Salisbury News: 03/15/17

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Two Caroline County Men Sentenced for June Arson Fire

Caroline County, March 15, 2017, Two Caroline County men have been sentenced in a Caroline County court for their involvement in an intentionally set house fire that occurred on June 14, 2016. The fire occurred at 23290 Ninetown Road in Ridgely at 10:22 pm and brought 43 firefighters from the Ridgely and surrounding fire departments out to extinguish. The unoccupied house was owned by Joseph Murray of Ridgely.

Jeremiah Durham (19) plead guilty in November to second degree Arson and was sentenced to 10 years of detention with all but 6 months suspended. In addition, Durham must pay 50% of $16,600 in restitution to Mr. Murray and was placed on 5 years of supervised probation.

Dustin O’Neal (19) also plead guilty today to second degree Arson and has been sentenced to 10 years of detention with all but 12 months suspended. He will serve his 12 months locally. Mr. O’Neal will pay the other 50% of the $16,600 in restitution to Mr. Murray and will also be placed on 5 years of supervised probation.

Durham and O’Neal were originally taken into custody by Deputy State Fire Marshals on June 29, 2016.

Antidepressant drug could be key to beating prostate cancer

Antidepressants could be key to beating prostate cancer, experts have revealed.

They found an “old” drug helped stop the disease spreading to the bones — a major cause of death in those men diagnosed with the most common form of male cancer.

In nine out of 10 fatal cases of prostate cancer, the disease spreads to the bones.

Now, a team of scientists believe they have discovered exactly how the cancer cells are able to hijack the body’s bone maintenance system.

Having made the discovery, Dr. Jason Wu and his team at Washington State University found a known antidepressant drug, used in research, can halt the process.

“Our findings provide a rationale to pursue the use of these ‘old’ antidepressant drugs to benefit late-stage prostate cancer patients with signs and symptoms of metastasis,” he said.

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Delaware State Police to Conduct Citizen’s Police Academy in Sussex County

Georgetown, De. – The 2017 Spring Delaware State Police Citizen’s Police Academy will begin on Thursday, April 20, 2017. The academy is comprised of eight consecutive sessions for the next eight Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and will conclude on Thursday, June 8, 2017. Most of the classes will take place at the Sussex Emergency Operations Center located at 21911 Rudder Lane, Georgetown.

Participants will learn about a wide variety of police activities consistent with what a Delaware Trooper experiences today. The instruction includes criminal and traffic investigations, special units, and various other law enforcement related topics. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to ride with patrol troopers. Class size will be limited to 20 participants and a background check will be conducted on all applicants.

Deadline for registration is April 7, 2017. Applications must be turned in by that date in order to be processed.

If interested and would like to apply please contact Sergeant Richard D. Bratz at Richard.Bratz@state.de.us or 302-242-5456, in order to obtain an application. You may also download the application online by clicking on the following link: DSP Citizen's Police Academy Application

"The Powers-That-Be Have Looted Everything" - Greek Farmers Fight Riot Police With Shepherd Crooks

The economic and social disintegration of Greece used to be big news.

However it’s largely been overshadowed by the migrant crisis, and the American media hardly reports on Greece anymore. If you’ve been out of the loop, allow me to get you caught up on the financial situation in that country, by giving two answers to the questions you’re probably thinking. Yes, the Greek government still sucks. And yes, the people of Greece are still really pissed off.

Believe it or not, riots are still a common occurrence in that country. In fact there was an incident last week in Athens, after the government tried to increase taxes and social security contributions. In response, over a thousand farmers from Crete, who used to be immune from these taxes, took a ferry to Athens and proceeded to riot outside of the agriculture ministry building.

This however wasn’t an ordinary riot, not even by Greek standards. The farmers fought the riot police with shepherd crooks.

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Feds Paid Judge for 4 Years After Arrest for Drunken Assault

The Social Security Administration paid a judge for four years after he was arrested for assault, costing taxpayers $500,000.

The inspector general for the administration released an audit last week documenting abuses of the paid time off system. The audit identified 46 federal employees who received an average of 2,000 hours of paid administrative leave over a seven-year period.

On average, the employees were paid for 261 days to not work, which amounts to a full employment year.

In one egregious case, an administrative law judge (ALJ) was paid for 865.75 days after he was arrested for drunkenly assaulting a female security officer. The judge still earned his roughly $125,000 salary while he was suspended.

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Wikileaks' Assange Claims Hillary, Intel Officials "Quietly Pushing A Pence Takeover"

Over the weekend we noted chatter that some saw Mike Pence as "the Deep State's insurance policy," and now, judging by tweets from Wikileaks' Julian Assange, that may well be the Clinton/Intelligence Officials plan...

Adding that...

As The Daily Caller notes, Assange’s claims appear to come in response to reports that President Trump authorized the CIA to perform drone strikes on terrorists Monday evening...

NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald’s has started testing mobile order-and-pay after acknowledging the ordering process in its restaurants can be “stressful.”

