Cheryl Atkinson discussed the discrepancies in crime statistics reported by the FBI and the National Crime Victim Station survey with Dr. Lott. This has been reported before, but people aren’t listening. They also discussed the high rate of crime by ILLEGAL aliens. John Lott, a crime data analyst who was a senior adviser for research […] The post Violent Crime Up About 43%; Illegals Commit Far More Crimes appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Joy Behar is being criticized for her comments about country singer Carrie Underwood performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration next week. On Tuesday’s episode of “The View,” the co-host expressed her thoughts on the news, saying, “I would not normalize [Trump]. [Underwood] says, ‘I love our country.’ How do you love our country and support and normalize somebody who was a convicted felon who really wants to destroy the country in my opinion? I don’t understand how you say you love your country at the same time as you normalize this convicted felon.” Behar later said, “I would not be the person to say, ‘Don’t do it,’ because I believe in free speech and everything about it. I personally would not do it. No one’s asked me, but that’s another story.” Former co-host of “The View” Elisabeth Hasselbeck called out Behar for her reaction to Underwood singing at the inauguration. “That @TheView @JoyVBehar needs to simmer down off my friend,” Hasselbeck posted on X. Hasselbeck later appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show Tuesday night to explain her thoughts on the drama.  Hasselbeck said “The View” doesn’t include “anyone there who has a lick of sense on most days,” per Entertainment Weekly.  She also said Behar’s comments were “nothing more than selfish personal publicity-gaining right now” and claimed she “wants to attach her name to Carrie Underwood’s name so that she maintains relevance because she knows the ship is sinking.” CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg also defended Underwood during Tuesday’s episode of “The View.” She said, “I stand behind her. If I believe I have the right to make up my mind to go perform someplace, I believe they have the same right. So I have to support (her). It doesn’t mean I’m particularly interested in watching. I won’t be watching. But that’s me.” Underwood has been facing a ton of backlash from fans following the announcement that she is slated to sing “America the Beautiful” during the inauguration ceremony on Monday.  The “American Idol” winner later issued a statement, saying, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.” Underwood added, “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”

