Pete Buttigieg often flies on taxpayer-funded private jets, flight data show

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, an advocate of increased government action to curb carbon emissions, has taken at least 18 flights using taxpayer-funded private jets since taking office, Fox News Digital has learned.

Buttigieg has traveled across the country — visiting Florida, Ohio and New Hampshire, among other states — and out of the country using a private jet fleet managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to flight tracking data reviewed by Fox News Digital. The flight records align with Buttigieg’s schedule of external and public engagements obtained by government watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT).

Buttigieg’s predecessor, Elaine Chao, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, faced criticism for using the same jets on seven occasions in 2017, costing taxpayers nearly $94,000, Politico reported at the time. And Trump-appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign after reportedly taking 26 private jet flights that same year, costing taxpayers about $1.2 million.

Bipartisan leaders on the House Oversight and Reform Committee had opened an investigation into several senior Trump administration officials’ use of government-owned and private aircraft for travel days before Price submitted his letter of resignation.

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Terminator-style robot can survive being STABBED: Self-healing bot detects when it’s been harmed and mends itself on the spot

Sci-fi fans will know the Terminator was only a ruthless killing machine because of its effortless ability to heal itself after damage.

Now, engineers at Cornell University in New York may be well on their way to recreating this remarkable self-healing ability.

The experts have created a robot capable of detecting when and where it has been damaged and then restoring itself on the spot.

The small soft robot, which resembles a four-legged starfish, uses light to detect changes on its surface that are created by cuts. 

After the researchers punctured one of its legs, the robot was able to detect the damage and self-heal the incisions.  

‘Our lab is always trying to make robots more enduring and agile, so they operate longer with more capabilities,’ said Professor Rob Shepherd at Cornell University. 

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SECOND Russian shopping mall is mysteriously destroyed by fire, raising suspicions of sabotage attacks

A new inferno at a Russian shopping mall today has raised suspicions of coordinated sabotage attacks. 

StroyPark Mall in Balashikha, to the east of Moscow, was filmed in flames early Monday as thick black smoke streamed into the sky.

It comes after another fire at the Mega shopping centre in Khimki, also near Moscow and 30 miles from Balashikha, caused explosions which killed one person.

Monday’s fire was reported to cover more than 230,000 sq ft. 

One Telegram channel asked: ‘Fires at Russian shopping centres seem to be breaking out really often these days. Are these sabotage…or?’

The Russian emergencies ministry has officially blamed Monday’s blaze on building materials catching fire inside a construction supplies store.

Ministers did not say how the materials had caught light.

The first last week was also focused around a construction store, with canisters of gas thought to be behind the blasts.

Building material caught fire for unexplained reasons, according to the Russian emergencies’ ministry.

Other recent fires have hit the Mikoyanovsky meat factory, in Moscow, and the Pushkin national art gallery in the centre of the Russian capital.

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Texas Republican introduces bill to force platforms to receive ID documents from users

Republican State Rep. Jared Patterson, from Denton County, Texas, has introduced a bill that would ban minors from having social media accounts. Paterson argues that social media is not safe for minors, citing, among other things, self-harm content.

Patterson proposed a new law that would force social platforms to perform age verification on users.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

“HB 896 would prohibit minors from obtaining social media accounts in Texas. Specifically, this legislation seeks to limit social media usage to profile accounts 18 and older, requires profiles to utilize photo identification as a means of age verification, allows parents the opportunity to request account removal of their child, and grants enforcement of deceptive trade practices to the Office of the Attorney General if violated,” reads a press release from published by Patterson’s office.

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Cop Charged with Murder After Jumping on Car, Executing Innocent Man Who Called 911 for Help

On the night he called 911 for help, 22-year-old Christian Glass had never been arrested, committed a crime, harmed anyone, and was a threat to no one. Despite these facts, and despite the fact that he was entirely innocent, police would show up to his call for help that night, and execute him.

Now, months after his death, former deputy Andrew Buen and his supervisor Sgt. Kyle Gould have been charged with felonies for their roles in executing Glass. The officers are in court today after being indicted by a grand jury.

Buen, who jumped on the hood of Glass’s car and killed him is charged with second-degree murder, official misconduct, and reckless endangerment.

Gould, who gave orders for Buen to forcibly remove Glass from the front seat of his car, where he remained during the entire standoff with several law enforcement officers, faces criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

Both of these reckless and deadly officers have been fired. The two disgraced cops are expected to ask for special bond privilege in court today so they can travel out of state for Christmas — a kick in the teeth to the family of Glass.

“It is tragically ironic that Officer Buen would have the audacity to ask the court to modify his bond to allow out-of-state travel so that he can be with his family when his actions have deprived Christian’s family of being with their loved one this holiday season,” the family’s attorney, Siddhartha Rathod said.

