Singapore News Channel, Singapore News Network

For most major news organizations, accuracy often takes a back seat to ideology, which is why groups such as the Associated Press are mischaracterizing Tennessee’s new religious liberty bill as “anti-gay.”

The legislation in question allows faith-based foster and adoptive groups to receive taxpayer funds even if they decline to work with members of the LGBT community. The bill ensures that religious organizations won’t also be asked to violate their convictions to receive public funding. It is the same basic principle behind the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was signed into law in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.

For the Associated Press and others, however, Tennessee’s new bill, which Republican Gov. Bill Lee announced this week that he would sign into law, is “anti-gay.”

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Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) on Thursday was caught flashing a large grin before lamenting the transfer of two impeachment articles to the Senate as a “solemn, serious moment” in an interview with MSNBC.

Harris, who recently ended her ill-fated presidential campaign, is seen smiling at someone in the room before host Kasie Hunt questions her about the Senate’s upcoming impeachment trial against President Donald Trump. Once she realizes she is on a live shot, Harris’ demeanor swiftly changes. “This is a solemn, serious moment,” she says of the impeachment process. “These are the most serious charges brought in the history of our country against a president.”

“The moment we just experienced I think is highlighting the importance of doing impartial justice and taking seriously the importance of listening to the evidence and the importance of receiving evidence,” Harris then says of the swearing-in of senators as jurors in the upper-chamber.

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Planned Parenthood is launching a new $45 million campaign to support Democrats in the 2020 elections, the organization’s most expensive campaign push in its history.

The campaign, under the theme “We Decide 2020,” will go toward encouraging the public to vote for pro-abortion Democrats at the local, state, and national level. Planned Parenthood says it will target voters in nine battleground states, according to CBS, including Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, swing states President Trump won in the 2016 election. The campaign will focus on engaging voters via TV and radio ads, canvassing, and digital marketing.

Jenny Lawson, Planned Parenthood Votes executive director, feels the “stakes have never been higher” to elect candidates in favor of abortion, citing fears that Roe v. Wade, a 1973 Supreme Court decision that permitted abortion, is at risk of being overturned.

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In a newly released report, the Government Accountability Office has ruled that the White House Budget Office broke the law when it withheld military aid from Ukraine last summer. Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry against President Trump as the result of a whistleblower complaint alleging that Trump tried to coerce Ukraine into investigating his political opponent Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Trump reportedly agreed to withhold military aid to Ukraine a few hours after that phone call.

“Today, GAO issued a legal decision concluding that the Office of Management and Budget violated the law when it withheld approximately $214 million appropriated to DOD for security assistance to Ukraine,” the GAO writes in its report. “The President has narrow, limited authority to withhold appropriations under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. OMB told GAO that it withheld the funds to ensure that they were not spent “in a manner that could conflict with the President’s foreign policy.” The law does not permit OMB to withhold funds for policy reasons.

The White House vehemently disagrees and called the GAO’s conclusion an “overreach.”

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A new poll shows that President Trump’s approval rating in Wisconsin has hit an all-time high.

Trump’s approval rating among registered voters in Wisconsin is sitting at 48%, according to a Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday. Trump’s disapproval is one point higher, at 49%.

The same poll also showed that Wisconsin voters on the whole disapprove of the way Trump handled the Iranian situation. Registered voters in Wisconsin thought Trump’s Iran strategy was wrong 54% to 44%.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging three alleged members of the racially motivated violent extremist group “The Base” with firearms and alien-related charges. The complaint charges Brian Mark Lemley, Jr., age 33, of Elkton, Maryland, and Newark, Delaware, and William Garfield Bilbrough IV, age 19, of Denton, Maryland, with transporting and harboring aliens and conspiring to do so. Lemley is also charged with transporting a machine gun and disposing of a firearm and ammunition to an alien unlawfully present in the United States. Further, the complaint charges Lemley and Canadian national Patrik Jordan Mathews, age 27, currently of Newark, Delaware, with transporting a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony. The complaint also charges Mathews with being an alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The complaint was filed January 14, 2020, and was unsealed today upon their arrests by the FBI.

