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NC GOP Rep. Makes Outrageously Racist Statement In Response To Charlotte Protests (VIDEO)We are heading into yet another day of unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, and one GOP congressman is blaming the victims of systemic racism that lead to the deaths of so many black people at the hands of those sworn to serve and protect in the most blatantly racist way yet. North Carolina GOP Congressman Robert Pittenger had some extraordinary opinions to express here, but he swears he is not racist. Pittenger said that the protesters: The grievance in their minds, the animus, the anger. They hate white people because white people are successful and they re not. Yes, he actually said that. Here is video of the statement, via BBC NewsNight on Twitter:Protesters in #Charlotte "hate white people" North Carolina Congressman Pittenger tells #newsnight https://t.co/q6ELYD01QV BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) September 22, 2016As if that weren t bad enough, Pittenger went on to say: We have spent trillions of dollars on welfare, and we ve put people in bondage, so they can t be all they re capable of being. Of course, the backlash was swift, leading the fool who should never be allowed to hold any position of power whatsoever to quickly try and pretend that isn t what he really meant, that he isn t really a racist. He insisted that he is simply upset, that what is taking place in my hometown right now breaks my heart. He also said, My anguish led me to respond to a reporter s question in a way that I regret. Pittenger, a die-hard Trumpkin, insists that he isn t racist eh? No, Rep. Pittenger, you ARE racist. Anyone who isn t would even think such a thing in response to these protests, much less say it. Face it you re a racist. You and the rest of the GOP can whine and complain anytime someone calls you on your ignorance and bigotry all you want we all know the truth, right from your own mouths.Those of us who are aware know the truth, even though you don t want to look in the mirror and see yourselves for what you are: flaming racists. Run along now, I m sure your sheet and hood are ready to be picked up from the dry cleaners.Featured image via video screenshot

Samantha Bee Slams ‘Moderate’ John Kasich’s DISGUSTING Anti-Choice Record (VIDEO)Full Frontal host Samantha Bee is not known for mincing words, and this time she has turned her attentions to supposedly moderate GOP presidential candidate John Kasich (R-OH). Before the election season heated up, Kasich was not known nationwide, so understandably his relatively non-crazy public persona made him seem like a safe pick next to the clown show that is Donald Trump, and the dangerous extremism of Ted Cruz. However, Samantha Bee wants to warn us to not be fooled by Kasich s not being as openly batty as his fellow GOP presidential candidates.Bee spoke of Kasich s record on her show, in which she reminded everyone that he is very anti-gay and even more anti-choice: In the nauseating bus terminal restroom that is the Republican primary, John Kasich initially seems like the least disgusting stall, but is Kasich really the huggable moderate he s made out to be? The short answer to that question is a resounding NO!! From Salon:Bee noted the candidate s scarcely mentioned record on gay marriage ( Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage, was originally called Obergefell v. Kasich ) and reproductive rights (citing Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, who said, There is no candidate running for president who has done more for the pro-life movement than John Kasich ).That doesn t sound like a moderate at all to me. In fact, it sounds like Ted Cruz part deux, only even more dangerous, because nobody knows what he s really like. Kasich s campaign is built upon trying to make him seem like one of the sane GOP candidates, when, in actuality, he s just as crazy as the rest. Bee continued: If you live outside Ohio, you don t hear much about Kasich s anti-choice record because he hides his abortion restrictions in larger budget bills, where they won t be noticed. Kind of like a desperate, pregnant teenager buying ever-larger sweatshirts. In a lot of ways, this makes Kasich even worse than the others. At least we see their crazy and know what we re getting. Kasich is very adept at hiding his. What does it say about the current incarnation of the GOP that the only sane candidate is this guy?Thanks, Ms. Bee, for telling it like it is, as always.Watch the segment below:Featured image via video screen capture

WATCH: White Lives Matter Group Carries Assault Rifles Outside Houston NAACP Building (VIDEO)A group of White Lives Matter protestors held a protest outside of the building of the Houston chapter of the NAACP on Sunday morning. Members of the group indicated that they were angry that the NAACP has not spoken out against the Black Lives Matter movement. We came out here to protest against the NAACP and their failure in speaking out against the atrocities that organizations like Black Lives Matter and other pro-black organizations have caused the attack and killing of white police officers, the burning down of cities and things of that nature, a member of the White Lives Matter group said. If they re going to be a civil rights organization and defend their people, they also need to hold their people accountable. During the protest, protestors carried assault rifles and other firearms, as well as a giant Confederate flag. We re not out here to instigate or start any problems, Reed said. Obviously we re exercising our Second Amendment rights but that s because we have to defend ourselves. Their organizations and their people are shooting people based on the color of their skin. We re not. We definitely will defend ourselves, but we re not out here to start any problems. We came here because the NAACP headquarters is here and that s one of the most racist groups in America, a protestor named Scott Lacey said.Police eventually arrived at the protest and created a barricade. No one was harmed during the protest, except anyone who still had an ounce left of faith in humanity.You can watch a video report about the protest below.Featured image via video screenshot

Cruz chairs contentious U.S. Senate hearing on 'radical Islam'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz on Tuesday accused the Obama administration of under-emphasizing the “threat of radical Islam” as he presided over a Senate hearing for the second time since suspending his presidential campaign in early May. President Barack Obama and top Justice Department officials have come under fire from conservatives for avoiding the term “radical Islam” when denouncing attacks by violent extremists who claim inspiration from Islamic State, such as the Orlando nightclub shooter. Administration officials have countered that focusing on the use of the phrase is a political distraction and gives fuel to Islamic State propagandists who say the United States has waged war against all of Islam. Absent from Tuesday’s hearing before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee were the two top Justice Department counter-terrorism officials whom Cruz had invited to testify. “The Obama administration of course has declined to appear and explain its policies,” Cruz said at the hearing, noting that the officials had not provided any reason for staying away. Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said in an emailed statement that the department is “focused on aggressively and successfully pursuing terrorist adversaries” and on denying them “unchallenged recruiting platforms to spread their messages of hate and intolerance.” Democratic members of the subcommittee said national security policies more targeted at Muslims, such as presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslim immigrants, would be unconstitutional and counter-productive. “We cannot fight radicalization with further radicalization,” said Democratic Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware, adding at the end of the hearing that he did not think “arguing over semantics” for three hours had helped improve American national security. Experts from Muslim and Arab advocacy groups as well as former government national security officials testified at the hearing, representing both sides of the debate over whether the administration emphasizes Islam too much or too little in its counter-extremism policies. Protesters with Code Pink, an anti-war advocacy group, offered Cruz packs of gum labeled “Islamophobin” as he entered the hearing room, telling him it could cure Islamophobia.

BOOM! Companies That Openly Criticized Trump For “Making America Safe Again” Take Stock Market HitAmong the high profile companies opposing Trump s seven Muslim country refugee and immigration ban: Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) was down 0.83 percent. Amazon has big operations in the Phoenix area. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Bezos sent a memo to all of his employees stating, This executive order is one we do not support, and the memo listed several actions the company was taking to opposed the order. We re a nation of immigrants whose diverse backgrounds, ideas, and points of view have helped us build and invent as a nation for over 240 years . It s a distinctive competitive advantage for our country one we should not weaken. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) was down 0.23 percent, Apple reported strong earnings Tuesday afternoon. Its shares were up in after-hours trading. Apple has a big data center in Mesa. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) was down 1.22 percent closing at $55.22 per share, according to Google Finance. Starbucks has an education partnership with Arizona State University.Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz We are living in an unprecedented time, Schultz said in a memo to Starbucks (SBUX) employees. He pledged to hire 10,000 refugees over five years in the 75 countries where Starbucks does business to reinforce our belief in our partners around the world. Yesterday a huge #BoycottStarbucks campaign was started on Twitter and Facebook. Starbucks took a big hit in the stock market today:Here s what we don t need advice from America s wealthiest welfare recipient, Tesla s Elon Musk:The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country s challenges Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2017Tesla s Elon Musk criticized Trump s temporary travel ban. Musk has built a multibillion-dollar fortune running companies that make electric cars, sell solar panels and launch rockets into space.And he s built those companies with the help of billions in government subsidies. Tesla Motors Inc., SolarCity Corp. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, together have benefited from an estimated $4.9 billion in government support, according to data compiled by The LA Times. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) was down 0.74 percent.Microsoft said it s providing legal advice and assistance to its employees affected by the executive order. We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, the tech giant said in a statement.According to Microsoft s general counsel Brad Smith, 76 Microsoft employees are citizens with a U.S. visa from the affected countries.MasterCard Inc. MA, +0.02% CEO Ajay Banga, who was born in India, sent an email to company employees expressing his deep concern over the fracturing society. According to The Wall Street Journal, Banga said MasterCard has been in close contact with employees who ve been affected by the ban and is working to help them and their families. What affects one of us, affects all of us, he wrote. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) one of the few Wall Street firms to speak out against Trump s orders was down 1.96 percent closing at $229.32 per share. Goldman was one of the key drivers for the post-election rally and the Dow hitting 20,000 last week. Early Twitter Inc. TWTR, -0.17% and Uber investor Chris Sacca said he would match donations to the ACLU up to $75,000.Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had this to say about Trump s temporary travel ban:The Executive Order's humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting. We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the U.S. https://t.co/HdwVGzIECt jack (@jack) January 28, 2017Uber investor Chris Sacca offered to help the ACLU with any legal charges incurred in their fight against making America more secure:I'm inspired by all who are barely scraping by yet still giving monthly to the @ACLU. Show me your receipts and I'll match 'em to $75k. https://t.co/dej1dXag3a Chris Sacca (@sacca) January 28, 2017 Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) was 0.5 percent. Yeah thanks for your input Mark. We re pretty sure everyone is aware by now of your leftist political leanings. Why didn t you make the same proclamation when Obama banned Iraqi s from coming to the US in 2011? No need to answer, it s a rhetorical question Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) was down 0.36 percent. Netflix Inc. NFLX, -0.08% Chief Executive Reed Hastings, in reaction, said on Facebook that it had been a very sad week. Google parent Alphabet (Nasdaq; GOOGL) was down 0.44 percent.In a staff memo, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the move affects at least 187 of the Internet giant s staff. We re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S., Google said in a statement. We ll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere. Companies and executives not known for speaking out on political matters, such as Nike Inc. NKE, -0.38% CEO Mark Parker, condemned the ban. In an internal letter Parker mentioned Nike athlete Sir Mo Farah, a Somali-born Olympic gold medalist now living in Oregon. What Mo will always have what the entire Nike family can always count on is the support of this company. We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of every member of our family: our colleagues, our athletes and their loved ones, Parker s email read.Ford, NYSE Was down .08% Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Mark Fields In a memo to employees, they said they do not support the ban. Respect for all people is a core value of Ford Motor Company, and we are proud of the rich diversity of our company here at home and around the world, they wrote.Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent Kent said in a statement that the Coca Cola (CCHGY) Company is resolute in its commitment to diversity, fairness and inclusion, and we do not support this travel ban or any policy that is contrary to our core values and beliefs. Chobani is not traded on the stock market, but is one of the biggest advocates for importing employers to the US from Muslim majority nations to Twin Falls, ID Chobani CEO Hamdi UlukayaChobani is owned by Turkish Muslim immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya. Chobani has filled 30 percent of its 600 positions at the world s largest Yogurt plant in Twin Falls, Idaho, with refugees resettled in America through a U.S. State Department program carried out in cooperation with the United Nations.Ann Corcoran, author of the Refugee Resettlement Watch blog, said the potential conflict of interest is disturbing and should be questioned by Twin Falls residents. Twin Falls is really a microcosm of what we find going on in so many of the refugee communities across the U.S., where you have people moving in and out of government and the Chamber of Commerce with a vested interest in making sure a meatpacking plant or some other industry has continuous access to refugee labor, said Corcoran. Only in this case we have a blatant example of conflicts of interest by an elected official who is also the head of the Chamber enticing companies to come in and make use of the steady influx of cheap, overseas labor. These are jobs that Americans would be happy to fill but they are forced to compete now with someone from Sudan or Iraq who is used to working for a dollar a week. The local Muslim community in Twin Falls grew out of its mosque and built a new, much larger house of worship last year.Here s Chobani CEO s response to Trump s moratorium on refugees from 7 countries: This is very personal for me, Ulukaya wrote in internal memo to his staff that was obtained by CNN. As an immigrant who came to this country looking for opportunity, it s very difficult to think about and imagine what millions of people around the world must be feeling right now. General Electric GE (NYSE) stock was down .87% CEO Jeff Immelt said, in a memo on the G (GE)employee blog, that he shares the concern felt by his employees and said the company has many employees from the countries named in the ban. These employees and customers are critical to our success and they are our friends and partners, he wrote, adding that GE would stand with them and try to find a balance between security and movement of law abiding people. Immelt was one of 28 business leaders named to a council to advise Trump on manufacturing growth.Trip Advisor CEO Stephen Kaufer Trip Advisor s (TRIP) CEO wrote in a Linkedin post that Trump s immigration ban is not only heartless and discriminatory, but also against the principles that make our country great. Kaufer also said in a tweet that We need to do more, not less, to help refugees, and said the action was wrong on humanitarian grounds, legal grounds, and won t make us safer.' In a separate tweet, he called out Republican lawmakers: You can t sit this one out. We need to do more, not less, to help refugees. Trumps action was wrong on humanitarian grounds, legal grounds, and won't make us "safer." stephen kaufer (@kaufer) January 29, 2017Trump hasn t backed off his order and could change up visa programs used by high-tech companies. Biz Journals, Market Watch

HUH? RAPPER JAY-Z Compares Trayvon Martin to MLK and Gandhi at Peace Walk: “Serves as a beacon of light” [Video]Rapper Jay-Z attended the Peace Walk & Peace Talk in Miami Gardens last weekend. He elevated Trayvon Martin s name alongside those of spiritual leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi .Say what???Thank you Jay-Z for showing up for Trayvon Martin s family for so many years. It means the world to them that you have supported them throughout their journey. pic.twitter.com/M9NBCIHaw5 Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) February 10, 2018THE MIAMI HERALD REPORTS:Shawn Jay-Z Carter joined hundreds of marchers at the rally to honor victims of gun violence, including Trayvon Martin, the Miami Gardens teenager who was shot to death in February 2012 while in his father s Central Florida neighborhood.Jay-Z joined Trayvon s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, on stage at the Betty T. Ferguson Amphitheater. We want to make sure that we stand and support and never forget that Trayvon serves as a beacon of light to the people out here. So you guys never have to go through the pain and hurt that these guys went through, Jay-Z said.Of Trayvon, Jay-Z said: His name will sit alongside the greats whom lost their lives to push our culture forward the Martin Luther Kings, the Gandhis. That s the intention we set so his name will serve as a beacon of light and hope to push our culture forward in a better direction. Brenda Martin Providence, a friend of Trayvon s mother, volunteered at the Peace Walk. She didn t expect to see the high-profile rapper whose appearance hadn t been publicized. It means a lot to the community when you see people like Jay-Z who come out to support your cause, Providence said. With everything going on, we all need to support the cause because our youth are dying in the streets.

Sanctions 'overreach' risks driving business from U.S.: Treasury's LewWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overuse of harsh sanctions like those deployed against Iran to limit its nuclear program risks driving business activity from the United States and a move away from the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Wednesday. Sanctions have emerged as a favored policy tool of choice for the United States, which has used them against challenges as varied as drug trafficking, cyber attacks, jihadist financing, and Russian actions in Ukraine. The economic measures enable the U.S. government to blacklist people and organizations, banning U.S. and sometimes even foreign citizens from dealing with them and effectively barring them from the international financial system. For example, the United States was able to induce buyers of Iranian oil to sharply curtail their purchases, and international banks cut ties with Iran for fear of losing access to the U.S. financial system. Iran reached a deal with the United States and other world powers last July that lifted the harshest measures in return for curbs on its nuclear program. But “sanctions overreach” risks encouraging businesses to avoid the U.S. financial system and could erode the power of the U.S. dollar as the pre-eminent reserve currency, Lew said during a speech in Washington. “The more we condition use of the dollar and our financial system on adherence to U.S. foreign policy, the more the risk of migration to other currencies and other financial systems in the medium-term grows,” Lew said. In particular, so-called secondary sanctions should be wielded in the most “exceptional” circumstances, Lew said. Those measures bar even non-U.S. citizens from dealing with sanctioned individuals or companies, and were the type of sanctions levied against Iran. “They are viewed even by some of our closest allies as extra-territorial attempts to apply U.S. foreign policy to the rest of the world,” Lew said, adding that the Iran nuclear sanctions should not be viewed as a “starting point” for other sanctions programs. Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have criticized the removal of sanctions on Iran, and legislators have tried to restrict President Barack Obama’s ability to lift sanctions under the nuclear deal. But because Iran had “kept its end of the deal,” Lew said, the United States should uphold the sanctions relief it has promised. In recent weeks, Iranian leaders have complained that U.S. policies have forced major banks and corporations to stay away from Iran despite the formal lifting of sanctions in January.

Bill Maher Turns GOP’s ‘States’ Rights’ Nonsense On Its Head In EPIC Defense Of Liberal States’ Defiance Of Trump (VIDEO)The Republican Party has long claimed that states rights mean that states can do as they like according to their own values, regardless of what the federal government wants. Of course, this is something that has just been used for southern states to do horrible things like, you know, own people. They used the states rights argument to justify segregation, to outlaw interracial marriage and abortion, and to basically strip citizens of personal liberty to satisfy the bigots in their citizenry and voting base. Well, comedian Bill Maher of HBO s Real Time has turned all of that on its head in the Trump era.During his New Rules segment on Friday night s program, Maher turned it around on the Republicans, pointing out how California s governor, Jerry Brown, is busily defending California s liberal way of life in defiance of Trump s regressive and dangerous administration. Gov. Brown has decided to sign a climate treaty with China, giving a big middle finger to Trump s foolish decision to pull out of the Paris Accord. Maher also pointed out that California will not move to enforce Trump s racist deportation force through its police departments, and nor would there be any attacks on LGBTQ Americans.The real kicker came when Maher adopted a country accent and mocked the insanity of the bigotry of Trump voters only using it to promote progressive values, such as legalized marijuana and lesbian weddings. He even mocked the tiki torches used last month in a horrifically violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left 32-year-old Heather Heyer dead and injured many others.In short, Bill Maher is right. If they can do this states rights stuff, so can we.Featured image via screen capture

Germany to cut pension contributions, free up 1.3 billion euros: sourcesBERLIN (Reuters) - Germany plans to reduce the combined pension contributions it takes from employers and employees by a total of 1.3 billion euros in 2018 due to record-high employment and a rising level of reserves, government sources said on Friday. The contributions for 2018 that both employers and employees pay into the public pension system will be lowered by 0.1 percentage points to 18.6 percent of the total wage package, government officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. That means employers and employees, who roughly share the contribution, will have about 1.3 billion euros more next year, the government officials said. The exact figures will be agreed after the government has published its updated tax revenue estimates due on Nov. 9, the officials said. The cabinet could then formally agree the reduction on Nov. 22. According to calculations thus far, pension contributions were meant to remain stable at 18.7 percent until 2021 and then rise to 18.9 percent in 2022 due to Germany s rapidly ageing society. Despite a recent rise in the birth rate and the arrival of more than a million migrants, experts estimate the working age population, whose pension contributions support the growing number of retirees, will shrink massively in the next decade. Employers in Europe s biggest economy often complain about the high level of pension contributions and regularly urge the government to lower the level. A survey of Germany s DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce showed on Thursday that companies view rising labor costs as one of the principle risks for future growth.

Because Of Trump, We Need An Equal Rights Amendment NOWThe Women s March was historic. Over four million women all across the country (and world) came out in solidarity to protest against the incoming avalanche of assault from the Trump Administration.Contrary to popular belief, the Women s March was not a protest against President Trump it was a protest in support of women s rights.Before taking the oath of office, the Trump Administration pledged to defund all programs at the DOJ which enforce the Violence Against Women Act. Donald Trump himself has released the names of 21 conservative judges who are potential Supreme Court nominees that mirror the late Justice Antonin Scalia (who does not believe the 14th Amendment extends to women).On Monday, January 23, Trump signed an executive order imposing the Mexico City rule that overseas operations (including clinics) that perform or encourage abortion will lose all federal funding from the United States.The war on women is in full force, and Trump is at the reins.That is why, now more than ever, an Equal Rights Amendment is needed.The proposal is a simple one:Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.Aside from the 20th Amendment, which gives women the right to vote, there is no specific mention of women in the United States Constitution. The word men is mentioned a handful of times. The words women, ladies, or female is nowhere. Not one line in the United States Constitution even alludes to the rights of women when considering historical context (aside from the 20th). Nor is the word equality found anywhere.Even though the Constitution states All men are created equal, we know that the Founders truly did not understand that. If you weren t white, a landowner, or male, the Constitution was not written with your rights in mind. Thomas Jefferson, who authored the Declaration of Independence and made significant contributions to the Constitution, wrote:Were our state a pure democracy there would still be excluded from our deliberations women, who, to prevent deprivation of morals and ambiguity of issues, should not mix promiscuity in gatherings of men.What many people fail to realize is that the rights of women that hinge on the 14th Amendment s Equal Protection Clause can easily be taken away. The 14th Amendment says that states may not deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Should a Congress or bench of judges hold hostile views of women s equality, they could deem it necessary to roll back on much of the social progress made through common or statutory law. Should Trump appoint one, two or even three new Justices to the Supreme Court, who hold originalist views like Scalia, many issues such as equal pay, abortion, insurance discrimination, and so forth could vanish or become embedded in sex discrimination.The only thing women truly, inarguably have is the right to vote. But what s the point of voting if your rights as a human being could be taken away down the road in the name of jurisprudence?The argument women already have everything the ERA would guarantee them is not only wrong but na ve. First, women don t have everything equal to men in current law. There are still many statutes that separate on the basis of sex. Second, only the ERA would truly guarantee them these fundamental rights without fear of being stripped away so easily. So those opposed to the ERA actually give us a reason to support it they admit it would guarantee equality if enacted.This wasn t always a divisive issue. Republicans use to support it. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford supported the ERA in the 1970s, as did President Carter. This was not a partisan issue until Phyllis Schlafly came along and derailed it using scare tactics (one argument was that this would lead to same-sex marriage).But Schlafly is gone (as is Ford and Nixon), and a new era for women is on the horizon. If women came out in support for an Equal Rights Amendment as they did on January 21st, equality would be the true law of the land.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Kurdish leader and ex-Iraqi president Jalal Talabani dies: state TVERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish leader and ex-Iraqi president Jalal Talabani died on Tuesday at age 83, Iraqi state TV said, a week after Iraq s autonomous Kurdish region held a referendum on independence. Talabani, a veteran leader of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination, stepped down as president in 2014, after a long period of treatment following a stroke in 2012. Talabani died in Germany, according to Erbil-based Rudaw TV, which reported earlier in the day that his health had deteriorated. He often went to Germany for medical treatment. His wife and companion in political struggle, Hero, and his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party voiced only lukewarm support for the Sept. 25 referendum that delivered an overwhelming yes to secession from Iraq. Unlike Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Massoud Barzani of the rival Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), the PUK has had traditionally good ties with Iran and Iranian-backed Shi ite groups which are effectively ruling in Baghdad. The Baghdad government, Iran and Turkey all strongly opposed the referendum. Talabani was born near Erbil, now the seat of the autonomous KRG in northern Iraq, in 1933. He lived in Sulaimaniya, a stronghold of his PUK, the main rival of Barzani s KDP. He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq, elected in 2005, two years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab. Fuad Masoum, a Kurd from the PUK, replaced Talabani in the Iraqi presidency, a largely ceremonial post in the political system established after Saddam s overthrow that concentrates power in the hand of the prime minister, now Haider al-Abadi, an Arab Shi ite Muslim. One of Talabani s sons, Qubad, is the current deputy prime minister of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

