UK Gives Zelenskyy Long-Range Missiles Despite Leaked Plot to Attack Russia

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Leaked Pentagon documents reportedly reveal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy secretly plotted major attacks against Russia, while lamenting behind closed doors about the fact that he doesn’t have long-range missiles to carry out his plans.

Now he does. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reportedly confirmed last Thursday that the United Kingdom is providing Ukraine with “Storm Shadow” missiles, which have a range of 155 miles and can be air-launched by Ukraine’s Soviet fighter jets.

UK and U.S. officials are reportedly confident that Zelenskyy won’t attack Russia with the missiles.

“Ukraine has repeatedly committed to employ US-provided weapons responsibly and strategically when needed to counter Russian aggression, and we are confident that will continue to be the case,” a Pentagon official said of the UK missile transfers, according to the Washington Post.

But information from the Discord Leaks—the trove of classified Pentagon records that a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman allegedly leaked in a Discord chatroom—reportedly shows that Zelenskyy has plotted to strike Russia.

The Washington Post reported Saturday—two days after the UK confirmed it would be sending Ukraine long-range missiles—that Zelenskyy’s plots included occupying Russian villages and bombing a Russian pipeline to Hungary.

“In a separate meeting in late February with Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top military commander, Zelenskyy “expressed concern” that ‘Ukraine does not have long-range missiles capable of reaching Russian troop deployments in Russia nor anything with which to attack them,’” the Post reported, citing documents from the Discord Leaks—most of which are not available for the public to read.

“Zelenskyy then ‘suggested that Ukraine attack unspecified deployment locations in Rostov,’ a region in western Russia, using drones instead, according to another classified document.”

Along with being able to strike Russian territory with missiles, Zelenskyy now has more capacity to attack the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014. Zelenskyy and its Western backers don’t recognize Crimea as Russian territory, despite acknowledging that the peninsula is a “red line” for President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine is reportedly set to launch a major counter-offensive this summer. to recapture lost territory.

The only major political figure in the West to call for peace between the two countries is Donald Trump.

“I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying—Russians and Ukrainians,” Trump said at last week’s CNN Town Hall event. Trump said he’ll immediately sit down with Putin and Zelenskyy and negotiate an end to the war “within 24 hours.”

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

White Educator Allegedly Denied Promotion 45 Times, Claims Racism

(Robert Jonathan, Headline USA) A white New Jersey educator is suing a school district for racial discrimination after he was allegedly overlooked for nearly 50 potential promotions in a six-year period.

During all that time, he allegedly only got one interview for the administrative jobs for which he applied.

The plaintiff in the racial discrimination lawsuit, Thomas Franco, 58, currently works as a guidance counselor at a Paterson, N.J., high school. Franco reportedly applied for mostly principal and vice principal positions in that city for which he apparently possesses the appropriate credentials required by the state.

He is suing the Paterson school district as well as a number of officials there who are named individually as defendants.

In legal papers, Franco claims that Paterson “does not provide the same opportunities for advancement to White applicants as it does to minority candidates” and, as such, it “is denying opportunities to Mr. Franco and refusing to promote him based on the color of his skin and not his qualifications.”

The lawsuit also claims that nearly all of the school district’s administrative-level positions are held by black or Hispanic persons.

Attorney Evan Goldman, who is representing Franco in this litigation, told the New York Post that “While I applaud the fact that the district employs many minorities to serve its mostly minority student population, at the same time the district should not prevent highly qualified individuals who may be a non-minority, from being promoted.”

He added that “Mr. Franco’s potential promotion will only serve to enhance all of the students experiences in the district.”

According to Franco’s purported LinkedIn profile that details his work history in public education in several different school districts since 1997, he has two master’s degrees from N.J. universities and a PhD in educational administration from an online university.

In the context of Franco’s approximately 45 unsuccessful internal applications, “The lawsuit alleges many of those hired had less experience and lack the academic credentials that Franco possesses,” NJ.com reported.

“Franco has a wealth of experience in administrative roles prior to joining the PPS. He is certified as director, supervisor, principal, and school administrator,” the lawsuit also maintains, while also noting that he has received positive job performance reviews since he was hired in Paterson in 2016.

Paterson is located about 15 miles northwest of New York City.

The school district is abiding by its no-comment policy when it is a party to a lawsuit. An initial legal complaint is, of course, a one-sided presentation of facts, circumstances, and applicable law.

The usual next step in any civil litigation is for the defendant(s) to file a written response to the allegations and, in general, sometimes a motion to dismiss, as a case works its way through the court system.

