There's something about the cooler fall weather that makes my family want to huddle up indoors and eat sweets. Humans are likely programmed to do just this, but let's not let a change of seasons derail our healthy eating. Here are 5 modified classic fall recipes that will still make your house smell amazing and satisfy your sweet tooth—all without packing on the pounds. 5 Favorite Fall Recipes – the Healthy Way! 1. Pumpkin Pie Pumpkin pie defines the Thanksgiving holiday in my household—we eat it as a dessert, but we also eat the leftovers for breakfast. This version adds in rolled oats for fiber and has healthy ground flax, but the full-fat coconut milk means a rich, creamy pie that satisfies. Ingredients:  1 can (15oz) pumpkin puree 1 (13.5oz) can full-fat coconut milk 1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats 2 tbsp ground flax 1/4 cup coconut sugar 2 tbsp molasses 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract Instructions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the above ingredients together, then pour into a prepared pie crust in a 10-inch round pan. Bake for 30 minutes (it might still appear undercooked—don't worry!). Let your pie cool, then refrigerate for at least 5 hours. 2. Apple Cider Ingredients:  6 cups of organic apple juice 1/4 cups of real maple syrup (you can use even less – let's face it, apple juice is sweet on its own) 2 cinnamon sticks 6 whole cloves 6 whole allspice berries (optional)* 1 orange peel, cut into strips (optional)* 1 lemon peel, cut into strips (optional)* *Remember, the richness of flavor makes up for a lack of sugar—I'd rather have a spicier cider than one that is too syrupy sweet… Instructions:  Pour the apple juice and maple syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan. Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel and lemon peel in the center of a washed square of cheesecloth; fold up the sides of the cheesecloth to enclose the bundle, then tie it up with a length of kitchen string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture. I'm not that concerned if it all sits in the broth loose – just be careful not to pour it into your mugs when you serve it. Place the saucepan over moderate heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cider is very hot but not boiling. You can leave it on the lowest simmer during a party. Remove the cider from the heat. Discard the spice bundle. Ladle the cider into big cups or mugs, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving if desired. 3. Slow Cooker Baked Apples I love using my slow cooker, especially during autumn. It's so nice to throw some ingredients in during the morning and then to come home to a house that smells amazing. This simple dessert makes use of the natural sweetness of apples and leaves out much of the sugar. Ingredients:  5 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apples (4 medium) 5 cups sliced peeled Braeburn apples (4 medium) ¼ cup margarine (optional) 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ¼ cup packed brown sugar (you can even use less or leave it out entirely—experiment to see what works the best for you) 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ¼ cup apple cider Instructions:  Simply mix all ingredients and cook on low for 3-4 hours. If you're going to be out all day make sure to set the timer on your slow cooker so the apples don't get mushy. 4. Spiced Pear Cake This spiced pear cake is a crowd pleaser and a great way to use up your canned pears. We're leaving off the icing in order to make this a healthier choice, but see this recipe for a richer, more decadent version. Ingredients  For cake: 1 quart-size jar of canned spiced pears , drained (about 3 cups) 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups of maple syrup 1 1⁄4 cups coconut oil 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Instructions Preheat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, 2 cups sugar, and oil until blended. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda, and add to egg mixture, stir slowly until blended. Fold in pears, chopped nuts, and vanilla extract. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. 5. Pumpkin Spice Waffles Adding a little pumpkin spice is a surefire way to savor the fall weather (just ask Starbucks!). Working pumpkin into this traditional waffle recipe (and then tweaking to make it healthier) is a great way to make your breakfasts festive for the fall. Ingredients  3/4 cup maple syrup 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1-1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 large eggs 1 cup 2% milk 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm Instructions:  Lightly oil and preheat waffle iron. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch and blend. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and whisk to blend. Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium sized bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl. In a medium bowl, add pumpkin, milk and egg yolks. Whisk to blend. In a small bowl, whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Pour melted butter into pumpkin mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix together until just combined. Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until completely mixed. Once the waffle iron is heated, pour batter and press down until ready – about 3 minutes. Pamela Bofferding is a native Texan who now lives with her husband and sons in New York City. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing with her dogs. This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition  Originally published November 9th, 2016 Pumpkin Spice Waffles Spiced Pear Cake Warm Drinks for the Chilly Season 8 Delicious Things to Make With Pumpkin Guilt-Free Chocolate Fudge Brownies {gluten free and paleo}


Militia fighters in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo attacked a U.N. peacekeeping base on Friday, triggering clashes that left two of the fighters dead and two peacekeepers slightly wounded, the U.N. mission said. Thirty-four rebels from a Mai-Mai militia have been killed in fighting with Congo s army in the past week, local army spokesman Jules Ngongo said, a spike in violence he attributed to an army crackdown on the militia s harassment of local residents. Friday s attack, in which two rebels were also wounded, was a rare frontal assault on U.N. forces charged with protecting civilians in Congo s east, where dozens of armed groups exploit mineral resources and prey on local residents. Very early this morning, about 30 Mai-Mai attacked, mission spokeswoman Florence Marchal told Reuters, adding that U.N. forces drove off the assailants. It was not immediately clear which Mai-Mai group attacked nor what their objective was. The Mai-Mai comprise a number of armed bands that originally formed to resist Rwandan invasions in the 1990s. They have since morphed into a wide variety of ethnic-based militia, smuggling networks and protection rackets. Congo s mineral-rich eastern borderlands are a tinderbox of ethnic tensions and for more than two decades have been racked by violence that has often spilled across the country s borders. President Joseph Kabila s refusal to step down at the end of his constitutional mandate last December has fueled further unrest in the country s east, where wars between 1996-2003 killed millions, and center, where an insurgency against the central government has killed thousands since last August. Last week, U.N. forces in east Congo s South Kivu province intervened with helicopters and heavy machine guns to help beat back an advance by a separate rebel group on the strategic city of Uvira. The U.N. mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, is the world s largest with some 18,000 uniformed personnel and a more than $1 billion annual budget.


Obama shouldn t think for one moment that America doesn t see through he and Hillary s disgusting plan to divide us by color, social class, sexual orientation and religion.Here are a few black conservatives offering some choice words for our Divider In Chief and they are awesome!The outspoken Sheriff Clarke nails it with this tweet:American needs Obama to get out of bed & address Dallas situation NOW. He poured gas on this situation with his dog whistle message earlier. David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) July 8, 2016Pastor Manning is furious with our first black President who was given a golden opportunity and totally blew it:https://twitter.com/WDFx2EU2/status/751287310184902657Of course our Divider In Chief is either on the phone with Black Lives Matter organizers doing damage control or sleeping soundly and not giving the war he has started on law enforcement in America a second thought:It's now 5 dead officers. Will somebody wake up the president?#Dallas Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 8, 2016The brilliant Sheriff Clarke has a few choice words for Hillary as well:Mrs. Bill Clinton earlier showed support for Black LIES Matter. Let's see if this cop hater shows the same empathy for police in Dallas. David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) July 8, 2016


The U. S. Senate approved Elaine Chao's nomination to serve as the new secretary of transportation in Donald Trump's administration by a vote of on Tuesday. [Chao, who served in the cabinet of George W. Bush as secretary of labor in two successive administrations, will oversee important changes in transportation over coming years, such as the development of cars, as well as Donald Trump's $1 trillion plan to comprehensively upgrade the country's transportation infrastructure. In her hearing, Chao said that excessive regulation "dampens the basic creativity and innovation of our country," and promised to avoid a "patchwork" of regulation in the rollout of cars. "The Department of Transportation has a key role to play in modernizing our transportation systems, strengthening our country's competitiveness, and improving our quality of life. I look forward to working with you to rebuild, refurbish and revitalize America's infrastructure, so our economy can continue to grow, create good paying jobs for America's working families and enhance our quality of life," Chao said at her first confirmation hearing last week. However, financial disclosure forms released last week showed Chao could collect up to $5 million in Wells Fargo preferred stock after assuming her new role in the Trump administration. Chao, who was born in Taiwan, is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. She becomes the fifth member of Donald Trump's cabinet to be confirmed. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com


AZUSA, Calif. — A gunman with a rifle was found dead inside a home in a suburb of Los Angeles on Tuesday after shooting at police officers who responded to a report of gunfire and found one person fatally shot and two others critically injured, the authorities said. It was not clear if the gunman — a man whose identity was not immediately known — died of a gunshot wound or had been shot by the police, Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said at a news conference. "We're in the process of trying to figure out why this happened and who this person is and what exactly made him snap," he said. The victim who was fatally shot was a man, but no details were immediately available about him. The two other victims, women ages 65 and 59, were in "really critical" condition, Lieutenant Corina said. "We don't know what's going to happen to them," he said. The episode, which unfolded around 2 p. m. in Azusa, a city about 25 miles east of Los Angeles, took several confusing and conflicting turns as the authorities tried to sort out what happened and to whom. The acting chief of the Azusa Police Department, Steve Hunt, had said at a news conference earlier on Tuesday that the person who did the shooting was a woman armed with a rifle and that the dead victim was also a woman. Asked about the inconsistencies with earlier accounts, Lieutenant Corina said, "With something like this there are a lot of rumors flying around and a lot of misinformation going out. " He added that "so far we have found no evidence" of an accomplice in the shooting but emphasized that the police were searching for anyone else who might be injured, dead or hiding. The shooting unfolded as five Azusa police officers and one from nearby Irwindale responded to a report of gunfire on Fourth Street. Chief Hunt said that officers found "multiple victims" and that as they were tending to them, the officers came under fire. They had to be extracted by armored vehicles. All of the officers who were pinned down by gunfire were "accounted for, safe and rescued," the department said on Twitter. The gunman went back into a home and was barricaded there until tactical units entered the house and found him dead. Lieutenant Corina said that the police were obtaining a search warrant to look through the house. The victim who was fatally shot was lying in a doorway outside the home. What set off the shooting remained a mystery. "We're still trying to figure it out ourselves," Lieutenant Corina said. After the shooting, two schools were locked down and two polling sites — at Memorial Park and Dalton Elementary — were closed, with Memorial Park shut for the rest of the day. "Voters should avoid the area and, if necessary, cast a ballot at an alternate polling location," Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County and county clerk, said on Twitter. The police said the shooting did not appear to have any connection to the polling sites or Election Day. Alfonso Mendez, 42, who lives in the neighborhood, said he saw two vehicles crash at the intersection of North Angeleno Avenue and Third Street. "A big van and a white car were in an accident," Mr. Mendez said. He said an occupant "ran out of the car and started shooting at the cops. " Chief Hunt said there was no pursuit by the police leading up to the shooting. The lieutenant said it was not clear how — or if the crash — was related to the shooting.


