Opponents of capital punishment had urged the president to commute death row sentences before Donald Trump — who promised to restart federal executions — takes
Three U.S.-Israeli citizens believed to still be alive remain hostage in Gaza
, including 36-year-old Sagui Dekel-Chen.
“This is an American problem, and so far, the Biden administration
, despite its best efforts, has not been able to get them home,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father, told The Daily Signal.
It has been over 14 months since Hamas terrorists entered the kibbutz where the Dekel-Chen family lived and took Sagui Dekel-Chen hostage during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack
on Israel that left 1,200 people dead. His pregnant wife and two young daughters miraculously survived the attack on their kibbutz, located less than a mile from the border of Gaza. Jonathan Dekel-Chen, 61, was traveling in America at the time of the attack.
The father has dedicated most of his time over the past year advocating for his son’s freedom and the release of all of the other, now about 100, hostages who remain in Gaza.
“I’m doing everything that I can to get him back to his wife and three daughters,” the father said of his son. Sagui Dekel-Chen has not yet met his youngest daughter, who was born two months after he was taken hostage.
www.kidnappedfromisrael.com
Negotiations over a deal to release the hostages
have been stalled numerous times, but talks continue.
“We are hopeful that now, together with the Trump administration and, you know, after a clear statement from the president-elect about what his expectations are for return of all the hostages, we are hopeful that there will be real movement—all of the hostages come home, and that there is a ceasefire in Gaza
,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen said.
In early December, President-elect Donald Trump issued a clear statement on Truth Social, warning that “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity” if the hostages are not released by the time he is sworn into office on Jan. 20.
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,” Trump wrote, adding, “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
“I would say all of the hostage families, and I would say almost all Israelis, were incredibly appreciative of that clear statement from the president-elect,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen said.
In addition to Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israel-American hostages
Edan Alexander, 20, and Keith Siegel, 65, are believed to be alive in Gaza.
The other four hostages—Omer Neutra
, Itay Chen, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Gad Haggai—are confirmed deceased, but it is believed that their bodies are still in Gaza.
“We need to create a situation where no one will dare abduct American citizens moving into the future,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen said. “And we must, as Americans, ensure that terror, this kind of terror—mass murder, mass rape, mass hostage-taking, mass looting—does not win. The way that [the terrorists] do not win is by making them return all the hostages.”
Olivia Cosme
and RedHawks win five straight after back-to-back losses to McAuley and Marian.
6. Lockport 13-2 (4)
Porters lose pair of games after winning 13 straight, but Lucy Hynes
continues to shine.
7. Stagg 9-3 (7)
Shannon Earley
and Chargers will try to defend title in stacked Hillcrest Holiday Classic.
8. Shepard 5-3 (8)
Long layoff for Jessica Manley
and Astros ends Thursday at Hillcrest Holiday Classic.
9. Lincoln-Way East 9-5 (NR)
After runner-up finish at Marian, Alaina Vargas
and Griffins defend title at Sandburg.
10. T.F. North 8-4 (10)
Lauryn Jackson
tallies 16 points and 16 rebounds against Hammond Morton.
Player of the Week
Sophomore forward Lily Porter
scores 18 points for Marist against Lincoln-Way Central in a nonconference game and is named MVP of the Oak Lawn Holiday Tournament.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Over his long and storied career, Joe Biden has consistently led with compassion, empathy, and a willingness to consider new information and changed circumstances in furtherance of America’s best interests. All of these defining qualities were manifest when he took the historic action of commuting the death sentences of nearly everyone
on federal death row to life in prison.
With this courageous action, President Biden has lived up to his promise as the first president to openly oppose capital punishment and secured his legacy as a champion of racial justice, compassion, and fairness.
We have seen stark evidence of the many reasons why capital punishment is an inherently flawed system and a failed public policy. Two recent state cases provide examples — that of Marcellus Williams, who was executed in Missouri
despite the opposition of the victim’s family (who supported a life sentence) and the prosecuting attorney’s grave doubts about his guilt, and Robert Roberson
, whose case in Texas remains tangled in both litigation and politics despite overwhelming evidence that his case involved no actual crime.
President Biden has shown clear moral leadership by commuting these 37 federal death sentences. Not only does this action effectively fulfill his 2020 promise to end the death penalty at the federal level, it should also serve as a model and an incentive for state leaders to follow suit..
Indeed, contrary to popular misconception, the federal death penalty has been just as arbitrary, unfair, and excessive as we see in the states. In particular, it is marred by the same stark racial disparities. Before the president’s commutations, a majority of those on federal death row were people of color. Just as in the states, federal defendants in cases with white victims have been more likely to receive death sentences.
Those whose sentences were commuted included Black men who were convicted by all-white juries. Especially in cases where the crime occurred in a city, the mere fact of federal prosecution has had a demonstrated “bleaching” effect on the jury pool, which is drawn from a majority-white federal district instead of the more diverse county where a crime took place. The president’s commutations are an important recognition of and step towards remedying this systemic racial discrimination.
Several had significant claims that their convictions or sentences were infected by prosecutorial misconduct, racial bias, the use of flawed forensic evidence or ineffective defense counsel. Many of these people never had their claims heard in court.
Lower courts entered a total of 22 stays in these 13 cases — a stunning number, based on determinations that further review was needed before executions could proceed. Every one of those stays was lifted, mostly by the Supreme Court. Many of the prisoners sought clemency from then-President Trump.