The company says it will gather feedback from the test before launching the option nationally toward the end of the year. It says mobile order-and-pay is now available at 29 stores in Monterey and Salinas, California, and will expand to 51 more locations in Spokane, Washington, next week.

The rollout comes as customers increasingly seek out convenience through options like online ordering or delivery. McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook has noted the initial stages of visiting can be “stressful,” and the chain is making changes to improve the overall customer experience. That includes introducing ordering kiosks, which McDonald’s says can help ease lines at the counter and improve the accuracy of orders — another frustration for customers. Easterbrook has also talked about the potential of delivery.

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Judge Napolitano: How Obama Spied on Trump

In a startling segment on the Fox News program The First 100 Days, Judge Andrew Napolitano told viewers that there will be no paper trail linking President Obama to any surveillance of telephone calls in Trump Tower during the presidential transition period. (President Obama called it “wiretapping” even though no wires were involved.) The reason is that British intelligence had access to NSA surveillance data – which captures every phone call in the United States – and were able to provide such intelligence to President Obama without a FISA court warrant or any other paper trail that would expose an American intelligence agency that used the same NSA data. Click here to see the segment in which he explained the scheme, or watch it below:

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Troopers, Snowplow, National Guard Lead Toddler to Life-Saving Medical Care During Pa. Storm

The National Guard and Pennsylvania State Police teamed up with PennDOT to ensure that snow wouldn't stop a toddler in need of life-saving medical care from getting to the hospital.

Gov. Tom Wolf said a 23-month-old child was escorted by state snowplows and troopers through a heavy snowstorm from Mt. Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg to Geisinger Children’s Hospital in Danville as heavy snow fell Tuesday.

Troopers, guardsmen and a snowplow escorted the ambulance on its 80-mile trip Tuesday afternoon and "ensured everyone arrived safely," state police said.

The boy's mother, who did not want to be identified, told NBC10 her son was born prematurely and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that has required extensive medical treatment. She said the child was in critical condition and could have died if he wasn't transported to the hospital Tuesday.
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WCSO CID Press Release - Mar. 15, 2017

Incident: Robbery
Date of Incident: February 14, 2017
Location: 4800-Block of Meadowlark Drive, Salisbury, Maryland
Suspects:
Xavier Arlie Townsend 20 years old of Salisbury, MD
Alexis Aja Divine 20 years old of Salisbury, Princess Anne, MD
Narrative: On February 14, 2017, deputies from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 4800-Block of Meadowlark Drive, Salisbury, MD for a robbery. The victims told deputies they had previously placed an expensive diamond watch for sale on Craigslist. Alexis Divine and Xavier Townsend responded to the ad and met with the victims to view the watch, at the victim’s home. The victims handed Divine the watch to try on, Divine dropped her wrist and hand into Townsend’s hand, allowing Townsend to grab the watch. Townsend ran out the house with the stolen watch. Divine attempted to also run out of the house but was briefly detain by one of the victims. Townsend then returned inside and assaulted the victims and helped Divine escape. Both Divine and Townsend fled the scene in Divine’s vehicle. Later, deputies were able to locate this vehicle, abandoned, in the area of Emerson Ave., Salisbury, MD. During the course of the investigation, deputies were able to identify Divine and Townsend as the suspects. Arrest warrants were later issued for Divine and Townsend.
On March 1, 2017, Alexis Divine was located and arrested in Princess Anne, Maryland and transferred to the Wicomico County Detention Center. On March 15, 2017, Xavier Townsend was served his arrest warrant at the Wicomico County Detention Center, where he is being held on unrelated charges.
Charges: Robbery; Con-Robbery; Theft $1,000 to Under $10,000; Assault 2nd Degree; Assault 2nd Degree

After Years of GOP Repeal Bills Under Obama, Now 'They Back Down'

Noah Wall, the national director of campaigns for FreedomWorks, joinedBreitbart News DailySiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Tuesday to discuss the FreedomWorks Day of Action rally scheduled for Wednesday in opposition to the Republican Obamacare replacement plan.

Concerning a full repeal of Obamacare, Wall said, “We’ve been promised this in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016, and these were not lighthearted promises. These were very powerful promises from members of Congress and the U.S. Senate across the political spectrum of Republicans.”

“Lo and behold,” added Wall, “the voters give Republicans Congress, they give them the Senate, and they give them the White House, and all of a sudden, the establishment comes up with a whole lot of reasons why we can’t do what we’ve been promising the American people.”

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248 arrested in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware, during ICE operation targeting criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and other immigration violators

PHILADELPHIA — A total of 248 foreign nationals were arrested over the last two weeks in the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aimed at criminal aliens, immigration fugitives, re-entrants and other immigration violators.

“ICE officers make extraordinary efforts to keep our communities safe, and this operation is just a small example of what they do every day. ERO officers took oaths to protect the homeland and to arrest individuals in violation of immigration laws,” said ERO Philadelphia Acting Field Office Director Jennifer Ritchey. “This operation resulted in multiple arrests of individuals with violent criminal arrests or convictions in the three-state region.”

