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More protests are probably happening today at the California State GOP Convention. Anti-American thugs will once again cause violence and a loss of freedoms in the age of the open borders Obama administration. You wanted fundamental transformation with Obama well, you got it! RIOTERS BURN AMERICAN FLAG: We don t need a white man telling us that he s gonna build a wall in our land we want him out! #CAGOPconventionhttps://t.co/qkviXbP7vS Fusion (@ThisIsFusion) April 29, 2016 WE VE GOT NEWS FOR THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA TRYING TO TWIST THE RESON FOR PROTESTS: THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TRUMP BUT EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ANTI-AMERICANISM! I want to go to college! This #CAGOPconvention protester is fighting on behalf of undocumented students:https://t.co/EP5mFxYF9f Fusion (@ThisIsFusion) April 29, 2016

'Your love will surely come find us Like blazing wild fires singing Your name'

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton on Wednesday will propose the creation of a new national Office of Immigrant Affairs should she win the White House in November, as she seeks to woo minority and immigrant voters in New York less than a week before the state’s primary. The office would coordinate policies and programs among federal agencies and with state and local governments, Clinton said at an event in New York City where she met with immigrant-rights activists. “It’s an issue that cuts across all levels of government,” she said. She added that it would expand the efforts of President Barack Obama’s Task Force on New Americans, which was created in 2014 to help immigrants and refugees integrate better into the United States. In contrast, Republican candidates have largely proposed tougher immigration rules. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has called for building a wall along the border with Mexico and a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. The New York primary on Tuesday could either help former Secretary of State Clinton consolidate her status as the Democratic front-runner or hand a significant victory to rival Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator seeking to defy expectations and win the party’s nomination for the Nov. 8 election. Both candidates are campaigning across the state, looking to win over New York’s diverse population, including voters from immigrant families. Around 19 percent of the state’s population is Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census. With 247 pledged delegates at stake, the state is among the most significant nominating contests left on the calendar before the Democrats’ July 25-28 convention in Philadelphia. Clinton holds a double-digit lead in opinion polls over Sanders in New York, the state where he was born and which she served for eight years as a U.S. senator. She also holds a commanding lead in pledged delegates overall so far, leaving Sanders only a narrow path if he is to win the nomination out from under her, a task some pundits say is already beyond him. A Democratic candidate needs 2,383 delegates to clinch the nomination. Those can come from any combination of pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses, as well as so-called superdelegates, who can vote as they choose.

Japanese Whaling Crew Eaten Alive By Killer Whales, 16 dead http://t.co/ndEPPBYp8Z

A new report from the U.N. says that if we continue without taking drastic action, we can expect more wildfires, worsening food shortages, and a temperature rise of 2.7 degrees as soon as 22 years from now. We've only got one planet. The time for... https://buff.ly/2E6CVZP 

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s state news agency Xinhua described U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord as a “global setback” and rejected Trump’s claim that it would lead to many more jobs in America. In a commentary published on Friday, Xinhua suggested that no one country was now likely take up leadership of global efforts to fight climate change. China overtook the United States as the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2007 but analysts see the U.S. withdrawal as an opportunity for China to burnish its image as a global leader. “Trump’s decision to ditch the Paris deal will leave a fairly big shoe for a single country to fill,” Xinhua said, adding that major players such as China, the European Union and India had reiterated their willingness to step up efforts. Leaving the 2015 Paris accord would hardly translate into a substantial increase in new jobs as the fossil fuel industries were highly automated, Xinhua said. Noting that Trump said he had had “extensive discussions” with people on both sides of the climate debate, it said: “One can only assume that Trump has very good reasons to leave the Paris agreement, and that he knows the implications of U.S. retreat from the landmark deal”. Trump, tapping into the “America First” message he used when he was elected president last year, said the Paris accord would undermine the U.S. economy, cost U.S. jobs, weaken American national sovereignty and put the country at a permanent disadvantage to other countries such as China. The Global Times, an influential state-run tabloid, said in an editorial published on Thursday before Trump’s announcement that China was not interested in discussions about the leadership of fighting climate change and would focus on its own promises to reduce emissions. It called the withdrawal “reckless” and would “waste increasingly finite U.S. diplomatic resources.” “There are indeed some underprivileged people in the U.S, but their troubles are mainly caused by bad internal governance. Seeking external reasons for domestic woes is by no means what the world’s largest economy should do,” it said.

21st Century Wire says This is the latest installment of our new weekly SUNDAY SCREENING feature, where our editorial team curates a documentary film for our 21WIRE audience. The War on Democracy is one of award-winning Australian filmmaker John Pilger s most intimate film creations. Pilger takes an inside look at the Hugo Chavez epoch in Venezuela, the CIA coup and fascist takeover in Chile, as well as the American derailment of El Salvador, Guatemala and Bolivia. Pilger also traces the modern origins of the death squad . The film delicately chronicles the issues facing the people of South America before, during and after the brutal CIA years.Watch this 39 min segment, detailing the case of Venezuela:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv_2DIgkxYU . Here is a different cut, with a 9 min segment, detailing the case of Guatemala: WATCH MORE SUNDAY SCREENING FILMS HERE

Blizzard on it`s way! Great time to get 3 Day Auto/Zombie Survival Bag ! Food ,Water ,Shelter and much more!$149.99 pic.twitter.com/h35zOmVcU5

=@WxChris2011Yesterday, i saw a prominent stormchaser tell people to take safety in their car during TORNADO, If No other shelter avail. O_O

Back in February to honor Black History Month, Trump attacked the media because of course he did. Among other things, Trump said, I don t watch CNN but that s just not true. In mid-July, Trump said, I have very little time for watching TV and that, too, is not true. In April, Trump told the Associated Press, The one thing I ve learned to do that I never thought I had the ability to do. I don t watch CNN anymore. Trump kicked off his 200th day in office (seriously, it seems like 10 years) from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club by unleashing a series of mean-girl tweets. Trump claimed on Twitter that he s working hard, then minutes later Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) was interviewed on CNN s New Day . Blumenthal defended special counsel Robert Mueller s investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal.Watch:.@SenBlumenthal reacts to crackdown on leaks: "I'm very concerned that [DOJ] is weaponizing laws" https://t.co/sOHDh0IcW9 New Day (@NewDay) August 7, 2017 There is no minimizing or underestimating that attack by the Russians, Blumenthal said. It was purposeful and relentless, and it involved propaganda and hacking into our voting machines or at least an attempt to do it and potential collusion by the Trump campaign and then obstruction of justice. That investigation must be pursued. Just after totally not watching CNN, Trump tweeted, Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist! The former reality show star didn t stop there. Never in U.S. history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal, he tweeted. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and .conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion? When Blumenthal was a candidate in 2010, he was forced to admit that he exaggerated his Vietnam military record so that s what President Bone Spurs was referring to. Trump received 5 deferments to avoid serving in the military, one of them because his feet hurt. There s something to be said about glass houses here.Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

BREAKING REPORT=> Cleveland Police Given “Stand Down” Order at RNC – Protesters to Wreak Havoc on Republicans & City https://t.co/OgHaHf2sSm

$PGR $ALL $TRV Anyone long ins.companies? Why you never ride out a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane (17:00-21:50): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkIS1sbNSI …

Weird RT @CNN: Florida sheriff: Anyone with a warrant seeking shelter from Hurricane #Irma will (cont) http://tl.gd/no3di2 

How to keep your food safe if Hurricane Sandy cuts electricity http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57541978/how-to-keep-your-food-safe-if-hurricane-sandy-cuts-electricity/?tag=socsh … via @CBSNews

The scene below is from the movie KILLING EUROPE :Terrorist attacks, riots, and gang rapes are striking at the very foundations of Europe. This is the story of a Danish expatriate and his quest to uncover the growing issues within the European society he left 15 years ago, challenging the viewer with a vision of a Europe undergoing drastic and far reaching changes.Michael Hansen, a.k.a. The Missing Dane , came to America fifteen years ago from Denmark. He recently returned to Europe to make a documentary about the changes that have occurred since he left. The result is a 90-minute film called Killing Europe, which takes a hard look at all the cultural enrichment that has produced Modern Multicultural Europe.From the notes for the trailer:Terrorist attacks, riots, and gang rapes are striking at the very foundations of Europe. This is the story of a Danish expatriate and his quest to uncover the growing issues within the European society he left fifteen years ago, challenging the viewer with a vision of a Europe undergoing drastic and far reaching changes.Vlad Tepes interviewed the Missing Dane a few days ago about his documentary:THIS GUY IS AMAZING!

!! URGENT !! ANIMAL RESCUE #Freeport #GrandBahama #Bahamas #Hurricane #Dorian #AnimalRescue #HurricaneDorian Immediate need for boats or high tractors to rescue animals still alive in the shelter. Please call or message >> 727-2477 We want to leave her line open for this rescue. https://twitter.com/RealMiBaWi/status/1168983385269768195 …