Last Tuesday, Georgia held a special election for its Atlanta House seat, which was vacated by Tom Price, who joined the Trump administration. Price won the seat in 2016 by nearly 24 percent, but still, Democrats were hoping that it would be a referendum on the Trump administration and Democrats would pull it out. They didn t. Ossoff lost to anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ ber-Christian businesswoman, Karen Handel. The margin, though, was a slim 3.8 percent.Narrowing that gap by more than 20 percent didn t keep liberals from hand-wringing and doling out blame. Democrats blamed Nancy Pelosi, who has very little input over congressional candidates, but was nonetheless subjected to right-wing misogynistic and anti-gay smears (Pelosi is straight but, according to right-wingers, she has San Francisco values. )Ossoff s loss, some say, is a sign that Democrats are doomed in 2018. Democrats have bad candidates and we need a new message, say others.While it s true that Ossoff was somewhat less than inspiring (come on, not every candidate can be Barack Obama or even Bernie Sanders), Democrats favorite hobby of self-flagellation is a bit unwarranted. The turnout numbers are in and they are one of the most encouraging numbers we ve seen in years.One of the arguments of doom and gloom include the fact that Ossoff got nearly the same vote as Hillary Clinton, which somehow must mean that absolutely nothing has changed in the 150 plus days Trump has been in office. While that statistic, in a vacuum, is quite discouraging, it s apples and oranges. Special elections tend to have very low turnouts. Democrats tend to have the lowest turnouts partly because of voter suppression (which Georgia had in spades) and partly because we re lazy, we cynically refuse to vote for candidates who are less than perfect and we re generally disengaged.In Georgia, though, Democrats had the largest off-year election turnout in over a decade. It even broke recent mid-term records, which is pretty amazing for a special election.The records indicate that past Democratic primary voters turned out at nearly the same rate as past Republican primary voters (Primary vote history is the most readily available measure of partisanship in a state without party registration, like Georgia.)Over all, 75 percent of voters who last voted in a Democratic primary turned out in the second round of voting, compared with 76 percent of those who last voted in a Republican primary. The turnout rate among voters who have never voted in a primary was 34 percent.This might not sound like a great Democratic turnout, but it is pretty rare for the Democratic turnout rate to roughly match the Republican turnout rate, at least in a high-turnout election. Certainly, that s been true in Georgia s Sixth: In 2014, Republican primary voters turned out at an eight-point higher rate than Democratic primary voters did, 77 percent to 69 percent. In the 2016 election, it was a three-point gap, 89 percent to 86 percent.Source: Washington PostThat trend isn t just in Georgia either. Percentage of Democratic turnout is rivaling Republican turnout in all the special elections.No, we have not had good luck in the special elections, but all of them have been in heavily red districts. Do you really think Paul Ryan would let Trump take one of his Congressmen if he didn t think Republicans would hold on to that seat? We were supposed to lose that election. It s Republicans who should be sweating because as the numbers prove, Democratic mobilization is working. Just wait till there s an election in a competitive district.


It was only a matter of time before this happened. The very first instance of an American presidential candidate in the modern age dropping the f-bomb during a stump speech occurred this week. And, naturally, it was Donald Trump who broke through the taboo then backed over it just to make sure it s dead.Indeed, Trump let fly with the f-word on Friday during one of his stream-of-consciousness rants that pass for stump speeches. And, frankly, I don t know whether to scowl or cheer. In spite of Trump s general awfulness, I m leaning cheer. We re gonna bring businesses back. We re gonna have businesses that used to be in New Hampshire, that are now in Mexico, come back to New Hampshire, and you can tell them to go f*ck themselves! Because they let you down, and they left![youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr-_Nwi2FyY&w=560&h=315]Yes, let s tell corporations that send jobs to places like Mexico and China to go f*ck themselves. You know, corporations like Trump s.There s something particularly exciting when f*ck becomes demystified. It should be. It s just a word. We can t say it on non-pay cable or on the radio or on websites because advertisers don t like it but we can show unspeakable scenes of violence and other horrors all the time. There s something perverse and unjust about that. So, in that regard, Trump can feel free to let the expletives fly. But if he s elected, I wonder if his FCC appointees will be equally lenient. On the other hand, Trump s use of f*ck is another step away from presidential decorum on the Republican side, and one step closer to amateur-hour composed of reality show hacks running for the highest office in the land. I m honestly torn.For the record, Trump has said f*ck in public before, but not during a presidential stump speech.


UPDATE: ANTHONY WEINER JUST DELETED HIS TWITTER ACCOUNT AFTER THE PHOTOS AND TWEETS WERE PUBLISHED. Is this guy Bill Clinton s twin separated at birth or what? Both of these men are just total pervs! Weiner resigned from Congress over his last escapade with sexting women. This time Weiner is even more disgusting in his messages to a beautiful brunette. He brags about his manhood and even says: I d put someone s eye out with this thing. This is baby-sitting Anthony Weiner-style.While his wife, Huma Abedin, travels the country campaigning for Hillary Clinton, the disgraced ex-congressman has been sexting with a busty brunette out West and even sent her a lurid crotch shot with his toddler son in the picture.The stay-at-home cad shot the revealing photo while discussing massage parlors near my old apartment shortly after 3 a.m. on July 31, 2015, a screenshot of the exchange shows. Weiner was clearly aroused by his conversation with the 40-something divorcee when he abruptly changed the subject. Someone just climbed into my bed, Weiner wrote. Really? she responded.Weiner then hit Send on the cringe-inducing image, which shows a bulge in his white, Jockey-brand boxer briefs and his son cuddled up to his left, wrapped in a light-green blanket. You do realize you can see you[r] Weiner in that pic?? the woman wrote.Moments after forwarding the photo, Weiner freaked out over the possibility he had accidentally posted it publicly just as he did during the infamous episode that forced him to resign from Congress in 2011. Ooooooh . . . I was scared. For half a second I thought I posted something. Stop looking at my crotch, Weiner wrote back. Whatever. You did it on purpose, she replied.


