Watch the first Democratic presidential debate Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET live on CNN and CNNgo ; join the conversation at #DemDebate Washington (CNN) The shadow boxing that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have played at for months -- they've barely mentioned each other on the campaign trail -- will give way to more direct jabs Tuesday night. That's when the two rivals line up on stage at the first Democratic debate of the 2016 campaign, sponsored by CNN and Facebook. The encounter will provide a crucial opportunity for Clinton and Sanders -- the leading Democratic contenders -- to contrast their personalities, experience and approach to the key issues in the campaign. Though Clinton and Sanders have rarely mentioned each other's names, they are clearly reacting to each other and their rival's potential weaknesses. Sanders took aim at Clinton's Wall Street record and Iraq vote over the weekend; she put him on the defensive on guns and his poor standing with minority voters. Until now, they have each had good reason for avoiding full contact with the other. Clinton hasn't wanted to elevate Sanders and his surprisingly strong poll numbers, while Sanders has wanted to maintain his untraditional, above-the-fray image. On Tuesday, that calculus will change. And the distinctions they've subtly staked out on a range of issues are only likely to grow sharper. In the weeks leading up to the debate in Las Vegas, the two Democrats have been carefully finessing their political positions in relation to each other and their party's wide coalition, offering clues about how they will spar Tuesday night. Sanders has been signaling he will try to strike a contrast with Clinton on reining in Wall Street and on her record of support for military interventions overseas. The former secretary of state, meanwhile, is under pressure to prove to progressives who have flocked to Sanders that she genuinely cares about the middle class. She's expected to highlight her differences with her rival on gun control and to demonstrate the broad support she has among minority voters -- a key sector of the Democratic coalition where Sanders is struggling. As he limbered up for their clash, Sanders threw down the gauntlet on the Iraq War -- a thrust that Clinton has struggled to counter in the past -- hinting that she has hawkish views that are out of step with the majority of Democratic voters. His campaign issued a statement reminding voters that he, then a member of the House of Representatives, voted against authorizing the Iraq war in late 2002. At the time he argued that the conflict would destabilize the Middle East, kill large numbers of Americans and Iraqi civilians and hamper the war on terror against al Qaeda. The statement did not once mention Clinton -- but it did not have to. The then-New York senator did vote to authorize the Iraq war, and that vote was one of her greatest vulnerabilities in the 2008 Democratic campaign against Obama, who also opposed the war. The Sanders statement raised the possibility that Clinton's vote could haunt her for a second presidential campaign. "Democrats are no more fond of the Iraq war now than they were back then. That could be a problem," Peter Beinart, a foreign policy expert and CNN contributor, said Monday. He added that another Democratic candidate, former Virginia senator and Vietnam war veteran Jim Webb, who was also against the war, could double-team with Sanders to cause trouble for Clinton on the issue. Sanders has also been staking out territory to Clinton's left on Syria. The former secretary of state recently distanced herself from Obama's much-criticized policy on the vicious civil war by calling for a no-fly zone to be set up to shield refugees. Sanders issued a statement earlier this month pointing out that he opposes such an idea, warning that it could "get us more deeply involved in that horrible civil war and lead to a never ending entanglement in that region." The statement appeared to be a clear appeal to Democrats who share Obama's antipathy toward getting the United States entangled in another Middle Eastern conflict and who are wary of Clinton's more activist instincts on foreign policy. Sanders is not alone in seeing Clinton's foreign policy record as a vulnerability. Another Democratic candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, also picked up on her Syria position Sunday -- saying on CNN's "State of the Union" that a no-fly zone was not advisable and warning that the former secretary of state was "always quick for the military intervention," apparently referring to her previous support for military action in nations such as Iraq and Libya. Another area where Sanders seems more in tune with the progressive Democratic base is on Wall Street, especially since he has raised most of his money from small donors -- unlike the former secretary of state, who has been relying on big budget fund-raising events with rich contributors. Even with his small-donor focus, Sanders is nearly neck-and-neck in the fund-raising race with Clinton. Clinton has made strenuous attempts to connect with what her campaign has called "regular" Americans, stressing the need to raise up the middle class to feel the benefits of the economic recovery. But Sanders has said that she hasn't done enough, an argument he may expand upon on the debate stage. "People will have to contrast my consistency and my willingness to stand up to Wall Street and corporations with the secretary," Sanders said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. The Vermont senator also will likely draw an implied contrast with Clinton on two other issues -- the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact the United States and 11 other nations reached this month and the Keystone XL pipeline designed to carry oil from Canada's tar sands across the United States. Clinton now says she is a 'no' on both issues, but she took months to get there -- despite fervent opposition to both projects from the left flank of the Democratic Party. "I am glad that she has reached that conclusion," said Sanders in Washington last week when asked about Clinton's opposition to a trade agreement she championed repeatedly as secretary of state. "This is a conclusion that I reached from day one." Yet Sanders is not alone in curating the battlefield for the Democratic debate. Clinton, while getting in line with progressive Democratic positions on big issues, has also been preparing to strike key contrasts with Sanders. Guns are one policy issue where Sanders is not completely in sync with the Democratic base, so Clinton is likely to exploit it on Tuesday night. She has been promising a forthright effort to enact new gun control laws after a string of recent mass shootings. It partly seems to be an attempt to focus attention her rival's record on guns, which recently saw him express his openness to reforms that would hold gun manufacturers liable for crimes committed with their weapons. Clinton has also spent the runup to the debate cementing her links to key voting blocs of the Democratic coalition -- especially in sectors of the party where Sanders is weak. She can point to broad appeal in the party, which could be key to eventually blunting the challenge from Sanders after early-voting contests in the less diverse states of Iowa and New Hampshire where he is strong. In recent weeks, Clinton has met representatives of the Black Lives Matter movement and has even criticized Obama for not going far enough in changing immigration laws. "Hillary has done a lot of work leading up to this debate that has pretty much gone unnoticed," Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton's 2008 campaign manager, said on CNN on Monday. "She's rolled out Latinos for Hillary, she has rolled out Women for Hillary, she has met with the leadership of Black Lives Matter, she has checked a lot of boxes walking into this debate," she noted. "I think she is going to display tomorrow night (Tuesday) her vast support among this coalition." The challenge that Sanders faces reaching out to minority voters, who are a vital part of the Democratic Party voting bloc, was underscored by a new CNN poll Monday finding that only 1% of nonwhite voters in the important early voting state of South Carolina favor him. That is a showing that Sanders must improve on if he is to come from behind and beat Clinton for the nomination.


We re wondering if Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) is OK. He just doesn t seem to be himself lately. The South Carolina Republican was so fiercely critical of alleged president Donald Trump, but that s all suddenly changed now. Graham, who once called Trump a jackass, praised the amateur president on Saturday as a leader who is open-minded and is even willing to reach out for help, even late at night, according to the Washington Examiner. What have I learned about our president? He s curious, he asks questions, and he knows no fear, Graham said in his remarks at the South Carolina Republican convention. And he s under siege unlike any president I ve ever seen in my entire life They don t believe he won; I do. Now Obama was somewhat hard for us, but I thought we were somewhat respectful, Graham added without one bit of irony whatsoever.Graham then went to on to disrespect former President Barack Obama by calling him a community organizer who apologized for America every turn all over the world. Let me tell you that you have a commander in chief that s not going to let this country get walked over anymore, he said.And that s really cute, don t you think? He said that of Obama who had 20 years of experience under his belt before taking the job as President while praising a former reality show star who had zero experience in politics. He calls and I m honored that he would call me and I want to help him, he said. He calls me when I m asleep and he calls me after I go to bed. I wish he would rest more. I gave him my phone number. So far so good. It s nice he has a cozy relationship with a man who just recently penned him a letter to assure him that he has no connections to Russia. Lindsey Graham requested that information. Trump s lawyers said in the letter that a review of the last 10 years of Trump s tax returns revealed that he has no income from Russia with a few exceptions. Here s the kicker: The law firm who sent the letter actually has deep ties to wait for it Russia. Lindsey Graham appeared to be that one Republican with a spine willing to call out the White House, but now he s rolling over while claiming that Republicans respected Obama. Democrats are just being big ol meanies to the man who is plagued in scandals while only 120ish days into the job.Trump, for the record, is the same man who dogged Obama for years, insisting that our first black President was actually a scary Muslim from Kenya. Obama did not have conflicts of interest. The biggest scandal at this same amount of time during Obama s presidency was that he put Dijon mustard on his hamburger. That was the big scandal featured on Fox News for a week. In contrast, Trump has a massive amount of conflicts of interest.Sure, Lindsey, we ll give Trump the same respect Republicans gave Obama. No problem!Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.


B b..but she s a victim (Mosby claims her account was hacked).Earlier this month, two controversial tweets were favorited by a personal Twitter account belonging to Baltimore City State s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. The first tweet referred to the officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray as those 6 THUG cops and the other praised Mosby and claimed she INFURIATES a certain kind of white person. But Mosby s office is now claiming that the two favorited tweets were the work of a hacker. Both Mosby s official Twitter account and her personal account were hacked, the Baltimore City State s Attorney s Office reportedly told The Kelly File on Wednesday. We do not know how long it s been going on, we are working with Twitter. Mosby revealed on May 23 that her official government Twitter account had been hacked, but did not mention her personal account being compromised. Further, the tweets in question were favorited by her personal account weeks before her government account was reportedly hacked.Fox News host Megyn Kelly expressed cynicism that a hacker would take over her account and only randomly favorite two tweets.Watch the segment via The Kelly File below: The Five co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle said Mosby is behaving like an activist when she is supposed to be an impartial evaluator of the facts of the case. The officers charged in the Gray case have asked for a change of venue because it doesn t appear they can get a fair and impartial trial in Baltimore.


Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday she expected any deal with the European Union to be struck close to the end of the two-year negotiating period and only then would Britain know the costs or benefits. We are negotiating a deal. We will not have negotiated that deal until, I suspect, close to the end of the period (which has been set aside), May told parliament.


Donald Trump has added Pope Francis to his very long list of people he is feuding with. During an episode of The Late Show with Colbert, Stephen Colbert did a hilarious bit about Trump s latest failure attempt to pander to Christians.The feud came after Pope Francis was quoted as saying that Trump is not a Christian, A person who thinks only about building walls wherever they may be and not of building bridges is not a Christian, Pope Francis said while traveling to Rome from Mexico. When asked if he thought people should or should not vote for Trump, Pope Francis responded saying, As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. Trump released an official campaign response, where said that Pope Francis is going to regret not supporting him and his campaign when ISIS attacks the Vatican. During a campaign rally on Thursday Trump had this to say: As I m walking up here, they said, Mr. Trump, the pope made a statement about you, and I said, The pope? What did the pope say? I like the pope was it good or bad? Because if it was good, I like the pope. If it s bad, I don t like the pope. Colbert mocks Trump during the segment, saying: It s like Jesus said: Blessed are the poor, unless they said something bad about me then screw them. Trump is trying to pander to Christians. He really needs them in order to secure his chances at receiving the Republican primary nomination.As I have pointed out before, Trump is making himself look a fool doing it too. It s not just that Trump isn t saying the wrong things to win over Christian voters. He doesn t even appear to understand the basic concepts of Christianity. This was shown Trump publicly stated that he had not asked Jesus Christ for forgiveness.You can the video below.Featured image from video screenshot


It looks like it s safe for everyone to pack up their little victim tents and head back to the dorms Something stinks at the University of Missouri.A reported incident of vandalism at Mizzou sparked university-wide protests, a boycott by the school s 4-5 football team, and eventually the resignation of the university s president and chancellor.There s only one problem: no evidence of the alleged incident, in which a poop swastika on the wall of a dormitory restroom was reported, has ever been made publicly available. Did this incident occur as reported, or was it an immaculate defecation that formed the foundation of an unimaginable deception?According to Billy Donley, the president of Mizzou s Residence Halls Association (RHA), the poop swastika was reported at approximately 2:00 a.m. on October 24, 2015. On Saturday, October 24th, at 2:00am an individual came into one of the restrooms in Gateway Hall and drew a swastika on the wall with their own feces, Donley wrote in a letter several days after the alleged incident. This event happened while many students, including myself, were already asleep. Later in his letter, Donley noted that he only founded out about the alleged vandalism incident via a flyer posted on the walls of the dorm.Although Donley did not respond to repeated requests for comment prior to publication, The Federalist spoke with two RHA staffers while trying to get in touch with Donley. Neither had personally witnessed the poop swastika. When asked if there was any photographic evidence of the alleged incident, one staffer replied, Not to my knowledge. Frankie Minor, the director of residential life at Mizzou, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on whether he personally saw the poop swastika or any photographic evidence of it.The Federalist also attempted to contact Christian Basi, the associate director of the University of Missouri News Bureau, who previously told the Columbia Missourian on Oct. 30 that the incident had been immediately reported to Mizzou police. Basi did not respond to requests for comment prior to the publication of this article.Calls to the University of Missouri Police Department, which responded to and investigated the alleged poop swastika incident, also failed to yield any evidence of the poopstika.Multiple activists on Twitter pointed to this photo as proof that the incident occurred as reported, but a Google search for the same image shows that it has been floating around the Internet for nearly a year. A reddit thread from November of 2014 appears to contain the earliest publication of the photo in question, meaning that it most certainly does not constitute proof of the incident alleged to have occurred at Mizzou on October 24, 2015.Maj. Brian Weimer, the public information officer for the Mizzou police department, told The Federalist that he also did not personally see the poop swastika that was reported to police. When asked if anyone in the police department personally witnessed the swastika, Maj. Weimer clammed up and referred all questions about the incident to the university s custodian of public records.The Federalist also repeatedly contacted @ConcernedStudent1950, the Twitter account representing Mizzou protesters who issued a series of demands of university administrators after the alleged poop swastika incident made headlines. The individuals running the @CS1950 account failed to produce any photographic or documentary evidence of the incident prior to publication of this article.While a mere absence of evidence is not synonymous with evidence of absence, the complete lack of any verifiable photographic evidence of the alleged poop swastika and the lack of any named eye witnesses raises serious questions about the veracity of a racially charged incident of vandalism that eventually led to the resignation of the University of Missouri s two top administrators.Did the incident happen as reported, or did two university administrators resign over protests that were sparked by a hoax? And if the incident did happen as reported, a proposition for which no publicly available evidence currently exists, how did university administrators and law enforcement authorities confirm that the vandalism was driven by racial animosity, as opposed to being promulgated as a public relations stunt meant to tar the university for failing to provide an environment free of racist invective? It would not be the first time a public university fell victim to a high profile PR stunt that was later revealed to be a fabrication. Either way, students, their parents, university employees, and Missouri taxpayers deserve solid, verifiable answers based on clear evidence about what exactly transpired in that Gateway Wall bathroom in the early morning of October 24.Under the provisions of Missouri s broad public records laws, The Federalist has requested from the University of Missouri copies of any and all records relating to the alleged vandalism, including any police or incident reports describing the investigation of the poop swastika by law enforcement authorities, as well as any photographic records of the alleged swastika, and will make that information available if and when it is received from university officials.


A Detroit judge threw the mother of a drunk driver being sentenced for killing a man out of her courtroom and into jail after she laughed at the victim's family during a statement from the victim's sister. [VIDEO: Drunk Driver's Mom Jailed for Laughing at Victim's Family, Amanda Kosal, 25, was awaiting sentencing when Judge Qiana Lillard threw Donna Kosal and her boyfriend out of the courtroom, calling them "clowns" after the victim's sister gave a statement to the court, the Daily Mail reported. The video showed the judge losing patience with Donna and her boyfriend after she caught them smirking. The judge later brought the mother back in and sentenced her to 93 days in jail for contempt of court. Amanda Kosal pleaded guilty to killing Jerome Zirker and severely injuring his fiancee Brittany Johnson. She was sentenced to three to 15 years in prison. Judge Lillard said Donna Kosal and an unidentified boyfriend were acting disrespectfully in the courtroom. "It's time for him to go," Judge Lillard said, looking out into the gallery. "And I don't know who he is, but whoever can sit here at a tragic moment like this and laugh and smile when somebody has lost a family member … in the entire time that Mr. Zirker's sister was speaking that clown, and that's what I am going to call him, a clown, was sitting there smiling and laughing. " A guard escorted the man from the room, and Judge Lillard addressed Donna. "You can go too because if you don't know how to act, you can go to jail, so leave," she said. When Judge Lillard brought Donna back in, they exchanged a few words and the judge motioned to the bailiffs to take Donna to jail. "Take her, she's going in the back," the judge said to the bailiffs. "Anybody else wanna go? You can go, too. " Donna said something about the judge's mouth, to which the judge replied, "Oh, my mouth? Well, thank you, your mouth got you 93 days," the New York Post reported. The next day, Donna appeared before the judge, and apologized for what she did. "I deeply apologize for what I did. I was under a lot of stress," Donna said to the judge. The judge took pity on her and reduced her sentence by 92 days, setting her free. Amanda's vehicle slammed into Johnson and Zirker head on, crossing the center line. Zirker was picking up his fiancee from a as a care worker at a group home when the accident happened, WDIV reported.


By now, the entire world is aware that Donald Trump spent his morning lashing out at Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski in a truly unhinged fashion even by normal Trumpian standards. He let loose in a crazy, misogynistic rant that accused Brzezinski of begging to be invited to his New Year s Eve party, but essentially he said she was too ugly to be there except in much worse terms. Now, it seems that Trump s social media man, Dan Scavino, is joining in the continued debasement of the White House with equally childish tweets. We will screenshot them here, in case he thinks better of these tweets and decides to delete them:Of course, this is all because Joe and Mika have the stones to do their jobs and call this abnormal, alarming presidency out for what it is: Dangerous, unhinged, and terrible for the nation. Of course, with Trump being as thin-skinned as he is, the biggest job of his staff is to make him feel good and to hit back at any and all criticism that might be thrown at the White House, and especially at Trump himself.These people have done irreversible damage to the office of the president, to America s standing in the world, and to the political climate and discourse in America. It will likely take us a generation to get back to where we were if we ever do at all.It s time to really think hard about what four years of this will do to our nation. Hell, the damage he s already done is quite literally immeasurable.