“In the Philadelphia area, ICE arrested several at large criminal aliens in which the agency had issued detainers but the City of Philadelphia failed to honor them and released the individuals from custody — a situation that puts the public at unnecessary risk. ICE will continue to conduct targeted enforcement operations, whether local jurisdictions intend to cooperate with ICE or not.”

Fruitland PD Press Release 3-15-17 (Theft from vehicles)

DSP: Detectives Make Arrests in Series of Burglaries

Alicia E. Satterfield

Rontrell Leonard

Alonzo D. Sutton-Bullock (WANTED)

Kent and Sussex County - State Police Criminal Investigators and municipal police agencies in Kent and Sussex Counties have concluded their investigations into a series of commercial and residential burglaries and made arrests.

Detectives recently arrested Alicia E. Satterfield, 20 of Dagsboro, and a 16-year-old male from Ocean View, in connection with multiple residential burglaries committed in the Millville and Ocean View areas that occurred the first week in March. These burglaries occurred primarily during the daytime hours of residences that were unoccupied or seasonal homes. Once inside the houses, the duo would remove various electronic devices and currency, or sometimes, nothing at all, but would cause damage to the dwellings upon entering various doors and windows.

Alicia Satterfield and the 16-year-old male were both charged with six counts of Burglary, five counts of Attempted Burglary, Possession of Burglar Tools, ten counts of Conspiracy 2nd, ten counts of Attempted Theft, one count of Theft, and five counts of Criminal Mischief. They were both released on unsecured bonds.

In a separate investigation involving commercial burglaries, Rontrell Leonard, 19 of Seaford, was arrested by state police detectives for three counts of Burglary, one count of Attempted Burglary, three counts of Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony, four counts of Possession of Burglar Tools, three counts of Theft, four counts of Conspiracy 2nd, and four counts of Criminal Mischief. The charges stem from investigations that occurred over the months of January and February of 2017 involving various restaurants in Kent County and a gas station in Milton. It was determined through investigative measures that Leonard and co-conspirator, identified as Alonzo D. Sutton-Bullock, 20 of Camden, would enter and remove cash registers and currency. Rontrell Leonard was arraigned and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $10,000.00 secured bond.

Alonzo Sutton-Bullock has not been arrested and is wanted for three counts of Burglary, one count of Attempted Burglary, three counts of Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony, four counts of Possession of Burglar Tools, three counts of Theft, four counts of Conspiracy 2nd, and four counts of Criminal Mischief.

Other burglaries were committed by Leonard and Sutton-Bullock in the jurisdictions of Milton Police Department and Dover Police Department. Both departments, as well as the state police, worked together in solving these crimes and have additionally charged Leonard and have warrants on file for Sutton-Bullock.

If anyone has any information in reference to Alonzo Sutton-Bullock's whereabouts, they are asked to contact Detective D. Kristunas at 302-752-3856 or Detective S. Carbine at 302-698-8444. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, via the internet at www.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com, or by sending an anonymous tip by text to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword "DSP."

Plot thickens in probe of House IT contractors

A criminal investigation into IT contractors employed by dozens of House Democrats is sparking broader concerns about continuing access to sensitive government emails, amid new allegations of illicit activity beyond Capitol Hill.

The investigation was announced last month by the U.S. Capitol Police and purportedly focuses on the contractors' access to House computers and whether they took hardware and made questionable IT-related purchases.

A police spokesman, while declining to go into detail, told Fox News this week that the case remains opens and focuses on “the actions of House IT support staff.”

But a high-level House staffer acknowledged Monday to Fox News that the probe has raised concerns about emails being hacked.

Official documents and multiple sources say at least five contractors -- including brothers Imran, Jamal and Abid Awan -- are the focus of the probe but that as many as six people could be involved.

The others purportedly involved are Imran’s wife, Hina Alvi, and Rao Abbas, who is not part of the family.

They allegedly removed hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment from offices, including computers and servers, and ran a procurement scheme in which they bought equipment, then overcharged the House administrative office that assigns such contractors to members.

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Judges order Miller, Busch to give depositions in Maryland redistricting lawsuit

A three-judge panel has ordered Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House Speaker Michael E. Busch to give depositions and turn over documents in a federal lawsuit challenging the 2011 redrawing of the state's congressional districts.

The ruling affirmed an earlier order by U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar, which had been appealed by the Maryland Attorney General's Office citing "legislative privilege."

"Because of the importance of the federal interests at stake and because the evidence of these conversations may be crucial to their vindication, we ... therefore hold in this case that legislative privilege does not protect conversations and other communications between legislators," wrote Fourth Circuit Judge Paul V. Niemeyer.

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Judge Nap: ‘Three Intel Sources’ Say Obama Looked to Brit Agency to Spy on Trump

Fox News Judicial Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano claimed “three intelligence sources” say President Obama looked to British spy agency GCHQ to obtain transcripts of conversations involving President Donald Trump on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.

