Category: US

Evangelicals across the country rally in prayer, support for Israel as war-torn US ally fights back

October 13, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

As Israel grieves and responds to the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas terrorists, some of the Jewish state’s strongest allies in the west – evangelical Christians – are leaning in to offer support. 

Faith-based activism groups, like Christians United for Israel (CUFI) and Concerned Women for America (CWA) have long-emphasized a need for a pro-Israel posture both geopolitically and culturally. Following the devastating attacks on Oct. 7, they are moving into action. 

CUFI, whose stated mission is a “movement designed to unify Christians across all denominational and cultural boundaries in support of Israel,” has already donated $1 million to first responders, hospitals and others on the ground in Israel providing life-saving care to the victims. 

CUFI, “the foremost Christian organization educating and empowering millions of Americans to speak and act with one voice in defense of Israel and the Jewish people,” has also opened a fund welcoming it’s over 10 million members to donate, where 100% of the funds will go towards those giving life saving care in Israel.

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“CUFI’s diversity across political, ethnic, generational, and denominational lines maximizes our impact in communities, in the media, on campus, and in our nation’s capital. CUFI is committed to confronting indifference and combating antisemitism in all its forms wherever it may be found,” its website states. 

CWA, the largest public policy women’s organization, names “support for Israel” as one of its “seven core issues.” 

“The Abrahamic Covenant between God and the Jewish people giving them their land rights is unconditional and everlasting,” the organization states in a guiding principles document, listing several Biblical passages that support this thesis. 

While anti-Israel student groups in colleges across the country have caught severe criticism for statements supporting Hamas’ attacks as “Palestinians resisting occupations,” CWA’s college chapter activists “jumped into action” to support the war-torn country. 

“Our leaders have shared prayer points, resources, and support on social media. YWA hosted a prayer call for Israel on Tuesday afternoon, where multiple leaders prayed,” Young Women for America (YWA) said in a statement Tuesday. 

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“In a time where we are seeing vile anti-Israel protests on college campuses, our YWA leaders are standing in the gap for Israel,” the statement reads. 

As part of its lobbying work, CWA advocates for stronger U.S.-Israel relations. CWO Penny Nancy on Thursday put the screws to the Biden administration following the attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis and 27 Americans. 

“The attacks on Israel, the torture of children, the rape of women, maiming, kidnapping, and mayhem in the streets can be partially laid at the front door of President Joe Biden and his leftist enablers who thought it made perfect sense to reverse the Trump policies on sanctions against Iran,” Nance said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of The Congress of Christians Leaders and a former two-time U.S. Commission International Religious Freedom commissioner, said “Christians, especially evangelicals,should be leading the way” in support for Israel.

“This is a moment that requires total moral clarity and every human being, regardless of their faith or nationality, should be standing with the State of Israel in the face of this evil act of terror and Christians, especially evangelicals, should be leading the way,” Moore told Fox News Digital.

“Every time a terrorist calls for a day of rage then we shall call for a day of prayer. Every time an antisemite spews hate then we shall express our solidarity with the Jewish community. They call for rage. We call for prayer. They spew hate. We spread love. Our community proudly stands with Israel against this evil and that fact is as guaranteed as the fact that the sun will rise again tomorrow,” he said.

More shared in a post on X, formerly twitter, snapshots of churches from Texas, Georgia, New York & New Mexico praying for Israel of the weekend. 

“Throughout the weekend, countless millions of Christians in churches all over the world prayed for Israel. They promised to stand with Israel,” Moore said.

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Moore also criticized the liberal World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) for its statement following the attack, which failed to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and called for “de-escalation” on the part of the Israeli government, among other things. 

“This statement from the mainly irrelevant World Evangelical Alliance is not only an embarrassment but it does not reflect the views of most (almost all) Evangelicals,” Moore said. 

“We all pray for and pursue every effort for a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis. I personally spend so much of my life in pursuit of peace in the Middle East, and I believe we will eventually achieve it. But terrorists are not peace partners. Hamas is ISIS. They love death & they hate peace. This was no time to play both sides,” Moore stated on X. 

