Day: February 18, 2017

Texas election officials: hundreds of Texans may have voted improperly

State election officers are now contemplating whether to ask local prosecutors to bring criminal charges for the violations of the election laws. The Texas voter ID law, which required voters to show one of seven forms of identification to cast a ballot, was stepped back in August, allowing individuals to vote by signing an affidavit stating they faced an impediment to obtaining one of the seven forms of authorized identification.

Dem rep: Steve Bannon ‘is a stone cold racist’

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Friday accused President Trump’s senior adviser Steve Bannon of being “a stone cold racist and a white supremacist sympathizer.” Jeffries on Friday told MSNBC that any meeting between Trump and the Congressional Black Caucus must exclude Bannon.

Pentagon officials: Russian actions a ‘test of the new administration’

Moscow recently deployed a banned land-based cruise missile, dispatched a spy ship up the Atlantic coast and buzzed an American warship in the Black Sea. The developments raise the question of how the new White House occupant will address Russian assertiveness and whether, after complimenting Russian President Vladimir Putin and playing down Russia’s adversarial relationship with the US, Trump will resort to any confrontational responses.

AP Exclusive: Hundreds of Texans may have voted improperly

Texas election officials have acknowledged that hundreds of people were allowed to bypass the state’s toughest-in-the-nation voter ID law and improperly cast ballots in the November presidential election by signing a sworn statement instead of showing a photo ID. The chief election officers in two of the state’s largest counties are now considering whether to refer cases to local prosecutors for potential perjury charges or violations of election law.

Trump set to hold campaign rally in Florida Saturday

At least 4 people have died after a powerful storm caused flash flooding in southern California.Two people were killed in two separate car accidents in San Di… — Mike Pence affirmed the United States’ support for NATO and urged Russia to deescalate violence in eastern Ukraine while speaking Saturday at the Munich Secu… “We were very pleased to see the Senate finally confirm Scott Pruitt as the new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency . Our thanks go out to Nebraska Se… Final Day Of State Wrestling Is Underway.

Ap Fact Check: The audacity of hype

In the Washington week that wasn’t, President Donald Trump’s new administration whirred like a “fine-tuned machine,” piling on big-league accomplishments at a pace never before seen. Immigration agents newly empowered by Trump’s call to secure borders sent hordes of bad foreigners back home, validating a president who won the most lopsided Electoral College victory since Ronald Reagan.

Hundreds Form ‘Human Wall’ in Mexico to Protest Trump

The demonstrators held up flowers and colored flags reading the “Peace” and waved to residents of the neighboring town of El Paso, Texas. Hundreds of people in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico formed a “human wall” at the edge of the Rio Grande on Friday to protest President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.

Democrats ask for hearings involving Trumpa s smartphone security

President Trump’s purportedly lax security practices are the subject of a letter sent from more than a dozen congressional Democrats this week to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Rep. Ted Lieu, California Democrat, urged committee leadership this week to investigate “troubling reports” that have emerged recently with respect to Mr. Trump’s operational security, including his apparent use of a consumer-grade Android smartphone to communicate over Twitter, among other items of concerns.

CBS: Petraeus out of running to replace Flynn

Down goes another option to replace Michael Flynn as national security adviser, CBS News reports , and from a rather surprising source. After a speech overseas that apparently angered the White House, David Petraeus is no longer in the running for the spot – and that comes from sources close to Petraeus rather than the White House: Sources close to retired Gen.

Trump Blames Media, Judges, Democrats In Chaos Theory Tour-De-Force

Upending decades of U.S. policy on Israel-Palestinian conflict, he told the Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu that he “could live with” either a one state or a two state solution “that both parties want”. “To be honest, I inherited a mess at home and overseas”, he claimed as he spoke of jobs fleeing the country, instability in West Asia and the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

Roundup: Trump’s tax returns, immigration, Dakota pipeline

In a blatant display of partisanship that disregards the wishes of a majority of Americans, House Republicans have rejected an attempt to use their legal power to obtain tax returns for President Trump, who has consistently refused to release them on his own. Under a rarely invoked federal law, House and Senate tax committees can order the Treasury Department to release individual tax returns.

Rep. Darin LaHood remembers Bob Michel

When you think of the late Bob Michel, you think of bipartisanship, the kind favored by other Illinoisans, like Everett Dirksen and Ray LaHood. The incumbent Congressman from the 18th District, Darin LaHood, says maintaining the same standards today is easier said than done.

US reassures Europe on Nato and Russia, again

“Be assured: president Trump and the American people are fully devoted to our transatlantic union,” US vice president Pence said in Munich. US vice-president Mike Pence crowned a week of American diplomacy in Europe on Saturday by promising to stick by Nato and to take a tough line on Russia.

Our Views: Declaring a La. disaster once again

Harold Baldwin, a disabled veteran, holds his grandson Blake Baldwin, 5 months, while waiting to apply for FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, disaster recovery assistance at the East New Orleans Public Library, 5641 Read Blvd. in New Orleans, La. Monday, Feb. 13, 2017 near the path of Tuesday’s tornado.

Former N.J. man who made Obama death threats sought mental help before

MEDFORD LAKES — The ex- South Jersey resident accused of posting an online death threat against former President Barack Obama is not competent to stand trial — a fact his family has argued all along given the man’s decade-long mental health struggle. According to a Feb. 6 order in U.S. District Court, in Pennsylvania, 33-year-old William Peterman’s evaluation required by Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells found that he “at the current time he is not competent to stand trial.”

An adult voice amid pandemic childness

In his 72 years, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, who was raised in segregated Richmond, Virginia, acknowledges that he has seen much change, often for the better, including advances in the 1960s. But in his elegant new memoir, “All Falling Faiths: Reflections on the Promise and Failure of the 1960s,” he explains why today’s distemper was incubated in that “burnt and ravaged forest of a decade.”

Sedgwick County Jail, ICE resolve dispute on detentions

It’s good that the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appear to have resolved their dispute about detaining people suspected of being illegal immigrants. When ICE wants a jail inmate held for an additional 48 hours, it will now provide the sheriff’s office with a federal warrant.

Eight Years Ago, on Instapundit: Politico: a Revolving Door?…

POLITICO: A REVOLVING DOOR? “In three months since Election Day, at least a half-dozen prominent journalists have taken jobs working for the federal government. Journalists, including some of those who’ve jumped ship, say it’s better to have a solid job in government than a shaky job – or none at all – in an industry that’s fading fast.

Trump’s Sons Eric And Donald Jr. in Dubai to Open Golf Club

Two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons are in the United Arab Emirates for an invitation-only ceremony to open the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai. Eric and Donald Jr. attended a private luncheon Saturday afternoon with business partners of Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire who runs DAMAC Properties, the developer that partnered with Trump on the golf course.

Electronic media searches at border crossings raise worry

Watchdog groups that keep tabs on digital privacy rights are concerned that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents are searching the phones and other digital devices of international travelers at border checkpoints in U.S. airports. The issue gained attention recently after at least three travelers, including a Canadian journalist, spoke out publicly about their experiences.