Napolitano said, “[T]hree intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command..

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Maryland Bill to Keep Antibiotics Effective Clears Panel

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland measure aimed at keeping antibiotics effective is headed to the state Senate.

The Keep Antibiotics Effective Act will be before the Senate this week. The Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee passed the bill out of committee Tuesday on a 7-4 vote.

The bill is in response to "superbugs" that are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. Supporters say part of the problem is the inappropriate and excessive use of human antibiotics in agriculture.

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BREAKING NEWS: MARYLAND COURT HEARS 1ST OF SEVERAL CHALLENGES TO TRAVEL BAN

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) -- Hours before President Donald Trump's revised travel ban was to take effect, the first of several challenges to the executive order began Wednesday in a Maryland courtroom, where attorneys told a federal judge that the measure still discriminates against Muslims.

More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries. Hearings were also scheduled Wednesday in Washington state and Hawaii.

In Maryland, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang - who was appointed by former President Barack Obama - said he would try to rule before the end of the day, but he made no promises that his ruling would apply nationwide or address the executive order in its entirety.

Government attorneys argued that the ban, which was to go into effect just after midnight, was revised substantially to address legal concerns, including the removal of an exemption for religious minorities from the affected countries.

"It doesn't say anything about religion. It doesn't draw any religious distinctions," said Jeffrey Wall, who argued for the Justice Department.

Attorneys for the ACLU and other groups said that Trump's statements on the campaign trail and statements from his advisers since he took office make clear that the intent of the ban is to ban Muslims. Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller has said the revised order was designed to have "the same basic policy outcome" as the first.

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Animal Control claims longtime family dog is wolf hybrid, won’t return him to owners

AURORA, Colo. -- A family said Aurora Animal Control took their dog and won't give him back, claiming the dog is a wolf-hybrid.

The Abbato family has had Capone for nearly 10 years. They rescued him from the Adams County Animal Shelter where he was classified as a German shepherd mix.

The family's veterinarian also says the same thing. But Aurora Animal Control thinks Capone is a wolf-hybrid.

"It's been real painful," 11-year-old Ciara Abbato said.

"Our German shepherd, Capone, got out Feb. 24. He jumped the fence. It’s the first time in the seven years we’ve lived here," said Capone’s owner, Tracy Abbato.

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Nearly 10,000 Wal-Mart employees in Maryland receive cash bonuses

More than 9,800 Wal-Mart employees in Maryland received a share of more than $2 million in cash bonuses, the company announced.

The bonuses, and an annual pay raise, were included in paychecks for March 9, the company said in a press release. The company doled out more than $700 million in bonuses for the full fiscal year.

The company shared its strongest comparable-store sales performance of the year with a 1.8 percent increase in its fourth quarter.

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Obituary for John Riggin III

John Calvin Riggin, III, 70, of Delmar, passed away on Friday, March 10, 2017, at his home in Delmar, MD. He was born on December 4, 1946 in Salisbury, MD.

Growing up he was active in sports and went to work at an early age. John graduated from Wicomico Senior High School, Salisbury, MD in 1964. He went on to Mitchell College in Statesville, N.C. before joining the United States Army in 1967. He served with the Third Infantry Honor Guard at Fort Myer in Arlington, VA with details that included Presidential Inaugurations and funerals. Upon separation from military life, he worked for Delmarva Power and found much success as an energy efficiency expert. He later used these skills with various heating and air businesses in the Salisbury area.

Always the jokester, John’s lifelong goal was to make people smile. Many will remember his "pride and joy" cards. His passion was classic cars and he enjoyed displaying them at car shows and interacting with other enthusiasts.

He enjoyed volunteering at the Delmar VFW and served as an officer with the men's auxiliary. He was also a legionnaire and member of the Hebron American Legion.

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Madcow Proven To Have Tiny Hands

Breaking News: The U.S. charged 2 Russian spies and 2 others in a 2014 breach of 500 million Yahoo accounts that included the theft of personal data

Federal prosecutors announced charges against four men, including two Russian intelligence agents, on Wednesday for their roles in a conspiracy that led to the 2014 theft of 500 million Yahoo accounts, one of the largest known data breaches.

The four men together face 47 criminal charges, including conspiracy, computer fraud, economic espionage, theft of trade secrets and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department said in a news release.

The two agents of Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the F.S.B., who were charged are Dmitry Aleksandrovich Dokuchaev, 33, a Russian national and resident, and Igor Anatolyevich Sushchin, 43, a Russian national and resident. The other two defendants are Alexsey Alexseyevich Belan, 29, a Russian national and resident; and Karim Baratov, 22, a Canadian and Kazakh national and a resident of Canada.

“The criminal conduct at issue, carried out and otherwise facilitated by officers from an FSB unit that serves as the FBI’s point of contact in Moscow on cybercrime matters, is beyond the pale,” the acting assistant attorney general, Mary B. McCord, said in a statement.