 

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Florida-bound airliner returns to Panama after bomb threat

October 13, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

A Copa airline flight bound for Tampa, Florida, returned to Panama City’s international airport Friday following a bomb threat, the country’s civil aviation authority said.

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The Boeing 737-800 landed at Tocumen International Airport at around 11 a.m. local time and moved to an isolated stretch of the tarmac, where 144 passengers were taken off the plane, Panama’s Civil Aeronautics Authority said on the social media platform X.

An anti-explosives team began inspecting the aircraft.

 

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Browns QB Deshaun Watson ruled out for second consecutive game due to shoulder injury

October 13, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

Deshaun Watson will be on the sidelines during the Cleveland Browns game against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Watson injured his shoulder on a running play during a win over the Titans in Week 3.

The Browns officially ruled the quarterback out for this weekend’s game due to a bruised rotator cuff. September 22 marked the most recent date that Watson was able to practice fully. 

He has since practiced on a limited basis, but he was expected play in Week 4 against the Ravens. Watson was medically cleared before kickoff, but he experienced some throwing issues during a pregame workout. He ultimately sat out for the game against Baltimore.

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Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson stepped in for Watson but largely struggled. The fifth round draft pick finished the game with 121 passing yards and three inceptions in the loss to the Ravens.

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Browns coach Kevin Stefanski initially said it was Watson’s decision not to play in Week 4, but general manager Andrew Berry later clarified that the decision was made mutually by the quarterback and the team.

Because of the mixed messaging, Watson has been criticized in some circles for not playing with what seems like a minor injury.

Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, though, said it’s unfair to judge Watson without knowing the extent of his injury.

“I would never, ever, ever doubt his toughness,” Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “I’ve seen him play. I’ve seen him do some amazing things, fight through things. That is not the issue at all whatsoever. If I’m a running back, and I can’t run full speed, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make it.”

The Browns had a bye-week in Week 5, and the team likely hoped the extra time would allow Watson to make his way back to the football field for the matchup against the Niners. The three-time Pro Bowler has thrown for 678 yards with four touchdowns, against two interceptions.

Watson’s on-field performance has largely been disappointment since he signed an unprecedented five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract. Cleveland has failed to score more than 27 points with Watson under center, and has scored 14 or fewer points in four of the quarterback’s nine games.

The Browns elevated former Carolina Panthers quarterback P.J. Walker from the practice squad. Thompson-Robinson will back up Walker in Sunday’s game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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Watchdog demands ethics office investigate Jamaal Bowman’s fire alarm stunt: ‘Intentional act’

October 13, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

A government watchdog group is calling for an investigation into Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., infamously pulling a fire alarm in a congressional office building, which Republicans believe was intended to disrupt a budget vote.

On Friday, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) demanded the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) open an inquiry into his actions in a complaint that also called for a probe into whether Bowman abused government resources for political purposes through his social media accounts.

“Rep. Bowman’s continued abuse of official resources shows a complete disregard for federal law and House Ethics Rules, and it is frustrating for the American public to see this go on without repercussion,” FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold said. “In light of our previous complaint, there is simply no credible claim that he doesn’t know the rules that govern social media usage, which shows he’s intentionally not following them.”

“Furthermore, his disruption of official proceedings by pulling the fire alarm warrant further scrutiny by the OCE,” Arnold said. “The OCE has a duty to hold Members accountable to the law and ethics rules on behalf of the American public, and we encourage them to do so here.”

BOWMAN DEFENDS FIRE ALARM SCANDAL BY REPEATING TALKING POINT ABOUT BEING ‘IN A RUSH’ TO VOTE

Bowman activated the alarm in late September, ahead of a crucial House vote in one of the House of Representatives‘ office buildings, which triggered an evacuation. It occurred just after Republicans announced they would rush a stopgap spending bill known as a “continuing resolution” to the House floor.

Bowman claimed he pulled the fire alarm believing it would open a door he had been trying to exit through. He also asserted that he was not trying to delay a vote, which Republicans did not believe. 

