Paradise News

Tag: United States

  • Judicial Watch Sues State Dept. for Records Related to Eligibility of Hungarians to Participate in Visa Waiver Program

    (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State for communications and records regarding the eligibility of citizens of Hungary to participate in a visa waiver program (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:23-cv-02964)).

     The lawsuit was filed after the Department of State failed to respond to an August 8, 2023, FOIA request sent to its Office of the Information Programs and Services for:

    All records related to the modifications to the eligibility of citizens of Hungary to participate in the visa waiver program which went into effect on August 1, 2023 ( This request includes, but is not limited to, all records reviewed, referenced, or relied upon in making the determination to implement the modifications, as well as all related records of communication between any official or employee of the Department of State and any other individual or entity.

    On August 1, 2023, Reuters reported, “The United States imposed restrictions for Hungarian passport holders under its Visa Waiver Program on Tuesday … Relations between the two governments have been burdened recently with Budapest’s delay of a parliament vote on Sweden’s NATO accession and curbs on LGBTQ rights by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government.”

    Citing “vulnerabilities” because Hungary granted citizenship to “nearly one million people” over the nine-year period of 2011 to 2020, the State Department announced on its website:

    Today, we notified the Government of Hungary that the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) validity period for travel by Hungarian passport holders is reduced from two years to one year. Additionally, the validity of an ESTA for Hungarian passport holders will be limited to a single use.

    “The Leftists running the Biden administration want to punish Hungary because they hate Viktor Oban, Hungary’s conservative prime minister,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “And, as they try to bully Hungary over immigration, the Biden administration continues to allow millions of illegal aliens to come unhindered into the U.S.”

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  • Fact Check: Old video about emergency declaration in Vermont stirs online anxiety

    An Oct. 14 Facebook post utilizes all-caps to relay what feels like breaking news: “BIDEN declares FEDERAL EMERGENCY NAT. GUARD DEPLOYED — IT’S TOO LATE TO LEAVE!”

    But the video in the post is several months old.

    It was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

    The video features doomsday prepper Patrick Humphrey, whose YouTube channel regularly publishes false or misleading videos that stoke fear about wide-scale disaster.

    Humphrey first posted the video on YouTube in July. 

    In it, he discusses Biden’s declaration that month of a state of emergency in Vermont, which was then experiencing heavy rainfall and flooding. 

    A couple of days later, the Vermont National Guard delivered water to communities affected by the floods. 

    More recently, Biden has declared emergencies in Guam, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Florida and South Carolina, but we found no evidence that he’s declared a national emergency, as the Facebook post suggests, or has dispatched the National Guard to locations where people aren’t allowed to leave. We rate that claim False.



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  • Fact Check: Supposed video of Egyptians delivering supplies to Gaza predates the current conflict

    A video that shows scores of people carrying white packs on their backs across a rocky landscape, implying that they’re delivering aid, is being shared in the context of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. But the footage predates that conflict. 

    “Egyptians crossing the Palestinian border to deliver water and good to Palestine,” text on the video says. 

    Instagram posts sharing this video were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

    This video has been online since at least August. An Aug. 31 TikTok post suggested the video was taken on Egypt’s western border with Libya, not the border it shares to the east with the Gaza Strip. 

    A Sept. 6 X post sharing the video said, “Libyan/Egyptian border.”

    Yet another TikTok video posted on YouTube said the footage showed smuggling at the Egyptian-Libyan border.

    We couldn’t confirm what’s happening in the video, or where it was taken. 

    But we do know it doesn’t show Egyptians bringing water and food to Gaza in response to the current war between Israel and Hamas. 

    We rate that claim False.



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  • Joran van der Sloot confesses to killing Natalee Holloway and getting rid of her body

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (TCD) — Natalee Holloway’s case came to a close Wednesday when Joran van der Sloot confessed to killing the teen in 2005 and pleaded guilty to extorting her mother.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama announced van der Sloot entered the plea for one count of extortion and one count of wire fraud, and was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. According to The Associated Press, he is currently serving prison time in Peru for killing a woman in 2010, so the sentence will run concurrently with that.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office said van der Sloot contacted Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway, in 2010 and asked for money “on promises he would reveal the location of her daughter’s remains in Aruba and the circumstances of her 2005 death.” Beth Holloway ultimately paid him $25,100, but she later said the information was “worthless.”

    Van der Sloot was indicted in 2010, but he was extradited to the United States from Peru in June.

