(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 10 things you need to know this Thursday – March 17, 2022

Jussie Smollett Ordered Released From Jail After Serving Less Than A Week Of 5 Month Sentence Pending Appeal – Convicted felon Jussie Smollett was ordered to be released from jail on Wednesday pending appeal of his 150-day sentence that went into effect last week for staging a hate crime hoax against himself and lying to law enforcement about it.“The one-page order issued by the Illinois Appellate Court on Wednesday afternoon stated that Smollett was to be released from the Cook County Jail after signing a $150,000 recognizance bond, which would not require him to post any money,” the Chicago Tribune reported. “The only explanation offered in the order was that Smollett has never been convicted of a violent offense and would have completed his sentence of incarceration well before his appeal is decided.” – READ MORE

Biden mocked over sexual exploitation comment that Twitter users link to Hunter Biden – President Biden was mocked on social media after saying that he bets “everybody knows” someone who has been involved in sexual exploitation online.“We established a new civil rights cause of action for those whose intimate images are shared on the public screen,” Biden said during remarks to the press on Wednesday. “I bet everybody knows somebody somewhere along the line that in an intimate relationship, what happened was the guy takes a revealing picture of his naked friend, or whatever, in a compromising position and then literally in a sense mortifies that person. Sends it out. Put it online.” – READ MORE

New York Rangers fans boo Gov. Hochul’s introduction on women’s empowerment night – Rangers fans booed Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as she was introduced for a ceremonial puck drop on women’s empowerment night.“NY Rangers fans are ready to FIRE Kathy Hochul and are ALL IN to Save Our State! Losing is not an option,” Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is also running for governor, said on Twitter. – READ MORE

New York comptroller audit concludes Cuomo admin undercounted COVID nursing home deaths – An audit released on Tuesday by the New York State government concluded that the administration of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to accurately account for the number of New Yorkers who died from the coronavirus in nursing homes.According to an audit released Tuesday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Cuomo’s Health Department failed to account for 4,100 nursing home deaths and undercounted the coronavirus death toll in nursing homes by as much as 50% from April 2020 to February 2021. – READ MORE

Defense Stocks ‘Outperform’ After Russian Invasion of Ukraine – Defense stocks have outperformed the market in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a recently published Bank of America global research report.“The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has ensured investors of a rising defense budget and triggered the recent outperformance of defense names related to the S&P500,” said the March 7, 2022, report by research analysts at Bank of America Securities and Merrill Lynch. – READ MORE

Ukraine’s Corn Harvest May Plunge By A Third, Estimates Show – Black Sea research firm SovEcon reports that Ukraine, one of the world’s top grains exporters, will experience dramatic output declines in the 2022 harvest year due to the Russian invasion.Ukraine’s main agricultural export products are corn and wheat. Before the invasion, Ukraine was the second-largest supplier of grains for the European Union and one of the largest suppliers for emerging markets in Asia and Africa. Breaking down the numbers, Ukraine produced 49.6% of global sunflower oil, 10% of global wheat, 12.6% of global barley, and 15.3% of global maize. – READ MORE

“Guilty Until Proven Innocent” – Biden Signs New Backdoor Gun Control Into Law –President Biden has signed a $1.5 Trillion spending bill that sends $13.6 Billion to Ukraine and funds the Government until September. The bill itself passed the Senate with a bipartisan 68-31 vote.As we’ve reported before, the Biden administration’s only way to pass gun control at all is by backdoor means. So, of course, they’ve hidden gun control in a massive spending bill designed to fund the Government. Hidden within this 3000-page bill were two significant pieces of gun control. – READ MORE

Snitches Get Riches From the FBI – Snitches have a new way to make money in Charlotte, North Carolina. By texting the FBI and tattling on people that have illegal cash, informants can make up to 25 percent of the money seized, according to an FBI news release. Jilted lovers, jealous friends, and nosy neighbors can now score big. The good news for anyone tempted by the offer is that federal law makes asset confiscation far too easy.By using civil forfeiture, law enforcement agencies can take cash, cars, and other assets without convicting anyone of wrongdoing. The government doesn’t have to make an arrest, develop a theory about a specific crime, or even witness illegal behavior. Agents can bypass the criminal courtroom altogether. – READ MORE