As an aside, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts famously once wrote that “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

CNN Touts Advantages of Kids Not Having a Dad for Mother’s Day

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) In order to celebrate Mother’s Day in a properly feminist fashion, CNN re-posted a 2019 article celebrating the advantages of single motherhood.

Penned by journalist David G. Allan, the article, titled “Let us now praise single moms,” touts the benefits of being raised by a single mother.

According to Allan, some studies show that having no father is fine for children, despite other studies suggesting the opposite.

“There has been a lot of research over the decades that has shown children of single parents report more family distress and conflict and live at a lower socioeconomic status compared to those growing up in two-parent households,” he wrote, noting that the state must do more to give money and honors to divorcees.

“Two-parent families usually have more income and are generally able to provide more emotional resources to children, and that’s also a reflection of how little the United States in general does to support working mothers with parental paid leave and access to more health services and quality education.”

Further, having no father in some instances, he suggested, is actually better.

“There were benefits to being raised by a single mother, that it was foundational to becoming the adult I am now,” Allan wrote, adding that he developed an “Emersonian amount of self-reliance.”

The journalist offered several self-indulgent lines about his own lived experience.

According to Allan, his single mother raised “a responsible, decent, curious, creative and accomplished son with very high life satisfaction,” referring to himself.

Allan was mocked relentlessly on Twitter for his hot take, as reported by BizPac Review.

Christina Pushaw, an aide and former press secretary to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, called out the headline for being “ridiculous,” noting that while many single mothers do an admirable job, it is decidedly not a preferable situation.

Others noted that the Left’s attempts to systematically alter or destroy the family reflected their larger desires to remake the American people.

Massachusetts City Sued for Stealing Couple’s Kids in Wee-Hours Raid

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) The city of Waltham, Massachusetts, has been sued by a local couple after city police showed up at their house late at night to take custody of their children, WND reported.

Joshua Sabey and Sarah Perkins, the couple behind the suit, were shocked when police showed up to confiscate their children last July, said the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing the family, on its website.

According to the lawyers, the couple had just taken their then-3-month-old son, Cal, to check on a fever when “doctors discovered an older, healed fracture on one of Cal’s ribs.”

Hospital staffers called in the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, which determined that there had been child abuse.

Soon thereafter, the city police and the DCF showed up to take the children away.

“Three days later, around 1 a.m., DCF workers and Waltham police officers showed up at Josh and Sarah’s home without a warrant, which is required by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution,” PLF wrote, noting that police threatened to break in forcefully if not allowed in.

“The police threatened to break down the door if they didn’t turn over Cal and his three-year-old brother Clarence to be taken to a foster home,” PLF wrote. “Josh and Sarah complied, and after a heart-wrenching four months, the government restored their full parental rights and cleared them of any wrongdoing.”

The couple’s lawyer alleged that the late-night raid was illegitimate, and that parents should be able to go to sleep without worrying that the state will take their children.

“The government cannot show up under the cover of night and take your children without a warrant or a reasonable belief a child is in imminent danger,” said PLF senior attorney Joshua Thompson. “Parents should be able to sleep without wondering if the government is going to take their kids in violation of constitutional guarantees.”

The family denied all domestic abuse allegations, and their pediatrician said that she had “zero” concerns about such things with Sabey and Perkins.

“Nothing can undo the trauma of that early July morning and the prolonged abrogation of the Sabey’s parental rights,” their legal team warned. “For parents, the emotional and physical toll of having your crying children torn from your arms never goes away.”

Heroic NYC Subway Marine Has Raised More than $2M after Bragg Charge

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Daniel Penny, a retired Marine and New York City subway hero, has raised more than $2 million after George-Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him with the death of a homeless man, the Epoch Times reported.

Thomas Kenniff and Steven Raiser, Penny’s lawyers, launched the fundraising campaign on GiveSendGo, a conservative-friendly crowdfunding website.

As of Monday morning, more than 43,000 people had made individual donations to the campaign, which has been shared by more than 10,000.

Penny, 24, has been charged by Bragg with second-degree manslaughter for his alleged choking of Jordan Neely, 30, whom he had restrained in a headlock. He could face up to 15 years in prison in New York state.

Previewing their likely legal defense, Penny’s lawyers maintained that he was “protecting individuals on a NYC subway train from an assailant who later died.”

Prosecuting attorneys likewise acknowledged that Neely, who has a criminal record, was “making threats and scaring passengers,” the Epoch Times reported.

An anonymous witness said that Neely was obviously undergoing a mental episode as he ranted wildly and violently while on the subway on May 1.