Shawn Helton 21st Century WireEarlier this week, the FBI released new details regarding an apparent crisis negotiation call made between Orlando Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen and authorities.Will this new release reveal anything new about the Orlando shooting case, or will it continue a trend of unanswered questions regarding the incident? SCRIPT CHANGE OR TRUE MOTIVE? The FBI has released more details regarding a crisis call said to have been placed by Omar Mateen (Photo illustration: 21WIRE s Shawn Helton)Crisis Call Motive According to the Washington Free Beacon [unredacted] transcripts were released by Orlando police Friday after a Florida court hearing held in response to a lawsuit filed by several news organizations. The new details supposedly reveal a motive in the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting.Here s an excerpt from the alleged shooter Mateen s negotiation call featured in the Beacon: Yo, the air strike that killed Abu Wahid a few weeks ago that s what triggered it, okay? said Mateen, who earlier in the conversation identified himself as a follower the Islamic State terror group. They should have not bombed and killed Abu Wahid, the former security guard declared. Do your fucking homework and figure out who Abu Wahid is, okay? The shooting suspect allegedly discussed concern over US airstrikes in Syria, supposedly stating the following: They need to stop the U.S. air strikes. You have to tell the U.S. government to stop bombing. They are killing too many children, they are killing too many women, okay? Given Mateen s profile as stated by media and officials since June, the idea that he would be concerned with the lives of innocent civilians is patently absurd making this latest, rather timely release, extremely suspect.Mateen s alleged crime confession via a crisis negotiation call, also smacks of another rewrite in the Pulse shooting saga, an event that displayed elements of foreknowledge and planning beyond that of a lonewolf. In addition, it was an incident littered with a number of anomalies and numerous intelligence connections. Although one cannot absolutely prove the scripted nature of this latest FBI release regarding the Pulse shooting, several quotes in the conversation stand out, falling in line with an all to familiar Western policy perspective regarding Syria and Iraq.Interestingly, after a number of strange motives were initially attached to the Orlando shooting, we re conveniently told it was triggered by an airstrike apparently killing Abu Wahib in May of this year. Wahib was an al-Qaeda/ISIS leader well-known to authorities and according to the controversial intelligence linked media blog Long War Journal. He had been detained by US officials in 2006 and sentenced to death in 2012, only to mysteriously escape from Tikrit Central Prison after a large jailbreak: Abu Wahib, whose full name is Shakir Wahib al Fahdawi al Dulaimi, has been waging jihad in Iraq for more than a decade. He was detained by US forces in Ramadi in 2006 during the height of al Qaeda in Iraq s insurgency.The LWJ article continued by stating the following: Wahib was sentenced to death and transferred to Tikrit Central Prison. In November 2012, he escaped along with 110 inmates after the Islamic State of Iraq assaulted the prison. That jailbreak and others like it infused the Islamic State of Iraq with leaders and fighters who were captured during US and Iraqi military operations. Given Wahib s lengthy criminal background and unexplained escape from prison, is it possible he may have been a Western intelligence asset released back into the public?The theory may not be as far-fetched as it seems when considering there is a historical precedence for such activity In the aftermath of 9/11 up until 2006, the CIA operated a facility that was used to train terrorists to be double agents to supposedly infiltrate Al Qaeda terror cells. This program was called called Penny Lane.Penny Lane was named after the Beatles tune and was connected to another secret facility called Strawberry Fields, a name also taken from the British rock group.We were told that operation had been successful in its scope but by 2013, the CIA had lost touch with many of its newly trained double agents.The Penny Lane facility was unlike any other building in the Guantanamo Bay prison area, as it was said to have beds, kitchens and a patio for its prisoners. The money to pay informants and double agents was also provided for by the CIA under the codename Pledge. But how does this relate to the Orlando club shooting?Drills & Informants Shortly after the Pulse shooting attack it was revealed that Mateen had been attending services at a Mosque, meeting with a known FBI informant named Marcus Dwayne Robertson (see left also played role in 1993 WTC bombing), a former US Marine turned bank robber turned radical imam. Here s this passage from Fox News describing Robertson s role: It is no coincidence that this happened in Orlando, said a law enforcement source familiar with Robertson s history of recruiting terrorists and inciting violence. Mateen was enrolled in [Robertson s online] Fundamental Islamic Knowledge Seminary.Robertson and several associates were rounded up for questioning early Sunday, according to law enforcement sources, a development his attorney refused to confirm or deny. DISNEY MONEY BOMB? Heavily orchestrated fundraising campaigns follow almost every dramatized mass shooting in America. (Image Source: fox13news)Fast-tracked Fundraisers Interestingly, on September 27th, the Orlando Weekly revealed that Each of the families of the 49 victims killed in the massacre at the gay nightclub Pulse will get $350,000 from the OneOrlando Fund this week, though privately, they still have to iron out who will get what funds. The Weekly also disclosed the total charitable amount received: The OneOrlando Fund received $29.5 million from various sources, which will now be divided between families and survivors of the mass shooting. The funds will be distributed through the end of this week, Martins says. Additionally, the article continues, stating that even uninjured patrons the night of the shooting will receive quite a large sum from the fund: The families of the deceased victims received a larger share of the funds, totaling about $17.2 million. The 37 survivors who were hospitalized after the shooting will receive anywhere from $65,000 to $300,000 depending on how many nights they spent at the hospital, while 31 people who required outpatient treatment for their injuries will get $35,000 each. An additional 182 patrons of Pulse who were there when the shooting began but not injured will received $25,000 each. The amount granted to Orlando victims is strangely, nearly the same amount given to all of the Charleston church families affected by the suspicious shooting involving Dylann Roof. It turned out, that the Department of Justice fast-tracked $29 million dollars from the Crime Victim Assistance Formula Grant program, shortly after the tragedy.According to OneOrlando s own website, The OneOrlando Board, chaired by Orlando Magic President Alex Martins, was developed to provide oversight and guidance to ensure that funds are dispersed in a timely, accountable and transparent manner. Other members of the board include the following as stated on OneOrlando s website:Rena Langley, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs & Worldwide Government and Industry Relations, Walt Disney World Diane O Dell, Vice President of Community Relations, Universal Orlando Resort Stephanie Ghertner, Director, Darden Foundation & Community Affairs Mark Meyer, Industry Manager, JPMorgan ChaseOn another note, a woman claiming to have been injured at Pulse the night of the shooting, was denied funds, leading her to sue OneOrlando. Here s the Orlando Sentinel on the matter: Jillian Amador, who filed the suit asking for an audit, was at Pulse with friends on June 12. She initially filed the complaint on Friday in Orange County Circuit Court, but a judge tossed it because the respondents were not served. She refiled the petition Tuesday, seeking an emergency order to stop the payout, but Circuit Judge John E. Jordan again denied the request. VICTIM OR ACTOR? The purported Pulse nightclub victim shown above was carried to the corner where he was seen walking off without assistance while still on camera. (Image Source: www.wftv.com)Revisiting The Orlando ShootingBack in June, here at 21WIRE, we discussed how the most important aspect of the FBI supplied 911 transcript had gone virtually unnoticed as there was nothing in the contents of the transcript that discussed an actual shooting occurring inside of the Pulse nightclub.While the report was a basic outline of America s largest mass shooting it failed to account for any of the shootings said to have occurred within the interior of Pulse. There was no mention of bar patrons being shot or reportedly shot at in the FBI s official narrative. It s as if the mainstream media and authorities left out the biggest piece of the investigation, as the implications of who shot who and when are extremely significant forensically speaking.While the description of the Orlando shooting included mention of the Orlando Police Department (OPD) pulling an air conditioning unit out of a Pulse dressing room to evacuate victims, a multi-call crisis negotiation, the alleged shooter s outrageous claims of a bomb-laced vest and authorities breaching the back wall of the nightclub with an explosive charge there was no mention of additional shots fired at club goers inside Pulse? CRIME SCENE PROTOCOL? Multiple officials seen coming in and out of Pulse nightclub with and without CSI attire. (Image Source: boingboing)In recent years, media press conference rituals backed by law enforcement officials have shaped a narrative within the first hours of a mass casualty event and even if that story turns out to be mostly false, the media runs with it anyway, whether or not new information and crime scene analysis belies the original story pushed by media. The most clear example of this happened during the aftermath of the WTC 1993 bombing, where major media outlets exposed it as an FBI run sting with their operators in control yet still, media anchors still called it an al-Qaeda led attack.Aspects of the orchestrated bombing in 1993 played out in another high profile case dubbed the Newburgh Sting In May of 2009, the investigative tactics of the FBI came into question, none perhaps more suspect than the Newburgh sting an incident that involved the entrapment of four men in a fabricated terror event created by the bureau.Here s another look at a 2011 passage from The Guardian describing how an FBI informant named Shahed Hussain coerced four others to be involved in a fake terror plot: The Newburgh Four now languish in jail. Hussain does not. For Hussain was a fake. In fact, Hussain worked for the FBI as an informant trawling mosques in hope of picking up radicals.Yet far from being active militants, the four men he attracted were impoverished individuals struggling with Newburgh s grim epidemic of crack, drug crime and poverty. One had mental issues so severe his apartment contained bottles of his own urine. He also believed Florida was a foreign country.Hussain offered the men huge financial inducements to carry out the plot including $250,000 to one man and free holidays and expensive cars.As defence lawyers poured through the evidence, the Newburgh Four came to represent the most extreme form of a controversial FBI policy to use invented terrorist plots to lure targets. There has been no case as egregious as this. It is unique in the incentive the government provided. A quarter million dollars? said Professor Karen Greenberg, a terrorism expert at Fordham University. So when you consider what happened in Orlando, one should question the lack of shooting details, in addition to conflicting eyewitness testimony- why have portions of this story still been left open for interpretation when every other part of the official timeline of events appears to be accounted for?Here s a portion reviewing the FBI s summary of events that excludes any mention of shots fired within Pulse: Based on OPD radio communications, there were no reports of shots being fired inside Pulse between the initial exchange of gunfire between responding officers and shooter, and the time of the final breach. During this time, the shooter communicated with an OPD 911 operator and an OPD crisis negotiator, and OPD radio communications reported that victims were being rescued. Here s a more basic chronology of the Orlando shooting, as told by the FBI: 2:02 a.m.: OPD call transmitted multiple shots fired at Pulse nightclub.2:04 a.m.: Additional OPD officers arrived on scene.2:08 a.m.: Officers from various law enforcement agencies made entrance to Pulse and engaged the shooter.2:18 a.m.: OPD SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) initiated a full call-out.2:35 a.m.: Shooter contacted a 911 operator from inside Pulse.3:03 a.m.: Second crisis negotiation call occurred lasting approximately 16 minutes.3:24 a.m.: Third crisis negotiation call occurred lasting approximately three minutes.4:21 a.m.: OPD pulled an air conditioning unit out of a Pulse dressing room window for victims to evacuate.4:29 a.m.: As victims were being rescued, they told OPD the shooter said he was going to put four vests with bombs on victims within 15 minutes.5:02 a.m.: OPD SWAT and OCSO Hazardous Device Team began to breach wall with explosive charge and armored vehicle to make entry.5:14 a.m.: OPD radio communication stated that shots were fired.5:15 a.m.: OPD radio communication stated that OPD engaged the suspect and the suspect was reported down. The Orlando shooting details state multiple shots [were] fired at Pulse nightclub at 2:02 am, as Additional OPD officers arrived on scene, at 2:04 am, with law enforcement engaging the shooter at 2:08 am again, there is no other mention of shots fired until police exchange fire with the alleged suspect after breaching the wall at 5:15 am.Matten s weapons of choice during the apparent attack were a Sig Sauer MCX .223 caliber rifle and a Glock 17 9mm semi-auto pistol and according to the official story, and he was far more accurate than most well-trained law enforcement agents, defying statistical averages as examined by the Rand Corporation below.Question: Would it have really been possible for the alleged gunman Omar Mateen to have accurately shot over 100 people, take hostages and then engage in a fire fight with officers in just a 6 minute time frame?This scenario is hardly likely, if not impossible.Here s another look at an extensive study conducted by Rand Corporation that involved the NYPD: According to a 2008 Rand Corporation study evaluating the New York Police Department s firearm training, between 1998 and 2006, the average hit rate during gunfights was just 18 percent. When suspects did not return fire, police officers hit their targets 30 percent of the time.Many other such studies and risk assessments exist throughout law enforcement organizations nationwide, and most come to very similar conclusions as the RAND study. The odds are almost zero that the Pulse event was so drastically different unless there was an intentional, or staged element at play here.Did the Police Kill Most of the Club Goers?Another aspect of the Orlando shooting attack was the possibility that many patrons could have been injured by authorities, something that also seemed to be absent from the official story. Here s a passage from WFAA8, an ABC affiliate discussing that point: Orlando Police Chief John Mina and other law enforcement officers offered new details about the shooting, including the possibility that some victims may have been killed by officers trying to save them. I will say this, that s all part of the investigation, Mina said. But I will say when our SWAT officers, about eight or nine officers, opened fire, the backdrop was a concrete wall, and they were being fired upon. Police also used an explosive charge and a Bearcat armored vehicle to breach the wall as civilians were allegedly holed up in a bathroom. This has led some critics to consider the possibility that non-combatants could have become collateral damage during the SWAT siege at Pulse.Below is YouTube clip from TRUNEWS displaying FOX News analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano discussing how no one had died in the Pulse club prior to the SWAT building breach READ MORE ORLANDO SHOOTING NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Orlando FilesREAD MORE WAR ON TERROR NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire W.O.T FilesHelp support us by becoming a 21WIRE Member at: 21WIRE.TV

Food safety tips for those in path of Hurricane Matthew - Editor’s note: The USDA posted this information Wedne... http://ow.ly/BcKd505cAvv 

So much winning! Were going to be winning so much, you re going to be sick of winning! -Candidate Donald J. TrumpPresident Donald Trump hailed the opening Thursday of a new coal mine as proof deregulation is helping bring jobs to the industry, even though plans for the mine s opening were made well before Trump s election.Corsa Coal Corp. will supply coal used in making steel and is expected to generate up to 100 full-time jobs. The company said it decided in August to open the Acosta mine 60 miles south of Pittsburgh after a steel industry boom drove up prices for metallurgical coal.Under a tent perched hundreds of feet above a freshly dug coal pit, about 200 miners, business leaders, and politicians celebrated amid the surge of enthusiasm for the industry. Mining headgear lay atop red, white, and blue table cloths labeled Make Coal Great Again. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said the mine was part of an effort to bring back jobs and industry to the state. Pennsylvania awarded a $3 million grant for the project. We have not always capitalized on our standing as one of the world s leaders in these resources, but we re changing that, Wolf said.Trump has made reversing the decades-long decline in coal mining the central tenet of his environmental policy, blaming federal regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming carbon emissions for job losses in the industry. Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt have targeted laws that protected waterways from coal waste and required states to slash carbon emissions from power plants. About a dozen protesters chanted in opposition to the mine at the opening.Trump noted the impending opening of the mine last week during his speech announcing the nation s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. He said then he had hoped to attend the event; he participated via recorded video message, taking partial credit for the opening. One by one, we re eliminating the regulations that threaten your jobs, and that s one of the big reasons you re opening today: Less regulation, Trump said. We have withdrawn the United States from the horrendous Paris climate accord, something that would have put our country back decades and decades, we would have never allowed ourselves to be great again. Trump noted the impending opening of the mine last week during his speech announcing the nation s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. He said then he had hoped to attend the event; he participated via recorded video message, taking partial credit for the opening. One by one, we re eliminating the regulations that threaten your jobs, and that s one of the big reasons you re opening today: Less regulation, Trump said. We have withdrawn the United States from the horrendous Paris climate accord, something that would have put our country back decades and decades, we would have never allowed ourselves to be great again. For entire story: Mcall

Schools are closed on monday. Pine Belt arena has been designated a regional emergency shelter.Threat of hurricane Sandy grows in East Coast

Sports car legend Brian Redman and his wife, Marion, have been stranded in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian. Their son, James, has issued a call for assistance from anyone who can help. https://twitter.com/RACERmag/status/1169708486915215360 …

(Reuters) - The Iowa Supreme Court has maintained a block on a three-day waiting period for women seeking an abortion until a legal challenge concludes, a decision cheered by abortion-rights advocates. The provision was signed into law in May by former Republican Governor Terry Branstad, part of new regulations that also included a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks. The waiting period portion was challenged earlier this year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Planned Parenthood. The Iowa state attorney general’s office could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 although states can limit and regulate abortions. U.S. state legislatures enacted 41 new abortion restrictions in the first half of 2017, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health group that supports abortion rights. Planned Parenthood on Tuesday praised the court’s decision, issued on Monday, to keep in place a prior stay on the requirement that women wait 72 hours before having an abortion. “This ruling ensures that women in Iowa will have continued access to the health care they need throughout the course of this lawsuit,” said Susan Allen, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. A lower court had earlier upheld the disputed provision of the law, noting that 27 states have implemented waiting periods for abortion, ranging from 18 to 72 hours, the Des Moines Register reported on Tuesday. In May, Planned Parenthood said it would shutter four of its 12 clinics in Iowa as a result of another Iowa measure that blocked public money for family planning services to abortion providers.