LOL! CHUCKIE SCHUMER WARNS TRUMP Is “In Trouble” For Accusing Obama Of Wiretapping Trump Towers…What Schumer Says Next Is HILARIOUS!The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer (NY), claimed Sunday that President Trump is in trouble, a stern warning that came a day after the commander-in-tweet claimed President Obama wiretapped him.Citing President Obama s denial that he ordered a wiretap of Trump, Schumer said, Either way the president s in trouble. If he falsely spread this kind of misinformation, that is so wrong. It s beneath the dignity of the presidency. It is something that really hurts people s view of government, he said.Yeah, because making the embarrassing, race-baiter-for-hire Al Sharpton a regular visitor at the White House is somehow not beneath the dignity of the presidency? You mean like taking selfies during the funeral of one of the greatest civil rights leaders in the world? Or traveling to Cuba to hang out at a baseball game with Raul Castro, who along with his brother are some of the most brutal dictators in the world?Were Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein shamed for making government look bad when they uncovered the wire-tapping done by President Nixon? He deserved it? Really Chuck? Because he was running against Hillary Clinton or because he was simply on the wrong team? If he were a Democrat, would have have deserved it? On the other hand, if it s true, it s even worse for the president. Because that means that a federal judge, independently elected, has found probable cause that the president, or people on his staff, have probable cause to have broken the law or to have interacted with a foreign agent, New York s senior senator claimed. NYP

Obama Was Right About Gun Owners: Here’s What The NRA Doesn’t Want You To Know (IMAGE)The NRA has an army of puritanical, loyalist supporters who will oppose any and all attempts at gun control. Almost anyone who owns a gun or supports the Second Amendment is a member of this legion that will rise up in fury if anyone attempts to do something as bold as study gun violence in the United States.That s the common narrative that the NRA wants people to believe. In reality, the NRA s membership is huge, somewhere between 3 million and 4.5 million people, but it is a paltry number compared to the number of gun owners in the United States. Approximately 37% of the United s States reports that either they or someone in their household owns a gun, making gun owners a minority in the United States. The exact number of people who own a gun in the United States is unclear, but that number has to be much larger than those who are a member of the NRA.When President Obama announced his plan to enact new gun control laws by using his executive powers, he claimed that gun owners would support the new gun control laws. A CNN/ORC poll reveals that he was right. The Washington Post/Wonkblog compiled the results of the poll into a chart, found below. The poll results show that a majority of people, even gun owning households and Republicans, support the new gun laws. The poll even mentioned President Obama s name during the poll, which can skew polling results, as Wonkblog pointed out. I think it is fair to say that Republicans have a tendency to have negative view of President Obama. YouGov did an experiment that showed that a mere 16 percent of Republicans supported universal healthcare when they said that President Obama supported it. When pollsters said that Donald Trump supported universal healthcare, 44% of Republicans said that they support it, too.Chart Courtesy of WaPo/WonkblogSo, if these new gun law regulations are favorably viewed by the majority and are minimal in their scope, as even the NRA admits, why couldn t they be passed through Congress? That s where the real power of the NRA starts to be seen. They just buy candidates. That s the reality of money in politics, the majority s opinion does not matter. Congressional representatives appeal to the well-funded minority, ideas of democratic rule by the majority be damned. The executive orders that President Obama plans to make law are not the actions of some despot trying to seize guns away from law abiding citizens as the NRA wants their supporters to believe. His hand is being forced to take these actions by the gun lobby who have made effective government unconscionable in the age of rule by corporate oligarchy.Featured Image Credit via The White House [Public domain], Wikimedia Commons

Europeans, Africans agree renewed push to tackle migrant crisisPARIS (Reuters) - Europe s big four continental powers and three African states agreed a plan on Monday to tackle illegal human trafficking and support nations struggling to contain the flow of people across the desert and Mediterranean sea. The 28-nation European Union has long struggled to reach a coherent answer to the influx of migrants fleeing war, poverty and political upheaval in the Middle East and Africa, and the crisis is testing cooperation between member states. After hosting the leaders of Germany, Italy, Spain, Chad, Niger and Libya, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was time for greater coordination. We must all act together - from the source countries to Europe and passing by the transit countries, especially Libya - to be efficient, he told reporters. It s a challenge as much for the EU as for the African Union. While the meeting was sparse on concrete details, the leaders agreed on the principle of setting up a mechanism to identify legitimate migrants who are fleeing war and persecution, and to use the United Nations to register them in Niger and Chad so as to prevent them being exploited by traffickers. At the core of it, it s all about fighting illegal migration, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference. She said that Berlin was willing to increase its efforts. If we want to stop human traffickers, then this can only be achieved through development aid, she said. The migrant crisis has put Paris and Rome at odds. Italy has accused France and other EU states of not sharing the migrant burden and has also asked the EU Commission for more budget flexibility to help it tackle the crisis. Nearly 120,000 migrants, including refugees, have entered Europe by sea so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 2,400 have drowned while making the dangerous journey, often without enough food or water in overcrowded dinghies run by people smugglers. We are all committed to reducing the damage, the death of Africans in the desert, the death of Africans crossing the Mediterranean, Chad President Idriss Deby said. The fundamental problem will always remain development. We need resources, he said. The informal meeting did not outline any new specific financing and the leaders repeated that stabilizing chaotic Libya, where thousands of migrants end up before embarking on a perilous Mediterranean sea journey to Europe, would be key to any long-term solution.

GUN GRABBING PROGRESSIVES AND DUE PROCESS: Watch Trey Gowdy Grill Gov’t Thug On Due Process [Video]We love this guy! Trey Gowdy gets it and gives a lesson to a DHS thug on due process! Yes! For progressives, the problem isn t Islam; it is the Constitution. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) who was elected as a supposedly pro-gun moderate is remarkably frank:Appearing on Morning Joe to discuss the gun control measures Democratic senators filibustered for 15 hours to advance, Senator Manchin said, Due process is what s killing us right now. Due process is killing us. If only we lived in a dictatorship with no limit on government power, everything would be fine (never mind that the FBI dropped the ball on the Omar Mateen case). At least it would be fine for Joe Manchin.Manchin gibbered incoherently that Mateen was on a terrorist watch list. Not at the time of the massacre he wasn t. The FBI investigated him twice due to all the red flags he was waving, but he was effectively cleared.A gun shop warned the FBI about Mateen prior to Orlando. But the agency didn t listen (now it has no comment).But if we just sacrifice our most basic liberties, boobs like Manchin will somehow keep us safe.It isn t just the Second Amendment that our progressive rulers want to use Islamic terror attacks as a pretext to destroy. They aren t fond of the Fifth or Fourteenth either. Both have due process clauses. As even liberal Slate recognizes,If the government can revoke your right to access firearms simply because it has decided to place you on a secret, notoriously inaccurate list, it could presumably restrict your other rights in a similar manner. You could be forbidden from advocating for causes you believe in, or associating with like-minded activists; your right against intrusive, unreasonable searches could be suspended. And you would have no recourse: The government could simply declare that, as a name on a covert list, you are owed no due process at all.That is, you have no rights at all.Discarding the Constitution isn t enough for Vox editor Emmett Rensin; he wants to abolish private property in the name of disarming law-abiding citizens: This presents a catch-22 for leftists. If they need to confiscate all of our property in order to take our guns, how will they prevent us from using guns to defend our property?Let s send progressives back to 2015 so that Trey Gowdy can give them a lesson in due process.

WATCH: George Stephanopoulos GRILLS Kellyanne Conway For Defending Trump’s LiesKellyanne Conway couldn t take the heat.Donald Trump s lie about 3 million people voting illegally has been repeatedly debunked, especially by Politifact, which rated it false because Trump got his information from right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who got his information from a guy who refuses to show evidence to support his claim.Rather than admit that her boss is full of shit on this one topic, Kellyanne Conway dodged the same question from George Stephannopoulos on four different occasions. That claim is groundless, Stephanopoulos said. Isn t it irresponsible for the president-elect to make false statements like that? I think it s groundless to talk about fake news, the fake news is that somehow the popular vote is more important than the Electoral College vote now, Conway replied. All I saw was Road to 270, I ve never heard Road to popular vote. Hillary Clinton currently has more than a 2 million vote lead in the popular vote and recount efforts are underway in three battleground states because the popular vote in those states could very well be wrong and that would swing the election in Clinton s favor and rid us of Trump and his bile.Stephanopoulos scolded Conway for ignoring his question and asked it again. Kellyanne, that s not what I asked, he said. No one is questioning the victory. I said, is it appropriate, is it responsible for the president-elect to make false statements like that. But Conway still refused to answer and chose to whine about the recounts instead. Well first, many people are questioning the victory, Conway said. You ve got people spending millions of dollars wasting money and time in the Clinton and Stein camps. So, not everyone has accepted the election results. Conway then claimed that Trump got his information from many different people including anti-immigrant Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach who is an extremist conservative whack job. There s not evidence that there were millions of illegal votes, Stephanopoulos replied. Zero. But Conway only continued whining about the recount because whining is what she does best. There s also no evidence that a recount is going to change the results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, she claimed. And while that might be true, the fact that Russia hacked our election system and Trump repeatedly claimed the election is rigged makes it pretty clear that we need these recount efforts. If Conway really believes Trump legitimately won this election, she should have no objection to the recount. The only reason she would object is because she fears the recount will reveal something her and Trump do not want discovered.Stephanopoulos refused to let Conway hijack the interview and asked the question again. Simple question, Kellyanne. Is that statement by President-elect Trump true? But Conway couldn t even answer a simple question, which means these recounts should move forward. In fact, they should move forward in every state Trump won just to make sure his team didn t rig the results. After all, Trump did hire a man convicted of election fraud in Michigan. That alone should make people question the vote tallies.Here s the video via YouTube:Again, how Conway is able to sleep at night and look at herself in the mirror every morning after defending Trump on a daily basis is a total mystery.Featured Image: Screenshot

Amid Trump backlash, his U.N. envoy says stand up, isolate hateWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told staff in an email - seen by Reuters on Friday - that everyone must stand up and condemn hate, as President Donald Trump faces a backlash for his response to violence at a protest by white nationalists. Trump blamed both sides for clashes in the southern college town of Charlottesville in Virginia last weekend, where white nationalists were protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A woman was killed when a suspected white nationalist plowed his car into a crowd. “Those who march spewing hate are few, but loud. We must denounce them at every turn, and make them feel like they are on an island and isolate them the same way they wish to isolate others,” wrote Haley, a member of Trump’s cabinet, in the email sent Thursday to staff at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, said the “horrible acts” seen in Charlottesville “took me back to sad days dealing with the Charleston tragedy in 2015.” Haley attracted national attention when she secured the removal of the Confederate battle flag from South Carolina’s capitol grounds after a white supremacist killed nine black churchgoers in Charleston. “People aren’t born with hate. We all have a responsibility to stand up and condemn it,” Haley wrote in the email to staff, which did not refer to Trump. “While we should respect diversity of viewpoints, it is incumbent on us to challenge hate with the values we cherish. And it is incumbent on us to never, ever countenance violence as we do so,” she said. Trump has alienated Republicans, corporate leaders and U.S. allies, rattled markets and prompted speculation about possible White House resignations with his comments since the violence in Charlottesville. On Monday, Trump bowed to political pressure and denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan by name, but on Tuesday he again inflamed tensions by insisting counter-protesters were also to blame and that there were “very fine people” among both groups. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and several top U.S. military officers have since broadly condemned racism. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a Twitter post on Tuesday said that racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia were “poisoning our societies,” adding: “We must stand up against them. Every time. Everywhere.”

Chumlee From ‘Pawn Stars’ Arrested In Las Vegas On 20 Felony Charges (VIDEO)This just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover, and never judge a person by a scripted reality television show.Austin Lee Russell, better known as Chumlee on the hit History Channel reality show Pawn Stars has been arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas after police searched his southwest Las Vegas home. The police were there as part of a sexual assault investigation, but that s not why he was arrested.Russell was held at the Clark County Detention Center for being in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and at least one gun. All in all, he had 19 drug-possession charges and one weapons charge, with his bail set at $62,000. Allegedly, the 33-year-old reality TV star has not been charged with sexual assault, but the investigation is ongoing. As many of you have probably watched Pawn Stars over the past several years, you d see Chumlee as the dopey guy with the imbecilic one-liners to often add comedic relief to the show about buying and selling treasured relics. In 2014, he told the Las Vegas Sun: People can relate to me, and they root for me because on the show I am the dumb guy, the one who is a little rougher around the edges. When people come in the store, they want to give me a hug and say hi. They want to see the Old Man sitting in his chair, they want to talk to Rick about whatever item they have. They interact with us differently It takes a special person to be a Corey fan (laughs). But me, I m the guy they want to hug. Well, probably not anymore now that his true colors are coming out and release of this arrest hits the newswire. Chances are, we may not be seeing much more of him on the beloved show, at least if the showrunners are smart.Watch the report from KTNV here: Featured image via Fox News

Earthquake hits off Papua New GuineaLONDON (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit off the coast of Papua New Guinea in the early hours of Monday local time, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. The quake struck at a depth of 37 km (23 miles), in the sea southwest of Kandrian soon after midnight (1426 GMT Sunday), the center added.

‘Feel Good Hoax’: How US Propaganda Works in the Syrian War21st Century Wire says One thing is certain about the War on Syria: the propaganda war being waged by the west and all of its agencies, from government to corporate media, to charities and third sector NGOs is much larger and more pernicious than anything seen in modern history. The effort is extremely well-financed (to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars at least), and well-coordinated too well in fact for many journalists to follow, many of whom have been seduced by multimillion dollar documentary productions of Netflix and endlessly cycled staged video clips and still images on networks like CNN and the BBC, and in newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Times and The Guardian too. Why so much effort, and why the desperation by the west? What s at stake? The credibility of the Obama government, the Erdogan government, the Cameron/May governments, the Hollande government, NATO, the UN, western relations with Saudi Arabia, as well as a gas pipeline for Qatar into Europe, hundreds of billions in defense and reconstruction contracts, Soros s billions invested in various projects , the Golan Heights, Eurasian dominance and checkmate of Russia, and the supremacy of Smart Power as a geopolitical weapon of choice for the Atlanticist bloc leaning forward into the 21st century to mention only a few items.For the nation of Syria, the stakes are even higher the survival of their country.So as we can see, there is a lot at stake for west and their business partners, and it should go without saying that they will do almost anything to take the many spoils of this latest war Rick Sterling Consortium NewsManipulation of public perception has risen to a new level with the emergence of powerful social media. Multibillion-dollar corporate giants, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, influence public perceptions, often via payments for boosting Facebook posts, paid promotion of Tweets, and biased results from search engines.Marketing and advertising companies use social media to promote their clients, but so do U.S. foreign policy managers who hire or enlist these companies to influence public perceptions to support U.S. foreign policy goals.The results of similar media manipulation can be seen in the widespread misunderstanding of the conflict in Syria, amid the demonization of the Syrian government and leadership and the skillful use of social media by anti-government activists. Influenced by both mainstream and this alternative media, most people in the West do not know that Bashar al-Assad remains popular with many Syrians. Nor do they realize that Assad won an election two years ago. For example, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described making sure that Twitter was primed for street protests in Iran following the 2009 election, ready to spread and manage news of protests following the election and the killing of a young woman, which was blamed on the Iranian government although the circumstances of her death were murky. [Hard Choices hardback, p 423]There were three contestants in the Syrian presidential election of June 2014. Turnout was 73 percent of the registered voters, with 88 percent voting for Assad. In Beirut, the streets were clogged with tens of thousands of Syrian refugees marching through the city to vote at the Syrian Embassy. Hundreds of Syrian citizens living in the U.S. and other Western countries flew to Syria to vote because Syrian Embassies in Washington and other Western capitals were shut down.While Secretary of State John Kerry was condemning the Syrian election as a farce before it had even happened, a marketing company known as The Syria Campaign waged a campaign to block knowledge of the Syrian election. Along with demonizing President Assad, the company launched a campaign which led to Facebook censoring information about the Syrian election. CHEMICAL ATTACK! : A heart-rending propaganda image designed to justify a no-fly zone, a major U.S. military operation inside Syria against the Syrian military.Incubating PropagandaThe Syria Campaign was created by a larger company named Purpose, which according to its website incubated . The Syria Campaign. The company s website says, Purpose creates new movements, brands and organizations from the ground up to address complex global challenges. We apply this experience as movement creators to our work with progressive companies, nonprofits and philanthropies, helping them to put purpose and participation at the heart of what they do. The White Helmets are marketed in the West as civilian volunteers doing rescue work. On Sept. 22, it was announced that the Right Livelihood Award , the so-called Alternative Nobel Prize, is being given to the U.S./U.K.-created White Helmets for their outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians from the destruction of the Syrian civil war. The major achievement of The Syria Campaign has been the branding and promotion of the White Helmets, also known as Syria Civil Defense, which began with a British military contractor, James LeMesurier, giving some rescue training to Syrians in Turkey with funding provided by the U.S. and U.K. The group stole this name from the REAL Syria Civil Defense as documented in this recent report from Aleppo.SEE ALSO: WHO ARE SYRIA S WHITE HELMETSBut the White Helmets are largely a propaganda tool promoting Western intervention against Syria. Unlike a legitimate rescue organization such as the Red Cross or Red Crescent, the White Helmets only work in areas controlled by the armed opposition. As shown in this video, the White Helmets pick up the bodies of individuals executed by the terrorists; they claim to be unarmed but are not; and they falsely claim to be neutral.Many of the videos from Al Qaeda/terrorist-dominated areas of Syria have the White Helmets logo because the White Helmets work in alliance with these extremist groups as primarily a media marketing tool to raise public support for continuing the support to the armed opposition as well as the demonization of the Syrian government. The Rights Livelihood press release said the White Helmets remain outspoken in calling for an end to hostilities in the country. But that is false, too. The White Helmets actively call for U.S./NATO military intervention through a No Fly Zone, which would begin with attacks upon and destruction of government anti-aircraft positions and aircraft.A Major Act of WarTaking over the skies above another country is an act of war that would require a major U.S. military operation, according to senior American generals.General Martin E. DempseyThe New York Times reported that in 2012 General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the White House that imposing a no-fly zone in Syria would require up to 70,000 American servicemen to destroy Syria s antiaircraft system and then impose round-the-clock control over Syrian airspace.General Carter Ham, former commander of the U.S. Africa Command who oversaw the aerial attacks on Libya in 2011, said on CBS News that I worry sometimes that, when people say impose a no-fly zone, there is this almost antiseptic view that this is an easily accomplished military task. It s extraordinarily difficult. It first entails we should make no bones about it. It first entails killing a lot of people and destroying the Syrian air defenses and those people who are manning those systems. And then it entails destroying the Syrian air force, preferably on the ground, in the air if necessary. This is a violent combat action that results in lots of casualties and increased risk to our own personnel. In other words, an appeal for a no-fly zone is not a call for a non-violent solution. It is seeking a bloody act of war by the United States against Syria, a nation that poses no threat to America. It also would almost surely be carried out in violation of international law since a United Nations Security Council resolution would face vetoes from Russia and probably China.Also, the White Helmets have never criticized or called for the end of funding to extremist organizations including Nusra Front, Al Qaeda s Syrian affiliate. On the contrary, White Helmets are generally embedded with this organization which is defined as terrorist by even the U.S., which is likely why the head of the White Helmets, Raed Saleh, was denied entry to the U.S.The foreign and marketing company origins of the White Helmets were exposed over 1 years ago and since then, writer Vanessa Beeley has revealed the organization in more depth in articles such as Who Are the White Helmets? and War by Way of Deception. Despite these expos s, understanding of the White Helmets is limited, with many liberal and progressive people uncritically accepting the propaganda and misinformation about Syria. Much of the progressive media has effectively blocked or censored critical examinations amid a flood of propaganda about barrel bombs dropped by the brutal dictator and his regime. In the last week, Netflix started showing a 40-minute documentary movie about the White Helmets that amounts to a promotional video. A substantial portion of it takes place in Turkey where we see trainees in hotel rooms making impassioned phone calls to inquire about their families in Syria. The family values theme is evident throughout, a good marketing angle. The political message of the video is also clear: after a bombing attack, It s the Russians . they say they are fighting ISIS but they are targeting civilians. The movie includes video previously promoted by the White Helmets such as the Miracle Baby rescue, an incident that may or may not have been staged. The video includes self-promoting proclamations such as You are real heroes. While no doubt there are some real rescues in the midst of war, many of the videos purporting to show the heroes at work have an unrealistic and contrived look to them as revealed here.Tricking Progressives Alternative media in the West has echoed mainstream media regarding the Syria conflict. The result is that many progressive individuals and groups are confused or worse. For example, the activist group CodePink recently issued a media release promoting the Netflix White Helmets propaganda video.The White Helmets video is produced by Grain Media and Violet Films/Ultra-Violet Consulting, which advertises itself as a marketing corporation specializing in social media management, grant writing, crowd building and campaign implementation. The only question is who paid them to produce this video There is growing resistance to this manipulation and deception. In response to a petition to give the Nobel Peace Prize to the White Helmets, there is a counter petition at Change.org. Following the Right Livelihood Awards announcement, there will soon be a petition demanding retraction of the award to the White Helmets.The story of the White Helmets is principally a feel good hoax to manipulate public perception about the conflict in Syria and continue the drive for regime change. That s why big money was paid to Purpose to incubate The Syria Campaign to brand and promote the White Helmets using Facebook, Twitter, etc. That s why more big money was paid to create a self-promotional documentary. The judges at Rights Livelihood were probably influenced by the documentary since critical examination of facts around Syria is so rare. It s a sad commentary on the media. As veteran war correspondent Stephen Kinzer recently wrote, Coverage of the Syrian war will be remembered as one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the American press. Rick Sterling is an investigative journalist and member of Syria Solidarity MovementREAD MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE and its work by Subscribing and becoming a Member @ 21WIRE.TV

Republicans strike back at new U.S. ban on forced arbitrationWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans lawmakers on Tuesday started trying to kill a brand-new U.S. rule prohibiting banks and credit card companies from requiring customers who open new accounts to sign an agreement that they will not join a group lawsuit in the event of a dispute. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday finalized the new rule banning “mandatory arbitration clauses” requiring consumers to forego class-action suits and instead settle disputes in negotiations overseen by arbitrators frequently hired by companies. The rule immediately ran into fierce opposition by Wall Street and Republicans who control both Congress and the White House. They have long criticized the consumer agency, which is run by a Democrat, Richard Cordray. Senator Tom Cotton, a member of the Banking Committee, has already announced he is drafting a resolution to kill the rule. His fellow Republican Senator Pat Toomey, chair of the subcommittee on financial institutions and consumer protection, said he is considering a similar step. Republican lawmakers plan to eliminate the rule, using a law that allows Congress to undo new regulations with simple majority votes in both chambers and a signature from the president. Analysts and consumer advocates have said the agency’s rule may survive the Congressional challenge. Still, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is contemplating a legal challenge and Trump administration officials are also looking at ways to kill the rule. Isaac Boltansky, a policy analyst for the investment firm Compass Point Research & Trading, said the rule has a slightly better than 50 percent chance of surviving in Congress. Joe Valenti, who tracks the issue for the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, said the House of Representatives was unified against the rule, which opponents have argued benefits class-action lawyers, not consumers. “It comes down to the Senate,” said Valenti, noting that the rule would survive if only three Republicans in that chamber switched sides. That is possible, said Ed Mierzwinksi, the consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Groups. He noted that Senate Republicans have struggled to gather enough votes for majorities and the calendar is swollen with pressing legislation and confirmation hearings. In addition, Mierzwinksi said, senators may be leery of appearing to side with Wall Street against consumers. He noted that Wells Fargo & Co used clauses in its account-opening agreements to block customers from suing over its phantom account scandal. Supporters of the rule say mandatory arbitration denies citizens their day in court and is rigged in favor of big firms. They say litigants banding together in a class-action lawsuit have a better chance of getting companies to answer publicly for illegal activities and that fears of such a suit can discourage law breaking. The consumer protection agency wrote the rule after conducting a lengthy, multi-year study of the issue. Opponents of the rule say the study is flawed and that arbitration is cheaper and faster than class-action lawsuits and produces better awards for consumers. The Chamber is exploring a prompt legal challenge to the rule, said Matt Webb, senior vice president for its legal reform institute. Another possible challenge could come from the acting comptroller of the currency, Keith Noreika. He is laying groundwork to invoke an untested provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law that allows the council of the country’s top financial regulators to nullify a consumer agency rule if they decide it threatens the safety and soundness of the banking system. Rohit Chopra, senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America and former CFPB assistant director, said a lawsuit will probably fail because the law says the agency can restrict arbitration as long as it hews to its study. He said the Dodd-Frank provision that the comptroller’s office is looking at was meant to keep risks to the financial system at bay. “To suggest that this rule would cause a financial crisis is ridiculous on its face,” he said.