“It’s very clear it was a fire alarm,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y,, said. “If you wanted to push the door open like he claims, perhaps an alarm would have gone off, but that’s not what he did. And also, there’s access to the Capitol through many different ways. It’s not just through the doors.”

FACT, likewise, believes that Bowman deliberately set off the fire alarm. 

“He simply cannot credibly claim he doesn’t know the difference between a fire alarm and an automatic door button, and it’s clear he did not pull the alarm for a legitimate reason,” FACT wrote in its complaint. 

“There is no question that he intentionally set off the fire alarm, regardless of whether his motive for doing so was to delay a vote or to use a door that was not permitted,” the group said. “For either motive it was an intentional act that violated House Ethics Rules, and his clear disregard for federal law and ethics rules as shown above must be considered when assessing his actions here.”

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FACT’s complaint also calls for the ethics office to probe what it says is a pattern of Bowman using official government resources for political purposes. According to the watchdog, Bowman has posted official content on his campaign social media account, violating ethics rules. 

“Since April, Bowman’s unethical use of government resources has not only continued but has grown even more egregious,” the complaint states. “First, he has continued to post official content on his campaign social media account but he has also attempted to portray his campaign social media account as an official account.”

“Moreover, on his campaign account, he has continued to regularly post official content, such as video of House floor proceedings,” the group later said.

Bowman’s posts “violating federal law and ethics rules are too numerous to include” in the complaint, FACT wrote.

Bowman’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

 

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4 Democratic centrists to McHenry: Let’s make a deal

October 13, 2023 Published by

Congress 

Four top centrist Democrats on Friday sent a pitch to Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry: Let’s get the House working again.

In a letter to McHenry that was obtained by POLITICO, Democrats told him they support giving him “temporary, expanded authorities” that would allow the House to take up the most urgent bills — namely, government funding plans.

Specifically, the Democrats are proposing to let McHenry bring up any emergency aid for Ukraine or Israel, a short-term bill that extends government funding through Jan. 11, or general consideration of fiscal 2024 spending bills. Those powers should be limited to 15-day increments, they proposed, with extensions possible if the House GOP continues to remain without a leader.

In exchange, the Democratic quartet suggested, their party would be allowed to fill up 50 percent of the House’s suspension calendar — which is reserved for noncontroversial bills and requires two-thirds votes for passage, not simple majorities.

The letter, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), is an olive branch to a sputtering House GOP that has reached its 10th day without a speaker. Republicans are actively discussing ways to empower McHenry to bring at least some bills to the floor, particularly related to government spending — though the idea has run into opposition among some conservatives.

Democrats could be the key to unlocking further powers, if the GOP chooses to take them up on the offer. The next government funding deadline is Nov. 17.

The letter’s other signatories were Reps. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine.). All four are leaders of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, whose members briefly discussed a possible way out of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s government funding bind last month.

In the end, McCarthy never opened the door to such cross-aisle talks, opting instead to pass a stopgap funding bill with more Democratic than Republican votes — then getting ejected from the speakership by eight frustrated critics in his own party alongside a united opposition party.

“In light of our nation’s pressing issues, a looming government shutdown, and the attacks on our key ally, Israel, we strongly support an immediate vote to expand the Speaker Pro Tempore’s authorities to allow for the consideration of a legislative agenda limited to the most pressing issues,” the centrist Democrats wrote in the letter.

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Will Temu kill Amazon? How the Chinese shopping app’s rapid growth could crack Amazon’s dominance

October 13, 2023 Published by

US Top News and Analysis 

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Will Temu kill Amazon? How the Chinese shopping app’s rapid growth could crack Amazon’s dominance