The defendants are expected to have initial appearances beginning at 2:45 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, 6400 Cherrywood Lane, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B. Day.

The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; United States Attorney for the District of Delaware David C. Weiss; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.

According to the criminal complaint, within The Base’s encrypted chat rooms, members have discussed, among other things, recruitment, creating a white ethno-state, committing acts of violence against minority communities (including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans), the organization’s military-style training camps, and ways to make improvised explosive devices. Lemley previously served as a Cavalry Scout in the United States Army, and as of August 2019, Mathews, a Canadian citizen in the United States illegally, was a combat engineer in the Canadian Army Reserve.

The affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint alleges that on August 19, 2019, Mathews unlawfully crossed from Canada into the United States near the Manitoba/Minnesota border. On August 30, 2019, Lemley and Bilbrough allegedly drove from Maryland to Michigan in order to pick up Mathews, and all three men returned to Maryland on August 31, 2019.

As detailed in the criminal complaint, on November 3, 2019, the three men drove from Virginia to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where Bilbrough resided. Lemley and Mathews then continued to the area of Elkton, Maryland, where Lemley obtained a motel room for Mathews. The following day, Lemley drove Mathews to Delaware, where Lemley rented an apartment in which the two have resided since that time.

According to the affidavit, during December 2019, Lemley and Mathews used an upper receiver ordered by Lemley, as well as other firearms parts, to make a functioning assault rifle. Also in December, Lemley, Mathews, and Bilbrough allegedly attempted to manufacture a controlled substance, DMT, at Lemley and Mathews’s apartment. Furthermore, Lemley, Mathews, and Bilbrough discussed The Base’s activities and spoke about other members of the organization. Mathews also allegedly showed the assault rifle to Bilbrough, who examined the assault rifle and returned it to Mathews.

In January 2020, according to the affidavit, that Lemley and Mathews purchased approximately 1,650 rounds of 5.56mm and 6.5mm ammunition; traveled from Delaware to a gun range in Maryland, where they shot the assault rifle; and retrieved plate carriers (to support body armor) and at least some of the purchased ammunition from Lemley’s prior residence in Maryland.

If convicted, Lemley and Bilbrough each face a maximum sentence of five years for transporting and harboring certain aliens, and 10 years for conspiracy to do so. Lemley also faces a maximum of five years in prison for transporting a machine gun in interstate commerce, and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for disposing of a firearm and ammunition to an illegal alien. Lemley and Mathews each face a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony offense. Finally, Mathews faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for being an alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorneys Robert K. Hur and David C. Weiss commended the FBI Baltimore Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and ATF for their work in the investigation, and thanked U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland State Police, and the Delaware State Police for their assistance. Mr. Hur and Mr. Weiss thanked their offices’ national security prosecutors, who are handling the case.

From its opening pages, the story of America has been rooted in the truth that all men and women are endowed with the right to follow their conscience, worship freely, and live in accordance with their convictions. On Religious Freedom Day, we honor the foundational link between freedom and faith in our country and reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding the religious liberty of all Americans.

Religious freedom in America, often referred to as our “first freedom,” was a driving force behind some of the earliest defining moments of our American identity. The desire for religious freedom impelled the Pilgrims to leave their homes in Europe and journey to a distant land, and it is the reason so many others seeking to live out their faith or change their faith have made America their home.

More than 230 years ago, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which was authored and championed by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson famously expounded that “all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.” This statute served as the catalyst for the First Amendment, which enshrined in law our conviction to prevent government interference in religion. More than 200 years later, thanks to the power of that Amendment, America is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world.

Since I took office, my Administration has been committed to protecting religious liberty. In May 2017, I signed an Executive Order to advance religious freedom for individuals and institutions, and I stopped the Johnson Amendment from interfering with pastors’ right to speak their minds. Over the last 3 years, the Department of Justice has obtained 14 convictions in cases involving attacks or threats against places of worship. To fight the rise of anti-Semitism in our country, I signed an Executive Order last month to ensure that Federal agencies are using nondiscrimination authorities to combat this venomous bigotry. I have also made clear that my Administration will not tolerate the violation of any American’s ability to worship freely and openly and to live as his or her faith commands.

My Administration also remains cognizant of the stark realities for people seeking religious liberty abroad and has made protecting religious minorities a core pillar of my Administration’s foreign policy. Repressive governments persecute religious worshipers using high-tech surveillance, mass detention, and torture, while terrorist organizations carry out barbaric violence against innocent victims on account of their religion. To cast a light on these abuses, in July 2019, I welcomed survivors of religious persecution from 16 countries into the Oval Office. These survivors included Christians, Jews, and Muslims, who all shared similar stories of persecution. At the United Nations in September, I called on global leaders to take concrete steps to prevent state and non‑state actors from attacking citizens for their beliefs and to help ensure the sanctity and safety of places of worship. And, last summer, the State Department convened its second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, where our diplomats engaged a broad range of stakeholders in government and civil society, both religious and secular, to identify concrete ways to combat religious persecution and discrimination around the world and ensure greater respect for freedom of religion and belief.

On this Religious Freedom Day, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting the precious and fundamental right of religious freedom, both at home and abroad. Our Founders entrusted the American people with a responsibility to protect religious liberty so that our Nation may stand as a bright beacon for the rest of the world. Today, we remain committed to that sacred endeavor and strive to support those around the world who still struggle under oppressive regimes that impose restrictions on freedom of religion.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2020, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to commemorate this day with events and activities that remind us of our shared heritage of religious liberty and that teach us how to secure this blessing both at home and around the world.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.

DONALD J. TRUMP

The Maryland General Assembly hit the ground running for its first week as it swore in a new leadership team, passed routine bills and made progress on Wade’s Law, Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-38) reported this week.

“It was emotional and historic and a real understanding of the monumental shift of power with the longest serving senate president in the country transitioning to serve as a state senator representing his direct and the elevation of a young senator from Baltimore,” Carozza said, referencing that new Senate President Bill Ferguson entered a new position as Sen. Mike Miller (D-27) stepped down from his 33-year reign as president.

After the proceedings, Carozza said her committee, Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, was the first committee to pass out a bill that cleared the entire senate. That bill was the State Real Estate Commission Sunset Extension, an extension of the commission to July 1, 2032.

Carozza added that Wednesday, Jan. 14, was a huge day for Senate Bill 29, otherwise known as Wade’s Law, which increases the penalties regarding life-threatening injuries involving a motor vehicle. The bill went through the senate hearing that day and Wade Pusey, a Worcester County resident, testified before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee about the life-threatening injuries he suffered because of criminally negligent driving.

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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memorandum Wednesday to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) explaining the legal foundations and reasons for holding up U.S. security assistance to Ukraine over the summer.

The Washington Post reported the existence of the memorandum and published it on Thursday morning; it was largely overlooked in in favor of the day’s lengthy impeachment debate in the House Judiciary Committee. Yet the memo fills in some of the factual gaps in the account of what happened.

In the memo to GAO, which works for Congress, the OMB begins by explaining that it often holds up funding to federal agencies in the regular course of business under its apportionment authority, often for reasons as mundane as making sure funding is being spent efficiently.

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The Senate passed President Trump’s United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade in a bipartisan vote of 89 to 10 Thursday, giving the president his second major trade win in as many days.

The vote took place just before impeachment articles were presented in the Senate.

The USMCA, which replaces the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, now goes to the White House, allowing Trump to fulfill a key 2016 campaign goal.

“You’ve heard the phrase ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’? The new NAFTA we are working on puts a bigger oar in the water for our trilateral trade relationship with our northern and southern neighbors,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, in the debate before the vote.

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