If British plans for leaving the European Union have been a dance of the seven veils, the British government removed one of them on Sunday, letting slip to news media that Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to choose to exit Europe's single market and its customs union — a hard Brexit. Mrs. May is scheduled to make a speech on her plans on Tuesday, but the British weekend papers and Sunday news programs were briefed by Downing Street about the main lines of the policy, and some published selected quotations of what Mrs. May is scheduled to say. Officially, a government spokesman on Sunday called the reports "speculation" and emphasized only the extracts of the speech that were leaked by Downing Street itself, with Mrs. May calling for British unity "to make a success of Brexit and build a truly global Britain. " Those extracts were not explicit on the single market or the customs union, but the Sunday newspapers, which receive their own briefings from the government before publication, took much the same line: that Britain is headed for a sharp break with Europe after a transitional period. Downing Street dislikes the term "hard Brexit," but an outcome along those lines is not unexpected, because it flows logically from the priorities Mrs. May has set out, particularly about controlling the country's borders. Being outside the single market could damage Britain's important financial services sector and is likely to hit the value of the pound again, at least temporarily. A week ago, Mrs. May said in a television interview that Britain would not be able to keep "bits" of its European Union membership. That, too, was interpreted as a break with the single market, which requires freedom of movement and labor for all citizens of the bloc. "Often people talk in terms as if somehow we are leaving the E. U. but we still want to kind of keep bits of membership," she said then. "We are leaving. We are coming out. We are not going to be a member of the E. U. any longer. " She added, "We will be able to have control of our borders, control of our laws. " She and her officials have made it clear that her two main priorities are ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice over British law, and restoring British control over its borders and immigration, including from the European Union. Those decisions mean that Britain could no longer be a part of the single market for goods, capital, people and services of the European Union, because the rules for that market are adjudicated by the European Court of Justice. The situation is similar for the customs union, which applies only to goods. Membership in the customs union would mean that Britain would have to obey European Union regulations on manufacturing standards and would be banned from making separate trade deals with countries — two of the most important reasons forces have cited for leaving the bloc. Another implication of leaving the single market and the customs union would be Britain's desire to negotiate a new trade deal with the European Union as a special partner of some kind, but one different from those held by countries like Norway and Turkey. It would also seem to mean trying to negotiate a transitional deal with Brussels while the larger trade deal is being haggled out, which could take many years. Under a transitional deal, which would extend beyond the limit for negotiating the exit, Britain would presumably continue to have a relationship much like the current one, including paying into the European Union's budget. In an article in The Sunday Times of London, David Davis, the minister in charge of the new Department for Exiting the European Union, wrote that Britain would consider ways to extend or smooth the exit process to provide certainty for businesses. "If it proves necessary, we have said we will consider time for implementation of new arrangements," he wrote. "We don't want the E. U. to fail, we want it to prosper economically and politically, and we need to persuade our allies that a strong new partnership with the U. K. will help the E. U. to do that. " In a combative interview published on Sunday, the chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, warned that, if no agreement could be reached on market access, Britain could change its economic model from "European style" taxation and regulation to regain competitiveness. "The British people are not going to lie down and say, 'Too bad, we've been wounded,'" he said. "We will change our model and we will come back, and we will be competitively engaged. " Those comments, from an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, were interpreted as a warning that Britain could use its corporate tax as a form of leverage in Brexit negotiations. In a television interview on Sunday, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, said that Mr. Hammond "appears to be making a sort of threat to the European community," calling it "a recipe for some kind of trade war with Europe in the future. " But Mrs. May's speech on Tuesday, judging from the excerpts, is also meant to assuage European Union colleagues by committing Britain to a close, friendly and constructive future relationship. Britain would prefer a customs relationship with the European Union if one can be negotiated on British terms, which would mean limits on the bloc's citizens working in Britain and the ability to do separate trade deals. European Union leaders have been largely dismissive of such efforts, but both sides are setting out hard positions before the real negotiations begin, sometime after Britain invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to officially begin the process of leaving the bloc. Mrs. May insists that that will take place before the end of March, even if it requires a vote of Parliament, setting off two years of complicated talks on extracting Britain from a union it joined more than 40 years ago. Mr. Hammond is known to have argued strongly inside the government for Britain to keep its access to the single market to protect its financial sector, which accounts for 10 to 12 percent of Britain's economic output. Bankers and brokers in the City of London are sometimes reviled by many Britons but are also highly paid, so their tax receipts are important to the Treasury. If a significant number of them moved their operations to European Union cities or New York, the pressure on the British government's budget to pay for health care, pensions, welfare benefits and military spending would increase substantially. Britain already runs a significantly higher yearly deficit than most European countries, about 4. 4 percent of gross domestic product, and its cumulative debt is estimated at nearly 85 percent of G. D. P. Mainstream economists — under fire for wrongly predicting an immediate recession after the Brexit vote last June — say those figures are likely to worsen as the pound falls and the economy slows from the delayed effects of Brexit and the uncertainty around it. Mrs. May has also emphasized an interest in working with the incoming American administration of Donald J. Trump, and her government trumpeted its success in arranging a Washington meeting with the new president before the end of February. But her officials were not likely to be happy to discover that Michael Gove, who strongly favored Brexit and whom she fired from the cabinet, had secured the first British interview with Mr. Trump, scheduled to be printed in The Times of London on Monday. That interview comes after Mr. Trump had a series of meetings with Brexit advocates like Nigel Farage, the former leader of the U. K. Independence Party, and Arron Banks, who gave millions to fund UKIP and an alternative "Leave" campaign in the June referendum. Both men are expected to attend Mr. Trump's inauguration.


The U.S. Labor Department on Wednesday said it was rescinding the Obama administration's standard for determining when companies are "joint employers" of contract and franchise workers, in the agency's first major shift in labor policy under President Donald Trump. The department in a statement said it had withdrawn a 2016 interpretation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that expanded the circumstances under which a business could be held liable for wage-law violations by staffing agencies, contractors, and franchisees. Previously, companies were considered joint employers when they hired and fired workers and set wages. The Obama administration said a worker's level of "economic dependence" on a company should also be considered. The expanded definition of joint employment had rankled the business community, which said it threatened the franchise business model and would draw companies into lawsuits when they were not responsible for setting working conditions. Also on Wednesday, the department withdrew 2015 guidance that said that under the same law, many workers are improperly treated as independent contractors when they are actually employees, which would make them eligible for minimum wage, overtime, and other legal protections. Guidance issued by federal agencies is not legally binding, but serves as a blueprint for how agencies will enforce federal laws. A shift in enforcement priorities at the Department of Labor had been widely expected since President Donald Trump, a Republican and wealthy businessman from New York, took office. Business groups have said the department's guidance on employment and worker classification was misguided and affected nearly every U.S. industry, and they praised the agency's changes on Wednesday. "Diligent employers work hard to be compliant with the FLSA and these (department) interpretations were merely enforcement traps waiting to spring," Randy Johnson, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. Unions and workers' rights groups said they were troubled by the labor department's decision. "This was guidance that made it easier for employers, workers, unions and others to know about their rights and obligations under the law," Lynn Rhinehart, general counsel for the AFL-CIO, said in a statement. The withdrawal of the guidance does not affect a separate expansion of the definition of joint employment by the National Labor Relations Board, which is under review by a federal appeals court. The NLRB's standard has had more of an impact than the labor department's because it is legally binding and requires joint employers to bargain with unions.


Monday on CNN's "Newsroom," Jan Chamberlin, who opted to quit the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rather than sing at the inauguration of Donald Trump defended comparing Trump to the Adolf Hitler. Partial transcript as follows: Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN


With the United States pulling back after years of frustrated efforts to break the intractable impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, Russia is stepping forward with its own drive to bring peace to a fractured land. A special envoy has been shuttling through the region, Israeli and Palestinian leaders are jockeying for position, and Russia keeps hinting that a Moscow summit meeting may be in the offing. Never mind that nearly everyone involved here agrees that the effort will almost certainly not lead to a settlement of the dispute. Russia's newfound Middle East peace push, part of President Vladimir V. Putin's reinsertion of Moscow into the region in a profound way after years of retreat, seems to be about everything but finding peace in the Middle East. Instead, it is about Moscow's ambitions and competition with Washington, exemplified by its intervention in Syria. Mr. Putin's military campaign in support of President Bashar of Syria has transformed the dynamics of that conflict and made Russia a leading player in the area's geopolitics, thwarting Washington's diplomatic efforts. Alongside its deep engagement in Syria, Russia's recent rapprochement with Turkey and alliance with Iran have made Russia a major actor in the region in a way it has not been since the Cold War. The Kremlin's diplomatic endeavor in Jerusalem has become something of a geopolitical billiards game in which each side is counting on a bank shot to leave itself in a better position. Israel is determined to deflect what it considers more threatening interventions by the French or even the Americans. The Palestinian leadership, facing internal challenges and plummeting support on the street, is trying to shore up its standing at home and abroad by showing it is willing to do something. Almost beside the point is whether a meeting actually takes place, much less yields tangible progress toward reconciliation between two hostile populations. "I don't think even the Russians have much hope that they are going to make magic," said Zakaria a professor of national security studies at Al Quds University in East Jerusalem. While Russia has always been fitfully involved in peace efforts over the years, Mr. Putin now seems intent on taking the lead, both as a poke at Washington amid continuing tension over Syria and Ukraine and as a show of Russian significance. Mr. Putin has made a point of developing a relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel even as Mr. Netanyahu has feuded with President Obama. "They're eager to become an important player, a big shot in the Middle East," said Zvi Magen, a former Israeli ambassador to Russia who is now a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. "The idea is not to reach any specific results, but it's good for Russia. They don't need results. They need the process itself. " So far, all they have is the process. After Mr. Putin's special envoy met with Mr. Netanyahu and officials of the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, in recent days, Moscow declared that the two had agreed "in principle" to meet. But no date was set, and neither side openly confirmed an agreement to sit down. Until now, Mr. Abbas insisted that before any meeting Israel must freeze its construction of settlements in the West Bank and release prisoners. Mr. Netanyahu had insisted that he would meet only if there were no preconditions. It remained unclear whether Mr. Abbas had dropped his conditions, but even if he had, his team held out little hope for a meeting in the near term. A senior Palestinian official, who insisted on anonymity because of the shifting nature of the diplomacy, said his side had agreed to a meeting in principle, but there was no date and he did not expect that there would be soon. The official refused to specify whether Mr. Abbas was demanding any terms for the meeting, saying only that there had been "no change in the Palestinian position" regarding settlement construction. He reiterated the Palestinian assertion that the demand for a settlement freeze is not a precondition, but an obligation under international law. The Palestinians argued that Mr. Netanyahu was the one who did not really want a meeting brokered by the Russians. But his office maintained that he would go anywhere, anytime to meet as long as no terms were required to sit down. "If the Palestinian Authority can say with one voice that they are willing to meet without preconditions, then Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet President Abbas," said David Keyes, a spokesman for the Israeli leader. Always a crafty tactician, Mr. Netanyahu seems to be gambling that the Palestinians will never drop their terms while he gets to contend that he is open to negotiations. In reality, analysts said, he wants to undercut a French effort to broker talks and is especially worried that Mr. Obama, his nemesis, might go to the United Nations after the American election in November to seek a resolution outlining terms of a possible peace deal. If there is even the appearance of progress in Moscow, Mr. Netanyahu hopes it may discourage Mr. Obama from acting for fear of appearing to be interfering, some scholars said. "It's good to show the United States that he's a relatively good player at this game," said Mr. Magen, the former Israeli ambassador. Mr. Netanyahu may also have a domestic interest in playing along with the appearance of progress if he is serious about broadening his governing coalition by luring in Isaac Herzog, the current opposition leader, and at least part of his Zionist Union party. In another indication of the toxic atmosphere that does not seem conducive to peace talks, Mr. Netanyahu released a video on Friday accusing the Palestinian leadership of demanding a Palestinian state with "no Jews" in it. "There's a phrase for that," he said. "It's called ethnic cleansing. " The Palestinians have protested this charge that has cropped up of late, saying there is a difference between what Mr. Netanyahu is claiming and their refusal to legitimize the settlements. The Palestinians view the Moscow peace bid as a way to keep their cause on the international radar screen. For Mr. Abbas, who faces internal dissent, it is also a way of keeping power. "The Palestinians want to give the impression that their issue is still high in the sky and everybody is losing sleep because of the Palestinian question," Professor Qaq said. "But I think this is an illusion. " Mr. Abbas prefers the effort led by the French, who have traditionally been more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and he must maneuver carefully to keep the Russians from pointing at him as the obstacle to peace, analysts said. Not that the Russian effort has much chance either way. "It's all nonsense," Ziad Abu Zayyad, a journalist and former Palestinian Authority minister, said on Israeli radio. "I don't see any point in a meeting between Abu Mazen and Netanyahu," he added, using Mr. Abbas's nickname. "There were already tens of meetings like this, and they bore no fruit. "


President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. Trade Representative said on Tuesday that he believes China substantially manipulated its currency in the past to gain a trade advantage, but it was unclear if Beijing is still doing so. "In the past, it is my judgment that China was a substantial currency manipulator and I think we've lost a lot of jobs in the United States because of it," Robert Lighthizer told senators in his confirmation hearing. "Whether China is manipulating its currency right now, to weaken it, that's another question," Lighthizer said, adding that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be the person to make that determination. Trump pledged during his campaign that he declare China a currency manipulator on the first day of his administration, a move that would trigger demands for bilateral negotiations over this issue. He has not done so. China in the past year has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign exchange reserves to prop up the value of its yuan in the face of capital outflow pressures.


November 4, 2016 - Aris Petasis, Katehon - c.e. by J. Arnoldski  The Cyprus problem is a Russian problem as well. The current purblind negotiations, ostensibly between the two Cypriot communities (82% Greek and 18% Turkish), are strictly directed by NATO under the watchful eye of 40,000 Turkish occupation troops that hold 37% of Cyprus's land and 54% of its shores. At every major juncture in Cyprus' recent history, one finds an obsession with Russia by Britain and its successor in the Eastern Mediterranean (EM), America.  The Russia factor featured strongly in 1878 and, of course, before. In that year, the Ottomans ceded Cyprus to Britain in exchange for the United Kingdom's military support to the Ottomans (read: Turkish) should Russia attempt to take possession of Ottoman territories in Asia. Here we see the people of Cyprus treated as a commodity and Turkey and Britain acting as traders treating Russia as collateral.  With the start of WWI, Cyprus was put under British military occupation (1914-1925) and then became a colony of the British crown (1925-1960.) During WWI, when the Turks joined the losing side, Britain promised to cede Cyprus to Greece just as it did in 1864 with some Greek-populated islands. But Britain reneged on its promise perfidiously because of its obsession with keeping Russia in check in the EM. The Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 established the new Turkish state, which in turn formally recognized Britain's sovereignty over Cyprus (Article 20).  The British distrusted the Greeks because of favorable Greek sentiment towards Russia. Beyond the cultural links between Greeks and Russians, Russia deservedly earned the appreciation of the Greeks. In 1770, at Catherine the Great's behest, the Orlov brothers attempted, although unsuccessfully, to free the Greeks from Turkish bondage. The Greek General Alexander Ypsilanti, who fought against Napoleon as an officer of the Russian Cavalry, led the Greek war of independence against the Turks. The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kapodistrias, was the first Governor of liberated Greece. The battle of Navarino of 1827, that saw the crushing of the Turkish navy, was initiated by Russia (with Rear-Admiral Lodewijk Heyden of the Imperial Russian Navy) and only then, so as not to be left out, did France and Britain (with philhellene Vice-Admiral Edward Codrington) joined the fray. This led to independence in 1829 for some Greek territory.  Just after WWII, when the issue of Cyprus was raised again, the British toyed with the idea of ceding Cyprus to Greece. The project was stopped when the British (and Americans) cunningly brought up the imaginary danger of Greece falling under communism and ultimately siding with the Soviet Union (read: Russia). Of course, the Yalta agreement prevented such an eventuality (Greece went to the West by 90%) whilst the massive military support the British and Americans gave the anti-communists (many of whom were shadowy characters and collaborators) sealed the communists' fate.  Here again, the legitimate ambitions of the Greeks of Cyprus were thwarted largely on account of the West's obsession with stopping Russia.  Years later, after Cyprus was given fettered independence by the British in 1960, NATO accused Cyprus' president of close relations with Cypriot "communists." In response, NATO started to work tirelessly towards the dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus (RofCy) out of fear that Russia would use the "communists" as a wedge to gain entry into Cyprus. All of this was, of course, nonsense.  So, the British set their sights on replacing the RofCy with a new amalgam to be run 50-50 by the 18% Turks and the 82% Greeks, thereby ushering in minority tyranny and government paralysis. This was meant to meet NATO's two objectives in Cyprus: a.) to set up a regime that would be paralyzed by the Turkish minority's vetoes so that the Greeks would never be able to side with fraternal Russia, and b.) to establish in Cyprus a second NATO (Turkish) presence in addition to Britain's.  The Americans want - in this order - Cyprus, Crete, and Greece as military staging posts against anyone that dares to refuse to succumb to the American line. In the last twenty years, NATO and co. have used the British military bases in Cyprus regularly to bomb a multitude of countries. Now, NATO is just a step away from meeting both objectives. The first objective has already been met in that the Greek nomenklatura of the last 8 years accepted the dissolution of the RofCy and its replacement by a 50-50 "Frankenstein state."  As regards the additional NATO military base on Cyprus, all guns are now trained on the already browbeaten Greek representatives. NATO remains optimistic. In this way, NATO hopes to seal Russia's and Greece's fate in Cyprus - but what has been agreed upon to date will still need to be put to referendum. If the plan goes through, the Greeks will be put on the path to emigration. Uncertainty will reign, conflict will rule, and violence and intimidation against the Greeks will probably be organized from Turkey. In the absence of a serious central government, mass colonization by Turkey will immediately follow, since any mechanisms of control will all but disappear.  Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was right when she recently accused the West of persistent attempts to speed up negotiations and push for a solution at all costs. She warned of a repeat of the 2004 fiasco when the disastrous NATO-initiated Anan plan (masquerading as a UN plan) was massively rejected by the people of Cyprus and is blatantly supported by those in power now. The same sources continue to support the current NATO plan. Fortunately, there is a huge chasm separating some among the political elite of Cyprus and those who consider the people's desire for a democratic rather than a NATO solution.  Incidentally, the current administration in Cyprus has repeatedly called on NATO to accept Cyprus in its ranks, forgetting that NATO's primary objective is the encirclement of Russia.  Russia now needs to stand firm on the side of a democratic solution. Using its vast diplomatic weight, Russia can thwart the current NATO plan before it goes to referendum. A strong Russian position will give courage to the people of Cyprus. If the Greeks surrender, NATO will become the choreographer of Cyprus' political life from now on. Since Greece is merely a sorry bystander, only Russia can save Cyprus. If the NATO plan for Cyprus succeeds, Russia will end up suffering geostrategic casualties and the Greeks of Cyprus will be left as collateral damage.   Follow us on Facebook!     Follow us on Twitter!     Donate!


