CareFirst offers $3 million for telemedicine initiatives

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield will award $3 million to nonprofits or government organizations to develop new programs using telemedicine to improve health care access in Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

CareFirst’s request for proposals is looking for innovative programs that can address gaps in access to telemedicine services. The money will be awarded to programs over the next three years.

You can see its Expanding Access to Medical Care through Telemedicine application here.

“While increased utilization of telecommunications technology has enabled health care providers to better evaluate, diagnose and treat patients remotely, geographic disparities remain,” said Maria Tildon, CareFirst's senior vice president of public policy and community affairs. 
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Nuggets Of Life!

As I was lying around, pondering the problems of the world, I
realized that at my age I don't really give a damn anymore.

If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.
A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, but is still fat.
A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years, while a tortoise doesn't run and does mostly nothing, yet it lives for 150years.
And you tell me to exercise?? I don't think so. Just grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, the good fortune to remember the ones I do, and the eyesight to
tell the difference.

Now that I'm older here's what I 've discovered:

1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.
2. My wild oats are mostly enjoyed with prunes and all-bran.
3. I finally got my head together, and now my body is falling apart.
4. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
5. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded.
6. If all is not lost, then where the heck is it?
7. It was a whole lot easier to get older, than to get wiser.
8. Some days, you're the top dog, some days you're the hydrant; the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
9. I wish the buck really did stop here . I sure could use a few of them.
10. Kids in the back seat cause accidents.
11. Accidents in the back seat cause kids.
12. It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.
13. The world only beats a path to your door when you're in the bathroom.
14. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he'd have put them on my knees.
15. When I'm finally holding all the right cards, everyone wants to play chess.
16. It's not hard to meet expenses . . . they're everywhere.
17. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
18. These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter . .
.I go somewhere to get something, and then wonder what I'm "here after".
19. Funny, I Don't remember being absent-minded.
20. HAVE I SENT THIS MESSAGE TO YOU BEFORE?

Fire damages Cambridge rectory

CAMBRIDGE — A two-alarm fire Monday morning in Cambridge caused an estimated $350,000 in damage to the rectory at St. Mary Refuge of Sinners Catholic Church on Glasgow Street, the state fire marshal’s office said.

A passerby reported the fire that brought 60 firefighters from Rescue Fire Company and several neighboring departments, the fire marshal’s office said. No injuries were reported, and the building was unoccupied at the time of the fire, according to the fire marshal.

Deputy state fire marshals are investigating the origin and cause of the fire. The fire marshal’s office asked anyone with information to call its Salisbury office at 410-713-3780.

Source

Trump: 'Vast Majority' of GOP in Congress Are On Obama's Side

Donald Trump said President Obama usually gets what he wants because so many Republicans in Congress are on his side.

"Here's the problem," the presidential contender said on CBS on Sunday. "You cannot win when you have a group of 25 or 30 percent on this side, and you have a group of 70 percent on this side," he said, referencing congressional Republicans.

"It's so sad. Because if they were really going to fight, and if they took that 30 percent stance, assuming they wanted to really make changes and do it right, and cut the budget, cut the deficit, and do things that they should be doing, if they took that group and if everybody was unified, Obama would fold," Trump added. "But there's no reason for him to ever fold, because he knows that a big proportion, a vast majority of the Republicans are on his side."

Speaking on Syria, Trump said the Arab states should contribute to creating a safe zone for refugees and questioned why they weren't doing more to defend themselves.

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A haunting time offered by Chesapeake Ghost Walks

MARION STATION — Chesapeake Ghost Walks, a company out of Somerset County, Maryland has scheduled over thirty ghost tours to run between Columbus Day and Halloween in ten towns that span eighty linear miles across the Eastern Shore. They include guided haunted walks through historic districts of Easton, Cambridge, St. Michaels, Ocean City, Berlin, Princess Anne, Pocomoke, Denton, Snow Hill, and Crisfield. There is also a special tour offered only in October – an inside tour of the company owners’ haunted Victorian home.

During Halloween week the company will offer fifteen walks covering all ten towns – eleven of those ghost tours fall on Halloween weekend. Each ghost walk lasts just under two hours and is personally guided by someone well versed in the local history as well as the paranormal history. Most tours have a nighttime stroll through a graveyard and some include sites like healing trees, elementals (non-human spirits), river walks or walks into a forest.
 