HEARING ALERT: Legislative Transparency Act Of 2017

Important Legislation Will Require General Assembly Deliberations to be Video Livestreamed

Note: House Health And Government Operations Committee to Hold Hearing on HB 438 on March 14, 2017, 1:00 PM

“The public has a right to know what their lawmakers are saying and doing during the debate on these important issues which are affecting the taxpayers. Legislators should be deliberating and making these important decisions out in the open, in the light of day. Why do they insist on dealing in secrecy? What is it that they have to hide?” - Governor Larry Hogan, January 19, 2017

Governor Hogan Has Been A Proponent Of Livestreaming Video Of Maryland General Assembly Deliberations

Governor Hogan Indicated His Support For The Video Livestreaming Of All General Assembly Deliberations In 2016; Called The Measure “Common Sense.” “The governor said in statement that he backed a bill that would require the state legislature to broadcast not only debates on the floor of each chamber, but also all voting sessions of committees. Committees currently livestream bill hearings, but not all debate and voting sessions. ‘Maryland citizens deserve accountability and transparency from their elected leaders, especially when modern technology should make access easy and inexpensive,’ Hogan said in a statement. ‘This is a common-sense piece of legislation.’” (Erin Cox, “Hogan Backs $1.2 Million Plan To Livestream Maryland General Assembly,” The Baltimore Sun, 2/24/16)

UMES 40th in national survey as best place for adjunct professors

FORT MILL, S.C. — Data analysts from the personal financial website GoodCall.com released the 2017 list of Best Universities for Adjunct Professors, ranking the top universities for adjunct and non-tenure track professors to teach and earn a living.

While the University of Maryland Eastern Shore did not make the top 10, of the 292 schools that were examined nationwide the Princess Anne campus ranked #40 in the U.S. Data used in the findings included average monthly pay, competitive salary to tenured and tenure-track faculty, student-teacher ratio, and student graduation rates.

It also takes into account affordability of the community where the college or university is based, and compares it to the national average.

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BUDGET ALERT: Education Cuts

Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Propose to Cut Funding From Important, Innovative Educational Programs

“We are working hard to ensure that every single child in Maryland is given the chance of a great education, regardless of what neighborhood they happen to grow up in. We owe it to our children, to all of you, to think more creatively and find new and innovative solutions.” - Governor Larry Hogan, December 13, 2016

Governor Hogan’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Includes $7 Million In Funding Toward The Broadening Options And Opportunities For Students Today (BOOST) Program

Governor Hogan’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Increases Funding For The BOOST Program By $2 Million To $7 Million. “The Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program grows by $2 million to $7 million as part of state’s commitment to double the funding for the program over three years.” (Press Release, “Governor Larry Hogan Announces Fiscal Year 2018 Budget,” Office Of The Governor, 1/17/17)
Governor Hogan Proposed To Expand The BOOST Program To Offer More Low-Income Maryland Students In Areas With Under-Performing Schools The Opportunity To Attend Non-Public Schools, To Receive A Better Education. Governor Hogan: “We were very proud to be able to help so many students - there were many more deserving of help, but unfortunately not enough funding to cover them all. So this afternoon, I am pleased to announce to all of you - and you are the first to hear this news, that next month, we will be increasing funding for the BOOST program, in order to double the total annual funding from $5 million to $10 million over the next three years.” (Remarks, Bais Yaakov Girls High School, 12/13/16)

Homes For Veterans In Kansas City

Republicans want to know why Trump hasn't fired the IRS head

Nearly two months into the Trump administration, the IRS commissioner House Republicans once threatened with impeachment remains on the job.

John Koskinen's continued tenure may be surprising, considering how aggressively Republicans went after him under the Obama administration. But despite a sustained push by congressional Republicans to oust the IRS chief before his five-year term expires this November, President Trump so far has made no move to do so.

Just last week, Koskinen was seen in the Capitol and told Fox News he was there to meet with “old friends.” Asked if he intended to stay on as commissioner during the Trump administration, Koskinen simply said, “They haven’t talked to me.”

A White House official, asked about the commissioner's future, also told Fox News on Wednesday they had no personnel announcements “at this time.”

House Republicans aren't giving up their quest to show Koskinen the door.

“President Trump should fire Commissioner Koskinen and replace him with someone that will bring integrity and competence to the IRS,” House Judiciary Committee Chariman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., told Fox News on Tuesday.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/09/republicans-want-to-know-why-trump-hasnt-fired-irs-head.html

The US Government Now Has Less Cash Than Google

In the year 1517, one of the most important innovations in financial history was invented in Amsterdam: the government bond.

It was a pretty revolutionary concept.

Governments had been borrowing money for thousands of years… quite often at the point of a sword.

Italian city-states like Venice and Florence had been famously demanding “forced loans” from their wealthy citizens for centuries.

But the Dutch figured out how to turn government loans into an “investment”.

It caught on slowly. But eventually government bonds became an extremely popular asset class.

Secondary markets developed where people who owned bonds could sell them to other investors.