    Judge Anna Manasco reportedly told van der Sloot in court, “You have brutally murdered, in separate instances years apart, two young women who refused your sexual advances.”

    AL.com reports van der Sloot said in court, “I would like to take this chance to apologize to the Holloway family, to apologize to my own family, to say I hope the statement I provided brings some kind of closure to everyone involved.”

    Natalee’s mother, Beth Holloway, told him, “You have finally admitted that, in fact, you murdered her.”

    She went on, “You terminated her dreams, her potential, her possibilities, when you bludgeoned her to death in 2005.”

    At a press conference following the court appearance, U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona said, “Today marks the end of 18 years of wondering what happened to Natallee Holloway. Now, Beth and Dave can rest and Natalee can rest knowing that justice was served.”

    Beth Holloway also spoke after the sentencing and said, “Today, I can tell you with certainty that after 18 years, Natalee’s case is solved. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over. Joran van der Sloot is no longer the suspect. He is the killer.”

    Beth Holloway said van der Sloot revealed the “brutal” confession and the details into how he killed Natalee on the beach in Aruba, then got rid of her body in the water.

    According to the FBI, Natalee Holloway went on a trip to Aruba with her senior class from Mountain Brook High School and was last seen May 30, 2005. On May 29, she and some friends went to a nightclub. She was last seen with van der Sloot and two other men at approximately 1:30 a.m. Holloway failed to return to her hotel room and did not show up when the group was preparing to head back to Alabama.

    The sentencing occurred on what would have been Natalee Holloway’s 36th birthday.

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  • Fact Check: Old footage mischaracterized as showing U.S. troops deployed to Israel

    U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered troops to prepare to deploy to the Middle East to support Israel, though likely not in combat roles, The New York Times recently reported.

    But an Oct. 10 TikTok post claiming to show “thousands of US troops deployed to Israel” does not reflect this. 

    Tickers above and below the TikTok video say “Breaking news,” and text says “thousands of US troops make their way to Israel.” 

    Some of the footage, however, is more than 5 years old, and from Africa — not the Middle East.

    TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)

    Several clips come from the Defense Department and appear on the Getty Images’ website. They show U.S. soldiers participating in an emergency deployment readiness exercise in Djibouti, which is more than 1,400 miles from Israel, in March 2018.  

    Another clip has been online since at least July. Someone in that video can be heard saying, “Welcome to Poland.”

    We rate claims this footage shows soldiers deployed to the Middle East False. 

     



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  • Mo. man on his way to pumpkin patch allegedly drove more than 90 mph, killing girlfriend, toddler

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (TCD) — A 25-year-old man allegedly drove more than 90 mph and crashed into another vehicle, killing his girlfriend and 2-year-old daughter over the weekend.

    The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday, Oct. 18, that Derrius Tolson faces two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly crash.

    According to a probable cause statement, on Saturday, Oct. 14, Tolson was ejected from his Jeep after driving through a red light at the exit ramp for southbound I-435 and crashing into a Honda Accord. A Kansas City Police officer patrolling the area had spotted the Jeep and another vehicle speeding past, and he observed that they seemed to be “chasing or racing each other.”

    Tolson was allegedly driving 92 to 94 mph in a 40 mph zone before the vehicle collided with the Honda and rolled over multiple times.

    Tolson was transported to a local hospital to treat his minor wounds, while the driver of the Honda didn’t sustain any apparent injuries, according to the probable cause statement.

    Authorities removed Tolson’s girlfriend, identified as Deja Perkins by KCTV-TV, from the Jeep, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Perkins’ and Tolson’s 2-year-old daughter was reportedly ejected from the vehicle. Officials found her north of the Jeep in the grass and also pronounced her dead at the scene, the probable cause statement said.

    The driver of the Honda reportedly stated that she was driving home when she went through the intersection. She told officials she heard a loud “boom” and “saw a vehicle overturning to her right” before she was hit.

    According to the probable cause statement, another witness at the scene was behind the wheel of a Penske Ford 350 van when the blue Dodge Challenger collided with it. The witness said the Dodge Challenger seemed to be racing with the Jeep.

    Tolson reportedly informed detectives that he had been driving his girlfriend, daughter, and stepdaughter to spend time pumpkin picking. Approximately one hour before the accident, he dropped his stepdaughter off at her father’s home.

    Tolson, his girlfriend, and daughter then allegedly came across a Chrysler 300 with tinted windows and no license plate in the area of Blue Ridge Boulevard and Bannister Road.