Billie Joe Armstrong may be punk rock's biggest triple threat: the frontman of Green Day, which was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the and sometime star of "American Idiot," the Broadway musical on its way to becoming an HBO movie and the lead of "Ordinary World," an indie film out Friday, Oct. 14. What he is not, though, by his own admission, is a social media maven. "I'll try to catch up," he said. "I get into Instagram, and the next thing I know, someone will say, it's all about Snapchat now! It's like, oh God, leave me in the Stone Age — I got one foot in the Stone Age and the millennium right now. " Mr. Armstrong's straddled take on culture is laid out on "Revolution Radio," the new Green Day album, and the first since 2000 that the band — including the bassist Mike Dirnt and the drummer Tré Cool — with an engineer. "It feels more independent than we've ever been," Mr. Armstrong said in a phone interview. He's also branching out — sort of — with "Ordinary World," in which he plays a dad who throws himself a 40th birthday party. "My thing was keeping my stubble on for the movie," he said. "I had to make sure I shaved it in the right way, once every three days. And I wanted to show my gray that I have growing in. " A still boyish 44, Mr. Armstrong — who went through rehab for substance abuse in 2012 after an onstage outburst at a pop festival — is grappling with his shifting generation. The cover for "Revolution Radio" is a boombox on fire. "It's like that feeling of what's obsolete," he said, "like we're turning into a graveyard. " He paused. "Ooh, that was good — graveyard! I'm going to say that so many times in the next few days. " He hopes to reprise the role of St. Jimmy, the bad influence, in HBO's "American Idiot," a rock opera based on the 2004 Green Day album. He credits the ambition of "Idiot" with the new heights of success in his career. But, he added: "I'm not royalty. I'm the king of nothing. I'm in the same high school rock 'n' roll band I've been in since I was 16. " Here are edited excerpts from the conversation. This is your first leading film role. Did you do any actorly things to prepare? Not like anything weird — I wasn't exactly doing any, like, mime. Me and Lee Kirk, the director, we spent a lot of time together fleshing the character out, putting it more in my language. I just went from experiences on my own, and I just tried to be as honest as I could. Acting for the stage, you project to the back of the room, especially a character like St. Jimmy. This is all about the subtleties of acting to the camera, which is difficult for me, because I'm anything but subtle. And you were playing opposite some very seasoned improvisers, like Fred Armisen and Judy Greer. Did that throw you? It felt pretty intimidating, just because I have so much respect for those people. They're brilliant people they're not like at what they do, they're all the way good at what they do. Everybody wanted to make things really relaxed and fun. A couple of the guys that played dads in the movie came in, and we just acted out some of the scenes, which is super awkward at first, doing something you've never done, but eventually I got comfortable with it. We're seeing more and more of that nontraditional father onscreen. Can you relate? It's a different take on parenting, especially people that were maybe Generation X kind of people and are raising kids now. We're not our dads. I think there's more sensitivity training that's involved in being a parent nowadays. My kids are 21 and 18 — that was a trip. I was a very young dad. And your sons are both musicians. Do you jam with them? A little bit. Mostly they show me music that they're into, they do a lot of demos and things like that on their own. My youngest son, Jakob, he's becoming a really good songwriter. He writes songs that are straight from the heart. Joey's band, they're really good, and they're different. It's not about being, like, a rock star. If there's anything I share with them, it's the joy and the love of music. You started in the punk scene as a teenager, when it's a lot about youthful anger. What does it mean to you to be part of a punk scene now? I think punk is a lot more than just anger, and rage. It's like the weirdo that gets to find their voice for the first time. It could be someone that wants to have their own fanzine, and write about things they believe in, and despite the odds, do it anyway. Green Day records in general are about feeling kind of lost, and a bit stupid, in the midst of chaos and media and everything that's changed. And the bottom line for this album is to find something that's attainable, some kind of peace or serenity inside that chaos. The song "Ordinary World" is basically what that's about. "Say Goodbye" is about watching how Ferguson is this military state, and you see all these tanks and tear gas. "Revolution Radio" mentions that, too. It's just reflecting what I see, and maybe coming up with a caricature of it. You touch on difficult topics on the album — "Bang Bang" is a song from the perspective of a mass shooter. Is that fun to play? Yeah, and hard — it's fast. It's a release for everyone that's singing it in the crowd. When you grow up in an era of social media and manifestoes and mass shootings and narcissism and that sort of evil side of American life, what do you say about something like that? You're just left speechless. The best way I'm able to talk about it is when I do it in a song, and that's sort of my release, and that's what ends up coming along in our crowds these last few years. Has your songwriting process changed in sobriety? I've just become more focused I've learned to stop when I'm blocked. Either you go and make the bigger mess right now, or that song doesn't want to be written right now, your brain's not ready for it. Sometimes I just gotta know when to back off something. The fact that I'm clearheaded — I just love making stuff. A song like "Revolution Radio," it's so subtle and it's so nerdy. The song's got the intro, and it's got a that goes into the chorus, and I decided to not do that going into the chorus in the second verse. It makes the song unpredictable. For me, that's like the greatest song I've ever done. It's super nerdy, but that's what I love about writing. Why do you think "American Idiot" has had such a long life, in so many forms? Because people are able to interpret it anyway they want any time there's any kind of injustice that's going along, in America, you can adapt it somehow, go listen to that record, and it makes sense. There's a lot more transparency now. In Pennsylvania, there was a small theater group with an cast that did "American Idiot" for Black Lives Matter. When I saw that, I was like: "Yeah, this is why I do this stuff!" Because people take it and make something of their own out of it.


Malaysia s growing ties to Saudi Arabia - and its puritan Salafi-Wahhabi Islamic doctrines - are coming under new scrutiny as concerns grow over an erosion of traditional religious practices and culture in the multi-ethnic nation. A string of recent events has fueled the concern. Hostility toward atheists, non-believers and the gay community has risen. Two annual beer festivals were canceled after Islamic leaders objected. A hardline preacher, accused of spreading hatred in India, has received official patronage. The government has backed a parliamentary bill that would allow the shariah court wider criminal jurisdiction over Muslims in the state of Kelantan. And after religious officials supported a Muslim-only laundromat, Malaysia s mostly ceremonial royalty made a rare public intervention, calling for religious harmony. Marina Mahathir, the daughter of Malaysia s longest serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, publicly lashed out at the government for allowing the Arabisation of Malaysia. Marina, who heads the civil rights group Sisters in Islam, told Reuters Saudi influence on Islam in Malaysia has come at the expense of traditional Malay culture . Her father, 93, now heads the opposition alliance. Saudi Arabia s fundamentalist Wahhabi beliefs have strongly influenced Malaysia and neighboring Indonesia - for decades, but have strengthened considerably since Najib became prime minister in 2009 and began cozying up to the kingdom. The relationship came under a harsh spotlight when nearly $700 million wound up in Najib s bank account in 2013. Najib said it was a donation from the Saudi Royal family, rebutting allegations it was money siphoned from the 1MDB state investment fund he had founded and overseen. Malaysia s attorney-general cleared him of any wrongdoing. The trend toward a politicized brand of Islam in Malaysia, a middle-income emerging market, has alarmed Malaysia s non-Muslims, including ethnic Chinese who comprise a quarter of the population and dominate private sector commerce. It is also a concern for foreign investors, who account for nearly half the local bond market and have invested $8.95 billion in project investments in the first nine months of this year. The government denies actively promoting Wahhabi-style Islamic conservatism. Najib has been largely silent about the recent religious controversies. Critics have accused the prime minister, whose governing coalition lost the popular vote in the last general election but retained a simple majority in parliament, of playing on fears that Islam and Malay political power will be eroded should the opposition win. An election is due by mid-2018. Militancy has also been on the rise in Malaysia, which from 2013 to 2016 had arrested more than 250 people with alleged ties to Islamic State, many of whom were indoctrinated with hardline interpretations of Islam. After the visit of the Saudi monarch this year, Malaysia announced plans to build the King Salman Centre for International Peace to bring together Islamic scholars and intelligence agencies in an effort to counter extremist interpretations of Islam. The center, which is being built on a 16-hectare (40-acre) plot in the administrative capital of Putrajaya, will draw on the resources of the Saudi-financed Islamic Science University of Malaysia, and the Muslim World League, a Wahhabi Saudi religious body. Saudi Arabia has long been funding mosques and schools in Malaysia, while providing scholarships for Malaysians to study in the kingdom. Many of them find employment in Malaysia s multitude of Islamic agencies, said Farouk Musa, chairman and director of the moderate think-tank, Islamic Renaissance Front. One of the most worrisome doctrines they preach in multi-cultural Malaysia is al-w ala wa-al-bara or allegiance and disavowal , Farouk said. This doctrine basically means do not befriend the non-believers (al-kuffar), even if they are among the closest relatives. We have never heard of Islamic scholars forbidding Muslims to wish Merry Christmas before, for example. Now, this is a common phenomenon, he said. The adoption of Arab culture and interpretations of Islam is a result of greater exposure to Middle Eastern people and universities, said Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, a member of the Supreme Council of Najib s political party, the United Malay National Organisation. The extensive usage of social media also accelerated the external influence on the locals, he told Reuters. The government is not promoting Wahhabism but rather the doctrine of wasatiyyah , or moderation and balance, to accommodate Malaysia s multi-cultural society, said Abdul Aziz, who is also a federal deputy minister. Karima Bennoune, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for cultural rights, expressed concern in a report after her September visit to Malaysia about the deepening involvement of religious authorities in policy decisions. She said this was influenced by a hegemonic version of Islam imported from the Arabian Peninsula that was at odds with local forms of practice. She also expressed concern about the banning of books, including some about moderate and progressive Islam, in the country when the government extols these very concepts abroad . Marina Mahathir said religious departments, staffed with Saudi graduates, are now consulted on absolutely everything, from movies to health and medicine to insurance, all sorts of things that they do not necessarily have any expertise in . The kingdom also exerts leverage over Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia through the quotas it gives to countries for the number of pilgrims they can send on the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam that all capable Muslims must perform at least once in their lives. This could all start to change if Saudi Arabia s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman succeeds in returning the Saudi kingdom to a moderate Islam, which he says was practiced before 1979. He has already scaled back the role of religious police, permitted public concerts and announced women will be allowed to drive. The kingdom has also set up an authority to scrutinize uses of the hadith accounts of the sayings, actions or habits of the Prophet to prevent them being used to justify violence or terrorism. (This story has been corrected to clarify bill on Islamic law and remove reference to stoning and amputations in paragraph 3)