Spin Doctors – How the Media Reports on Medicine    In a study of the dietary advice given by newspapers in the UK, "no credible scientific basis" was found for most claims. The "[m]isreporting of dietary advice" was found to be "widespread and may contribute to public misconceptions about food and health." And, potentially, not just the public.  Scientists like to think they're not influenced by popular media, but this study decided to put that to the test. Each week, The New York Times reports on scientific research, and the studies they report on end up being cited more often than those they don't report on. Ah, so, the popular press does have an impact.  Not so fast. That's just one potential explanation. Maybe, outstanding articles are both more likely to be picked up by media, and independently more likely to be cited. Maybe, the newspaper was just earmarking important science, and their publicity didn't really have any effect on future studies.  How could you disentangle the two? An event in 1978 made it possible. There was a three-month strike, in which they continued to print copies, but could not sell them to the public. So, a natural experiment was set up. If the paper was just earmarking important articles, then the strike would have no effect on the studies' impact. But, that's not what happened. The studies highlighted during the strike months, when no one could read them, appeared to have no impact.  The next question, of course, is: are they just amplifying the medical information to the medical community, or distorting it, as well?  Systematic studies suggest that many stories about new medicines, for example, tend to overstate benefits, understate risks and costs, and fail to disclose relevant financial ties. Overly rosy coverage of drugs may also result from financial ties between drug companies and the journalists themselves, who may be susceptible to Big Pharma perks.  Scientists and physicians often blame the press. In fact, the famous physician William Osler was quoted as saying, "Believe nothing that you see in the newspapers" and "If you see anything in them that you know is true, begin to doubt it at once."  But, both parties share in the blame. Reporters may only have an hour or two to put together a story; and so, they may rely on press releases. And, it's not hard to imagine how drug company press releases might be biased. But, surely, press releases from the scientists themselves, and their institutions, would present the facts fairly, and without spin, right? Researchers decided to put it to the test.  Critics blame the media. But, where do you think they're getting the information from? One might assume that press releases from prestigious academic medical centers would be measured, unexaggerated—but suffer from the same problems: downplaying side-effects, conflicts of interest, study limitations, and promoting research that has uncertain relevance to human health.  For example, most laboratory or animal studies explicitly claimed relevance to human health—yet lacked caveats about extrapolating results to people. For example, a release about a study of ultrasound reducing tumors in mice, was titled "Researchers study the use of ultrasound for treatment of cancer"—failing to note "for your pet mouse."  Apparently, it's been estimated that less than ten percent of animal research ever succeeds in being translated to human clinical use. Overselling the results of lab animal studies as a promised cure potentially confuses readers, and might contribute to disillusionment with science.  Although it's common to blame the media for exaggerations, most times they don't just make it up. That's what the research institutions are sending out in their own press releases. And, medical journals, too. Sometimes, medical journal press releases do more harm than good. An analysis of press releases from some of the most prestigious medical journals found the same litany of problems.  I don't think most people realize that journals sell what are called reprints, copies of the articles they print, to drug companies, which can bring in big bucks. Like, drug companies may buy a million copies of a favorable article. Sometimes, the company will submit an article, and promise to buy a certain number in advance—which is effectively a bribe, notes a long-time editor-in-chief at the prestigious British Medical Journal . He remembers once when a woman from a public relations company rang him up, and stopped just short of saying she would go to bed with him if they published the paper.  Another medical journal conflict of interest relates to advertising—a major source of income for many journals. Most of the advertising comes from pharmaceutical companies. And, so, if they don't like a study, they can threaten to withdraw their advertising—potentially leaving editors faced with the stark choice of agreeing to bury a particular piece, or seeing their journal die.  Even if journalists have time to skip the press releases, and go straight to the source, and try to read the studies themselves, they may find them utterly incomprehensible gobbledygook. But, even if they do understand them, scientific articles are not simply reports of facts. Authors often have many opportunities to add "spin" to their scientific reports—defined as ways that can distort the interpretation of results, and mislead readers, either unconsciously, or with willful intent to deceive.  What these researchers did was look at randomized controlled trials with statistically nonsignificant results—meaning some drug, for example, was compared to a sugar pill, and the difference between the newfangled treatment and placebo was essentially nonexistent. Would the researchers just lay out the truth, and be, like, well, we spent all this time and money, and in terms of our primary outcome, we got nothing. Or, would they try to spin it? In 68% of cases, they spun. There was spin in the abstract, which is like the summary of the article. And this is particularly alarming, because the abstract is often the only part of an article people actually read.  And so, no wonder the media often gets it wrong. Spin in the abstracts can turn into spin in the press releases, and results in spin in the news. Therefore, even if journalists are doing their due diligence, using the original abstract conclusion in good faith, they still run the risk of deceiving their readers.  Researchers presenting new findings could always be careful to stress how preliminary the findings may be. But, let's be serious, powerful self-interests may prevail.  Finally, though, I think the biggest problem with the way media reports on medicine is the choice as to which stories are covered. In 2003, SARS and bioterrorism killed less than a dozen people, yet generated over a hundred thousand media reports—far more than those covering the actual greatest threats to our lives and health.  In fact, ironically, the more people that die, the less it appears something is covered. Our leading #1 killer is heart disease. Yet, it can be prevented, treated, and even reversed with diet and lifestyle changes. Now that is something that deserves to be on the front page.   Close Sources Video Sources


Zimbabwe s ruling ZANU-PF on Monday officially notified President Robert Mugabe of his removal as party president and will on Tuesday table a motion to impeach him after a deadline it set for his resignation passed, spokesman Simon Moyo said. ZANU-PF on Sunday removed Mugabe, who has led the party since 1977 and been in power for 37 years. The party also fired his wife Grace, capping a dramatic week after the military seized power on Wednesday.


What a bizarre exchange between a reporter and Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi! She is asked during a press conference what her relationship is with President Trump and she laughed. What s even stranger is she mocked the way Trump says DACA .It s as if she detests the president so much that she can t bring herself to speak his name. Notice how she talks in disjointed sentences and stops suddenly to think. She cannot even form a complete thought! This is yet another example of the strange behavior of Pelosi that is ignored by the main stream media like an enabling spouse.Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) chuckled Thursday when asked to characterize her relationship with President Donald Trump, saying there is a good rapport there but mainly focusing on their stark disagreement over tax reform.After a reporter asked the question, Pelosi paused and smiled, appearing to gather her thoughts for a diplomatic response given her strong criticism of the administration. I think we have a good rapport, Pelosi said. I don t think we ve accomplished much together. Pelosi said she and Trump could find a path together on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, although she gently mocked his pronunciation of DACA.


Ireland s Deputy Prime Minister has to resign or else she will force a snap election next month, a senior member of the opposition party propping up the country s minority government said on Monday. I think the Tanaiste (deputy prime minister) should recognize that unless she does stand aside, she is going to force this country into an election nobody wants, that nobody needs and is not in the country s interests, Fianna Fail s Jim O Callaghan told national broadcaster RTE. I don t see any other method out of this.


Donald Trump has been positioning himself as an outsider who is going to clean up the corruption that is rampant in the United States government. That is, of course, absolute hogwash. It is the billionaire class that has ushered in our current era of oligarchical rule. On Sunday, CNN political analyst Van Jones informed one of Trump s surrogates that he is a billionaire who manipulates the tax code for his benefit and thus is the corruption he claims to be fighting.During Sunday s broadcast of CNN s State of the Union, the show s host Jake Tapper questioned Trump super fan Rachel Campos-Duffy on the New York Times revelation that Trump may have used the tax code in a way to get out of paying income taxes for two decades. She dodged his question and said that President Obama is the epitome of cronyism. Jones then called out Campos-Duffy for evading the question, saying That s a good pivot. That s when Jones let Campos-Duffy have it. He lambasted her and Trump for championing his tax manipulation. It is, in fact, true if Donald Trump lost a billion dollars, think about this, lost a billion dollars, he could wind up as a winner legally in his taxes for a generation. Is that because he s a genius? Jones asked incredulously. It s because billionaires have armies of lobbyists to write the rules. Here s the deal: If you re obeying horrible rules that you helped to write, that doesn t make you a genius. It makes you a part of the corruption. That s exactly what every Trump supporter needs to understand. Trump is not the answer to the problems that are facing the nation. By electing Trump as president, all they are doing is taking the middle man out of the corrupt political process. Instead of electing officials who take orders from the wealthy, they would just be electing the wealthy to the office directly. The segment is one of the best that has come out of a political talk show this election season. Van Jones masterfully expresses what so many who have been fighting against Trump since he was crowned with Republican presidential nomination. What s more, Center for American Progress CEO Neera Tanden explains exactly why it is so important for Trump to release his tax returns. If he did so, he could prove that he is as honest as he says he is. However, he won t. He has broken from decades of tradition and only offers pathetic excuses as to why he won t release his returns. It does not appear that he will do so even now. That s because he has something to hide. The moment he does his campaign will be effectively over. If one snippet of info from his 1995 returns can be as damaging as they have so far been, one can only imagine the skeletons he is hiding.You can watch the segment below in full.Featured image from video screenshot


Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, famed as a staunch gay rights advocate and a champion of progressive causes, has been accused of sexually molesting several teenaged boys 30 years ago, reports have revealed. [A trio of men came forward to allege that Murray had sex with them decades ago when they were underage. At least one said he was 15 when the mayor molested him back in the 1980s, according to the Seattle Times. A man identified only as "D. H. " now 46, filed a lawsuit against the Murray alleging that the famed mayor and activist began molesting him when he was only 15 and exacerbated problems he had during his life starting when he was a teen. He also claims that Murray was fully aware of his underage status. D. H. claims that he has been "dealing with this for over 30 years," and filed the lawsuit as part of the "healing process. " The accuser said he hoped the lawsuit would help him to repair his mental issues after years of "the shame, the embarrassment, the guilt, the humiliation that I put myself through and that he put me through. " The plaintiff also alleged that he took money from Murray for the sexual encounters up to 50 times over a four or five year period. After the lawsuit had been made public, Murray issued a press release calling the accusations false: These false accusations are intended to damage a prominent elected official who has been a defender of vulnerable populations for decades. It is not a coincidence that this shakedown effort comes within weeks of the campaign filing deadline. These unsubstantiated assertions, dating back three decades, are categorically false. Mayor Murray has never engaged in an inappropriate relationship with any minor. … Mayor Murray will vigorously fight these allegations in court. Murray also pledged to continue his bid for as the city's Mayor. The Seattle mayor has been the subject of such allegations in the past, with one case going as far back as 1984. Jeff Simpson came forward decades ago alleging that he met Murray in a Portland center for troubled children and was later molested for an extended period by the man who would become mayor. A police investigation was launched in the 80s, but no charges were ever filed. "I don't necessarily think that he destroyed my life," Simpson said about his experience, "But I believe a lot of the problems I have stemmed from this. " Simpson's story was buttressed by Lloyd Anderson, another man who claims to have been molested by Murray back in the 1980s. "Look, the guy took advantage of my situation," Anderson said of his experience in the 1980s. "I was young, I was homeless and doing drugs and everything. " Mayor Murray characterized some of the allegations as a " " attack on his career. "The two older accusations were promoted by extreme activists in the midst of the marriage equality campaign, and were thoroughly investigated and dismissed by both law enforcement authorities and the media," he said in a statement. Murray insists that these lawsuits and allegations are politically motivated. The mayor has a long history of fighting for progressive causes. When he was in the state legislature, for instance, he led the fight for the state to recognize gay marriage. And once elected Seattle's mayor, Murray launched a campaign to push the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour. Murray has also been a leading opponent of President Donald Trump favoring efforts to torpedo the president's immigration policies. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com


Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairwoman Rita Makarau resigned on Friday, months before a vote whose credibility is crucial to the new army-backed government s efforts to re-engage international lenders and lure investors, a senior government source said. Makarau, seen as an ally of 93-year-old former president Robert Mugabe, gave no reason for her resignation, the official, who declined to be named, said. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was sworn in two weeks ago in the wake of the de facto military coup that ended Mugabe s 37-year rule, pledged to hold elections as scheduled next year. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa mentioned the credibility of the elections at least five times in a budget speech on Thursday, a sign of the vote s importance in shoring up Harare s democratic legitimacy. Opposition parties have demanded reforms to an electoral system they say is skewed in the ruling ZANU-PF party s favor. Makarau, who has been accused of being partisan, was overseeing an overhaul of the voters roll, which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has described as shambolic . Makarau did not answer her mobile phone. A spokesman for the ZEC was unable to confirm Makarau s departure.