Even simple coffee shops turned into financial exchanges where investors and traders would buy and sell bonds.

In time, the government realized that its creditworthiness was paramount, and the Dutch developed a reputation as being a rock-solid bet.

This practice caught on across the world. International markets developed.

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$21,714 For Every Man, Woman And Child In The World - This Global Debt Bomb Is Ready To Explode

According to the International Monetary Fund, global debt has grown to a staggering grand total of 152 trillion dollars. Other estimates put that figure closer to 200 trillion dollars, but for the purposes of this article let’s use the more conservative number. If you take 152 trillion dollars and divide it by the seven billion people living on the planet, you get $21,714, which would be the share of that debt for every man, woman and child in the world if it was divided up equally.

So if you have a family of four, your family’s share of the global debt load would be $86,856.

Very few families could write a check for that amount today, and we also must remember that we live in some of the wealthiest areas on the globe. Considering the fact that more than 3 billion people around the world live on two dollars a day or less, the truth is that about half the planet would not be capable of contributing toward the repayment of our 152 trillion dollar debt at all. So they should probably be excluded from these calculations entirely, and that would mean that your family’s share of the debt would ultimately be far, far higher.

Of course global debt repayment will never actually be apportioned by family. The reason why I am sharing this example is to show you that it is literally impossible for all of this debt to ever be repaid.

We are living during the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world, and our financial engineers have got to keep figuring out ways to keep it growing much faster than global GDP because if it ever stops growing it will burst and destroy the entire global financial system.

Bill Gross, one of the most highly respected financial minds on the entire planet, recently observed that “our highly levered financial system is like a truckload of nitro glycerin on a bumpy road”.

And he is precisely correct. Everything might seem fine for a while, but one day we are going to hit the wrong bump at the wrong time and the whole thing is going to go KA-BOOM.

The financial crisis of 2008 represented an opportunity to learn from our mistakes, but instead we just papered over our errors and cranked up the global debt creation machine to levels never seen before. Here is more from Bill Gross…

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A Moral Right (The Politics Of Dirty Harry)

Photos from Prohibition bring bootleggers back to life

Scenes from the Prohibition Era have been dramatically brought back to life in a series of newly colorized photographs.

From 1920 to 1933, the US government issued a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages.

The ban increased the illegal production and sale of liquor, known as bootlegging, and the proliferation of speakeasies, or illegal drinking locations.

In 1933, Congress repealed the 18th Amendment and brought the Prohibition Era to a close.

The originally black-and-white photographs, shared by Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, DC, were colorized by British colorization expert Tom Marshall.

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Contrast

Obama White House Blocked Needed U.S. Arms Sale to Taiwan

The Obama administration blocked a $1 billion arms sale to Taiwan in December that was needed to improve the island's defenses despite approval from the State Department and Pentagon, according to Trump administration officials.

The scuttling of the arms package was a set back for U.S. and Taiwanese efforts to bolster defenses against a growing array of Chinese missiles and other advanced weaponry deployed across the 100-mile Taiwan Strait.

The action coincided with a controversial pre-inaugural phone call Dec. 2 between then-President-elect Trump and Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen.

It could not be learned if the arms package, which was ready to be announced publicly in December was derailed by the Obama administration because of the phone call.

The new Trump administration is now preparing to provide more and better defensive arms to Taiwan, said administration officials familiar with internal discussions of the arms sale.

The new arms package, however, is not expected to be made public until after Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month. White House officials said the meeting is set for early April at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida.

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Maryland Senate delays vote on paid sick leave bill

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Maryland Senate has delayed a vote on a measure to allow workers at companies with 15 or more employees to earn paid sick leave.

The Senate was scheduled to vote on the bill Tuesday, but senators moved the measure back in the legislative process to make a change.

The change would require seasonal employees, such as students who work summer jobs, to provide their employer with a noted from a doctor to verify their illness. Senators approved the change on a voice vote.

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Schumer Threatens Government Shutdown Over Border Wall

After Democratic lawmakers’ years of shrieking and televised temper tantrums over how shutting down the federal government somehow approximates treason, Democrats have suddenly embraced the tactic in their quest to keep the nation’s borders wide open for Muslim terrorists and illegal aliens.

Democrats are threatening to force a shut-down of the government after it runs out of operating funds after April 28.

Outnumbered in both houses of Congress, and facing a Republican in the White House for the first time in eight years, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats say they will oppose efforts to finance President Trump’s planned border wall in spending legislation needed to keep the government open for business. Adding favored projects to must-pass spending bills, instead of dealing with the projects as freestanding legislation outside the budget process, is a time-honored way of getting things done in Congress. Both parties do it when in the majority.

But Schumer is now a professional obstructionist committed to undermining the Trump administration so at long last he sees things differently.