“He said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail’ because he would kill people on the train,” the witness said of Neely. “He said, ‘I would kill a [expletive]. I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail.’”

Other witnesses noted that Penny only got involved when Neely became a serious threat to others on the train.

According to GiveSendGo, all money raised for Penny will be used to cover legal fees for the current lawsuit, along with lawsuits doubtless coming down the pipeline in the future.

“Funds are being raised to pay Mr. Penny’s legal fees incurred from any criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may arise, as well as expenses related to his defense,” wrote Penny’s lawyers.

“All contributions are greatly appreciated,” they added. “Any proceeds collected which exceed those necessary to cover Mr. Penny’s legal defense will be donated to a mental health advocacy program in New York City.”

Kenniff thanked Penny’s supporters for their “outpouring of generosity,” their support being “beyond anything we could have imagined.”

He concluded by noting that “Daniel is incredibly grateful for the support of so many New Yorkers.”

Texas GOP Protects Children From Trans-Led Genital Mutilation

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) – The Texas House passed SB 14, a bill banning child gender modification procedures. The measure passed after multiple attempts were made by Democrats to kill it and after protestors disrupted House proceedings and were arrested. 

The bill passed with bipartisan support. Some Democrats joined Republicans in a vote of 92 to 48, although the tally hasn’t been certified by the House Journal Clerk. Some suggest not all 11 Democrats listed as voting for the bill actually did. 

The bill survived several attempts to kill it, including Democrats calling multiple points of order, a procedural move in the Texas House rules that lawmakers use to try and defeat a bill by claiming they found an error. Last week, Democrats called a point of order twice, sending the bill back to committee. The committee then advanced the bill again, but was delayed again until it was heard on Friday, when multiple points of order were called on 19 proposed amendments. The majority of amendments failed. 

SB 14, filed by Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, passed the Senate five weeks ago. It’s companion bill, HB 1686, was filed by Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress.

If signed into law, it would prohibit procedures and treatments for gender transitioning or gender reassignment from being performed on minors suffering from gender dysphoria and prohibit public money or public assistance from being used to fund such procedures and treatments. 

It amends the state Health and Safety Code to prohibit a child health plan, including health-care providers and Medicaid, from providing coverage for services “intended to transition a child’s biological sex as determined by the child’s sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous profiles,” according to the bill language. 

The bill prohibits surgeries from being performed that sterilize children, prohibits providers from prescribing, administering, or dispensing prescription drugs that induce transient or permanent infertility, puberty suppression or blocking prescription drugs to stop or delay normal puberty, supraphysiologic doses of testosterone to females, or supraphysiologic doses of estrogen to males, and prohibits the removal of any otherwise healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue. 

It also prohibits public money from funding directly or indirectly health care providers, medical schools, hospitals, physicians, or any other entities or individuals that provide these treatments, including Medicaid reimbursements. It also instructs the Attorney General’s Office to enforce the law. 

During floor debate, Oliverson said the bill doesn’t ban the treatments when they are medically necessary. He also said he was trying to return medicine to its “normal” practice; “normal as defined for more than 100 years of health care.” 

He disputed claims made by Democrats that evidence suggests such procedures are helpful or safe, saying the best “gender affirming care” for children with gender dysphoria is counseling and therapy. 

“We don’t treat mental health disorders with surgery, we treat mental health disorders with mental health treatments,” he said. 

Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, issued a lengthy statement explaining why she voted for the bill. After “hearing from constituents, listening to stakeholders, and reviewing the scientific data in this country,” she said she was “assured that this position is rooted in sound policy which supports the health, development, and overall well-being of minors.” 

She also pointed to scientific data showing that children’s brains are not fully developed under age 18, saying, “clearly, children as young as 8, 9 or 10 years of age are wholly incapable of understanding that these medical treatments may require that they remain medical patients for a lifetime.” 

She also asked, “what are the long term effects of administering the chemotherapy prostate cancer drug (and chemical castration drug) … to a child who is otherwise physically healthy but who is experiencing gender dysphoria?” 

She also said, “we should remain consistent in the premise that children must be given special provisions under the law as they cannot fully appreciate the long term consequences of their actions” and that the purpose of the law was to protect children. 

A recent poll of registered voters in Texas found that 60% oppose chemical or surgical gender transitions for children. 

SB 14 goes before the House for a third and final reading before it can be approved and sent to the governor.

Fmr. US Attorney Rips DOJ Cover-Up to Protect Joe Biden

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) In a stunning revelation, a former federal prosecutor told former Rep. Trey Gowdy, now a Fox News host, that the DOJ is intentionally refusing to prosecute potential crimes related to the infamous shady business dealings by the Biden family.

