The Justice Department said the release of evidence alleging the former defense minister’s involvement with the drug trade imperils the sharing of information.
Caravans with thousands of Central American migrants reportedly are trekking toward the Mexican border on their way to the US, where they expect to find friendlier policies after President-elect Joe Biden takes office next week.
About 7,000 to 8,000 migrants have entered Guatemala from Honduras in just the past day, Reuters reported, citing Guatemala’s immigration authority. Video footage shows thousands of people forcing their way through a police cordon as they cross the border into Guatemala.
Two migrant groups with well over 5,000 people are working their way toward the US, including the one that has already breached the Guatemalan border, US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan said Saturday in a Fox News interview.
“It’s coming,” Morgan said. “It’s already started, just as we promised and anticipated it would with this rhetoric from the new administration on the border.”
Biden, who’s scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, has said he plans to “immediately” introduce an immigration bill upon taking office. His immigration plan, reported by the Los Angeles Times on Friday, reportedly includes a “pathway to citizenship” for some 11 millions of illegal aliens who are already living in the US.
Unlike past amnesty proposals, Biden’s plan wouldn’t come with provisions for toughened border enforcement, according to the report.
The Democrat president-elect also intends to end many of the policies that President Donald Trump has put in place to deter illegal migration, including rules that keep migrants in Mexico while they await their court hearings in the US.
Trump predicted during a border visit on Tuesday that the policy changes would lead to “a tidal wave of illegal immigration, a wave like you’ve never seen before.”
He added, “They’re coming because they think that it’s a gravy train at the end.”
Immigration activist group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, which has organized immigrant caravans to the US and has funding ties to billionaire George Soros, called on the incoming Biden administration to “honor its commitments.” Biden’s arrival creates an opportunity for the governments of Mexico and Central America to develop migration policies that “respect and promote the human rights of the population in mobility,” the group added.
As the caravan moves closer to its border, Mexico, for its part, is beefing up its border security to try to block the extended procession from passing through under its existing agreement with the US.
President-elect Joe Biden’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour would exacerbate the devastating impact economic lockdowns are having on small businesses, while doing great harm to 10.7 million Americans who are unemployed.
At least 13 Israelis have experienced facial paralysis after being administered the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, a month after the US Food and Drug Administration reported similar issues but said they weren’t linked to the jab.
Israel has been hailed for its speedy and efficient mass inoculation program, which has vaccinated a staggering 20 percent of the country’s population since the drive began at the end of December.
For a handful of Israelis, however, the initiative has led to some unexpected health scares. At least 13 people have reported mild facial paralysis after receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, Israeli outlet Ynet reported, citing the Health Ministry, adding that officials believe the number of such cases could be higher.
Mwanwhile, in Norway 29 people have died after taking the Pfizer Covid vaccination. Bloomberg reported:
Norway has expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after raising their estimate of the number who died after receiving inoculations to 29.
The latest figure adds six to the number of known fatalities in Norway, and lowers the age group thought to be affected to 75 from 80. While it’s unclear exactly when the deaths occurred, Norway has given at least one dose to about 42,000 people and focused on those considered most at risk if they contract the virus, including the elderly.
Until Friday, the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech SE was the only one available in Norway, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in a written response to Bloomberg on Saturday.
President-elect Biden is planning to sign several executive orders on day one of his presidency, incoming chief of staff Ron Klain announced in a statement.
A mother-son duo who wielded flex cuffs at the Capitol on Jan. 6 — and openly talked of a violent revolution — are facing conspiracy charges related to the assault on Congress last week, with the FBI describing a plot that may include others “known and unknown” to federal authorities.
In a Saturday legal filing, the FBI indicated that Eric Munchel — who was seen masked and wielding the plastic cuffs inside the Senate chamber in a now widely circulated image — and his mother Lisa Eisenhart would face charges of conspiracy for their efforts to disrupt lawmakers’ efforts to certify the presidential election.
Munchel and Eisenhart are facing charges of “knowingly and willfully conspiring with persons known and unknown” to impede law enforcement, unlawfully entering a restricted building and violently forcing their way into the halls of Congress.
Munchel had been apprehended earlier in the week, but Eisenhart was arrested Saturday in Tennessee and the charges updated to include conspiracy.
It’s a notable development in the nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 attack, which left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer. Dozens have been arrested and the FBI is pursuing hundreds of cases, often based on the images and videos that the rioters posted themselves on social media.
Prosecutors have indicated they anticipate lodging grave charges, including potentially “seditious conspiracy,” but have begun by apprehending suspects on lesser offenses to begin building a broader case.
Although Munchel was masked in the Senate image, the FBI relied on open-source information and distinct patches and symbols on his clothing, as well as surveillance footage and other video shot at the hotel where the pair were staying to identify them. They have since searched Munchel’s home and discovered the items seen in the Capitol picture, including “distinctive black in color Black Rifle Coffee Company hat with American flag and rifle logo, black boots, black camouflaged pants and shirt, and black tactical vest with patches to one of a Punisher logo.
“Also found inside of MUNCHEL’s home were five pairs of white flex cuffs,” the FBI noted.
According to the newly disclosed case against the pair, Munchel and Eisenhart appear in video footage near a mob that was “physically attacking two Capitol Police officers guarding entry into the Senate chambers.” Eventually, the officers fled and the mob gave chase. Munchel and Eisenhart followed, both wielding the flex cuffs in their hands “during the pursuit.” Both officers escaped, according to the statement of the case.
The FBI also cited a Jan. 10 news article in the Times of London quoting Munchel and Eisenhart discussing revolution.
“This country was founded on revolution. … I’d rather die a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression,” Eisenhart told the paper. “I’d rather die and would rather fight.”