Collectively, the ten ghost tours cover over 120 stories of the haunted Eastern Shore – stories that include Bloody Henny and the LeCompte Curse (Cambridge), The Town Dog Killer (Denton), The Ghost in the Governor’s Mansion (Snow Hill), The Haunted Carousel (Ocean City) and The Child Spirit at the Atlantic Hotel (Berlin). All of the walks were written and crafted by company owner and author, Mindie Burgoyne.
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Another DHS Official Confirms: No Way to Vet Syrian Refugees

As the Obama administration prepares to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees, a second high-ranking Homeland Security official admits there’s no way to screen the new arrivals from the war-torn Muslim nation that’s a hotbed of terrorism.

During a recent congressional hearing a director with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), confirmed that the U.S. has no method of vetting the new refugees because the Syrian government doesn’t have an intelligence database to run checks against. It’s actually embarrassing to watch the footage of the DHS director, Matthew Emrich, getting grilled by the senator who chairs the committee that conducted the hearing a few days ago. The session was held to address the fiscal and security implications of the Obama administration’s refugee resettlement program.

Under questioning from Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, Emrich admits that there is no reliable way to assure that individuals coming from Syria are properly checked. The exchange lasts about seven minutes and Emrich sounds desperate when he says “we check everything that we are aware of” and that “we are in the process of overturning every stone.” The bottom line is that there is no way to verify the identity of Syrians so the defeated Homeland Security official proceeds to say that “in many countries of the world from which we have traditionally accepted refugees over the years the United States government did not have extensive data holdings.”

Syria isn’t the typical country that sends over refugees, it’s a hotbed of Hezbollah militants and Al Qaeda-linked jihadists. Last year a study published by the RAND Corporation concluded that the most significant threat to the United States comes from terrorist groups operating in a handful of Middle Eastern countries that include Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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Democratic Debate: Will you be watching?

Will you be watching the debate tonight?  

Tim Kaine: 'We're Involved in a War That Congress Hasn't Debated'

(CNSNews) - Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), speaking about the "catastrophe" in Syria, blamed both Congress and the Obama administration for failing to produce a "sound strategy."

"Bottom line, we're involved in a war that Congress hasn't debated," Kaine told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Thursday. "And because we haven't debated it, the administration hasn't had to come up with a sound strategy. We're in a very vulnerable position right now."

Russia's intervention in Syria is not surprising, Kaine said, given Russia's interest in protecting its military base in that increasingly unstable country.

And now, with both U.S. and Russian jets flying in the same air space, the chances for "just an accident" are growing, Kaine said. "We wouldn't want this to spiral into something more significant that would pull the U.S. and Russia into military conflict."

Kaine noted that President Obama "started this war against ISIL" on August 8, 2014, to defend the U.S. Consulate in Erbil and to stop the "humanitarian atrocity" involving the Kurds in northern Iraq.

"There was a self-defense rationale that allowed him to start it without Congress," Kaine said. "But within two weeks, the protect-the-Americans side of this was done, and at that point, the president's legal authority, in my view, expired.

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Obama: Columbus Brought Disease, Devastation and Violence to Indigenous People

(CNSNews) – In a proclamation marking Columbus Day issued by the White House on Friday, President Barack Obama said that while the federal holiday recognizes the accomplishments of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the New World, it is marred by mistreatment of indigenous people.

“Though these early travels expanded the realm of European exploration, to many they also marked a time that forever changed the world for the indigenous peoples of North America,” Obama wrote. “Previously unseen disease, devastation, and violence were introduced to their lives -- and as we pay tribute to the ways in which Columbus pursued ambitious goals -- we also recognize the suffering inflicted upon Native Americans and we recommit to strengthening tribal sovereignty and maintaining our strong ties.”

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Study: Medicaid gave out $11.1M in ‘potentially inappropriate payments’

DOVER — An outside contractor tasked with identifying possible waste and fraud in Delaware’s Medicaid has singled out $11.1 million in “potentially inappropriate payments” made over a period of about three-and-a-half years.

Those payments could come from doctor shopping, in-patient services that should have been billed as outpatient, and care that is not medically necessary.

The General Assembly directed the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) in 2014 to work to save money in health care after the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee members stated their belief that $12 million could be saved annually.

After a delay, which irked lawmakers, DHSS commissioned Health Integrity in March to examine potential patient and provider misuse of services in Medicaid.

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My Kind Of Game Show

Kia’s New ‘Participation Trophy’ Commercial That Aired During Sunday Night Football Gets Standing Ovation From Internet

Kia is getting a lot of praise online for its new “participation trophy” commercial that aired during Sunday Night Football this week.

In the ad, a father walks with his son after his youth football team “won every game.” He spots the trophy in his son’s hand and asks to look at it.

“Participant,” the plate on the trophy reads.

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Happy 240th Birthday, United States Navy!