Temu appears unstoppable. Since the Chinese shopping app launched in the U.S. a year ago, it has become the number one e-commerce app in the country, with downloads skyrocketing 50x from 600,000 to 30 million in just one quarter, according to Bernstein analysts. In contrast, Amazon’s downloads have dropped off a cliff, falling 40% in a year. Known for wild discounts and dirt-cheap prices that severely undercut Amazon’s, Temu has ratcheted up its ad spend to infiltrate the American consumer, set to spend an estimate $2 billion in marketing in 2023. This week on Tech Check, we dive how Temu has hit Amazon’s weak spots to take the country by storm.
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What to make of the UAW’s shifting strike tactics after the latest escalation

October 13, 2023 Published by

US Top News and Analysis 

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United Auto Workers members strike the General Motors Lansing Delta Assembly Plant on September 29, 2023 in Lansing, Michigan. 
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images

DETROIT – A shift in strategy by the United Auto Workers union this week has some analysts wondering if the parties are — perhaps, counterintuitively — getting closer to a deal.

On Wednesday the union initiated a surprise work stoppage at Ford Motor’s Kentucky Truck Plant. The strike involves 8,700 workers and affects the most crucial plant, by far – responsible for $25 billion in revenue annually – that the union has walked out on since the strikes began Sept. 15. It’s expected to quickly have a ripple effect on other Ford plants and suppliers.

It also ushered in what UAW President Shawn Fain characterized as a “new phase” of strikes and contract negotiations with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler-parent Stellantis, giving the union the element of surprise to keep the automakers on edge during the ongoing negotiations, Fain told members in a Friday presentation.

“We’re entering a new phase of this fight and it demands a new approach,” Fain said Friday. “We’re done waiting until Fridays to escalate our strike.

“We are prepared at any time to call on more locals to stand up and walk out,” he said.

Until this week, Fain had announced all of the union’s new strikes on Fridays, during what has become a weekly livestreamed update for union members.

Some Wall Street analysts and industry experts think this week’s shift in strategy could be a sign that UAW leaders feel a deal with Ford is close, and that they’re increasing pressure as a tactic to get the deal over the finish line — and to help sell a potential tentative deal to their members.

“We continue to believe the escalation at [Ford] this week is a sign the talks may be coming to an end. KY Truck is likely Ford’s most profitable plant, and therefore the strike is the highest level of escalation, aside from a national strike,” Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan wrote in a Friday note. “This escalation would likely be done to push for final terms.”

But the UAW’s leaders may be looking one more step ahead, to the process of selling a tentative deal with Ford to their members. The thinking is that to convince members to ratify a potential new contract, UAW President Shawn Fain and the union’s leadership will need to convince autoworkers that the union has fought as hard as possible to have their demands met. Striking Ford’s most profitable factory might be one way to do that.

Wolfe Research’s Rod Lache argued the Kentucky strike may allow UAW leadership to claim that they did all that could be done, especially if it leads to one or two more concessions from Ford.

“In another week or two, Fain should be able to credibly announce that he has forced Ford into one last capitulation (battery plants?), and that UAW members have secured the last few ounces of wage, benefits, and job protection concessions that they can get,” Lache wrote Thursday to investors.

Factory workers and UAW union members form a picket line outside the Ford Motor Co. Kentucky Truck Plant in the early morning hours on October 12, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Luke Sharrett | Getty Images

Winning over workers

Only about 34,000 U.S. automakers with the companies, or roughly 23% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, are currently on strike.

“Hitting a very high-dollar, high-profitable plant, it certainly gets Ford’s attention very quickly,” said Art Wheaton, a labor professor at the Worker Institute at Cornell University. “It also sends a huge message to Stellantis and General Motors.”

Wheaton argues the escalation in Kentucky may just be the beginning. There are plenty more plants the union could hit for each of the automakers, including the full-size pickup truck plants owned by all three and large SUV plants at GM and Stellantis.

GM avoided a strike at its most profitable SUV plant in Texas last week with a last-minute offer to include battery cell plant workers under the company’s national agreement, however details regarding how that will be done are believed to be still being negotiated.

While Fain declined to expand strikes against GM and Stellantis Friday, Wells Fargo’s Langan thinks that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re spared.

“The lack of GM & STLA strike today, even though both have not matched F’s offer, would be consistent with the UAW holding out the most profitable plants for a final push,” he wrote in a Friday note.