Former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman appeared on Fox News’ Sunday Night in America to speak about the dire findings involving the Biden family and their role in alleged schemes to make millions from foreign adversaries.

The findings, released earlier this month by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, unveiled that several Biden relatives allegedly received $10 million through 20 shell LLC companies. LLC companies are infamously known as a tool for fraudsters to hide potentially illegal dealings, a point echoed by Tolman.

“You have four banks, only four that they receive documents from their subpoena—those four banks revealed $10 million dollars had been passed through up to 25 different LLCs to nine different members of the Biden and friends,” Tolman told Gowdy, who was hosting the Sunday show.

“I look at that, Trey, and you and I know very clearly if you can’t identify what the business of those 25 LLCs are, then what you have is a shell game to move money,” he continued.

Gowdy, a former member of the U.S. Congress, responded by slamming the legacy media for ignoring the implications of the findings, saying he was shocked at the House Oversight report but questioned whether the DOJ would prosecute any of the allegations.

“Do you think DOJ pays attention or are they investigating or not investigating in other ways?” Gowdy asked the former prosecutor, who answered negatively

“I was a federal prosecutor first and then I became U.S. attorney. The very last case I had involved shell LLCs and the movement of money and we couldn’t identify what the actual business was and it’s the kind of case that was the bread and butter of the fraud and corruption unit at DOJ,” Tolman said before torching the DOJ for refusing to prosecute cases because of politics.

“We’re looking at a DOJ who refuses to prosecute certain cases now that have a political angle to them,” the former U.S. attorney added.

The former U.S. attorney criticized the DOJ for doubling down in their cases against individuals granted clemency by former President Donald J. Trump.

“They’ll re-prosecute, you know, Philip Esformes who was given clemency by President Trump, but they won’t go after a Joe Biden family member who appears to be in a crime syndicate,” he concluded.

Trump commuted Esformes’ sentence after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison over a $1.3 billion Medicare fraud scheme.

Mayorkas Brushes Off Impeachment, Says He’s Worried About Climate

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas dismissed speculation of a Republican-led impeachment amid swirling controversy over the southern border chaos, claiming he is focused on accomplishing President Joe Biden’s agenda.

“[Rep. Mark Green] has indicated he wants to impeach you for the way that you’ve handled the border crisis. Are you worried that that process is going to start and how will you react?” Bash, the host of State of the Union, asked Mayorkas Sunday.

“Dana, I am focused on the work in front of us,” Mayorkas said, also adding he is worried about foreign threats.

“Meeting the challenge not only with respect to the southern border but meeting the challenge of cyber, the cyber threat from cyber criminals and adverse foreign nations states.”

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., is leading the impeachment calls against the DHS chief.

Green has slammed the embattled DHS secretary over mishandling the southern border chaos through open-border policies. 

But Mayorkas said he is worried about climate change to think about the Republican concern on border security. “I am focused on the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events,” Mayorkas told Bash. 

China and Russia are also among Mayorkas concerns, he claimed. 

“I am focused on the adverse actions of the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, Iran, Russia. I am focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security. I will continue to focus on that work throughout my tenure,” the secretary concluded.

Green is planning on pushing impeachment through a “five phase plan” according to an interview with the Daily Mail.

“‘We’ll go phase by phase to look at things like laws that had been violated and ignored – you know, the human cost of the border crisis, the financial cost of the border crisis,” Green said.  

“We’re just going to put it all together and if it looks like it warrants an impeachment, we’ll hand it off to Jim Jordan,” Green continued.

As the border controversy surrounding Mayorkas continues to unfold amid the ending of Title 42, the COVID-19 policy that permitted the swift removal of undocumented immigrants, it remains to be seen whether the Republican-led impeachment will impact the Biden administration, which often dismisses GOP concerns.

According to the Center Square, Several southern Texas counties issued disaster declarations as Title 42 came to a close on May 11. The emergency declarations were made after thousands of illegal immigrants flooded the Rio Grand Valley.

On Wednesday, an immigrant minor died while on the Biden administration’s custody, marking yet another shadow over the Biden’s open border policies.

Watch the full CNN Sunday interview below:

AOC-Endorsed Lawmaker Accused of Sex Assault Owes Thousands in Rent

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Juan Ardila, the Democratic controversy-ridden and AOC-endorsed New York assemblyman, faces yet another scandal as a landlord claims he owes a staggering $19,200 in overdue payments for a former apartment in Queens.

