The White House announced on Monday that Joe Biden will commute the sentences for nearly all federal inmates on death row. Currently, there are 40 federal inmates on death row, and Biden will commute the sentences for 37 of them. Not included are “Robert Bowers, who is responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, which left 11 people dead; Dylann Roof, a White supremacist who killed nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-dead brother to perpetuate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.” The 37 men on death row will have their sentences commuted to life in prison, taking the death penalty off the table. Biden commutes death sentences of child killers and mass murderers 2 days before Christmas https://t.co/NX7Fg292oD pic.twitter.com/HWqe9QK0U6 — New York Post (@nypost) December 23, 2024 BREAKING: Biden commutes the sentences of 37 out of 40 inmates on federal death row pic.twitter.com/dLr9HkThcz — BNO News (@BNONews) December 23, 2024 Check out what Fox News reported: President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly all the inmates on federal death row, a move that comes not even two weeks after he went through with the “largest single-day grant of clemency” in American history, the White House announced Monday. Of the 40 inmates on federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, Biden is commuting 37 men sentenced to death, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, who is responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, which left 11 people dead; Dylann Roof, a White supremacist who killed nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-dead brother to perpetuate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds. The men being resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole are convicted of various murderous acts against one person or multiple. Among the victims of the 37 men are law enforcement officers, children and other inmates. A handful of the men on death row were also set to be executed with their co-defendants. Biden, who only supports the death penalty at the federal level for “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” said this move will prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s administration from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice,” according to the White House statement. BREAKING: President Joe Biden announced he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment mere weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. https://t.co/6aoz0MJtsw — The Associated Press (@AP) December 23, 2024 Per AP: President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities. It means just three federal inmates are still facing execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history.

After writing a memoir, the guitarist has done the musical equivalent with an 11-disc box set exploring his five-decade career. He explains how he landed his dream gig, how Robert Fripp beat him to a tonal ambition, and why, in a way, Roxy is still active

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The main reason Donald Trump is concerned about the Panama Canal goes well beyond the outrageous fees they charge American military and companies. The US built the canal at great cost and at a great loss of American lives. The Canal is critical to national security. China, our most dangerous enemy, indirectly controls the canal. […] The post The Panama Canal Is a Problem Because China Is Taking It Over appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Actress Blake Lively is suing her “It Ends With Us” co-star, Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliation, and attempting to “destroy” her reputation. The filing confirms rumors about a tense relationship between the two stars during the press tour for the film before its August release. Baldoni also directed the romantic drama, which is based on a best-selling Colleen Hoover book by the same name. Lively’s lawsuit accuses Baldoni and his team of attacking her public image after they had a meeting to address “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Baldoni and a lead producer, per NPR.  During the meeting, Lively claimed that Baldoni spoke negatively about her weight, discussed his sex life, and compelled her to reveal her religious beliefs. She also accused producer Jamey Heath of showing her a video of his wife giving birth, per Variety. The complaint filing includes texts and emails between Lively, Baldoni, and the crew. These messages allegedly prove that the team would try to retaliate if anything negative went public.  Screenshots of the exchanges allegedly show that Baldoni and his team had a plan in place to launch a smear campaign “in retaliation for Ms. Lively exercising her legally-protected right to speak up about their misconduct on the set, with the additional objective of intimidating her and anyone else from revealing in public what actually occurred.” Lively also claims that she missed out on opportunities due to the drama with the “It Ends With Us” crew, Variety noted. “The effects on Ms. Lively’s professional life were immediate and substantial,” the lawsuit says. “Given the ongoing nature of the campaign and the associated negative public sentiment, Ms. Lively did not believe she could proceed with public appearances or events without being forced to openly discuss what happened on set.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE It continues, “For example, Ms. Lively canceled a critical Target corporate event for her hair care company, and she backed out of her scheduled role to host the premiere episode of the 50th anniversary season of ‘Saturday Night Live’ in September 2024.” Bryan Freedman, an attorney for the Wayfarer Studios, called Lively’s claims “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.” He also said they represented “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation.” Freedman confirmed the team hired a crisis manager “due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.” “What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals,” Freedman said. The film received negative press not just for the rumored feud between Lively and Baldoni, but also for how social media users found Lively’s light-hearted promotion of the film “tone-deaf” due to the serious topics it explored, including domestic violence and abuse. 

Actor Denzel Washington was baptized and presented with a minister license, which allows him to become ordained in the future, during a Facebook livestream on Saturday.  The event occurred at Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ located in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.  At one point, Washington took the microphone to reflect on what being baptized meant to him. “In one week I turn 70,” he said, per Today. “It took a while, but I’m here.” Later on, he told a story about meeting a woman at his mother’s beauty parlor when he was 20. “She said, ‘Boy, you are going to travel the world and preach to millions of people,’” the “Gladiator II” star said. “She wouldn’t even spell the word prophecy. My mother wrote the word prophecy…50 years later, look at God. If He can do this for me, there’s nothing He can’t do for you. The sky literally is the limit and there’s no limit to the sky.” Washington also said he was thankful for his “loving, faithful wife,” Pauletta Washington. The pair has been married since 1983. “To God be the glory. Hallelujah!” he continued. “Anything I can do, I will do for this church, the Almighty. I just want to be in that number when the saints go marching in.” Archbishop Christopher Bryant also shared photos of the event in a Facebook post.  “We celebrate the addition of Minister Denzel Washington into the clergy, having received his minister’s license in the Church of God in Christ today, in a truly uplifting moment,” the post said. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “He is dressed that way because, in the same service, he received water baptism,” the post went on. “Both the baptism and the licensing took place at the Historic Kelly Temple in NYC, a place close to his heart. Denzel Washington attended this church as a child and testified to being filled with the Holy Spirit after visiting another church with actor Robert Townsend in the 80’s.” “Denzel Washington’s recent commitment to faith and service is truly inspiring,” Bryant wrote in a follow-up Facebook post. “His baptism and licensing to preach is the culmination of a life of faith.” The actor had spoken about faith before. “If you don’t have a spiritual anchor you’ll be easily blown by the wind and you’ll be led to depression,” he said in 2021, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “I’m a God-fearing man,” Washington said at the time. “I try not to worry. Fear is contaminated faith.”

Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, pleaded not guilty to state charges of murder and terrorism on Monday. Mangione also faces federal charges of stalking and murder, which makes him eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors said that the state and federal cases will move forward on parallel tracks, the Associated Press reported. Last week, Mangione waived his extradition after initially signaling he would fight it while remaining in a Pennsylvania prison. Mangione opted to waive his extradition after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced last Tuesday that the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate is being charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and two second-degree murder counts, one of which is charged as a killing in the act of terrorism. Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, argued before the judge that New York officials, such as NYC Mayor Eric Adams, have taken away her client’s right to a fair trial by using him for political purposes. “This is a young man. He is being treated like a human ping-pong ball between warring jurisdictions here,” Agnifilo said. State trial court Judge Gregory Carro assured that Mangione would receive a fair trial, adding, “We will carefully select a jury,” CNN reported. Mangione faces a total of 11 counts in New York, which includes his first- and second-degree murder charges along with weapons and forgery charges. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 after a customer reportedly recognized him from “person of interest” pictures posted by the NYPD. The UnitedHealthcare CEO was gunned down on the morning of December 4 as he was walking to the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan for his company’s Investor’s Conference. The masked assassin was caught on video fleeing the scene of the shooting on foot before getting on a bike. After arresting Mangione in Pennsylvania, authorities recovered a notebook allegedly belonging to him that includes a passage where the writer mentions taking out “the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.” Mangione also allegedly had a manifesto on him that accused UnitedHealthcare of prioritizing profit over patients. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Bragg claims that Mangione “intended to evoke terror” with his alleged murder of Thompson, adding that the killing of Thompson “was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.” Mangione has gained a following among some Americans. Around 100 supporters of Mangione gathered outside the courthouse in Pennsylvania last week, some of whom held signs that read “Free Luigi,” “Private Healthcare Is A Crime Against Humanity,” and “Deny, Defend, Depose,” a phrase that echoes the words written on shell casings found at the sight of Thompson’s assassination.

After being slammed by the Left for her critical comments regarding the way the Kamala Harris campaign blew through billions of dollars, a powerful fundraiser for the Democratic Party who was a member of the DNC finance committee announced she was leaving the party, calling it a “cult.” Lindy Li, who publicly stumped for Harris, appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend, where she stated, “I think, unfortunately, the Democratic Party has the stench of loser written all over the party.” “This past week has been harrowing for me,” Li told Piers Morgan. “This Saturday, I went on Fox & Friends and I said that ‘Democrats have a stench of loser hanging over them.’ As soon as I said that, there were boycott campaigns against me. Unblock, unfollow campaigns. I lost 40,000 followers in four days. People have called me the w-word, I don’t know what we’re allowed to say, but you can fill in the blank.” Urged by Morgan to say the word, she continued, “They called me a whore, they called me the c-word. They asked for me to be deported. … All these so-called Democrats, the party of inclusion, the party of diversity? Masks off. And it’s even worse, because they pretend to occupy the moral high ground.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “When I dare to utter any criticisms of the goddess Kamala Harris, I get ostracized,” she said. “Me, after having raised tens of millions of dollars for the party. And I’m being called a grifter, when all along, all these years, I’ve said on TV, I’ve said to the press, I’m a conservative Democrat. … My donors are pissed. … Why did we spend millions of dollars on five-star hotels for campaign staffers? Why did we spend $500,000 essentially bribing Al Sharpton moments before he interviewed Kamala? These are legitimate questions, but no, in the cult, you can’t ask questions. And leaving the Democratic Party or even questioning the Democratic Party is like leaving a cult. It’s terrifying. I don’t want to be a part of this craziness anymore. They’re accelerating my rightward shift.” Mentioning people calling her a “communist spy,” she stated, “They’re calling me a spy for the regime that killed my great-grandfather and these are the people who call themselves the social justice warriors. They’re going headfirst into racism anytime someone dares to disagree with them. I want to be a part of the team that says men are men and women are women and men shouldn’t play in women’s sports.” “They’re shrinking their tent,” she said. “They’re basically pushing me to bring my tens of millions of dollars that I’ve raised and can continue to raise to a different team that treats me better, that treats me with common decency.” “I was actually surprised, not entirely shocked, that they failed to address where the billions of dollars went,” Li had told NewsNation. “Let’s bear in mind that it wasn’t just a billion dollars; it was two billion, because they raised a billion through the campaign and another billion through the SuperPac. So where did that two billion dollars go? So we know so far that millions went to celebrities, went to private jets, to ice cream … it’s astounding. So how can Americans believe that the Democratic Party can properly handle taxpayer funds if we can’t even handle a campaign? there has to be a serious accounting and a serious post-mortem, not just slapping each other on the back and congratulating each other. … I have a duty of care to my donors, who gave millions of dollars, and it wasn’t easy for them to give; some of them were paying in installments. It was a sacrifice for them.”