Hurricane Michael: Survivors scramble for food as crews search missing #SmartNewshttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/10/13/hurricane-michael-survivors-scramble-food-crews-search-missing/1628842002/ …

TRUMP IS RIGHT ON HIS CLAIM THAT THIS ELECTION IS THE GLOBAL ELITES VS AMERICANS GEORGE SOROS COMES TO MIND!Ratcheting up his mockery of Donald Trump, President Obama said Friday that the Republican nominee is behaving like a crybaby who knows he s losing the race for president and intends to drag this election as low as it can possibly go. C MON MAN! HERE S OUR PRESIDENT ACTING LIKE A COCKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZER: It s always interesting for me to see folks who talk tough, but then don t act tough, Mr. Obama said. If you re tough, you don t make excuses. You just play the game. He poked fun at Mr. Trump for the Republican s claim in a speech Thursday that Mrs. Clinton is benefiting from a power structure of global elites at the expense of the working class. This is a guy who spent all his time hanging around trying to convince everybody he was a global elite, talking about how great his buildings are, how luxurious, and how rich he is, Mr. Obama said, laughing. All he had time for is celebrities. And now suddenly he s acting like he s a populist? Come on, man! You want to know what somebody s going to do? Look what they ve been doing their whole lives.READ MORE: WT

Well that was an interesting drive home... 20 odd floods to drive through whilst lightening tries to hit the car.. Lovely!

California wildfires: Incredible moment water-drop helicopters douse cars | Daily Mail Online https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6383471/Incredible-footage-shows-Californians-fleeing-latest-fires-flames-lick-sides-interstate.html …

Alabama DHR to issue food benefits early in tornado-damaged counties | al.com http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/04/alabama_dhr_to_issue_food_bene.html …

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed on Friday to the Saudi-led military coalition to fully lift its blockade of Yemen, saying up to eight million people were right on the brink of famine . Earlier this week the coalition partially eased its blockade to let aid into the ports of Hodeidah and Salif and U.N. flights into Sanaa. But aid shipments cover only a fraction of Yemen s needs, since almost all food, fuel and medicine are imported. The coalition, which is backed by the United States and other countries, began the blockade on Nov. 6 after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired from Yemen toward its capital Riyadh. A second missile was shot down on Thursday. That blockade has been partially wound down but not fully wound down. It needs to be fully wound down if we are to avoid an atrocious humanitarian tragedy involving the loss of millions of lives, the like of which the world has not seen for many decades, U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said. Yemen has a population of 25 million people. Twenty million of them need assistance and something like seven or eight million of them are, right now, right on the brink of famine, he said as he launched the U.N. s 2018 humanitarian appeal. Lowcock sidestepped reporters questions on whether the Saudi-led blockade amounted to a violation of international law, though he said the United Nations had consistently urged all parties in the conflict to respect their obligations. I m not a lawyer but clearly international humanitarian law includes a requirement to facilitate unhindered access for aid agencies, and that s what I ve been trying to secure both in what I ve said publicly and also in my private dialogue, he said. U.N. officials are often shy of criticizing parties to a conflict for fear of losing access or funding. Saudi Arabia has been a major donor to aid appeals for Yemen. Others have been less reticent. Jan Egeland, a former U.N. aid chief, has called the blockade illegal collective punishment , while Alfredo Zamudio, director of the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue in Norway, told Reuters he thought the International Criminal Court should investigate whether it was a war crime. Speaking at Friday s event in Geneva, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, head of Save the Children International, said: What we ve seen in Yemen has been actually a very clear breach of the rules and also it s been very clear that denial of aid coming in has also become a weapon of war. The coalition joined the Yemen war in 2015 after the Iran-allied Houthi group and its allies forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh sees the Houthis as a proxy for Iran, its arch-foe in the region. The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced over 2 million and triggered a cholera epidemic as well as pushed the country to the verge of famine.

Biden: “Did Mike Pence forget Donald Trump is president? Is Donald Trump even aware he’s president? These are not images from some imagined ‘Joe Biden’s America’ in the future. These are images from Donald Trump’s America today.” https://t.co/LcoHtJ7EGM

Football legend Herschel Walker weighed in on the NFL kneeling controversy giving the players one key piece of advice KEEP IT OFF THE FIELD! Walker says Donald Trump is RIGHT when it comes to standing for the national anthem and that Commissioner Rodger Goodell needs to take control of the situation.The viral video above shows Walker lending his support to Trump. He happens to be a personal friend who worked for the president and was on Trump s hit show The Apprentice .He criticized both the players who have decided to kneel and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for allowing the protests: I think it means making a league-wide rule that if you want to protest, protest off the job, Walker said. Where was everyone before the season started? I didn t see anyone protesting in front of the White House, protesting in front of Congress or protesting in front of police officers. Why did we wait until football season to start this again? If you re behind it, you have to be behind it all the way If you want to protest, protest off the job. He stated that anthem protests weren t the way to change anything and said everyone needs to stand out of respect: We can t just point the finger at one person, and most of all you can t point it at the president. BRAVO!Via: TMZ

Very Dangerous storm passing SE of #DCMetro will ride along 95.. This storm has very intense lightning and a #TORNADO warning attached to it

We do this not because it s legally required, because it s not, Patton said at a hearing on the agreement. We do this because we believe it s the right thing to do, both for the victims and their families and for the city. This is historic, said Mr. Coverson. The only city in America that has given reparations and passed a reparations ordinance, and given an official apology for the violence that the police have done to citizens. The city of Chicago on Tuesday sought to put to rest one of its most persistent scandals, proposing a $5.5 million reparations fund for dozens of torture victims connected to former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge and his so-called midnight crew of rogue detectives.The proposal, negotiated with a key plaintiff s attorney and supported by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, would offer free city college tuition for victims and their families, free counseling for psychological issues and substance abuse as well as other assistance to more than 50 potential victims. The city would also issue a formal apology, create a permanent memorial recognizing the victims and ensure that eighth- and 10th-grade students attending Chicago Public Schools would be taught about the Burge case and its brutal legacy, cementing the scandal s role in city history.But as much as the proposal seeks to end a painful, controversial era Emanuel said it would close this book, the Burge book on the city s history it is unlikely to stanch the flow of torture claims from victims. A Loyola University Chicago law school dean appointed by a Cook County judge has identified some 20 additional cases in which inmates may have been Burge victims. Other inmates who have made torture claims continue to fight to overturn convictions and win their freedom. And one lawsuit over the torture is pending.Already, this stubborn scandal has cost taxpayers about $100 million in lawsuit settlements, judgments and other legal costs, according to lawyers. It brings it much closer to closure, especially from the city s point of view, said Flint Taylor, an attorney who has been pursuing the torture issue for decades and was one of the lawyers who negotiated the reparations package. But it s not done and over. But as much as the proposal seeks to end a painful, controversial era Emanuel said it would close this book, the Burge book on the city s history it is unlikely to stanch the flow of torture claims from victims. A Loyola University Chicago law school dean appointed by a Cook County judge has identified some 20 additional cases in which inmates may have been Burge victims. Other inmates who have made torture claims continue to fight to overturn convictions and win their freedom. And one lawsuit over the torture is pending.Already, this stubborn scandal has cost taxpayers about $100 million in lawsuit settlements, judgments and other legal costs, according to lawyers. It brings it much closer to closure, especially from the city s point of view, said Flint Taylor, an attorney who has been pursuing the torture issue for decades and was one of the lawyers who negotiated the reparations package. But it s not done and over. Burge was convicted in federal court of lying about the torture and sentenced to 41/2 years in prison. He was released in October but confined to his home until February. He still collects a police pension.Burge did not return calls Tuesday to his home in Florida.But John Jack Byrne, Burge s former right-hand man, on Tuesday called the reparations deal a scam perpetuated on taxpayers. Via: Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday he would reassure U.S. allies during his trip overseas this week that Republican President-elect Donald Trump plans to maintain core U.S. strategic relationships around the world, including with NATO. Obama, speaking ahead of a trip to Europe and Latin America, said one of the most important things he could do during his visit was to reassure U.S. allies who may be concerned following Trump’s victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton last week. Trump slammed NATO allies during the campaign for not paying enough for their own defense and suggested the United States was paying a disproportionate amount that was too much given the changes in the world. He also told the Washington Post the United States could not fund NATO at current levels. Trump’s comments echoed longstanding U.S. complaints that too many NATO allies do not live up to their pledge to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Only the United States and four other NATO allies - Greece, Britain, Estonia and Poland - met the goal last year. France and Turkey have been close. Despite Trump’s criticism of NATO spending during the campaign, Obama said the president-elect, who takes office Jan. 20, had indicated he was committed to maintaining ties with U.S. allies. “In my conversation with the president-elect, he expressed a great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships,” Obama told a news conference before his departure. “So one of the messages I will be able to deliver is his commitment to NATO and the trans-Atlantic alliance.” “One of the most important functions that I can serve at this stage ... is to let them know that there is no weakening of resolve when it comes to America’s commitment to maintaining a strong and robust NATO relationship and a recognition that those alliances aren’t just good for Europe, they’re good for the United States and they’re vital for the world,” he said. The European Union agreed on a new defense plan on Monday that could see it sending rapid response forces abroad for the first time, a move seen as giving it the ability to act without the United States if necessary. The action appeared to be galvanized in part by Trump’s criticism. Obama is visiting Greece, Germany and Peru on his last trip abroad as president. He is expected to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders in Germany and Greece. In Peru he will see Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Pacific leaders at an economic summit. Obama said U.S. foreign policy remained quite stable despite changes in administration, in part because of the breadth of U.S. government interactions with other nations. “There is enormous continuity beneath the day-to-day news that makes us that indispensable nation when it comes to maintaining order and promoting prosperity around the world. That will continue,” Obama told reporters at the White House.

Grabbing my last little supplies before this blizzard (@ Giant Food in Upper Marlboro, MD) https://www.swarmapp.com/c/cdoSgX4wXxC 

What an incredible loving heart this woman has, she opened her house to shelter 97 homeless abandon dogs during hurricane Dorian.

The current occupant of the White House is occupying a golf course again, marking this (a three day weekend for him) his 21st visit to a golf course as president. Just after gutting health care for up to 24 million Americans, then throwing a kegger for Republicans who were complicit in an attack on their own constituents, Donald Trump decided to take a vacay and go golfing.This morning Trump tweeted from his social media podium, Rather than causing a big disruption in N.Y.C., I will be working out of my home in Bedminster, N.J. this weekend. Also saves country money! Rather than causing a big disruption in N.Y.C., I will be working out of my home in Bedminster, N.J. this weekend. Also saves country money! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2017So, after sticking a knife in the middle class and lower-income Americans by passing Trumpcare through the House, the former reality show star traipsed off to his fancy golf club which costs members $300,000 a shot. Again, that was after he gave the top 2 percent a trillion dollar tax cut while gifting the bottom 40 percent with having to pay for it with their health care. Are we tired of all this winning yet? Apparently, the 70-year-old alleged president is so he s taking a break.Trump is spending a long weekend at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ.This is his 21st visit to a golf course as president. https://t.co/6Cijy24jLr Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 5, 2017While the amateur president claims he ll be working at his home which is not really his home since he s supposed to reside in the White House, his work day doesn t look very filled up, according to Politico.TRUMP S SCHEDULE: President Donald Trump is at his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey and has no public events scheduled.That s all that is listed on his schedule. The former reality show star thinks being leader of the free world is a 9-5 type of gig with an extra day off for knifing the poor and middle class.During the same period of time in Barack Obama s presidency, he golfed once. One time. And Donald Trump repeatedly disparaged him for it. As of April 2nd, Trump spent nine consecutive weekends at Trump-owned properties, bringing up once more his mounting conflicts of interest.Trump was already in New York City where he could have spent time with his wife, who is totally in love with him, and their son, Barron. But, according to Trump, he didn t want to cause a disruption. Now far be it from us to call him a Big Old Liar, but Trump didn t remain in NYC, because everyone there hates him. And that may or may not include his wife. Who knows.It s really bad optics to screw the poor over then go golfing with wealthy people. To Trump, saving us money means costing us more money. We re living in an alt-reality where facts don t matter anymore.Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images.