Other outcomes?

All of that tea-leaf reading aside, rapid escalation-turned-resolution is just one potential outcome.

Another includes the automakers holding out for the union to deplete its resources, specifically its strike and defense fund. Or, the UAW could continue rotating strikes or filing additional unfair labor practice charges against the companies. Yet another outcome could see the sides seeking mediation or legal resources.

“I think they’ve got to be getting close to some sort of an agreement, or you just have to conclude a reasonable deal is not in the making — and that this is really more a matter of a test of will than anything else,” said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who specializes in labor issues.

An automaker also could submit what’s known as a “last, best and final offer,” which, as it states, is typically a final proposal when bargainers have reached an impasse.

Ford may be close to that point. An executive said Thursday the automaker was “at the limit” of what it can offer UAW in terms of economic concessions.

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UAW launches strike against Ford’s Kentucky truck plant, signaling major escalation in labor fight
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The Detroit automakers have largely given into many of the union’s demands, but not all of them.

The companies haven’t waved the white flag on demands for a 32-hour workweek — which was always a nonstarter for the companies and which has largely fallen out of union talking points — and a 40% wage increase.

Ford was up to a record 23% wage increase in its recent contract proposal, with the others not far behind.

Then there’s the outstanding issues of benefits for retirees as well as a return to traditional pension plans and future battery plant jobs and workers.

Industry experts and sources familiar with the talks believe regardless of the outcome, the contracts will have ripple effects on the companies potentially in the way of reorganizations, cost cuts and future investments and jobs.

A former high-ranking bargainer for one of the automakers told CNBC that it’s nearly guaranteed that the companies will cut union jobs through product allocation, plant closures or other means to offset increased labor costs once the contracts are set.

“They’re going to have to pay up. The question is how much,” said the longtime bargainer, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. “This ends up with fewer jobs. That’s how the automakers cut costs.”

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US Cities Bolster Security Ahead of Expected Mideast Protests

October 13, 2023 Published by

USA – Voice of America 

U.S. law enforcement agencies have escalated security measures to safeguard Jewish and Muslim communities ahead of global pro-Palestinian protests expected on Friday, but they urged members of the public to go about their daily routines.

Police in the two most populous U.S. cities — New York and Los Angeles — said they would step up patrols, especially around synagogues and Jewish community centers, although authorities insisted they were unaware of any specific or credible threats.

“There’s no reason to feel afraid. No one should feel they have to alter their normal lives,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a news briefing on Thursday.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his office had directed police to “surge additional resources to schools and houses of worship to ensure they are safe and that our city remains a place of peace.”

Adams said extra police patrols were being deployed in Jewish and Muslim communities alike.

Heightened U.S. security concerns, particularly over a possible flare-up of antisemitic and Islamophobic violence, have followed an attack last Saturday by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip on parts of southern Israel. In the deadliest Palestinian attack in Israel’s history, more than 1,300 Israelis were killed and scores were taken captive.

Heavy aerial bombardment of Gaza by Israeli armed forces in response has killed at least 1,799 people and 6,388 others wounded in the crowded Palestinian coastal enclave, according to health officials there.

Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal called for protests across the Muslim world on Friday in support of Palestinians.

Times Square protest expected

New York City officials said they were bracing for at least one major demonstration planned for Times Square on Friday.

“Every member of the New York Police Department will be ready and be in uniform tomorrow,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell told reporters. “We will not tolerate any hate, any acts of disorder; it will be quelled quickly, and we will be ready.”

Hochul said New York state’s National Guard had already been ordered to patrol vital transportation hubs.

Across the country, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement saying its officers would assume a higher profile around Jewish and Muslim communities “during this unimaginable time.”

In Washington, police erected fencing around the Capitol complex overnight. Tourists were being directed away from the building and kept on the sidewalk.

A rally supporting Israel and the American Jewish community was scheduled to take place in Washington’s Freedom Plaza at 12:15 p.m. Organizers said on Facebook that they were not aware of any credible threats and planned to hold the rally.

