Bill Maher skewers Trump, GOP's shift on abortion: 'So killing babies is OK in some states?'

“Real Time” host Bill Maher took aim at former President Trump and Republicans for their dramatic shift on abortion as the 2024 election steadily approaches.  Maher kicked off the panel discussion on the Arizona Supreme Court’s landmark ruling upholding a near-total abortion ban in the state, a direct result of the Supreme Court overturning Roe … Continue reading Bill Maher skewers Trump, GOP's shift on abortion: 'So killing babies is OK in some states?'

Tennessee bill would require defendants convicted of killing a parent to pay victims' children

Tennessee lawmakers proposed legislation that would require defendants convicted of certain violent crimes that killed a parent to pay the victim’s children until the children become adults.

SB2878/HB2960 is sponsored by Sen. Sara Kyle and Rep. G.A. Hardaway, both Democrats, in their respective chambers.

The legislation would create a new financial penalty for those convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular homicide.

TENNESSEE GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW ALLOWING PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO DECLINE TO PERFORM MARRIAGES THEY DISAGREE WITH

If a defendant is convicted of one of those charges and their victim has children, they would be ordered to “pay restitution in the form of child maintenance to each of the victim’s children until each child reaches eighteen (18) years of age and has graduated from high school or the class of which the child is a member.”

The bill would take effect in July if it is approved.

Pennsylvania mother pleads guilty to killing her 2 sons; will spend rest of her life behind bars

A Bucks County, Pennsylvania mother pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing her two sons in May 2022, and will now spend the rest of her life behind bars. FOX 29 in Philadelphia reported that 40-year-old Trinh T. Nguyen pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and additional charges. Nguyen … Continue reading Pennsylvania mother pleads guilty to killing her 2 sons; will spend rest of her life behind bars

5 charged with killing Irish UN peacekeeper in Lebanese military court

Lebanon’s military tribunal on Thursday charged five men with the killing of an Irish U.N. peacekeeper in December, a senior judicial official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, alleged all five are linked with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The indictment followed a half-year probe after an attack on a U.N. peacekeeping convoy near the town of Al-Aqbiya in Lebanon’s south, a stronghold of Hezbollah. The shooting resulted in the death of Pvt. Seán Rooney, 24, of Newtown Cunningham, Ireland, and seriously wounded Pvt. Shane Kearney, 22. The wounded peacekeeper was medically evacuated to Ireland. Two other Irish soldiers sustained light injuries.

The indictment includes evidence from bystanders’ testimonies, as well as audio recordings and video footage from surveillance cameras, the Lebanese official said. In some of the recordings of the confrontation, the gunmen reportedly could be heard telling the peacekeepers that they are from Hezbollah.

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Hezbollah has denied any role in the killing, and a spokesperson for the group declined to comment on the indictments Thursday.

One of five indicted, Mohamad Ayyad, is currently in custody of Lebanese authorities. The four others facing charges – Ali Khalifeh, Ali Salman, Hussein Salman, and Mustafa Salman – are at large.

On the fatal night, Rooney and several other Irish soldiers with the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, were on their way from their base in the south to the Beirut airport. Two U.N. vehicles apparently took a detour through Al-Aqbiya, which is not part of the area under the peacekeepers’ mandate.

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Initial reports said angry residents confronted the peacekeepers, but the indictment concludes that the shooting was a targeted attack. The U.N. peacekeeper vehicle reportedly took a wrong turn and was surrounded by vehicles and armed men as they tried to make their way back to the main road.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said the indictment was an “important step towards justice”.

“Attacks on men and women serving the cause of peace are serious crimes and can never be tolerated,” Tenenti told the AP. “We look forward to justice for Private Rooney, his injured colleagues, and their families.”

UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country’s south for the first time in decades.

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon frequently accuse the U.N. mission of collusion with Israel, while Israel has accused the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s military activities in southern Lebanon.

Despite Iranian attack killing American abroad, Biden pursues nuclear deal with ayatollah's regime

The Iranian regime’s recent drone attack on an American base in Syria, which resulted in the murder of a U.S. contractor, has not deterred the Biden administration from pursuing the controversial nuclear pact with Tehran that would dramatically enrich the coffers of the Islamic Republic.

The White House remains wedded to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the formal name for the Iran nuclear deal – that “would allow Tehran to access up to $275 billion in financial benefits during its first year in effect and $1 trillion by 2030.”

Veteran Iran experts have argued that the JCPOA is no longer tenable because it is riddled with serious defects about deterring Iran’s malign behavior, including failing to stop Tehran’s ongoing drone attacks against Americans. Iran’s regime was caught enriching uranium to 84% purity in February – just 6% short of weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear weapon.

IRAN COULD PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPON IN MATTER OF MONTHS, SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL CLAIMS

Jason Brodsky, the policy director of the U.S.-based United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital, “The JCPOA framework is not a viable one for the United States. Those who say diplomacy is the most sustainable way of dealing with the Iran nuclear [deal] ignore the history of the last seven-plus years, where world powers have spent more time trying to salvage it than it was ever fully implemented. This is because of a lack of bipartisan support in the United States for the JCPOA paradigm as well as Tehran’s lethal non-nuclear behavior.”

While the U.S. State Department claims the JCPOA is not a priority, it reportedly continues to propose ways to inch toward an agreement. Axios recently reported that the White House is discussing a temporary deal that provides Tehran with some economic sanctions relief in exchange for a freeze of elements of its alleged atomic weapons program.

When asked about the reported interim deal proposal, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “We are in constant contact with our allies and partners, including the E3, but we’re not going to detail diplomatic conversations or respond to rumors, many of which are simply false.”

E3 is an abbreviation for France, Germany and Britain.