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CA pledges $5 million for cash payments to pregnant Black women

The state government of California has pledged $5 million to provide a “pregnancy basic income” to pregnant “mothers and other birthing parents.” However, they must be Black. All other races are being snubbed.

This money will fund the expansion of the Abundant Birth Project [ABP], a program of the San Francisco Department of Public Health [SFDPH]. ABP provides twelve months of cash payments to Black and Pacific Islander women who become pregnant in San Francisco County. Recipients must make less than $100k per year. These payments are referred to as “pregnancy basic income.” A group of self-described “anti-racists,” called Expecting Justice, operates the program.

Using state funds, pregnant Black women in Los Angeles, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Riverside Counties will now be eligible for twelve months of cash payments ranging from $600 to $1,000 per month. They can begin applying for this free cash at the beginning of 2023.

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CATASTROPHIC CONTAGION: Bill Gates, Johns Hopkins & WHO Conduct Another Pandemic Simulation With Deadlier Virus That Targets Children

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, conducted another pandemic tabletop exercise in Brussels, Belgium, on October 23, 2022.

The same people behind Event 201, which took place almost three years ago to the day, just completed a desktop simulation for a new Enterovirus originating in Brazil.

The exercise, dubbed Catastrophic Contagion, simulated WHO emergency health advisory board meetings addressing a fictional pandemic that spreads from Brazil to the rest of the world.

In addition to Bill Gates, 10 current and former Health Ministers and senior public health officials from Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, Angola, Liberia, Singapore, India, Germany participated in the simulation, which involved pre-recorded news broadcasts, live “staff” briefings, and moderated discussions.

The virus in this simulation, called the Enterovirus, has a higher fatality rate than COVID-19 and disproportionately affects children and young people.

The phenomenon is dubbed SEERS (Severe Epidemic Enterovirus Respiratory Syndrome 2025).

Enteroviruses are any of a group of RNA viruses (including those causing polio and hepatitis A) which typically occur in the gastrointestinal tract, sometimes spreading to the central nervous system or other parts of the body.

Event 201 was a simulation involving a coordinated global response to a coronavirus that was conducted just months before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in early 2020.

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Incoming House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul Calls for More Arms to Ukraine to Destroy Russian Military

Incoming House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) called for arms to Ukraine to help destroy the Russian military as public officials have increasingly warned about the prospect of a “major war” between the West and Russia.

CBS News asked McCaul about House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) claim that a House Republican majority would not send a “blank check” to Ukraine.

McCaul did not speak to any limitations on aid to Ukraine; instead, the Texas Republican spoke about how arming Ukraine is doing well to destroy the Russian military.

“I support Ukraine. I think going with the amount of investment we’ve had is very small relative to destroying the Russian military. And that’s what we’ve done without one American soldier being attacked, killed, or in country. To me, that’s a pretty good investment,” McCaul said in a Friday interview with CBS News.

McCaul then said that more aid to help Ukraine’s conflict with Russia will come with “oversight,” “transparency,” and “accountability.”

Asked if he favors sending heavier arms to Ukraine in its protracted war with Russia, he said, “One hundred percent because the longer you drag this out, the more bloodshed. And the will of the American people and the Congress will dwindle until we can get this thing over with.”

McCaul spoke after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Friday that a full-blown “major war” between Russia and the West could possibly break out over Ukraine.

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FBI arrests Libyan operative charged in 1988 airline bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland

The FBI has arrested a Libyan intelligence operative suspected of making the bomb that downed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in history, Scottish authorities announced Sunday.

The U.S. Justice Department confirmed the arrest of Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, announcing “he is expected to make his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”

The arrest marks a four-decade hunt for Mas’ud, who was charged with making the bomb that killed 270 passengers, including 190 Americans.

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Second Journalist Dies Suddenly While Covering the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar

It has been reported that Al Kass TV photojournalist Khalid al-Misslam died suddenly on Saturday while covering the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

“Al Kass TV photojournalist Khalid al-Misslam passed away recently,” Qatari news media outlet Gulf Times reported.

“Al- Misslam, a Qatari, died suddenly while covering the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. We believe in Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for him, and send our deepest condolences to his family. We are all Allah’s and to Him we return,” the post concluded.

The cause of Khalid Al-Misslam’s death has not yet been revealed.

According to Express, Al Kass TV barely mentioned their photojournalist’s death on their live show, and it seems they are waiting for more information before issuing a statement.

Khalid al-Misslam is the second journalist to have died while covering the 2022 World Cup.

On Friday, longtime U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl died in Doha, Qatar on Friday while covering the World Cup for CBS Sports, his wife confirmed.

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