Ever since same-sex marriage became the law of the land, Bible Belt states have been pushing back on it. Of course, we all remember the Kim Davis fiasco, where the Rowan County, Kentucky County Clerk went to jail rather than issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Now, we have something similar happening in Arkansas, where the state was refusing to put the names of same-sex parents on their children s birth certificates. However, the Supreme Court handed down a decision forcing the state of Arkansas to treat same-sex couples just like they treat opposite-sex couples.The decision that was handed down was 6-3, with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissenting. This comes as no surprise, since those are the three most conservative justices on the court. Further, it gives us just a taste of what we are in for with Trump s new justice, and it isn t good. The case reached the highest court in the land as the result of two women who filed a suit against the state when they insisted that it was not a right to have both parents listed on their infant s certificate of birth. First, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state, so the case went to the Supreme Court, where it was struck down.Luckily, this is a 6-3 ruling, so it s not on a razor s edge, like some rulings in favor of equality have been including Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that legalized marriage equality nationwide. With talk of the potential retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is usually the swing vote on the Court, there could be a lot of anti-equality rulings if Trump puts another right-wing asshole up for consideration. The last great hope is that the Democrats are able to take the Senate back in 2018, and Justice Kennedy will wait until then to retire. For now, we can be happy that the Court did the right thing in this case.


In a YouTube video posted on January 19, CloudGate Studio demonstrated an experiment in virtual reality tracking with the HTC Vive. [With two controllers in his hands, and two more strapped to his feet, CloudGate CEO Steve Bowler demonstrated some amazing live tracking of his body in a 3D VR environment, using two of Valve's HTC Vives. He posted a link to the video on Twitter: Wake up, Neo. @CloudGateStudio just figured out how to give you a presence in VR. pic. twitter. — Steve Bowler (@gameism) January 19, 2017, Bowler first showed off the function of virtual hands in the game, but said that it's something "everyone's [doing]. " Then he displayed unfinished virtual arms, saying "we're not going to ship this yet," but "it's getting there. " But CloudGate wanted to "do more than just this … like, a lot more. " So with the aid of four total motion controllers in addition to an HTC Vive headset, Bowler showed what he called "a pretty good facsimile of a human body in VR. " He then demonstrated the ability to look down at his virtual body and make contact with it in a way that mirrored the contact he was making with his own form. He touched his toes, then his head and shoulders. The shadow of his form mimicked his motions, even to the point of dancing and crouching, despite a lack of hip tracking. Bowler said that while right now the simulation is effectively guessing at the position of his hips, with a dedicated hip tracker it would look even better. He concluded the video by demonstrating interactivity in the environment, able to "kick all the things. " He proceeded to do just that, showing how objects in the environment reacted to his motions because he "had a body" in VR. But according to Steve himself, this was just a "hack," with a better realization of the concept being adapted to the new HTC Vive trackers announced at CES 2017. @nuclearfossil it's a "hack" using two Vives so we could get 4 wireless controllers. Now that it's proven will move to Vive Trackers later. — Steve Bowler (@gameism) January 20, 2017, The possibilities for this development are thrilling. tracking in VR could provide endless application in entertainment and social spaces alike. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on further developments from CloudGate Studio and other virtual reality pioneers, as the emerging technology finds its place in the global market. Follow Nate Church @Get2Church on Twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology, and snarky opinions on both.


Florida continues to lead the nation in head shaking insanity after 81-year-old Luis Angel Dominguez, affectionately known to his neighbors as Papi, was deliberately run and killed over by a 26-year-old after an argument.As reported by the Washington Post:According to Broward County police, Dominguez and a younger man got into an argument at Everglades Holiday Park on Wednesday night. The younger man, whom police have identified as 26-year-old Kyle Christopher Hannover, was at the park fishing when he allegedly started yelling racial slurs at Dominguez and threw a rock at Dominguez s car.Hannover then allegedly got into his Ford Ranger truck and drove directly toward Dominguez, striking him. He was completely rolled over from the suspect s car and trailer, a witness told ABC. When I called 911 it was, No ambulance. It was, Get a trauma chopper out here as quickly as possible. Unsurprisingly, Hannover has a history of violence. In 2015, he was arrested and for allegedly threatening his girlfriend with a shotgun. Considering how disturbed he is, it s amazing that she survived long enough for him to be arrested. As a result of his threats, his guns were confiscated as part of his plea deal this past March. I can only assume that s why Hannover didn t simply shoot Dominguez instead of sadistically running him over.The cause of the fight is unclear and, honestly, is irrelevant. There is literally no justification for a 26-year-old to run over a senior citizen in a rage. The only upshot to this entire incident is that Hannover will probably be about the same age when he gets out of prison.His step-granddaughter Damaris Riveron expressed her gratitude to the police: We re extremely happy there has been an arrest, Thank you to the police department for all of their hard work and for everyone who contributed. Domiguez is survived by his wife, his children and his grandchildren.Featured courtesy of Vivian Sanchez


Ashutosh attempts suicide at protest rally, rescued while proofreading suicide note Posted on Tweet (Image via shiningindianews.com)  Delhi police has foiled a suicide attempt by Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh during a protest rally organized by his party. He was apprehended when he and his team were proofreading his suicide note before attempting suicide.  He was later sent to 14 days judicial custody where he is currently undergoing a refresher course in grammar and spelling.  The incident happened yesterday when AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal organized an impromptu protest rally at Jantar Mantar to expose Narendra Modi, but unfortunately no one from the media turned up for the event. Crestfallen, Mr. Kejriwal decided to go back on Twitter and continue his service for his constituency when an idea crossed his mind. He shared the idea with Ashutosh and urged him to commit suicide.  "But this is not what I was looking forward to when I joined AAP," retorted Ashutosh.  "No, you are not going to die. You will just attempt a suicide. We will call media to cover the event. Just imagine, you will be making headlines, you will be trending on Twitter, everyone will be talking about you. It will be so cool!"  "Ok, you do it then if it's so cool."  "No, I need to oversee the whole event. See, there are two options for you, either do it or find another party."  ''Which party will take me if I leave AAP?' he pondered for a while and said, "Ok, let's do it."  "Cool, now write a suicide note and let's get on with this."  "Ok."  AAP party workers gathered around Ashutosh as he typed the opening line on Microsoft Word that read, "I holed Modi resoncible for my deth…"  A crack team of 5 proof readers was formed immediately, who advised him about the correction the sentence demanded.  He grinned and typed, " sorry responcible …not resoncible .. "  "No, you can just delete the words and…"  Another 5 proof readers were hired urgently to strengthen the team as he continued to type the letter.  By the time he completed the letter, the language settings on MS Word had automatically turned into Spanish.  "Done," Ashutosh pronounced with a satisfactory smile as he beheld his creation for a few seconds before calling police to inform them about his plan.  "Sir wait, we haven't started proofreading yet," implored one of the newly hired proofreaders.  "Do you want me to die for real or what?"  "No but at least the attempt should look genuine and not a hoax."  "Don't worry, I've informed Darya Ganj Police Station. By the time they beat the traffic to reach here, we will not only complete the proofreading but will also complete the suicide…attempt."  3 proofreaders immediately started to decode the message in the letter in a separate document, another 3 changed the language settings of MS Word, and the rest started deleting the word 'why' which he had added at the end of every sentence. But it was too much of an ask for 10 mortals and they couldn't even rewrite half of the letter when police arrived at the scene.  Kejriwal tried to cover up the whole mess and handed over the letter to the police inspector, saying, "See, what Modi has done to him! He was about to commit suicide."  The inspector held the suicide note in front of him and mumbled, "Oh, Ashutosh. We would need some help here."  Experts, including the ones who decoded Nostradamus's predictions, were flown in from various parts of the world to decipher the message in the letter, however, they haven't quite succeeded in their endeavor as reports last came in.