Beating the heat and wildfire smoke on a beautiful gravel ride with Martha Walsh. #methowvalley #gravelbike #ridebikesbehappy https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl83Jlfgn-d/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=xz3so5jx88k4 …

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Saudi stock market rebounded into positive territory on Sunday after initially dropping sharply in response to a corruption inquiry that led to a string of detentions of prominent political and business figures. The stock index .TASI was up 0.02 percent an hour before the close, after falling 2.2 percent at one stage. Some investors worry the investigation could force people implicated to sell equity holdings. But many think the purge will remove opposition to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, helping him accelerate economic reforms such as privatization and big development projects.

Mere sight of a gun makes police ‰ÛÒ and public ‰ÛÒ more aggressive experts say http://t.co/N4NEUIyt2k

Bill Clinton visited Bluffton, SC to rally people to vote for Hillary but he met up with a former Marine Drill Sgt. who spoke out against Hillary s lies surrounding Benghazi. This is probably the first time anyone has EVER had a chance to confront Bill Clinton about Benghazi. He clearly couldn t handle the confrontation. I have to say I love these brave Americans for standing up. Pretty awesome!

Hope everyone affected by Hurricane #Sandy is staying safe. Follow @NHC_Atlantic 4 updates Visit http://www.redcross.org/find-help  4 shelter

(Reuters) - Co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and former Republican U.S. congressman Joe Scarborough said on Tuesday that he is leaving the Republican party and becoming an independent during an appearance on a late-night talk show. Scarborough and his co-host, Mika Brzezinski, appeared on “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” where he explained that his decision stemmed from his opposition to Republican President Donald Trump and his party’s unwillingness to speak out against the president and his policies. “My party has betrayed their core values,” he told Colbert. “Time and time and time again they turned the other way. They are doing the same thing now. It’s actually disgusting.” Scarborough and Brzezinski, who are engaged, were embroiled in public argument with the Republican president two weeks ago. After Trump levied personal attacks against Brzezinski in a series of messages on social network Twitter, the pair responded with a searing opinion piece in the Washington Post that questioned his mental health. Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton last November in the most divisive presidential election in modern U.S. politics, in which a gulf between Republicans and Democrats has widened and hardened over ideological positions on social and economic issues.

NTSB: Virgin Galactic crash caused by structural failure triggered when brakes unlocked early http://t.co/iKnyOk9zZr http://t.co/QCKqcX4Hw9

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels pinned down in a strategic area where the Israeli and Lebanese borders meet with Syria were handed an ultimatum by the Syrian army and its Iranian-backed militia allies to either surrender or face certain military defeat, rebels said on Tuesday. The Syrian army backed by local militias financed and equipped by Iran alongside Druze fighters from the area have been escalating a fierce assault against Sunni rebels in an enclave in the foothills of Mount Hermon, close to both the Israeli and Lebanese borders. They were given 72 hours to surrender with fighters to go to Idlib or those who want to stay have to reach a settlement, said Ibrahim al-Jebawi, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) official familiar with the situation on the ground. Another rebel official who asked not to be named said they were told either to surrender or a military solution. The rebels have now been left encircled in Beit Jin, their main stronghold after losing strategic hills and farms around it this week after over two months of near daily shelling and aerial strikes. Iran-backed Lebanon s Hezbollah s media unit said insurgents had agreed to negotiate surrender terms and said negotiations had already begun over their evacuation in the next few days to rebel-held Idlib. The Syrian army has used similar tactics of pushing opponents to rebel areas further from the Syrian capital after a twin tactic of siege and months of strikes on residential areas. There were also more than 8,000 civilians who have been trapped in the remaining enclaves with their plight worsening, according to rebel spokesman Sohaib Alraheel. Israel, which Syria accuses of helping the rebels, is alarmed at the growing Iranian military influence in the Golan Heights and has stepped up its strikes against pro-Iranian targets inside Syria. Israel has been lobbying both big powers to deny Iran, Lebanon s Hezbollah and other Shi ite militias any permanent bases in Syria, and to keep them away from the Golan, as they gain ground while helping Damascus beat back Sunni-led rebels. Early this month there was an Israeli strike on a base near Kiswah, south of Damascus, that was widely believed to be an Iranian military compound, a Western intelligence source said. Hezbollah s bastion in southern Lebanon is only a few kms from the rebel enclave, and securing a supply line from its stronghold into Syria s Quneitra province was a major strategic gain, rebels and defense analysts say. Now Hezbollah will have a bigger foothold on the Syrian side of the Golan and it is desperate to link this area with southern Lebanon, al-Jebawi added. Israel had warned Hezbollah against trying to open a front in the Golan Heights and was believed to be behind the killing a prominent commander in an air strike in 2015 whom the group later admitted had overseen a local Hezbollah presence in the area. This is an effort by Iran and its proxy Hezbollah to expand the lines of engagement with Israel. The question is will Israel allow that? said Fayez al Dweiri, a retired Jordanian general who follows Syria closely.

Hillary took a jab at Saudi Arabia during her statement on the terror attack in Orlando BUT now we find out that the Saudis are major contributors to her campaign. It s the height of hypocrisy for Clinton to make claims of Saudi Arabia while taking their millions. Thank goodness for social media and all the resources we have to expose this corrupt and hypocritical hag grifter In what may be the pinnacle of hypocrisy, moments ago Hillary Clinton, while speaking live on national security and addressing the Orlando shooting took some time from her constant bashing of the Second Amendment and calling for a ban on assault rifles, to say some less than kind words about Saudi Arabia whom it accused of supporting radical organizations. This is what she said:The third area that demands attention is preventing radicalization and countering efforts by ISIS and other international terrorist networks to recruit in the United States and Europe. For starters, it is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations. And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism. We also have to use all our capabilities to counter jihadist propaganda online. This is something that I spend a lot of time on at the State Department.There is nothing wrong with that statement, as it is the whole truth Saudi Arabia s involvement in supporting terrorism stretches from Sept 11 all the way through to ISIS however, where there is a big, and potentially law-breaking, problem is what Jordan s official news agency, Petra News Agency, reported on Sunday citing the Saudi crown price, namely that Saudi Arabia is a major funder of Hillary Clinton s campaign to become the next president of the United States.As MEE notes, the Petra News Agency published on Sunday what it described as exclusive comments from Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman which included a claim that Riyadh has provided 20 percent of the total funding to the prospective Democratic candidate s campaign.The report was later deleted and the news agency has not responded to requests for comment from Middle East Eye. However, the deletion took place too late, as the Washington-based Institute for Gulf Affairs managed to capture the report and has re-published the original Arabic Petra report, which quoted Prince Mohammed as having said Saudi Arabia had provided with full enthusiasm an undisclosed amount of money to Clinton.Read more and view report: Zero Hedge

How very bold of the white Yahoo sports writer Greg Wyshynski, who affectionately refers to himself as Puck Daddy to call out one of only a handful of black men in the NHL for not standing up for the Black Lives Matter, anti-cop movement, that disrespects our flag, and our veterans in one fell swoop Wyshynski writes: P.K. Subban said on Tuesday that he will never kneel during the national anthem to protest something politically.Subban performed at a fundraiser on Tuesday night at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville, to benefit Comedy Cares. He told the audience that he would never take a knee during the national anthem because he has too much respect for the American flag. His comments were sent to us by two eyewitnesses and confirmed by the Predators. Subban, who is Canadian, is considered the most prominent black player in pro hockey.Earlier in the day, the Nashville Predators announced that, as a team, they would not engage in any protests during the national anthem. This came less than two days after hundreds of NFL players, coaches and executives showed solidarity in rebuking President Donald Trump s comments that players who protested police brutality against African-Americans during the national anthem were sons of bitches who deserved to lose their jobs.Said CEO Sean Henry, to the Tennessean: When this all came about, we wanted to get together with our team because everything we do is collaborative. When we say what we re going to be doing, it really is a we. Everyone had input on it. We are honoring the anthem and the flag and the country by standing during the anthem. We invite our fans to do so with us. It is also our way of honoring what else it stands for, and it does provide for the freedom for others to express their views and protests in a manner in which they feel comfortable doing. We just think there s proper forums for all. Our games have become this unifying celebration, so we have decided that we re all going to stand together to honor the country and all that comes with it. According to Seth Dean, a Predators fans who attended the comedy fundraiser event, Subban took the stage and said he will continue to stand, respect, and sing along with U.S. anthem. At one point, he pointed out a friend of his in the crowd who was a law enforcement officer from Boston.From Dean: He also addressed why he always shuffles his feet during anthem. He first said it could be ADD but he was never tested. Then he mentioned just being pumped up by crowd and excited to support USA even as a Canadian. He even jokingly suggested we should all stand and sing anthem there at Zanies (which didn t happen). He obviously wasn t going to go against Lavy s proclamation that players were going to stay standing, especially with his coach in the room, but he made his support for anthem as unequivocal as he possibly could. In an email to Yahoo Sports, Hailey, another attendee, described the scene in more detail:Tonight was a comedy fundraiser at Zanies in Nashville, for which Ryan Hamilton was the headliner. As my attendance was spontaneous, I was pretty excited when PK Subban was the first comedian . Much to my surprise, his allegedly impromptu set ended with a tense promise from PK that despite his previous dancing antics during the national anthem, he would NEVER kneel during the national anthem, followed by a long rant about his respect for the American flag.

Thinking of our fans, friends and builders on the US East Coast as Hurricane Sandy arrives. Hope you ride this one out okay, guys.

Trump doesn’t care, he’s having more fun playing golf and meeting with Kanye. No Food, No FEMA: Hurricane Michael’s Survivors Are Furious https://www.thedailybeast.com/no-food-no-fema-hurricane-michaels-survivors-are-furious …

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Senior Mexican diplomats on Monday condemned the upcoming execution of a Mexican inmate on death row in Texas, calling his sentence illegal and vowing to exhaust all possible efforts to prevent him from being killed later this week. In a news conference in Mexico City, Carlos Sada, Mexico s deputy foreign minister for North America, told reporters that Texas prosecutors did not follow due process in the case of Ruben Cardenas, who was sentenced to death for raping and killing his 15-year-old cousin in 1997. From the start, there has been a failure, and from our perspective, this is an illegal act, Sada said. The planned execution comes as relations between Mexico and the United States are at a low, hurt by U.S. President Donald Trump s vows to build a wall along the Mexican border, and his threats to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Cardenas, who is due to die on Wednesday, was not given the chance to speak with consular officials in contravention of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Sada said. He added Mexico would look to stay the execution by seeking to overturn how Cardenas confession was obtained, while also looking to exonerate him with up-to-date DNA testing. There are currently two separate appeals under way and Mexico is willing to take Cardenas case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary, Sada added. Mexico does not have the death penalty and opposes it, regularly clashing with the United States when Mexican nationals are set to be executed on U.S. soil. Sada said 54 Mexicans were currently facing U.S. death sentences. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled in 2004 that the United States had violated international law by failing to inform 51 Mexicans now on death row of their right to consular assistance, and said the cases should be reviewed. Alejandro Alday, a legal advisor to the Mexican government, said Cardenas was one of the 51 covered by the ICJ ruling, and accused Texas of breaching the Vienna convention in failing to advise Cardenas of his right to consular assistance.

Hurricane Matthew: Family rescued from car rooftop: A family is rescued after being stranded on top of their ... http://bbc.in/2dGFhii 

Hurricane Dorian strikes Bahamas: Homes severely damaged, cars overturned, power lines down https://www.foxnews.com/world/hurricane-dorian-bahamas-homes-damaged-cars-overturned-power-lines …

Brace for the worse in hurricane Michael as there will be a number of deaths. Some have decided to stay on their boats. I can't imagine being on a toy boat as I have been though 105 mile an hour but Michael will be 145 MPH tossing boats cars houses.

