Kyle Rittenhouse To Speak At Controversial Conservative Festival

ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning! It’s Thursday, Dec. 16. Last month, Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in the shooting of three people, two of whom died, during a protest against police violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This weekend, he will speak at a conservative conference in Phoenix. More on that in a bit — but first, here are some other stories we’re following today:

• The House of Representatives passed a bill to combat Islamophobia.
• What is "Log4j" or "Log4Shell" vulnerability? We break it down.
• President Joe Biden visited storm-ravaged Kentucky on Wednesday.
• Amazon Web Services experienced an outage. Again.

Kyle Rittenhouse will be in Phoenix this weekend for Turning Point USA's four-day AmericaFest.

Describing AmericaFest on its website as "the largest celebration of our constitutional rights and freedoms," Turning Point USA says its mission is "to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government."

The 18-year-old Rittenhouse is slated to speak Monday afternoon during a panel called "Kenosha on camera," the Arizona Republic reported.

The event will be attended by a who’s who of controversial political commentators and legislators including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, and U.S. Rep. Majorie Taylor Green, just to name a few. » Kyle Rittenhouse Is Coming To Phoenix For Conservative Conference, via Phoenix Patch

House Passes Islamophobia Bill

A bill introduced in October by U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday along party lines. The bill was approved weeks after a video surfaced in which Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert called Omar a member of the "Jihad Squad" and suggested she might be a suicide bomber. The bill would require the secretary of state to establish a special office to monitor and combat Islamophobia. » House Passes Rep. Omar's Combating International Islamophobia Act, via Southwest Minneapolis Patch

Biden Visits Storm-Ravaged Kentucky

President Joe Biden on Wednesday pledged to do "whatever it takes, as long as it takes" to help Kentucky and other states after a series of deadly tornadoes that left a trail of what he called unimaginable devastation. "You will recover and rebuild," he said.

"The scope and scale of this destruction is almost beyond belief," he said as he stood before a home reduced to a few walls and piles of rubble in Dawson Springs, one of two Kentucky towns he visited. » Biden Pledges 'Whatever It Takes' To Assist Tornado Victims, via Across America Patch

A New Cybersecurity Threat Looms

What's known as the "Log4j" or "Log4Shell" vulnerability, originally detected as a software bug in Microsoft's online gaming program Minecraft, is causing widespread worry across the internet because it gives cybercriminals easy, password-free access to servers around the world. Here’s what you should know about the threat. » 'Log4j' Vulnerability, Cybersecurity Threat: 5 Things To Know, via Across America Patch

More national headlines on Patch, other news websites:

• Amazon Web Services Outage: 'Issues Resolved,' Company Says
• Bell Hooks, Groundbreaking Feminist Thinker, Author, Dies At 69
• OJ Simpson A 'Completely Free Man'; Parole Ends
• Evictions Rising In U.S. Cities After Federal Ban Ends
• Did Climate Change Fuel Deadly Twisters? Probably, Scientists Say
• House Votes To Hold Mark Meadows In Contempt In Jan. 6 Probe
• WNBA's Candace Parker Secretly Married Anna Petrakova, Baby On Way
• 'A Charlie Brown Christmas': How To See It Without Streaming Fee
• Democratic Talks With Manchin Show Signs Of Melting Down, via The Hill
• U.S. Secretary Of State Cuts Foreign Trip Short Over COVID Concerns, via Politico

Around ‘The Patch’

Jason Jones joined the Hanover, New Jersey, Police Department as its only Black officer, but his tenure there lasted less than a year. He resigned after a series of racist incidents pushed him to the decision, according to his lawsuit against the township and police department, via Hanover Patch

Dr. Daniel Lee will serve as Culver City’s next mayor, making him the first Black mayor in the California city’s history. Three years ago, Lee was elected the first Black city council member in the town’s more than 100-year history, via Culver City Patch

Spencer, the beloved 12-year-old golden retriever who appears at the Boston Marathon each year, has been diagnosed with terminal spleen cancer — but he’ll still be at the 2022 race, via Boston Patch

More local news:

• Toddler Dies After Father Doesn't Realize He's Behind His Truck, via Charlotte, North Carolina, Patch
• See Video: Shouting Match Derails Illinois School Board Meeting, via Elmhurst, Illinois, Patch
• Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski Tests Positive For COVID-19, via Cleveland Patch
• Maryland Spy Suspects Didn't Discuss Fleeing Country To Evade Arrest, via Annapolis Patch
• Feds Search Pennsylvania Spa After Prostitution Suspicions, via Doylestown Patch
• 'It's The Unknown That Kills Me': RI Woman's Stolen Dog Remains Missing, via East Providence, Rhode Island, Patch
• Bono Steps Out To Eat At Favorite Venice Spot, via Venice-Mar Vista, California, Patch
• Temporary Indoor Mask, Vaccine Rules Announced For Rhode Island, via Cranston, Rhode Island, Patch

House Hunting

Curious what a half-million dollars can buy you in a sought-after Washington, D.C., suburb? Not a heck of a lot. However, if you’re in the market for a “cozy,” true fixer-upper, this 900-square-foot, three-bedroom home would be perfect for you. If not, you could always just tear it down and start over.

This Day In History

On this day in 1773, American colonists threw 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company into Boston Harbor to protest a tax on tea. Historically, the event is known as the Boston Tea Party.

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