In 1972, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt authorized the United States Navy's birthday to be recognized as October 13, 1775. Since that time, this has been a day to celebrate and appreciate the heritage of the United States Navy.

FRA and Mercer wish all current and former members of the U.S. Navy a great Navy Birthday and we thank you for your service to the nation.

Thank you to all Navy personnel for your outstanding service!

Ever Wonder...

Students raise money to send a beloved campus employee to Disney

She’s going to Disney World.

An Elon University campus coffee shop employee is having her lifelong dream of seeing Mickey realized thanks to some students who secretly raised funds to send her and her family to Orlando.

Junior Taylor Zisholtz and freshman Lucy Smith-Williams surprised Kathryn Thompson, a 10-year veteran school employee, with the $9,481 they raised, Elon Local News reports.

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SHERIFF CLARKE: IF OBAMA WANTS TO DISARM PEOPLE, ‘HE SHOULD START WITH HIS SECURITY STAFF’

On the Saturday broadcast of “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” host Judge Jeanine Pirro asked Milwaukee County, WI Sheriff David Clarke if he was surprised that President Obama announced that he wanted to politicize the Oregon shooting.

Clarke stated that the president “never misses an opportunity to politicize something.” and that if he wants to take away guns he needs to start with his armed security staff.

“You know, [President Obama] never misses an opportunity to politicize something. Any time there’s a tragedy that happens in the United States, he goes into his political bag of tricks to see what he can accomplish on his agenda and it’s sad that he exploits these people and I’m glad they saw through it. When he takes advantage and uses them to achieve a political agenda, I’m glad to see that they slapped back. This is a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ president and he speaks as he is surrounded by this protective bubble, which he should have. If he wants to disarm people, he should start with his security staff.”

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Franklin Graham Blasts Atheist Effort to Remove Cross

The Rev. Franklin Graham Saturday slammed the Freedom From Religion Foundation for "trying to intimidate" a small central Kentucky city into removing a cross that has stood atop its water tower for decades.

The foundation, based in Madison, Wis., "is at it again," Graham said on Facebook. "Reaching in from another state, they're trying to intimidate the city of Wilmore, Ky., into taking down a cross that has stood on top of their water tower for years."

Settled by Revolutionary War soldiers in 1770, Wilmore is about 20 miles southwest of Lexington.

The water tower sits on the campus of Asbury University, a private Christian college that mounted the cross on its top years before transferring the tower to the city in October 1976, The Central Kentucky News reports.

The transfer required that the cross remain on the tower, Mayor Harold Rainwater told the News. The university pays all electricity and maintenance costs, he said.

Rainwater, who is also an Asbury associate professor, said that he strongly opposed removing the cross.

"There’s a groundswell of support to keep (the cross) and I’m certainly going to fight to keep it with everything I’ve got," he told the News. "I think it’s symbolic of our town.

"I 100-percent support keeping it there," he added. "We won’t take it down unless we’re forced to take it down."

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Police: Woman live streams herself while driving drunk in Florida

LAKELAND, FL - Lakeland police believe a local woman is lucky to be alive today after going on a drunk driving trip she recorded and broadcast live on her own phone. On Saturday, LPD took in 911 calls about a possible drunk driver using the social media App Periscope to broadcast herself.

Periscope is a live video streaming platform, (owned by Twitter). It allows you to video-record and broadcast to anywhere in the entire world.

As a result of the video being streamed worldwide, numerous messages on the app and personal text messages were sent to the driver asking her to stop driving before she killed someone or herself.

"You hear her saying she's drunk," said Sgt. Gary Gross, Lakeland Police spokesman

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WCSO Press Releases - October 13, 2015

Joshua HeinIncident: Assault

Date of Incident: 9 October 2015

Location: 4000 block of Timmons Road, Pittsville, MD

Suspect: Joshua E. Hein, 37, Pittsville, MD

Narrative: On 9 October 2015 at 6:05 PM a deputy responded to a residence in the 4000 block of Timmons Road in Pittsville for a reported domestic related disturbance. Upon arrival, the deputy met with a female victim who stated that she had been assaulted by her husband, Joshua Hein. According to her, an argument began, during which Hein struck her in the mouth and pushed her into a table. During the investigation, the deputy observed signs of injury that corroborated that account.

The deputy placed Hein under arrest and transported him to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. Following an initial appearance, the Commissioner detained Hein in the Detention Center in lieu of $20,000.00 bond.