    Tolson said the driver of the Chrysler “revved” the engine at an intersection. When the light turned green, Tolson allegedly “felt the Chrysler was pacing him and sitting too close to him.”

    Tolson reportedly accelerated to around 60 or 65 mph in an attempt to flee the Chrysler. He was uncertain whether the Chrysler had collided with his Jeep. Then, Tolson recalled the Jeep suddenly flipping over, the probable cause statement said.

    Tolson reportedly admitted to authorities that he did drive through a red light before the fatal crash. He added that he believed everyone was properly secured, but his daughter “tends to undo” her seatbelt at times, according to the probable cause statement.

    Officials found a loaded firearm and a backpack with marijuana and scales in a field near the Jeep. Tolson admitted they were his and that he smoked marijuana recreationally.

    Tolson remains held on $500,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing, and other charges are possible.

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  • Fact Check: U.S. aid to Israel: What to know

    President Joe Biden is planning to ask Congress for more money to support Israel’s military response to the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis.

    “My administration has been in close touch with your leadership from the first moments of this attack, and we are going to make sure you have what you need to protect your people, to defend your nation,” Biden said Oct. 18 during a visit to Tel Aviv.

    The White House hasn’t produced a formal proposal yet, which could also include money for Ukraine as it continues its defense against a Russian invasion.

    How does U.S. aid to Israel generally compare with aid to other countries? Here’s a closer look.

    Israel has consistently received more U.S. aid than any other country. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has cumulatively provided Israel with almost $318 billion in aid of all types, including military, economic and humanitarian.

    That’s about 70% more than the second- and third-place recipients: Vietnam (because of the Vietnam War) and Egypt (to bolster regional security after Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1979).

    Earlier in its history, Israel, which was established as a state in 1948, received significant economic and humanitarian aid along with military aid. However, as Israel has become wealthier, the U.S. has dramatically reduced its economic and humanitarian aid, while continuing its military aid.

    The U.S. has given Israel $3 billion to $4 billion a year in military aid during the past decade and a half.

    This spending was outlined in a 10-year, $38 billion memorandum of understanding the two countries signed in 2016. The memorandum cited several priorities, including updating the Israeli air fleet and maintaining the country’s missile defense system. Similar memorandums were signed under the George W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations.

    If the new U.S. aid package sends $10 billion to Israel, that will be three times the average annual amount of U.S. military aid to Israel over the past decade and a half. 

    In context, the amount of military aid sent to Israel every year is less than one half of 1% of the total U.S. defense budget.

    Although military aid to Israel has been consistently high, aid to Ukraine has lapped it, following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

    Combining military, economic, and humanitarian aid, the U.S. gave Ukraine nearly $78 billion in 2022; about $46.8 billion was military aid. That’s significantly larger than the U.S. aid to Israel.

    Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said the new aid would likely help Israel replace military equipment and munitions. It might also include funds that Israel can use to rebuild its military after the war, or to repair damaged buildings and infrastructure, Cancian said.

    Whether the U.S. will send aid to boost Israel’s economy remains uncertain.



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  • Father arrested after son's body is dumped on the side of Texas Interstate

    CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas (TCD) — Two men, including the father of the victim, are in custody after officials discovered a body near an interstate last week.

    According to a news release from the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, on Friday, Oct. 13, at around 9 a.m., detectives were called to the 807 mile marker westbound on Interstate 10 and found a male victim’s body. Investigators suspected foul play.

    The Sheriff’s Office positively identified the victim as 29-year-old Romeo Jimerson on Monday, Oct. 16. That night, detectives pursued potential leads and interviewed individuals who had recently interacted with Jimerson.

    The next day, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office presented evidence to the Chambers County District Attorney, pointing to two primary suspects: Cobin Rocio, the father of the victim, and Melvin Carraway, an acquaintance of the victim and father.

    The District Attorney’s Office charged Carraway and Rocio with tampering with evidence –– human corpse.

    Officials apprehended Rocio and Carraway without incident and booked them into the Chambers County Jail on bonds of $750,000 each.

    The investigation is ongoing, and upgraded charges are expected.

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  • Fact Check: Netanyahu no dijo que lanzará una bomba nuclear en Gaza, los subtítulos de este video son falsos

    Un video en Facebook muestra al primer ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, hablando en hebreo, y según los subtítulos en español, él dijo que Israel va a lanzar una bomba nuclear a Gaza.

    Eso es falso.

    “Hace unos minutos he tomado la decisión de armar nuestra primera bomba nuclear, dentro de 48 horas el mundo sabrá porque somos una nación intocable. Les pido perdón a nuestros ciudadanos que se verán afectados en 48 horas, la franja de Gaza desaparecerá para siempre”, dicen los subtítulos en la publicación del 11 de octubre. 

    La publicación fue marcada como parte del esfuerzo de Meta para combatir las noticias falsas y la desinformación en su plataforma. (Lea más sobre nuestra colaboración con Meta, propietaria de Facebook e Instagram).

    El 7 de octubre, Netanyahu habló sobre el ataque de Hamas contra Israel, cómo Israel se va defender, y agradeció a soldados israelíes, médicos y al Presidente Joe Biden por su ayuda. 

    El video en Facebook muestra solo 38 segundos del discurso que duró más de 4 minutos.

    PolitiFact encontró el discurso en YouTube en el canal del primer ministro. Usando los subtítulos y la transcripción en inglés proveídos por YouTube, analizamos lo que Netanyahu dijo. PolitiFact también usó Google Translate Voice para verificar si lo que él dijo en el video en Facebook concordaba con en el video original. Netanyahu no dijo que iba a lanzar una bomba nuclear a Gaza. 

    Esto es lo que él dijo en el video en Facebook (minutos 0:25 a 1:03 en el discurso completo): 

    “Hoy es un día muy difícil para todos nosotros. Hamas quiere asesinarnos a todos. Es un enemigo que asesina a niños y madres en sus casas, en sus camas, un enemigo que secuestra a ancianos, niños y mujeres jóvenes, que asesina y masacra a nuestros ciudadanos, incluidos niños, que simplemente salieron a disfrutar del día festivo”.

    Él añadió: “Lo que ocurrió hoy en Israel no tiene precedentes y me aseguraré de que no suceda de nuevo. Todo el gobierno está detrás de esta decisión”.

    Un vocero del ministro de relaciones exteriores de Israel le confirmó a The Associated Press que la traducción en los subtítulos del video en Facebook es “falsa”.

    PolitiFact tampoco encontró ningún reporte verídico que diga que Israel lanzó o planea lanzar una bomba nuclear a Gaza. 

    Calificamos la declaración de que Netanyahu dijo que lanzará una bomba nuclear a Gaza como Falsa. 

    Lea más reportes de PolitiFact en Español aquí.

    __________________________________________________________________________

    Debido a limitaciones técnicas, partes de nuestra página web aparecen en inglés. Estamos trabajando en mejorar la presentación.



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  • N.C. man found dead near empty home was reportedly mistaken for a Halloween decoration

    CHINA GROVE, N.C. (TCD) — A 34-year-old man was found dead at a vacant property after a groundskeeper reportedly mowed the lawn around his body because he allegedly assumed the victim was a Halloween decoration.

    According to WBTV-TV, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, China Grove Police Department officers went to a home on Shue Road after receiving a call about the discovery of a body. China Grove Police Chief Andrew Deal reportedly said in a statement, “At this time, there is no sign of foul play, but the case is being investigated as suspicious.”

    NBC News reports police positively identified the man as Robert Paul Owens. Police said a groundskeeper was mowing the lawn near an abandoned cabin Monday, Oct. 9, and saw the body. The groundskeeper reportedly mowed around Owens because he allegedly thought Owens’ corpse was “a fake dummy used for training” by law enforcement officials who used the property.

    Then, the next day, a construction worker reportedly discovered Owens’ remains and contacted police.

    Owens’ sister, Haley Shue, told NBC News the construction worker found him “face down in his underwear and socks with one arm under him, one arm out.”

    The construction worker reportedly told Shue the groundskeeper thought Owens “was Halloween décor or a mannequin and I guess he took it upon himself to assume that and not verify and mowed the entire property.”

    Owens reportedly last made contact with his family Oct. 8. He spent time with a friend and then reportedly got a ride back to his grandmother’s house on Shue Road. He left later to see another friend but never returned.

    According to NBC News, China Grove Police informed Owens’ family he did not die from a gunshot wound, though they did not elaborate on his cause of death or where on the property his body was found.

    Shue told NBC News, “That’s something we have to live with, knowing no family ever identified him. No family got to say any final goodbyes to him.”

    She shared with WJZY-TV that her kids “love him” and that he recently purchased a jacket for her son.

    “He didn’t even have a chance to give it to him,” Shue said. “We want answers.”

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