This New Ad Gives Us A Horrifyingly Realistic Preview Of ‘President Trump’ (VIDEO)Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has redefined the election process. All predictions can be thrown out the window along with hope and human decency. In a decent society, if a presidential candidate was horrifically racist, they would be condemned. If they cursed and spoke in a totalitarian tone, they would be quickly ushered out of any hope of winning an election. However, this election seems different. People seem to be lining up behind Trump s racism, xenophobia and totalitarian rhetoric in huge numbers. Numbers reminiscent of another totalitarian regime that rose up in Europe during the 1930s and 40s.To be blunt, we cannot allow Donald Trump to win the Oval Office. Not only would it be bad for the nation, but it would be horrific for the entire world. Top foreign diplomats are already standing against Trump. They know how dangerous his rhetoric is.Trump s campaign isn t the joke campaign everyone originally made it out to be. No, he wants to be president, and that notion should scare the crap out of absolutely everyone worldwide. The leader of the free world can t be against half the people living in it.Showing Trump in his true form, American Future Fund put together an ad that puts Trump at the White House podium using his inflammatory and derogatory rhetoric, curse words and all. If seeing him at the podium doesn t light a fire under your ass to make sure he s never elected, then nothing will.Our nation is better than this. We re better than this. We cannot allow Trump to be President of the United States.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thw6k1XNRtcFeatured image via image screen capture

Factbox: British business organizations react to Brexit talk progressLONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union struck a divorce deal on Friday that paves the way for talks on trade, easing pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May and boosting hopes of an orderly Brexit. British business groups broadly welcomed the progress and urged swift progress toward a formal transition agreement that would preserve existing trading relations until a new deal is struck. BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE DIRECTOR GENERAL ADAM MARSHALL Businesses will be breathing a sigh of relief that sufficient progress has been achieved. After the noise and political brinksmanship of recent days, news of a breakthrough in the negotiations will be warmly welcomed by companies. Business will particularly cheer the mutual commitment to a transition period to support business confidence and trade, and will want the details confirmed swiftly in the new year. For business, a swift start to trade talks is crucial to upcoming investment and growth decisions. Companies all across the UK want absolute clarity on the long-term deal being sought, and want government to work closely with business experts to ensure that the details are right. CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL JOSH HARDIE Today s announcement will lift spirits in the run-up to Christmas. Sufficient progress is a present (businesses) have spent months waiting for. It s now time to focus on the true prize of a new relationship and a deal that starts from 40 years of economic integration. There are two things that are top of the list. First is the final step for those EU citizens working here, and UK citizens abroad. It must be unequivocal that they are welcome, whatever the final deal. This cannot be their second Christmas where their rights are dependent on negotiations. Next is transition. Concrete assurances will build confidence and help firms across the UK and Europe to pause their contingency planning. TheCityUK FINANCIAL SERVICES TRADE BODY CEO MILES CELIC This agreement in principle between the UK and the EU to move beyond phase one is a positive and encouraging step. For the financial and related professional services industry, our critical issues must now be progressed. The sand in the timer is running out - leave it too late and damage will be done to both the UK and the EU. European competitiveness will ultimately be weakened as functionality will likely leave Europe for other international financial centers. Given the dominance of services to both the British and EU economies, it is essential that a Free Trade Agreement covers goods and services, and is based on mutual recognition and regulatory cooperation. This will be in the best interests of the UK, the EU27 and for global stability. It is also vital that existing services contracts can be grandfathered post-Brexit. EEF MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION CHIEF EXECUTIVE STEPHEN PHIPSON This is one step forward in a complex and long process. So we need to pin down the transition arrangements, which will be in place after March 2019, to ensure it s business as usual for companies for as long as it takes until a final deal is reached. Until we get to that point, many businesses will need to prepare for any and every eventuality. Many employers will be relieved that their EU employees have more certainty going forward, and government must now clarify the rights of EU citizens by Christmas so that they are not concerned about their future. FEDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES NATIONAL CHAIRMAN MIKE CHERRY The UK s millions of small businesses will be pleased to hear that finally it appears the Brexit talks are about to move onto the second stage. The focus must now shift to the UK s future trading relationship with the EU. This should include by early next year a guarantee that there will be no cliff-edge moment on Brexit day, but instead an orderly, time-limited transition period so that small firms only have one set of rule changes. The final deal must have as few barriers to trade as possible.

Tourists, authorities feel the heat as Bali volcano keeps airport closedKARANGASEM, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesia kept the airport on Bali closed on Tuesday as ash from an erupting volcano swept the holiday island, leaving thousands of tourists stranded as authorities tried to persuade villagers living nearby to leave their homes. A total of 443 flights, both domestic and international, were affected by the closure of the airport, about 60 km (37 miles) from Mount Agung which is spewing smoke and ash high into the sky. Aircraft flight channels are covered with volcanic ash, the transport ministry said in a statement, citing aviation navigation authorities. The airport - the second-biggest in Indonesia - will be closed at least until 7 a.m. on Wednesday (2300 GMT on Tuesday), the ministry said. Frustration at the airport was starting to boil over, with an estimated 2,000 people attempting to get refunds and reschedule tickets. There are thousands of people stranded here at the airport, said Nitin Sheth, a tourist from India. They have to go to some other airport and they are trying to do that, but the government or authorities here are not helping. Others were more relaxed. No, there s not a lot of information ... very little. (But) it s all right. We re on holidays so it doesn t matter. We don t know what s going to happen but we can get back to the bar and have another drink, said Matthew Radix from Perth. The airport operator said 201 international flights and 242 domestic ones had been hit. Ten alternative airports had been prepared for airlines to divert inbound flights, including in neighboring provinces, the operator said, adding it was helping people make alternative bookings and helping stranded travelers. The airport on Lombok island, to the east of Bali, had reopened, authorities said, as wind blew ash westward, towards the southern coast of Java island. Agung towers over eastern Bali to a height of just over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Its last eruption in 1963 killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages. On Tuesday, however, life went on largely as normal in surrounding villages, with residents offering prayers as the volcano sent huge billows of ash and smoke into the sky. Some villagers who fled in September, when the alert was last raised to the highest level, have gone home despite government warnings. On Monday, authorities said 100,000 residents living near the volcano had been ordered to get out of an 8-10 km (5-6 mile) exclusion zone, warning a larger eruption was imminent . While the population in the area has been estimated at anywhere between 63,000 and 140,000, just over 29,000 people were registered at emergency centers, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the Disaster Mitigation Agency. Not all people in the danger zone are prepared to take refuge, he said. There are still a lot of residents staying in their homes. Indonesia s Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center has warned that an eruption of a size similar to that seen in 1963 could send rocks bigger than a fist flying a distance of up to 8 km (5 miles), and volcanic gas a distance of 10 km (6 miles) within three minutes. Monitoring has shown the northeastern part of Agung s peak had swollen in recent weeks indicating there is fairly strong pressure toward the surface , the center said. For interactive package on Agung eruptions, click: tmsnrt.rs/2hYdHiq For graphic on the Pacific Ring of Fire, click: tmsnrt.rs/2BjtH6l

Even Trey Gowdy Thinks Trump’s Wiretap Conspiracy Is CrazyDonald Trump is playing a dangerous game by falsely accusing his predecessor of wiretapping his phone lines before the election. Most people realize when Trump seems unhinged in his Twitter timeline, it s usually to distract the public from what is really going on, such as his scandalous ties to Russia and his new travel ban which remarkably resembles his old travel ban. Republicans and Democrats are both left scratching their heads over Trump s accusations.Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy (S.C.), who spent two years investigating Hillary Clinton over the attacks in Benghazi, said Monday he s seen no evidence to support Trump s claim that former President Obama wiretapped his office during the presidential campaign. I don t think the FBI is the Obama team, and I don t think the men and women who are career prosecutors at [the Department of Justice] belong to any team other than a blindfolded woman holding a pair of scales, Gowdy told Politico. We have the tools to keep us safe and it s prudent for those tools to be used lawfully and appropriately, Gowdy continued. If they re not used lawfully and appropriately, there s a paper trail and we ll be able to find it out. Gowdy continued to say that it was hard to cross-examine tweets and any information regarding a FISA warrant used against Trump would be available to the Trump administration.By the way, if a FISA warrant was issued, that would have to be allowed by a judge. Meaning, in that instance, there would be some sort of evidence against Trump, so much so as to wiretap his phones or at least any calls to and or from Russia. The Obama team is no longer in charge, Gowdy added. So any information the current Department of Justice has that suggests the previous Department of Justice acted inappropriately, they are welcome to release it. But there is no evidence to release. A sitting president cannot issue a wiretap. That s not how presidenting works, k? There is a process to go through first.Even Jason Chaffetz said today that there is no evidence to back up Trump s claim. Still yet, Chaffetz is willing to investigate Trump s claim while refusing to launch a probe into the alleged president s ties to Russia.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images

U.S. Congress members decry 'ethnic cleansing' in Myanmar; Suu Kyi doubts allegationsYANGON/NAYPYITAW (Reuters) - Members of the U.S. Congress said on Tuesday operations carried out against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar had all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing, while the country s leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed doubts about allegations of rights abuses. The U.S. Senate members also said they were disturbed by a violent and disproportionate security response to Rohingya militant attacks that have driven more than 600,000 people from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh. Human rights monitors have accused Myanmar s military of atrocities, including mass rape, against the stateless Rohingya during so-called clearance operations following insurgent attacks on 30 police posts and an army base. Myanmar s government has denied most of the claims, and the army last week said its own probe found no evidence of wrongdoing by troops. We are not hearing of any violations going on at the moment, Suu Kyi told reporters in response to a question about human rights abuses at the end of the Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, in Myanmar s capital Naypyitaw. We can t say whether it has happened or not. As a responsibility of the government, we have to make sure that it won t happen. Nobel laureate Suu Kyi said she hoped talks with Bangladesh s foreign minister this week would lead to a deal on the safe and voluntary return of those who have fled. Suu Kyi s less than two-year old civilian government has faced heavy international criticism for its response to the crisis, though it has no control over the generals it has to share power with under Myanmar s transition to power after decades of military rule. While a top UN official has described the military s actions as a textbook case of ethnic cleansing , U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on a visit to Myanmar last week refused to label it as such. In early November, U.S. lawmakers proposed targeted sanctions and travel restrictions on Myanmar military officials. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who was among the sponsors of the legislation introduced in the Senate, led a congressional delegation that visited Rakhine this week, but was blocked from traveling to the violence-hit north of the state and to Rohingya camps. The group also traveled to Cox s Bazar district in Bangladesh, where Rohingya refugees are huddled into makeshift camps and fed by overstretched aid agencies. Many refugees have suffered direct attacks including loved ones, children and husbands being killed in front of them, wives and daughters being raped, burns and other horrific injuries. This has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing, Merkley told reporters in Myanmar on Tuesday. We are profoundly disturbed by the violent and disproportionate response against the Rohingya by the military and local groups, he said. The delegation called for Myanmar to allow an investigation into the alleged atrocities that would involve the international community. We want to emphasize that the world is watching, Merkley said, adding that it was important Myanmar allow anyone who wants to come back to return to their homes and their farms. Merkley said the delegation was not here today to recommend what the U.S. government would do or should do, when asked about the legislation introduced in the Congress. Myanmar officials have so far said they plan to resettle most returnees in new model villages , rather than on the land they previously occupied, an approach the United Nations has criticized in the past as effectively creating permanent camps. Individuals cannot be coming back simply to return to camps where there would be continued discrimination, restrictions on full participation in the economy and society, said Merkley. He warned that isolating people in camps creates a two-tier society that is fundamentally incompatible with the future of democracy and it guarantees perpetuation of suspicions and misunderstandings and conflicts. Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Suu Kyi said discussions would be held with the Bangladesh foreign minister on Wednesday and Thursday about repatriation. Officials from both countries began talks last month on how to process the Rohingya wanting to return. We hope that this would result in an MOU signed quickly, which would enable us to start the safe and voluntarily return of all of those who have gone across the border, Suu Kyi said. The Rohingya are largely stateless and many people in Myanmar view them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Suu Kyi said Myanmar would follow the framework of an agreement reached in the 1990s to cover the earlier repatriation of Rohingya, who had fled to Bangladesh to escape previous bouts of ethnic violence. That agreement did not address the citizenship status of Rohingya, and Bangladesh has been pressing for a repatriation process that provided Rohingya with more safeguards this time. It s on the basis of residency...this was agreed by the two governments long time ago with success, so this will be formula we will continue to follow, Suu Kyi said. Earlier talks between the two countries reached a broad agreement to work out a repatriation deal, but a senior Myanmar official later accused Bangladesh of dragging its feet in order to secure funding from aid agencies for hosting the refugees.

Paul Ryan Was So Desperate To Pass Failed Trumpcare Bill That He Got On His Knees To Beg For VotesThis is what being pathetic looks like.House Speaker Paul Ryan was so desperate to secure Republican votes for his disastrous healthcare bill that he literally got down on his knees to beg one lawmaker for his support.As we all know, the floor vote was canceled on Thursday after it became clear that not enough Republicans were willing to support the bill.Donald Trump even met with and threatened Republicans with consequences if they didn t fall in line. But the meeting backfired as even more Republicans leaned against the bill after hearing Trump speak.The cancellation of Thursday s vote infuriated Trump, who proceeded to demand a vote on Friday and Republican leaders reluctantly caved.And so, Paul Ryan spent time fruitlessly begging his Republican colleagues to throw their support behind a bad bill that would have stripped healthcare from over 20 million Americans and caused the cost of healthcare premiums to skyrocket.One lawmaker Ryan approached was Alaska Rep. Don Young.According to the Washington Post, Ryan actually got down on one knee to beg Young to endorse the bill.Leaders continued to plead with individual lawmakers to support the measure well into Thursday night, with the House Rules Committee slated to meet early Friday morning to consider the proposed changes.Ryan got down on a knee to plead with Rep. Don Young, an 83-year-old from Alaska who is the longest-serving Republican in Congress and remains undecided.But Young ignored Ryan desperate plea and remained in opposition and even praised the cancellation of Friday s vote a victory for Alaska. My job is to represent those people in that state, and I think we did this this week, Young told Alaska Dispatch News. I work with (House Speaker Paul Ryan), don t get me wrong the speaker talked to me quite a bit. But it didn t come to a point where I could support this bill. He needed my vote. Yeah, he needed it so much that he begged for it on bended knee. Sad!Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images

BOOM! HARRIS FAULKNER Blows Up The Russia Collusion Theory With One Smart Question [Video]Fox News Harris Faulkner BLOWS UP the WHOLE Russia Collusion Theory with ONE SMART QUESTION that we re sure the media will ignore!On Sunday, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner asked the best question to those who believe both, that there was collusion and that Jared Kushner had or reached out for a secret back channel with Russia after the election: If it s true, wouldn t that signify that there was not collusion? Why would you need a back channel with the Kremlin if, in fact, you already had several established? Faulkner s comments are approx. at the 24:45 point:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip2AV70piWcThe media is so busy trying to point the finger at Trump or his administration that they can t see logic. It s like a feeding frenzy when those feeding end up eating themselves. This won t end well for Democrats because Americans see the truth. The truth is that Obama spied on Americans and the FBI is culpable.As we listen 24/7 to the fake news and fake outrage about Russia spying and stealing our election, the news clip below gets to the REAL scandal that no one is reporting on:JAMES ROSEN: Pelosi confessed ignorance of this week s disclosure that the National Security Agency for at least five years under the Obama administration systematically violated Americans Fourth Amendment rights Civil liberties groups said the disclosures should factor into lawmakers decision at year s end about whether to reauthorize the NSA collection program that witnessed the abuses The sheer scale of the 4th Amendment violations is staggering, as was the sternness of the rebuke of the Obama administration by the FISA court, which ordinarily approves 99.9% of the government s request.As of a few minutes ago, this story had not been covered by the Washington Post, the New York Times or any of the three broadcast networks.Comey s FBI broke its own rules

Wider Image: Mexico's indigenous Muslims in Maya heartlandSAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (Reuters) - A trip to Mexico s indigenous Maya heartland showed me how a vibrant Muslim community had sprung up in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. In the southern state of Chiapas, home to a lush mountainous landscape, I photographed members of a small Muslim community made up of hundreds of mostly indigenous Tzotzil men and women, many of whom converted to Islam from Catholic or other Christian denominations. The Muslim men here are distinguished by their prayer caps, or kufis, and the women by their hijabs which take the form of traditional Maya shawls. Locals say the conversions to Islam here began in the late 1980s, around the same time Mexico s Zapatista movement was gaining traction in Chiapas, as institutions including Christianity and capitalism came under increasing criticism. According to the last census, some 83 percent of Mexicans are Catholic. And although Muslims make up less than 1 percent of Mexico s 120 million population, a disproportionate number are indigenous clustered in and around San Cristobal de las Casas, a highland city in Chiapas that mixes both Maya and Spanish identity. People gave us a weird look when we converted, they thought we were terrorists and were scared of us, said Mustafa, a member of the nearby Ahmadia community. But with the passage of time and our own actions, that opinion has changed, he added. Umar, an indigenous former evangelical pastor, converted to Islam in the late 1990s and now serves as a bridge between local Christians and Muslims. Ours is a monotheistic religion, he said. But we don t worship saints. I later met 55-year-old Mohamed Amin who invited me to his home, offering me cookies and tea. He showed me where he prays five times a day and introduced me to his family. He asked me if I believed in God and I said no. That did not appear to bother him. He went on to explain the main reason behind his conversion to Islam. I like to be clean and change my clothes, he said. This is a clean religion and that s what originally drew me to it. For a related photo essay, see: reut.rs/2izhpmh

SHOCKED! FORMER CIA DOUBLE AGENT: Hillary Played ‘Russian Roulette’ With Spies’ Lives [Video]Morten Storm is a former CIA Double Agent who s shocked by the ineptness of our former Secretary of State in her lack of security with top secret info related to American spies: He said that during his time infiltrating Al Qaeda for the CIA if he had learned that U.S. government officials were treating highly classified intelligence so haphazardly, he would not have worked with them.

Instant View: Republicans pull Obamacare repeal bill(Reuters) - Republican leaders of the House of Representatives pulled legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system from consideration on Friday due to a shortage of votes, despite desperate lobbying by the White House and its allies in Congress, dealing a stiff setback to President Donald Trump. DANIEL MORGAN, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, SYNOVUS TRUST COMPANY, ATLANTA, GEORGIA: “There’s a bit of a relief rally. There were worries going into it... but it’s a mixed bag. “It does now open the door for maybe they table the whole thing and just move on, and I would think the next thing on the docket would have to be tax reform. The market, to me, is more interested in tax reform than it is in changing Obamacare. “In a way, for me, sitting on $600 million worth of investments, I think it’s great. Let’s move and get into tax reform, and then get into the infrastructure bill.” PETER JANKOVSKIS, CO-CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, OAKBROOK INVESTMENTS LLC, LISLE, ILLINOIS: “The market is relieved it’s not going to go down to a defeat, and it’s hopeful they’ll come to some sort of agreement over the weekend. The market is hoping for an agreement as a stepping stone to additional agreements.” “News report suggested that the likely outcome was they were going to lose. I would think the expectations are that they’re pulling it so they can work on it.” “The last few days, market has sort of traded on the back foot on anticipation of the vote that would happen at some point this week. Generally, risk sentiment has been undermined off of that, especially with this steady drip of news that indicated lacking support for the bill. And now, I think, it sort of lifted that uncertainty, at least temporarily, for the rest of the day. Maybe just lifting the uncertainty premium has markets breathing a sigh of relief for now.” PARESH UPADHYAYA, DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY STRATEGY, PIONEER INVESTMENTS, BOSTON: “The initial market interpretation is a positive sign. It seems like it is taking that Trump wants to instead of sinking it, he wants to give it another shot. It seems like they think he is working to get something on his agenda to be passed by Congress. Or perhaps it’s a sign that if healthcare reform is shelved, Trump will focus on tax reform. It’s more a knee jerk reaction. “There are still a lot of hard questions regardless to tax reform. He can’t force people to change their vote on social media. Good old fashion politicking is needed to build consensus. “If this stronger dollar has legs, it depends on the next step. If there is a pivot to taxes from healthcare, the market has to see the plan.” RAHUL SHAH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, IDEAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK: “From an investor viewpoint, it shows that Trump will not be able to easily pass his agenda. That being said, healthcare is more difficult to pass than tax cuts and the infrastructure bill that he’s proposing. “In one sense that’s a negative, but on the other hand it also might give some relief to investors who are concerned about some of Trump’s more controversial proposals like increased tariffs and a border adjustment tax. “You could see this as a glass half empty or a glass half-full, gridlock is not something that’s unheard of on Wall Street, so I think stocks should be OK going forward.” “I think the most important thing is that this changes the perception of the relationship between Trump and Congress. For the last few months the assumption has been that Congress would do whatever the Trump plan called for, and that apparently is not going to be the case.” PETER KENNY, SENIOR MARKET STRATEGIST, GLOBAL MARKETS ADVISORY GROUP, NEW YORK: “I don’t think it’s going to have a huge impact on equities, although it may have more of an impact on biotech and healthcare. “This is now an indication that the president’s agenda is probably going to be more ambitious than Congress can manage. It is probably going to mean that equity markets are going to have to factor in a degree of dysfunction that investors were hoping they wouldn’t have to. Which means it will likely have a muted impact on equity performance moving forward. “There is very little on the horizon as of right now, as a result of this thing being pulled, that is going to fuel a significant move higher in prices. This is largely going to homogenize any sort of volatility moving forward and is probably going to be a cap on any near-term performance in terms of the upside. “The fact this bill, which the President has said flat-out he will make it work for all Americans in general, can’t pass is an indication this agenda is going to be more ambitious than this Congress can work with. This doesn’t even include the Democrats. It is not just divided between Democrats and Republicans, it is divided between progressives, Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians. It is an indication that investors should not expect the kind of velocity in terms of agenda accomplishments they were expecting when he was elected.” MARGARET PATEL, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, WELLS FARGO ASSET MANAGEMENT, BOSTON: “It looked like the market was worried that the Trump agenda would get completely bogged down in the healthcare issue, and now that they’ve taken the healthcare issue off the table, I think the market is more optimistic that they can do other things that are more doable that are not so complicated, such as regulatory reform and lowering taxes. It does seem like a positive move to shelve an issue that’s so complex and very expensive no matter what the plan, move on to something that is a little bit easier, which would be lowering taxes.” BRIAN BATTLE, DIRECTOR OF TRADING, PERFORMANCE TRUST CAPITAL PARTNERS, CHICAGO: “It didn’t pass and it didn’t fail so any conjecture about the ultimate meaning is premature. President Trump is getting a lesson in varsity Washington politics.” STOCKS: S&P 500 pares losses to end session down fractionally; Dow ends down 0.29 percent; Nasdaq ends up 0.19 percent BONDS: 2- and 10-year Treasury yields rise from session lows FOREX: The dollar index edges up by gains against the euro and yen

WATCH: Chuck Todd DEMOLISHES GOP Sen. Who Supports Trump But Can’t Say WhyDuring an appearance on Meet the Press Sunday morning, Republican Senator Tom Cotton (AR) was grilled by the show s host Chuck Todd. Todd repeatedly asked Cotton to make a case for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.Spoiler alert Cotton was unable to do explain why he supports Trump, other than the fact that he is not Hillary Clinton.Here s a transcript of the relevant portion of the interview:Chuck Todd: Okay, fine, but you just gave the case against Clinton. What s the case for Trump? You just did a whole speech by the way earlier this weekend. You didn t even mention his name. You laid out a strong case against her. But you did not make a case for him. Make the case for him.Senator Cotton: Donald Trump can ultimately make the case for himself. But Donald Trump, like most Americans, like most Republicans, believe in protecting America s core national interests. He believes as do I, as do most Americans, that we aren t yet doing enough to take the fight to the Islamic State.That the intervention in Libya was ill-considered and slapdash at the time. And we re living with the consequences of it now. That we have to get tougher when it comes to our intelligence and law enforcement practices to stop Islamic terrorism. On those matters, our party is largely united. And I say that we have the vast majority of Americans with us.Chuck Todd: You don t come across as an enthusiastic Trump supporter. Is that fair?Senator Cotton: Maybe I don t just demonstrate enthusiasm much in life, Chuck, especially in such dangerous times as these.Chuck Todd: No, I understand that. But it does seem as if you I mean, this is somebody who he is not running on a foreign policy that is anywhere close to what you would like to see. How do you square that into your support for him?House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans have endorsed Trump out of party loyalty. They have repeatedly made a case for putting the GOP above the United States, as Ryan was recently called out for. They don t plan on adopting his policies, such as his progressive views on trade or entitlement benefits or his completely insane ideas regarding just about everything else.To put it simply, Cotton can t make a case for Trump for one very good reason there isn t one.You can watch the interview below in full.Featured image from video screenshot