Charges: Assault 2nd Degree

***********************************

Adam JohnsonIncident: Assault

Date of Incident: 10 October 2015

Location: 100 block of Emily Drive, Salisbury, MD

Suspect: Adam C. Johnson, 39, Salisbury, MD

Narrative: On 10 October 2015 at10:40 AM a deputy arrested Adam Johnson following a complaint made regarding an assault and telephone misuse. According to the complainant, she was at Johnson’s residence when an argument began that culminated with Johnson slamming a car door on the victim’s hand. According to the complainant after she drove away, he continued to call and text her against her wishes.

Upon arrest the deputy transported Johnson to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. Following an initial appearance, the Commissioner released Johnson on $10,000.00 unsecured bond.

Charges: Assault 2nd Degree

                Harassment

                Telephone Misuse

***********************************

Kimberly WorleyIncident: Theft of Motor Vehicle / Possession of Heroin

Date of Incident: 10 October 2015

Location: 6000 block of Sixty Foot Road, Pittsville, MD

Suspect: Kimberly R. Worley, 23, Pittsville, MD

Narrative: On 10 October 2015 at 3:38 PM a deputy responded to a residence in the 6000 block of Sixty Foot Road for a reported theft. Upon arrival, the deputy learned that Kimberly Worley had stolen a family member’s vehicle without permission. Shortly thereafter, the deputy located Worley and the vehicle and placed her under arrest. Post arrest, the deputy discovered that Worley had heroin hidden in her purse.

The deputy transported Worley to the Central Booking Unit where she was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. Following an initial appearance, the Commissioner detained Worley in the Detention Center in lieu of $3,000.00 bond.

Charges: Theft of Motor Vehicle

                 Possession of CDS

                 Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

This is a very long press release click the 'READ MORE' below to view the entire release 

Pruden: The Cipher in the White House

Perhaps it’s not fair to blame Barack Obama for the mess he’s making. The Middle East is where chaos was invented, after all, and perhaps not even the collection of incompetents and boobs the president has installed in the White House could make things this bad. Maybe it’s someone else’s fault. He blames the Jews.

When Mr. Obama promised the United Nations General Assembly earlier this month “a different type of leadership,” he prescribed “a leadership strong enough to recognize that nations share common interests and people share a common humanity.” That’s all very nice, and Mr. Obama should buy the world a Coke (or at least a Perrier in a glass bottle). He may have a profitable post-White House career waiting for him writing treacle for greeting cards.

Well-meaning he may be (or not), but he doesn’t have a clue about how such leadership would deal with people who do not share the common humanity. Some people have no humanity, but are the bastard progeny of an alien species of an evil planet in a cosmos, far, far away from our own.

Israel, which has seen pain and death in every guise, was stunned this week by a round of stabbings and shootings, including the murder of an American and his Israeli wife, seated in their car on the road near Nablus, by Palestinian gunmen who required their four children — aged 9, 7, 4 and 4 months — watch while their mother and father bled out their lives. The brutes fled, leaving the terrified children to deal with the terror and the gruesome aftermath of unspeakable cruelty.

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Marylanders among federal prisoners to be released early

BALTIMORE —Hundreds of Marylanders in federal prison are about to receive their "get out of jail early" cards.

The move is part of new sentencing guidelines for non-violent offenders nationwide. This reduced sentences are for people convicted in drug trafficking cases in federal court.

Supporters say the shift is a way to end harsh sentences, though others worry what will happen once they come back into their communities.

Thanks to a vote last year by the independent U.S Sentencing Commission, the prison doors on Nov. 1 will open early for roughly 140 Marylanders convicted in federal drug trafficking cases.

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US government deporting Central American migrants to their deaths

Guardian investigation into consequences of Obama’s migration crackdown reveals US deportees have been murdered shortly after return to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with study saying as many as 83 killed since 2014

The US government is deporting undocumented immigrants back to Central America to face the imminent threat of violence, with several individuals being murdered just days or months after their return, a Guardian investigation has found.

The Guardian has confirmed three separate cases of Honduran men who have been gunned down shortly after being deported by the US government. Each was murdered in their hometowns, soon after their return – one just a few days after he was expelled from the US.

Immigration experts believe that the Guardian’s findings represent just the tip of the iceberg. A forthcoming academic study based on local newspaper reports has identified as many as 83 US deportees who have been murdered on their return to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras since January 2014.

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American Jews in Israel Witness Obama’s Prejudicial ‘Slap in the Face’

As an American citizen living in Jerusalem, I recently received two notifications from the U.S. State Department warning of “potential for violence in the Old City,” restricting U.S. government employees from entering the Old City from Sunday, Oct. 4 through Tuesday, Oct. 13 “without prior approval from the U.S. Consulate,” and recommending that “private U.S. citizens take into consideration these restrictions and the additional guidance contained in the Department of State’s travel warning for Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank when making decisions regarding their travel in the Old City and in Jerusalem.”

