Singapore News Channel, Singapore News Network

Iran�s supreme leader appointed the deputy commander of the Quds Force, Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani, as the replacement for Qassem Soleimani, the former head of the elite force who was killed in a U.S. air strike on Friday, state media reported.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement that program of the Quds Force, the military unit responsible for projecting Iran�s influence via proxies across the Middle East, �will be unchanged from the time of his predecessor.�

Ghaani was quoted by Iranian media as saying in 2017 that U.S. President Donald Trump�s �threats against Iran will damage America … We have buried many … like Trump and know how to fight against America.�

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Baltimore City slid further into chaos and just broke its highest ever per-capita homicide rate after recording its 347th murder on Monday.

With about 602,000 residents, Baltimore City’s homicide rate breached 57 per 100,000 residents after 13 people have been murdered since Dec. 21.

The annual death toll has only hit 342 on two other occasions, onetime in 2017 and another in 2015. Breaching the 342 level to 347 is uncharted territory and suggests the situation will get worse in 2019.

This is the 5th year the city has recorded murders over 300, due mostly to the Ferguson effect post-2015 riots and socio-economic deterioration in the town.

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Joe Biden says he’s open to potentially nominating former President Barack Obama to the US Supreme Court.

The former Vice President and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate made the comment while appearing at a campaign event in Washington, Iowa on Saturday.

An attendee asked if he would nominate Obama to sit on the highest court in the country.

In response, Biden replied: ‘If he’d take it, yes.’

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Fenwick Island- The Delaware State Police have identified the name of the pedestrian who died in a crash on January 1, 2020, on Costal Highway, Fenwick Island, as 44-year-old Israel Jackson Kreger, of Ocean City, Maryland.

The crash continues to remain under investigation by the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit.

Troopers Investigating Fatal Pedestrian Crash-Fenwick Island

If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and are in need of assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit/Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll free hotline 1800 VICTIM-1. (1800 842-8461).  You may also email the unit Director at debra.reed@delaware.gov.

Fenwick Island-The Delaware State Police are investigating a fatal crash involving a pedestrian that occurred earlier this morning.

The incident occurred on January 1, 2020 at approximately 3:20 a.m., when a 2016 Jeep Patriot was traveling southbound on Coastal Highway in the right lane approximately 1 mile north of Fenwick Island. A pedestrian was either walking or standing in the right lane, facing south. The operator of the Patriot was unable to perceive the pedestrian, who was wearing all dark clothing and not using a light. As a result, the right front of the Patriot struck the pedestrian in the right travel lane.

The operator of the Patriot, a 23-year-old male, from Georgetown, DE remained on scene. He sustained minor injury and declined medical treatment.

The pedestrian, a 44-year-old male from Ocean City, Maryland, was pronounced deceased at the scene. His name is being withheld at this time pending the notification of next of kin.

Coastal Highway southbound was closed for approximately 3.5 hours while the crash was investigated and cleared.

The crash continues to remain under investigation by the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit.

If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and are in need of assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit/Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll free hotline 1800 VICTIM-1. (1800 842-8461). You may also email the unit Director at debra.reed@state.de.us.

ANNAPOLIS, MD�The Hogan administration today announced that the state has completed negotiations and reached agreements with state employee unions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021.

The Maryland Professional Employees Council, the American Federation of Teachers, the Baltimore Washington International Professional Firefighters Local 1742, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have all reached agreements with the Hogan administration for the upcoming fiscal year. The agreements affect approximately 26,000 employees.

�I am thrilled that we were once again able to collaborate with the exclusive bargaining representatives of the state�s employees and reach agreements that benefit our hardworking and dedicated employees,� said Department of Budget and Management Secretary Brinkley.