“ALLAHU AKBAR” MUSLIM EXTREMISTS Forced Catholic Priest At Knifepoint To Kneel While They Performed “Arabic Sermon”….Filmed Beheading Of Priest…Two Terrorists Shot DEAD…19 Yr Old Was KNOWN TERRORIST Allowed To Live With Parents, Roamed Freely During Day [VIDEO]FRANCE HAS THE BLOOD OF THIS PRIEST ON THIER HANDS! Their political correctness allowed this KNOWN TERRORIST to roam freely in the streets! Shame on their progressive values that made it possible for this beautiful 84 year old priest, who was filling in at the church to be beheaded by these monsters! The ISIS knifemen who stormed into a church in Normandy filmed themselves butchering an elderly priest after forcing him to kneel before they performed a sermon in Arabic at the altar, a terrified witness has revealed today.The 84-year-old priest, named as Jacques Hamel, had his throat cut in a Normandy church this morning in an attack that also left a nun critically injured and both jihadis dead.The two killers, who were both known to French authorities, were shot dead by police marksmen as they emerged from the building shouting Allahu Akbar . The building was later searched for bombs.One of the extremists who stormed into the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen during mass was a French 19-year-old named Adel K., who was being monitored by electronic tag after twice attempting to join fanatics in Syria. Unbelievably, his bail terms allowed him to be unsupervised between 8.30am and 12.30pm the attack happened between 9am and 11am.Adel K is understood to have forced the priest to kneel while his accomplice, who also lived locally and was on a terrorist watchlist, filmed the brutal killing.This afternoon it emerged that the murdered clergyman was deputising while the regular parish priest was on holiday. French authorities say they have arrested a third man over the attack a 17-year-old man believed known as HB and believed to be a relative of Adel K.It was also revealed that the Catholic church involved was on a terrorist hit list found in the apartment of a suspected ISIS extremist last April.Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a merciless response to the killing while horrified ex-Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he feared everything is being done to trigger a war of religions .France s Socialist president Francois Hollande addresses the Islamic terror attack with the press here: A nun who was in the church during the attack said the priest was forced to the ground before his throat was slit.French authorities admitted that both of the attackers were subject to security S files, meaning both were known terror suspects who should have been under surveillance.Adel K. was a convicted terrorist who was meant to be living with his parents in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray with an electronic tag on his ankle.In March 2015, while still a minor, he tried to reach the terror group s base in Syria via Germany, but was arrested in Munich. He was placed under judicial control with his parents, but after his 18th birthday again tried to return to the Middle East.Accompanied by two childhood friends, Adel K. headed to Switzerland overland and then took a plane to Turkey, hoping to cross the border into Syria.Turkish police deported him back to Switzerland and, after being sent back to his hometown, he was tried and found guilty of associating with a terrorist enterprise on May 22 2015.After spending less than a year of his two-and-a-half-year sentence in prison, he was released on March 22 this year.For entire story: Daily Mail

Trump proposes disarming Clinton guards: 'Let's see what happens to her'MIAMI (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Friday called for disarming the bodyguards who protect his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, and mused about the consequences of such a move by saying “Let’s see what happens to her.”   The Republican presidential nominee was speaking at a rally in Miami, where he contrasted his supporters, who he said back police and want crime reduced, to Clinton, who he derided as someone who “lives behind walls and raises money from hedge funds.” “I think that her bodyguards should drop all weapons. They should disarm. I think they should disarm immediately, what do you think, yes?,” he said. “Take their guns away, she doesn’t want guns. Take them, let’s see what happens to her. Take their guns away, okay. It will be very dangerous.” Both candidates have been protected by the Secret Service for months, but Trump’s latest take on Clinton’s security detail brought swift denunciations, particularly from Clinton allies. “Tonight, Donald Trump once again alluded to violence against Hillary Clinton,” said Elizabeth Shappell, spokeswoman for Correct The Record, a pro-Clinton media watchdog group. “This is a truly deplorable comment that betrays our nation’s most fundamental democratic values,” Shappell said in a statement. Stuart Stevens, a Washington-based political consultant who worked on Republican Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, tweeted: “The Secret Service should investigate this threat” Trump made a similar comment about Clinton and her armed protection in May while accepting the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, when he said Clinton would end the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms. “Let’s see how they feel walking around without their guns or their bodyguards,” he told the gun lobby group, speaking about Clinton and her Secret Service detail.  Trump was criticized by opponents last month when he suggested that gun rights activists could act to stop Clinton from nominating liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices, a comment some interpreted as encouraging a political assassination. “If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks,” Trump told a rally in North Carolina on Aug. 9. “Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know,” he continued. Clinton has called for tighter access to guns, including universal background checks, but has never said she planned to get rid of the Second Amendment. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said Friday’s remarks fall into a pattern of Trump inciting people to violence. “Whether this is done to provoke protesters at a rally or casually or even as a joke, it is an unacceptable quality in anyone seeking the job of Commander in Chief,” Mook said in a statement.

BILL CLINTON GETS HAMMERED By Protesters In Philly But His Angry Response Won’t Win Them Over [Video]Bill Clinton was in Philly today and got swamped by protesters holding signs about Black Lives Matter or Benghazi. It was ugly but what was even worse is Bill decided to give the BLM protesters a dose of truth. That didn t go over too well and probably didn t win Hillary any votes. It was a squirm-worthy moment in politics One sign read: HILLARY IS A MURDERER Clinton got in a heated argument with Black Lives Matter protesters as he was campaigning for his wife Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, battling the protesters over his passage of criminal justice reform.Clinton tried to address the protesters, but they continued to yell over his answer. Here s the thing, I like protesters. But the ones who won t let you answer are afraid of the truth, he told the crowd to applause.The former president noted that Hillary had nothing to do with his reforms, but defended them anyways. Because of that bill, we had a 25-year low in crime, a 33-year low in the murder rate, and listen to this, because of that and the background check law, a 46-year low in the deaths of people of gun violence. And how do you think those lives were, that mattered? Whose lives were saved, that mattered? One of the protesters yelled that Bill should be charged with crimes against humanity. Ohohohoho! Clinton responded. I don t know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack and sent them out on the street to murder other African-American children, a now visibly angry Clinton shot back. Maybe you thought they were good citizens You are defending the people who kill the people whose lives you say matter! Clinton continued to call out the protesters for talking over his answers. They re afraid of the truth, he told the crowd. They re afraid of the truth. Bill Clinton getting protested hard in Philly over the crime & welfare bills.This is going to get its own headlines pic.twitter.com/JMyiTWuJm3 Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) April 7, 2016VIA: MEDIATE

House Dem Wants GOP On Record: Stop Gov’t Spending At Trump PropertiesEarly next month, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives will take up a spending bill that provides funding for nearly every department in the federal government. It s a must-pass bill because, without it, the government will shut down. That s a non-starter for many Republicans, who still feel the pain of the last time there was a government shutdown. Republicans were largely unable to shift blame to the Democrats as they attempted to do, and their popularity suffered as a result. But despite the GOP s absolute grip on Congress, the bill is still subject to amendments, and one Democrat from Tennessee has a doozy in mind.Representative Steve Cohen is introducing amendments to the spending plan that would ban the use of federal funds at Trump-branded properties. It covers every business listed on Trump s financial disclosure form, including hotels, country clubs, and resorts. That means events like the ones at Mar-a-Lago where Trump has hosted dignitaries and foreign leaders would either be held elsewhere, or Trump would have to provide accommodations free of charge.Such an arrangement would have prevented the Secret Service from having to stay in a trailer outside Trump Tower, where they moved after price negotiations fell apart over them staying inside while protecting the president. It also would have precluded the State Department from spending upwards of $15,000 on rooms at a hotel that Trump recently opened in Vancouver. Most of all, it might reduce the amount of money you and I pay for the president to spend more than 20% of his time in office (so far) at his own resorts.In a statement Cohen released Wednesday morning, he said:Congress should not allow the President to use his office to profit himself and his family. The President s refusal to divest from his privately owned businesses creates a conflict of interest when steering federal spending to his resorts and other businesses The American people should have total confidence that the President is serving their interest, not his own financial enrichment. President Trump s refusal to disclose information to Congress or seek Congress s authorization for accepting profits from foreign governments stemming from his sprawling foreign financial interests is a brazen violation of the Constitution and a danger to our democracy.We couldn t agree more, Congressman. And while these amendments stand about a snowball s chance in hell of passing or possibly even being brought up for a vote it will be nice to see you force Republicans to go on record and either declare their allegiance to Donald Trump, or to the principles of conservatism.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images

WOW! NEWS ANCHOR Hammers Obama On His Pro-Muslim Speech At Radical Mosque [Video]Wow is right! Tomi Lahren gives the best ever response to Obama s pro-Muslim speech at a radical Mosque.

Honduras opposition candidate calls on U.S. not to recognize electionWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Honduran opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla called on United States on Tuesday not to recognize results announced in his country s presidential election and to suspend aid until a new vote can be held. Speaking at news conference in Washington, Nasralla accused his opponent, U.S.-friendly President Juan Orlando Hernandez, of holding on to power illegally after gross fraud in the Nov. 26 poll. Hernandez declared himself president elect on Tuesday despite a call for new elections by the Organization of American States (OAS) that followed allegations of fraud and deadly protests.

Heartless Former GOP Lawmaker Had The Most DESPICABLE Response To Jimmy Kimmel’s Emotional Healthcare PleaFormer GOP Congressman Joe Walsh (R-Ill) has always been an asshole. His Twitter feed is full of damn near sociopathic rants, and he regularly appears on television saying the same sorts of things. He was kicked off his own radio show for racist slurs, is a well-known deadbeat dad, and even rewrote Martin Luther King Jr s famous I Have a Dream speech into one of his infamous racist rants. However, what this guy did this time really takes the cake.By now, we ve all heard late night host Jimmy Kimmel s emotional story about his newborn son s congenital heart defect. Anyone with even a sliver of a heart was moved by that. But not Joe Walsh. Instead, Walsh decided to mock Kimmel, tweeting out:Sorry Jimmy Kimmel: your sad story doesn't obligate me or anybody else to pay for somebody else's health care. Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 2, 2017This man is absolutely despicable. In his world, newborns with heart defects should just be made to die? Does he know that time is of the essence in such situations, and the LAST thing those parents should have to worry about is whether or not some corporate bureaucrats will deem their kid s life worth saving, whether or not it hurts their bottom line too much?This is what conservatism is, folks. It s people like Joe Walsh who really don t care about anyone but themselves. It s those who d let people die all because of selfishness. If this single tweet doesn t tell you that the GOP is heartless, I don t know what will.Featured image via video screen capture

Turkey to investigate Galatasaray's 'Rocky' poster over coup linksANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish government has launched an investigation into a poster unfurled by fans of Istanbul s Galatasaray soccer team that pro-Turkish media said was clearly linked to organizers of the 2016 attempted coup. Just before Sunday s match kicked between Galatasaray and local rivals Fenerbahce, the home fans opened a giant red and yellow poster behind the goal showing Sylvester Stallone s famous fictional boxer Rocky , with the caption Stand Up and They look big because you are kneeling. Pro-government Turkish media linked the poster and its caption to the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup attempt. Pro-government daily Takvim said the poster was a reference to a speech by Gulen, where he was quoted reading from a poem that ends with the words Stand Up Sakarya . Sakarya is a province in northwest Turkey. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Monday ordered authorities to carry out an investigation into the poster, sources from his office said. The game between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, Turkey s biggest fixture, ended in a 0-0 draw after a match that was marred by violence in which a referee was injured. In a statement, Galatasaray said the accusations were a pathetic attempt to discredit the club, adding that the same poster was used at a match in May. We will use all our legal rights against any institution, person and social media account who tried to put the Galatasaray name next to that of the red-handed leader of the heinous terrorist organisation by using the choreography as an excuse, the club said on its website. Some 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial over suspected links to last year s failed coup and more than 150,000 have been sacked or suspended from their jobs in the military, public and private sectors. Rights groups and Turkey s Western allies have said President Tayyip Erdogan is using the failed coup as a pretext to crush dissent, but the government says the measures are necessary to fight the threats it is facing. Following the statement from Yildirim s office, Galatasaray s shares were down 4.89 percent as of 1535 GMT. Current league leaders Galatasaray are Turkey s most decorated soccer club, with 20 league championships, and became the first Turkish club to win a major European trophy when they won the 2000 UEFA Cup, the predecessor to the Europa league.

Trump denies asking Comey to drop probe, decries 'witch hunt'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, striking a defiant tone on Thursday after days of political tumult, denied asking former FBI Director James Comey to drop a probe into his former national security adviser and decried a “witch hunt” against him. Trump’s terse denial followed reports by Reuters and other media about a memo written by Comey alleging that Trump made the request to close down the investigation into Michael Flynn and Russia in February. Trump fired Comey on May 9. “No. No. Next question,” Trump told a news conference in the White House, when asked if he “in any way, shape or form” ever urged Comey to end the probe. Comey’s dismissal last week set off a series of jarring developments that culminated on Wednesday in the Justice Department’s appointment of a special counsel to probe possible ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. They included media reports that Trump discussed sensitive intelligence on the Islamic State militant group with Russia’s foreign minister. In a pair of morning Twitter posts and at a later news conference, the Republican president described calls by some on the left for his impeachment as “ridiculous” and said he had done nothing to warrant criminal charges. “The entire thing has been a witch hunt and there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign - but I can always speak for myself - and the Russians. Zero,” he told the news conference, standing alongside Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. In his earlier Twitter posts, Trump criticized the naming of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, an official he himself appointed. “With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special counsel appointed!” Trump wrote on Thursday morning. He did not offer any evidence of such acts in his reference to former Democratic President Barack Obama and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!” Trump tweeted. Democrats rejected Trump’s characterization. “This is a truth hunt,” said Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. Russia has denied U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that it interfered in the election campaign to try to tilt the vote in Trump’s favor. Trump has long bristled at the notion that Russia played any role in his November election victory over Clinton. Trump fired Flynn on Feb. 14 for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his conversations last year with Russia’s ambassador. Reuters reported on Thursday that Flynn and other Trump campaign advisers were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the presidential race. U.S. stocks recovered ground on Thursday as upbeat economic data emboldened investors to return to the market, a day after Wall Street saw the biggest selloff in eight months on worries the political turmoil could undermine Trump initiatives such as tax cuts that investors see as favoring economic growth. Rosenstein, the No. 2 Justice Department official, named Mueller amid mounting pressure in Congress for an independent investigation beyond existing FBI and congressional probes into the Russia issue. Trump later told news anchors at the White House that Mueller’s appointment was a “very, very negative thing,” adding: “I believe it hurts our country terribly, because it shows we’re a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country.” Rosenstein briefed senators on Thursday but made no public comments. One of the attendees, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Rosenstein as anxious and nervous and said he drank multiple glasses of water “and spilled one.” Afterward, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters that “everything he said was that you need to treat this investigation as if it may be a criminal investigation.” A self-described friend of Comey’s wrote in a public blog post on Thursday that Comey had told him that he had rebuffed a Trump request for loyalty by promising only honesty. “He also told me that Trump was perceptibly uncomfortable with this answer,” wrote Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a critic of Trump. “And he said that ever since, the President had been trying to be chummy in a fashion that Comey felt was designed to absorb him into Trump’s world - to make him part of the team.” Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill said Rosenstein told senators that he knew Comey would be fired before he wrote his letter accusing him of missteps as FBI director, including his handling of an election-year probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. The White House initially said last week that Trump was prompted to fire Comey after reading the Rosenstein letter. Trump later said he had already decided to dismiss him and was thinking of “this Russia thing.” The New York Times reported on Thursday that Trump called Comey weeks after he took office on Jan. 20 and asked him when federal authorities were going to say Trump was not under investigation. It cited two people briefed on the call. Comey told Trump he should not contact him directly about FBI investigations but follow procedure and have the White House counsel ask the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI, the Times reported. A key issue Mueller may have to tackle is whether Trump has committed obstruction of justice, an offense that could be used in any effort in the Republican-led Congress to impeach him and remove him from office. Asked about possible obstruction of justice, Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters the special counsel would “follow the facts where ever they may lead” and that “it is premature to prejudge anything at this point.”

Catalan mayors exercise right to remain silent in referendum questioningBARCELONA (Reuters) - The first of hundreds of Catalan mayors summoned to answer questions on why they have backed a banned Oct. 1 referendum on independence from Spain appeared before the state prosecutor on Tuesday amid cheers and chants from supporters. The first three mayors to declare exercised their right to remain silent, the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) said. Years of separatist feeling in the industrial northeastern region will come to a head in less than two weeks as the fiercely pro-independence regional government calls a referendum on splitting from Spain. Madrid has declared the referendum illegal and the Constitutional Court has suspended the vote that was approved by the regional government earlier this month. On Tuesday, police continued their search for ballot boxes, voting papers and campaign leaflets, raiding the offices of Spain s biggest private delivery company Unipost in several Catalan cities and clashing with protesters. So far, 745 of 948 municipal leaders have said they will provide venues for the referendum. Voting is not a crime, said Marc Solsona, mayor of the town of Mollerussa, one of nearly 750 mayors facing charges of civil disobedience, abuse of office and misuse of public funds, as he left the state prosecutor s office in Barcelona. I m just the mayor and I have to serve my people. I am committed to the people being able to vote on Oct. 1 in accordance with the law passed by the Catalan parliament and what happens to me is not important, he said. Solsona smiled, kissed and gripped hands with dozens of clapping supporters gathered outside the state prosecutor s office as he entered to chants of You are not alone . We consider ourselves privileged to have a mayor who represents the townspeople above any other interests - political or financial, said 63-year-old pensioner Angel Tena, who had traveled to Barcelona to support the mayor. Spain s Civil Guard, a national police force, on Tuesday seized over 45,000 envelopes packed in cardboard boxes that the Catalan government was ready to send to notify people around the region about the referendum, the Spanish interior ministry said. While police raided the Unipost offices in Terrassa, dozens of people gathered outside chanting Out with the occupying forces, handing out voting papers, flying Catalan flags, and laying carnations on police cars. Later on protesters scuffled with Catalan police called in to move protesters preventing the Civil Guard from leaving the premises, according to Reuters footage. The police hit several protesters outside the offices with truncheons. Unipost confirmed the raid without giving further details. Although polls show less than half of Catalonia s 5.5 million voters want self-rule, most in the wealthy northeastern region want the chance to vote on the issue.

BUSTED! ONE OF NATION’S BIGGEST POLITICAL DONORS Caught Funneling Money To Hillary, Other Crooked Democrats [VIDEO]I wonder if they ll get the same treatment Dinesh D Souza got for doing one 1/10th of what these criminals did Hillary Clinton s campaign is returning thousands of dollars in donations linked to what may be one of the largest straw-donor schemes ever uncovered.A small law firm that has given money to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Harry Reid, President Obama and many others is accused of improperly funneling millions of dollars into Democratic Party coffers. The program was exposed by the Center for Responsive Politics and the same team of Boston Globe investigative reporters featured in the movie Spotlight. The Thornton Law Firm has just 10 partners, but dollar for dollar, it s one of the nation s biggest political donors, reports CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil.Federal law limits partnerships, like the Thornton Law Firm, to a maximum donation of $2,700 per candidate. But campaign finance watchdogs say the firm used its individual partners as straw donors, allowing it to funnel money to campaigns well above that legal limit. Straw donor reimbursement systems are something both the FEC and the Department of Justice take very seriously, and people have gone to jail for this, Center for Responsive Politics editorial director Viveca Novak said. The Spotlight team and the Center for Responsive Politics looked at donations from three of the firm s partners from 2010 to 2014. The trio and one of their wives gave $1.6 million, mostly to Democrats. Over the same period, they received $1.4 million back in bonuses. Through its employees, the firm gave to Democrats running in some of this year s most hotly contested races ones that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.For entire story: CBS

Kirkuk shaping up as flashpoint ahead of Kurdistan independence voteKIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Visitors to Kirkuk in northern Iraq are greeted by an imposing statue of a Kurdish Peshmerga fighter with a gun slung over his shoulder, a reminder of tensions building in the hotly-contested city ahead of a referendum on Kurdish independence. Erected in July, the statue has come to symbolize how the Kurds want to cement their hold on oil-rich Kirkuk and other parts of the region by holding next Monday s vote. Peshmerga, which means those who confront death, are the military forces of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. The referendum is risky, especially in Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic city also claimed by Arabs since oil was discovered there in the 1930s. The Kurdistan region produces around 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil. The central government in Baghdad, Iraq s neighbors and Western powers fear the vote could divide the country and spark a wider regional conflict, after Arabs and Kurds cooperated to dislodge Islamic State from its stronghold in Mosul. Already at least one Kurd has been killed in pre-referendum clashes, and security checkpoints have been erected across the city to prevent further violence. But the Kurds say they are determined to go ahead with the vote, which, though non-binding, could trigger the process of separation in a country already divided along sectarian and ethnic lines. Iran, Turkey, the United States and Western allies oppose the vote. Some non-Kurds fear Baghdad will attempt to regain control of Kirkuk and send in Shi ite militias (PMU), also known as the Hashid al-Shaabi, stationed just outside the province. I fear the Hashid will come and fighting will start in Kirkuk, said Nazim Mohammed, an Arab from Mosul who fled to Kirkuk when the northern city was overrun by Islamic State. Backed by Iran, the militias fear an independent Kurdistan would split Iraq, giving them and Tehran less influence. Kirkuk, populated by Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Christians and other minorities, is one of 15 ethnically mixed areas in northern Iraq that will participate in the referendum. They are claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government(KRG). A decision by KRG President Massoud Barzani to include these so-called disputed territories in the plebiscite was widely interpreted as a unilateral move to consolidate Kurdish control. Critics say Kurdish intentions were already clear before the referendum was announced. Peshmerga fighters seized Kirkuk in 2014, after fleeing Iraqi security forces left its oil fields vulnerable to Islamic State militants who had just swept across northern Iraq. The statue is dedicated to the Peshmerga and is designed to represent the appreciation of the people of Kirkuk. Tensions between the KRG and Baghdad are not new, and hinge on oil revenue. The Kurds have long accused Baghdad of failing to make budget payments to the region, while central government has opposed oil deals made by the Kurds without its consent. Nevertheless, the Kurds have been marking their territory in the run-up to the vote. Peshmerga outposts dot the area, protecting the flaming oil fields on Kirkuk s outskirts. Kurdish flags have been hoisted across the city since the spring, and now fly alongside Iraqi flags on government buildings. Dreaming of long-denied statehood since World War One, the Kurds say the are ready to fight if necessary. Kurdistan s land belongs to the Kurdish people, Kemal al-Kirkuki, the Kurdish military commander responsible for the front-line against Islamic State, told Reuters at his base in Dibis. No one, not the PMU, has the right to take it ... We will ask them to leave Kurdish territory, peacefully. But we are prepared to fight if we need to. On Monday, clashes broke out in Kirkuk after a Kurdish convoy celebrating the referendum drove by a Turkmen political party s office. A Kurd was killed, and two others were injured, security sources said. This followed a week of escalating rhetoric between the Kurdish leadership and Baghdad, where parliament voted to reject the referendum and oust Kirkuk s Kurdish governor, Najmaddin Kareem. The conflict over the disputed territories is bitter. If the Kurdistan region of Iraq declared a break-off from Baghdad, Kirkuk would fall right on the border between the two. Kirkuk produces around one quarter of the region s oil. If the Kurds want to press for a separation of sorts, said Joost Hiltermann, MENA program director at the International Crisis Group, the boundary question becomes critically important. If Baghdad and Erbil continue to take unilateral steps, he said, things can only escalate . There are no reliable statistics on Kirkuk s population, where both Kurds and Arabs say they have a demographic majority; vital to legitimize their respective claims over the province. Kirkuk was meant to have a census under the 2005 constitution, drafted two years after former Iraqi leader Saddam was toppled in the U.S.-led invasion, but it did not take place because of the risk of ethnic and religious tensions. During Saddam s Anfal campaign waged against the Kurds in the 1980s, there was a forced Arabisation of disputed areas, which ejected Kurds from the province. Arabs from other parts of Iraq were then settled, taking over Kurdish homes and businesses. In 1988, Saddam caused international outrage by staging a chemical attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja which killed thousands of people. Many Arabs have been ousted since Saddam was toppled in 2003, emboldening the Kurds to reclaim large parts of the disputed territories, including Kirkuk. Displaced Kurds were provided with incentives to return, while Kurds from other areas were also moved in, angering other minorities. Since 2003 some 600,000 Kurds have arrived, many of them are here illegally, said Ali Mehdi Sadiq, a Turkman member of Kirkuk s local council. Without dialogue everything is possible. We need to avoid a war engulfing the whole of Iraq. He blamed Governor Kareem, a Kurd who lived for more than 30 years in the United States for what he called a Kurdish discrimination of minorities. The governor said the Kurds would guarantee minorities rights, pointing to relative stability in the Kurdistan region in contrast to Baghdad where suicide bombings are frequent. But his support for Kurdish independence is worrying minorities: he refused to sit behind an Iraqi flag during an interview, preferring the Kurdish one and said he would destroy his Iraqi passport the minute he got a Kurdish one. He shrugged off the decision by Iraq s parliament last week to sack him as unlawful , adding: This is a proud day for me. Anticipating trouble ahead, some residents of Kirkuk have been stockpiling basic foods such as flour, rice and milk. Since they announced the referendum I have hardly had any customers. The market is dead, said 27-year-old Ali Hamza, an Arab who has a small textiles shop in the old city. Several Kurds interviewed supported the independence vote but privately said they were worried about clashes afterwards. But faced with his people s fears of clashes and economic problems, Governor Kareem said that when taking a big step like the referendum, anything was possible . Nothing comes without a price. For a graphic on Iraq's oil producing region of Kirkuk, click: here