My initial reaction was laughter. The messages were casually sent as if we don’t know there is “potential for violence in the Old City.” Dozens of Jews have been attacked in the last week, many in the Old City. The tension is obvious to anyone here — we go to sleep listening to the helicopters explore the skies and we wake up to a climbing death toll at the hands of Arab terrorists in Jerusalem.

But then, I realized how truly sad this message is that I received. We are all painfully aware of what’s happening here; but up until now, we weren’t actually sure that the U.S. government knew what was happening. There have been at best tepid public condemnations of the attacks and murders, with barely a mention of the victims being Jews. But now that the United States is indeed aware that terrorists are targeting Jews in Israel like myself, the sad fact is that there is nothing being done about it. Moreover, when we defend ourselves, media outlets and the U.S. government are touting the terrorists as the victims.

Read more here

Analysis: Marsha Blackburn Best Viable Candidate for Speaker

A new analysis from the American Conservative Union (ACU) of voting records of various potential GOP candidates for Speaker of the House under the soon-to-be-ending Speakership of Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) shows that Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is far and away the best viable candidate for Speaker.

Blackburn, who’s considering running for Speaker and will discuss her potential bid on Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evening, would be the first female GOP Speaker of the House in U.S. history. She would be the second woman ever elected to the post, after current Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) served in the slot before Boehner.

Under Boehner’s speakership, which has lasted from 2011 until the present, Blackburn’s voting record is a 92 percent rating from the ACU. That means under GOP leadership, Blackburn has stood by her guns and voted her conscience—something conservatives and moderates alike are attracted to. As with most Republicans, her lifetime ACU rating is higher—96 percent—because the records include time when the GOP was in the minority and basically voted as a bloc against Democrat initiatives.

More here

Putin Orders Russian Warships to Bomb Isis from over 900 Miles away with 26 Sizzler Missiles

Russian warships joined the conflict in Syria with a volley of cruise missile attacks on Islamic State as Syrian government troops launched a major ground offensive supported by Moscow air strikes. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Vladimir Putin in televised remarks that four ships based 900 miles away in the Caspian Sea had launched 26 ‘Sizzler’ missiles – and claimed they would strike 11 ISIS targets. Now, video has been released by the Russian Defence Ministry showing the warships launching the missiles which Shoigu insisted destroyed all the targets and did not hit any civilian areas.

Not the kind of guy to miss a flattering photo op, Russian President Vladimir Putin put his skates on for his 63rd birthday and took to the ice.

The leader, famous for posing shirtless on horseback and in other unashamedly macho situations, played in a hockey game Wednesday night alongside former NHL stars.

As you’d expect, Putin’s team won. And the man himself scored seven goals.

The President’s teammates included former Vancouver Canucks player Pavel Bure, as well as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who earlier in the day had been briefing Putin on Russia’s latest round of military strikes in Syria.

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Some students, parents unhappy with principal's decision to drop spirit day celebrating America

A group of students and parents are upset that the Annapolis High School principal rejected an idea to host a spirit day celebrating America.

Principal Sue Chittim turned down a student group's request to have an America Day during spirit week, because dozens of students last year inappropriately wore the American flag as a cape or a dress, she said.

"It was too disruptive to our instructional day," Chittim said in an email.

But some students and parents said America Day is a unifying tradition and an opportunity to express patriotism.

The student government association proposes the themes for spirit days, which lead up to the homecoming football game this Friday, and the principal approves or rejects the ideas. Chittim said many ideas are discussed and rejected.

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Senate Republicans open door to weakening the filibuster

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is opening the door to changing the filibuster in response to growing pressure from Republicans angered that Democrats have blocked legislation from reaching the White House.

McConnell has appointed a special task force to explore changes to the filibuster rule and other procedural hurdles — including whether to eliminate filibusters on motions to proceed to legislation. That’s a tactic the minority often uses to shut down a bill before amendments can be considered.

McConnell has tapped his close ally, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Senate Rules Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to form a task force with Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and two other freshmen to weigh various reforms. They hope to implement the changes at the start of next year.

“We’re going to take a serious look at whether Senate rules ought to be changed in order to make the Senate work more effectively,” Alexander said.

“A number of the new senators have come in looking around saying, ‘Why are we doing things this way and not that way,’ ” he added.

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In ‘60 Minutes’ Interview, Obama Muddles Facts on Ukraine

(CNSNews) – Defending himself against accusations that Russian President Vladimir Putin is challenging American leadership, President Obama erroneously told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that when he took office Ukraine was ruled by a Putin “stooge.”