There are big scandals like Trump s ties to Russia, his repeated flaunting of conflict of interest violations, the nepotism and then there are small ones. It s the small ones that are most disturbing because of how completely avoidable they are. The Trump family just assumes you re too stupid to notice.Here s a particularly galling example:Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump released a family photo during Passover. That, in and of itself, wouldn t be newsworthy except for the fact that it was a much-needed break from the Trump administration s repugnant treatment of the Jewish community. Kushner s Jewish faith is extremely important to Trump because his staff is rife with anti-Semitic thinkers.Trump s advisor Steve Bannon is a life-long anti-Semite, whose own wife once said he refused to allow his daughters to attend a school with Jewish kids. Trump s Press Secretary Sean Spicer went on a nonsensical Holocaust denial rant and only apologized hours later when the nation of Israel openly said he needed to resign. Trump s inner circle includes a guy who pledged an oath of loyalty to a pro-fascist Nazi-allied group. In the middle of all of this, Trump no-showed on a Passover seder dinner the White House hosted.So a photograph of Trump s daughter and son-in-law, two key members of his team, celebrating a Jewish holiday might send a positive message to the country. However, like clockwork, even Kushner s Passover family photo quickly turned into something offensive.It turns out that the photo was not, in fact, taken during his Passover celebration. It is an old photo taken on what seems like the Sunday after the inauguration. CNN s Betsy Klein noticed that fact when she realized the entire Trump clan was wearing the same outfits they were photographed in during services at the National Cathedral.It appears the Passover Trump-Kushner family photo was taken the Sunday after inauguration following services at the National Cathedral: pic.twitter.com/p0htM7V8Pi Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) April 13, 2017Just so incredibly lazy. And unfortunately, that s the message they are sending.


Don t turn off your paid internet service quite yet. If you have a job and contribute to our tax base, you won t qualify. You also have to be living in cities the Obama regime considers worthy of free internet service. Those cities have likely provided some form of support for Obama s radical agenda for America.Because internet service is a human right or something like that Calling the Internet a 21st century necessity, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a program to bring faster Internet connections to more low-income households, particularly to help students living in public and assisted housing stay ahead in school.Under ConnectHome, the public, private and nonprofit sectors have pledged to work together to provide high-speed connections and digital devices to more families at lower cost.More than 90 percent of households headed by a college graduate have Internet access, Obama said. But fewer than half of low-income households have similar access.In this day and age, Obama said the digital divide puts these individuals at a disadvantage by limiting their educational and economic opportunities because the Internet is increasingly needed to find a job, finish homework or keep in touch with family and friends. In this digital age, when you can apply for a job, take a course, pay your bills with a tap of your phone, the Internet is not a luxury. It s a necessity, Obama said in Durant, Oklahoma, on the first day of a two-day visit to the state. You cannot connect with today s economy without having access to the Internet, he said.ConnectHome is similar to ConnectEd, a federal program that Obama said is on track to wire 99 percent of K-12 classrooms and libraries with high-speed Internet by the end of 2017.ConnectHome will begin in 27 cities and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which is headquartered in Durant. With about 200,000 members spread across much of southeastern Oklahoma, the Choctaw Nation is the nation s third-largest Native American tribe.The Choctaw Nation was also among the administration s first Promise Zones, a designation that makes it eligible for tax incentives and grants to help fight poverty.The only federal money expected to be spent on ConnectHome is a $50,000 Agriculture Department grant to the Choctaw Nation, officials said.The 27 cities the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development selected for ConnectHome are: Albany, Georgia; Atlanta; Baltimore; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Boston; Camden, New Jersey; Cleveland; Denver; Durham, North Carolina; Fresno, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Little Rock, Arkansas; Los Angeles; Macon, Georgia; Memphis, Tennessee; Meriden, Connecticut; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans; New York; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Rockford, Illinois; San Antonio; Seattle; Springfield, Massachusetts; Tampa, Florida; and the District of Columbia.Obama was spending the night in Oklahoma and on Thursday continuing a weeklong focus on making the criminal justice system fairer.He planned to meet Thursday with law enforcement officials and inmates during a historic tour of the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, a medium-security facility west of Oklahoma City that holds about 1,300 male offenders. I will be the first sitting president to visit a federal prison, Obama said in a speech Tuesday to the NAACP meeting in Philadelphia.


TAMPA, Fla. — The end came quickly, and somewhat mercifully, for the Islanders, who acquitted themselves well even as they will lament two overtime home losses in their Eastern conference semifinal series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But amid the quiet, clipped answers in the Islanders' locker room and clatter of team gear being packed, the haunting facts remained. After winning Game 1 here at Amalie Arena, the Islanders lost the next four games, swept aside by a combination of superior Tampa Bay talent and tough luck. It culminated in a shutout in Game 5 on Sunday that ended the Islanders' longest playoff run in 23 years and lifted the Lightning to their second consecutive appearance in the Eastern Conference finals. Tampa Bay will face the winner of the series for a chance to reach the Stanley Cup finals. "The difference in the series was, offensively, they took advantage of their opportunities, and we couldn't find a way these last few games to score some goals," Islanders Coach Jack Capuano said. "If there's one thing that you have to look back on, it is the inability and ineffectiveness to get some offense. " The Islanders were shut out for the first time this postseason. They had clicked offensively while knocking off the Florida Panthers, the No. 2 seed, in a riveting series, and after a victory here in Game 1, a magical run appeared to be possible. "We had an incredible run and were on the fun side of things," Islanders center Frans Nielsen said. "We've seen the brutal side of it, too. " As the series wore on, the Islanders could not crack Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop, who stopped 28 shots on Sunday, turning aside a few chances early in the game that could have swung momentum to the Islanders. The Islanders' Thomas Greiss made 21 saves, but he appeared to be under constant siege compared with Bishop's play. "Once you've tasted it, the highs and the lows and everything that goes with it, you want to get back again," Lightning Coach Jon Cooper said of his team's determination to close out the Islanders and return to the conference finals. Victor Hedman scored two goals, and Brian Boyle had one as the Lightning took a lead into the third period. After Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway at 4 minutes 40 seconds of the third period, the thunderous celebration at Amalie Arena only grew louder as the crowd serenaded the Islanders, singing "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!" "It's the way playoff hockey is," the Islanders' Matt Martin said. "They found a way to win games, and we didn't, but we'll learn from it. It's a credit to them. They are a very good hockey team. They were in the Cup finals last year for a reason. " The Lightning opened a lead in the first period on goals by Hedman at 13:49 and Boyle at 18:41. Both players simply outworked defenders. With two Islanders converging on Kucherov behind the net, the puck came free directly in front of Greiss. Hedman poked it away from Kyle Okposo, quickly pirouetted and fired a wrist shot that beat Greiss on his glove side. Boyle's goal also originated behind the net, where Matt Carle was being chased. The Islanders' eyes were still on Carle when Boyle appeared from the opposite direction and seemed to steal the puck from his teammate. Boyle wheeled around the net and took aim, and as the Islanders turned their heads, he fired high over Greiss's right shoulder. Hedman quickly capitalized on a power play for his second goal at 4:22 of the second, scoring on a slap shot 42 seconds after Travis Hamonic had been called for roughing. "Start to finish, we played really well," Boyle said. "We were hard on the pucks. We made sure we got the puck in deep. We didn't turn it over in the neutral zone and give them opportunities. We played a great game. " That the Islanders' captain, John Tavares, was frustrated by Hedman and other Lightning defenders illustrated how the Islanders lost control of the series. Tavares had only one shot in Tampa Bay's overtime victory in Game 4 and managed one again on Sunday. He also spent four minutes in the penalty box on a double minor following a skirmish late in the second period. "We obviously played some good hockey at times, but we just let those two games at home slip away, and that put us behind the eight ball," Tavares said. "We got off to an O. K. start, but they came back hard and capitalized on a couple opportunities. " The overtime losses in Games 3 and 4 had a lingering effect on the Islanders, who appeared deflated after the Lightning took a lead and were continually demoralized by Bishop. "You don't want to go dry at this time of the year," Capuano said. "You look at Games 3 and 4 and the opportunities that we had to score, the a couple other chances that we had that could have turned the series the other way. But you can't look back. Tampa Bay played a great series. "


Supporters of the rule of law crashed a pro-illegal rally on August 4, 2017 at San Bernardino City Hall. This was a reaction to San Bernardino getting a letter from Jeff Sessions threatening to withhold their federal funds. Using the left s tactics on them is pretty great:Did you listen to the rhetoric coming from the speakers who were pushing open borders? Shame on them for using religion to break the law! The SEIU has been called Obama s Purple Army so they bussed in protesters for the protest They are usually paid to attend protests. They are more like Obama s useful idiots because they lose if more illegals come to take their jobs.The Press Enterprise reported:Attorney General Jeff Sessions announcement that San Bernardino would not be eligible for crime-reduction funding spurred a demonstration outside San Bernardino City Hall on Friday, Aug. 4.On Thursday, Aug. 3, Sessions sent letters to four cities struggling with gun violence, including San Bernardino, telling them they would not be eligible for a program that provides money to combat drug trafficking and gang crime unless they confirm their cooperation with immigration officials.The letter asks if correctional and detention facilities will honor a written request from the Department of Homeland Security to hold a foreign national for up to 48 hours beyond the scheduled release date.In San Bernardino, that s up to the San Bernardino County Sheriff s Department, not the city. Regardless, the Sheriff s Department, in a statement, said it can t comply because it would be unconstitutional. San Bernardino is not going to be bullied, said Kesha McGee, a lead organizer with Inland Congregations United for Change, at the planned demonstration.McGee said the interfaith group wanted to show support for the San Bernardino immigrant community. We are a community of unity, she said. We all deserve to be here. Religious leaders from tInland Congregations United for Change and immigrant rights activists from the Inland area planned the Friday press conference outside City Hall to condemn Sessions announcement. Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes, D-San Bernardino, was at the event.


The Democratic National Committee is offering all sorts of perks at next year's presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia in return for whopping contributions.


November 14, 2016  After yesterday's Wikileaks revelations, Nicolas Sarkozy has today confirmed that the "French language" is indeed a one thousand year old hoax. The president of France revealed that what purported to be his native tongue was in fact complete gibberish, admitting the French really speak English, except in the presence of the British. This comes as Wikileaks published cables sent by French diplomats to countries such as Spain, China and Russia which were all found to be written in English.  During a speech given in received pronunciation, the French President came clean, stating that it all started off as a joke during William the Conquerer's invasion to make the aggressors seem a bit more exotic. "What was initially a prank snowballed and after a few years we realised we'd look silly revealing the truth, so we had to keep up the façade," said the Premier. "In the company of any Brits we would try to make convincingly "French" sounds, a mixture of guttural grunts and rapid-fire syllables.  But as soon as we were on our own we'd all heave a huge sigh of relief and revert to English. We developed a heavy reliance on hand gestures to cover up when we ran out of likely noises, and the shrug was a particular boon if inspiration dried up. In the end we became quite the raconteurs, with an impressive array of supposed vocabulary. So what began as a game for the élites, became a hobby across all levels of society, and it shocked us that the Brits were so naïve as to not see through the charade."  Sarkozy claims Wikileaks will soon expose a number of other "languages". "I mean, seriously guys, has anyone ever actually listened to "Arabic"? Je ne sais pas….."  16 February 2011


A prominent Syrian opposition leader said on Thursday U.N. mediation to end the country s six-year conflict has failed and the revolution would continue. Riyad Hijab, chairman of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC), rejected comments by U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura that President Bashar al-Assad s opponents must accept they have not won the war. De Mistura s statements reflect the defeat of U.N. mediation, Hijab wrote on Twitter. The Syrian revolution continues, he said. De Mistura had repeatedly made un-studied remarks on the conflict, he said. Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister under Assad, called for a new a U.N. approach on the Syrian issue , without elaborating. Assad has won a series of military victories but rebel groups still hold large parts of the northwest of the country and substantial enclaves in the southwest, in Homs province and near Damascus. De Mistura said on Wednesday the opposition must be unified and realistic in accepting it had not won the war. He did not say Assad was victorious. Victory can only be if there is a sustainable political long-term solution, de Mistura said, suggesting the conflict was almost over because many countries were involved principally to defeat Islamic State and a national ceasefire should follow. The remarks come ahead of a round of Syria talks between Damascus allies Russia and Iran and opposition backer Turkey in Astana next week. Several rounds of negotiations in Astana and a separate U.N.-sponsored track in Geneva between the government and the HNC have produced no visible progress on ending the war that broke out after a popular uprising in 2011. Russia and Iran have stood by Assad. Some Western countries have softened their initial stance that he should leave power immediately, saying he could be part of a transitional period.


On Friday, Donald Trump decided to distract from revelations that intelligence agencies had identified the individual Russians who delivered hacked documents to Wikileaks on behalf of The Donald s best friend Vladimir Putin by proving to the world that what he lacks in his desire to attend intelligence briefings he makes up for in his adherence to the principle that ratings aree everything. Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got swamped (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for . Trump tweeted. Nine minutes later, he added, being a movie star-and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary. Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got "swamped" (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got "swamped" (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017While it is true that Celebrity Apprentice debuted with low numbers 44 percent down from the last year Trump hosted, this probably has more to do with the fact that the President-elect is still listed as executive producer for the show than any other factor. After all, more than half the country wants nothing to do with him as President, or as part of a television show that has been steadily dropping in ratings for years."Executive Producer Donald J. Trump" pic.twitter.com/4MNvPlmi7J Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) January 3, 2017Naturally, as The Donald has spent more time b*tching about Celebrity Apprentice than attending intelligence briefings like Fridays, where he gets to learn the identity of the Russians who delivered the information Trump says they didn t get from a hack ordered by Vladimir Putin to rapist-in-hiding Julian Assange s shady website. Twitter, naturally, descended on The Donald, brutally mocking him for, well, just being him..@realDonaldTrump Sir: how can you find time to tweet on Apprentice ratings but not receive an intelligence briefing? West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump Kind of like getting beat by almost 3 million votes when running for president? Aaron Gouveia (@DaddyFiles) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump It must be exhausting to be this petty. Mark Pytlik (@markpytlik) January 6, 2017His show ratings tanked bigly after the first season. Sad! @Green_Footballs @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/a2ZRpyhvBI Vicious Babushka (@viciousbabushka) January 6, 2017.@realDonaldTrump respectfully Mr. President elect.. you are a real dipshit. (Excited to see the comments on this). David Sugarman (@SugarmanSpeaks) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump Donald,Brush your teeth, make your bed and go to the security briefing. Mommy doesn't have time to talk reality tv. Mike Kelton (@mikekelton) January 6, 2017.@realDonaldTrump Another great presidential tweet. But how'd you do compared to duck dynasty? For the love of God, get off Twitter. Now. Dr. Craig Malkin (@DrCraigMalkin) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump holy fuck. C'mon America, please stop this madness. Ralph Midnight (@Cooksphere) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump You call out your own name in bed. Am I right? Rhys Muldoon (@rhysam) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump arent u still exec producer of @ApprenticeNBC? If you root against ur own show, will u also be rooting against own country? Ashvin Lad (@ashvinlad) January 6, 2017 Ratings are bad bc Americans are boycotting the show & your brand, you slow bully! @realDonaldTrump @lovealaska1105 https://t.co/ZPQIwQNKad Sonia Mota (@SoniaKatiMota) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump Read an intelligence briefing, not a Nielsen briefing Jason Solomon (@solomonster) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump if you just added "nanny nanny boo boo. I'm rubber, you're glue!" that tweet would be complete. #unpresidented #maga Kristine Schachinger (@schachin) January 6, 2017@realDonaldTrump Ratings machine? History Revisionist. First season was OK at 7 spot. Down hill from there. So sad pic.twitter.com/GvTCs9fL7w Subvert Trump (@_Robespierre__) January 6, 2017Trump may be tweeting about ratings, but he surely has a lot on his mind with the intelligence briefing. After all, he has maintained for months that he had secret information that proves Vladimir Putin s gang didn t hack his political enemies for him. He has repeatedly attacked our intelligence agencies for bringing it to light. As ABC reports, the proof that Trump was lying to the American people is quite strong:Overnight just hours after President Barack Obama received the report new details emerged of just what is contained in the secret document.A senior official briefed on the intelligence sources, methods and assessments in the report that Trump will receive this morning told ABC News that the findings are clear: the evidence points directly to the Kremlin and to Russian President Vladimir Putin in what one official described as multiple streams and types of intelligence collection, not just forensic examinations of the hacked systems. Those various streams of information gathered by U.S. spy agencies include signals intelligence such as intercepts of communications between Russian officials in which they implicated the Kremlin s own espionage, as ABC News reported last month.The Washington Post reported late on Thursday that the eavesdropping caught senior Russian officials actually cheering Trump s surprise victory in November as a success of the Kremlin s intelligence program.And Vice President Joe Biden who was privy to the classified briefing that Trump will receive today told the PBS NewsHour that, there s overwhelming consensus in the community and overwhelming evidence supplied by the community that Russia did engage in an effort to impact on the elections. There is clear evidence that they in fact were engaged in activities designed to try and impact in the outcome of the election, Biden said, while noting there was no evidence that they actually tampered with voting booths or tampered with voting rolls. Referring to parts of the report which will be made public next week, Biden said: It will state clearly that the Russians did as a matter of policy attempt to discredit the US electoral process and attempt to hurt Mrs. Clinton. Contrary to Trump s public bloviations Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, says that the attacks were approved at the highest level of government in Russia and by that, he means that the highest is President Putin. Recently, Barack Obama expelled more than 30 suspected Russian intelligence operatives from the country. Vladimir Putin responded by saying he would wait to respond until his puppet sorry, Trump was officially President.


Be careful what you ask for Watch: FBI Director James Comey testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Hillary Clinton emails containing classified information were forwarded to the computer of Anthony Weiner, the former congressman, by his wife, Clinton aide Huma Abedin.Comey also strongly defended himself on Capitol Hill for his Oct. 28 letter notifying Congress of newly discovered emails appearing pertinent to Clinton s private server investigation, arguing it would have been catastrophic to conceal such a revelation.He explained that his investigative team informed him in late October of metadata from Weiner s computer showing thousands of Clinton s emails on that device, including what they thought might be the missing emails from her first three months at the State Department.Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 over a sexting scandal and saw a 2013 mayoral run in New York City go up in flames for similar reasons. The investigation that led to Comey s letter concerned his sexting with an underage girl. WFB


On Friday's broadcast of MSNBC's "All In," MSNBC anchor Joy Reid argued that the "bread and circuses" for President Trump's base, "includes the persecution of people they fear, the persecution of Muslims is part of the bread and circuses, the persecution of the immigrants, throwing out DREAMers from the country, people that it's easy for his base to hate and to fear. " Reid said, "[T]he most cynical thing he's done so far, is to say, I have to ban people from these seven Muslim countries. It's urgent. I've got to do it now. And then, when it gets rejected by the courts, the 2nd version of this ban, actually can wait because he's getting lauded by the press. And so, while he's being applauded, it's not so urgent. It can wait now. " She added, "[T]he bread and circuses for his base includes the persecution of people they fear, the persecution of Muslims is part of the bread and circuses, the persecution of the immigrants, throwing out DREAMers from the country, people that it's easy for his base to hate and to fear. That is part of the show he gives them instead of giving them substantive things like, I don't know, health care. " ( Grabien) Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett


Maybe it was the unexpected warmth of the gesture, the sheer enveloping display of affection. Maybe it was his response, the beatific expression on his face, eyes almost closed, head tilted toward her shoulder. Maybe it was the moment: tenderness at a time when presidential politics has become a festival of cruelty. But when Michelle Obama hugged former President George W. Bush on Saturday, at a ceremony to open the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the image quickly took flight online. However one chose to interpret it — and overinterpretation is a hazard in such exercises — it became an instant metaphor. Some saw the lost virtue of civility in politics others, the unlikely friendships that blossom at the rarefied heights of public life. To critics on the left, it was a shameful case of political amnesia by the wife of a president who spent years cleaning up the mess left by his predecessor. Mrs. Obama and Mr. Bush have had a few such memorable moments. In July in Dallas at a memorial service for five police officers killed by an Army veteran, the two held hands while singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic. " When Mr. Bush began swaying to the music, Mrs. Obama gamely let him swing her arm back and forth. At one point, as the choir sang "glory, glory hallelujah," he turned to her in a burst of enthusiasm, causing the first lady to crack up, despite the solemnity of the occasion. In June 2012, when Mr. Bush returned to the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait, he aimed a few wisecracks at President Obama. But he saved his best material for Mrs. Obama, reminding her that when British soldiers set fire to the White House in 1814, another first lady, Dolley Madison, rescued the portrait of the first George W. — as in Washington. "Now, Michelle," he said, gesturing to his own painting, "if anything happens, there's your man. " Some of these encounters are explained by proximity. When the Obamas and the Bushes appear in public together, protocol dictates that Mrs. Obama stand next to Mr. Bush. Some of it is a function of the former president's playful manner, which by all accounts has become more playful in his retirement. But some of it also has to do with the relationship between the couples, which current and former officials say has deepened over the past seven and a half years, both because of the shared bond of living in the White House and because of Mr. Bush's decorum as an . "President Bush was very gracious to us during the transition, and he has been unfailingly gracious and respectful since," said David Axelrod, a former adviser to Mr. Obama. He recalled the president telling him that the Bushes "had taught him lessons in how to be a former president. " Mr. Bush has studiously avoided criticizing Mr. Obama or his policies. And Mr. Bush has lent his presence to occasions that meant a lot to the president, like the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march in Selma, Ala. when Mr. Obama delivered what some believe was the finest speech of his presidency, on race relations in the United States. Mrs. Obama sat next to Mr. Bush on that day, too, frequently leaning over to talk or share a laugh with him. Mrs. Obama's rapport with Laura Bush is less playful, but Mrs. Obama's aides say it is no less genuine. In early 2009, Mrs. Bush invited Mrs. Obama to visit the White House with her daughters, Malia and Sasha, for a private tour before her husband's inauguration. Mrs. Bush's daughters, Barbara and Jenna, showed the girls their new home, including good hiding places and banisters made for sliding. The two first ladies have appeared together regularly since, including this month at a conference at the National Archives to promote support for families of service members. In 2013, in Tanzania, Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Bush bonded during a conference on education for women and girls. "I like this woman," the first lady said of Mrs. Bush. Mrs. Obama added that "it's hard to find people who know what you're going through, who understand the burdens and the fears and the challenges. " "It's sort of a club," Mrs. Bush replied. "A sorority, I guess. " The fraternity of presidents is well documented, though some members are closer than others. Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush became famously chummy, with Mr. Bush inviting the man who defeated him to the family compound in Kennebunkport, Me. to "play golf, spend the night" and "hurdle the waves at breakneck speed," according to the book "The President's Club," by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. Mr. Clinton's relationship with Mr. Obama took longer to thaw, largely as a consequence of the bitter 2008 primary race between Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton. There were a few golf games, an lunch at an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village, and, above all, Mr. Clinton's memorable speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2012 defending the president's economic record, after which Mr. Obama took to calling Mr. Clinton his "secretary of explaining stuff. " Now, Mr. Obama is campaigning vigorously for Mrs. Clinton to succeed him, cementing the political alliance between them. Paradoxically, Mr. Obama's relationship with the younger Mr. Bush has always seemed less complicated. Though Mr. Obama ran on his opposition to the war in Iraq — and has never stopped deploring that war — he appears to have an easy rapport with his predecessor. After the ceremony at the museum on Saturday, Mr. Bush was trying to take a photograph of himself with a family, only to find he could not fit everyone in the frame. The solution? He tapped Mr. Obama on the back, handed him the phone, and asked him to take the picture. As Mr. Obama was wrapping up his speech, he could not resist a gentle poke at his predecessor, who is known for his restlessness, laying odds on the length of his own remarks. "Enough talk," Mr. Obama said. "President Bush was timing me. He had the at 25" minutes.


As much as many conservatives would like to believe that the Bundy militia were merely innocent victims of the government, a picture is emerging that makes it clear the now-deceased LaVoy Finicum intentionally provoked a reaction from the law enforcement officers after trying to flee arrest.Finicum was part of a large group of the Bundy militants who were stopped by the FBI en route to yet another propaganda appearance in a nearby town. Rather than simply let the group go unimpeded, the authorities finally decided to act. It was a long time coming. The group had occupied a federal wildlife refuge for over a month, and with no end in sight and violent, paranoid extremists flooding into the region the situation was getting more out of hand by the moment.Sadly, it was not entirely surprising to learn that it was Finicum who resisted arrest. He had frequently claimed that he would rather die in a shootout than be arrested. Whether that was his intention on the night of his death is unclear, but his hostility towards law enforcement and his paranoia certainly contributed.Not everyone is convinced, however. Almost immediately after Finicum s death was announced, right-wing sympathizers began spinning a conspiracy that he had been executed with his hands up while his fellow patriots watched. The myth wasn t relegated to the backwaters of the internet, either. Soon, even sitting Republican politicians and Bundy s own Facebook page were repeating the tale.Michele Fiore, an anti-government conservative who hypocritically happens to work as a state representative in Nevada, repeated the lie to her Twitter followers.My heart & prays go out to LaVoy Finicum's family he was just murdered with his hands up in Burns OR.Ryan Bundy has been shot in the arm Michele Fiore (@VoteFiore) January 27, 2016Jim Hoft, a conservative blogger who has been labeled the Stupidest Man on the Internet for consistently posting misinformation, ran with the story, repeating Cliven Bundy s baseless claim: LaVoy Finicum was murdered. Cold-blooded murder. They shot him with his hands up. Unfortunately for this convenient narrative, witnesses of the arrest say Finicum was the provoker. Melvin Lee was behind the Bundy convoy during the arrest. He recounts how Finicum tried to flee, and the wound up charging the officers. There happened to be some arguments between the guys in the truck. Somehow they got Ryan Payne pulled out of the truck, apparently. LaVoy had took off he ended up hitting a snowbank, I guess, trying to get around the blockade. After he hit that snowbank, he came out of that truck and he charged at the law enforcement, as I understand it. A bodyguard of Ammon s said that Finicum crashed his car, then jumped out and began charging at the agents. He also concluded that this was entirely in Finicum s character. He was not on his knees, none of that. He was none of that nonsense. You know, that was a miscommunication on somebody else s part. But he went after them. He charged them. You know, LaVoy was very passionate about what he was doing up here. Finicum is said to have been radicalized by the Bundy s during the Nevada ranch showdown. In an interview, he once said that Cliven asked him to be the first cowboy to show up to what would become the standoff. I said Cliven, don t let them take your cows, Finicum recalled in an interview with OPB. He says saddle up your horse and be here early in the morning. I was the first cowboy to show up in the dark. In fall 2015, Finicum followed in Bundy s footsteps and chose to stop complying with his lease contract with the Bureau of Land Management, in spite of a long positive relationship with the agency.His death was the culmination of years of right-wing paranoia being relentlessly hurled at him from conservative politicians and media figures. They exploited his anxieties and played on his fears until eventually he decided to take action. There s no question that Finicum died believing he was in a struggle with a tyrannical government. His charge at authorities confirms that. Perhaps that is why the right-wing so desperately wants to prove that his hands were up. If he was innocent, than so are they.But he wasn t.