“The border wall is impractical and unpopular,” said Schumer on Sunday, “a pointless burden that this administration is trying to pay for by taking money away from the programs that actually keep Americans safe.”‎

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Obedience classes Salisbury Kennel Club

Joe: I would like to invite everyone to the Salisbury MD Kennel Club as the new session of obedience classes start on March 20th. We have lots new classes starting and I am sure there is one for everyone. Please go to our website and see which one is best for you and your dog. Remember that if your dog completes a class for Canine Good Citizen, you will receive a certificate that will entitle you to a lower rate on your homeowners insurance or will allow you to have a dog where you rent ( check with your insurance provider) We are now offering a refresher class known as "Advanced Beginner" for those that want to refresh their dogs and themselves. This is a daytime class on Tuesday. check our website.

We are having an OPEN HOUSE this Saturday, March 18th from 11:00 to 1:00 pm. This is an opportunity to visit with the instructors and sign up as well. Do not bring your dog on Saturday. It is all about informing the public what your dog will learn in class.

Visit us : www.salisburymarylandkennelclub.org.

Thanks,

Barb Furbush, President

Salisbury Maryland Kennel Club, Inc.
31663 Winterplace Parkway
Salisbury, MD 21804
Phone: 410-548-2110

Sweden Can’t Find Contractor Willing to Build Police Station in Dangerous Migrant Suburb

Plans to build a new police station in Rinkeby have been put on hold because construction companies fear for the safety of their workforce in the migrant-dominated Stockholm suburb.

The city earmarked the site of a former nursing home as the location for the new station. But construction companies failed to bid for the project, not wanting to risk having to work in a neighborhood notorious for gang and gun crime.

“It’s too dangerous to build a police station in the area,” SVT News was told by a number of police officers who wanted to remain anonymous.

“It would have to be guarded around the clock. This is because not only is there the risk of theft, but also the danger and threat to staff who will be working on the construction project,” the public broadcaster was told.

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Salisbury Barrack DUI Arrests for 3/03/2017 to 3/10/2017

Salisbury Barrack DUI Arrests for 3/03/2017 to 3/10/2017

Albert Andrew White 3rd 33yoa unk.

Timothy Lee Price 50yoa DE

Depree Javon Douling 28yoa Fruitland, MD

Shalisa Arue Bates 22yoa Temple Hills, MD

Michael Allen Viergutz 21yoa Mt. Airy, MD

Transparent: US Spent $36 Million in Records Lawsuits

The Obama administration in its final year in office spent a record $36.2 million on legal costs defending its refusal to turn over federal records under the Freedom of Information Act, according to an Associated Press analysis of new U.S. data that also showed poor performance in other categories measuring transparency in government.

For a second consecutive year, the Obama administration set a record for times federal employees told citizens, journalists and others that despite searching they couldn't find a single page of files that were requested.

And it set records for outright denial of access to files, refusing to quickly consider requests described as especially newsworthy, and forcing people to pay for records who had asked the government to waive search and copy fees.

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Twitter Just SHREDDED Rachel Maddow Over Trump Tax Return 'Story'

MSNBC's unapologetic liberal “journalist” Rachel Maddow lit the internet on fire Tuesday night when she teased via Twitter that she’d gotten her hands on President Donald Trump’s tax returns – a scoop that would have been pretty juicy, considering Trump never released his tax returns during the presidential campaign as all other modern-era presidents have done.

BREAKING: We've got Trump tax returns. Tonight, 9pm ET. MSNBC.

(Seriously).
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) March 14, 2017

If only it'd been true.

What Maddow and the fine folks over at MSNBC actually managed to do was get part of a copy of Trump’s 2005 tax return. Which was already 12 years old. And which the White House had already released.

And which the Wall Street Journal had already reported on – a year ago.

Needless to say, the Twittersphere wasn’t all too happy as Maddow droned on...and on...and on during her open monologue, bashing Trump (and throwing out all manner of random, unsubstantiated speculations regarding his finances) without actually giving anyone any new information.

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A Viewer Writes: Fruitland Car Break Ins

Several cars broken into last night in Fruitland last night. Including mine. All right around the intermediate school. Please warn folks.

Media, Our Greatest Enemy

A REMINDER IN HISTORY

General VoNguyen Giap.

General Giap was a brilliant, highly respected leader

of the North Vietnam military. The following quote

is from his memoirs currently found in the

Vietnam war memorial in Hanoi:

"What we still don't understand is why you Americans

stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the

ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder,

just for another day or two, we were ready

to surrender! It was the same at the

battle of TET. You defeated us!

We knew it, and we thought

you knew it.

But we were elated to notice your media was

helping us. They were causing more disruption in

America than we could in the battlefields. We

were ready to surrender. You had won!"

General Giap has published his memoirs and confirmed

what most Americans knew. The Vietnam war was not

lost in Vietnam — it was lost at home. The

same slippery slope, sponsored by the U.S. media,

is currently underway. It exposes the

enormous power of a Biased Media to

cut out the heart and will of

the American public.

A truism worthy of note: Do not fear the enemy,

for they can take only your life.

Fear the media,

for they will distort your grasp of reality and destroy your honor.

