24 Australians Arrested For Starting Fires:  While climate activists and many in the media are, once again, pointing to a natural disaster, this time the Australian wildfires, as proof of man-caused climate change, two dozen Aussies have been arrested for setting fires during the country’s hot dry season.  Mark Osborne of ABC news reports that another 53 people are facing charges of violating safety laws during the dry season and another 47 have been cited for throwing lit cigarettes into the bush.

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Private Prison Group Sues CA:  A Florida corporation that runs private prisons is suing California in federal court for a recently enacted law banning new contracts and the opening of any new facilities.  The law, AB32 was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year whose office stated that private prisons “run contrary to our values.”  Joaquin Palomino of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the private prisons are used primarily to house illegal aliens convicted of federal crimes, although the reporter misidentifies them as “immigrants.”  In its lawsuit the GEO Group argues that the implementation of AB32 will “undermine and eliminate the congressionally funded and approved enforcement of federal criminal and immigration law.”  The author of the law, Alameda County Assemblyman Rob Bonita told reporters that the lawsuit was a “desperate attempt” initiated by “a collapsing industry in its final death throes.”  He was apparently unaware that a few weeks ago ICE signed four multimillion-dollar contracts with several private prison companies including GEO, to operate detention centers in illegal-immigrant-friendly California.

Violent Crime Up in NYC:  The Big Apple experienced a spike in shootings and homicides in 2019, breaking a four-year streak of declines.  Wes Parnell and Thomas Tracy of the New York Daily News report that homicides were up by almost 8% last year, which was the first increase since 2017.  The head of the Police Benevolent Association predicted that recent policies benefiting defendants would continue to drive the crime rate up.  Police unions were also warning that a new law taking effect on January 1 which eliminates bail for most misdemeanors will also encourage more crime over the year ahead.  But city officials see the uptick as a statistical anomaly and Mayor de Blasio said that he would address the increase and “turn this situation around.”

AG:  More Crime From Soros Funded DAs:  In a December 20 interview,  Attorney General Bill Barr warned that counties with District Attorneys whose elections were bankrolled by PACs funded by hedge-fund billionaire George Soros will likely lose police officers and suffer from more crime.  Charles Creitz of Fox News reports that, according to Barr, District Attorney candidates elected with hundreds of thousands of dollars from Soros’ Justice and Public Safety PAC, are not supportive of law enforcement and view their offices as vehicles for social change rather than the prosecution of criminals.  Recent examples include the election of two Virginia Commonwealth Attorneys who received just under $1 million from the Soros PAC to unseat two incumbents with 60 years of experience, while neither challenger had ever prosecuted a case in a state court.  The common thread among Soros-funded candidates is that they are liberal-progressives pledging to reduce prosecutions, shorten sentences for criminals and hold local police accountable for alleged racial bias.  Barr suggested that in those environments police ‘will either stop policing or they can move to a jurisdiction more hospitable.”