Questioning the premise that Putin’s foreign policy was succeeding, Obama cited the situations in Ukraine and Syria.

“When I came into office, Ukraine was governed by a corrupt ruler who was a stooge of Mr. Putin,” he told interviewer Steve Kroft. “Syria was Russia’s only ally in the region.”

Today, Putin is no longer able to count on those allies’ support, Obama continued, adding that the Russian leader instead was having to deploy his military “just to barely hold together by a thread his sole ally” – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The implication was that having lost one ally and at risk of losing another, Putin’s international position had in fact been weakened during the Obama administration, rather than the opposite as many Obama critics contend.

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What it would take to build the fence Donald Trump wants between the US and Mexico

The land border between the US and Mexico is 1,933 miles in length, and Donald Trump would like to see all of it sealed off—as would nearly half of all Americans, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. (At 46%, the share of those who favor putting a fence along the entirety of the US’ southern border has not changed since 2007—although in the latest poll, released Oct. 8, the profile of supporters skewed whiter, older, and more Republican.)

Erecting an end-to-end barrier would be a complicated and costly endeavor, though.

Here’s a look at the fencing that currently runs along roughly a third of the border, based on reports from the US Congressional Research Center (pdf) and the Government Accountability Office (pdf). Most of the fencing was built between 2005 and 2011, although barrier construction along the border dates back as far as 1990 (pdf).

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America’s smartphone addiction is only getting worse

Americans spend nearly three hours a day on their mobile devices — checking social media, watching TV and surfing the Web, according to a new study.

And that doesn’t even include time spent making phone calls.

The addiction to smartphones and tablets is growing,research tracker eMarketer reported. In 2016, the time spent in front of the small screen is expected to expand by 14 minutes to 3 hours, 8 minutes a day.

What’s more, Americans will spend an added 30 minutes a day on social media sites via mobile devices.

The mobile-usage number isn’t all good news for mobile marketers. Believe it or not, the increase represents a dramatic slowdown from previous years and is happening during an Olympics and an election year, which typically drive media viewing.

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Democratic Debate A Breakout Chance For O'Malley, Others

Stuck far behind Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Martin O'Malley needs a breakout moment in the party's first debate to catch up to the front-runners.

And he knows it.

"This will really be the first time that nationally voters see that there's more than one alternative to this year's inevitable front-runner, Secretary Clinton," O'Malley said.

"It's a very, very important opportunity for me to not only present my vision for where the country should head, but also 15 years of executive experience, actually accomplishing the progressive things some of the other candidates can only talk about," he said.

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Zimbabwe will not charge U.S. dentist for killing Cecil the lion

Zimbabwe will not charge American dentist Walter Palmer for killing its most prized lion in July because he had obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt, a Cabinet minister said on Monday, angering conservationists.

Palmer, a lifelong big-game hunter from Minnesota, touched off a global controversy when he killed Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, with a bow and arrow outside Hwange National Park in Western Zimbabwe.

Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said on Monday that Palmer's hunting papers were in order, and therefore he could not be charged.

"We approached the police and then the prosecutor general, and it turned out that Palmer came to Zimbabwe because all the papers were in order," Muchinguri-Kashiri told reporters.

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University of Maryland police warn students to prepare for active shooter

WASHINGTON — The idea of an active shooter nearby is terrifying, but University of Maryland police are asking students and staff to prepare for the worst as it’s become a reality on campuses across the country.

A letter that went out to students and staff from the University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell asks them to ponder being confronted by a shooter on campus. He wants to planfor a crisis rather than be blindsided by it, citing recent school shootings across the country.

“Certainly Oregon and Texas are the most recent examples. We’re well aware of that on this campus,” Mitchell tells WTOP. In less than a week there were fatal shootings at campuses in both those states, as well as Arizona.

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Florida town remembers students who died after being hypnotised by principal

Community of North Port, Florida, gathers to memorialise three students within weeks of each other after going to their high school principal seeking help

The fall ritual of homecoming is a memorable event on any school’s calendar, but it was especially poignant this year in North Port, a small town near the south-west Florida coast.

Old friends and classmates scattered at colleges and universities across the country returned to North Port high school to reminisce in the bleachers as their beloved Bobcats football team took on the rival Bayshore Bruins.

Marcus Freeman, a stand-out athlete once destined to star as the school’s starting quarterback until he was killed in a 2011 car accident at the age of 16, would likely have been a guest of honor. Also remembered this weekend were Wesley McKinley and Brittany Palumbo, two other teenage students who died in a series of tragedies that ripped the community apart.

All three died within weeks of each other – McKinley and Palumbo killed themselves after being hypnotised by George Kenney, the school’s disgraced former principal and self-appointed mind healer.

