Exchanged prisoner Yashin condemns his 'illegal expulsion' from Russia

 Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition activist

“Don't confuse the Putin regime with Russia. Kremlin propaganda wants to pretend that everyone in our country supports Putin's dictatorship and supports his aggressive war in Ukraine. This is a lie. And don't let anyone convince you that these Kremlin lies have any connection to reality.”

"I not only believe and not only think, I know for sure that I will definitely return to Russia, and all of us will definitely return to Russia. And that the day will definitely come when Russia will become a free, normal, civilized, European country. I have absolutely no doubt that this day will come. Let us do everything in our power to bring this day closer together."

“There are many people in Russia who oppose Putin's war in Ukraine. Don't believe the lies spread by Kremlin propaganda,” said Vladimir Kara-Mursa at a press conference in Bonn on Friday (August 2) evening.

They thanked all those who helped secure their release and that of 14 other political prisoners from Russian jails. The exchange had saved the lives of some of the detainees, said Andrei Pivovarov, member of the Russian opposition group "Open Russia". They knew that this had not been an easy decision for Germany, said Kara-Mursa. He has no doubt that he will return to Russia one day.

The third released activist, Ilya Yashin, said that he had not agreed to be deported from Russia as part of a prisoner exchange. “I do not consider what happened to me on the first of this month as an exchange. I consider this event as an expulsion from Russia, an illegal expulsion from Russia against my will. And I will say it frankly, I will say it as it is. More than anything, I want to go home now," he said.

Russia and Western states led by the USA had exchanged 24 prisoners on Thursday. In Germany, the prison sentence of Vadim Krassikov, the Russian known as the Tiergarten murderer, was ended prematurely and he was deported to Russia.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/exchanged-prisoners-condemn-russias-leadership-045454441.html

Harris adds brother-in-law who repped ‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh to campaign team

Vice President Kamala Harris’ brother-in-law, who once defended the notorious “American Taliban,” has joined her revamped campaign team, according to a report. 

Tony West, 58, will serve as a “powerful adviser” to the Harris’ presidential campaign, according to Axios, a move that comes after his 5-year-stint in the Obama administration’s Justice Department and subsequent high-level roles at PepsiCo and Uber. 

West, who is married to Harris’ sister, Maya, also worked as an attorney for the San Francisco-based law firm Morrison & Foerster, where he defended the infamous John Walker Lindh, according to the Washington Free Beacon.   

Lindh, who abandoned the US to train with Osama bin Laden and fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan, was captured by American forces as an enemy combatant in November 2001. 

The following year, West agreed to defend the traitor, arguing at trial that Lindh was no terrorist.

“He is not a terrorist,” Harris’ new hire told the Washington Post in 2002.

“He did not go to Afghanistan to kill Americans,” West said of the then 21-year-old Lindh.

Lindh faced 10 federal charges, including conspiracy to murder US citizens and contributing services to al Qaeda. 

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West once represented John Walker Lindh when he worked as an attorney for the San Francisco-based law firm Morrison & Foerster.AP

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Lindh, who abandoned the US to train with Osama bin Laden and fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan, was captured by American forces as an enemy combatant in November 2001. AP

He was offered and accepted a plea deal in 2002 which had him admit to supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony for which he served 17 years of a 20-year sentence. 

The Biden administration came under fire this week for offering plea deals to three alleged plotters of the  9/11 terrorist attacks that would have spared them the death penalty. 

In a shock move, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that he had revoked the pre-trial agreements handed to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the accused mastermind of the al Qaeda attacks — and his two alleged helpers, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

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In addition to West, Harris has made a number of new hires in recent days with ties to former President Barack Obama. AP

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Before the campaign hire, West had a 5-year-stint in the Obama administration’s Justice Department and subsequent high-level roles at PepsiCo and Uber. Tony West/Instagram

In addition to West, Harris has made a number of new hires in recent days with ties to former President Barack Obama. 

David Plouffe, who was manager of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and a senior aide to the former president during the 2012 campaign, has joined team Harris as a senior adviser, according to Reuters. 

Also joining the Harris campaign are Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s White House communications director and deputy campaign manager, and Mitch Stewart, a veteran of both Obama campaigns, the outlet reported Friday. 