posted by Eddie Most school kids watch the clock during the last few classes of the day, watching the time steadily tick until they can run home and play, hang out, or sleep, depending on the age. Watching the clock is not a sign of immaturity since we understand it can sometimes be difficult to sit in one place and concentrate on difficult tasks for an extended period of time. This habit often follows us through life as we settle into jobs and careers. It could be that we love our work, but around three and four o'clock, we begin to fidget. We start thinking about the things we will have to do when we get home, like shop, go to the gym, make dinner, or attend a special event. The last two hours tick away more slowly than the first two. This innovative Swedish company has found the solution to this problem. You will be so jealous! The 6 Hour Work Day for Sweden Filimundus is a Swedish mobile app developer where this idea was originated. The board of directors analyzed their employees and noted the difficulties in maintaining efficiency and concentration for eight hours. It was almost impossible for most of the workers. They had to take breaks to clear their heads and try to muster up more focus for the remainder of the day. This wasted a lot of potentially productive time.  The board of directors found the perfect solution, a six hour work day, with wages left unaffected. They tried it out and discovered that the employees could complete the same amount of work within six hours which they were originally doing within eight. This new practice increased their efficiency at their jobs and left more time and strength for their home life. Overall, the employees agreed that they felt happier and more successful with this new arrangement. The Ripple Effect  This newly improved schedule is being looked into by medical workers of some clinics . That is no surprise figuring how exhausting their job must be. According to The Independent , the six-hour working day will soon be implemented in the whole country. (1) 6 Hour Day for America?  For most employees who have the 9 to 5 shift, not all of that time is optimized for working. According to studies from The Atlantic , an estimated 1.5 to 3 hours per day is used for online shopping, checking social media and emails, personal phone calls, and chatting with colleagues. It seems that the average employee works a solid six hours anyway, but without the benefits of enjoying free time and rest. A shortened work day means less stress, and we all know how important that is for our health. (2) We would all appreciate a shorter work day, but most of us are not moving to Sweden, and no one should hold their breath for this new schedule to come to their office anytime soon. Sources: (1) Bright Side brightside.me Published: September 5, 2016. Accessed: October 27, 2016. (2) S. Kumar. What the U.S. could learn from Sweden's 6-hour work day fortune.com Published: October 6, 2015. Accessed: October 27, 2016. From Around the Web Founder of WorldTruth.Tv and WomansVibe.com Eddie ( 8938 Posts )  Eddie L. is the founder and owner of www.WorldTruth.TV. and www.Womansvibe.com. Both website are dedicated to educating and informing people with articles on powerful and concealed information from around the world. I have spent the last 36+ years researching Bible, History, Alternative Health, Secret Societies, Symbolism and many other topics that are not reported by mainstream media.


An elderly Jewish woman living in Paris was not even safe in her own apartment from a Muslim man who scaled the wall of her apartment and violently murdered her. While the authorities have not yet named the motive, it s highly likely the Muslim man who killed the Orthodox Jewish woman while yelling, Alluha Akbar may have been motivated to commit such a hateful crime by the religion of peace In a violent attack causing trepidation amongst Paris Jewish community, a 66-year-old Orthodox woman, Sarah Halimi, was murdered to the cry of Allahu Akbar early Tuesday morning, pushed from the window of her top-floor apartment in Paris 11th arrondissement.The accused, a 27-year-old of Muslim origin known to police for a string of offenses, had broken into the apartment of his victim reportedly scaling the exterior wall from the floor below where he lived with his parents to stab his victim before throwing her to her death.The lifeless body of Ms. Halimi was found on the ground beneath her apartment, having been pushed to her death from her third story window during the attack which took place at approximately 4:30am.Three armed police were on the scene prior to the murder, according to neighbors, who also reported hearing the cry of Allahu Akbar at the moment of the crime. Unconfirmed reports circulating on social media also suggest that Ms. Halimi had previously been harassed by a relative of the accused, and that she had been subjected to verbal abuse in the days leading up to the incident. Neighbors claim that the accused had been radicalized and that police were waiting for an anti-terrorist unit to deal with the situation.French media have been covering the event with limited reference to the background of either the victim or the accused, instead characterizing the crime as the act of an unhinged individual. Further details of the incident have been emerging in the local Jewish media, with the story now gaining traction in Israel.Whilst the motives behind this crime are not yet 100% clear, it represents a growing phenomenon of criminal acts being preceded by cries of Allahu Akbar ( Our God is Greater ) consistently explained by French media as the acts of d s quilibr s , the unbalanced a word fast entering the lexicon for such circumstances. Gateway Pundit


Duterte Calls US Admin 'Monkeys' for Halting Arms Sales November 02, 2016 Duterte Calls US Admin 'Monkeys' for Halting Arms Sales  (MANILA) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte chided the United States on Wednesday for halting the planned sale of 26,000 rifles to his country, calling those behind the decision "fools" and "monkeys" and indicating he might turn to Russia and China instead. Duterte's tirades against the former colonial power are routine during his speeches and he said on Wednesday he once believed in Washington, but had since lost respect for what is the Philippines' biggest ally. The U.S. State Department halted the sale of the assault rifles to the Philippine police after U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said he would oppose it, Senate aides told Reuters on Monday. Aides said Cardin, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was reluctant for the United States to provide the weapons given concern about human rights violations in the Philippines during Duterte's bloody, four-month-old war on drugs.  "Look at these monkeys, the 26,000 firearms we wanted to buy, they don't want to sell," Dutertesaid during a televised speech.  "Son of a b***h, we have many home-made guns here. These American fools."  More than 2,300 people have been killed in police operations or by suspected vigilantes as part of Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign, which was the lynchpin of his election campaign.  Duterte has vented his anger at the United States for raising concerns about the extra-judicial killings.  "That's why I was rude at them, because they were rude at me," he said.  According to procedures in Washington, the State Department informs Congress when international weapons sales are in the works. Aides said the State Department had been informed Cardin would oppose the deal during the prenotification process, thus halting the sale.  U.S. State Department officials did not comment.  The Philippine police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, on Tuesday expressed disappointment that police would not get the M4 rifles, which he said were reliable.  Duterte reiterated that Russia and China had shown willingness to sell arms to the Philippines, but he would wait to see if his military wanted to continue using U.S. weapons.  "Russia, they are inviting us. China also. China is open, anything you want, they sent me brochure saying we select there, we'll give you.  "But I am holding off because I was asking the military if they have any problem. Because if you have, if you want to stick to America, fine.  "But, look closely and balance the situation, they are rude to us." Article by Doc Burkhart , Vice-President, General Manager and co-host of TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles Got a news tip? Email us at Help support the ministry of TRUNEWS with your one-time or monthly gift of financial support. DONATE NOW ! DOWNLOAD THE TRUNEWS MOBILE APP! CLICK HERE! Donate Today! Support TRUNEWS to help build a global news network that provides a credible source for world news  We believe Christians need and deserve their own global news network to keep the worldwide Church informed, and to offer Christians a positive alternative to the anti-Christian bigotry of the mainstream news media Top Stories


U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday slammed what he said were absolutely false media reports asserting that President Donald Trump had called for an increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. This kind of erroneous reporting is irresponsible, Mattis said in a written statement. NBC had reported that Trump sought a tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, something Trump had already denied.


GOP vice presidential candidate Mike Pence said Friday he has a "lot of respect" for First Lady Michelle Obama, but he doesn't understand "the basis of her claim" in a her speech Thursday condemning Donald Trump for using what she called sexually predatory language in a conversation caught on a hot-mic in 2005. "I have a lot of respect for the first lady and the job she has done for the American people over the last seven-and-a-half years," the Indiana governor told the "CBS This Morning" host Charlie Rose, continuing that he does not believe the language described sexually predatory actions. "I already spoke about my concerns about the language he used in that 11-year-old video," said Pence. "But what he has made clear is that was talk, regrettable talk on his part. But that there were no actions." Further, Trump has "categorically denied these last unsubstantiated allegations" that were made this week from at least five women who claimed Trump groped and kissed them against their will in years past. "Frankly, I think before the day is out the allegations will be questioned," said Pence. "The same reporters who wrote a similar story six months ago for The New York Times have written this story and that story was completely discredited." Pence told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" the Trump campaign is working to bring out evidence that will disprove the allegations being made about him, and said during an interview with NBC's "Today" show that evidence "is coming in, frankly, a matter of hours." He told "Today" show hosts Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie that Melania Trump has already contacted People Magazine for a retraction of its story about Trump, but Lauer commented that was different than showing evidence. "Just say tuned," Pence told the "Today" show. "There is more information coming forward. But Donald Trump has made very clear that he's categorically denied these allegations. Yet, he can't be more definitive than that. "And the difficulty is that at this point in a campaign, it is astonishing to see, with all due respect, the enormous coverage of these really unfounded allegations, unestablished allegations, compared to an avalanche of emails coming out of Hillary Clinton's years as secretary of state." Pence said he agrees that allegations such as those being made against Trump "should always" be taken "seriously and respectfully, but in the case of Bill Clinton, he actually admitted to being involved with a 23-year-old intern at the White House named Monica Lewinsky when he was president. Bill Clinton actually paid a settlement of over $800,000 to one of those women [Paula Jones]." "The remarkable thing, as the media goes chasing after unsubstantiated allegations, coming from a newspaper that six months ago, did a massive similar story that was utterly discredited by the same reporters," Pence told Fox News. "It's remarkable to me they continue to literally ignore the hard evidence that's flowing out of Hillary Clinton's years as secretary of state and the Clinton Foundation, whether it's a speech supporting socialized medicine in Canada, a paid speech supporting open borders in Brazil." He said the "most concerning" to him was the news that Clinton's aides, while she was secretary of state, were "directing contracts for the rebuilding of Haiti, after the earthquake, to friends of the Clintons. I mean, this is exactly the kind of pay-to-play politics the American people are tired of. It's going to end when Donald Trump becomes president of the United States." Pence told CBS that as the father of two daughters and as a public person, he does take allegations like those facing Trump seriously, but also noted the GOP presidential nominee "categorically denied" the claims against him. Further, the Indiana governor said he urged Trump to apologize, which he has. He also questioned the timing of the news against Trump, as "we have hard evidence flowing out of the Clinton Foundation [and] the Clinton years, but the "unsubstantiated claims are dominating the news." Pence said he's spoken with Trump over the allegations being made about him, and he believes the presidential candidate. "Donald Trump has asserted that all of these recent unsubstantiated allegations are categorically false and I believe him," said Pence. "The Donald Trump as I come to know, and my family has come to know and spent considerable amount of time, is someone who has a long record of not only loving his family and lifting his family up, but employing and promoting women in positions of authority in this company." And, Pence told Rose, he gave up a job he loves as governor of Indiana, a state he loves, to join the Trump race "because I think this country is in a lot of trouble," and he thinks it's time to return the issues and move away from the scandals. The Trump scandals have caused many to question his character, but Pence said he has found Trump's response to be "extraordinary." "He apologized for what he said 11 years ago," said Pence. "He showed humility, he showed heart. He focused that national presidential debate back on the issues that really affect the American people at home and abroad." Meanwhile, he pointed out that the "avalanche" of emails from Clinton's accounts continue to emerge. "Clinton was advocating open borders when she was giving a speech in Brazil, advocating socialized medicine when she gave a speech in Canada," said Pence. "The Haitian issue to me is the biggest one . . . The friends of the Clinton's were given preference shall treatment for contracts for the reconstruction of Haiti after an earthquake." Also on Friday, Pence commented on Trump's claims that the upcoming election may be rigged, and he agrees that voter fraud has been an issue. "We are currently involved in a pretty vigorous investigation in the state of Indiana over voter fraud," said Pence. "It is in the interest of everybody on every side of the spectrum to defend the one vote, one principle. "The way elections are managed at the state level is to become involved as a poll-watcher and poll volunteer and we consistently encourage people to do that."


Two officers have been acquitted. Another had a deadlocked jury. And on Thursday, prosecutors in a courtroom here began their fourth attempt to convict a police officer in the fatal arrest of Freddie Gray, the black man who died of a spinal cord injury he suffered while in police custody last year. This time, the defendant is Lt. Brian Rice, the officer present at Mr. Gray's arrest, who, prosecutors said, knew the rules and "needlessly risked Mr. Gray's safety and life" by failing to put a seatbelt on him in a police van that morning. "Because of the decisions that Lieutenant Rice made, Mr. Gray is dead," said Michael Schatzow, the chief deputy state's attorney for Baltimore City, in an opening argument that legal experts said did not introduce significant new details to a narrative that has so far failed to win any convictions. Mr. Gray's death in April 2015 prompted violent protests here and put this city at the center of a national reckoning over race and policing that took on renewed intensity this week after killings of men by police officers in Baton Rouge, La. and Falcon Heights, Minn. But it is rare that police officers are brought to trial, and even more so to convict them. Lieutenant Rice's trial began with doubts that prosecutors had the evidence to secure convictions against any of the six officers charged in Mr. Gray's death — especially after the acquittal last month of Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. the driver of the van in which Mr. Gray broke his neck, who had been charged with murder. On the morning of April 12, 2015, as he was walking through a downtrodden section of West Baltimore with two friends, Mr. Gray began running after seeing Lieutenant Rice. The officer called for assistance to help chase Mr. Gray, who was arrested and loaded into a transport vehicle as a crowd formed. Mr. Gray was later found with a broken neck inside the van, after it had made several stops throughout the neighborhood. "This defendant is not an inexperienced officer who was ignorant of the rules that governed his conduct," said Mr. Schatzow, the prosecutor, who said Lieutenant Rice was criminally negligent when he helped put a shackled and handcuffed Mr. Gray into the van at its second stop, but did not put a seatbelt on him, as Mr. Schatzow said, duty required. "He knew it, and he ignored it. " Lieutenant Rice, 42, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. A second charge of misconduct was dropped by prosecutors on Thursday morning. Chaz Ball, a defense lawyer for Lieutenant Rice, described his client as an veteran of the Baltimore police force with an interest in community policing. He cited what he called the "three Cs" of the case — "The crowd, the combativeness of Mr. Gray, and the confined space of the wagon" — and said that Lieutenant Rice had acted reasonably. "The assessment that it was too dangerous to try to force Mr. Gray into a seatbelt wasn't criminal negligence," Mr. Ball said. "The evidence," he added, "will show that Mr. Gray's death was a tragic, freak accident nobody could have foreseen. " Lieutenant Rice, like Officers Edward M. Nero, who was acquitted in May, and Officer Goodson, chose to waive his right to a jury trial and place his fate in the hands of Judge Barry G. Williams, once a police prosecutor himself. The judge ruled in Officer Goodson's trial that there was insufficient evidence to show that his failure to place a seatbelt on Mr. Gray created serious risk to Mr. Gray's life and led to his death. "I think the state is on notice that they're going to have to work pretty hard to show that an officer's failure to follow and ensure that someone is buckled in alone is enough to satisfy criminal negligence," said David Jaros, an associate professor of law at the University of Baltimore who has been following the cases. "And we haven't heard, in the opening anyway, about how they're going to fill that evidence gap," Mr. Jaros added. It was quiet outside the courthouse as defense lawyers concluded their opening arguments, where Arthur Johnson, a retired steelworker, stood on the sidewalk with a tattered sign reading "Justice for Freddie Gray. " A stranger in a white walked by and looked at Mr. Johnson's sign. "They just had another senseless shooting," the man said, and Mr. Johnson said that he, too, was feeling a sense of dèjá vu. "I hear it's the same old, same old — it's going to be the same result," Mr. Johnson said of the proceedings in the courtroom. "All these people being victimized, and nobody being held accountable. It's hard to be optimistic. "


This is a very big development. We all knew the GOP establishment has been pandering to pro-amnesty corporations and the Chamber of Commerce, but this is a new low, even for the GOP establishment There is a bigger controversy about to break wide-open that s potentially far more significant than Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell approving Nikki Haley s non-subtle attack on GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. That bigger controversy is the Spanish version of the GOP State of the Union rebuttal containing an amnesty pledge .As this is written, Governor Nikki Haley is trying to get out ahead of the building expose . Haley just gave a DC press conference claiming she does not support amnesty ; however, against her earlier admission of Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell approving her script the Spanish version must have held similar approvals.Governor Haley gave the English version, Miami Representative and party-insider Mario Diaz-Barlat delivered it in Spanish.ENGLISH:SPANISH:Here s a (paragraph by paragraph) comparison as translated by the Miami Herald (emphasis mine): English (Via Haley): No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.Spanish (Via Diaz-Barlat): No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love the United States should ever feel unwelcome in this country. It s not who we are. English: At the same time, that does not mean we just flat out open our borders. We can t do that. We cannot continue to allow immigrants to come here illegally. And in this age of terrorism, we must not let in refugees whose intentions cannot be determined.Spanish: At the same time, it s obvious that our immigration system needs to be reformed. The current system puts our national security at risk and is an obstacle for our economy. English: We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries.Spanish: It s essential that we find a legislative solution to protect our nation, defend our borders, offer a permanent and human solution to those who live in the shadows, respect the rule of law, modernize the visa system and push the economy forward. English: I have no doubt that if we act with proper focus, we can protect our borders, our sovereignty and our citizens, all while remaining true to America s noblest legacies.Spanish: I have no doubt that if we work together, we can achieve this and continue to be faithful to the noblest legacies of the United States.It is important to remember the backdrop to this current dual narrative (one the GOPe leadership want to say publicly and one they wish to keep hidden).Back in June 2014 Speaker John Boehner was only two days away from calling up the vote on the Senate gang-of-eight amnesty bill, when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in the Virginia Primary.Mario Diaz Balart along with Paul Ryan and Luis V. Gutierrez were in secret negotiations throughout the spring/summer of 2014 planning the pathway for comprehensive immigration reform. John Boehner asked Kevin McCarthy to whip the house and identify if they had votes for passage:[ ] On Tuesday June 10th Speaker Boehner, Eric Cantor (Majority Leader) and Kevin McCarthy (Majority Whip) had lunch together discussing timing the vote Thursday night or Friday Morning.However, later that same night the results from the 2014 Virginia primary showed an unknown conservative outsider, Dave Brat, had defeated (primaried) Eric Cantor. At 7:00pm Tuesday night the first word went out that Cantor had lost.~ Full Back StorySo this hidden narrative within the 2016 Republican State of the Union Rebuttal should come as no surprise. Comprehensive Immigration Reform is the GOPe agenda they continue to hide from the electorate.