Texas judge accused of hatching secret deal with red light camera company

A Texas judge arrested for making a secret deal committing his county to a 10-year contract with a red-light camera company was suspended Tuesday for allegedly blowing right past the state's Sunshine Laws.

Judge Joel Patrick Baker of Smith County was arrested last week, after an activist group complained his 2014 meeting with American Traffic Solutions officials violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. Baker was charged with three misdemeanor counts of violating the act.

"A community is known for what it tolerates," the activist group, Grassroots America We the People, said in a statement. "In Smith County, Texas, we should never accept disrespect for citizens, abuse of the public trust, and selective application of the rule of law."

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Report: ABC, CBS, NBC cover Trump 'scandals' 4-1 over Clinton's

Much has been made of all the free media Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has received, but a watchdog report out Monday finds that much of the coverage has been negative and that ABC, CBS and NBC have covered his controversies more than Hillary Clinton's by a 4-to-1 margin.

The Media Research Center analysis of 1,099 presidential election stories from January 1 to June 7 found that Trump did indeed dominate coverage, getting nearly half of the total airtime. The networks spent 1,068 minutes on Trump out of a total of 2,137 minutes overall on the race.

The report from MRC Research Director Rich Noyes found that much of that time was focused on Trump "scandals" and controversies.

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Feinstein: 'Big hassle' to deport foreign nationals on terror watch lists

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says it would be impractical to attempt to deport individuals on the terror watch lists whom she thinks should be barred from purchasing weapons.

"I think you'd have a big hassle, particularly if they come under [the] visa waiver [program], how do you just pick them up and deport them?" Feinstein told the Washington Examiner. "There's no law that says you can."

Foreign nationals are part of the discussion about how to respond to the Orlando terrorist attack, which was carried about by a U.S. citizen born to Afghan parents. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has proposed a ban on weapons sales to individuals on the no-fly list and the selectee list, which provides extra scrutiny for certain air travelers, but Senate Democrats worry that it doesn't include a ban on weapon sales for foreign nationals.

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Firemen Eat For Free

Donald Trump dump rumors spread for Republican National Convention

Pro-Romney forces given reins to GOP convention rules, positioned to launch anti-Trump coup

The specter of Donald Trump’s presidential nomination being ripped from under him in a nastily contested Republican National Convention next month is alive — again.

Anti-Trump forces appeared to have been defeated after he ousted his remaining opponents from the race in early May and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus all signaled that Mr. Trump had sewn things up.

But weeks of bad press stemming from Mr. Trump’s criticism of a federal judge and uneven handling in the aftermath of the Orlando, Florida, terrorist shooting have kick-started efforts to deny Mr. Trump the nomination on the convention floor.

The dump-Trump forces may have received another opening last week when Mr. Priebus tapped Utah RNC member Enid Greene Mickelsen and Massachusetts RNC member Ron Kaufman as Republican National Convention Rules Committee chairwoman and co-chairman, respectively.

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Chestertown MD, Downtown in the 1940s

Fed Chair Highlights How Obama-Clinton Policies Aren't Working

At A Senate Hearing, Yellen Testified That Growth Was "Uneven," Called Recent Jobs Reports "A Substantial Slowdown," And Said The Unemployment Rate Was Only Down Because People Have Stopped Looking For Work

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Called Recent Estimated Economic Growth "Uneven," Citing A Weak GDP Growth In The First Quarter Of This Year. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR JANET YELLEN: "Economic growth has been uneven over recent quarters. U.S. inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) is currently estimated to have increased at an annual rate of only 3/4 percent in the first quarter of this year. Subdued foreign growth and the appreciation of the dollar weighed on exports, while the energy sector was hard hit by the steep drop in oil prices since mid-2014; in addition, business investment outside of the energy sector was surprisingly weak." (Janet Yellen, Committee On Banking, Housing, And Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate,Testimony, 6/21/16)

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Suit Accusing Starbucks of Under-Filling Lattes Can Proceed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge is allowing the bulk of a lawsuit accusing Starbucks of systematically under-filling lattes to move forward.

Two California residents are suing the Seattle-based coffee chain, claiming that Starbucks lattes are only filled to about 75 percent of the cup’s capacity. The lawsuit says Starbucks instituted a recipe in 2009 to create smaller lattes in order to save money on milk.

A federal judge in San Francisco has thrown out three of the eight claims filed against Starbucks.

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So True

When Your Dad Works In The Movies

Subject: Secret Service: Raging Hillary Clinton Threw Bible at Colleague

Hillary Clinton once threw a Bible at the back of a Secret Service agent’s head, part of a pattern of unhinged rage that the now-presumptive Democratic nominee exhibited, as exposed for the first time in former Secret Service agent Gary Byrne’s grueling insider account of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Byrne’s forthcoming book Crisis of Character—in which he details how the Clintons operated during his time in the U.S. Secret Service, where he protected the first couple for eight years in the White House in the 1990s. During three of those years, he was posted right outside the Oval Office. The book comes out next week.