White House says it believes Saudi Arabia will open Yemen portWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday it believed that Saudi Arabia would allow a blocked port in Yemen to open after President Donald Trump urged Riyadh to lift a blockade to let humanitarian aid reach the Yemeni people. The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Iran-aligned armed Houthi movement in Yemen s civil war started blockading ports a month ago after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired toward its capital Riyadh from Yemen. Although the blockade later eased, Yemen s situation remains dire. About 8 million people are on the brink of famine with outbreaks of cholera and diphtheria. Yemen s population of 27 million is almost entirely reliant on imports for food, fuel and medicine. I believe there are actions that are taking place for a port to open and we ll keep you posted as those details become more available, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters. Trump called for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to completely allow food, fuel, water, and medicine to reach the Yemeni people , suggesting Washington had run out patience with the blockade that has been condemned by relief organizations. Progress has not been seen yet, but we hope that advocacy and those strong messages will open up the port from being a partially open port to being a fully open port, Jamie McGoldrick, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, told reporters in New York. McGoldrick said there were 15 ships, carrying mainly food and fuel, waiting to enter the Yemeni ports of Hodeidah and Salif. Around 80 percent of Yemen s food imports arrive through Hodeidah. They need to come onshore now, said McGoldrick, speaking via telephone from Sanaa. There are some boats which are offshore which have been cleared by Riyadh already ... We see no reason why they should not be able to come onshore now. A Reuters analysis of port and ship tracking data has shown that no fuel shipments have reached Yemen s largest port for a month. What we have got right now is food trickling in to Yemen through the various ports, but we can t get it to the people without the fuel, McGoldrick said. Yemen s humanitarian response needs millions of liters of fuel a month to keep hospital generators running, transport food and to pump water.

Ex-military officials urge U.S. judge to halt Trump's transgender banNEW YORK (Reuters) - Three high-ranking military officials from the Obama administration on Thursday joined several transgender service members in urging a U.S. judge to halt President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. The former secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force – including former Army Secretary Eric Fanning, the first openly gay head of any U.S. military service – submitted sworn statements to a Washington, D.C., federal court in support of a motion for an immediate injunction. The new filings came as part of a lawsuit challenging the ban, which Trump first announced in a series of tweets earlier this month. The move would reverse former President Barack Obama’s order that allowed transgender people to serve openly without fear of losing their jobs. “The ban marks transgender service members as unequal and dispensable, stigmatizing them in the eyes of their fellow service members and depriving them of the unique honor and status associated with uniformed service to their country,” the motion said. Trump has said the ban would ensure unit cohesion and readiness. A White House spokeswoman did not immediately comment on Thursday. In their statements, the former U.S. military officials said the armed forces studied the issue extensively and concluded that allowing transgender people to serve would have no impact on the military’s capabilities. They also echoed the plaintiffs’ concern that transgender service members who relied on the Obama-era policy to disclose their status could now face discharge. “Dramatically reversing course and now using that information as a basis for separating these soldiers from their service is an unprecedented betrayal of the trust that is so essential to achieving the mission of all of the armed forces,” Fanning wrote. In a memorandum last week, Trump directed the military not to accept transgender recruits and not to pay for sex reassignment surgeries for active personnel. White House officials have not made clear whether the directive would allow active transgender members to continue serving. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday said the Obama administration’s policy would remain in place until a panel of experts provided him with recommendations regarding Trump’s directive, after which he would offer his own advice to the president. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include five active service members, who filed anonymously, as well as a current naval student and a first-year college student enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Two other lawsuits challenging the ban were filed earlier this week by civil rights groups.

Trump supports Republican tax overhaul bill: adviserWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump supports the tax overhaul bill unveiled on Thursday by Republicans in the House of Representatives, a top White House advisor said. “The bill that the House has delivered today ... is a bill that the president can support,” National Economic Council director Gary Cohn told a gathering of the Economic Club of Washington, adding that he was confident the House would approve a tax overhaul. “If it delivers middle class tax relief and a 20 percent corporate tax rate and it shows up on his desk I can guarantee he’s going to sign it,” Cohn said. Republicans pushing the tax bill will have to accept the assessments of budget analysts who may not share the White House’s views on how the tax bill could increase some tax revenues by fostering growth in the economy, Cohn said. “We have to accept the score to get the legislation through,” he said. “We will legislate to a bill to get the score that we need to get it through the legislative process.”

Clinton holds five-point lead as FBI looks at more emails: Reuters/Ipsos pollNEW YORK (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton held a five percentage point lead over Republican rival Donald Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Monday, down only slightly since the FBI said last week it was reviewing new emails in its investigation of the former secretary of state. Some 44 percent of likely voters said they would support Clinton, while 39 percent said they would support Trump, according to the Oct. 26-30 survey. Clinton had held a 6 point advantage over Trump in the five-day tracking poll last Thursday. Other polls have shown Clinton’s lead slipping more sharply. Real Clear Politics, which averages the results of most major polls, shows that Clinton’s lead has declined from 4.6 points on Friday to 2.5 points on Monday. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told Congress in a letter made public on Friday that his agency was looking into new emails that may be connected to Clinton, who had been probed by the FBI over her use of a private server and how she handled classified information while America’s top diplomat. The FBI has revealed very little to the public about the new emails under investigation, except that they were uncovered during an unrelated investigation into the estranged husband of a top Clinton aide. In July, Comey concluded that Clinton and her staff were “extremely careless” with their handling of classified information, but that there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges. On Friday, Comey told Congress, “We don’t know the significance of this newly discovered collection of emails.” In a separate poll that included alternative-party candidates, 43 percent supported Clinton, while 37 percent supported Trump, 6 percent supported Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and 1 percent supported Jill Stein of the Green Party. The polling determines likely voters according to a number of factors including voting history, registration status and stated intention to vote. It assumes that 60 percent of eligible Americans will vote. The result of the 2016 election will vary greatly depending on how many voters actually cast a ballot. Currently, Clinton leads Trump in both high and low turnout scenarios, according to the latest poll. Her advantage holds at 5 points if 55 percent of eligible voters participate, and it rises to 6 points if 70 percent of Americans cast a ballot. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. It included 1,264 people who were considered likely voters under the assumption that 60 percent of eligible voters would participate. The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points.

Tillerson to discuss North Korea crisis, trade in ChinaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit China this week for talks that will include the crisis over North Korea s nuclear and missile programs and trade, the State Department said on Tuesday. Tillerson s trip, from Sept. 28 to 30, will also lay the groundwork for President Donald Trump s visit to China in November, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. Tillerson s visit comes at a time of high tension between the United States and North Korea, China s neighbor and ally, which is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Tuesday that any U.S. military option against North Korea would be devastating for Pyongyang, but said the use of force was not Washington s first option. China has urged a return to dialogue. Nauert called China s steps to implement tougher U.N. sanctions on North Korea after its recent missile and nuclear tests significant. We have a good relationship with China, she told a regular news briefing, adding that this was evidenced by what would be Tillerson s second visit to China in nine months in office. China has taken enormous steps in the right direction. There is always more that countries can do, but at this point we want to thank China for the steps it has taken in the right direction. In Beijing on Wednesday, asked for details of Tillerson s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing only that he would meet China s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. While backing U.N. sanctions, China, North Korea s main trading partner, opposes unilateral U.S. steps and has been worried Washington might move to freeze its banks out of the global financial system unless they cut ties to Pyongyang. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against 26 more individuals as part of its non-proliferation designations for North Korea, as well as nine North Korean banks, including some with ties to China. Tillerson s visit to Beijing follows one by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who said on Monday China needed to guarantee fair and reciprocal treatment for U.S. firms, as he tried to strike an upbeat tone amid bilateral trade tension. China-U.S. ties have been strained by Trump s criticism of China s trade practices and by demands that Beijing do more on North Korea. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump met for the first time at Trump s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in April. Trump has since played up his personal relationship with Xi, even while criticizing China over North Korea and trade. In August, Trump authorized an inquiry into China s alleged theft of intellectual property - his first direct trade measure against Beijing, a move China called irresponsible.

Connecticut's governor says no return to pre-recession prosperityNEW YORK (Reuters) - Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy delivered a downbeat address on Wednesday, outlining plans to slash government spending and admitting to “a visceral feeling” that there was no going back to the prosperity of pre-recession years. The short and somber address came on the heels of a presentation by Malloy’s top budget official, who called for $570 million of reductions next year on top of millions in cuts and tax hikes in previous years. “Our national economy, while making progress from the Great Recession, was fundamentally changed,” Malloy, a Democrat, said at his annual state of the state address. “A shifting workforce, the rapid rise of technology, and stagnant wage growth have made this recovery tougher for everyone, everywhere.” Connecticut has consistently lagged the national economic recovery and has been hit by job losses in its key financial and high-tech manufacturing industries. The state has one of the worst funded pension systems in the nation. With required payments set to balloon to $6 billion by 2032, the system presents a significant risk to the budget. “Connecticut is not going back to that pre-recession reality,” Malloy told the Democrat-dominated legislature. “It just doesn’t exist anymore.” Connecticut’s woes show how U.S. states have shared unevenly in the recovery since the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Andrew Cuomo, governor of neighboring New York, felt confident enough to tout a $100 billion infrastructure plan in January. “It’s been a really hard recovery,” said Douglas Offerman, an analyst at Fitch Ratings. “The old paradigm that you would exceed your past peak in every expansion doesn’t appear to be holding right now.” Ben Barnes, Malloy’s top budget official, said the replacement of higher-paying jobs with lower- and middle-wage positions had been a “major story” in Connecticut’s budget ills. Barnes proposed cuts of 5.75 percent to the budgets of state agencies, which could mean the elimination of several thousand jobs. He said cuts to discretionary spending would amount to 15 percent over two years. At the start of the legislative session, Malloy urged lawmakers to pass an early budget and not wait until the last day of the fiscal year on June 30. But he said he would not circumvent the process. The governor proposed overhauling the way the state runs its budget to bring the process more in line with revenue projections, shifting away from a “current services” model. He also said lawmakers should implement a spending cap.

Australia gay marriage rally draws record crowd ahead of postal voteSYDNEY (Reuters) - More than 20,000 people rallied in Sydney on Sunday urging the legalization of same-sex marriage, days ahead of a contentious postal survey on the issue that has divided the country. Organizers said the gathering was Australia s largest gay rights demonstration, as a diverse range of people clad in rainbow colors converged on the heart of the city to insist on equal rights. We re blown away by the response, Cat Rose from Community Action Against Homophobia said. The force we ve shown today puts us in a good stead to win this battle over the next couple of months. Though the postal ballot is non-binding, a yes vote is expected to lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage which could further fracture the government of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Ballots will be mailed out from Sept. 12, with a result expected some time in November. The country s Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, said it was the law that had to change, not the gay community. We ve got one last mountain to climb before we make marriage equality a reality. Let s climb it together, today, he said. Turnbull, who has said he will be voting in support of same-sex marriage, told a gathering of the Liberal and National parties faithful on Sunday that the issue was one where everyone is entitled to an opinion. Many people will vote yes , as I will, because they believe the right to marry is a conservative ideal as much as any other principle, he said. His words were in contrast to those of one of his party s previous leaders, former prime minister John Howard, who officially launched the no campaign on Saturday. Howard said in a statement on the website of the Coalition for Marriage that there could not be changes to social institutions without wider consequences. I believe there is a conflict here between those seeking the right for same-sex marriage and the rights of the child, and I believe the right of the child to have a mother and father should be preserved, he said. The coalition, the lead campaigner against same-sex marriage, did not respond to requests for comment. It includes the Australian Christian Lobby and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. However, yes campaigner Kerryn Phelps, the former chief of the Australian Medical Association, said the survey was about unifying the nation. What we want is to see Australians united in marriage equality and united in fairness for all Australians, she said. Rally attendees Stephen Madden, 55, and David Long, 47, have been together for 21 years and want to get married. We ve had the world s longest engagement, Long said. My mum would really like to have a legal son-in-law, Madden added. The Sydney event followed a similar rally in Melbourne last month which organizers said was attended by 15,000 people. Police declined to comment on the numbers at both rallies. Australia is one of the only developed English-speaking countries not to have legalised same-sex marriage, despite strong popular support and the backing of a majority of lawmakers.

Delusional ‘Dilbert’ Cartoonist Thinks He’ll Be Murdered If He Doesn’t Endorse Hillary ClintonScott Adams, who s best known as the creator of the Dilbert cartoon, is endorsing Hillary Clinton, but not because he agrees with her policies, or even because he likes her. He s endorsing her because he believes, somewhere in his twisted little mind, that he ll be murdered if he doesn t.In his blog (did you know there was a Dilbert blog?), he says that his politics don t match up with any of the candidates, but he does credit Trump with extraordinary persuasion skills. It gets worse, and don t feel bad if you have trouble keeping up with his theory.This past week we saw Clinton pair the idea of President Trump with nuclear disaster, racism, Hitler, the Holocaust, and whatever else makes you tremble in fear.The only downside I can see to the new approach is that it is likely to trigger a race war in the United States. And I would be a top-ten assassination target in that scenario because once you define Trump as Hitler, you also give citizens moral permission to kill him. And obviously it would be okay to kill anyone who actively supports a genocidal dictator, including anyone who wrote about his persuasion skills in positive terms. (I m called an apologist on Twitter, or sometimes just Joseph Goebbels).If Clinton successfully pairs Trump with Hitler in your mind as she is doing and loses anyway, about a quarter of the country will think it is morally justified to assassinate their own leader. I too would feel that way if an actual Hitler came to power in this country. I would join the resistance and try to take out the Hitler-like leader. You should do the same. No one wants an actual President Hitler.Then, it gets even weirder. Adams predicts that Trump will win in a landslide, but he believes that by endorsing Clinton, he will insulate himself from any backlash, because, according to Adams, one of the first people targeted when people try to assassinate Trump, will be the creator of Dilbert.So I ve decided to endorse Hillary Clinton for President, for my personal safety. Trump supporters don t have any bad feelings about patriotic Americans such as myself, so I ll be safe from that crowd. But Clinton supporters have convinced me and here I am being 100% serious that my safety is at risk if I am seen as supportive of Trump. So I m taking the safe way out and endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.Uh huh. So, that would be a backdoor endorsement of Trump. Believe us when we say, Scott Adams, if Trump is elected, you ll likely be one of the last people anyone thinks about.Featured image via YouTube video screen shot.

Appeals court delays release of NJ's 'Bridgegate' co-conspirators listNEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday postponed a deadline for prosecutors in New Jersey to reveal a list of unindicted co-conspirators in the so-called “Bridgegate” criminal case involving allies of Governor Chris Christie. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a last-minute emergency request from one of the people on the list, less than two hours before U.S. prosecutors were set to file the names in federal court in New Jersey. The document could make clear how many Christie associates were aware of an alleged scheme to close down lanes at the George Washington Bridge in what prosecutors claim was an act of political retribution against a local mayor. Christie, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for his party’s presidential nomination this year, has denied knowledge of the plot. U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton had ordered the list made public at the request of several media companies. But one of the alleged co-conspirators anonymously filed an emergency appeal, arguing his reputation will be irreparably besmirched. In a brief order, the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia scheduled a hearing for June 6. The court is also considering whether that hearing should be closed to the public, presumably to preserve the individual’s anonymity. The unindicted co-conspirators are those who prosecutors believe joined in the plot but have not been criminally charged. Bruce Rosen, a lawyer for the media companies, said in an email, “We’re looking forward to making our case before the full 3rd Circuit panel that the public has a First Amendment right to see the list of unindicted co-conspirators.” Thus far, three people have been charged. William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, are scheduled to face trial in September. David Wildstein, also a former official at the Port Authority, the agency that oversees major transportation facilities in the New York City area, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating. Prosecutors say they orchestrated the September 2013 lane closure in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as payback against the Democratic mayor for refusing to endorse Christie’s re-election bid. The ensuing traffic wreaked havoc in town, causing massive delays and impeding emergency responders. The case has proven embarrassing for Christie, who is heading presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s transition team. The trial will unfold in the heat of the presidential campaign ahead of Election Day, Nov. 8.

Tillerson urges Iraq, Kurds to resolve conflict through dialogueBAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan region on Monday to resolve their conflict over Kurdish self-determination and disputed territories through dialogue. Tillerson laid out his position at the start of a meeting in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who in turn defended the role of an Iraqi paramilitary force backed by Iran against criticism the secretary of state made on Sunday. We are concerned and a bit sad, Tillerson said in his opening remarks. We have friends in Baghdad and friends in Erbil and we encourage all parties to enter into discussion ... and all differences can be addressed, he said, referring to the Iraqi and Kurdistan region capitals. The U.S. administration sided with Abadi in rejecting the validity of the referendum held last month in the Kurdish region, which produced an overwhelming yes for Kurdish independence. The administration also called on the two sides to avoid further escalation, after Abadi retaliated against the vote by isolating the Kurdistan region and ordering his troops to seize the oil city of Kirkuk from Kurdish fighters. We don t want to enter into any battle against any Iraqi component, Abadi said. When we entered Kirkuk we sent a clear message that the citizens of Kirkuk are important to us. It was Tillerson s second meeting with Abadi in as many days. After Sunday s meeting, alongside Saudi Arabia s King Salman, Tillerson said it was time for Iranian-backed militias that had helped Baghdad defeat Islamic State to go home . Abadi told Tillerson the paramilitary force called Popular Mobilisation is part of the Iraqi institutions, rejecting accusations that it is acting as Iran s proxies. Popular Mobilisation fighters should be encouraged because they will be the hope of country and the region, he said. A few hours earlier, Abadi s office published a statement rejecting Tillerson s comments. No party has the right to interfere in Iraqi matters, it said [nL8N1MY1UJ]. Washington, which also backed Baghdad against Islamic State, is concerned Iran will use its increased presence in Iraq, and in Syria where it supports President Bashar al-Assad, to expand its influence in the region. Shi ite Muslim Iran s influence in Iraq, where the population is also predominantly Shi ite, has grown since the U.S. invasion of 2003 that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. Iraq s Sunni Muslim neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, share Washington s concern about rising Iranian influence. Tehran has trained and armed the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation forces that have fought, often alongside Iraqi government units, against Islamic State, which was effectively defeated in July when a U.S.-backed offensive captured its stronghold, Mosul. The United States has over 5,000 troops deployed in Iraq and provided critical air and ground support in the offensive on Islamic State. It is also the main backer of the Kurdish-led Syrian coalition that captured the IS stronghold of Raqqa earlier this month. Of the closest groups to Iran within Popular Mobilisation, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, reacted to Tillerson s comment by saying it would be the Americans who will be forced to leave Iraq. Your forces should get ready to get out of our country once the excuse of Daesh s presence is over, said Asaib s leader, Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, according to the group s TV channel, al-Aahd.

CNN IS EVIL: Carol Costello FAILS When Benghazi Dad Flips Script On Her…#BoycottCNNCharles Woods, father of U.S. Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, who was killed during the Benghazi attack, appeared on CNN Tuesday. CNN Newsroom host Carol Costello repeatedly badgered him about Donald Trump s feud with Khizr Khan, and whether Trump should apologize. I know who should apologize, and that would be Hillary Clinton, for lying to the American families who lost their loved ones as well as to the American public, Woods said.

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

Black Politician Explains Why Left’s ‘Racist’ Critique of Trump is WrongIs the Democratic Party really the party of the oppressed and of blacks and minorities ? Critics have accused the Democrat Party has been accused of cynically cultivating a dependence class whose main function for the party is to bring home the minority vote every few years.Were African-Americans better, or worse off after eight years of a Democratic White House?US Senate candidate Derrick Grayson from the state of Georgia explains the actual racist roots of the Democratic Party in America, the tragic loss of Black American icons Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, and how the liberal left have successfully managed to use and manipulate minorities in America since the the FDR era.Watch this incredible impromptu piece to camera by an passionate Grayson: READ MORE POLITICALLY CORRECT NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire PC FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

"Nobody stood with the Kurds" says bitter BarzaniBAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani gave a bitter speech on Sunday to announce his resignation, saying no one outside the Kurds home region had stood up to support their right of self-determination. Barzani made a televised speech after the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament approved his request not to extend his term beyond Nov. 1, after an independence referendum he championed last month backfired and triggered military and economic retaliation against the Kurdish region he has been leading since 2005. Three million votes for Kurdistan independence created history and cannot be erased, he said, referring to the referendum held on Sept. 25. Nobody stood up with us other than our mountains, he said, speaking with Kurdish and Iraqi flags behind him. He criticized the United States for allowing Abrams tanks supplied to Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State militants to be used against the Kurds. He said American weapons were also used in attacks by Iranian-backed paramilitaries. Without the help of Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters), Iraqi forces could not have liberated Mosul from ISIS alone, he said, referring to Islamic State s former stronghold in northern Iraq. Why would Washington want to punish Kurdistan? He said followers of rival Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, who died in early October, had been guilty of high treason for handing over the oil city of Kirkuk to Iraqi forces without a fight two weeks ago. He said the Iraqi offensives since Oct. 16 and the refusal of the Iraqi government to agree to dialogue vindicated his view that Iraq no longer believes in Kurdish rights .

Explosion wounds five Bahraini policemen: agencyDUBAI (Reuters) - Five Bahraini policemen were lightly injured in a terrorist explosion outside the capital Manama on Monday, the state news agency reported. The agency said the blast occurred in the village of Daih on Budaiya road while the policemen were guarding a procession by Shi ite Muslims marking the annual Ashura festival, which commemorates the death of Prophet Mohammad s grandson Imam Hussein some 1400 years ago. The agency quoted the interior ministry as saying on its Twitter account that the necessary steps were being taken, without giving any details. The explosion was the latest in a series of attacks targeting policemen in the Western-allied country, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based. The government blames the attacks on Shi ite militants it says are backed by Iran to destabilize the country, a charge Tehran denies. In June, a member of Bahrain s security forces was killed in an explosion in the village of Diraz, the hometown of the spiritual leader of the country s Shi ite community Ayatollah Isa Qassim. The interior ministry blamed terrorists for the attack.