Kenney was an unlicensed amateur practitioner who ignored repeated orders from his bosses at the Sarasota school board to desist, yet was said to have hypnotised at least 75 students and staff over a five-year period.

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Randy Quaid, wife held in Vermont on fugitive charges

HIGHGATE, Vt. (AP) — The wife of actor Randy Quaid has been jailed in Vermont on $500,000 bail for skipping out of the country after the couple was charged with vandalism.

The Quaids were detained at the Canadian border Friday night while trying to re-enter the United States after Canadian officials said they'd be deported.

Evi Quaid entered a not guilty plea at her arraignment Monday morning on a charge of being a fugitive from justice; Randy Quaid was expected to be arraigned later Monday on the same charge.

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DeLay: 2016 Election 'Most Important Since Civil War'

The next Speaker of the House will not only have to rally restive GOP lawmakers, but strengthen the party for a presidential election that's "probably the most important since the Civil War," former Texas Republican Rep. Tom DeLay tells Newsmax TV.

In an interview Friday with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth, the former majority leader from 2003 to 2005 said Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee is likely considering the job — and that "most members will rally around him because they trust him."

"You need a leader, someone they can rally people together … can get these seats re-elected so they can hold on to the majority and set the tone and message for the presidential election to help whoever is running for president," he said.

"This election is probably the most important election since the Civil War."

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Uniformed Missouri cop celebrating birthday at Olive Garden asked to leave because of duty firearm

A uniformed Kansas City, Mo., cop hoping to celebrate his birthday with lunch at Olive Garden on Sunday was kicked out because of his duty firearm.

A hostess caught sight of Officer Michael Holsworth’s holstered handgun as he waited for his family and asked the decorated officer to leave the restaurant at once, he ranted in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon.

“I never in my wildest thoughts would of thought this would happen in the Kansas City area. I see it happening all over the United States to other officers, but never thought it would of happened to me,” he wrote after leaving the restaurant.

It’s legal to openly carry handguns in Missouri, but the Olive Garden hostess told Holsworth guns were prohibited in the restaurant.

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Financial Fridays: It's Financial Suicide To Own A House

I am sick of me writing about this. Do you ever get sick of yourself? I am sick of me.

But every day I see more propaganda about the American Dream of owning the home.

I see codewords a $15 trillion dollar industry uses to hypnotize its religious adherents to BELIEVE.

Lay down your money, your hard work, your lives and loves and debt, and BELIEVE!

But I will qualify: if someone wants to own a home, own one. There should never be a judgment. I’m the last to judge. I’ve owned two homes. And lost two homes.

If were to write an autobiography called: “My life — 10 Miserable moments” owning a home would be two of them.

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Report: IRS Allowed Thousands of Felons to Prepare Tax Returns

The IRS did not check whether tax preparers were properly complying with agency regulations over the last two years, allowing thousands of convicted felons to complete tax returns, the Treasury Department's inspector general has found.

The Internal Revenue Service requires tax preparers to register with the agency to get a preparer tax identification number, The Washington Free Beacon reports.

They must also include such personal information as their Social Security number, data about their business, professional credentials and any past felony convictions if applicable.

The inspector general's report, released in August, found that compliance checks were not performed by the IRS this year and in 2014, the Free Beacon reports. The agency also did not revoke the preparer ID numbers of anyone who violated the law.

The report found 19,496 preparers who were non-compliant with tax filing and payment obligations, the Free Beacon reports.

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Climate Change/Now for the Rest of the Story

A MATHEMATICAL discovery by Perth-based electrical engineer Dr David Evans may change everything about the climate debate, on the eve of the UN climate change conference in Paris next month.

A former climate modeller for the Government’s Australian Greenhouse Office, with six degrees in applied mathematics, Dr Evans has unpacked the architecture of the basic climate model which underpins all climate science.

He has found that, while the underlying physics of the model is correct, it had been applied incorrectly.

He has fixed two errors and the new corrected model finds the climate’s sensitivity to carbon dioxide (CO2) is much lower than was thought.

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Obama on Hillary Email: She Just Made 'a Mistake'

Hillary Rodham Clinton's use of a private email server to conduct government business when she served as secretary of state was "a mistake," but didn't endanger national security, President Barack Obama said during an interview airing Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes."

Obama said public officials have to be more sensitive about how they handle information and personal data. Yet he also said the criticism of Clinton has been "ginned up" because of politics.

"I think she'd be the first to acknowledge that maybe she could have handled the original decision better and the disclosures more quickly," Obama said.

