Day: December 23, 2016

War on Christians: Marine Bible VerseCase Heads to Supreme Court

Lawyers representing Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling- the U.S. Marine court-martialed for displaying Bible verses on her desk-petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on the Friday before Christmas to take her appeal, one of the biggest military religious liberty cases in American history. Sterling was a substandard Marine, but the straw that broke the camel’s back to get her court-martialed was posting, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper,” a paraphrase of Isaiah 54:17.

Blagojevich asks for presidential commutation

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is seeking a presidential commutation, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice. The long-shot request comes more than four months after U.S. District Judge James Zagel reinstated the 14-year prison sentence.

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President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Peter Navarro, an economic adviser to his campaign, to lead a newly formed White House National Trade Council. Trump said in a transition release: “I read one of Peter’s books on America’s trade problems years ago and was impressed by the clarity of his arguments and thoroughness of his researcha He has presciently documented the harms inflicted by globalism on American workers and laid out a path forward to restore our middle class.

FBI warns of possible Islamic State-inspired attacks in US: CNN

An image grab taken from a propaganda video, uploaded on June 11, 2014 by jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , allegedly shows ISIL militants gathering at an undisclosed location in Iraq’s Nineveh province U.S. federal authorities cautioned local law enforcement on Friday to be aware that supporters of Islamic State have been calling for their sympathizers to attack holiday gatherings in the United States, including churches, CNN reported. The warning, issued in a bulletin to local law enforcement, said there were no known specific, credible threats, CNN said.

How the Pentagon Plans to Modernize the US Nuclear Arsenal

The components of America’s nuclear triad of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles , strategic bombers, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles are decades old. While the Pentagon has undergone a modernization process to keep these systems intact over that time, the Pentagon has plans to replace each leg of the triad in the coming decades.

Trump thanks Putin for Christmas letter, offers to restore relations

Miami, Dec 24 : US President-elect Donald Trump thanked Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the “very nice” Christmas letter in which the latter expressed his wishes “to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation”. [NK World] In a statement released on Friday, Trump thanked Putin for the Christmas greeting and said the thoughts expressed in the letter are “so correct”, Efe reported.

Milpitas: Mayor lifts Jay Z lyric to explain why he plagiarized Obama’s speech

Newly sworn in Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran, the first Vietnamese American mayor in the city’s history, gave his opening remarks at a special meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13 with newly seated councilmembers Anthony Phan and Bob Nunez taking their place on the dais. Photo by Liz Cantu Davenport In giving his explanation for lifting passages from President Barack Obama’s 2008 acceptance speech into his own without attribution, newly elected Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran cited a lyric by music artist Jay Z – without attribution.

What the UN vote says about how Trump will treat Israel

A dramatic vote Friday at the United Nations Security Council likely marked the final chapter in President Barack Obama’s troubled relationship with Netanyahu. But perhaps more importantly, the vote – in which the United States allowed a resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction to pass – offered a glimpse of how the President-elect and the Israeli Prime Minister are poised to soon overhaul the relationship between their two countries.

Obama signs defense policy bill, objects on Guantanamo

President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a defense policy bill that authorizes $611 billion for the military in 2017, lauding provisions designed to sustain momentum in countering the Islamic State group while harshly criticizing Congress’s insistence on keeping open the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . The legislation provides a 2.1 percent pay hike for the military and sets spending priorities and guidance for the current fiscal year.

Tigers bring back catcher Alex Avila with $2M, 1-year deal

The Detroit Tigers are bringing back Avila … An alderman indicted on corruption charges while he sat in a City Council meeting is merely the latest in a rogue’s gallery of elected officials to face such allegations in Chicago, a city that over the years… An alderman indicted on corruption charges while he sat in a City Council meeting is merely the latest in a rogues’ gallery of elected officials to face such allegations in Chicago, a city that over the years became… The parents of a 20-year-old college student who died in the arms of her boyfriend in Oakland’s deadly warehouse fire filed the first lawsuit Friday in the disaster, blaming the building’s owner, chief… The parents of a 20-year-old college student who died in the arms of her boyfriend in Oakland’s deadly warehouse fire filed the first lawsuit Friday in the disaster, blaming the building’s owner, chief tenant and…

Elites

It’s been a thing for years where Republicans talk about the “elites,” and I laugh – because the Republican party, the party for the super-rich and mega-rich is clearly the party of the elites. I honestly didn’t know what they meant.

State senator pre-files bill to fix SC Id’s

That’s because the federal government says time is running out for South Carolina to comply with a law that’s more than ten years old. Soon, a South Carolina license won’t be enough to enter a federal building, visit a military base, or even board an airplane.

Almond, soy milk may lose milk label

Democratic Rep. Peter Welch, Republican Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson and 23 other members of Congress have signed a letter asking the Food and Drug Administration to investigate and take action against manufacturers of what they say is “fake milk.” They want the FDA to require plant-based products to adopt a more appropriate name, other than milk, which they say is misleading.

Blue-state Americans can keep their health coverage

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: My liberal sister, a hospital worker, staunchly supports Obamacare on moral grounds. Marsha believes that no American should go without needed medical attention for lack of money.