Trump's jobs homecoming a long shot even in manufacturing hot spots JACKSONVILLE, Fla (Reuters) - When U.S. manufacturing employment peaked, Jimmy Carter was president, inflation was 11 percent, and craftsmen at Frontier Contact Lenses made the company’s products one at a time on diamond-tipped lathes. As presidential candidates promise to reclaim jobs lost in the intervening decades, they might want to visit the company now. Bought by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) in 1981, the fully automated factory allows four workers to produce in a 12-hour shift what more labor-intensive methods produced in a year. The Jacksonville plant and one in Ireland make 4 billion soft contacts a year, and between the robots and lasers and computer algorithms no worker touches the product from the start of the process through final packaging. “I don’t think you could even make 4 billion lenses” using the old method, said David Turner, vice president of research and development for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. “You’d need a guy with a lathe in every town.” Since peaking at 19.5 million in 1979, the number of U.S. manufacturing jobs has fallen 37 percent to around 12.2 million as of March, or just over 10 percent of the private sector workforce. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/1WqpioK) That may be as good as it gets. Despite the promises made on the campaign trail by Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and other candidates, the next president will find it hard to raise manufacturing’s share of a U.S. labor force that keeps shifting toward services. While much of the jobs debate has centered on trade pacts that Democrats and Republicans have backed over the last quarter century, both successful and struggling companies and sectors offer evidence of long-term trends that neither sharp trade negotiators nor aggressive political leaders can easily reverse. Even critics of trade deals acknowledge that labor intensive industries, such as textiles, which once employed hundreds of thousands of less-skilled workers, are probably gone for good. Technology continues to diminish the share of labor in production and its spread around the world has made other nations - notably China, but also Korea, Brazil, Mexico and former Soviet bloc countries - competitive both as exporters and in their own markets. Investment worldwide is drifting steadily toward services, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and Americans are spending relatively less of their income on manufactured goods. A Reuters analysis of federal data for 1,267 categories of goods shows that the United States has been running a trade deficit in more than 500 of them since at least 1992 - before the North American Free Trade Agreement came into force or China joined the World Trade Organization, events often cited as turning points for U.S. manufacturing. Since the 2007-2009 recession manufacturing has added about 800,000 jobs, but that has lagged overall job growth. As a result manufacturing’s share of private employment has continued to fall, from about 11 percent since the recession ended. “The move toward a more global market hurts the marginal, low-skilled worker, but it was inevitable and you cannot roll it back,” said Brookings Institution senior fellow Barry Bosworth. At CareerSource Northeast Florida, a job development group, President Bruce Ferguson, Jr. said by necessity he focused on finding a “path” for entry level service sector employees to move up a career ladder, because services are where the growth is. “The raw (manufacturing) numbers don’t look anything like the service sector and they never will,” he said. A majority of 6,500 Americans surveyed in March as part of Reuters/Ipsos 2016 campaign polling acknowledged that free trade brings lower prices, but also saw it as a drag on wages and jobs and an “important” issue for the next president to confront. Tapping such concerns, Trump has promised punitive tariffs to “bring back” jobs for those left behind in the current recovery, particularly the roughly two thirds of Americans without a college degree. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton switched gears as a candidate to oppose a major Pacific trade deal and promises billions in public support for manufacturing. Her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders calls for worker protection against what he considers unfair trade, while Republican Ted Cruz has focused on trimming government red tape. However, playing tough on trade carries some risks and there are limits to what trade talks and tariffs can accomplish. The U.S. steel industry is a case in point. The American Iron and Steel Institute estimates around 12,000 jobs were lost to a recent jump in imports, mainly from China. It reckons those jobs could be recovered with steps, such as the anti-dumping duties imposed by Washington late last year. That pales, however, in comparison with more than 200,000 jobs that the sector has lost since the early 1980s, some because of imports, but some because the amount of labor needed to produce a ton of steel has fallen from 10 hours to less than two. “There has been a short term loss that is definitely attributable to imports, while a longer term trend reflects technological innovation,” said Kevin Dempsey, the institute’s senior vice president. Such dynamic is not limited to old industries like steel. Florida is home to successful manufacturers big and small in a wide range of sectors, which export nearly half of their output - double the national average. Yet, as is the case nationally, the share of jobs available to those with a high school degree has been shrinking since 2000, according to federal data, and wages have been stagnant. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care’s recent approval of a $300 million expansion, which added some 100 jobs, cements the company’s U.S. presence, but also shows how technology and innovation reshape the landscape. The company’s local workforce has risen to around 1,700, but about 60 percent of that are white collar and non-manufacturing jobs - from research positions for PhD scientists to those in sales and a highly automated shipping operation. Florida development officials say the trend is clear: manufacturers keep cutting the labor content of their products and each round of investment tends to drive up the skill levels that workers need. That may benefit the state’s economy, but acts as a reality check for workers who hope that the November 8 presidential vote can reverse decades-old trends. “How do you evaluate a company that says we will spend a lot of money and make the workforce more qualified but not create many jobs?” said Aaron Bowman, senior vice president for business development at JAXUSA Partnership, a regional economic development agency and division of the local chamber of commerce. “Over time you see more projects that bring in fewer jobs but a bigger bang.”

STEPHEN MOORE: What Republican Turncoats Forget…Examining The Case Of The Republicans For HillaryStephen Moore has been a regular contributor to FOX News and is now a Trump campaign economic adviser. He recently debated the most liberal hack economist on the planet and kicked his a$$:WATCH LYING LIBERAL ECONOMIST Get Hammered By TRUMP S Economic Advisor [Video]He questions the Republican turncoats on what they re doing to the conservative movement by not supporting Trump:I asked a successful businessman the other day what he thought about Donald Trump. He turned his thumb down. Wow. Are you going to vote for Hillary? I asked with trepidation. Of course not, he replied almost insulted by the question. I understand the concept of a binary decision. I got a similar response when I asked oil magnate T. Boone Pickens whether he would vote for Mr. Trump. He looked at me with a quizzical look on his face and replied: Well, who else is there to vote for? Right. Who else is there? Yet amazingly a caucus of lifelong Republican politicos in Washington are announcing to the world with defiance and self-righteousness that they will vote for Hillary Clinton. They are mostly former Romney and Bush operatives. They lost and now they want people to believe that their anti-Trumpism is an act of heroism and principle. They ingratiate themselves to The New York Times, The Washington Post and Team Clinton the sworn enemies of free markets and conservative values. Somehow this doesn t offend their moral compass. I certainly don t mean to disparage conservatives who say they won t vote for Mr. Trump. One s vote is a matter of personal conscience. But to actively support Hillary is to put the other team s jersey on and then run a lap around the stadium. It s worth, because none of the arguments make much sense. First, many say that Trump can t win it s hopeless. These are the same political geniuses who a year ago assured us that Mr. Trump could never win a primary (he won most of them), then that he couldn t win 50 percent of the vote (he did), then that he couldn t win 50 percent outside of New York (he did), then they said he couldn t win a majority of the delegates (he did) On every occasion the Trump haters were wrong. How about a little humility since they are batting 0.00. The Trump can t win mantra isn t just wrong, it s subversive. Of course, he can win. He is running against Hillary Clinton for goodness sakes. So why do they say this? Because the never Trumpers want Trump to lose because he is to the political class (Republicans and Democrats) the disruptor that Uber is to taxicab drivers. Second is the complaint by some economists that Mr. Trump can t be supported because he is not for free trade. Longtime Washington insider Vin Weber reportedly recently said: The world economic order and the Republican Party would be all in shambles if Mr. Trump wins. I think markets would collapse. Really? Hillary Clinton flip flops every day on free trade, so why is it that only Mr. Trump would cause a recession? He doesn t get that the Trump movement is a revolt against the world order. Mr. Trump is calling for the biggest tax cut since Ronald Reagan. He is for regulatory relief and school choice. Mr. Trump wants to kill Obamacare. Mr. Trump wants a pro-America drilling policy on energy. Hillary wants to soak the rich, increase the debt, stop energy development, expand entitlements and double down on Obamacare. How is this a difficult choice for a free marketeer? Third, the Trump haters say we must throw Mr. Trump over the bus in order to save the Senate and House majorities. This is a foolhardy strategy because one can t win without the other. As economist Donald Luskin puts it in his historical analysis of presidential races and Senate gains: It is clear from history that the House and the Senate always move in the same party direction as the White House, and with the same magnitude. That means the presidential candidate is like a boat that congressional candidates are riding on. It s really stupid to torpedo that boat. Finally, there is the view expressed by Bret Stephens, my former colleague at The Wall Street Journal, who wants to make sure Trump is the biggest loser in presidential history so that we can rebuild the conservative movement. Bret, if Obama/Hillary win a third straight presidential race, there won t be a conservative movement left to rebuild. The Republicans will move to the left. Worse, for President Obama to win effectively a third term will be a voter validation of all of the destructive policies of the last eight years. Do the never Trumpers want to facilitate that? Do they want to hand the left its greatest victory for liberal governance of all time? If they do, they, not Trump, are the unforgivable betrayers of conservative principles. Stephen Moore is an economic consultant with Freedom Works and a senior economic adviser to the Trump campaign.

Thai junta and Muslim separatists trade blame over peace stepsBANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand s junta and a Malay Muslim separatist faction have blamed each other for a delay in setting up a safety zone as a confidence-building measure towards ending a decades-old insurgency. Talks on the zone ended last week in Malaysia without full agreement to be followed by bombings that killed a soldier and a policeman in the Thai south, where more than 6,500 people have been killed since 2004. No group claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. On Monday, the Mara Patani faction said that implementing a safety zone had been a little delayed , because some details, especially from the Thai side , had not been satisfactorily addressed, but that did not mean talks had failed. The correct approach is to continue dialogue, not walking away from it, Abu Hafez Al-Hakim, a leader of the group, said in a statement. At the weekend, Thailand s chief negotiator had said the insurgents were not ready for the safety zone, despite the sincerity of the Thai government. If the dissidents are not ready, then people s participation in the process will be delayed, General Aksara Kerdphol said, adding that talks would continue. The proposed safety zone would be jointly administered by Thai authorities and the separatists in a district of the three southern provinces that formed part of a Malay Muslim sultanate until being annexed by the mostly Buddhist Thai kingdom in 1909. Within the safety zone, neither side would attack the other. If you want to create peace you have to work with your enemy, Al-Hakim told Reuters, saying he was hopeful a safety zone could be set up within three to six months. But the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) group, which has greater control over combatants than other factions, has not joined talks. A leader of the group told Reuters last week that the current negotiations were doomed. Pak Fakih said in a rare interview that safety zones could be a trick by the military in trying to uncover the insurgent networks . The BRN neither claims nor denies responsibility for any specific attack, but says it is continuing to fight to send a signal to the government. The leader of another insurgent group, Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO), also said he was uneasy about the government s safety zone plan, but would go along with it in the spirit of cooperation. Violence would continue for now as the only way to get the government to listen, Kasturi Mahkota told Reuters.

California deputy attorney general charged with child porn(Reuters) - A California deputy attorney general has been charged with possessing child pornography at his San Diego County home following a months-long investigation, according to court records and local media. Raymond Liddy, 53, was arrested at his home in the resort city of Coronado, California, on Tuesday and accused of owning images that appeared to depict minors under age 12 engaging in sexual acts, court records showed. The San Diego Union-Tribune, which first reported the case, said Liddy pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in federal court for the Southern District of California, and that he was placed on administrative leave by the attorney general’s office. An attorney for Liddy and a representative of the attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Court records showed Judge Jan Adler released Liddy on a $100,000 bond and sentenced him to house arrest. The investigation began in January after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received tips from an unnamed electronic service provider that a user had allegedly uploaded images of child pornography, court documents said. Helped by the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children multi-agency task force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, officials said they identified Liddy as the suspect in June. The deputy attorney general, who portrayed himself online as a 48-year-old married man with children, told investigators who visited him in July that he would talk about “sexual fantasies” with individuals on the internet, and that he often saved sexual images, according to court records. He told investigators he deleted those images afterward, but may also have forwarded some, court records showed. Numerous images depicting minors engaged in sexual acts were found on a computer and a thumb drive at his home, the records showed. Liddy is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Aug 8.

Ted Cruz Birth Certificate Spawns Questions About Illegitimate BirthOn January 17, Dallas News published a copy of Ted Cruz s birth certificate. The fact that the Republican presidential hopeful was born in Canada is really no big surprise to anyone who has been following the Trump/Cruz birther frenzy.While Cruz s Canadian birth is not a surprise, the fact that his mother is identified as Eleanor Wilson on the candidate s birth certificate, rather than Eleanor Cruz, is.According to Dallas News, Wilson was the name of Cruz s mother s first husband. The couple had been divorced for about seven years at the time Cruz was born.It gets even more interesting when you learn that the former Ms. Wilson gave birth to another child, Michael, approximately three years after her divorce and three before she supposedly married Ted s father, right-wing pastor Rafael Cruz.The baby s name was Michael Wilson. He later died from crib death.In his book, A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America, Cruz claimed his mother s divorce from Wilson took place in 1965, two years later than the actual date. He also claimed that Michael was born the same year, in 1965, and that the child s death was what ultimately led to the divorce.Unfortunately for Ted, Dallas News verified that the divorce took place in 1963 and that Michael Wilson was born and died in 1966.Dallas News contacted Eleanor Cruz s former husband, Alan Wilson, who was born in Forth Worth Texas, but has lived in London, England since the 1960 s.During the interview, Wilson said he was not Michael Cruz s father, and he only learned that his ex-wife had given birth by chance. We were divorced and she was living on her own, said Wilson. He said that Eleanor asked him if she could use his last name on the birth certificate. When Michael Wilson later died, he said, I hadn t even met the baby. Alan Wilson said by chance he and Eleanor Wilson were being treated in the same hospital when she was pregnant when a nurse told his his wife was there startling the Fort Worthian. I didn t know she was pregnant. We were definitely divorced. It s interesting that while Rafael and Eleanor Cruz are reported to have married in Texas in 1969, the year before Cruz was born, the state s online public records site does not show a record of the couple s marriage. The exact date of Cruz s parents marriage remain a mystery.The couple divorced in 1997.As the drama over whether Ted Cruz is eligible to run for president began to unfold this month, numerous documents have been published, including Eleanor Cruz s (maiden name Darragh) birth certificate, showing that she was born in the U.S. state of Delaware.In addition to his mother s birth certificate, Talking Points Memo and Breitbart (among other media outlets) also published Ms. Cruz s Canadian voting records. Those records tell us two things. First they tell us that Ms. Cruz was registered to vote in Canada in 1974, a right the country reserves only for legal citizens. Second, the record tell us that the candidate s mother used the name of her second husband, Rafael Cruz on her Canadian voting record.So leaves us to wonder why she used the name of her first husband on Ted Cruz s birth certificate, if indeed she was married to Rafael Cruz at the time Ted was born.None of this would be considered fair game if the candidate wasn t running for the position of God s appointed King of America. It wouldn t be fair game if Ted and Rafael Cruz had not made ridiculous and insulting statements about single mothers and unwed mothers. It would not be fair game if Ted Cruz had not appointed himself as a spiritual dictator to the masses.Most importantly, though, the birther movement that viciously attacked President Obama throughout his first term as president used the word illegitimate, as a matter of routine, when referring to the leader of our country.Ted Cruz spent a lot of time catering to the right-wing extremists who viciously attacked the leader our country.Apparently he never expected any of that to catch up to him.But now a lot of people are not only asking if Cruz is able to be a legitimate president, they re asking if Cruz is even the legitimate son of the religiously insane Rafael Cruz.Maybe Ted should have read that Bible he likes to wave around in front of the crowd. After all, it does warn that eventually you will reap what you sow. Featured image credit: Gage Skidmore, via Flckr cc 2.0

Trump Loses Support Of Police Union After Saying Tulsa Shooting Cop ‘Choked’ (VIDEO)While giving a speech at a church rally in Cleveland, Donald Trump confused everyone by actually siding with a victim of police brutality instead of law enforcement and it s gotten him in trouble with America s largest police union.In speaking to the rally goers in Cleveland, Trump strayed from his normal, pro-cop rhetoric to say a few unflattering words about Betty Shelby, the Tulsa police officer who shot an unarmed black man. Clearly worried about how horrendously his attempts to reach black voters have failed, Trump gave an unusually thoughtful response to a group of African American pastors, in which he suggested that Shelby had choked : Now, did she get scared? Was she choking? What happened? But maybe people like that, people that choke, people that do that, maybe they can t be doing what they re doing, okay? They can t be doing what they re doing.I watched the shooting in particular in Tulsa. And that man was hands up. That man went to the car, hands up, put his hand on the car. I mean, to me, it looked like he did everything you re supposed to do, and he looked like a really good man. Trump made these comments just five days after the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which has 330,000 members, endorsed him. But after hearing Trump criticize the Tulsa police officer, FOP executive director Jim Pasco is livid and thinks Trump s comments were inappropriate. Pasco said that Trump must be mindful of the due process rights and presumption of innocence accorded to all, including police officers. Now, no one should be proud or relieved that Trump finally decided to acknowledge police brutality victims he s been known to pander to whatever audience he is in front of at any given moment, and is notorious for flip-flopping almost instantly. This speech was easy for Trump to say in front of black pastors I doubt he would have dared to say this in front of a predominately white audience. Trump also knows he is struggling tremendously with the minority vote, which may very well determine this election. Trump will say whatever he needs to win but this time, he lost a major support group.Here s the clip that got Trump in trouble with the police union:Featured image via Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Trump gets one presidential intelligence briefing a week: sourcesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump is receiving an average of one presidential intelligence briefing a week, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, far fewer than most of his recent predecessors. Although they are not required to, presidents-elect have in the past generally welcomed the opportunity to receive the President’s Daily Brief (PDB), the most highly classified and closely held document in the government, on a regular basis. It was not immediately clear why Trump has decided not to receive the intelligence briefings available to President Barack Obama more frequently, or whether that has made any difference in his presidential preparations. An official on the transition team said on Thursday that Trump has been receiving national security briefings, including “routine” PDBs and other special briefings, but declined to specify their content or frequency, saying these matters were classified. Trump has asked for at least one briefing, and possibly more, from intelligence agencies on specific subjects, one of the officials said. The source declined to identify what subjects interested the president-elect, but said that so far they have not included Russia or Iran. Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president-elect, has been receiving his own PDB at least six days a week, the sources familiar with the matter said. Former Central Intelligence Agency briefer David Priess, the author of a book about PDBs, said that traditionally, Trump and Pence’s predecessors sat for “daily or near-daily intelligence briefings” between their elections and their inaugurations. He said Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan did not start receiving their daily briefings until later in November, while the delayed election result in 2000 meant that George W. Bush did not start receiving his until December. The briefings are not compulsory. Priess said that after his first election, Richard Nixon spurned face-to-face briefings, so paper PDBs were delivered to his office, only for a “stack” of them to be later returned to the CIA, unopened. Trump’s casual attitude to the briefings attracted criticism from Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “It is deeply disturbing that the president-elect has time for rallies but not for regular intelligence briefings,” Schiff said. During the run-up to the Nov. 8 presidential election, Trump and a handful of advisers received at least two briefings from intelligence officials about broad national security issues. However, the pre-election briefings did not include the kind of secrets that are included in the PDBs that Obama, Trump and Pence now have access to. Such secrets include information about U.S. espionage sources and covert operations overseas. PDBs are presented to presidents and their closest aides by representatives of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), though material in them is prepared by the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other parts of the U.S. intelligence community, the officials said. During and after the election campaign, Trump raised questions about the intelligence on hacking of U.S. political institutions. In a statement on Oct. 7, ODNI and the Department of Homeland Security expressed confidence that the Russian government had “directed” hacking into “emails from U.S. persons and institutions” that was “intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.” Trump, however, has repeatedly dismissed suggestions that Russia was behind the efforts, telling Time magazine earlier this week: “I don’t believe they interfered ... It could be Russia. It could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey.” (Corrects to say Iran, not France, in fifth paragraph)

HUMA ABEDIN MAKES COVERT Visit To Dearborn, Michigan – HOME Of Largest Muslim Population In USTo think that Huma Abedin had access to top secret State Department documents is frightening. She and her family have super shady connections to radical Muslim groups. It s interesting that the local Muslim community would have such a controversial person in to make an appearance in Michigan. The denial continues but the FACTS are there that prove Abedin had no business being an insider in the State Department or the White House! As revelations broke in recent weeks regarding her role in a radical Muslim journal laced with anti-gay and anti-female comments, Huma Abedin quietly slipped in to Michigan for a visit to Dearborn Dearborn has the largest population of Muslims in America.The radical Muslim journal also employed her Mother, and was funded by the Saudis According to the Arab American News: Huma Abedin, vice chair for the Hillary for America campaign, met with Arab and Muslim American leaders on Aug. 11, to discuss issues that matter to the community.Community representatives included heads of organizations, small business owners, doctors, lawyers and other professions. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) and the retired dean of Congress, John Dingell, were also present at the discussion at Habib s Cuisine.Abedin was joined by Farooq Mitha, national director of Muslim Outreach for Hillary for America.Abedin praised the Muslim and Arab American communities for their political engagement. She highlighted the contrasts between Clinton and Trump.She said the Republican nominee uses divisive and inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims to divide our country, while Clinton embraces the values and contributions immigrants make to our country.IF SHE S CALLING MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN divisive and inflammatory rhetoric then so be it! There is nothing wrong with making America safe from terrorists and those who don t hold our beliefs. Abedin praised the patriotism and heroism of Muslims across the country, including the Khan family, a Muslim Gold Star family whose son, Captain Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq while protecting his fellow service members.THE TRUTH ON THE KHAN FAMILY THAT HUMA ABEDIN CLAIMS EMBRACE OUR VALUES:HILLARY S KHAN MAN : Who Is KHIZR KHAN? The SHOCKING Truth About His Job, His Ties To Hillary, Saudi Arabia And The Muslim BrotherhoodAbedin also discussed ways to strengthen communities, including making college more affordable (WHO PAYS FOR THIS?) , ensuring small businesses have the resources and support needed to succeed and building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top (REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH DOESN T WORK! WE VE HAD 8 YEARS WITH OBAMA!).Abedin answered individual questions from the audience. Abedin s publication is full of controversial statements.According to the New York Post: Headlined Women s Rights Are Islamic Rights, a 1996 article argues that single moms, working moms and gay couples with children should not be recognized as families In a separate January 1996 article, Abedin s mother who was the Muslim World League s delegate to the UN conference wrote that Clinton and other speakers were advancing a very aggressive and radically feminist agenda that was un-Islamic and wrong because it focused on empowering women She seemed to rationalize domestic abuse as a result of the stress and frustrations that men encounter in their daily lives. While denouncing such violence, she didn t think it did much good to punish men for it. Via: WMP

OSCAR DISASTER: Wrong Best Picture Announced After Night Of Boring Political Speeches…Is The Death of Awards Shows Near? We Hope So! [Video]Could this be a little bit of KARMA coming back after the nasty comments about President Trump?