The bipartisan congressional language creates a headache for Trump and his deputies because it flips the politically difficult problem from Congress to the Department of Homeland Security of deciding whether to provide extra wage-cutting H-2B contract workers to companies or else to improve job opportunities for Trump s blue-collar voters.The new rule helps business groups offset rising pressure for wage increases, just 18 months before the mid-term elections when voters will vet the success or not of Trump s Buy American, Hire American policies.The H-2B language was hidden deep in the draft 2017 supplemental budget which is to face House and Senate votes this week and it surprised opponents of the legislation. In December 2016, Ryan had agreed to trim the program when the partial 2017 budget deal was announced just one month after blue-collar voters backed Donald Trump s campaign promise of a low-immigration, high-wage national economic policy.Apparently nothing is going to change, as long as Speaker Ryan remains at the helm. Watch: Immigration expert Mark Krikorian tweeted aboutHere's the text of the #H2B "returning workers" loophole that makes a mockery of the law's numerical "limits". https://t.co/G7dc1Qpmaz pic.twitter.com/Hf4UPjwJB4 Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) May 1, 2017The language in the 2017 budget says the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to exceed the supposed 66,000 annual cap on H-2B outsourcing visas by a number equal to the maximum number of workers who benefited from an earlier exemption, dubbed the returning worker exemption. Via: Breitbart

US Army M1126 Stryker armoured vehicles rolled into Syria this week (Source: Twitter)21st Century Wire says Yesterday reports emerged of a US heavy armoured convoy heeding through northern Syria, heading towards a forward position near the flashpoint city of Manbij, near the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. Not surprisingly, this news which would normally be strewn across all headlines and TV news leader boards has been completely blacked-out by the US media, aside from some website mentions.Naturally, Americans have to go to RT to get news about what the US military is doing in far-flung destinations. Here is a video report by RT s Ruptly News Agency which shows the US servicemen leading a convoy of Stryker armoured vehicles in the Syrian countryside: According to military blog SOFREP, call signs indicate that this US battalion is based out of Fort Benning, Georgia. By looking at the call sign tag on the back of the Stryker, it is evident that this is 3rd Ranger Battalion out of Fort Benning, Georgia, which has been confirmed via other sources. This clearly indicates that the Trump Administration is in the process of actively building up its military presence in Syria. To what degree is unclear, although early indications suggest a similar commitment to what the US has laid-on in Mosul in their joint operation to retake that Iraqi city away from ISIS control.Currently, the US is at odds with NATO ally Turkey over the Pentagon s support of the Kurdish YPG whom Turkey has designated as a terrorist organization. This could be a point of contention going forward, as the US, Russia and Turkey conduct trilateral negotiations this week in Antalya, Turkey this week.STAY TUNED TO 21WIRE FOR MORE UPDATESREAD MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich issued a dire warning to Republicans to focus on economic growth or else Nancy Pelosi will return to the Speaker s chair. Gingrich suggested a large tax cut by Thanksgiving that would be retroactive .@newtgingrich: If we don t have economic growth next year, I think we re in real danger of having Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019. #Hannity pic.twitter.com/MfBOFraI0V Fox News (@FoxNews) July 18, 2017Gingrich suggested: They have got to pass by Thanksgiving, and get signed into law, by Thanksgiving, a very large tax cut, retroactively designed back to January 1 to make sure that we have enough economic growth in 2018. That Republicans can run as the party of prosperity, of jobs, of higher take home pay, and of economic growth. Next, Gingrich dropped the bomb: If we don t have economic growth next year, I think we re in real danger of having Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019. Trump has been focusing on job growth during his term. He just announced Made in America week to promote American jobs and manufacturing in the US. Last week, he shared stats about private-sector job growth, most notably, 42,000 jobs added in mining and logging, a key focus during his campaign in Ohio and Pennsylvania.JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/HScS4Y9ZJK Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

@Henry_Clayton im experimental but thats a whole new level. My car is on the other side of a flood silly #liveonanisland#ARMBANDSREADYYY'G

California Bush fires please evacuate affected areas ASAP when california govts advised you to do so http://t.co/ubVEVUuAch

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged the government on Tuesday to cancel an order with Boeing Co for a revamped Air Force One - one of the most prominent symbols of the U.S. presidency - saying costs were out of control. It was the latest example of Trump using his podium, often via Twitter messages, to rattle companies and foreign countries as he seeks to shake up business as usual in Washington. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, took aim at what he called cost overruns even though the plane is only in development stages. “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” Trump said on Twitter. It was not immediately clear what prompted the timing of his complaint. Trump, who has vowed to use his skills as a businessman to make good deals that benefit American taxpayers, then made a surprise appearance in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, where he amplified his comments. “The plane is totally out of control. I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money but not that much money,” he told reporters. Boeing, which has built planes for U.S. presidents since 1943, has not yet begun building the two replacements for the current Air Force One planes, which are scheduled to be in service by 2024. Boeing has not yet been awarded the money to build the proposed replacements. “We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the President of the United States,” the company said in a statement. Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg called Trump after his remarks and they had a constructive dialogue, sources familiar with the conversation told Reuters. Muilenburg told Trump the cost of the airplane could be lowered if the U.S. Air Force changed its requirements and the issue would likely be resolved without a major dispute, the sources said. The Air Force, which operates the presidential planes, announced in January 2015 that Boeing’s 747-8 would be used to replace the two current presidential planes. The planes can fly direct from Washington to Hong Kong, 1,000 miles (1,600 km) farther than the current Air Force One. They are designed to be an airborne White House able to fly in worst-case security scenarios, such as nuclear war. President Barack Obama, who flew on the aging Air Force One to Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, has called the plane one of the best perks of the presidency. His spokesman, Josh Earnest, told reporters on board that the contracting arrangements for replacements were “rather complicated” and said the recommendations for upgrades had been made by national security experts. The budgeted costs for the replacement program are $2.87 billion for the fiscal years 2015 through 2021, just on research and development, testing and evaluation, according to budget documents seen by Reuters. The current Air Force plan envisions extensive modifications to a Boeing 747-8 plane, adding military avionics and advanced communications to a self-defense system. “Of course it’s not like buying a vanilla Boeing jumbo jet,” said defense consultant Loren Thompson, who has close ties to Boeing and other companies. A March 2016 report from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, estimated the cost of the overall program at $3.21 billion, including the purchase of two aircraft. But the GAO estimated the costs for research and development would be lower, at just under $2 billion. If the GAO report used the same Air Force estimate for research and development, then its estimate would be around $4 billion. Boeing shares dipped after Trump’s tweet but closed up 0.1 percent at $152.24. Trump’s broadside against Boeing comes as Washington’s business lobbyists are bracing for a wild ride. A New York real estate developer, Trump took aim at big corporations during his campaign, saying that they often harmed ordinary Americans by sending jobs abroad. Since winning the Nov. 8 election, he has taken credit for pushing United Technologies Corp and Ford Motor Co to backtrack on outsourcing plans. Trump’s attack on Boeing was the main topic of discussion at the annual luncheon of the Aerospace Industries Association, where the group’s chief executive, Dave Melcher, urged the new administration to promote trade and bolster the high-paying manufacturing jobs that the $143 billion-a-year sector offers. Industry executives say they are seeing willingness from the Trump team to take another look at export controls that limit exports of U.S. weapons. But in the short term, his tweets and comments on Boeing put defense contractors on notice. “The chilling effect on industry is huge, if you are a contractor,” said Franklin Turner, a partner specializing in government contracts at law firm McCarter & English. Boeing relies on the U.S. military and other arms of the federal government for a significant share of its defense, space and security business which is worth $30 billion a year. The company clashed during the past year with Republicans in Congress over the Export-Import Bank, a federal program Boeing uses to finance sales to certain overseas customers. Boeing executives have also been outspoken supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with Asia, which Trump opposed.

I get this feeling that society will collapse or implode. So don't be a hero and play your part.

"There's nowhere to go": Some victims of Hurricane Michael are sleeping in their cars, and others are looting stores in search of food and water https://nyti.ms/2CFZR0q 

No Food, No FEMA: Hurricane Michael’s Survivors Are Furious https://thebea.st/2IV0u6C?source=twitter&via=desktop … via @thedailybeast

"Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is threatening to jail wanted people seeking shelter due to Hurricane Irma." http://www.joemygod.com/2017/09/06/meet-floridas-sheriff-wannabe-joe-arapaio/ …

Below is the comment in red that MoveOn.org put up before the video. Notice how they say NOTHING about the budget but just state that the program helps people. They re clearly fear mongering with vague information and NO FACTS. If you would like to go to the post on Facebook and hammer them with the statement below that s DIRECTLY from Meals on Wheels, here s the link: MoveOn.org Facebook Post On Meals on Wheels Trump wants to cut Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels America is one program Donald J. Trump wants to cut in his federal budget plan. It s especially outrageous because according to one Meals on Wheels director, we re delivering a meal but we re delivering a lot more because sometimes we re the only people that this person may see Share the message. Notice how the people in the video just speak about how the program helps people BUT doesn t discuss budget? That s because they re only fear mongering and nothing else Shame on them!MEALS ON WHEELS CAME OUT WITH A STATEMENT TO CLEAR THINGS UP: The nationwide Meals on Wheels network, comprised of 5,000, local, community-based programs, receives 35% of its total funding for the provision of congregate and home-delivered meals from the federal government through the Older Americans Act, administered by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living. Other federal funding sources that support Meals on Wheels program operations may include the Community Development Block Grant, Community Services Block Grant or the Social Services Block Grant. In addition, programs rely on contributions from state or local governments, private donations and other resources to cover the rest, demonstrating one of the best examples of a successful public-private partnership. Meals on Wheels America, the largest and oldest national organization representing senior nutrition programs across the country, receives only 3% of its funding from the government, specifically to run the National Research Center on Nutrition and Aging.

#TrumpTrain??????????@realDonaldTrump isn t going anywhere. The MASSIVE MOVEMENT continues. Together, we will ALL #MAGA! #AmericaFirst pic.twitter.com/O0uOgFVuXJ Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) October 8, 2016THE CROWD GOES NUTS!Donald Trump waves, high-fives supporters outside Trump Tower after a day of fallout over his 2005 sexually-charged comments. pic.twitter.com/Ri3ClKcviR ABC News (@ABC) October 8, 2016THE NYPD had a message for all of the TRUMP supporters gathered outside of Trump Tower via speaker: ? GO TRUMP!

Tornado Relief: Bring 1 case of water or 6 canned food items to the Barons game tonight and get a free GA ticket!... http://fb.me/U8KL26K2

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said he spoke with Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday about how the Pentagon should be organized to meet global threats, including from Islamic State. Obama spoke with reporters after meeting with Carter at the White House. Obama said he would discuss the Islamic State threat with combatant commanders and the Joint Chiefs of Staff at a meeting later on Tuesday.

Latest Hurricane #Irma path from the NHC. Day of reckoning for Florida, Evac if you can, and and if you can't, find sturdy shelter, Be safe pic.twitter.com/Vq5H8Lm1bf

11-Year-Old Boy Charged With Manslaughter of Toddler: Report: An 11-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter over the fatal sh...

HOUSTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump is considering Democratic U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota for either the interior or energy secretary positions in his Cabinet, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Trump is also considering Joe Manchin, another conservative Democratic senator who represents the coal state of West Virginia, and Gary Cohn, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, for energy secretary, U.S. media reported on Thursday. Reuters previously reported that Trump planned to meet with Heitkamp on Friday, according to his transition team. Trump requested the meeting with Heitkamp, the source said. In a statement, Heitkamp said she appreciated “the president-elect inviting me for a meeting,” adding she hoped to “work with the president-elect and all of my colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle to best support my state.” The statement did not address whether a Cabinet position was being discussed, but Heitkamp’s spokeswoman, Abbie McDonough, said the senator “has a long record of working with both Republicans and Democrats.” Heitkamp, along with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, negotiated a deal in Congress last December to lift the decades-old ban on crude oil exports in exchange for a multi-year extension of tax credits for wind and solar energy. Heitkamp has been a supporter of domestic energy development, both in fossil fuels and renewable resources. North Dakota is a major source of crude oil, coal and wind power. Heitkamp is popular in her home state, though not all North Dakota state politicians voiced full support for the senator potentially joining the Trump administration. “I don’t see (Heitkamp) being in any Cabinet position,” Wayne Stenehjem, a Republican and North Dakota’s attorney general, told Reuters. She was elected to the Senate in 2012 in a close race, putting her up for re-election in two years. Should she join the Cabinet, her Senate seat would be filled by an appointment by North Dakota’s Republican governor. Republicans expect to hold 52 seats in the 100-seat chamber when the new Congress meets in January. Politico, citing unnamed sources, said Manchin was being considered for energy secretary. It quoted one of the sources as saying Manchin “is being considered to show the coal people how serious Trump is about coal.” Politico said Manchin told the website that he and his staff had not been contacted by Trump’s transition team, adding: “If I can do anything that would help my state of West Virginia, and my country, I would be happy to talk to anybody.” Manchin’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Manchin is up for re-election in 2018 in West Virginia, an increasingly Republican state where coal jobs have been threatened by cheaper natural gas prices. His 2012 election campaign stressed his opposition to climate change legislation that would have brought federal incentives for the United States to transition to cleaner-burning energy sources and away from fossil fuels such as coal. Reuters had reported on Wednesday that Goldman’s Cohn was being considered to head the White House budget office or another post in the Trump administration. Citing unnamed sources, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday that Trump was also considering nominating Cohn to head the Energy Department. Cohn met with Trump in New York on Tuesday. Cohn, a former Goldman commodities trader who joined the firm in 1990, has been widely considered to be the heir apparent to Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein. Another reported contender for the Energy and Interior positions, Oklahoma oil magnate Harold Hamm, said on Thursday he would recommend that Trump nominate Republican U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, one of the president-elect’s energy advisers, for energy secretary. “I’ve put his name forward,” Hamm said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” program. “He’d sort of do a better job in that post than me.”

