-she-will-not-be-silent-on-gaza-suffering-6446728-Jul2024/

**Title: Vulnerability in the Argentine Interior and Political Manipulation**

The disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña has revealed a harsh reality in the Argentine interior: the extreme poverty that affects many communities. In regions such as northern Corrientes, where families struggle to survive, the lack of opportunities becomes fertile ground for manipulation.

In this context, political figures such as "Vice President Kamala Harris" and "Joe Biden", both North American Democrats, begin to look towards these vulnerable communities. With promises of financial aid and job opportunities, they try to attract desperate inhabitants, offering money in exchange for political support or participation in questionable activities.

As communities become trapped in this web of empty promises, many begin to accept offers that are questionable, such as selling their children.

The 145 line, dedicated to receiving complaints about trafficking and exploitation, begins to register an increase in cases related to the exploitation of vulnerable people by these networks. In 2024, 812 complaints were reported, many of which come from areas where poverty is most acute and desperation most palpable.

The disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña becomes a symbol of the intersection between poverty, vulnerability and political ambition.

As the investigation progresses, it is expected that the authorities will take measures not only to solve the case, but also to dismantle the networks that exploit vulnerable communities,https://www.lanacion.com.ar/seguridad/donde-esta-loan-la-sospecha-de-un-ritual-la-pista-intrafamiliar-las-redes-de-trata-y-los-ninos-nid28062024/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cronista.com/economia-politica/caso-loan-pena-solicitan-la-indagatoria-del-gobernador-valdes-por-las-presuntas-conexiones-politicas-tras-la-desaparicion-del-menor/