“Hamas wants to strike fear in the hearts of Jews worldwide and prevent us from going about our daily lives. We believe canceling our rally would send the wrong message,” the organizers said in a statement.

The organizers, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, said they were in contact with U.S. Park Police, which patrols the plaza.

Just to the north of Washington in Four Corners, Maryland, Montgomery Blair High School was placed on lockdown and students were moved to a secure location after a bomb threat on Friday morning, police said on social media.

Federal law enforcement agencies were also on alert.

“The FBI is aware of open-source reports about calls for global action on Friday, October 13th, that may lead to demonstrations in communities throughout the United States,” the agency said in a statement. “The FBI encourages members of the public to remain vigilant.”

Arab Americans fear discrimination

At least one Arab American advocacy group pointed to a more hostile posture taken by U.S. law enforcement toward Muslim groups than Jews.

The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee said on Thursday that FBI agents had paid visits to a number of mosques in different states and individual U.S. residents with Palestinian roots, calling it a “troubling trend.”

“We have received multiple calls today regarding Palestinian nationals detained by ICE, and/or visited by the FBI,” said the organization’s national executive director, Abed Ayoub.

Rabbi Yoni Fein, who heads a large Jewish day school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Brauser Maimonides Academy, said “higher alerts of operations are definitely in place” in anticipation of global protests on Friday.

He said the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other federal authorities had held online security sessions with Jewish institutions around the country.

But Fein said the school was seeking to reassure students they are safe and to go about their lives.

Rather than give in to the heightened anxiety that Fein acknowledged was gripping the Jewish community, he said, the academy’s message to its students and their families was to reassure them that “their homes are safe, their schools are safe and that their trusted adults are keeping them safe.”

Biden administration officials anticipated potential threats and have been working with state and local officials on prevention and awareness measures for days, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Friday.

“We’re on this. We’re vigilant. We’re watching this very, very closely,” Kirby said on CNN.

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[World] Man pleads guilty to stealing Wizard of Oz ruby slippers

October 13, 2023 Published by

BBC News world-us_and_canada 

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The slippers were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005 and recovered in 2018
By Sam Cabral
BBC News

A US man has pleaded guilty to a museum heist in which he stole a pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland’s character Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

Terry Jon Martin believed the rubies were real gems until a jewellery fence – someone who buys stolen goods – told him they were made of glass.

His attorney told the Associated Press his client, 76, was now in poor health and “facing his own mortality”.

The shoes are among only four authentic pairs that remain from the 1939 film.

Lead character Dorothy would click their heels three times and repeat “there’s no place like home” to return from the Land of Oz to her native Kansas.

With their ruby sequins and glass-bead bows, the stolen pair was one of several used by Garland while filming the musical.

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In 2005, the slippers were on loan to the Judy Garland Museum, in the late actress’ hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, from Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw.

Martin, from the nearby city of Duluth, took a sledgehammer to the museum’s emergency exit and lifted the item – which was insured at $1m (£824,000) – from its plexiglass-encased display pedestal, believing the rubies were real gems.

But when a stolen goods buyer informed him the rubies were not real, he “didn’t want anything to do with them”, Martin told a federal judge on Friday.

He was not publicly linked to the crime until 13 years later, when an FBI art crime team recovered the slippers in a sting operation after a man approached the insurer and said he could help get them back.

Federal prosecutors announced Martin’s indictment in May, adding that the current market value of the slippers stood at about $3.5m.

Local media footage showed the thief entering the federal courthouse in Duluth on Friday in a wheelchair, donning a paper mask and carrying an oxygen tank.

Ahead of the hearing, his attorney, Dane DeKrey, told the AP that Martin was in poor health and had been cooperative with him.

“I think Terry is facing his own mortality, and I think when people are reaching that point in their life, they cut through the pleasantries and talk turkey,” he said.

Martin – who has a previous conviction, in 1988, for receiving stolen goods – remains free until he is sentenced, although no date has yet been set.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommend eight to 10 years behind bars, his lawyer has said.

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