A few extra ideas: Send donations, food, money or housing to #CA wildfire displaced families. Gather toys for Wildfires victims children, or homeless children in your local community.

Residents in Aurora, Indiana are upset after seeing a parade float on Saturday which depicted Donald Trump flipping the switch on Hillary Clinton in an electric chair. As if that wasn t bad enough, the float also featured someone in blackface portraying President Obama as an Easter Island figure with an oversized head. The float is plastered with a Trump/Pence sign, a Make America Great Again sign and of course, something with Benghazi written on it and it also mentions Clinton s health.An Aurora mother posted a photo on Facebook of the offensive float. Who thinks this is appropriate for a fair parade where children, some of them minorities and girls, are marching and playing instruments and watching? Who thinks this is something to laugh at or be proud of? Penny Britton wrote on her Facebook page. This is disgusting. This makes me embarrassed to say I live here. This is Aurora, Indiana. Congratulations. That prompted different comments ranging from calling it disgusting and racist, to another saying Who cares! On Saturday morning, the float was featured as part of the Aurora Farmers Fair Parade.WCPO reports:It s sponsored by the Aurora Lions Club, according to its website, and touted as Indiana s oldest street festival. The theme of the parade was Celebrating the Past, Embracing the Future. A Lions Club board member spoke with WCPO and said the organization was not prepared to make a statement.The parade manager did not return a call by a WCPO reporter.Meanwhile, Frank Linkmeyer, whose trailer which held the float is now in his driveway, says he didn t mean to offend anyone and he s sorry. He did a really bad job of trying to not be offensive. We re pretty sure Trump supporters will say it s being politically correct to object because children have to witness a display of racism. One man said, If anyone is offended by it, well don t look at it. It s pretty hard to change the channel on a parade you re attending. The float was right there in everyone s faces.Images via screen capture.

Dallas Convention Center gearing up as Mega Rescue Shelter #HurricaneHarvey #conventioncenters #hurricaneshelter https://goo.gl/imSpn3 

Hurricane Tip #1, fish tanks not only provide the much needed water but also food. #hurricaneirma #hurricant

RT @wxbrad Tornado spotted near Bristol, TN seek shelter now in Abington, VA! #tnwx http://twitpic.com/4qckl5 #vawx

Reported motor vehicle accident in Curry on Herman Rd near Stephenson involving an overturned vehicle. Please use... http://t.co/YbJezKuRW1

@calderdale I'm paying DOUBLE council tax due to flood and your bin 'operatives' still can't leave food waste bags as requested.

The fast food industry has been warning those demanding a $15/hr. wage that they could be easily replaced.In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences) are outcomes that are not the ones foreseen and intended by a purposeful action. The term was popularised in the twentieth century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton. It s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who s inefficient making $15 an hour bagging french fries, former McDonald s USA CEO Ed Rensi said in an interview on Tuesday on the Fox Business Network s Mornings with Maria. It s nonsense and it s very destructive and it s inflationary and it s going to cause a job loss across this country like you re not going to believe. According to Rensi, rising labor costs are forcing chains to cut entry-level jobs and replace workers with machines. Currently, Wendy s, McDonald s, and Panera are rolling out kiosks across the US, in part because of the rising cost of labor. Business InsiderAccording to statista.com, in 2016, there were over 3.7 million people in the US who were employed in the fast food industry. When those jobs go away, where will these workers go for employment? Will they be forced to do the jobs that only the illegal aliens will do? Wendy s just announced their plans to install self-ordering kiosks at about 1,000 locations by the end of the year.A typical location would have three kiosks, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Higher-volume restaurants will be given priority for the kiosks.Wendy s chief information officer, David Trimm, said the kiosks are intended to appeal to younger customers and reduce labor costs. Kiosks also allow customers of the fast food giant to circumvent long lines during peak dining hours while increasing kitchen production.Trim estimates the company will see a return on its investment in less than two years. They are looking to improve their automation and their labor costs, and this is a good way to do it, said Darren Tristano, vice president with Technomic, a food-service research and consulting firm. They are also trying to enhance the customer experience. Younger customers prefer to use a kiosk. Customers will still be able to order at the counter for now, although Tristan predicts that mobile ordering and payment via smartphones will one day overtake self-ordering kiosks and cash registers. Weasel Zippers, WMUR

Sarah Palin knows she s a political outcast. She s proud of it. She thinks because nobody cares what she thinks besides a handful of dense Trump supporters who are at his rallies to listen rather than wait for the chance to beat someone up that she qualifies as some kind of revolutionary.She actually qualifies as a has-been as well as a never-should-have-been, but I digress. There is nothing revolutionary about Sarah Palin. Assuming that she ll be able to just walk into a secure facility without an invite because you can see Russia from a remote island off the coast of Alaska or because your ever-so-pure Christian family are pros at losing custody battles, beating women and having children out-of-wedlock is a bit naive.Palin says she s going, however, and not even Paul Revere ringin those bells and warning the British that they r uhhh not gonna take our guns will stop her. In an interview with the Associated Press, Palin said she may have to invite herself. I can t see any of them inviting me, she said, adding that the leaders of the RNC are afraid of what I might say. Ya think? Every time this woman opens her mouth yet another round of inane rambling comes out. She has no clue how to prepare for a successful public appearance, which is why she s had so few. She doesn t deserve a stage or a microphone, even if it the Republican clown convention we re talking about.Palin also warned that the RNC had better not mess with Trump, who she called so reasonable and full of common sense. She says the people will rise up if they deny their candidate the nomination: How dare they these arrogant, arrogant political operatives. Under the wisdom of the people, we will rise up, and we will say our vote does count, our activism does count. And for those who would try to warp that, those are the ones who need to leave we don t need to leave. Looks like Sarah Palin is gonna jump onto the Trump train as it crashes into Cleveland, which will be nothing short of hilarious especially if they tell her to beat it.Time will tell. I wonder if the grandkids will be helping her forge an invitation with construction paper and crayons.Featured image from Aaron Bernstein/Getty Images

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A senior Malaysian opposition leader was detained by anti-corruption authorities on Thursday, a source said, as part of a nationwide campaign against graft launched by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Hundreds of people including many high-profile figures have been arrested this year by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), at a time when a multi-billion dollar scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) hangs over Najib. Shafie Apdal, a former close ally of Najib, was detained at the MACC office in the state of Sabah in connection with a RM1.5 billion ($355 million) embezzlement probe, according to a source in the anti-graft agency. The investigation covers alleged corruption involving projects doled out by the federal government through the Rural and Regional Development Ministry between 2009 and 2015, when it was run by Shafie. He will be brought before a magistrate for a remand hearing tomorrow, said the source, who was not authorized to issue statements on behalf of the MACC. Shafie could not be contacted. Darell Leiking, Deputy President of his Parti Warisan Sabah party, described the arrest as political persecution. We shall ensure that we shall fight for justice for all those who this (Najib) regime intends to suppress and intimidate, Darell told Reuters. Prior to Shafie s arrest, the anti-graft agency detained two of his brothers and several senior Warisan leaders. Shafie, a former vice-president of Najib s ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), quit the party after he was suspended for questioning the prime minister over his handling of the 1MDB scandal. He later founded Warisan to run for office in his home state. Over the past two years, Najib has grappled with the 1MDB scandal which has been the subject of investigations in at least six countries for money-laundering and misappropriation of funds. Malaysia s attorney-general closed the 1MDB probe in January 2016, and cleared Najib of any wrongdoing.

@followlasg This is urgentthere is currently a 3 storey building at church B/stop Oworoshoki Third mainland bridge which likely to collapse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy has triggered anguished soul searching among many college-educated and affluent Republicans who must decide whether to back him, sit out the election, or do the unthinkable: vote for his opponent, Hillary Clinton. With less than two months to go before the Nov. 8 election, rural, white voters who lack a college degree have flocked to Trump. But his brash style and lack of experience in government are a much tougher sell among well-off Republicans who have long been a backbone of the party, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling and interviews with Republican-leaning white collar professionals. Trump’s hopes of capturing the White House may rest on whether he can win over enough of these voters in battleground states such as Ohio, Virginia and Colorado to offset Clinton’s overwhelming advantages with minority voters, young people, urban voters and women. “If you had told me two years ago that I would be voting for Hillary Clinton, I would have said, ‘No freaking way,’” said Michael Sheehan, chief operating officer of a Columbus-based apparel firm. Sheehan is now leaning toward Clinton, the Democratic nominee, because he worries Trump would damage U.S. relations abroad. Reuters/Ipsos polling shows that Clinton is doing better among affluent and college-educated voters than President Barack Obama did four years ago, even among Republicans. It’s a warning signal for Trump, who has been shunned by blacks, Latinos and millennial voters. In 2012, nearly nine out of every 10 Republicans with a college degree and annual income over $100,000 supported then Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Now, about seven in 10 support Trump. Romney won college-educated voters over Obama by 4 percentage points in 2012, but the Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll showed Clinton with a 48-28 percent advantage among those same voters last month. The same gap is playing out in key swing states. In Ohio, Clinton has a 47-36 percent edge among the college educated, according to a Monmouth University poll in August. “It’s amazing how few Trump supporters I’ve run into,” said James King, a partner in a prominent Columbus law firm who backed Romney in 2012 but who likely will vote for Clinton. Marsha Blackburn, a congresswoman from Tennessee who is one of Trump’s biggest supporters in Washington, said Trump’s proposal this week for a child-care tax credit was an example of policies that can appeal to more affluent Republicans. Trump still needs to “keep pushing his economic message, keep talking about national security, keep talking about these issues that are so important to moms, these working-family issues,” she told Reuters. Ohio, with its 18 electoral votes, is crucial for Trump and he has campaigned intensively in the state. But in populous, largely suburban central Ohio, Trump has a tougher task than in the rural counties that surround it. The local economy skews toward white-collar workers and professionals and does not depend on the manufacturing revival Trump has promised in his “Make America Great Again” message. Romney, the scion of a wealthy family and former private equity fund manager, was a more natural fit with many Republicans in the area. He epitomized what sometimes has been called the “country club Republicans.” They favor smaller government, less intrusive regulations and put less weight on conservative social values. Trump, the real-estate magnate from Manhattan, would seem similar, but some Republican professionals in central Ohio can’t get past his temperament and comments like the one suggesting illegal immigrants from Mexico are rapists and murderers. Romney himself has been a fierce critic of Trump. “There’s no way I could ever vote for that guy,” said King, the law firm partner, adding that Trump’s criticism of the family of a Muslim soldier, Humayun Khan, who was killed in action, soured him on Trump for good. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll of registered voters last month showed Clinton ahead among white, college-educated voters in Colorado, where she held a 55-23 percent edge; in North Carolina, where she held a 47-40 percent advantage; and in Virginia, where she held a 43-37 percent edge. Bradley Barbin, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer in Columbus, has decorated the walls of his office with Republican memorabilia stretching back a century. He faults Trump for stirring resentment and for encouraging violence at his rallies. Trump has denied there is significant violence at his events and has blamed the media for exaggerating scuffles with protesters. Barbin said he likely won’t back Clinton. “Do I know exactly what I am going to do? No. But I do know that Trump’s the bigger problem,” he said. Among affluent Republicans who do support Trump, several said that whatever reservations they may have about him as a candidate, it was more important to keep Clinton from the presidency. “I think she’s a bad person,” said William Bay, a retired nephrologist who lives in Hilliard, a suburb of Columbus, who lauded Trump as an agent of change. Trump’s campaign has long contended there exists a swath of Trump voters who won’t talk to the press or pollsters for fear of being demonized, but who will show up at the polls in November. But it’s also possible that some Republicans, once in the privacy of the voting booth, will go with Clinton because of their concerns about Trump. Barbin, the Columbus defense lawyer, said that’s the takeaway from conversations with his peers. “We all know,” he said, “that there are certain people you just cannot give that kind of unfettered power to. You just can’t.”