A contractor embedded in one of the Pentagon’s highest offices has been terminated from his firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, after boasting to an undercover journalist that he worked with retired generals to try to stop Donald Trump, who he viewed as a “sociopathic narcissist,” from winning the presidency. O’Keefe Media Group caught Jamie Mannina boasting to a young woman that he worked for Hillary Clinton in the Senate and the State Department before joining the FBI to hunt Russian spies because he believed Russia was to blame for Trump winning the 2016 election. From there, he joined government contractor Booz Allen, and the Pentagon embedded the contractor into its inner sanctum. Mannina, who appeared to believe he was on a date with a younger woman, said if Kamala Harris had won the presidency, he would have been given a “pretty big job.” Even though Trump won, he said he would “be fine” and continue serving as a “special advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.” “Over most of the year, since this spring, I was working with these retired generals, retired ambassadors, in this organization, this nonprofit called National Security Leaders for America. And what we were doing was we were trying to explain to the American people the national security consequences of another Trump presidency” and “defeat Donald Trump,” he said. BREAKING VIDEO: Top Pentagon Advisor Reveals On Hidden Camera Conversation “with a Couple of Retired Generals to Explore What We Can Do” to ‘Protect People from Trump’ Confirms Secret Meetings regarding AI: “That is sensitive information… We’re going to have to keep it between… pic.twitter.com/Ry2zAMW3rn — James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 15, 2025 He said he ghost-wrote more than 100 anti-Trump op-eds for the retired generals. ”I was literally working day and night, nonstop. So ultimately when he won I was really sad, really depressed, not only in terms of mission failure but of course i was hoping to advance my career. Had [Harris] won I would have gotten a pretty big job,” he said. Mannina also disparaged Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, and said he was continuing to work with retired generals to restrict Trump’s actions as president. “I’m having a meeting in fact tomorrow about it,” he said. On one date with the undercover journalist, Mannina said that the next day he would be personally presenting to the chiefs of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, in a meeting led by General CQ Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said the topic was artificial intelligence and the need to share information with other countries “because we need to fight together.”  Mannina also told the journalist “I predict Trump will probably entertain publicly the idea of staying in office, changing the laws, which he’s not allowed to do by the Constitution.” Ironically, it was Mannina who seemed determined to thwart the will of voters and continue on in government after his side’s time was up. According to Mannina’s LinkedIn, he worked as a Special Assistant to Hillary Clinton in the Senate, then as a Special Assistant at the State Department, then a Desk Officer and Foreign Affairs advisor there. After that, he worked as a Mission Manager at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during the Trump administration. In 2019, he became an FBI agent, and in 2020, took the job at Booz Allen. Hours after James O’Keefe published the video, Joint Staff spokesman Joseph R. Holstead told OMG that he had been sent back to Booz Allen. “Jamie Mannina is not an advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Joint Chiefs, nor has he interacted with the Chairman or the Joint Chiefs. We can confirm Mannina was a Booz Allen Hamilton contracted employee with the Joint Staff J6 Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber Directorate. The alleged comments by Mannina do not reflect the positions of the Chairman or the Joint Staff. Furthermore, the Chairman looks forward to working as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s principal military advisor in the next administration,” wrote Holstead. Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president’s top military advisor. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Partisan embedded government contractors, who are not beholden to typical government hiring rules, could be an obstacle for Trump to navigate. Booz Allen did not immediately return a request for comment from The Daily Wire on Mannina’s employment status or why government agencies should trust that its contractors are not undermining its leaders for political reasons. Someone with the title of “special advisor” and a history of working for a senator would typically be a political appointee and would be replaced by an incoming administration, but his status as a contractor meant that — had the video not come out — he could have continued on. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Wednesday that Red Dye No. 3, a synthetic dye linked to cancer in animals, will be banned in food and drinks in the U.S. Red Dye No. 3 is used in thousands of foods, such as cereal and candy, and drinks, such as carbonated beverages and cocktails. Manufacturers will have until January 15, 2027, to modify food and beverage products and remove Red Dye No. 3, while companies that produce dietary supplements will have until January 15, 2028, NBC News reported. The dye, made from petroleum and approved for use in foods in 1907, has been banned in Australia, Japan, and many European countries. The U.S. also banned Red Dye No. 3 in cosmetics in 1990 after a study conducted in the 1980s showed that rats exposed to Red Dye No. 3 in high doses developed tumors. Some food and drink manufacturers have already begun removing Red Dye No. 3, among other dyes, according to NBC News. “The FDA cannot authorize a food additive or color additive if it has been found to cause cancer in humans or animals,” said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy director for human foods. “Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No. 3.” The FDA’s move to ban Red Dye No. 3 comes less than a week before the Trump administration takes over. Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to pressure large companies to remove dyes from foods. “The first thing I’d do isn’t going to cost you anything because I’m just gonna tell the cereal companies, take all the dyes out of their food,” Kennedy said while campaigning for Trump. Kennedy, who has promised to “Make America Healthy Again,” needs to be confirmed by the Senate. His confirmation hearing date has not been announced. CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT Kennedy’s comments on food dyes suggest the incoming Trump administration would go beyond merely banning Red Dye No. 3 and also prevent other dyes, such as Red 40 and Blue 1, from being used in food and drinks in the U.S. Last year, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law banning six dyes from food that is served at public schools in the state, Bloomberg reported. A report released by California in 2021 showed that “consumption of synthetic food dyes can cause hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral issues for some children.” Food safety advocates applauded the FDA’s decision on Wednesday, but some said the ban should have come much sooner. Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told NBC News that the decision “removes an unnecessary hazard from the American food supply, and we welcome that action, even though it should have occurred more than three decades ago.”