Anne O’Reilly, Ardila’s former landlord and a nurse who is struggling to meet ends, slammed the embattled assemblyman, who is also facing two sexual assault allegations, in a Friday interview with the New York Post.

“I feel like it’s an injustice to me,” O’Reilly told the Post.

Ardila moved out in November but not before O’Reilly served him with a lawsuit. The lawsuit was dismissed after she failed to serve the lawmaker within the required days.

O’Reilly told the Post she is planning on filing a second lawsuit against the Democrat.  

“I’m a nurse and try to take care of people and I think people should respect everybody and if I’m working hard I expect everyone else to work hard — if they’re working — to pay their rent,” she said. 

Ardila attempted to downplay O’Reilly’s claims, alleging that he, not the landlord, is the victim and that he does not owe any rent.

“My mother and I moved to this apartment when I was 14,” he said, according to statements obtained by the Post. “I was staying with my girlfriend but my mother has endured relentless harassment from her landlord, particularly throughout the pandemic & even left her without heat during some of the coldest days.” 

Ardila’s rent-related scandal comes two months after a March expose published by The Queens Chronicle accused the first-term Democrat of inappropriately touching a woman while she was heavily intoxicated at a house party. A second woman accused Ardila of indecent exposure in a bathroom the same night in October 2015. 

Ardila received the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. through her PAC, Courage of Change, when he announced his candidacy in 2021, even receiving his own highlight feature on AOC’s website. 

AOC has severed ties with the freshman lawmaker after he was first accused of sexual assault, joining a large group of politicians who demand Ardila step down.

A.I. Deepfakes Threaten the Integrity of Elections

(Headline USA) Sophisticated generative AI tools can now create cloned human voices and hyper-realistic images, videos and audio in seconds, at minimal cost.

When strapped to powerful social media algorithms, this fake and digitally created content can spread far and fast and target highly specific audiences, potentially taking campaign dirty tricks to a new low.

The implications for the 2024 campaigns and elections are as large as they are troubling: Generative AI can not only rapidly produce targeted campaign emails, texts or videos, it also could be used to mislead voters, impersonate candidates and undermine elections on a scale and at a speed not yet seen.

“We’re not prepared for this,” warned A.J. Nash, vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm ZeroFox. “To me, the big leap forward is the audio and video capabilities that have emerged. When you can do that on a large scale, and distribute it on social platforms, well, it’s going to have a major impact.”

AI experts can quickly rattle off a number of alarming scenarios in which generative AI is used to create synthetic media for the purposes of confusing voters, slandering a candidate or even inciting violence.

Here are a few: Automated robocall messages, in a candidate’s voice, instructing voters to cast ballots on the wrong date; audio recordings of a candidate supposedly confessing to a crime or expressing racist views; video footage showing someone giving a speech or interview they never gave. Fake images designed to look like local news reports, falsely claiming a candidate dropped out of the race.

“What if Elon Musk personally calls you and tells you to vote for a certain candidate?” said Oren Etzioni, the founding CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, who stepped down last year to start the nonprofit AI2. “A lot of people would listen. But it’s not him.”

Petko Stoyanov, global chief technology officer at Forcepoint, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, Texas, predicted that groups looking to meddle with U.S. democracy will employ AI and synthetic media as a way to erode trust.

“What happens if an international entity — a cybercriminal or a nation state — impersonates someone. What is the impact? Do we have any recourse?” Stoyanov said. “We’re going to see a lot more misinformation from international sources.”

AI images appearing to show Trump’s mug shot also fooled some social media users even though the former president didn’t take one when he was booked and arraigned in a Manhattan criminal court for falsifying business records. Other AI-generated images showed Trump resisting arrest.

Earlier this month, a trade association for political consultants in Washington condemned the use of deepfakes in political advertising, calling them “a deception” with “no place in legitimate, ethical campaigns.”

Other forms of artificial intelligence have for years been a feature of political campaigning, using data and algorithms to automate tasks such as targeting voters on social media or tracking down donors. Campaign strategists and tech entrepreneurs hope the most recent innovations will offer some positives in 2024, too.

Mike Nellis, CEO of the progressive digital agency Authentic, said he uses ChatGPT “every single day” and encourages his staff to use it, too, as long as any content drafted with the tool is reviewed by human eyes afterward.

Nellis’ newest project, in partnership with Higher Ground Labs, is an AI tool called Quiller. It will write, send and evaluate the effectiveness of fundraising emails –- all typically tedious tasks on campaigns.

“The idea is every Democratic strategist, every Democratic candidate will have a copilot in their pocket,” he said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press