There is Only One Way Out of Poverty

It Is Now "Blatant Racism" To Wear Red, White, And Blue

In today’s hypersensitive bizarro environment, where people are quite literally having mental breakdowns following the election of President Donald Trump, everything that used to be normal appears to now elicit howls of racism, xenophobia and sexism.

In the latest example we turn to Iowa, where students from Valley High School attended a basketball game in traditional red, white and blue attire they reportedly wear to big games. One would think that showing support for their team wearing the colors of the U.S. flag wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow, but you’d be wrong.

First, for some context, here is a picture of the offensive clothing worn by Valley High School fans at the game:

At first glance it certainly doesn’t look like these folks are engaging in any racist activity, but then, what do we know?

“This is an example of BLATANT racism,” said Ty Leggett, a Valley High School alum, on the Valley High School – WDMCSFacebook page. “ALL participating should have been pulled and banned from ALL VHS extracurricular events for the remainder of the year! As a parent, I’d be mortified that my son or daughter thought this way, acted in this fashion and refrained from taking a stand against this 21st century inexcusable behavior!”

Erin Ness Carter, a mother living in the Iowan district, remarked that “for the supporters of one team from a primarily white part of town to paint themselves as the ‘team of the USA’ it strongly implies that the other team, the less white team, is less American.”

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Trump earned $153m and paid $36.5m in taxes in 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump earned $153 million and paid $36.5 million in income taxes in 2005, paying a roughly 25 percent effective tax rate thanks to a tax he has since sought to eliminate, according to highly sought-after tax documents disclosed Tuesday night.

The pages from Trump’s federal tax return show the then-real estate mogul also reported a business loss of $103 million that year, although the documents don’t provide detail. The forms show that Trump paid an effective tax rate of 24.5 percent, a figure well above the roughly 10 percent the average American taxpayer forks over each year, but below the 27.4 percent that taxpayers earning 1 million dollars a year average, according to data from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

The form were obtained by journalist David Cay Johnston, who runs a website called DCReport.org, and reported on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Johnston, who has long reported on tax issues, said he received the documents in the mail, unsolicited.

Trump’s hefty business loss appears to be a continued benefit from his use of a tax loophole in the 1990s, which allowed him to deduct previous losses in future years. In 1995, Trump reported a loss of more than $900 million, largely as a result of financial turmoil at his casinos.

Tax records obtained by The New York Times last year showed the losses were so large they could have allowed Trump to avoid paying taxes for up to 18 years. But Trump’s 2005 filing shows another tax prevented him from realizing the full benefit of those deductions.

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Tennessee Sues Federal Government Over Refugees

First state in the nation...

Tennessee became the first state in the nation on Monday to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement on the grounds of the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of several state lawmakers Monday morning in the western district of Tennessee, contends that the federal government has violated the Tenth Amendment, which says the federal government possesses only the powers delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution and that all other powers are reserved for the states.

The charge that the federal government is not complying with the Refugee Act of 1980, based on the Tenth Amendment, makes Tennessee’s lawsuit the first of its kind. Other states have sued the federal government over refugee resettlement but on different legal grounds.

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Building the Road to Success

President Donald Trump met with key business leaders last week regarding America’s infrastructure. Trump continues to pledge a $1 trillion infusion of money to states to help complete projects to renovate existing roads and bridges within a 90-day start date. Once approved, Trump’s infrastructure dollars will be block-granted to states with truly shovel-ready projects, with the objective that it not be lost down bureaucratic money holes with endless calendars.

In a March 8 Quinnipiac Poll, Republicans, Democrats and Independents voiced their strong support of Trump’s infrastructure plan, with all groups at least 90% in favor. With clear bipartisan support, the Trump administration has an issue that transcends party lines.

Rush Limbaugh recently reviewed these numbers and other data on the big spending proposal of Trump. “The American people, many of them, and particularly on the Republican side, think the country is falling apart in a whole bunch of different ways,” Limbaugh noted. “We’re falling apart culturally. We are falling apart in our politics. We’re falling apart politically. And I believe it’s nothing more complicated than people actually do think that we need to modernize some things in this country. And I believe that if you would deeply ask these people, if you would find … that the vast majority of them think that this is a legitimate responsibility for government, state and federal combined, to make sure that the airports are modernized and not falling apart, to make sure bridges are not going to collapse down the road, to make sure dams are okay. The stuff that people assume government does anyway.”

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Students Support Religious Freedom for Muslims, Not Christians

Several students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison admit that Muslims should not be forced by law to do business with Christians. Those same students, however, had a hard time agreeing that Christians or conservative Americans have the right to decline work that conflicts with their conscience or religion.

In a viral video published by Arizona-based nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADL), students were asked if they support Sophie Theallet’s decision not to dress Melania Trump.

Several students agreed that Theallet — one of many fashion designers declining to dress the first family — has every right to refuse to dress Mrs. Trump.

The students were also asked if a Muslim singer solicited by a Christian church to sing had a right to refuse.

Again, the students agreed that the Muslim singer has a right to not sing in a Christian church.

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