The Harris campaign did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on the new hires.  

https://nypost.com/2024/08/03/us-news/kamala-harris-adds-brother-in-law-who-represented-american-taliban-john-walker-lindh-to-campaign-team/

California Drivers Lead US In Road Rage, Study Finds

 by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

California drivers have the worst road rage, according to a new study by Forbes

The study surveyed 10,000 licensed drivers and compared all 50 states in nine categories. Some of the categories included drivers who force other cars off the road, drivers who exit their cars to fight with others, tailgating, and honking—each weighted on a percentage basis to equal a total score of 100.

California received 100 percent, Forbes reported.

“California drivers ranked as the most confrontational drivers across all 50 states, with a high percentage of drivers experiencing some type of road rage, including being cut off, cursed at, and tailgating,” Forbes said in a report published July 22.

The Golden State had the third-highest percentage of drivers—47.5 percent—who said another driver had cut them off on purpose, and the fourth-highest percentage—32 percent—of drivers who had been yelled at, insulted, cursed, and threatened.

The state also ranked among the top 10 for tailgating, and drivers who reported people exiting their cars to fight with them.

Arizona took the top spot last year, but dropped to 14th place in 2024, while California rose from 13th place to first.

Missouri ranked second in the United States with 99.44 percent, reporting a high percentage of drivers who had been yelled at, insulted, or threatened by another driver. The state was also second-highest for the percentage of drivers who reported being cut off by another driver.

Utah and Oklahoma came in third and fourth place.

Hawaii is home to the most polite drivers in the United States.

Driving in the United States is getting more dangerous as drivers become more confrontational. The number of violent road rage shootings across the country has surged since 2014, according to analysis of data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

Between 2014 and 2023, road aggression that involved shootings increased from 92 to 481—an increase of more than 400 percent, according to the archive.

The Forbes 2024 study also reported 41 percent of drivers witnessed an act of road rage in the past 12 months, and 32 percent experienced road rage from another driver.

“Aggressive driving and road rage are not only dangerous, but they can also lead to an increase in car insurance rates if they result in a serious crash or injury,” Forbes reported.

The average cost of car insurance is $2,150 a year, according to a Forbes Advisor analysis.

The survey considered 10,000 licensed U.S. drivers—at least 200 in each state—who were at least 18 years old and owned or leased at least one vehicle.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/california-drivers-lead-us-road-rage-study-finds

"Open War" On Police: NYC DA Lets Two Migrants Who Attacked, Bit Cops Free Without Bail

 Two migrants who bit and attacked two New York City Police officers are...wait for it...back on the street, according to the New York Post. 

Manhattan prosecutors reportedly agreed to set them loose back on the streets without bail after both were arrested on Sunday for fighting with traffic cops on Eighth Avenue. 

Police confronted suspects outside the Row NYC Hotel at 700 Eighth Ave. after allegedly spotting one of them recklessly riding a moped without ID.

One migrant allegedly bit an officer while another "hurled a moped" at another officer, the report says

The Post report says that when they were brought into court on Monday morning, prosecutors let them walk without bail. 

The DA's office said it “would be consenting to the defendant’s release on his own recognizance.”

One NYPD cop furiously told The Post: “What kind of message is this sending to the public? They are basically saying anyone in a blue uniform is a human piñata.”

Another officer called it "open war" on police, stating: “Today they bite and kick a cop and tomorrow they take a shot at cops. If there are no consequences they are only encouraging people to attack cops.”

A spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration said: “We don’t comment on bail decisions except to say that in cases like these in New York, Judges have discretion in making bail decisions in accordance with the law and based solely on an individualized assessment of a defendant’s risk of flight.” 

Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry responded: “We’ve seen dozens of significant assaults on police officers in Manhattan this year, and there’s a clear pattern in those cases — prosecutors and judges are only doing their job when they’re in the spotlight. We will keep turning out in court to show the entire justice system that their actions are getting cops hurt and putting all New Yorkers at risk.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/open-war-police-nyc-da-lets-two-migrants-who-attacked-bit-cops-free-without-bail

Austin to send fighter jets, keep carrier group in Middle East for Israel defense

 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a fighter jet squadron, Navy ships and air defenses to the Middle East amid heightened regional tensions due to Israeli attacks in Iran and Lebanon. 