Victims’ family members, trial judges, prosecutors, jurors, faith leaders, mental health and disability advocates, correctional officers, and others urged Trump to stop these executions, but he did not grant any of the prisoners’ clemency requests.
During his time in office, Biden has taken a different approach to justice, pursuing policies that make Americans safer, not just those rooted in “tough on crime” rhetoric. His Justice Department imposed a moratorium on executions
and has exercised restraint in capital prosecutions, seeking death sentences only in a small number of extreme cases. In fact, under the Justice Department’s current standards, it would today seek the death penalty for almost none of the men who were on federal death row.
By now commuting nearly all federal death sentences to life in prison, these measures cannot be quickly reversed by the incoming Trump administration. Those still on federal death row are still pursuing appeals, making it virtually impossible that we would see another horrifying spate of federal executions any time soon.
President Biden’s death row commutations will also bring important collateral benefits. The significant public funds that have been devoted to prosecuting capital cases and maintaining death row can be reallocated to evidence-based community violence prevention programs and, in particular, to the kinds of trauma-informed services that so many families find it difficult or impossible to access when they have lost loved ones to homicide.
The president has exercised his constitutional power to make a historic and courageous decision to move this country towards justice and humanity. I commend him for doing so.
Russ Feingold served Wisconsin in the United States Senate from 1993 to 2011. He is the president of the American Constitution Society.
The Prime Minister of Greenland has rejected a strange proposal from Donald Trump, who argued that the United States should take over the territory.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede said in a statement
in response.
The rejection occurred after Trump announced the appointment of Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark. Howery, who was a part
of a group of wealthy former PayPal executives including Elon Musk, funded the pro-Trump super PAC America PAC that spent millions to elect Trump.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,”
Trump wrote on Truth Social
.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and has been making strides
toward self-government over the last decade and a half. Most of the territory’s population
of nearly 56,000 people is of Inuit descent
.
Trump has been fixated on taking over Greenland for years despite it being an issue that most Americans have neither heard of nor thought about. According to
multiple reports, Trump suggested to aides that the United States trade Puerto Rico for Greenland during his first term.
“I love maps. And I always said: ‘Look at the size of this. It’s massive. That should be part of the United States,’” Trump reportedly said, justifying his obsession.
The clash with Greenland’s government echoes acrimonious exchanges Trump has had with several other governments, including in Mexico
, Canada
, and Panama
. In contrast, Trump has shown openness toward traditional U.S. adversaries
like Russia
and North Korea
.
Even before being sworn in as president, Trump has been returning to his destructive brand of foreign policy after outgoing President Joe Biden worked to repair alliances.
President-elect Donald Trump is set to speak Sunday at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, billed as “the largest celebration of our constitutional rights and freedoms.”
Mike Lencioni of Geneva and his wife Katie elected to get the last weekend before Christmas off to a fun start by taking a trip to the Vaughan Athletic Center in Aurora for a dive into the world of the famous children’s author Dr. Seuss.
“Our son Josh is 3 years old and is obsessed with the Grinch,” Mike Lencioni said during a Fox Valley Park District program at the center offering kids the chance to meet the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who, two characters made famous in Seuss’ story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”
“We watch the Grinch movies the entire year. It can be July and 90 degrees and we’re still watching the Grinch and he wears his Grinch pajamas pretty much every night,” Lencioni said.
Beginning at 10 a.m., more than 100 kids and parents descended on the Fox Valley Park District facility at 2121 W. Indian Trail Road for the holiday event, which included treats like Christmas cocoa and cookies as well as story time, singing, crafts and a special edition of “Whoville Bingo.”
Vaughan Athletic Center Recreational Supervisor Joanne Lamb said this was the second year the themed event has been offered.
“We had over 110 registered two days before the event and are taking people right up to the opening,” Lamb said before the event. “As far as the theme with the Grinch and Cindy Lou, I think it’s kind of neat. It’s just kind of a tradition. Parents were part of this and maybe a little bit of the fear of the Grinch has been passed on to their children. With the movies that have come out before – the animated movies keep the holiday spirit alive. It’s one of those things that has become part of the culture and a tradition passed down.”
Lamb said the event dubbed “Holiday Fun with the Grinch and Cindy Lou” included photo opportunities with the characters as well as “a couple of other stations.”
“We have bounce houses for the kids to jump around and get some of their holiday excitement out as well as two craft tables for two separate crafts including an ornament for hanging on a tree and a handprint project kids can bring home,” Lamb said.
Rick Karch and his wife Brandi of Aurora brought their son Ricky, who is just 6 months old, to the holiday event.
“My wife Brandi wanted to make sure we had pictures of him with the Grinch,” Rick Karch explained. “First, he saw Santa but now he has to seen the mean, green guy. He’s not afraid of the Grinch and he never will be.”
Karch said the story of the Grinch continues to resonate after so many years “because it offers a different side to Christmas.”
“You’ve got Santa and all that stuff but the Grinch has been a household staple for some time from my parents to me” and then on to his son, he said.
Jessica Figueroa of Aurora and her children Anthony, 9, and Isabella, 5, came to the Vaughan Athletic Center in Aurora Saturday morning to meet the Dr. Seuss characters the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who. (David Sharos / For The Beacon-News)
Jessica Figueroa of Aurora said she brought some Grinch fans with her to the event including her children Anthony, 9, and Isabella, 5.
“They both watch the movies,” she said. “This is a nice family activity.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
There is no one factor that causes autism — or explains its growing prevalence. Researchers are seeking explanations for the surge. Here are some possibilities.