DOJ MONITORS PATRIOT GUN-RANGE OWNER Who Banned Muslims From Her Gun Range I will close my business before I will make any compromises that could jeopardize the safety and security of the members who shoot here. You can be certain the Feds are more concerned about those peaceful Muslims in America who want to kill me than they are about anything I might say or do that hurts the feelings of islamic (sic) terrorists. -Jan MorganOn Saturday, Breitbart.com s AWR Hawkins said the Department of Justice is monitoring Jan Morgan, the owner of Gun Cave Indoor Firing Range in Hot Springs, Arkansas, who banned Muslims from her business in 2014, citing safety concerns. But Morgan isn t backing down and told Examiner.com Saturday she would close her business before putting her clients safety at risk.The Washington Post said the monitoring is the result of demands by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Both groups demanded a federal investigation after Morgan declared her range to be a Muslim-Free Zone. CAIR and the ACLU argue that Morgan s Muslim-free policy violates the public accommodation provision of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Times said. But Morgan disagrees, saying her range is a private club with dues-paying members.The DOJ confirmed it was monitoring Morgan, the Times added. The agency, however, did not say if it has plans to launch an investigation. CAIR said it was pleased with the action. We welcome this positive development and hope it leads to a thorough investigation of clear violations of the civil rights of American Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim by the gun range owner, said CAIR s civil rights litigation director Jenifer Wicks. But Morgan told Examiner there is a huge difference between monitoring and investigating.In fact, she said at her website, she has been under the watchful eyes of federal law enforcement authorities for a long time as a result of years of death threats from Muslims. The threats, she added, began long before she owned the range. Now, she lives her daily life under a federal microscope. I have nothing to hide, she said. I have no secrets from the federal government. Last year, she added, FBI counter-terrorism agents met with her and said ISIS is in Arkansas. The agency feared I was going to be a target of opportunity, and I was directed to take EVERY SECURITY PRE-CAUTION necessary to protect my life and the lives of all people in my presence at all times, she wrote.Morgan said that like the French cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo, she has had her life threatened many times over her articles. She also acted upon the directive of the ATF to all FFL holders to err on the side of caution and not engage in any firearm transactions with anyone we suspect might use that firearm in the commission of a crime. So, CAIR and the ACLU, do you really think the idea of more monitoring of my daily life is somehow new or a threat to me in any way? she asked on Facebook. Of course the feds are monitoring me, she added. You can be certain the Feds are more concerned about those peaceful Muslims in America who want to kill me than they are about anything I might say or do that hurts the feelings of islamic (sic) terrorists. Morgan told Examiner she is prepared to deal with a federal investigation should one be launched against her. I was prepared to fight this from day one, she said.The bottom line, she added, is this: I will close my business before I will make any compromises that could jeopardize the safety and security of the members who shoot here. On her site, Morgan said she will continue to follow the advise of two agencies within the DOJ to protect and defend my own life, as well as the lives of innocent American citizens in my presence, from any and all threats of violence connected to, and or associated with any and all terrorist organizations. Anything less, she added, would be irresponsible, reckless, and life threatening. Via: Joe Newby, The Examiner

Indian police arrest suspected cow vigilantes after Muslim killedNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police have arrested two Hindu farmers in connection with the killing of a Muslim man suspected of smuggling cows to a slaughter house, the investigating officer said on Wednesday. Hardline Hindu groups have gained prominence since Prime Minister Narendra Modi s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, and the protection of cows, considered holy by many in the Hindu-majority country, is a priority for them. Police found the body of Ummar Khan, 35 on Friday on railway tracks in Alwar district, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. The two suspects were detained on Monday and arrested the next day, said Rahul Prakash, the top police officer in Alwar. It is a clear case of murder over the issue of cow protection and we have also found that the victim was running a cow-smuggling racket, Prakash said. Khan and two accomplices were using a stolen vehicle to transport five cows when they were attacked by six members of a self-styled cow protection force, he said. Both sides were carrying guns and were shooting at each other. Khan was shot dead and his body was thrown onto the railway track, Prakash said. Cow slaughter is illegal in most of India. Gau rakshaks , or cow vigilantes, run a loosely organized movement that they say is meant to prevent cattle smuggling, with tactics that include highway ambushes. Modi has called for more to be done to prevent such attacks on people accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows. This year, a Muslim farmer died from injuries sustained during an assault by a mob in Alwar, about 180 km (100 miles) southwest of New Delhi, when he was taking cows to his home. Khan s wife, Khurdisan, denied that her husband and been leading any cows to slaughter. She accused members of a right-wing Hindu group affiliated to Modi s party of the murder. He was bringing the cows home for their milk, not for their meat. I want the government to protect me and my children, she was quoted as saying by Hindi-language Rajasthan Patrika newspaper.

China says has made best effort on North Korea ahead of Trump visitBEIJING (Reuters) - A senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday China has made its best efforts to resolve issues on the Korean peninsula, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump s state visit to Beijing next week when he is expected to press China to do more on North Korea. Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said the North Korean nuclear issue would be an important topic up for discussion at the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump. China firmly opposes conflict on the Korean peninsula and believes using force is not the correct way to resolve the issue, Zheng told reporters at a briefing in Beijing. China and the United States have a shared interest in peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, Zheng said.

Ex-CIA chief: Worries grew of Trump campaign contacts to RussiaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former CIA director John Brennan said on Tuesday he had noticed contacts between associates of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia during the 2016 election and grew concerned Moscow had sought to lure Americans down “a treasonous path.” Brennan, who headed the agency until Trump became president in January, also told a congressional hearing that he personally warned the head of Russia’s FSB security service in a phone call last August that meddling in the election would hurt relations with the United States. Separately, the top U.S. intelligence official, Dan Coats, sidestepped a question on a Washington Post report that Trump had asked him and the National Security Agency chief to help him knock down the notion there was evidence of such collusion. But Coats did say he has made clear to Trump’s administration that “any political shaping” of intelligence would be inappropriate. The comments by Brennan and Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, added fuel to a controversy that has engulfed Trump since he fired FBI Director James Comey two weeks ago amid the agency’s investigation into possible collusion between people associated with his presidential campaign and Russia. “I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign,” Brennan’s said in testimony to the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. Brennan said that he cannot say definitively there was actual collusion. Brennan’s testimony was the first public confirmation of the worry at high levels of the U.S. government last year over suspicious contacts between Trump campaign associates and Moscow. It was also the most complete account to date of the CIA’s thinking at a time when intelligence agencies were putting together evidence that Russia was interfering in the heated U.S. presidential race to help businessman Trump, a Republican, defeat Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton. Comey was heading the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into Russian interference and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign, leading to accusations by Trump critics that he has sought to curtail the FBI inquiry. In another development, Trump has retained Marc Kasowitz, a New York-based trial lawyer who has represented Trump in the past, as his private attorney for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Russia matter, a Fox Business Network reporter said on Twitter. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in January that Moscow tried to tilt the election campaign in Trump’s favor, including by hacking into the emails of senior Democrats. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegation. Trump has denied any collusion but the FBI and congressional probes into the Russia matter have dogged the early months of his presidency. “It should be clear to everyone Russia brazenly interfered in our 2016 presidential election process and that they undertook these activities despite our strong protests and explicit warning that they do not do so,” Brennan said. Brennan said he worried that Russians tried to recruit Americans during the presidential campaign to work for Moscow. Brennan said it was possible for someone to be helpful to the Russian cause without realizing it. “They (the Russians) try to suborn individuals and they try to get individuals, including U.S. persons, to act on their behalf either wittingly or unwittingly,” he said, adding that “individuals going on a treasonous path often do not realize it until it is too late.” Republican Representative Trey Gowdy asked Brennan: “Did you see evidence of collusion, coordination and conspiracy between Donald Trump and Russian state actors?” “I saw information and intelligence that was worthy of investigation by the bureau (FBI) to determine whether or not such cooperation or collusion was taking place,” Brennan replied, but declined to elaborate. Reuters reported last week that Trump’s fired former national security adviser Michael Flynn and other advisers to Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the presidential race. Flynn was forced out in February for failing to disclose the content of his talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. Brennan said he believed he was the first U.S. official to raise the matter of election interference with the Russians, citing an Aug. 4, 2016 phone call he had with the head of Russia’s FSB, Alexander Bortnikov. He said he raised media reports of Russian attempts to meddle in the election with Bortnikov, who denied any involvement by Moscow, and told him if Russia pursued this course it would destroy prospects for improved U.S.-Russia relations. Trump’s public approval ratings dropped to a new low in Reuters/Ipsos poll data released on Tuesday, with 37 percent of U.S. adults surveyed approving of the president while 57 percent disapproving. Support for Trump appears to have dropped among Americans of all political stripes. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Coats sidestepped questions about a Washington Post report that Trump had asked Coats and Admiral Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, to help him knock down the notion that there was evidence of such collusion. But Coats did not deny Trump had made such a request. Coats said that “I don’t feel it’s appropriate to characterize discussions and conversations with the president.” The Post reported Coats and Rogers declined the request. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told Coats that the fact he had not denied the Post report should lead to “even more intensive investigation of the alleged effort by the president to enlist you in shutting down, or stifling that investigation.” “This evidence, if true, goes to criminal intent and constitutes mounting evidence of obstruction of justice,” Blumenthal added. The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said they will subpoena two of Flynn’s businesses after he declined to comply with a subpoena for documents in the panel’s Russia probe.

U.S. takes North Korea threat of H-bomb test seriously, Trump official saysWASHINGTON (Reuters) - It would be a “game-changer” if North Korea conducts a hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific and the United States is taking the threat seriously, but it does not give “too much credence” to Pyongyang taking such action, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. “There’s a certain amount of bluster that’s taken for granted when you’re dealing with North Korea,” the Trump administration official told Reuters. The official added, however, that “we have to some extent take it seriously.” The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were questions whether North Korea had the capabilities to conduct such a test but declined to specify how the United States would respond. “It would be a game-changer in some sense,” the official said. “But I don’t think we should give too much credence to it at the moment.”

UNBELIEVABLE! OBAMA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS MOST CHARLOTTE RIOTERS WERE “PEACEFUL” PROTESTERS…In Her Home State Of North Carolina [VIDEO] Now, most of the demonstrators gathered last night were exercising their constitutional and protected right to peaceful protest in order to raise issues and create change. Loretta Lynch aka Eric Holder in a skirt

Brazil's Lula says party may field someone else in 2018PENEDO, Brazil (Reuters) - Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters on Wednesday that his recent conviction for corruption might mean that his Workers Party will have to field a candidate other than him in next year s election. In an interview during a marathon bus tour through Brazil s impoverished northeastern states, Lula said the Brazilian government should spend its way out of its worst recession on record and even use some of its international reserves instead of cutting government programs that hurt the poor. Lula s 2003-11 government lifted millions from poverty and polls show he is still one of Brazil s most popular politicians. However, his political future hangs in the balance after he was convicted last month of receiving bribes from a construction firm in return for help winning government contracts. If that conviction is upheld on appeal, Lula will likely be barred from running and could be imprisoned. I know my enemies want to block any possibility of me being a candidate and I am fighting that, Lula, 71, told Reuters in a hotel room where he complained that his arms hurt from physically embracing thousands of supporters who have turned out at every stop of his tour. But nobody is irreplaceable, he added. If there is any problem, the Workers Party has to be able to launch another candidate. A possible stand-in is the former mayor of Sao Paulo, Fernando Haddad, who gained national prominence as education minister under Lula and extended university access to poorer Brazilians. Brazil s real currency extended gains on the news that Lula was contemplating his own replacement, firming more than 1.2 percent to its strongest in more than two weeks. Traders said the prospect of a 2018 race without Lula reinforced bets on Brazil sticking to fiscal austerity and pursuing structural reforms. Lula s gravelly voice has lost strength after he beat throat cancer five years ago, but his fiery speeches have lost none of their power to rally audiences with populist criticism of Brazil s elites. Corruption accusations and the impeachment of Lula s hand-picked successor Dilma Rousseff, who was ousted due to budget irregularities in 2016, caused many members to quit the party last year and led to major setbacks in local elections. Lula said members who left have not joined other parties and, with corruption scandals entangling most of Brazil s political class, they are still undecided, so the Workers Party is hoping to win them back. His three-week, 4,000-kilometer (2,500-mile) tour of a region that greatly benefited from his social programs aims to reconnect his party with its working class base and rebuild what is still Latin America s largest left-wing party. Polls show Lula would handily win the first round of a presidential election but he is in a statistical tie with his former Environment Minister Marina Silva, no relation despite the last name, largely because Lula has a 46-percent rejection rate, the highest among likely contenders. Lula sharply criticized President Michel Temer for privatizing state assets to try to plug a record budget deficit that cost Brazil its investment-grade credit rating two years ago. Temer s ministers blame the fiscal crisis on excessive public spending by Lula and Rousseff. Lula said Temer s spending cuts were the wrong way to pull Brazil from its worst recession on record. He would expand public investment, even if it meant increasing government debt at first, to restart the economy and recover tax revenues. Honestly, I would use some of the international reserves, and money from bank reserves, to make Brazil grow again, he said. Lula said Temer s market-friendly government did not have the courage to raise taxes and make wealthy Brazilians contribute more to government finances. Instead, the government is selling state companies, such as power utility Eletrobras. When there is nothing left to sell, they will sell their souls to the devil, he quipped.

Jon Stewart Brilliantly Reveals Trump’s MAJOR Character Flaw, And It’s SO True (VIDEO)Jon Stewart may not be routinely commenting on America s politics anymore, but he certainly hasn t stepped away from the spotlight. Last night, Stewart took a break from his personal projects to hijack Stephen Colbert s The Late Show, where he couldn t resist weighing in on Donald Trump.During the show, Stewart nailed a personality trait of Trump s that shows just how untrustworthy Trump is. While it s well known that Trump lies through his teeth every chance he gets (he was also proven to be the most dishonest presidential candidate last year), there s one behavior of Trump s that gives it all away and Stewart pointed this out perfectly. Mocking one of Trump s most obvious speech patterns, Stewart said: Nobody says believe me unless they are lying. He elaborated: Trump lies more in one press conference than CNN does in a year. And this is coming from a guy, who as you know, hates CNN. Stewart also had some equally harsh words for the media, and advised the press that it should get its groove back and stop latching onto Trump s every attack. Stewart said to the media: Let s face facts. You kind of let yourself go a little bit these past few years, put on a few pundits, obsessing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, about this one guy: What s Donnie up to? Did he say anything about us? You think he s gonna come on our show?' Stewart compared the behavior between Trump and the media to a bad breakup, and suggested that it was an opportunity for improvement. Stewart said, Take up a hobby. I recommend journalism! Colbert asked Stewart if he felt the press would actually do some self-reflection and improve, and Stewart joked, I really do believe me. You can watch Stewart weigh in on Trump and the media below: Featured image via screenshots

Clinton: 'I will be there' for presidential debatesASHLAND, Ohio (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told reporters on Sunday that she will attend the three debates set up ahead of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. “I will be there,” Clinton said, responding to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s complaints that the debates schedule conflicts with televised National Football League games. (This version of the story corrects the dateline to ASHLAND, Ohio, instead of CLEVELAND HEIGHTS)

Egyptian Muslim leader rejects meeting with U.S. Pence over Jerusalem: statementCAIRO (Reuters) - One of Egypt s top Muslim leaders, the Imam of Al Azhar mosque, rejected a meeting requested by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in protest against a U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital, Al Azhar said in a statement on Friday. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb had rejected a request from the United States for Pence to meet him on Dec. 20 at Al Azhar saying President Donald Trump must reverse his decision on Jerusalem.

Utah Republicans defend Romney after Bannon's 'Mormon' jabWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Utah Republicans on Wednesday rallied around Mitt Romney, their party’s former presidential nominee, a day after former senior White House aide Steve Bannon accused him of having used his Mormon religion to avoid military service. Bannon’s attack on Romney’s character came in a fiery speech in Alabama where the former chief strategist for President Donald Trump was campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. “You avoided service, brother ... you hid behind your religion,” Bannon said at the rally, adding that Romney’s sons had also not served in the military and pointing to Moore’s service during the Vietnam War. The war of words was the latest episode highlighting the schism in the Republican party between establishment conservatives and the rise of Trump and his one-time strategist Bannon. Romney, 70, a former governor of Massachusetts who later moved to Utah, has mulled a run for the seat of Utah Republican U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, 83, who is deciding whether to retire. Hatch was among Utah Republicans who came to Romney’s defense. “Bannon’s attacks ... are disappointing and unjustified,” said Hatch, a fellow Mormon like many in the state. Utah Governor Gary Herbert, in a tweet, praised Romney and his family as honorable and said “Utahns reject the ugly politics and tactics of @SteveKBannon. #stayout.” “You can’t credibly call into question his patriotism or moral character—especially on the basis of his religious beliefs or his outstanding service as a missionary,” U.S. Senator Mike Lee also said, calling Romney “a good man.” Romney, who lost the 2012 election to Democratic former president Barack Obama, has been a vocal critic of Trump as well as Bannon’s politics. Trump has fired back and criticized Romney’s failed presidential run. Tensions between Trump and Romney have lingered even though Trump once considered him for secretary of state. On Monday, Trump told reporters he wanted Hatch to seek re-election. A day later, he called Romney, according to White House officials. “It was a good and positive conversation,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. A source close to Romney confirmed the conversation, describing it as “a courtesy call.”

Death of Australian Hughes ruled 'tragic accident'SYDNEY (Reuters) - The death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes was a ‘tragic accident’ and not as a result of a failure to enforce the rules of the game or inadequate safety equipment, the New South Wales (NSW) Coroner’s Court ruled on Friday. Hughes was hit on the back of the neck by a rising delivery when playing for South Australia in a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Nov. 25, 2014. He died two days later in a Sydney hospital. After reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine whether the 25-year-old’s death could have been avoided, NSW State Coroner Michael Barnes said he could find no evidence to support the view of Hughes’ family that he had died in a “very unsafe workplace”. “The family’s grief at losing their much loved son and brother was exacerbated by their belief that unfair play had contributed to his death,” said Barnes. “It is hoped that they accept the compelling evidence that the rules were complied with. Phillip was excelling at the crease as he so often did and that his death was a tragic accident.” The helmet worn by Hughes came under the spotlight following his death, though the NSW Coroner said the batsman’s death could not have been avoided by wearing different protective equipment. Australia’s cricket board in May made it compulsory for players to wear helmets when facing fast and medium-paced bowling in line with recommendations from a review into the death of Hughes. The family had been angered that Hughes had been subjected to threatening language from an opponent and had suffered a sustained spell of aggressive short-pitched bowling that contravened the rules of the game. Barnes accepted Hughes had received a barrage of short-pitch blowing, but all of which fell within the rules of the game. The court said it was unable to rule on whether Hughes had been subjected to threatening language, though Barnes said it was implausible that no “sledging” had occurred at all during the day. “Hopefully, the focus on this unsavoury aspect of the incident may cause those who claim to love the game to reflect upon whether the practice of sledging is worthy of its participants,” said Barnes. “An outsider is left to wonder why such a beautiful game would need such an ugly underside.”

Russia sets out why it thinks U.N. wrongly accused Syria over sarin attackMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday set out why it disputed U.N. and Western allegations that the Syrian government had been behind a deadly chemical attack on the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in April that killed dozens. A report sent to the United Nations Security Council last week concluded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad s government was responsible for the attack, which prompted a U.S. missile strike against a Syrian air base. Russia, whose air force and special forces have been supporting the Syrian army, said at the time there was no evidence to show Damascus was responsible and the chemicals that killed civilians belonged to rebels, not Assad s government. On Thursday, with the aid of maps, satellite footage and charts, Moscow set out why it believed the Syrian government had been unfairly maligned. A Russian Defence Ministry official told a media briefing that the Syrian Su-22 jet accused of dropping the chemical bomb was not physically close enough to the attack site to have been involved. Thus, I believe the information provided cannot confirm the use of chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun in the form of an aviation bomb dropped from a Syrian Air Force Su-22 jet, the RIA news agency quoted the official, whom it did not name, as saying. Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry s Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, told the same briefing that U.S. accusations that Russia had encouraged the use of chemical weapons in Syria were ungrounded, RIA reported. It was hysteria and a completely open attempt to discredit Russia with rather primitive dirty means, Ulyanov was quoted as saying. The White House on Wednesday admonished Russia after it vetoed a United Nations plan to continue its ongoing investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons during the country s more than six-year civil war.

WATCH: President Obama Absolutely PUMMELS The GOP On Fox NewsThe Republican Party has been a thorn in the side of the president since he took office. They have challenged his policies at almost every corner and at times just for the sake of it, thus preventing the country from running smoothly. Even now, as the president is close to the end of his final term, the GOP is not letting up. In their latest attempt at obstructionism, the Republican Party is attempting to scuttle the president s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. President Barack Obama appeared on Fox News Sunday for the first time as president and had a few things to say about Republican obstructionism.Watch video here:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHqWf81IbDA]The president wants the GOP to simply do one thing, which is to give Judge Merrick Garland a hearing in order for the American people to be given an opportunity to see what his nominee is all about. The president said: I think that people will evolve as they get familiar with Judge Garland s record, as it becomes apparent that the overwhelming majority of the American people think that the president should nominate someone to the Supreme Court and the Senate should now do its constitutional job and give him a hearing Our goal is to just make sure that the senate does its job and treats him fairly. The Republicans want the next president to nominate a justice to the Supreme Court, hoping that a Republican president would appoint a conservative justice. The president went on to add that never has a Republican nominee for the Supreme Court not at least had a hearing. Yet, here are the Republicans yet again scuttling by preventing the president from doing his job and not doing their constitutional duties as well.The Republicans continue to obstruct but let s hope that they remain on the sidelines come November and we don t have to deal with a GOP presidential administration. Featured image via video screenshot.

JESUS CHRIST IS STRIPPED From Christmas Celebrations In U.S. Schools, While MN Public School Students Sing “Allahu Akbar” At “Holiday” ConcertDoes that mean Islam is not considered a faith in America?A school in Minnesota is at the center of controversy right now because the holiday concert included a song in Arabic which contained the phrase Allahu Akbar.CBS News reported:Parents Question Choice To Sing Allahu Akbar At Holiday ConcertSome parents in the Anoka-Hennepin School District are questioning a choir teacher s decision to use a song about Ramadan performed in Arabic at a holiday concert.At Thursday night s concert at Blaine High School, one of the songs students will be singing includes Arabic words, including the phrase Allahu Akbar, which means God is great. Christian and Jewish songs will be performed as well, but the Ramadan song is getting all the attention.It started with a post on Facebook. A parent of a ninth-grade Blaine choir student posted the lyrics to the song the choir has been practicing. When others learned students would be singing the song on Thursday, the comments took a turn.One person posted, No child should be forced to sing a song about the Muslims and the religion of hatred. Another parent, who didn t want to be identified, told WCCO phone that considering the recent events in Paris and San Bernardino, singing a song about Allah would be insensitive. The Anoka- Hennepin School District said they have received about a dozen complaints about the song. Some are from parents, some are from people not even affiliated with the school.In light of recent events. this was a pretty dumb move on the school s part. Via: Progressives Today

HILARIOUS! Paul Joseph Watson DESTROYS Media For Bullsh*t Russian Collusion Propaganda [VIDEO]Paul Joseph Watson nails it again. In the video below, Watson does a brilliant job of exposing the hypocrisy of the media and why they are not to be believed or trusted when it comes to offering actual news without a nauseating leftist bias.From Ned Ryan of Fox News You may have heard of the scandal brewing in Washington. Presidential advisers cutting sweetheart deals with a foreign power, signing million dollar lobbying contracts with that foreign power, bribes being proffered, and the foreign government gained unprecedented access to government agencies and crucial U.S. natural resources? And what if I told you that foreign power was Russia?Collusion you say? Perhaps. Collusion with Trump? Nope.I m talking about a news story that fittingly is coming back from the dead just before Halloween to scare a lot of Democrats, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Obama administration officials. If you want to take a deeper dive on this issue, read the book Clinton Cash, by Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute. But here are the basics.A decade ago, a long-time Clinton Foundation donor, Frank Giustra, sold his uranium company to another firm, Uranium One. With that deal, Uranium One now owned uranium mines in the western U.S., including Wyoming, with about 20 percent of U.S. uranium production capacity, and about ten percent of the actual uranium mined in the U.S.In 2009, Rosatom, Russia s nuclear agency, took a 17-percent position in Uranium One. A year later, in the summer of 2010, Rosatom bought majority control of the Uranium One, effectively giving the Russian government-controlled entity proprietary access to one-fifth of the U.S. uranium supply.And then there s that whole phony Trump-Russian dossier story Watch, as Paul Joseph Watson DESTROYS the liberal media for force-feeding their viewers with 24/7 phony Trump-Russian coverage, without having so much as ONE actual identifiable or legitimate source to back up their assertions. But when ACTUAL evidence is put forth about REAL collusion with the Russians by Hillary Clinton and the DNC for the purposes of affecting the outcome of the election, the media goes silent.Enjoy:

Trump intelligence nominee supports probes on Russian interferenceWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the director of national intelligence pledged on Tuesday to support thorough investigation of any Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, seeking to reassure lawmakers worried that partisan politics might interfere with a probe. “I think this is something that needs to be investigated and addressed,” former Republican Senator Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee during his confirmation hearing to be the top U.S. intelligence official. Coats, 73, a former member of the intelligence panel, also promised that it would have full access to all of the documents and other materials needed for an investigation. “I have no intention of holding anything back from this committee,” Coats said. Trump denounced intelligence agencies for their assessment that Russia sought to influence the election on his behalf, prompting concerns about his support for them. Trump has also repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading some in Washington worry that he might not take a hard enough line in dealings with Moscow. In his opening statement, Coats addressed that concern by listing activity by Russia, along with that of China and North Korea, as among the main challenges faced by the United States. “Russia’s assertiveness in global affairs is something I look upon with great concern, which we need to address with eyes wide open and a healthy degree of skepticism,” Coats said. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to oversee all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies and improve communications among them. One concern about Coats was his record on the U.S. use after the 2001 attacks of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, which are widely seen as torture. In 2015, he was one of the few lawmakers who opposed legislation sponsored by Republican Senator John McCain that made the use of such techniques illegal. Coats promised that he would follow the law, saying he voted against that legislation because he wanted “to at least have a discussion” about the best way to proceed if intelligence agencies wanted to obtain crucial information quickly. Coats also strongly defended U.S. government surveillance programs, though he said he would “do everything I can” to publicly disclose an estimate of the number of Americans caught in the crosshairs of internet surveillance programs intended to target foreigners. But he stopped short of guaranteeing such a disclosure, which privacy advocates in Congress have requested for years and said is necessary to properly debate possible reforms to a surveillance law that expires at the end of 2017. Although he was ambassador to Germany under President George W. Bush, Coats would be the first director of national intelligence who has not spent most of his career in the military, in intelligence agencies or as a diplomat. Coats, who is popular with Democrats and his fellow Republicans, is expected to be easily confirmed.