“The First Lady had a different sort of liveliness,” Byrne writes in an excerpt obtained exclusively by Breitbart News. “She once threw a Bible at an agent on her detail, hitting him in the back of the head. He bluntly let her know it wasn’t acceptable. He told me that story himself.”

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Feds: Homeland Security Employee Caught With Gun, Knife

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether a Department of Homeland Security employee with top-secret clearance was planning an attack at the agency’s Washington headquarters when he entered the building with a gun, a knife, an infrared camera, pepper spray and handcuffs.

Court documents filed by the federal government allege employee Jonathan Wienke carried the weapons into the building in his backpack on the morning of June 9. The documents state that the government has probable cause to believe Wienke may have been “planning to commit violence against senior DHS officials in the building.”

Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, said Wienke was charged June 10 with carrying a pistol without a license and the case remains under investigation. Wienke could not be reached for comment.

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Unearthed letters cast doubt on Obama’s family story

Personal narrative helped propel him to White House

NEW YORK – In newly discovered letters, President Obama’s Kenyan father made no mention of his son, raising further doubt about the personal narrative that helped put Obama on a rapid path to the White House.

The New York Times published six letters from a collection of 24 written by Barack Hussein Obama Sr. that were discovered recently in an archives box at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

The letters dated after Feb. 2, 1961 – the earliest date attributed to the Kenyan’s marriage to Ann Dunham – made no mention of Dunham or their son, the future president, which would have been to his advantage in his desperate effort, as the letters show, to obtain funding for his studies.

Barack Obama Jr.’s path to the White House began when he famously introduced himself to the world at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 as the product of an “improbable love” between a Kansas girl and a Kenyan goat herder.

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Department Recruits Young Adults for Maryland Conservation Corps

Award-Winning AmeriCorps Program Provides Practical Experience and Skills

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is now recruiting 17-25 year olds for the Maryland Conservation Corps, an award-winning AmeriCorps program that engages young adults in extensive natural resource management and park conservation projects across the state.

The program seeks to hire 35 full-time crew members for an 11-month period, beginning in October 2016.

“The Maryland Conservation Corps engages young people in the enhancement, protection and restoration of our state’s public lands and waters,” Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said. “The program provides for both personal and professional development, where crew members partake in conservation, environmental education, park operation, stream monitoring, trail maintenance and more.”

Orlando Police Chief: Blame Omar Mateen for 'Friendly Fire'

(McClatchy) Any deaths caused by police fire as they battled Omar Mateen inside the Pulse nightclub in the wee hours of June 12 should be blamed on Mateen and not on the responding officers, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said Monday.

“Those killings are on the suspect and on the suspect alone, in my mind,” Mina said.

Forty-nine people, plus the 29-year-old Mateen, died in the mayhem, and 53 others were wounded.

The question of possible deaths by police fire arose soon after the shootings. One survivor,Norman Casiano, 26, told ABC News that he was shot by police when he crawled out from his hiding place in the bathroom after he thought it was safe.

Read the full story at McClatchy.

PHOTOS: Governor Larry Hogan In Ocean City For Firemen's Parade

Wild Video: Belligerent Driver Is Given Final Warning by Motorcyclist Not to Touch Him or His Property Again — He Doesn’t Listen

A road rage incident turned fist fight was captured on camera in a Walmart parking lot in Colorado.

Video uploaded to YouTube and published by the Daily Mail on Tuesday shows motorcyclist Devin Smith pulling up to the store location when he confronts a man in a white car. Smith had reportedly followed the driver after seeing him speed through a neighborhood outside Denver, according to TomoNews.

“You seem to be in quite the hurry. Why are you driving like that?” Smith asks the driver as he gets out of the car.

But things soon take a downward turn as the man starts spewing profanities and making jokes about Smith’s mom. Moments later, though, the driver takes it one step too far when he touches Smith’s motorcycle.

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Hillary Clinton’s Policies Created Conditions for Rise of Islamic State

Americans are once again forced to face the threat of ISIS-inspired terrorism, and now it’s up to Donald Trump and the Republican leadership to make sure everyone knows how Hillary Clinton caused this mess.

One key to stopping this long international nightmare of Islamic terrorism will be reminding American voters every single day between now and November that the foreign policy decisions of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton caused the rise of ISIS.

The history is very clear. When Barack Obama took office in 2008 with Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State, one of his first moves on foreign policy was his New Beginning speech in Cairo, Egypt. With members of the Muslim Brotherhood in attendance, Pres. Obama claimed a new era had begun in America’s attitude toward Islam.

What followed was the “Arab Spring” uprisings throughout the region. Even though people initially hailed these as bold moves by people desperate for freedom, the “Arab Spring” was, in fact, a way for Islamists to dethrone the region’s more secular military dictators. Cairo itself made this clear: just months after Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton declared a new beginning, rebels removed Hosni Mubarak from office, and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood came to power and installed brutal sharia law.

The single biggest factor that led to the rise of ISIS was the failed attempt to overthrow Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad. The United States openly called for the overthrow of Assad, even though it was clear that the result of that overthrow would be Islamist groups taking over.

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Gold Medalist Michael Phelps Completes Probation for DUI

BALTIMORE (AP) — Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps has completed his probation for drunken driving.

Department of Public Safety and Corrections Services spokesman Gerard Shields said Tuesday that 30-year-old Phelps completed his probation Sunday and his case is closed.

The 18-time gold medalist pleaded guilty in 2014 to driving under the influence. A one-year sentence was suspended, but Phelps had to serve 18 months probation.

Documents show Phelps was leaving the Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore in September 2014 when he was pulled over for speeding and crossing the double yellow line in a tunnel. Police say Phelps registered a .14 percent on a blood-alcohol test, beyond Maryland’s .08 limit to drive.

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U.S. Spends More on Medical Care for Inmates than Seniors, Veterans, Military Personnel

President Obama has repeatedly demonstrated that there’s an extra special place in his heart for incarcerated criminals, but this is a bit much. The administration spends a lot more money on the medical care of jailed convicts than retired seniors on Medicare, active U.S. military personnel or veterans, including an extra $100 million in one year alone, according to a federal audit released this month.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) consistently pays outside doctors and hospitals more to treat inmates than Medicare or other federal agencies would pay for the same services, according to the report which is the result of a Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General investigation. “We found that the BOP is the only federal agency that pays for medical care that is not covered under a statute or regulation under which the government sets the agency’s reimbursement rates, usually at the Medicare rate,” the report states. “Instead, the BOP solicits and awards a comprehensive medical services contract for each BOP institution to obtain outside medical services.”

This means the BOP negotiates its own rates for medical services, which is outrageous and ends up costing American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually. Without the cost regulations that apply to all other federal agencies, the BOP pays a premium above applicable Medicare rates for medical care. In fiscal year 2014, for instance, the BOP spent at least $100 million more for medical care than it would have if it had paid Medicare rates. Other law enforcement agencies, including those within the DOJ like the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), stay within the Medicare rates to provide outside medical services for individuals in their custody. So does the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Indian Health Service to treat members of the military and their dependents, veterans and Native Americans.

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Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann

In 1922, a whale washed up on the beach near Caroline Street in Ocean City. It was towed out to sea by the U.S. Coast Guard but floated ashore again just north of the fishing pier.

The City Council ordered the whale carcass dynamited and several pieces landed on the Pier building and surrounding hotels and stores.

Legend has it that the smell of rotten whale did not entirely disappear until the Great Fire of 1925 destroyed most of the buildings in the vicinity of the Pier.
Photo courtesy of Pauline Walston

Report: 4,948,000 illegals eligible for amnesty, 716,000 in battleground states

With the Supreme Court readying its decision on President Obama's illegal immigrant amnesty programs, a new report shows that nearly 5 million aliens would be eligible for just two of the president's initiatives, or nearly half of the total population of undocumented immigrants.

What's more, the interactive map of those eligible for amnesty finds that the 2016 presidential battleground states would be heavily impacted, since 716,000 live in those nine states.


Overall, some 4,948,000 illegals would be eligible for Obama's deportation deferral programs, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, according to a report from the Center for American Progress, which supports Obama.

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IT aide who set up Hillary email to testify

Judicial Watch lawsuit seeks details of off-the-books computer server

The IT tech who set up the private email server through which Hillary Clinton conducted official government business while she was secretary of state, including top secret communications, will be deposed in a lawsuit.

But the video interview Wednesday in a case brought by Judicial Watch likely won’t yield much, if any, information.

It’s because Bryan Pagliano has said he will plead the Fifth and not answer questions, even though he’s already been granted an immunity deal.

Judicial Watch is questioning a number of Hillary Clinton aides and may even seek to put the presumptive Democratic nominee for president under oath, too, as it tries to get information about the controversial employment status of top aide Huma Abedin.

Visit the WND Superstore for the details on Hillary Clinton’s history and plans, in “Hillary The Other Woman,” and “Partners in Crime.” Then take action with the Hillary Clinton Investigative Justice Project and let others know, with a bumper sticker calling for “Hillary for prosecution, not president.”

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This New Law Ensures South Carolina Students Will Study the Founding Documents

Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, signed a South Carolina House bill into law that implements the study of U.S. founding documents into the state’s public high schools.

The South Carolina Founding Principles Act requires the study of the United States Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and “the structure of the government and the role of separation of powers and the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights” to be added into statewide social studies programs.

This bill, signed June 1, reinforces South Carolina’s Section 59-29-120 that required all public education students, both in high school and in college, to pass a test after a year-long class on the founding documents and principles.

The Founding Principles Act bolsters the existing law by adding an accountability clause requiring the State Department of Education to report to the House and Senate Education Committees as well as the Public Works Committee every two years. This report will outline how South Carolina educators are teaching the documents in their classrooms.

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FOX News is One of Top 10 Largest Donors to the Clintons

Christians and conservatives continue to be hoodwinked by FOX News. Not only has the organization beensupporting the sodomite agenda, but they have also been one of the top ten donors to the Clinton Family since 1992.

Michael Lotfi reported:

To many, it seems contrary to intuition that Fox News could be one of the Clinton family's largest donors for the better part of two decades. Check your intuition at the door- it's true. According to Federal Election Commission and Center for Responsive Politics data, 21st Century Fox News Corp. has donated more than $3 million to Clinton family accounts. Overall, this lands Fox as the Clinton family's 9th largest donor over the course of the family's political involvement.

Top corporate and union donors to the Clintons over two decades, compared with top corporate and union donors to Obama's 2012 campaign.

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Maryland manufacturer expands, will create new jobs on Eastern Shore

Maryland based armored systems manufacturer, Hardwire LLC, will create 20 new jobs over the next three years following an expansion of their operations, state officials said Tuesday.

Gov. Larry Hogan visited the headquarters in Pocomoke City to congratulate Hardwire and encourage job growth on the Eastern Shore.

“We are committed to economic prosperity in all regions of Maryland, and today we celebrate the growth of a very important company in Worcester County and in Pocomoke City,” Hogan said in a release.

Hardwire manufactures products and armor protection for military and police vehicles, aircraft, boats and more. Their products are also used for commercial vehicles and U.S. transportation infrastructure, for upgrading of bridges and buildings and for reinforcing flooring.

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Clinton Foundation gives tiny fraction of $2 billion in revenue to veterans groups

The Clinton Foundation has collected more than $2 billion in revenue since it formed — but has given only the tiniest fraction to veterans groups, instead preferring to focus on international causes and in-house operations that provide far more control and less transparency.

Meanwhile, a separate private charity, the Clinton Family Foundation, has donated about $100,000 to veterans groups, according to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Rival Donald Trump’s charitable giving to veterans has come under scrutiny since he promised to raise millions for the cause at a January rally in Iowa. Reports questioned whether he followed through, forcing him to release a list of organizations and dollar amounts he gave — including a $1 million check of his own.

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NFL teams trying to reduce fumbles with beeping footballs

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Amid the hooting and hollering at Washington Redskins minicamp, there’s a different sound in the air during running back drills.

Coaches whack at the football with Matt Jones carrying it, and it beeps. Then it beeps longer.

That’s a good sign.

The Redskins are one of five NFL teams using so-called beeping or whistling footballs to emphasize ball security. When the ball is being held correctly with the fundamental five points of pressure, it emits an audible beeping sound at about 80 decibels to tell a player he’s doing it right.

“If I had that ball in high school, I don’t think I would’ve had a fumble,” Jones said. “It’s teaching me how to squeeze the ball at the point of contact. Everything has changed about me holding the ball.”

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Russian Hackers Behind DNC Breach Seeking to Influence U.S. Election

Cyber actors linked to Russia’s intelligence service carried out a sophisticated cyber attack against Democratic National Committee computer networks in a bold attempt to influence the U.S. presidential election.

That’s the consensus view of U.S. intelligence agencies and private computer security firms regarding the covert intrusions by Moscow into DNC networks over the course of at least one year that resulted in the theft and release of sensitive internal information.

As with other state-sponsored cyber attacks, the White House is refusing to condemn the incident or take action despite ample electronic intelligence indicating the DNC hacking was a Russian cyber operation.

It is not the first major Russian cyber attack. Others in recent months have included cyber penetrations of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff email server and infiltrations of unclassified networks at the White House and State Department.

White House National Security Council spokesman Mark E. Stroh told The Cyber Threat it does not regard the DNC hacking operation as a Russian state-sponsored cyber attack. “That’s a supposition,” he said. “The USG has not made that determination.”

The comment suggests that the Obama administration is again avoiding any action in response to major and damaging cyber attack against the United States. Its questionable rationale is that the DNC attack cannot be linked to Russia without courtroom-level evidence, despite intelligence indicating that it is. The issue of attack attribution—the ability of intelligence agencies to conclusively link cyber intrusions to known state sponsors of cyber attacks—is once against letting the bad guys off the hook.

Former NSA cyber analyst Dave Aitel believes the DNC hack was not just a cyber intelligence-gathering operation. It was a cyber warfare strike against critical U.S. infrastructure, namely the political party system of the United States.

“The U.S. government has a decision to make here,” Aitel asserts. “If it does not come out strongly against this action by the Russian intelligence services now, then when will it?”

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AZ Sheriff: Obama Telegraphing 'Make It To the Border, You're Home Free,' Border 'Likely Avenue of Approach' for Terrorists

On Monday’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” on the Fox News Channel, Pinal County, AZ Sheriff and Congressional candidate Paul Babeu (R) stated that illegal immigrants are “getting telegraphed this message by President Obama and the administration, make it to the border, you’re home free.” And that the border is the “likely avenue of approach for terrorists to sneak into America.”

Babeu said that he isn’t surprised that the amount of illegal immigrants caught crossing the southern border is up in FY 2016 from FY 2015 because illegal immigrants are “getting telegraphed this message by President Obama and the administration, make it to the border, you’re home free. And they’re very concerned, very fearful that, this is all going to change with a new administration, and pray God it does, because we’ve seen in eight months — this is 45,000. These are just families that are coming across. It doesn’t include all the illegals that comes — one, by themselves, or a group of ten or 20 or 40, and so this is troubling, because just in these eight months, we’ve seen more than all of last year.”

Babeu also agreed that the notion of an “anchor baby” has changed from having children in the US, to simply getting a child over the border, and then joining them. He added, “We’re treating these refugees and asylum seekers better than we treat our own senior citizens, better than we treat our own military veterans, who are committing suicide, 22 a day.”

He further stated that the unsecured border is the “likely avenue of approach for terrorists to sneak into America.”

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Repeat Offender Ordinance Passed In OC Despite Late Pleas, Court Filing

OCEAN CITY — Resort officials Monday passed an emergency ordinance enhancing penalties for individuals issued citations for municipal infractions who continue to fail to obey the law, but not before an 11th-hour attempt by a handful of Boardwalk street performers to halt the measure in federal court.

Last week, the Police Commission forwarded a proposed ordinance to the Mayor and Council that would make it unlawful for an individual to disobey an officer’s order to immediately cease and desist committing certain municipal infractions. Essentially, the ordinance would move certain municipal infractions to misdemeanors subject to fines and even jail time in certain cases for those warned to cease illegal activities and continue to flaunt the law.

On Monday, the Mayor and Council unanimously passed the measure as an emergency ordinance because of the time of year, but not before hearing from some street performers. While the ordinance is rooted somewhat in street performers who in the past would not adhere to the regulations on the Boardwalk in terms of where they could operate or noise levels, for example, it would apply to most municipal infractions enforced by the OCPD such as smoking in restricted areas or noise violations, for example.

However, a handful of street performers who already have a case pending in U.S. District Court seeking a reversal of the town’s new lottery system for buskers, filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order against the proposed ordinance enhancing penalties for failure to obey a lawful order.

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Released Illegals Committed Nearly 10 Times More Crimes Than Obama Told Congress

The Obama Administration “grossly misrepresented” the number of crimes the criminal aliens it released from custody in FY 2014 subsequently committed by nearly tenfold, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) charges.

According to FAIR, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FIOA) request on FAIR’s behalf reveal that the 30,558 criminal aliens ICE released in FY 2014 committed 13,288 additional crimes.

The number of subsequent convictions contained in FIOA documents is far higher than the 1,423 additional offenses ICE reported to the House Judiciary Committee last July.

The criminal aliens released in FY 2014 who went on to commit those additional crimes had convictions for offenses like homicide, kidnapping, assault, sexual assault, and drunk driving. The new crimes, according to ICE’s report to Congress, included vehicular homicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, DUI, burglary and assault.

“Rather than end dangerous politically-driven policies that have put a total of 85,000 deportable criminal aliens back onto the streets in the last three years, ICE tried to hide them by providing grossly inaccurate information to Congress and the American people,” Dan Stein, the president of FAIR, said in statement.

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BREAKING: Marco Rubio Makes Huge Announcement About His Future

Even though he said just one month ago that he had completely ruled out running for reelection in the Senate, it looks like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has had a change of heart.

Per The Washington Post, Rubio on Wednesday announced that he will officially seek reelection for his Senate seat, which Republicans had feared would certainly fall into Democratic hands unless Rubio got in the race. The announcement comes after Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) told CNN on last week that Rubio would be getting back in the race.

Rubio’s likely opponent in the race will be Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), who has consistently lead fellow Rep. Alan Grayson in polls for the Florida Democratic Senate primary.

Source: Raw Story

LIVE NOW Stream: Donald Trump Anti-Hillary Clinton Speech in NYC (6-22-16)

Michigan Loses ‘Right To Farm’ This Week: A Farewell To Backyard Chickens and Beekeepers

Michigan residents lost their “right to farm” this week thanks to a new ruling by the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development. Gail Philburn of the Michigan Sierra Club told Michigan Live, the news changes “effectively remove Right to Farm Act protection for many urban and suburban backyard farmers raising small numbers of animals.”

Backyard and urban farming were previously protected by Michigan’s Right to Farm Act. The Commission ruled that the Right to Farm Act protections no longer apply to many homeowners who keep small numbers of livestock.

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Goodson Verdict Could Affect Policing Around the Country

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—The Goodson Trial verdict expected later this week will be a watershed moment in the Freddie Gray case and could affect policing around the country.

Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was driving the police van when 25-year-old Gray suffered catastrophic injuries. He is the only officer charged with murder.

A conviction in the trial would be a game changer, in a case that’s already captured worldwide headlines and had a wide-ranging impact on Baltimore.

WJZ asked policing expert Rob Weinhold what’s at stake with this verdict?

“If you’re a law enforcement officer, you’re watching this verdict as closely as you watched a verdict in your career,” said Weinhold. “The reason is, it has a training impact and an operational impact on how officers do their job each and every day. I don’t know many officers who haven’t been charged with the responsibility of taking care of a prisoner, so this absolutely has an impact.”

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A Must See Video

Sowell: The Gun Control Farce

Surely murder is a serious subject, which ought to be examined seriously. Instead, it is almost always examined politically in the context of gun control controversies, with stock arguments on both sides that have remained the same for decades. And most of those arguments are irrelevant to the central question: Do tighter gun control laws reduce the murder rate?

That is not an esoteric question, nor one for which no empirical evidence is available. Think about it. We have 50 states, each with its own gun control laws, and many of those laws have gotten either tighter or looser over the years. There must be tons of data that could indicate whether murder rates went up or down when either of these things happened.

But have you ever heard any gun control advocate cite any such data?

Tragically, gun control has become one of those fact-free issues that spawn outbursts of emotional rhetoric and mutual recriminations about the National Rifle Association or the Second Amendment.

If restrictions on gun ownership do reduce murders, we can repeal the Second Amendment, as other Constitutional Amendments have been repealed. Laws exist to protect people. People do not exist to perpetuate laws.

But if tighter restrictions on gun ownership do not reduce murders, what is the point of tighter gun control laws — and what is the point of demonizing the National Rifle Association?

There are data not only from our 50 states but also from other countries around the world...

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Guess Who Was a Guest at Obama’s White House? Hint: “Orlando”

Last week, we had another terrorist attack during the Obama administration. Every year since Obama has been in office, Americans have had at least one attack by a terrorist. Yet to say the words, “Radical Islamic Terrorism”…that’s very difficult for President Obama. It’s as if, he thinks the rest of us that believe it, must live in a fairy tale world. How could just saying the words “Radical Islamic Terrorist” make a difference, any way? Afterall, Obama has said, the future must not belong to those of us who slander the prophet of Islam.

It’s no secret that Barack Obama is a Muslim sympathizer. If there’s any question about that in your mind listen to this.

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Delaware, Maryland get rehearing on costly power line project

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today granted the Delaware and Maryland Public Service Commissions’ joint request for rehearing for further consideration of the order issued on April 22 on the Artificial Island cost allocation. The official rehearing will be addressed in a future FERC order.

Delaware PSC Executive Director, Bob Howatt, stated, “We are pleased to find out that our joint request for rehearing has been granted for further consideration. We strongly feel that we have addressed the criteria set by the FERC as to why this project should be treated differently than other transmission projects. We will continue to fight for Delaware in an effort to reduce the cost allocation for this project.”

The project is designed to improve the stability of the power system at Artificial Island, the site of the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants.

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Religion of Peace : Moroccan Immigrant Shoots Female Ohio Police Officer

The Religion of Peace Strikes Again

A Moroccan man by the name of Muhammad Laghaoui is facing attempted murder charges after shooting a Sheriff’s Deputy in Deerfield Township, about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati.

Mohammed Abdou Laghaoui, 19, was taken custody at about 4:30 a.m. Laghaoui initially had fled the scene, leading to a seven-hour manhunt with helicopters and K-9 units. However, the “brainiac” criminal returned to the scene of the crime where he was subsequently apprehended.

The victim, Officer Barnes was responding to a domestic situation at the apartment complex Thursday night when she was shot in the lower abdomen. She was treated and released from the hospital and is expected to recover.

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Troopers Find Nearly 1,000 Pounds Of Pot In U-Haul Van

BALTIMORE, Md. (WJZ) — Two men were arrested when troopers found nearly 1,000 pounds of marijuana in the back of a U-Haul van during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 in Cecil County Monday night, authorities said.

Troopers stopped the van on the northbound exit ramp from I-95 to southbound Route 279 just after 8 p.m. for an unspecified traffic violation, according to the Maryland State Police.

After noticing something wasn’t right, a trooper brought out a drug-sniffing dog, which alerted to the presence of drugs, police said. A subsequent search of the vehicle found approximately 938 pounds of marijuana in the cargo hold.

The pot was confiscated and perhaps their largest for the area.

“We’re thinking it probably is the largest, if not it’s definitely up there,” said Lt. Danile Everett, Maryland State Police JFK Highway Barrack. ” The estimated street value is $5,000 a pound.

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The Difference Between A Clinton Rally And A Trump Rally

NWS confirms tornado touched down in Howard Co.

WASHINGTON — The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in Howard County Tuesday afternoon.

Matt Elliott, a NWS meteorologist, tells WTOP that the “high-end EF0″ tornado touched down at 1:29 p.m. and lifted at 1:48 p.m.

“Anything more than 10 minutes, especially for around here, is a fairly long time for a tornado to last,” Elliott said.

In those nearly 20 minutes, the tornado traveled 12.75 miles, traveling across the western and central portions of the county.

“Most of our tornadoes here are quick spinups, so it is rare for it to have a somewhat long track in terms of 10 miles or so,” Elliott said. “It’s not something that happens very often.”

The tornado had winds of up to 80 mph with a path width of 500 yards.

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Lehigh Valley, PA

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Has Your Doctor Been Disciplined? Here's How to Find Out

Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., taking more than 250,000 lives a year, in part because of physician mistakes, Johns Hopkins University researchers estimate. But finding out if your doctor has been disciplined isn’t easy, a new report finds.

But the analysis, by Consumer Reports, identifies a handful of techniques for discovering whether your doctor has been disciplined for “making careless, sometimes deadly, mistakes,” poor treatment of patients, sexual misconduct, drug addiction, or other offenses.

According to the CR report, thousands of practicing doctors in the United States are on probation for such offenses. A survey by the nonprofit group found that 82 percent of respondents said doctors should have to tell patients if they're on probation and why, and two-thirds support banning doctors from practicing medicine until their probation ends.

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Michael Jackson stockpiled pornography at Neverland Ranch, documents show

Michael Jackson’s activities at Neverland Ranch are back in the news this week amid the disclosure of documents suggesting the King of Pop kept a stash of pornography there.

The issue of pornography first arose about a decade ago when Jackson was on trial on molestation charges.

At the time, Santa Barbara County prosecutors described Neverland as a fantasy world that Jackson built to lure young boys, who he then "groomed" with alcohol and pornography before molesting them. Jackson was acquitted in that case. He died in 2009.

Now, Radar Online has published what appear to be case documents as well as pornographic images that were purportedly among items Jackson used to lure children.

Kelly Hoover, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office, told The Times "some of the documents appear to be copies of reports that were authored by Sheriff’s Office" along with evidentiary photographs taken by Sheriff’s Office personnel. But she cautioned that they are interspersed with content that appears to be obtained off the Internet or through other sources. The sheriff's material, she added, had case numbers on it.

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Registration open for Men’s and Coed Fall Softball

Salisbury, MD – Gather some friends, show off softball skills and have fun as part of a Wicomico Recreation & Parks adult softball team.

Registration is open now for men’s and coed adult softball leagues, for ages 16 and older.

Coed games start Aug. 5 and men’s games start Aug. 8. Games will be played at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex and other county fields if needed.

The registration deadline for the men’s league is July 15, with late registration open until July 22. There are two registration options: A $395 league fee plus $35 per-player fees, or an $850 team fee.

The registration deadline for the coed league is July 22 for league and team registrations and July 29 for players registering as part of a league. It’s $325 for the league fee and $32 per player, or $740 for a team.

Registration is available at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Box Office (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.) and online atwww.WicomicoRecandParks.org. Contact Brian Workman at 410-548-4900, ext. 105, or email bworkman@wicomicocounty.org.

Day 3: Will the sun help us reach Europe?

After darkness always comes light. The sun has risen for the third time during this flight, after 47 hours since taking off from New York City. The second night in Si2 has been a real challenge for Bertrand Piccard - a cocktail of tired sentiments and turbulence over the Azores. Although this night has been tough for the pilot and the mission engineers at the Mission Control Center, the moment of truth is still to come. Will the Si2 batteries begin to charge again with the sun to get ready for the last night over the Atlantic Ocean?

Tune in to see it at 8:00AM UTC!

Watch it!

Landmark Catholic school in downtown Frederick closing

A Catholic girls school in downtown Frederick says the 192-year-old institution will close June 30 due to low enrollment and rising costs.

Visitation Academy Chairman Mark Matan (MAT'-en) announced the shutdown Friday in a letter to parents.

Archdiocese of Baltimore spokesman Sean Caine says in an email that 89 students are registered for next school year. WTOP-FM reported the school's enrollment at 145 in 2012.

The school offered classes from pre-kindergarten through middle school.

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Don’t Let These 5 Missteps Trip Up Your Plans For Retirement

About 10,000 Americans retire each day and millions more are lined up right behind them, waiting for the day when they can finally enjoy a little relaxation after a lifetime of toil.

But many of those people could be headed for retirement disaster if they don’t develop a better understanding of what their financial needs will be once their working years come to an end.

“Studies show that most Americans are way behind in saving what they will need for retirement,” says Bryan Slovon, founder and CEO of Stuart Financial Group (www.Stuartfg.com).

“But that’s just one of the problems. Many people also tend to misjudge the amount of expenses they might face when they retire.”

Slovon says common missteps people often make when planning for retirement include:

• Their retirement strategy is sketchy or non-existent. People often stash away money for retirement without any clear strategy about how much they should be saving and what their projected expenses in retirement might be. A carefully planned strategy will help you determine what percentage of your income you should save. If you already have a strategy, Slovon suggests reviewing it every three years to make sure you’re still on track to achieve your goals.
• They live beyond their means. Perhaps all that excessive spending is working out for now while you’re fully employed. But when the regular paychecks stop there could be trouble. Slovon says it’s important in retirement planning to create a budget and stick to it.
• They assume they’ll always be healthy. Many people either don’t factor in healthcare costs at all or they underestimate how much those costs might be. One study estimated that a 65-year-old married couple who retired in 2014 would need about $220,000 to pay for healthcare costs in retirement.
• They don’t save enough to cover inflation. This is an easy mistake to make – but a costly one. The amount of money you’ll need in year one of retirement isn’t the same as what you’ll need in year five and year 10, even assuming that nothing about your lifestyle changes. Inflation can chip away at your retirement nest egg, causing you to come up short.
• They fail to plan for the possibility of long-term care. Most people who think ahead to retirement dream about beaches, cruises, hobbies or time with the grandchildren. They don’t give much thought to the likelihood that at some point they will require long-term care, yet that’s the case for 70 percent of those over 65. The average nursing home costs $6,844 a month, according to a survey by Genworth Financial Inc.

“It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to have a good strategy in place as you save and plan,” Slovon says. “You can’t leave financing your retirement to chance.”

Michael Blackson's Ugly Is The New Cute Comedy Tour stops at the WY&CC Sept. 30

Tickets on sale now

SALISBURY, MD – Michael Blackson is coming to the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center on Friday, Sept. 30 as part of his Ugly is the New Cute comedy tour. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center box office, by phone at 410-548-4911 or online at www.WicomicoCivicCenter.org.

A 20-year veteran of stand-up, film and television, the Ghanaian/Liberian Blackson came to America in the late '80s and spent his first three years in North New Jersey before moving to Philadelphia, where he settled and began pursuing his dream of becoming a comedian.

Having been inspired by the comedy of Eddie Murphy, Blackson officially started his career in the '90s in the Philadelphia area and immediately started making an indelible mark on the comedy scene there, becoming well known as The African King of Comedy. During the next decade, he honed his craft in the challenging comedy clubs in the area and spread his wings by performing in many well-known comedy competitions across the country, including the USA Comedy Central tour in Philadelphia, the Schlitz Malt Liquor Comedy Tour in Valley Forge, the Urban Comedy Festival in New York City, the Laffapalooza Comedy Festival in Atlanta and the legendary Bay Area Black Comedy Competition in Oakland.

He began gaining national attention after his memorable performance in the 2000 hit comedy film "Next Friday," produced by Ice Cube's film production company Cubevision. Soon after, in the next decade, he released his top-selling comedy sketch CD titled "Modasucka: Welcome to America," shined in extraordinary performances on Diddy's "Bad Boys of Comedy" and Russell Simmons' "Def Comedy Jam" on HBO, had a very notable guest starring role on the Emmy nominated "Chappelle's Show" on Comedy Central, and a hilarious guest appearance on the NBC Emmy-winning comedy series, "30 Rock." Additionally, he appeared in a supporting role in the movie "Repos" (written, produced, and starring Master P), a great part in cutting-edge artist B.o.B's "I'll Be In the Sky" music video, a hysterical panel segment on BET's "The Mo'Nique Show," and multiple uproarious recurring appearances on the TBS hit series "Are We There Yet?"

In the past few years, he has had groundbreaking performances on Martin Lawrence Presents: "1st Amendment Stand-Up" and Showtime's Shaquille O'Neal "All-Star Comedy Jam" - a performance so powerful that he was asked to headline the prestigious Shaq All-Star Comedy Jam Tour in more than 50 cities across the United States. His latest riotous project, the feature film "Meet The Blacks," released this year, stars Mike Epps, Charlie Murphy and George Lopez.

With more than 600,000 followers on Twitter, a million fans on Instagram, 2 million devoted admirers on Facebook, and over 100 million views on YouTube, Blackson is one of the biggest comedians in the world in terms of social media. He has been called "one of the most original stand-up comedians in the country" and continues to tour sold-out theaters and comedy clubs with unforgettable performances across the world, while simultaneously preparing to shoot the lead role in his latest movie that he wrote and will produce ("Washed-Up") and starring in Oxygen Network's newest hit comedy series, "Living with Funny."

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