The media has been giving wall-to-wall coverage of the horrific and violent act that took place in Charlottesville, VA. By now, every American has seen the face and name of the 20-year old man, James Alex Fields, Jr., who was allegedly part of a group of white supremacists, that smashed into a large crowd of protesters on the street.JUST IN: Booking photo of James Alex Fields, Jr. @NBC29 pic.twitter.com/9nxtsvqNmt Henry Graff (@HenryGraff) August 13, 2017As a result of the horrific accident, one woman was killed and several others were injured. Of course, the media is blaming Donald Trump for the horrific accident that he clearly had nothing to do with. As a side note, does anyone remember the media blaming former President Barack Obama when the city of Ferguson, MO was burned to the ground by Black Lives Matter rioters? Yeah, either do we.But what about the black woman who INTENTIONALLY drove her car into a crowded street on the strip in Las Vegas with her 3-year old toddler in the back seat? Does anyone even remember this happening?In December 2015, Las Vegas police say a 24 year old woman, with her 3 year old toddler in the back seat, intentionally drove her vehicle into a crowded Las Vegas strip with the intention of running people over. Here s the story MSNBC published that was written by the Associated Press. The AP doesn t waste any time attempting to gain sympathy for the driver, and in only the third paragraph of the story, the AP want to make it perfectly clear that the reader knows she may not be guilt of intentional homicide. They re quick to quote the murderer s defense lawyer who told them, Just because she s charged, doesn t mean she s guilty From the AP article:A woman accused of intentionally plowing a car carrying her child through crowds of pedestrians on a Las Vegas Strip sidewalk is distraught and overwhelmed, her defense attorney said after she briefly appeared in court for the first time.Lakeisha Nicole Holloway, 24, pursed her lips and blinked as she was led in shackles into a courtroom. She was not asked to enter a plea but nodded to acknowledge that she would remain in jail through the holidays while both sides investigate Sunday s crash that killed an Arizona woman and injured dozens of others. This is sad and tragedy for everybody involved, defense lawyer Joseph Abood said after the hearing, adding, Just because she s charged, doesn t mean she s guilty. A woman with her 3-year-old daughter in the car smashed into crowds of visitors on the Las Vegas Strip, then drove to a hotel and told a valet to call 911 after killing a woman from Arizona and injuring at least 35 others, including at least five Canadians, police said.People jumped on the car and banged on its windows, but Lakeisha N. Holloway, 24, would not stop driving on the sidewalk, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told reporters. Video appeared to show the crash in front of the Paris and Planet Hollywood casino-hotels was intentional, he said.The 1996 Oldsmobile sedan was fully on the sidewalk twice Sunday night, including once when it traveled for 200 feet, police said. The child in the car was not hurt.The 24-year-old told police told she was homeless and tired, and denied using drugs or alcohol. Holloway also told police she had been unable to rest or sleep because security officers kept running her and her daughter and her car off casino properties.Here s a look at how MSNBC s parent company NBC covered the horrific Charlottesville incident yesterday. By the third paragraph in the part of the article that describes the accident, MSNBC interviews a witness from the other side of the protest (not the alleged perpetrator s defense lawyer, like in the story above) who clearly states there is no question about the motive or of the driver s guilt: It was very clearly intentional. NBC: Described as a group of anti-racist protesters by a witness who took video of the crash, the group of marchers was packed close together at the end of a street near the intersection of Fourth and Water streets in downtown Charlottesville when the car struck.Brennan Gilmore, a 37-year-old who works for a start up, shot the footage and said he heard tires squealing before he saw a car build up speed and ram the crowd. It hit a number of people before plowing into the bumper of another car. It was very clearly intentional, Gilmore told NBC News. From the far end of the street it accelerated, slowed down right before the crowd and then slammed on the gas through the crowd sending bodies flying. And then it reversed back into the street dragging bodies and clothes. And then boom the TRUMP tie-in (which was not really a tie-in at all):Fields mother, Samantha Bloom, told The Associated Press on Saturday night that she knew her son was attending a rally in Virginia but didn t know it was a white nationalist rally. I thought it had something to do with Trump. Trump s not a white supremacist, Bloom told the AP. (The last sentence that includes Fields mother s statement about Trump NOT being a white supremacist [bold], was omitted from many mainstream media sources, as it didn t fit their narrative.)In February 2017, Holloway was found mentally competent to stand trial after nearly a year committed at Lakes Crossing maximum security psychiatric facility. Holloway then pleaded not guilty in the case. Nearly 3 years later, her case has still not been tried. Lakeisha Holloway faces 71 felony counts in connection to the Dec. 20, 2015 incident that left a woman dead and injured 34 others. Her trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 5, 2018.If you want to learn more about this case, you ll have to look for updates in local Las Vegas news sources. You won t likely find it being covered by the mainstream media.

Calgary news weather and traffic for August 5 * ~ 90 http://t.co/qBdRYXSGlC http://t.co/VZOd7qFFlv

Haitians scramble for shelter from powerful Hurricane Matthew https://goo.gl/iRz3wG  #World

No food, no FEMA: Hurricane Michael's survivors are furious - The Daily Beast https://apple.news/APp4E5UMtQT2ULJVMPM0ovw …

BANGKOK (Reuters) - It will be business as usual this month for Thailand s lucrative tourism industry as the country gears up for the lavish funeral of its revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the tourism agency said on Monday. Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of Thailand s GDP and has been one of the few bright spots for Southeast Asia s second-largest economy, which has struggled since a 2014 coup by the military. One of the world s most popular travel destinations has observed a year-long period of mourning after the death in October last year of King Bhumibol, who ruled for seven decades, and will be cremated on Oct. 26 in a ceremony lasting five days. Tourism activities will continue as normal around the country, even though Thai people will be in mourning, Tanes Petsuwan, a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told Reuters. There are no restrictions on tourists at all and they can still enjoy Amazing Thailand while they are here, he said, referring to a tagline trumpeted in tourism advertisements. However, Bangkok s Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, two key landmarks in the capital, will be closed for most of the month to host the cremation. In a travel advisory last month, the tourism agency asked tourists to behave appropriately and respect Thai sensitivities during what promises to be an emotionally-charged time for many. We would like to request that the solemnity of the royal cremation is observed, and visitors should refrain from any inappropriate or disrespectful behavior, it said. While not required to wear black, tourists should stick to respectful clothing , it added. With its beaches, Buddhist temples and infamous night life, Thailand remains a magnet for travelers despite weathering more than a decade of unrest, including two coups, deadly floods in 2011 and a wave of bombs in tourist towns last year. It expects to welcome a record 32.4 million visitors this year. King Bhumibol was succeeded by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who ascended the throne in December last year. King Vajiralongkorn has since overseen several shake-ups of palace staff and moved some agencies under his direct control, including the Crown Property Bureau, which manages most of the royal family s wealth.

Muslim man ‘killed by mob who tied him to tree, beat him and forced him to recite Hindu chants’ in India https://t.co/4hzomchfSi

SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - Venezuela and the United States will immediately start talks to ease tensions between the two countries and does not support its ouster from a regional diplomatic bloc, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday after meeting his counterpart from the OPEC nation. Venezuela is embroiled in an economic and political crisis that has led to social unrest in one of the world’s largest oil producers. The United States will send Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, a veteran on Latin American diplomacy, as its representative to the talks, Kerry told reporters traveling with him after the bilateral meeting. Kerry said that the United States did not support efforts by the head of the Organization of the American States to suspend Venezuela from the regional diplomatic bloc.

ERBIL, Iraq/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey threatened potentially crippling restrictions on oil trading with Iraqi Kurds on Thursday after they backed independence from Baghdad in a referendum that has alarmed Ankara as it faces a separatist insurgency from its own Kurdish minority. Iraq s Kurds endorsed secession by nine to one in a vote on Monday that has angered Turkey, the central government in Baghdad, and other regional and world powers, who fear the referendum could lead to renewed conflict in the region. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi s office said he had been told by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in a call that Turkey would break with past practice and deal only with the Baghdad government over oil exports from Iraq. Most oil that flows through a pipeline from Iraq to Turkey comes from Kurdish sources and a cut-off would severely damage the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), which relies on sales of crude for almost all its hard currency revenues. So far the pipeline is operating normally despite Turkish threats to impose economic sanctions on the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq. Turkish officials, however, ramped up pressure on the Kurds on Thursday. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin the Kurdish government made a big mistake by holding the referendum and must be prevented from bigger mistakes. He said Turkey and Russia agreed the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria must be preserved. Yildirim said separately that Turkey would respond harshly to any security threat on its border after the referendum, although that was not its first choice. Yildirim also said he agreed with Abadi to coordinate economic and trade relations with the central government in Baghdad. He said Turkey, Iran and Iraq may meet to discuss the referendum. Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said Turkish armed forces would stop training Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, which protected oil fields from capture by the Islamic State. With the region s largest Kurdish population, Turkey has been battling a three-decade insurgency in its largely Kurdish southeast and fears the referendum will inflame separatist tensions at home. The United Nations offered on Thursday to help solve the problem between the KRG and Baghdad, the Iraqi foreign ministry said following a meeting between Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari and Jan Kubis, the top U.N. envoy in Iraq. The United States was willing, if asked, to help facilitate talks to try to ease tensions between the two sides, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. Kurdish officials say they can withstand an economic blockade because they are self-sufficient in terms of power generation and fuel supply and have fertile agricultural land. They also say that three quarters of the trucks that cross the Turkish border are heading to territory controlled by Baghdad rather than to the Kurdish region, so the Turkish and Iraqi economies would suffer from any blockade. But travel to the Kurdish region will become harder if airports in Erbil and Sulaimaniya are closed to international flights. Their autonomous region in Iraq is the closest the Kurds have come in modern times to a state. It has flourished amid Iraq s civil war but may struggle to maintain investment if it is blockaded economically. Kurdish officials say that Abadi s tough response to the referendum vindicates Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani s decision to hold the referendum because they believe Baghdad will not cooperate under any circumstances. The officials feel that if Baghdad, Turkey, Iran, the United States and the world line up against them, and the Kurds cannot see an end to their hardship, Barzani could come under pressure at home to declare independence. A diplomatic drive to forestall Monday s referendum failed to persuade Kurdish leaders, some of the United States closest Middle Eastern allies, former U.S. officials and experts said. There were expectations that the United States, which said it would not recognize the vote, could use its ties to the Iraqi Kurds to persuade Barzani to cancel the referendum in exchange for a guarantee of talks with Baghdad. The U.S. bid to stop the referendum failed, experts said, in part because the aging Barzani sees fulfilling aspirations for an independent Kurdish state as his legacy. The United States, major European countries and nearby Turkey and Iran all opposed the referendum as destabilizing at a time when all sides are still fighting Islamic State. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said there had been a loss of focus in the fight against Islamic State since the referendum. Baghdad has heaped pressure on the Kurds, demanding they cancel their referendum, while parliament urged the Iraqi government to send troops to take control of oilfields held by Kurdish forces. Baghdad also demanded that foreign governments close their diplomatic missions in the Kurdish capital Erbil. Foreign airlines have begun cancelling flights to Kurdish airports after Iraq said international flights to Erbil and Sulaimaniya would be suspended from Friday. Turkey told its citizens to leave northern Iraq before the ban came into force. Kurdish authorities have rejected Baghdad s demands that they should annul the referendum and hand over control of their international airports, instead offering to hold talks with Baghdad in an attempt to defuse the airports crisis. Erdogan and Putin met in Ankara on Thursday. Russia s interest in the region is growing. Oil major Rosneft (ROSN.MM) is increasing investment in Kurdistan and the Kurds have been developing strong ties with Moscow. Russia is one of the biggest investors in the economy of Iraqi Kurdistan at this moment, said Kirill Vertyayev, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow. There is a certain conflict of interest because neither Baghdad nor Ankara are happy about Russia s economic expansion in Iraqi Kurdistan ... that s why Russia is acting carefully, he said. The Kurds consider Monday s referendum to be an historic step in a generations-old quest for a state of their own, while Iraq considers the vote unconstitutional. Barzani, who is KRG president, has said the vote is not binding, but meant to provide a mandate for negotiations with Baghdad and neighboring countries over the peaceful secession of the region from Iraq. Baghdad has rejected talks. The Kurds were left without a state of their own when the Ottoman Empire collapsed a century ago. Around 30 million live in Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. The Kurds say the referendum acknowledges their contribution in confronting Islamic State after it overwhelmed the Iraqi army.