Philippine rebels, hostages remain in Marawi, fight continues: armyMANILA (Reuters) - About 30 Islamist rebels holding an estimated 20 hostages remain in Marawi City and military operations continue, an army spokesman said on Tuesday, despite President Rodrigo Duterte s earlier declaration that the southern city had been liberated. The declaration of the president hopefully gives way for the entry and start of rehabilitation, reconstruction and rebuilding of Marawi from the ashes, military spokesman Restituto Padilla told news channel ANC. The fight for the remaining ground forces continues. The military was uncertain whether Malaysian operative Mahmud Ahmad was still in the city but he was not known for his skills as a fighter and was therefore not a threat, Padilla said.

Kurds ready to pay any price for freedom, Barzani says, sticking by independence voteERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani said on Friday that Iraq s Kurds were ready to pay any price for freedom , rejecting international pressure to call off the referendum on independence planned for Monday in northern Iraq. Addressing a rally in support of the vote in Erbil, the seat of the KRG, Barzani reacted to a United Nations Security Council statement that expressed on Wednesday concern over the potential destabilizing impact of the vote on Iraq.

MOTHER OF 7 YR OLD CHARGED WITH “Endangerment” For Allowing Child To Play In Park Across Street From Home Unsupervised For An HourBecause the government knows best when it comes to raising your children or something like that.A Maine mother faces child endangerment charges for allowing her daughter to play at the park across the street from her house without her constant supervision.Nicole Jensen told WMTW she often allows her three children to play at the park a few hundred feet from her house and parents in the neighborhood make a coordinated effort to watch each other s children. She watches from her front porch.But when Jensen s 7-year-old daughter was playing in the park by herself last week, someone at the park called 911 to report she was unattended and police intervened.But instead of simply walking the child home, police tried unsuccessfully to call Jensen, then hauled the girl to the police station when the mother didn t immediately answer her phone, according to the Personal Liberty blog.Jensen said she requires her children to check in every hour when they re playing outside, but police chastised the mother for not keeping closer tabs and insinuated the girl was in danger at the park. They said, Do you know where your daughter is? and I said, Yes, and they said, Well no you don t. She s at the police station, Jensen recalled. (The officer) said she was at the park unsupervised, no one know where she was, and if I hadn t gotten a hold of you, I would have taken her into (the Department of Health and Human Services). Westbrook Police Chief Janie Roberts told the news site she estimated the girl was at the park for about an hour before she was detained. That s a long time for a 7-year-old to be by herself in any location, let alone a public park, Roberts said.Police eventually charged Jensen with child endangerment. They brought her to the police station when her house is right there, Jensen said, according to Personal Liberty. She did nothing wrong, she said. She s followed all of my rules. Jensen told WMTW her daughter was terrified by the ordeal, and she plans to fight the child endangerment charge. She ll also have to deal with DHHS, as police referred her case to that department, as well.Via: EAG News

STUNNING GRAPHIC Of Obama’s Legacy That Every Democrat Should SeeThe Democrats doubled down on moving to the left and distanced themselves from the middle class. The results are below the people aren t buying what they re selling.

UK police arrest three in Wales over London train bomb attackNEWPORT, Wales (Reuters) - British police arrested three men in south Wales over last week s bombing of a busy commuter train in west London, meaning five people are now being questioned by detectives over the attack which injured 30 people. A 25-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday evening in Newport, while two others, aged 48 and 30, were detained at another address in the Welsh town in the early hours of Wednesday, London police said. This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place since the attack on Friday, said Commander Dean Haydon, head of London police s Counter Terrorism Command. We now have five men in custody and searches are continuing at four addresses. Detectives are carrying out extensive inquiries to determine the full facts behind the attack. The home-made bomb went off on Friday during the morning rush hour on a packed train at Parsons Green underground station, engulfing the carriage in flames, although it appeared that the device did not fully explode. In the aftermath, the authorities raised Britain s threat level to its highest rank of critical, meaning an attack was considered imminent, but lowered this after arresting two men on Saturday. An 18-year-old was arrested in the departure lounge at the port of Dover on Saturday and another suspect, 21, was detained hours later in the west London suburb of Hounslow. Both were said by local media to have links to a property in Sunbury-on-Thames, a town just outside London, where police were carrying out a major search. The house belongs to a couple who have fostered hundreds of children, including refugees. The leader of the local authority was quoted as saying the 18-year-old was an Iraqi who had come to Britain as an orphan. Islamic State militants said they were responsible for the attack although both British and U.S. officials have cast doubt on the claim, saying there was no evidence any recognized militant group had ordered or organized the bombing. Friday s bombing was the fifth major attack regarded by authorities as a terrorist incident in Britain this year which have claimed the lives of 36 people.

Factbox: Eyes on U.S. terrorism watchlists after Orlando shootings(Reuters) - As facts emerge about Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, questions have arisen about how well-known he was to U.S. intelligence agencies. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Monday that Mateen was on a watchlist between May 2013 and March 2014 while he was under investigation after claiming a connection to or support for multiple Islamist extremist groups, including al Qaeda, Hezbollah, al-Nusra and Islamic State. The FBI maintains three watchlists and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence runs one database. People are placed on a watchlist according to the threat level they are believed to pose. Comey did not specify which watchlist named Mateen. Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton has supported stricter gun laws and said on Monday she would push for laws that would prevent people on a no-fly list from buying guns. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has embraced gun rights, said he would meet with the leading U.S. gun rights group about preventing people on a government watchlist from buying guns. The U.S. government maintains the following databases: Terrorist Watchlist or Terrorist Screening Database (about 420,000 names): Established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Terrorist Watchlist is intended “to positively identify known or suspected terrorists trying to obtain visas, enter the U.S, board aircraft, or engage in other activity.” Prior to 2001, intelligence agencies maintained dozens of individual lists. The Terrorist Watchlist is run by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center with the goal of consolidating the U.S. government’s watchlists into a single database. No-Fly List (about 16,000 names): A subset of the Terrorist Screening Database, the No-Fly List prohibits people known or suspected of terrorism from boarding a plane that departs from or arrives in the United States.   Selectee List (about 16,000 names): A subset of the Terrorist Watchlist, the Selectee List includes individuals who are permitted to fly, but receive more intensive screening. In addition to the thousands of records updated daily from federal, state and local law enforcement, the Selectee List provides an additional level of screening for individuals thought to present a greater threat. Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, database (about 1.1 million names): Run by the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the Office of the National Director of Intelligence, the TIDE Database shares information with the FBI’s watchlists. As of December 2013, it contained about 1.1 million people, about 25,000 of them U.S. citizens. Unlike the FBI’s database, TIDE is viewable only by counterterrorism professionals in the U.S. intelligence community and is not shared with local law enforcement. Federal agencies propose people for inclusion on the TIDE database based on an evaluation of the threat they pose. Reasons someone may be added to the TIDE database include committing terrorist activity, preparing or planning a terrorist activity or providing support, such as funds or housing, for a terrorist organization.

Trump Makes An Absolute FOOL Of Himself On April Fool’s Day; Americans OutragedHis accusation that President Obama wiretapped him has been thoroughly debunked but Donald Trump attacked NBC anchor Chuck Todd for not covering the fake story.Last month, Trump posted a series of tweets openly accusing President Obama of wiretapping him.Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017Is it legal for a sitting President to be wire tapping a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017Trump s accusation set off a firestorm around the country because Trump literally accused a former president of a felony.As it turns out, Trump s accusation was totally wrong. FBI Director James Comey dropped a bombshell on Trump s claim by stating under oath that there was no such wiretap. Furthermore, when given a deadline to provide evidence to Congress supporting Trump s claim, the Justice Department didn t deliver because there is no such evidence.Trump s claim was merely meant to distract Congress and the media from focusing on the growing Russia scandal.NBC anchor Chuck Todd was not distracted by Trump, and that s why Trump attacked Todd on Saturday and repeated his accusation against President Obama in yet another embarrassing rant on Twitter.When will Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd and @NBCNews start talking about the Obama SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL and stop with the Fake Trump/Russia story? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2017It is the same Fake News Media that said there is no path to victory for Trump that is now pushing the phony Russia story. A total scam! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2017Again, Trump is falsely accusing President Obama of wiretapping him even though the claim has been debunked by high level authorities. Also, Comey told Congress that the FBI is investigating Trump for colluding with Russia during the 2016 Election.And the evidence against Trump continues to pile up. Even disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is asking for an immunity deal. His testimony could blow the lid off the Russia scandal and put Trump behind bars for high treason.Thus far, Todd has not responded to Trump s attack, but Twitter did it for him.@realDonaldTrump @NBCNews I love how the president calls people names. You should reassess your life and learn to be an adult & do your job. Mike P Williams (@Mike_P_Williams) April 1, 2017@realDonaldTrump @NBCNews If this is your idea of an April Fool joke, you re the fool. There is NO surveillance scandal (ask the FBI) and #TrumpRussia is very real Jack Schofield (@jackschofield) April 1, 2017@realDonaldTrump @NBCNews So the dead Russians who have connections to you and Putin is all just a coincidence right? Brandon Neely (@BrandonTXNeely) April 1, 2017@realDonaldTrump @NBCNews The only scandal around Obama surveillance is the fact that you invented it, and @DevinNunes traded his credibility to falsely support it. Tom Bonier (@tbonier) April 1, 2017@realDonaldTrump @NBCNews Your behavior is that of a guilty man. Rob Taub (@robmtaub) April 1, 2017@realDonaldTrump @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/YPCuRCoxxa JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) April 1, 2017Featured Image: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

Senate inches toward possible gun control actionWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A long-running battle over gun control in the United States reaches a critical stage next week in the U.S. Senate amid signs Americans are more willing to accept limited restrictions after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. While it is far from likely new measures will pass, the Orlando, Florida, gay nightclub massacre of 49 people and a suggestion by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that something be done have fostered a different atmosphere. While President Barack Obama was in Orlando consoling the survivors of the rampage by a gunman who claimed allegiance to Islamic State militants, the U.S. Senate moved closer to votes on limited gun control measures. About 71 percent of Americans, including eight out of 10 Democrats and nearly six out of 10 Republicans, favor at least moderate regulations and restrictions on guns, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Monday to Thursday. That was up from 60 percent in late 2013 and late 2014. As always, Democrats were challenging Republicans to vote for new restrictions and reject pressure from the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby that has been known to punish politicians who thwart its will. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and fellow Democrats set the U.S. Capitol abuzz by talking on the Senate floor for nearly 15 straight hours to demand that Congress act on gun control. They ended their speeches before dawn, citing a Republican pledge to hold votes soon on measures to expand background checks on gun buyers and to prevent people on U.S. terrorism watch lists from buying guns. The Senate is expected to vote on Monday on four proposals. One from Democrat Dianne Feinstein would let the government prevent terrorist suspects from buying guns. A second from Republican John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, would require court approval within three days for a government ban on an individual’s attempt to buy a gun. Democrats have said Cornyn’s plan is unworkable; Republicans say Feinstein’s might harm the rights of people wrongly on terror suspect lists. A third proposal, from Democrat Murphy, would expand background check procedures to the sales of all firearms, including those online and at gun shows. A fourth proposal, from Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, would provide for law enforcement to be notified if a person investigated for terrorism in the last five years tries to buy a gun. Gun control is a potent issue in U.S. politics. Republicans, who control the Senate, have blocked Democratic-backed gun control measures over the years, saying they infringe on the right to bear arms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Any bill would have to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president to become law. At his weekly news conference on Thursday, Paul Ryan, speaker of the House of Representatives, injected a note of caution. “We don’t take away a citizen’s rights without due process,” said Ryan, the top U.S. elected Republican. “If you have a quick idea in the heat of the moment that says let’s take away a person’s rights without due process, we’re going to defend the Constitution.” A string of mass shootings across the United States in schoolhouses, churches, movie theaters and other public places has failed to break the deadlock. The last major gun control measure was a ban in 1994 on semi-automatic assault weapons such as the one used in Orlando on Sunday. The ban expired 10 years later. One of the most dramatic moments in the Senate debate came when Republican Senator John McCain, who is in a tough re-election race in Arizona, told reporters Obama is “directly responsible” for Islamic State-inspired attacks on Americans like the one in Orlando. He later said he meant to say he blamed Obama’s decision to withdraw most U.S. forces from Iraq, and that this had fueled the rise of Islamic State. Murphy, asked what would be the message if the Senate fails to act on the gun control measures next week, suggested it could be a campaign issue for the Nov. 8 election. “There are going to be a lot of voters in this country who are going to watch ... the votes that are cast next week,” he said. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president has been endorsed by the NRA. He jumped into the gun debate by saying he would meet with NRA leaders to talk about barring people who are on terrorism watch lists from buying guns. “I’ll be looking at it very, very seriously - the terror watch list and the no-fly list, I’m going to be talking to the NRA about that and starting a real dialogue. I think a lot of people agree with me but I want to really hear what they have to say,” Trump told Fox News on Wednesday night. Democrats were deeply skeptical that Trump’s word signaled any sort of shift toward more Republican support for Democratic-backed gun control proposals. “He is going to meet with the NRA. ... What’s he going to come out saying? ‘Oh the NRA and I agreed we shouldn’t have terrorists have guns,’ but doing nothing about it,” U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York told reporters.

Senate panel sets hearing for Trump tax nomineeWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday set a July 18 confirmation hearing for David Kautter, President Donald Trump’s nominee for a top tax policy job at the U.S. Treasury. If approved by the panel and confirmed by the full Senate, Kautter would become assistant Treasury secretary for tax policy, a position seen as crucial to implementing the tax reform legislation that Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have promised to unveil later this year. Kautter, a former Senate legislative aide, was most recently a tax partner at the firm RSM, which provides tax and audit services. He was also director of American University’s Kogod Tax Center and had a long career at the audit and consulting firm Ernst & Young LLP. “This hearing will provide members with the opportunity to learn first-hand how Mr. Kautter will work with Congress to advance pro-growth tax reform,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said in a statement.

DNC CHAIR Pulls Tired Race Card: Claims “Racism” and “Voter Suppression” in GOP Playbook [Video]DNC Chair Tom Perez is a fear mongering racist who likes to stir up fake concerns for Democrat voters. He s clearly afraid of the voter integrity policy of Trump who wants to clean up voter lists. What s wrong with that? Tom Perez has a long history of fear mongering and racism Judge Jeanine ripped into the Dem Chair tom Perez for his blistering speech (see video below) on how Donald Trump doesn t stand for our values and that we must resist . She asks the questions Perez should answer! JudgeJeanine: Don t stand for our values ? Pray tell, Perez, what are our values & what it is that you want us to resist? Law & order? .@JudgeJeanine: "'Don't stand for our values'? Pray tell, Perez, what are our values & what it is that you want us to resist? Law & order?" pic.twitter.com/voKBMnIlLW Fox News (@FoxNews) April 2, 2017 OUR PREVIOUS REPORT ON PEREZ AND HIS SPEECH ATTACKING TRUMP:Perez has a long radical history connected to La Raza and other open borders organizations. His track record is full on radical. e s in cahoots with Obama to continue the fundamental transformation of America. Anyone who s a Democrat should be shocked that he s taking the party in such a far left direction. Do your research and you ll know why he was the choice for Dem Chair.He just fired all Democrat Party staffers and is bringing in all new people. The party is clearly taking a new direction and it s not a good one for any American. DONALD TRUMP DIDN T WIN WATCH ENTIRE VIDEO: Republicans don t give a sh*t about people

Russian lawmakers approve "foreign agents" media lawMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved a law that would give Moscow the power to force foreign media to brand the news they provide to Russians as the work of foreign agents and also to disclose where they get their funding. The legislation needs approval from the upper house of parliament, which is likely to happen next week, and the signature of President Vladimir Putin before it becomes law. In a sign that the authorities intend to enforce the law soon, a source in the Russian Justice Ministry said on Wednesday it had notified three U.S. news outlets they might be affected. The source told Russian news agencies that Voice of America (VoA), a Russian unit of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) called Idel.Realias, and Current Time, produced by RFE/RL in cooperation with VoA, had all been notified. Joanna Levison, a Prague-based spokeswoman for RFE/RL, said she was not aware of any such notification. VoA and the Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Russia s broadside against U.S. media is part of the fallout from allegations that the Kremlin interfered in the U.S. presidential election last year in favor of Donald Trump. U.S. intelligence officials accuse the Kremlin of using Russian media organizations it finances to influence U.S. voters, and this week Washington required Russian state broadcaster RT to register a U.S.-based affiliate company as a foreign agent . The Kremlin denies meddling in the election and has said the restrictions on Russian broadcasters in the United States are an attack on free speech. It has vowed to retaliate by imposing restrictions on some foreign media operating in Russia. In the 450-seat State Duma, 414 lawmakers voted on Wednesday for the new bill in a third and final reading, with none against, Russian news agencies reported. If the upper chamber and Putin also back the draft, it will become law, but implementation of its provisions would be left to the discretion of the Russian government. Putin has been fiercely critical of U.S. measures towards Russian media, but he has not given wholehearted support to the draft legislation, saying at the weekend it might be a little too harsh . The draft legislation states that Russian authorities can designate foreign media as foreign agents , making them subject to the same requirements that are applied to foreign-funded non-governmental organizations under a 2012 law. That law, heavily criticized by Western governments, was an attempt by Moscow to insulate itself from a wave of popular revolutions in eastern Europe and the Middle East. Moscow said they were fomented by Western governments using civil society groups as proxies. Under the 2012 law, foreign agents have to include in any information they publish or broadcast to Russian audiences a mention of their foreign agent designation. They also have to apply for inclusion in a government register, submit regular reports on their sources of funding, on their objectives, on how they spend their money, and who their managers are. They can be subject to spot checks by the authorities to make sure they comply with the rules, according to the 2012 law. RFE/RL s Levison said she did not want to speculate what steps Russia might take against her organization next and said RFE/RL looked forward to continuing its journalistic work. She said it was inappropriate to view the new Russian measures as being reciprocal since Russian-funded news outlets in the United States were still able to distribute freely. ... RFE/RL has lost its broadcast affiliates in Russia due to administrative pressures, and has no access to cable. RFE/RL reporters are (also) subject to harassment and physical attack in Russia, Levison added.

Irish PM statement on Brexit talks delayedDUBLIN (Reuters) - A statement by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on the progress of Brexit talks between Britain and the European Union has been delayed, a spokesman said. He did not say what time the statement would take place.

FBI in turmoil over Comey firing, scramble on for new chiefWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI was reeling after President Donald Trump unexpectedly fired its director James Comey, with agency staff scheduling an emergency high-level meeting for Tuesday night amid speculation about who would replace Comey in the top job. An FBI official, who was not authorized to speak to reporters and so asked not to be identified, said the staff meeting would explore next steps for the law-enforcement agency. Trump sacked Comey amidst a probe into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign’s possible collusion with Russia to influence the election outcome, sparking backlash from some Democrats in Congress who said the decision had the appearance of a cover-up and some Republicans who called the timing troubling. The official said the FBI had no idea the Trump administration was considering dismissing Comey and the news “took even top officials by surprise.” An FBI spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was expected to step in for now, but he was unlikely to be nominated by Trump for the director’s post, said two former FBI officials. Comey, who was appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, had 6-1/2 years left in his term as director of an agency with 56 U.S. field offices and more than 30,000 employees. The new director must be appointed by Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Comey is the third high-profile law-enforcement official to be fired under Trump. Preet Bharara was fired as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and Sally Yates was fired as acting attorney general. Trump, a Republican businessman and former TV celebrity, was elected on Nov. 8 and took office on Jan. 20. One possible contender for director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is Dana Boente, No. 3 at the Justice Department and former acting attorney general, said the two former FBI officials. Other potential choices include Republican Representative Trey Gowdy, a former prosecutor who led a congressional inquiry into former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s role in the 2012 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Close campaign allies of Trump include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Sheriff David Clarke. But both men would be seen as highly political nominees for an agency designed to be independent. “The White House has to avoid all the politicos if they are going to get a nominee through the Senate,” said one of the former FBI officials. Boente was tapped to temporarily lead the Justice Department’s Trump-Russia investigation after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a Trump appointee, stepped down because of his dealings with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. Rod Rosenstein replaced Boente in that role when the Senate confirmed him as deputy attorney general last month. Rosenstein served as a federal prosecutor under both Republican President George W. Bush and Obama. A lengthy memo from Rosenstein on Tuesday faulted Comey for his handling of an FBI probe of Clinton’s private email server.

The Numbers Are In: Trump Is The Most Hated Newly Inaugurated President EVERIt s been less than a week since Donald Trump took the oath of office, and already he s breaking records left and right (and none of them are good).Simply put: Donald Trump is the most hated incoming president this country has seen in at least 60 years.According to Gallup Polling:President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup s polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level. He starts his term in office with 45% of Americans approving of the way he is handling his new job, 45% disapproving and 10% yet to form an opinion. Trump now holds the record for the lowest initial job approval rating as well as the highest initial disapproval rating in Gallup surveys dating back to Dwight D. Eisenhower.Congratulations, America. You nominated a man you vehemently hate (more so than George W. Bush).To put it in perspective, let s look at the numbers for Trump and past presidents:Donald Trump Approve: 45 percent. Disapprove: 45 percentBarack Obama Approve: 68 percent. Disapprove: 12 percentGeorge W. Bush Approve: 57 percent. Disapprove: 25 percentBill Clinton Approve: 58 percent. Disapprove: 20 percentGeorge H.W. Bush Approve: 51 percent. Disapprove: 6 percentRonald Reagan: Approve: 51 percent. Disapprove: 13 percentJimmy Carter Approve: 68 percent. Disapprove: 8 percentRichard Nixon Approve: 59 percent. Disapprove: 5 percentJohn F Kennedy Approve: 72 percent. Disapprove: 6 percentDwight D. Eisenhower Approve: 68 percent. Disapprove: 7 percentOuch. If Trump can t even beat out Richard Nixon and George W. Bush (who won a contentious and blistering recount), that says something.Of course Trump s biggest base of support men, whites and no college education loved him while all the others women, people of color and the educated despise him. Ninety percent of Republicans give him approval while 81 percent of Democrats disapprove. Independents have a slightly more negative view than they do positive (44-40 percent).Knowing that his pre-inaugural numbers and the turnout for the Women s March sent him into a frenzy, these numbers should only exasperate the new authoritarian-in-chief.Featured image via Getty Images

U.S. to appeal ruling blocking Trump funding cuts on sanctuary citiesSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said it would appeal a court order blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to restrict federal funds for so-called sanctuary cities. U.S. District Judge William Orrick III of San Francisco earlier this year ruled that Trump’s sanctuary cities order was likely unconstitutional and stopped it from taking effect. Trump issued the order in January, shortly after he was inaugurated, directing that funding be slashed to all jurisdictions that refuse to comply with a statute that requires local governments to share information with U.S. immigration authorities. Sanctuary cities generally offer safe harbor to illegal immigrants and often do not use municipal funds or resources to enforce federal immigration laws. Dozens of cities and other local governments, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, have joined the growing “sanctuary” movement. The Trump administration contends local authorities endanger public safety when they decline to hand over for deportation illegal immigrants arrested for crimes. California’s Santa Clara County - which includes the city of San Jose and several smaller Silicon Valley communities - sued over Trump’s order, saying it was unconstitutional. San Francisco filed a similar lawsuit. They argued Trump’s order could improperly choke off vast swaths of federal funding for sanctuary cities.