Most employees will receive a 2% cost-of-living increase effective January 1, 2021 with the opportunity to receive a one-time $500 bonus effective January 1, 2021 if FY 2020 revenues exceed projections by $75 million. Approximately 2,700 social workers, direct care workers, licensed practical nurses, teachers, pretrial release investigators, lab scientists, veterans benefits specialists, and other employees in positions that are challenging to recruit and retain will also receive an additional 6% pay adjustment to assist with state recruitment and retention efforts. Furthermore, over the next four years, correctional officers eligible to retire will be offered a Retention and Longevity Pay Incentive of up to $37,500 to continue working for four years.

�These bonuses will help us retain our retirement-ready correctional officers (COs) while the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services capitalizes on the 9.5% increase in CO pay since January of last year to fill long term vacancies,� said Secretary Brinkley. �Public safety organizations throughout the country are experiencing similar recruitment and retention challenges, but we are confident our package of stay bonuses and pay raises will put us in a good position to improve staffing our correctional facilities.�

Approximately 6,500 employees across the bargaining units will also be eligible to participate in a Student Loan Repayment Plan that will reimburse employees for up to $20,000 in student loan debt repayments.

It is estimated that these salary enhancements will reward state employees with $33 million more over the next fiscal year. These increases are in addition to the 5.5% cumulative increase in wages that state employees have received since January 2019.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf has asked the agencies involved in Homeland Security to study how state laws that allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers’ licenses affect their departments’ enforcement efforts. The acting secretary’s request comes in the wake of recent state laws passed in New York and New Jersey that allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses without having to show proof that they are lawfully present in the Unites States. The laws also restricts what information state agencies can share with federal immigration authorities.

(Via NBC News)

The laws prohibit state Department of Motor Vehicles officials from providing data to agencies that enforce immigration law unless a judge orders it. New York cut off database access to at least three federal agencies last week when the law went into effect.

Wolf said in his memo, obtained by The Associated Press, that the department must be �prepared to deal with and counter these impacts as we protect the homeland.�

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BERLIN � When property owners across much of the Lower Shore get their property reassessment notices in the mail this week, most will find their values have increased since the last reassessment three years ago and some more so than others.

The State Department of Assessment and Taxation (SDAT) on Tuesday announced the results of the triennial assessment of residential and commercial real estate values across Maryland and the news was particularly good statewide with an average increase of around 9%. On the Lower Shore, properties in Worcester County�s Group 2 reassessment area lagged behind the state average, coming in at a combined 4.7%, while Wicomico far exceeded the statewide average increase, coming in at a combined 11%.

Each year, about one third of the residential and commercial properties across the state are reassessed and assigned new values that are used to determine property tax amounts. This year, properties in the Group 2 areas were reassessed as part of a rotating system in which the entire state is not reassessed in a single year. The Group 2 properties were last reassessed in 2017 and the new assessments announced this week represent the values as of Jan. 1, 2020.

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Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) attacked President Donald Trump late on Thursday night for his order to kill top terrorist leaders in Iraq and also promoted a conspiracy theory.

Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were the two terrorist leaders who were killed. Al-Muhandis was in charge of the Iranian-linked Popular Mobilization Forces.

The Department of Defense released a statement stating that Trump ordered the strike because �General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.�

Despite the statement from the Pentagon and the clear reasoning behind the attack, Omar responded by suggesting that Trump secretly carried out the strike to provide a �distraction� from the upcoming Senate impeachment trial.

Omar tweeted: �So what if Trump wants war, knows this leads to war and needs the distraction? Real question is, will those with congressional authority step in and stop him? I know I will.�

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RICHMOND, Va. (NBC) � The governor of Virginia is seeking a bill to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol Building.

According to a spokesperson, Gov. Ralph Northam filed a drafting request for a bill that would outline the process for removing the statue and selecting a replacement.

This comes after state representatives Jennifer Wexton and Donald McEachin sent a letter calling on Northam to make replacing the statue part of his agenda for the 2020 legislative session.

In the letter, they argue that the statue aims to �rewrite Lee�s reputation from that of a cruel slave owner and Confederate general.�

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