The spokesperson added, “The JCPOA has not been on our agenda since September, when Iran turned its back on a deal that was on the table, but we are still very much open to diplomacy.”

The spokesperson continued, “As the president has made clear, the United States is committed to never allowing Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. We believe diplomacy is the best way to achieve that goal, but President [Joe] Biden has also been clear that we have not removed any option from the table.”

When asked about a report that diplomats from France, Germany and Britain conducted secret talks with Iran last month in Norway, the U.S. spokesperson reiterated its earlier response: “We are in constant contact with our allies and partners, including the E3, on Iran, but we’re not going to detail diplomatic conversations or respond to rumors, many of which are false. For instance, there have been no meetings of the P5+1 and Iran since August.”

The P5+1 is an abbreviation for the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany.

US AIR DEFENSES DOWN DURING SUSPECTED IRANIAN DRONE STRIKE IN SYRIA THAT KILLED ONE AMERICAN

The spokesperson added, “Of course, we remain greatly concerned by the expansion of Iran’s nuclear activities, including the operation of advanced centrifuges and accumulation of highly enriched uranium. Iran has no credible peaceful purpose to be undertaking these activities.”

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration “does not have a desire to solve the Iranian nuclear problem but to manage it.”

Despite the clerical regime’s mass human rights violations, furnishing lethal drones to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and enriching uranium to near military-grade usage, Biden’s “Iran policy continues to be defined by the JCPOA,” said Taleblu.

Taleblu said the Biden administration’s “maximum deference” to Iran’s rulers over the last 18 months “paved the way to where we are.” He added that the policy permitted Tehran to make “irreversible gains” with respect to its nuclear weapons program. The Iran expert also said the Biden administration “selectively enforces oil sanctions” against Tehran.

He urged that the U.S. government provide “maximum support” to the Iranian protesters opposed to the theocratic state because the U.S. “can’t form an Iran policy in isolation from what is happening on the ground in Iran.”

According to the State Department, the Trump administration is to blame for the current state of affairs with the Islamic Republic: “Let’s also not forget that it was the previous administration’s decision to unilaterally leave the JCPOA that contributed mightily to where we are today, with Iran no longer adhering to the constraints of the deal and rapidly advancing its nuclear program,” the State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Israeli Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, a senior researcher at the Israeli Defense Security Forum and expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital that the perception in the region is “America is weak and not willing to support its allies.” He cited the example of Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Iran’s regime that bypassed the U.S. altogether – Communist China brokered the diplomatic deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

BIDEN ON BACK FOOT AS IRAN PROXIES HIT US TROOPS IN SYRIA, CAN ‘EXPORT MORE, NOT LESS ATTACKS’

Kuperwasser said the “U.S. dreams of going back to the JCPOA, which means the Iranians think they can go further and test the waters in various issues.” He said the “Iranians have showed more self-confidence in their attacks on American bases in Syria and led to the death of one American.” He added that Hezbollah recently attacked Israel – the Iranian regime’s chief strategic partner is the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The U.S. government has defined Iran’s regime as the world’s worst international state sponsor of terrorism.

Kuperwasser said the message being delivered to the Iranians right now is: “They can get away with more than murder.” He continued, “The key is to put pressure on Iran now to stop their nuclear project. The worst thing right now is to revive JCPOA because it gives them a lot of money. They will be able to produce nuclear weapons in the future with JCPOA.”

Kuperwasser bemoaned the American government’s passive posture. He said the U.S. did not take any steps against Iran’s regime at the last session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its enrichment of near weapons-grade uranium. IAEA spokesperson Fredrik Dahl declined to provide a comment to Fox News Digital whether progress has been made in stopping Iran’s enrichment.

Kuperwasser said the main problem is Iran’s nuclear program and its enrichment of uranium, that America needs to “look at the entirety of the problem.” He said that the way to avoid a military confrontation with Iran’s regime is to “show credible military options.”

Brodsky, the Iran expert for UANI, said, “Military options need to be on the table and Tehran needs to believe we are serious about their use if Washington hopes to effectively deter the Islamic Republic. This entails more aggressively targeting Iran’s regime after its attacks on U.S. forces – not just retaliating against its proxies but also Iran’s regime itself. The U.S. government should also be giving serious consideration of an updated AUMF [Authorization for Use of Military Force] focused on Iran, as that is the threat that is most significant today. Just having the AUMF against Iran on the books would be a deterrent in and of itself.”

Iran’s mission to the U.N. did not respond to a press query.

Two men captured on video killing, mutilating cat in California

Two men were caught on tape killing and mutilating a stray cat in Pomona, California, and police remain on the lookout for the suspects.

The dark and grainy video shows two men stopping their vehicle in front of a business at 560 Union Avenue and fatally shooting a feline in the parking lot. The cat was initially seen flailing before it died.

The men then jump over the fence and approach the cat. One of the men takes out a sharp object and cuts the animal open as the other man records the incident on his cellphone.

CALIFORNIA MOM KILLED BABY BY SUFFOCATING HER DURING BREASTFEEDING, AUTHORITIES SAY

Store owners discovered the mutilated cat the next morning and alerted Pomona Police and the Inland Valley Humane Society.

“We’ve never had anything like this happen, it’s horrible,” Collin Lee of the Pomona business told FOX 11.

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Authorities released surveillance video of the men and asked the public for help identifying them.

CFR Patio employees feed the feral cats in the area and have taken some of the felines home. But, they say, “we can’t take every one of them, so we try to take care of them here as much as we can.”

Some of the cats are pretty friendly, including the one that was killed, named Scruffy. Someone was preparing their home to take the cat with them.

The humane society has taken the cat’s body as evidence, and are watching security video from other businesses in the area to help with the investigation.