A hostage and ceasefire deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. According to The Jerusalem Post, the deal will unfold in three phases. The first phase will include the release of 33 hostages — some of whom may be dead — and the Israeli Defense Forces withdrawing to an undefined security perimeter. Israel will reportedly release “many hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists who have killed Israelis. Humanitarian aid will be increased and Palestinian civilians are also expected to be allowed to return to the northern part of the Gaza Strip with “security arrangements” in place, reported CNN. The Israeli cabinet will meet Thursday morning to approve the deal. The first phase is expected to last 42 days, with negotiations for the subsequent stages set to begin on the 16th day. The 33 released hostages are expected to be women, children, wounded people, and men over 50. Five female Israeli soldiers are expected to be released, each of whom will be exchanged for 50 Palestinians, 30 of whom are serving life sentences, according to the Associated Press. Palestinian prisoners will reportedly be released abroad or to the Gaza Strip instead of the West Bank. In the final hours of the negotiations, Hamas made extra demands regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, reported The Jerusalem Post. The corridor has been seen as a strategic value to Israel by ensuring more weapons are not smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. About half of the hostages in Gaza — a mix of Israelis, Americans, elderly, women, children, and soldiers — are believed to be alive. Seven American hostages are still in Gaza, including Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai, Omer Neutra, and Keith Siegel. President Trump touted the deal on social media on Wednesday, writing that the hostages would “be released shortly.” Trump has aggressively pushed for Hamas to release the hostages, saying there would be “all hell to pay” if they did not do so before he returned to office.

California legislators created a $21 billion “wildfire fund” to minimize risk to utility companies which could prove important if investigators find that such a company caused one of the recent major fires that have devastated Los Angeles County. The fund permits Pacific Gas & Electric Co., San Diego Gas & Electric Co., and Southern California Edison to pay into it. If any of those utilities is found by investigators led by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to be responsible for a fire, they are enjoined to pay for the first $1 billion of losses. After that, the wildfire fund will have to cover the costs. In 2019, Pacific Gas & Electric declared bankruptcy after being found responsible for the Camp Fire, the deadliest fire in the state’s history. “The Camp Fire was caused by electrical transmission lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electricity (PG&E) located in the Pulga area,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection stated. PG&E later came out of bankruptcy. Last month, the Biden administration gave PG&E a record $15 billion low-interest loan commitment to modernize PG&E’s hydroelectric infrastructure and upgrade power lines. “Officials with the Loan Programs Office said that because the loan is a legal contract, future administrations wouldn’t be able to claw back the funds,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the municipal utility that operates in Pacific Palisades, says it did not opt into the wildfire fund because it would have been too costly for its customers,” The Los Angeles Times reported. “If the large municipal utility was liable for the Palisades fire, the city of L.A. could face exorbitant financial costs.” CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT The 2018 Camp Fire was caused by high-voltage transmission towers that had been in place for roughly a century; the 2019 Kincade Fire was caused by a line built roughly 50 years before. There is speculation that the current Eaton Fire near Pasadena, which has killed at least 17 people, may have started around a Southern California Edison electrical transmission tower. Michael Wara, former wildfire commissioner for California and a member of the California Catastrophe Response Council, said, “If the wildfire fund did not exist today, Edison might be in real trouble. We would see something probably similar to what happened to PG&E after the Camp Fire.” “If you are an investor in PG&E or Edison, you might look at this and think, ‘Hmm, I thought the fund was big enough. Maybe now I’m not so sure.’ The fund is there to provide confidence. If the fund isn’t big enough, there will be less confidence,” he added. “If a large portion of the wildfire fund’s $21 billion was depleted, that could affect market perception of the fund, negatively affect utility company credit scores, and plunge investor-owned utilities — which cover about 80% customers across the state of California — into chaos,” The Times noted.

'I’m not going to get distracted by culture wars'

'First thing I'd do ... take all the dyes out of their food'

'Harris is acting like a bitter loser'