More empty excuses from Clinton Democrats

It doesn’t seem that a day goes by that we don’t hear or read another reason why Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party lost a bid for the White House; that all the way to Election Day was supposed to be, and fronted by the media, a foregone conclusion. The most recent excuse is Vladimir Putin leading the hacking of the Democratic National Committee in an attempt to sway the election towards Donald Trump.

How Can You Mitigate Risks When Flying a Drone Beyond Visual Line of Sight?

Precisionhawk, one of the leaders in the drone market, released a report this week outlining operational risks when flying drones beyond visual line of sight . Precisionhawk’s research comes from its participation in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Pathfinder program, which was created to explore incremental expansion of drone operations in the national airspace.

Putin news conference: Relations with US ‘can’t be worse’

Russian President Vladimir Putin downplayed suggestions Friday there was a risk of a new nuclear arms race between Russia and the United States, shrugging off comments by US President-elect Donald Trump on Twitter as “nothing new.” “As for the newly elected president of the US, there is nothing new,” Putin said during his annual news conference that lasted four hours.

Israel accuses Obama of anti-Israeli ‘shameful move’ at UN

An Israeli official on Friday accused President Barack Obama of colluding with the Palestinians in a “shameful move against Israel at the U.N.” after learning the White House did not intend to veto a Security Council resolution condemning settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem the day before. “President Obama and Secretary Kerry are behind this shameful move against Israel at the U.N.,” the official said.

Report ties top cop Eddie Johnson to LaQuan McDonald shooting aftermath

New problems for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Johnson, who was a police Deputy Superintendent when white officer Jason VanDyke shot and killed black teenager LaQuan McDonald in October of 2014, was among a group of top police officials who saw the dashcam video of the shooting just days after it occurred.

Democrats want a fresh face for the 2020 presidential election, poll finds

If there is one lesson that Democrats and independents seem to have taken away from the 2016 presidential election, it’s that they want a completely fresh start in 2020. A whopping 66 percent of Democrats and independents selected “someone entirely new” when that option was included on the list of potential 2020 presidential candidates, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released on Wednesday.

NY Times: Trump Seeks Path for Mexico Wall

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has contacted border officials to ask where a wall could be constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to The New York Times. Trump referred to the “big, beautiful wall” as a key campaign promise, one he said would combat illegal immigration, and his aides continue to say that border wall construction is a priority for the new administration.

Politico: Obama Delivering Farewell Speech in Chicago

President Barack Obama is planning to deliver his farewell speech in Chicago – less than two weeks before Donald Trump takes office, Politico reports. The address, billed as a major speech, is expected to be delivered on Jan. 10. In his address, Obama is expected to thank Chicago and the state of Illinois for launching his political career, according to the website.

British Army major, 36, is found hanged in a bathroom at his home

First contact: Incredible images show lost Amazonian tribe living like their ancestors did 20,000 years ago – and firing SPEARS at photographer in his helicopter ‘Slaughter the pigs’: Berlin killer’s chilling ISIS video is revealed – hours after he is gunned down by Italian police in shootout in Milan Vladimir Putin boasts he knew Donald Trump would win the US election – but says ‘who knows’ who hacked Hillary Clinton’s emails ‘Let it be an arms race, we will outmatch them at every pass’: Trump doubles down after tweeting U.S. should ‘expand’ its nuke capability EXCLUSIVE: 11-year-old Meghan Markle plays with her nephew – showing what her family says is the motherly side Prince Harry should be proud of The best airport lounges in the world named in prestigious awards: Layover spot in Heathrow ranked No1 Is there a forgotten pharaoh buried in this tomb? Newly-discovered 4,200-year-old … (more)

HB2 dispute demonstrates divide –

Repealing North Carolina’s law limiting LGBT protections at the close of a bitter election year was supposed to heal blows to the economy and perhaps open a truce in the culture wars in at least one corner of the divided United States. The deal was supposedly reached with input from top politicians and industry leaders: Charlotte agreed to eliminate its anti-discrimination ordinance on the condition that state lawmakers then repeal the legislation known as House Bill 2, which had been a response to Charlotte’s action.

FBI ‘singling out Chinese-Americans with insider threat program’ to …

Since the 2015 hack of millions of government files, insiders claim agents have been more determined to identify potential internal threats Among ways to determine threats is to find if an employee has tried to beat a polygraph test by changing their body language to thwart the result The bureau has apparently stepped up its interrogation of employees, specifically those with Chinese backgrounds, after last year’s hack of millions of government personnel files that was traced back to Chinese hackers. Employees must submit to routine polygraphs every five years.

Banks lift global stocks, dollar holds near 14-year peak

European stocks edged higher on Friday, helped by banks after two regional bellwethers settled investigations into U.S. mortgage securities, while oil and the dollar were on the back foot in light trading ahead of the Christmas break. Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, December 22, 2016.

Stocks could suffer as Trump trade policy takes shape

The year-end stocks rally on the heels of the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president was built on expectations of reduced regulations, big tax cuts and a large fiscal stimulus. Traders work on the floor at the opening of the day’s trading at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 22, 2016.