Obama downplayed the threat to national security, and when it was pointed out that his administration has prosecuted people for having classified material on their private computers, the president said he didn't get the impression there was an intent to "hide something or to squirrel away information." He also said he was not initially aware of her use of the private email server.

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O'Mally Comes In 4th In Washington Post-University of Maryland Poll

It's Going To Be A Beautiful Day

While the leaves are changing colors and falling to the ground, many are starting to stock up on wood and pellets for the upcoming winter months. Today will be one of the final days we can enjoy summer temperatures so be sure to get outside and enjoy what's left. 

A Viewer Writes: ERIC'S DOWNTOWN BARBERSHOP

FYI...made my first trip in his barbershop.. Was very happy with the service I got and even though they were very busy... Everything went smoothly.. With that... I know now where I am going from now on.... Thanks Eric and Company.

Playboy magazine to stop publishing pictures of naked women

Playboy magazine will stop publishing pictures of fully nude women because the ubiquity of internet pornography has made such images “passé”, the company’s chief executive has revealed.

In an interview with the New York Times, CEO Scott Flanders said founder Hugh Hefner, 89, had agreed with a proposal to stop publishing images of naked women from March 2016.

The redesigned Playboy, 62 years after it was launched by Hefner, will still feature a Playmate of the Month and provocative pictures of women, but they will be rated PG-13 (a rating that cautions that material may be inappropriate for children under 13).

Flanders told the NYT: “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”

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Jobs Available With Wicomico County

HILLARY CLINTON FLIP-FLOPS: OPPOSES “OBAMATRADE”

We believe Hillary Clinton should be in jail right now … not issuing pronouncements on U.S. economic policy as part of her presidential bid.

Seriously: This woman is bad news.

Nonetheless, we find ourselves in the rare position of agreeing with Clinton this week after she flip-flopped on a major economic issue. After numerous previous statements of support, Clinton is now opposing U.S. president Barack Obama‘s crony capitalist trade deal: Obamatrade (a.k.a. the “Trans-Pacific Partnership,” or TPP).

“As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it,” Clinton said.

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Clemson’s Political Correctness Is Getting Out Of Hand

TACO NIGHT IS RACIST?

There’s a story on political correctness running amok on the campus of Clemson University … and this time it has absolutely nothing to do with the school’s tortured relationship with its segregationist past. Or that whole #Cripmas scandal.

The story – published by Campus Reform – focuses on the school’s “Maximum Mexican” food night, which is about the least controversial thing we could possibly imagine.

Until now …

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Is the Annual Pay Raise Dead?

Already have plans to spend that big end-of-year bonus on something special? You might want to stop dreaming. While you're at it, you might want to stop planning, too.

A recent study proclaimed troubling news for workers: For the fifth year in a row, employee bonus pools will come in below target, according to benefits consulting firm Towers Watson. And 2015 bonuses will be funded even less than last year. That means companies have fallen short of their financial goals, so expect whatever end-of-year gift you were hoping for (planning for?) to be a disappointment.

A different compensation research firm, Aon Hewitt, disagrees with Towers' finding, and said bonus pools are basically right on target this year (102% of target, actually). Whew!

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Now That's Rich

Queen Anne's County Office Of The Sheriff Press Release 10-13-15

Police Activity: Late Monday night Friendly's Food Mart located on Main Street Stevensville was held up at gunpoint by two individuals.

The suspects fled the location in a vehicle which was later located in the Kent Narrows area.on fire.

The area was searched with the aid of MSP aviation with negative results. It is believed the suspects likely fled in another vehicle, however Deputies and MSP remain in the area.

Investigation is assigned to the Sheriff's Criminal Investigation Unit and they are at the location at this time.

Sheriff Gary Hofmann

Report Claims Mercedes, Honda, Mazda Diesels Also Have Questionable Emissions

Volkswagen may not be the only carmaker with diesel engines that pass emissions tests in the garage but would fail if tested on the open road. A new report claims that several other manufacturers have diesel vehicles that test well until you put them in real world driving situations. 

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Would-be Waffle House robber dies after having been shot by customer

The Waffle House crew was busily going about its typical early-morning ritual — smothering and scrambling breakfast, clanking through the dirty dishes — when a robber jolted them out of their routine.

A customer decided he was having none of that and opened fire in the North Charleston eatery, thwarting the holdup Saturday by fatally shooting the suspect.

The young man who tried to rob the restaurant was rushed to Medical University Hospital, but he later died, police spokeswoman Angela Johnson said.

The intervening customer, who has not been identified, had a permit to carry a pistol, authorities said.

A restaurant employee expressed gratitude for the customer’s action.

“He saved us, that’s what he did.”

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