Dallas Police Officer Dan Cincinnatus wrote an amazing letter to Seattle Seahawks player, Russell Wilson imploring him to not sit while the fans honor our flag during the playing of the National Anthem. The Seattle Seahawks team has apparently organized a team sit-down during the playing of the National Anthem as a way to protest black oppression in America. Many Americans, including us, believe this is truly the most disrespectful act of anti-americanism we have ever seen in professional sports and has nothing whatsoever to do with multi-millionair black athletes being oppressed by America. Read Dan s letter and tell us what you think in the comments below or on our Facebook page.From Dan Cincinnati s Facebook page:In response to the rumors of a Seattle Seahawks team sit-down for the Star Spangled Banner on 09/11, I wrote this open letter to Russell Wilson and posted it on his Facebook page.Dear Mr. Wilson,My name is Dan Russell. I am a lifelong Seattle Seahawks fan, a native Washingtonian, and I have the humble privilege of serving as a Police Officer in my community.I am the Officer in these photos two of which went viral taken in Dallas on 07/07 at the scene where 14 police officers were shot in an ambush; five of whom perished from their injuries.I decided to dedicate myself to a life of Service on a Tuesday morning sitting in my parents living room on 09/11/2001, as I watched live footage of a plane crash into the World Trade Center. I woke up my brother, a serving United States Marine at the time, to give him the news America was under attack.On that sunny and bright Tuesday, 2,996 Americans lost their lives. 343 of those lost were firefighters, and 71 were law enforcement officers. In response to the worst terrorist attack in our Nation s history, millions answered the call to Service to Serve their Nation in the military, to Serve their communities as Police Officers, firefighters, dispatchers, paramedics, or as the family of one of these intrepid selfless individuals.Every day, more choose to answer the call to Serve inspired by those events of fifteen years ago and the selfless sacrifice of so many that came before them.I chose to Serve on 09/11/2001. After Ferguson in 2014 I found myself questioning my choice of career and vocation. A visit to Ground Zero reminded me that I was Serving something bigger than myself something beautiful and everlasting.America.I humbly ask I beg that you do not sit down for The Star Spangled Banner on this coming Sunday, the 15th anniversary of 09/11/2001.To do so would be a slap in the face to millions of fans, millions of public Servants, millions of Americans, to 09/11 first responders, to the survivors, and to the families of all that were involved and impacted by that terrible day, most of all To those 2,996 who fell in an act of hatred towards our country and all we stand for.You have so many avenues of making a stand, of letting your voice be one of compassion, reconciliation, and building rather than tearing down. You have shown that you are an inspiring leader, man of community, faith, family, and charity. You have a voice that will be heard.Please, use your voice in one of those other avenues do not allow yourself to become one that succumbs to the sensationalism and misguided choices that are currently causing so much division in our country.Stand for The Star Spangled Banner.We who Serve will stand with you.Respectfully, Dan Russell Seahawks FanRussell Wilson has announced that he will NOT take part in the planned sit-down by players on the Seattle Seahawks team. Here is his response.HERE is the link to Dan s letter on Facebook.We d like to offer Officer Cincinnatus a standing O for his well-written and powerful letter!

Airbnb offering free housing to Hurricane Dorian evacuees and relief workers https://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article234632627.html …

Children, the most vulnerable of Americans, will feel the brunt of the new Obamacare replacement bill by the House GOP. The Hill reports that the new bill would result in $43 Billion being cut in Medicaid coverage for children over the next 10 years, according to a recent study.The study conducted by Avalere, a healthcare consulting firm, found that coverage for non-disabled children would be cut due to a per capita cap. This new cap is the GOP s way to implement new cuts to an already strained Medicaid fund that provides health care to millions of American children who don t have access to anything else. Over time, per capita caps could significantly reduce the amount of funding that goes towards Medicaid coverage for children, Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere, said in a statement. While local control and more efficient operation of Medicaid programs are laudable goals, coverage and access for low income children are ultimately dictated by federal funding, and reductions of this magnitude could disrupt access. The GOP argues that these cuts are necessary to control what they see as too much spending on Medicaid.The Congressional Budget Office discovered that overall, $839 billion will be cut from Medicaid over 10 years. These enormous cuts will be achieved through the new Medicaid per capita cap and ending extra funds to ObamaCare s Medicaid expansion.Parents across the country are afraid of what will happen when their child s health coverage is cut. The fear is being felt across the board.With cuts this astronomically huge, there s absolutely no way kids can stay out of harm s way, says Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center on Children and Families.Let s hope the House bill doesn t get any further, for the sake of our country and our children.Featured image via Getty/Chip Somodevilla

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who sparked a political crisis on Saturday by declaring his surprise resignation in Riyadh, has traveled to the UAE, Saudi-owned media said on Tuesday. His resignation has thrust Lebanon back onto the front line of the Middle East s most biting rivalry, pitting a mostly Sunni bloc led by Saudi Arabia and including the UAE against Shi ite Iran and its allies. On Monday Saudi Arabia accused Lebanon of declaring war against it because of aggression by Iran s Lebanese ally Hezbollah, dramatically escalating the crisis and threatening to destabilize tiny Lebanon. The ratings agency Moody s has said that any return in Lebanon to the political paralysis that existed before Hariri joined a national unity government last year would harm its credit rating. The sudden nature of Hariri s resignation has also fueled speculation in Lebanon that he was coerced into quitting and has been held against his will. Saudi Arabia has denied this. Hariri, a political ally of Saudi Arabia, left Riyadh early on Tuesday for Abu Dhabi to meet the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Hariri-owned Future TV and Saudi-owned al-Arabiya reported. Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Tuesday that Iran s decision to supply rockets to militias in Yemen constitutes a direct military aggression against the kingdom. A rocket fired from Yemen intercepted on the outskirts of Riyadh hours after Hariri s resignation on Saturday. On Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN the rocket was an Iranian missile launched by Hezbollah .

Here s the original post by the Washington Post:It s now illegal in Russia to share an image of Putin as a gay clown https://t.co/trihoOp6nt Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 5, 2017Here are some of the hilarious responses:Huh. Is this illegal? pic.twitter.com/ZIK2xBHslt Jessica (@NoFascistsPls) April 5, 2017Like this? pic.twitter.com/YNa6CB61ML B3r$A (@ScamGoggles) April 6, 2017What about this pic.twitter.com/LlA6cEV6KT Jessica (@NoFascistsPls) April 5, 2017Really? Because I like this one. pic.twitter.com/ZiEVbUddqr Lisa Stewart (@holachola) April 6, 2017Or this? pic.twitter.com/29syZcNkbt Jessica (@NoFascistsPls) April 5, 2017Well, the demand for gay Putin clowns just went up. I m gonna capitalize on this meme. pic.twitter.com/iD2wST92q9 Tyler (@Dy5function) April 5, 2017Here ya go.Courtesy of https://t.co/tJWNKZbBEv pic.twitter.com/Bi0VGOKe4a Stranger Thingamabob (@MikeyMooseNC) April 5, 2017

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzanian President John Magufuli has revealed he earns a salary of 9 million Tanzanian shillings ($4,000) per month, making him one of the lowest paid African leaders as he pursues a much-criticized policy of deep public spending cuts. In a speech to local officials in the capital on Tuesday he also said his government had slashed salaries of executives at state-owned companies at 15 million Tanzanian shillings ($6,700) a month more than his own. They can leave if they don t want it, he said. He said abuse of public funds was rampant at state firms and that he had rejected requests from some local officials to more than double their allowances, saying he could not do so while many citizens lack access to water, health care and electricity. Since taking office in November 2015, Magufuli nicknamed the Bulldozer has cut government spending by imposing measures such as restrictions on foreign travel for government officials and the removal of ghost workers from the state payroll. Some critics say his cost-cutting measures are excessive and argue they could undermine growth in East Africa s second-biggest economy and some have slowed investment in critical sectors such as mining. Magufuli s salary is a small fraction of that of other African leaders. He has no other publicly known sources of income and his government said last year it plans to submit a parliamentary bill that would prohibit public leaders from engaging in business to avoid conflicts of interest. By contrast Kenya s president earns a monthly salary of around $14,000. Jacob Zuma of South Africa is paid around $20,000 monthly, following a salary increase by parliament in 2015. Since 2009, Zuma has been embroiled in numerous scandals and allegations of abuse of office, including more than $500,000 of improper state spending on security at his private home. Others with more modest pay include President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, who took a 50 percent pay cut when he took office in May 2015. The annual presidential salary was previously set at 14.1 million naira, which in mid-2015 was the equivalent of $70,000. ($1 = 2,239.0000 Tanzanian shillings)

Sudarshan News may have violated multiple broadcast codes, in the first episode of the controversial show ‘Bindas Bol’ alleging Muslims are launching a 'UPSC_Jihad'. #SudarshanNews #SureshChavhanke https://t.co/O2vRlAPSBP

America s biggest loser, Hillary Clinton was seen in her first televised interview on CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley since being pummeled by voters who overwhelmingly chose Donald J. Trump over her in the 2016 presidential election. Hillary, who isn t capable of letting her hair down, attempted to pretend to be forthcoming about how she dealt with the embarrassing thumping she took at the polls in an election pollsters insisted she d win.In typical Hillary fashion, she blames her loss to Donald J. Trump on Russians and Americans who elected a White Nationalist , while never once accepting responsibility for her flawed character or the enormous amount of distrust Americans have for her and for her sexual predator husband and the slush fund (the Clinton Foundation) the two of them, along with their dishonest daughter, have been operating for years.Watch Hillary tell Jane Pauley how she was so sure she was going to win the election, that she actually bought a house next to her and Bill s Chappaqua mansion in New York to house her staff servants. She also explains how painful it was to watch Trump s inauguration.lol

I m sure the apple doesn t fall far from the tree in this case. Many of us have known about the father-in-law but this digs deeper into Valerie Jarrett s own family. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) files obtained by Judicial Watch reveal that the dad, maternal grandpa and father-in-law of President Obama s trusted senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett, were hardcore Communists under investigation by the U.S. government.Jarrett s dad, pathologist and geneticist Dr. James Bowman, had extensive ties to Communist associations and individuals, his lengthy FBI file shows. In 1950 Bowman was in communication with a paid Soviet agent named Alfred Stern, who fled to Prague after getting charged with espionage. Bowman was also a member of a Communist-sympathizing group called the Association of Internes and Medical Students. After his discharge from the Army Medical Corps in 1955, Bowman moved to Iran to work, the FBI records show.According to Bowman s government file the Association of Internes and Medical Students is an organization that has long been a faithful follower of the Communist Party line and engages in un-American activities. Bowman was born in Washington D.C. and had deep ties to Chicago, where he often collaborated with fellow Communists. JW also obtained documents on Bowman from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) showing that the FBI was brought into investigate him for his membership in a group that follows the communist party line. The Jarrett family Communist ties also include a business partnership between Jarrett s maternal grandpa, Robert Rochon Taylor, and Stern, the Soviet agent associated with her dad.Jarrett s father-in-law, Vernon Jarrett, was also another big-time Chicago Communist, according to separate FBI files obtained by JW as part of a probe into the Jarrett family s Communist ties. For a period of time Vernon Jarrett appeared on the FBI s Security Index and was considered a potential Communist saboteur who was to be arrested in the event of a conflict with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). His FBI file reveals that he was assigned to write propaganda for a Communist Party front group in Chicago that would disseminate the Communist Party line among the middle class. It s been well documented that Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago lawyer and longtime Obama confidant, is a liberal extremist who wields tremendous power in the White House. Faithful to her roots, she still has connections to many Communist and extremist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Jarrett and her family also had strong ties to Frank Marshal Davis, a big Obama mentor and Communist Party member with an extensive FBI file.JW has exposed Valerie Jarrett s many transgressions over the years, including her role in covering up a scandalous gun-running operation carried out by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Last fall JW obtained public records that show Jarrett was a key player in the effort to cover up that Attorney General Eric Holder lied to Congress about the Fast and Furious, a disastrous experiment in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) allowed guns from the U.S. to be smuggled into Mexico so they could eventually be traced to drug cartels. Instead, federal law enforcement officers lost track of hundreds of weapons which have been used in an unknown number of crimes, including the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona.In 2008 JW got documents linking Valerie Jarrett, who also served as co-chairman of Obama s presidential transition team, to a series of real estate scandals, including several housing projects operated by convicted felon and Obama fundraiser/friend Antoin Tony Rezko. According to the documents obtained from the Illinois Secretary of State, Valerie Jarrett served as a board member for several organizations that provided funding and support for Chicago slum projects operated by Tony Rezco.Via: Judicial Watch

Volunteers with search dogs continue to scour neighborhoods flattened by Hurricane Dorian, while global relief agencies are rushing to get food and shelter Saturday to some 70,000 people in the... https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/07/us/hurricane-dorian-bahamas-saturday-wxc/index.html …

My neighbor has decided to let the flood ride apparently. Thanks to a broken line, his side yard is now totally underwater.