“The Department of Defense continues to take steps to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran’s partners and proxies,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a statement Friday. “To that end, Secretary Austin has ordered adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies.”

In addition to the fighter jets, the Pentagon will send more ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the European and Middle East regions, take steps to send more land-based ballistic missile defenses and maintain a carrier strike group presence in the Middle East, the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The order comes after President Biden promised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday that he would increase American military presence in the region to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its allies amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

The United States is currently bracing for Tehran to follow through on their pledge to respond to the assassination of Hamas peace negotiator Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s death, but hours after the attack became public, Netanyahu gave defiant remarks, saying Israel is achieving its goals. 

Israel did claim responsibility for a Tuesday strike in Beirut that killed a top Hezbollah commander.

The intense rhetoric has the West concerned that the region will ignite into an all-out war, with the White House stressing Wednesday that the Israeli strikes are not helpful while the administration seeks a cease-fire deal to a relentless Israeli air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip.

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said the recent events complicate the pending deal that aims to end the war that has largely killed civilians, the majority women and children, and sent the territory into famine.

https://thehill.com/policy/4808799-lloyd-austin-pentagon-fighter-jets-middle-east-israel-defense/

Fentanyl exposure in utero causes birth defects

 Severe birth defects have become increasingly common as new research points to fentanyl misuse as a new possible cause.

Recently, at least 30 infants across the US have been born with “fetal fentanyl syndrome,” NBC News reported on Friday — a rare condition caused by mothers using the street drug while pregnant.

“I have identified 20 patients,” Dr. Miguel Del Campo, a medical geneticist and infant addiction specialist at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego told NBC. “I fear that this is not rare, and I fear kids are going unrecognized.”

Fetal fentanyl syndrome was initially defined by geneticists at Nemours Children’s Health in Wilmington, Delaware, who studied 10 babies with the same physical birth defects, including cleft palate, unusually small heads, drooping eyelids, webbed toes and underdeveloped joints. Some also had trouble feeding.

Del Campo, who read their report on fetal fentanyl syndrome, had seen similar symptoms in many of his deliveries among mothers who denied drinking during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is known to cause similar features in infants. The children also failed to meet the criteria for a rare genetic condition called Smith-Lemli-Opitz, which hampers brain development in fetuses by disrupting cholesterol production in fetuses.

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“After reading the paper and thinking about things, I have recognized the potential for exposure to fentanyl,” he said.

Del Campo is urging for more research — and fast. “We need to know how these kids are doing. I have some 2-year-olds that are very concerning,” he said. “They’re just not growing or developing.”

Dr. Karen Gripp, a geneticist at Nemours, and her team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center were able to uncover a link between fentanyl use and cholesterol production in newborns and published their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry last month.

“This is not something that people had known before, that fentanyl interferes so significantly with cholesterol metabolism,” Gripp told NBC News. “This is so important because cholesterol needs to be synthesized as the embryo develops.”

An infant born with cleft palate, a birth defect associated with diseases including Smith-Lemli-Opitz and fetal fentanyl syndrome.Shutterstock / PeopleImages.com – Yuri A

Fentanyl misuse is already a well-known risk factor for preterm and stillbirths, and may also cause seizures, vomiting, diarrhea and irritability in newborns as they undergo drug detox during infancy. Meanwhile, the signs of fetal fentanyl syndrome are not typically associated with addicted mothers.

However, the new study reveals a connection between the powerful narcotic drug and birth defects associated with Smith-Lemli-Opitz.

For the inherited disease to develop, two copies of the Smith-Lemli-Opitz gene must be present — but fentanyl exposure in cells with just one copy of the gene was enough to prompt birth defects related to the illness.

“Not everyone is equally susceptible,” said study author Dr. Karoly Mirnics, director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, in a press release. “The potentially adverse effects of any medication or chemical compound might depend on your genes, lifestyle and environmental factors. One drug might not cause problems for me and might be catastrophic for you.”

The findings are expected to help uncover increasingly more cases of fetal fentanyl syndrome.

“The group is growing,” Gripp said. “We anticipate that there will be many more patients.”

https://nypost.com/2024/08/02/lifestyle/fentanyl-exposure-in-utero-causes-birth-defects-in-newborns/