House Republicans tried to pave the way for rampant crime and corruption by voting to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics in a secret meeting, and the ladies of The View were absolutely disgusted.On Monday night, Republican lawmakers voted to strip power from the independent non-partisan panel, forcing them to refer investigations to the House Ethics Committee, which the GOP controls. Republicans gave themselves the ability to kill investigations and even barred the panel from reporting crimes to law enforcement.The move has generate national outrage, including from Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, who ripped Republicans a new one on Tuesday.Pointing out that House Republicans are apparently insisting that they can police themselves, Goldberg remarked that Trump s promise to drain the swamp is now stuck. Joy Behar then chimed in with a salvo of her own. First of all, Congressional ethics is an oxymoron, Behar began. Particularly in this Congress. But it s sort of like on the slippery slope towards a dictatorship, you know. First, we re going to be very secretive about what we do. We re going to police ourselves. You re not going to know what bad things we re doing. We re going to keep it very quiet. It s very scary. Sunny Hostin read Donald Trump s pathetic response to the news, in which he only had a problem with Republicans making it their first priority.Behar noted that it s just about priorities, it s not that he cares about ethics of it. And Hostin piled on by explaining what it means to allow Republicans to police themselves. [T]his Office of Congressional Ethics was created after all these things happened. You had a string of really serious ethical issues and now the Republicans are saying, We re going to get rid of that. We re just going to use the House Ethics Committee and we re just going to police ourselves. Which means we re going to get an A every time. It s like, if you made me grade myself, I get an A every time. Jedediah Bila chimed in by pointing out the hypocrisy of Republicans because they initiated countless investigations against Hillary Clinton but don t want to be investigated themselves for their own wrongdoings, to which Behar replied, You know, Jedediah, when you re shameless there s nothing you can do about it. They are shameless. And when Bila slammed Republicans for not standing up against this move, Behar had the perfect response. It s very hard to stand up when you re spending time on your knees, she said.Here s the video via VidMe.Clearly, the only reason Republicans wanted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics is because they intend on pulling some incredibly unethical shit in Congress, which could very well include bribes from lobbyists considering the GOP intends to consider infrastructure spending, tax cuts for the wealthy, and massive defense spending. And the fact that they can t be reported to law enforcement for committing crimes is a complete travesty.Gutting the ethics panel should really be seen as treason because Republicans just gave themselves permission to steal from and cheat the American people with impunity.And after much outrage, Republicans backed away from their unethical agenda. However, they just want to wait until the story dies down so they can try again. That s why we need to remain vigilant.Featured image screenshot


While Donald J. Trump refuses to release his federal tax returns, saying his tax rate is "none of your business," a USA TODAY analysis found Trump's businesses have been involved in at least 100 lawsuits and other disputes related to unpaid taxes or how much tax his businesses owe. Trump's companies have been engaged in battles over taxes almost every year from the late 1980s until as recently as March, the analysis of court cases, property records, and other documents across the country shows. At least five Trump companies were issued warrants totaling more than $13,000 for late or unpaid taxes in New York state just since Trump declared his candidacy in June 2015, according to state records. This spring, as Trump flew to campaign rallies around the country aboard his trademark private jet, the state of New York filed a tax warrant to try to collect $8,578 in unpaid taxes from the Trump-owned company that owns the Boeing 757. The company has since paid that tax bill. As recently as last week, Trump said he was "willing to pay more" taxes personally and that "taxes for the rich will go up somewhat" if he becomes president. But the lawsuits and other tax-related disputes show a different reality for his businesses. They illustrate a pattern of systematically disputing tax bills, arguing for lower property assessments, and in some cases not paying taxes until the government takes additional action. At least three dozen times, Trump companies' unpaid tax bills have forced the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to go to local courts to get liens against his properties to try to collect overdue bills. New Jersey also had to go to court for a lien to collect a Trump company's unpaid tax bill. Eventually, those disputes were resolved, and his companies paid some amount of taxes. The disputes surrounding Trump's business taxes are uncharted territory for the presidential nominee of a major party. The GOP's 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, also had extensive business interests as the leader of a private-equity fund. But Trump has a network of complicated real estate and other investments, and some of the tax disputes are ongoing. Trump has acknowledged that he tries to pay as little taxes as possible, and the public records across the country shed light on how he does it. In documents rarely seen by the public, Trump's businesses regularly minimize the value of his properties for tax purposes. Publicly, including in his presidential financial disclosure report, Trump's team declares many of those same properties are worth tens of millions of dollars more. He's fought tax collectors to lower the assessed values of his luxury golf courses in Briarcliff, N.Y., and Jupiter, Fla. Yet on his presidential financial disclosure report, he valued each at more than $50 million. USA TODAY's examination of Trump's track record as a business taxpayer found not just court actions, but dozens of additional tax disputes with local authorities that didn't reach the courthouse in states including New York, Nevada, Florida and New Jersey. In some cases, Trump's businesses have disputed tax assessments; in others, they have simply not paid the tax bill until after the government took additional action. In New York, for example, there are dozens of tax warrants against Trump businesses. Tax warrants are filed only after the state has exhausted all other options to collect what's owed. "You have to ignore us to end up with a tax warrant," said Geoff Gloak, spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance. "We try to work with taxpayers to resolve the debt, long before it becomes a warrant." If the tax warrant is ignored, the state can choose to take the matter to court – and in some cases has. In addition to the five tax warrants since his announcement, there are additional New York state tax warrants dating to the years before Trump became a candidate, including $1,580 in unpaid taxes in 2010 for Trump Mortgage, his failed mortgage venture, and $1,747 in unpaid taxes in early 2015 against Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, once known as the troubled Trump University, which was later paid. Alan Garten, general counsel to the Trump Organization, said he was unaware of the particulars of the tax warrant cases. He said disputes can arise over how one calculates sales-tax liabilities. "It happens all the time," he said. "And some of the charges could have been mistaken." Real estate developers often appeal assessments, and Morris Ellison, a commercial real estate tax attorney based in Charleston, S.C., said it's difficult to compare one organization's volume of property tax appeals vs. another's. Garten said the companies do what any property owners have the right to do: challenge their property's assessment to make sure they are fairly taxed. "We are a business, and we are in the business of making money," he said. "Why should it be any different if we think the assessment is incorrect? It would be irresponsible if we didn't. It's got to be fair." Trump has been particularly aggressive by any measure, acknowledging it's part of his business strategy. "I fight like hell to pay as little as possible," he said at a New York news conference announcing his own tax plan in September. "I fight like hell always, because it's an expense. And you know, I feel ... and I fight. I have the best lawyers and the best accountants, and I fight, and I pay. But it's an expense." Trump's boasts about his wealth have sometimes undercut his attempts to slash his taxes. In 1985, Trump scooped up Mar-a-Lago, the opulent estate built by Marjorie Merriweather Post in Palm Beach, Fla., for $10 million, bragging in his 1989 book, The Art of the Deal, that it was a sweet deal, worth far more than he paid. When the property was assessed at $11.5 million and later $17 million, Trump objected. Litigation dragged on until 1993 over the tax bills. A settlement hinged on Trump agreeing not to develop the Mar-a-Lago land into individual lots, said Jay Jacknin, outside counsel for Palm Beach County's appraisal's office. Last year, the county assessed the property at about $20 million — though Trump's federal financial disclosure form values it at "more than $50 million." Similarly, just up the road in Jupiter, Fla., Trump bought the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and Spa in 2012 for a reported $5 million, then renovated it. For the past three years, his team has appealed the assessed value, of $13.7million as of 2015. In his financial disclosure forms, Trump claims that the course on 285 acres is worth "more than $50 million" and that it throws off more than $12 million in revenue. In Westchester County, N.Y., Trump has taken an aggressive approach toward the town of Ossining regarding the taxable value of Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor. The battle gained national prominence, after an investigation in September 2015 by The Journal News, which is part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, of the club's audacious bid to slash its taxable value by 90%. Town Assessor Fernando Gonzalez valued the 140-acre complex at $14.3 million (a valuation since increased to $15.1 million) — but Trump's team countered that it was worth $1.4 million. For perspective, a three-bedroom villa built at Trump National's 16th hole on a separate tax parcel sold in 2005 for $2.4 million and was recently on the market for almost $2 million. Trump's claimed value would slash the $471,000 in taxes he owes to the town, village county and its school district to $47,000. Residents are outraged. "What he's claiming is way off," said Briarcliff Manor homeowner Steve Cohen. "I see people playing there. The club looks fabulous. It certainly isn't falling into disrepair." The Trump team's lowball valuation follows a pattern similar to other assessment battles. His camp's estimate appears to be a mere opening bid in a negotiation. Trump's attorney, Jeff Rodner, acknowledges that he is sure the property is worth more than the $1.4 million. "Maybe it's worth $12 million, maybe $13 million," Rodner told The Journal News. "Now, my value is my opinion until it's proven otherwise." The Briarcliff property is among 20 developments on Trump's financial disclosure report that he values at "more than $50 million" — accounting for $1 billion of his net worth that Trump claims totals $10 billion.


Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday he would take action if any citizen was attacked in the country s northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state television reporter. We would not stand idly by if any citizen were attacked, the broadcaster quoted him as saying in a weekly news conference. Three people were killed and more than 80 wounded, local officials said earlier, as Kurdish protesters angered by years of austerity and unpaid public-sector salaries took to the streets in a second day of violent unrest amid tensions with Baghdad.


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - Remember, Republicans are 5-0 in Congressional Races this year. The media refuses to mention this. I said Gillespie and Moore would lose (for very different reasons), and they did. I also predicted "I" would win. Republicans will do well in 2018, very well! @foxandfriends [0623 EST] - Ivanka Trump will be interviewed on @foxandfriends. [0642 EST] - The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! [1341 EST] - My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the train accident in DuPont, Washington. Thank you to all of our wonderful First Responders who are on the scene. We are currently monitoring here at the White House. [1351 EST] - Our deepest sympathies and most heartfelt prayers are with the victims of the train derailment in Washington State. We are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with local authorities... bit.ly/2Bail99 [1435 EST] - Over the past 11 months, I have travelled tens of thousands of miles, to visit 13 countries. I have met with more than 100 world leaders and everywhere I traveled, it was my highest privilege and greatest honor to represent the AMERICAN PEOPLE! bit.ly/2BajKwn [1519 EST] - When the American People speak, ALL OF US should listen. Just over one year ago, you spoke loud and clear. On November 8, 2016, you voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! bit.ly/2Ba2kQr [1528 EST] - As the world watches, we are days away from passing HISTORIC TAX CUTS for American families and businesses. It will be the BIGGEST TAX CUT and TAX REFORM in the HISTORY of our country! bit.ly/2BbAjI6 [1540 EST] - 70 Record Closes for the Dow so far this year! We have NEVER had 70 Dow Records in a one year period. Wow! [1725 EST] - With the strategy that I announced today, we are declaring that AMERICA is in the game and AMERICA is DETERMINED to WIN!OUR FOUR PILLARS OF NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY: bit.ly/2BdrOfJ [1849 EST] - Together, our task is to strengthen our families, to build up our communities, to serve our citizens, and to celebrate AMERICAN GREATNESS as a shining example to the world.... bit.ly/2Bdsjq7 [1954 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)


Germany s pro-austerity Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is ready to quit his job and become head of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives said on Wednesday, following Sunday s election. Schaeuble is deeply respected at home for his tight control of public finances since taking on the job in 2009, but is loathed in Greece and elsewhere in southern Europe for his insistence on tough austerity steps during the eurozone crisis. The pro-business, fiscally hawkish Free Democrats (FDP), a likely coalition partner for Merkel s conservatives, has said it wants to run the finance ministry in any new government. We are pleased that Wolfgang Schaeuble has agreed to become a candidate for the position (of president of the Bundestag), Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of Merkel s conservatives, said in a statement. The center-right CDU/CSU bloc will propose Schaeuble as their candidate for the Bundestag post at their next meeting on Oct. 17, Kauder added. The current Bundestag president, CDU lawmaker Norbert Lammert, is not up for re-election. Schaeuble, 75, has been confined to a wheelchair since being shot at an election rally in 1990. He is the longest serving member of parliament. (The story is refiled to amend word in parenthesis in paragraph 4 to make clear he will be proposed for job of president of parliament.)


One week before the first votes of the 2016 campaign are cast, Donald Trump has solidified his standing nationally, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Republicans see Trump as the strongest candidate on major issues and by far the most electable in the large field of GOP hopefuls. The Republican electorate is in a sour mood as its members prepare to begin the process of picking a presidential nominee. Almost 9 in 10 say the country is seriously off on the wrong track, and more than 8 in 10 are dissatisfied with the way the federal government works, including nearly 4 in 10 who say they're angry about it. Two-thirds worry about maintaining their current living standard, more than 6 in 10 say people with similar values are losing influence in American life, and about half say the nation's best days are behind it. Half also say immigrants mainly weaken American society, compared with 55 percent of the overall population who say immigrants strengthen America. Amid this political climate, Trump has maintained his place atop the Republican field for six months. He now receives the support of 37 percent of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, almost identical to the 38 percent support he enjoyed a month ago. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas runs second in the national survey, with 21 percent, surpassing his previous high of 15 percent in December. Third place belongs to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida at 11 percent, virtually unchanged from 12 percent a month ago. Rounding out the field are retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 7 percent, former Florida governor Jeb Bush at 5 percent, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 4 percent, businesswoman Carly Fiorina at 3 percent, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 2 percent each, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky at 1 percent. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum registered less than 1 percent. When first and second choices are combined, Trump is named by 49 percent, Cruz by 39 percent and Rubio by 32 percent — well ahead of the others. At this point in presidential campaigns, as the primary season is beginning, candidates' support can be tenuous and shift quickly in response to the first state-level contests. Results in Iowa, which holds its caucuses Monday, and in New Hampshire, which votes eight days later, often scramble national numbers. Trump enters this crucial phase strong nationally, but it isn't clear what a loss in Iowa would do to his support. But The Post-ABC survey offers some clues. Trump's supporters appear more committed to him than do people backing other candidates. A majority (57 percent) of Trump supporters say they will definitely vote for him. For all the other candidates combined, 34 percent are as firmly committed, while nearly two-thirds say they could change their minds. Trump's committed support exceeds what the previous Republican nominee received before the Iowa caucuses four years ago: 36 percent of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's supporters said then that they would definitely support his candidacy. The poll also finds no sign that Trump's support wavers among the Republicans who are most likely to attend primaries and caucuses, which are typically low-turnout contests. Trump's 16-point advantage among all registered Republican voters is similar to his lead among Republicans who say they are certain to vote, report voting in 2012 Republican contests or are following the race "very closely." Although there was resistance to his candidacy at the beginning, Trump now is broadly acceptable to GOP voters. About 2 in 3 Republicans say they would find him acceptable as their nominee, a percentage almost identical to Cruz's and Rubio's. Rubio is seen as the least unacceptable, followed by Cruz, Carson and then Trump. Only about half of Republicans say Christie and Bush are acceptable, and Bush has the highest "unacceptable" percentage at 45. That fluidity underneath Trump is the other story of the Republican race to date. One after another candidate has been seen as surging, in Iowa or New Hampshire. Cruz surged into a narrow lead in Iowa and then got into a fight with Trump, after which Trump has regained a small advantage. Cruz, Christie and Kasich have claimed some momentum in New Hampshire. Rubio is seeking a clear third-place finish in Iowa and a strong finish in New Hampshire to use as springboards into the later contests. But whether Republicans are heading for a three-person race or a two-person race won't be clear until the results are in from the first four states. The new Post-ABC survey suggests that a sizable majority of Republicans believe that whatever happens in those early states, Trump will emerge with the nomination — a dramatic shift from when he first entered the race in June to mixed reviews and overcame widespread unfavorable impressions among GOP voters before his campaign launched. Today, more than 6 in 10 Republicans say Trump is most likely to win the nomination, up from 4 in 10 in the late fall. Trump leads among nearly all demographic groups, including a narrow advantage among white evangelical Christians, a key target of the Cruz campaign. Trump's strongest support comes from those with incomes below $50,000. Previous surveys showed Trump with significantly more support among those lacking a college degree, compared with those who have graduated from college. The new survey finds no significant difference. The reality TV star scores best among those who are most dissatisfied with government and the country's direction and with those who say they prefer someone from outside the political system rather than a candidate with political experience. Overall, a bare majority of Republicans say they are looking for an outsider, while just over 4 in 10 who want someone with experience in politics. On a wide range of issues and candidate attributes, Trump dominates his rivals. Majorities of Republicans say he has the best chance of getting elected president and is most likely to bring needed change to Washington. More than a third say he is closest to them on issues. He and Carson are seen as the most honest of the GOP candidates, while Trump and Cruz are seen as having the best personality and temperament to serve as president. Half or more of all Republicans name Trump as the candidate best able to handle the economy and regulate the banks. More than 4 in 10 say he would be the best to handle immigration and the threat of terrorism. Trump is seen by about 3 in 10 as the most capable of the GOP candidates to handle a major international crisis. Cruz is second, named by almost a quarter of Republicans. Republicans are bullish about their chances of winning in November. Three in 4 say Trump would defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton, while just over 6 in 10 say Cruz or Rubio would defeat the former secretary of state. Republicans are even more optimistic about winning a general election against Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Among the broader public, however, Clinton is seen as a favorite to defeat Trump, Cruz or Rubio. She is perceived as having a better chance of winning than would Sanders. Trump won the endorsement of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin last week, but her support appears to be mostly a non-factor in the race. About 8 in 10 of the Republican respondents in the poll said it makes no difference, and the rest split evenly on whether it makes them more or less likely to back Trump. Overall, 56 percent of Republicans have a favorable impression of Palin. The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 21-24 among a random national sample of 1,001 adults reached on land-line and cellular phones. The margin of sampling error for overall results is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points; the error margin is 5.5 percentage points among the sample of 356 Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters.