DeSantis focused on prosecuting Saudi Criminals (Terrorists) in Pensacola
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, along with Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, were on the ground at NAS Pensacola shortly after the shooting that killed 3 U.S. Navy sailors late last week.
All three men kept Americans up to speed about the aftermath of the mass shooting committed by a student naval flight officer from the Royal Saudi Air Force.
DeSantis came down hard on the Saudi government, saying that they were "going to owe a debt" in Florida because of the shooting.
President Trump and his administration have already called on an immediate review of the foreign national military training program, with Sen. Rick Scott calling for an immediate suspension of the program.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) was the first to call the shooting an act of terrorism, and now DeSantis says that he will put the full weight of his governorship to help law enforcement prosecute the "criminals" involved in the shooting.
Three other Saudi students stood by outside of the classroom where the shooting occurred and did nothing, with one of them filming it.
“DeSantis looks to bring naval base “criminals” to justice,” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) returned to Pensacola with First Lady Casey DeSantis, where he received the latest FBI briefing on Friday’s terrorist shooting at NAS Pensacola before heading over to Baptist Hospital to meet with the wounded.
Shortly after the shooting occurred, DeSantis held a press conference where he stated that the government of Saudi Arabia was going to “owe a debt here” because the act of terrorism was committed by someone under their employment.
“The government of Saudi Arabia needs to make things better for these victims, and I think they’re going to owe a debt here given that this is one of their individuals,” said DeSantis.
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PENSACOLA
“Trump says all foreign military training in U.S. under review after shooting” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – The mass shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Base is officially being investigated as an act of terrorism. 21-year-old 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, a student naval flight officer from the Royal Saudi Air Force, shot and killed 3 U.S. Navy personnel and wounded 8 others before responding police officers shot him dead. According to the Associated Press, federal officials said that Ashamrani hosted a dinner party a few days before where he and the invitees watched videos of past mass shootings. At the time of the shooting, all three of the students who went to the dinner party stayed outside of the classroom the shooting took place in. One of the students actually filmed the shooting, while the other two watched from the car.
“DeSantis looks to bring naval base “criminals” to justice” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) returned to Pensacola with First Lady Casey DeSantis, where he received the latest FBI briefing on Friday’s terrorist shooting at NAS Pensacola before heading over to Baptist Hospital to meet with the wounded. Shortly after the shooting occurred, DeSantis held a press conference where he stated that the government of Saudi Arabia was going to “owe a debt here” because the act of terrorism was committed by someone under their employment. “The government of Saudi Arabia needs to make things better for these victims, and I think they’re going to owe a debt here given that this is one of their individuals,” said DeSantis. On Sunday, DeSantis said that he would do whatever he could as governor to “assist law enforcement in bringing these criminals to justice.
“Rep. Waltz Fights for Clean Water in Florida” by The Floridian’s Daniel Molina – Among the hustle and bustle on Capitol Hill, Florida Rep. Michael Waltz (R) took some time out of his schedule to talk with The Floridian and discuss upcoming measures he’s looking to tackle before the year ends. “Important for Florida… clean water,” Waltz asserted, which is an issue that the freshman Rep. has largely focused on since winning his seat. In fact, he has spent most of the year fighting for environmentally friendly legislation. Waltz added that “Florida right now is 3rd from the bottom in terms of the federal funds we get for clean water. Yet, we’re 3rd from the top in terms of requirements, and… this is important like beach nourishment… algae blooms.”
“Pensacola Victims: Three Hopeful Men at the Dawn of Naval Careers” by New York Times’s Patricia Mazzei – Three young men, one of them not yet 20, recently arrived in the Florida Panhandle, fresh-faced and eager to pursue their dreams at the cradle of American naval aviation. Kaleb Watson was so driven that, at only 23 years old, he had already bought a house in the area and had mowed its lawn. Mohammed Haitham, 19, traveled back to his home down the coast to watch his kid brother play high school football. Cameron Walters, 21, graduated just a week and a half ago from boot camp, which he told loved ones he had actually enjoyed.
“Repulsed By Report Of Staff Raping Women At Florida Federal Prison, Rubio Demands Inquiry” by WLRN’s Devoun Cetoute & Carli Teproff – Shocked by a Miami Herald report detailing allegations of systemic sexual abuse of female inmates by male staff at a federal facility, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is urging the Bureau of Prisons to conduct a thorough review of Coleman Federal Correctional Complex. The Herald story “reveals that the environment at FCC Coleman has enabled systemic and pervasive sexual abuse and misuse of authority by BOP employees over a number of years,” he wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr. “These allegations are simply abhorrent, and I urge you to take immediate action to ensure such behavior is neither happening, nor tolerated, at FCC Coleman or any other BOP facility.” Last week, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of 14 woman, ranging in age from 30 to 56. The suit is seeking compensation and prison improvements. Seven of the woman, who are suing not as “Jane Does” but under their true names, are still incarcerated.
“Weston 12-Year-Old Girl Arrested For Threat Of Monday Deadly School Violence, BSO Says” by WLRN’s David Neal – A Snapchat post that included a “death list” of Falcon Cove Middle School students who the threat said would be killed on Monday resulted in the arrest of a 12-year-old Weston girl, Broward Sheriff’s Office announced Sunday. This isn’t the shooting threat made via text and email that kept Falcon Cove, Cypress Bay High School, Manatee Bay and Everglades elementary schools on lockdown much of Friday. That lockdown was lifted around 2 p.m. BSO said it learned of this threat Friday night from a Falcon Cove student and parent who saw it on Snapchat.
“Ford O’Connell announced congressional run in southwest Florida” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – As expected, the field of Republican congressional candidates looking to replace retiring Rep. Francis Rooney (R) continues to expand, as businessman Ford O’Connell has announced this candidacy in the race. O’Connell, a frequent contributor on Fox News, made the announcement early Monday morning after weeks of testing the waters, meeting with potential donors in the district. “I want to protect Southwest Florida from ‘The Swamp,’ and I want to fight for our district, our nation, and our President, Donald J. Trump,” said Ford O’Connell. “President Trump is our last hope for conservative governance for the foreseeable future in this country. This fight is bigger than all of us, and I will do what it takes to deliver for Southwest Florida.”
“Rep. Frankel doesn’t appeared concerned about GOP challengers” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – Rep. Lois Frankel (D) congressional seat is considered as “solid blue” seat, so she is expected to win in 2020. Rep. Frankel, who a big supporter of impeaching President Trump, crushed her Republican opponent in the 2016 presidential elections and ran unopposed in 2018, but 2020 could be different, or not? The field of Republican candidates vying to take on Frankel in the 2020 general election is 6 deep, but Rep. Frankel is not paying attention to them. Why would she? When we asked her about her potential general election challengers, Frankel said that she was not paying attention to the race, saying that she only heard of “some woman” who was “kicked off social media” as being one the Republican candidates.
Another feather in his cap...
“Huge 266k jobs surge in November” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – President Donald Trump is celebrating the massive surge in non-farm payroll jobs reported for November, and the drop in the unemployment rate. “GREAT JOBS REPORT!” stated Trump. Market analysts estimated that the November jobs numbers would come in at 187,000, but that count was shattered when the report stated that 266,000 jobs were created, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%. “Bottom line, America is working,” Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “These are very strong numbers. These are happy numbers, these are sunny Friday numbers.”
“Rubio warns China is the biggest threat the U.S. has ever faced” by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres – During an exclusive sit down interview with The Floridian in his Washington, D.C. office, Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) expressed the grave concern he has over the national security threat that China poses to American industries. Sen. Rubio, who is one of a few Senators privy to top-secret intelligence briefings, warned that the Chinese threat is “beyond any threat this country has ever faced” because of how expansive it was. Rubio believes that China feels cheated and humiliated out of its assumed rightful place at the top of the world economic food chain, and is actively trying to regain that top spot as the world’s most powerful country because they “view America as a power in decline. “It’s beyond any threat this country has ever faced because its multi-faceted, it’s not just your traditional government spying on government for secrets. It’s corporate. It’s stealing technology. It’s commercial espionage. It’s the most serious commercial espionage the country has ever faced, the serious technological espionage that we’ve ever faced, and among the most serious national security espionage that we’ve ever faced…”
“Court to Consider Bathroom Use by Transgender Student” by Associated Press – A student has the right to use the bathroom that corresponds to his gender identity, a lawyer told a federal court Thursday, arguing that the issue is about the right of transgender students to “equal dignity." But the Florida school district that's appealing a lower court order in favor of the transgender boy told three judges on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that they should overturn the ruling and let the school district restrict students to the bathroom matching their at-birth sex to protect the privacy of other students. The case involves Drew Adams, who has since graduated from Nease High School outside Jacksonville. Adams transitioned from a girl to a boy before his freshman year, and used the boys' room at the Ponte Vedra, Florida, school for a few weeks before several girls complained. Administrators barred him from the boys' restroom and instead steered him toward single-user gender neutral restrooms. A lower court last year overturned that policy after a bench trial, ordering the St. Johns County school district to let Adams use the boys' restroom.
“Rubio Deconstructs the Maduro Regime” by The Floridian’s Daniel Molina – Under the Trump administration, a large focus this year has been on the measures that should be taken in order to ensure that Venezuela is freed from the Maduro regime and turned into a democratic country. Earlier in the year, Juan Guaido incited hope in the people, but Maduro maintained that he would not be stepping down. Instead, the Venezuelan dictator doubled down on staying in power, and he also launched attacks at President Trump, who was among the first world leaders to express support of Juan Guaido. In an exclusive interview with Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), Rubio detailed to The Floridian the threat that Maduro poses to democracy across the world, and he also explained why it’s necessary to stop the spreading of the communist ideology that seems to have touched American soil. “Maduro will largely remain in power as long as the people in his regime that surround him calculate that they are better off with him than without him,” assured Rubio.
“Florida man faces prison for defying ‘red flag’ gun law” by Associated Press – A Florida man faces up to five years in prison for refusing to surrender his weapons to authorities under the state’s “red flag” law. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported on Friday that it took a Broward County jury less than an hour to find 33-year-old Jerron Smith guilty. He’s believed to be the first in Florida to be charged in defiance of the law, which went into effect after last year’s Parkland school shooting. Authorities say Smith refused to surrender his weapons to law enforcement officials in March 2018 following an incident in which Smith was accused of shooting at a car during an argument.
“Mike Huckabee files complaint against Florida lawyer who mocked him on Twitter” by Washington Examiner’s Ellie Bufkin – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has filed a Bar complaint against a lawyer in Florida who mocked him on Twitter. Huckabee and Daniel Uhlfelder have been at odds over beach access located near the former Republican presidential candidate's Florida home. Uhlfelder has posted several critical messages and shared political cartoons that depict Huckabee as being greedy and dishonest, including a suggestion that Huckabee's Secret Service code name should be changed to "beach thief." Citing the fact that Uhlfelder mentions his law practice in his Twitter profile, Huckabee, 64, filed the former complaint citing conduct unbecoming of an attorney. "He accused me of theft, a crime of moral turpitude," he said in the complaint. Huckabee also said that Uhlfelder was guilty of "vile and unprofessional attacks” and “repeatedly posting disparaging information about me."
“Florida congressman challenges Saudis on Pensacola shootings” by Politico’s Rishka Duglaya – Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said Sunday the deadly shooting at a Navy base in Florida should “inform our ongoing relationship with Saudi Arabia,” calling for an investigation with Saudi cooperation and for greater vetting of U.S.-based Saudi nationals and trainees. A Saudi aviation student training at Naval Air Station Pensacola shot three people to death on Friday and wounded at least eight others before he was killed by police. After the shooting, Gaetz, whose congressional district includes the naval base, called it an “act of terrorism.” Authorities have not confirmed that characterization.
“Supreme Court puts temporary hold on House subpoenas to banks for Trump's financial documents” by CNN’s Ariane de Vogue – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday put a temporary hold on House subpoenas requesting President Donald Trump's financial documents from two banks. In a brief order, Ginsburg said a lower court opinion that allowed the subpoenas to proceed would go on hold until December 13. Earlier in the day, Trump had asked the justices to freeze the subpoenas to give his personal lawyers more time to ask the Supreme Court to take up his appeal.
Ginsburg, who has jurisdiction over the lower court, likely acted to give her colleagues more time to consider Trump's request. She also instructed the House to respond to Trump's petition by Wednesday. Lawyers for Trump told the justices that the subpoenas are "extraordinarily broad" and that they raise "profound separation-of-powers concerns."
“Border apprehensions dropped in November for 6th consecutive month, per DHS data” by Fox News’s Adam Shaw – Law enforcement apprehended or turned away 42,649 migrants at the southern border in November, according to preliminary data reviewed by Fox News -- a sixth month of declines that the administration is hailing as proof that the set of policies and initiatives to combat the border crisis is working. The numbers (33,510 apprehended and 9,139 deemed inadmissible) represented a decline of roughly six percent since October, and a drop of over 70 percent since the height of the crisis in May, when more than 144,000 migrants were encountered. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data showed that the number of apprehensions of Central American family units has decreased by approximately 85 percent since May. The numbers were lower compared to the last fiscal year (FY) as well. So far in FY 2020, enforcement actions have been 29 percent lower than FY 2019 at this time.
RIP
The iconic voices of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch is now silent. Carroll Spinney, the long-time voice of the Sesame Street characters passed away in his Connecticut home.
@realDonaldTrump -Witch Hunt!
Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff - This is precisely the conduct the Founders were most concerned about when they provided the remedy of impeachment: A President abusing his power to seek foreign interference in our elections. And doing so in a way that poses a clear and present danger to our national security.
Ensign Joshua K. Watson
Airman Cameron Walters
Airman Mohammed Haitham
Remember these names. These brave men prevented the tragedy in Pensacola from being worse. They ran towards danger, not away from it. And they saved lives. They are heroes that were taken from us too soon.
Marco Rubio @marcorubio - Investigators worked through the night here in #Pensacola. It’s important we learn how & why this attack happened so we can fix any shortcomings in our vetting of foreign military trainees.
Because this is an important program for NAS Pensacola & America.
Rep. Ted Deutch @RepTedDeutch - We need answers about the shooter and how this shooting happened. The WH was quick to share Saudi condolences and condemnation. Now the President must require the Kingdom to give full and transparent cooperation with this investigation.
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell @RepDMP - Yesterday @realDonaldTrump mused about the idea of serving more than two terms. As an immigrant from Latin America, I’ve seen the dangers of lawless leaders. Here in the US, no one is above the law. It’s time the President read and abide by our Constitution. #DefendOurDemocracy
Rep. Matt Gaetz @RepMattGaetz - The military is not a feature of my community – it is the defining characteristic.
Ron DeSantis @GovRonDeSantis - When tragedy strikes, Floridians stand together. As Governor I will do all that I can to assist law enforcement in bringing these criminals to justice.
CFO Jimmy Patronis @Jimmypatronis - These young sailors died serving our country. Please join me in praying for their loved ones and our military community as we all grieve this heart-breaking loss.
Alex Andrade @RAlexAndradeFL -Amen @GovRonDeSantis , if you’re a coward who hates America, you shouldn’t be welcome on our bases.
Rep. Anna V. Eskamani @AnnaForFlorida -“The commander of his school did call me,” said his mother, herself a Navy veteran who now works for the Veterans’ Administration. “He told me my son did try to stop the shooter.”
Manny Diaz Jr. @SenMannyDiazJr - Today we honor those Americans who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor and those who led our nation through World War II – their sacrifices protected our freedom.
“4 Dead After Armed Robbers Hijack UPS Truck” by NPR’s Paola Zialcita – A pair of armed robbers and two others, including the driver of a hijacked UPS truck, were killed in an exchange of gunfire with South Florida police officers after the suspects led authorities on a high-speed chase. The robbers held up a jewelry store on Thursday before commandeering the UPS truck and holding its driver hostage, according to Coral Gables Police. After fleeing the scene and evading police for dozens of miles, the truck stopped in the middle of rush-hour traffic as armed officers surrounded it. "There was exchanged fire between law enforcement and the suspects, and unfortunately, the suspects are now deceased," George Piro, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami office, said. "But two additional innocent civilians were also deceased." The FBI identified the slain robbers and hijackers as Lamar Alexander, 41, and Ronnie Jerome Hill, 41, both of Miami-Dade County.
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