WORCESTER COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY’S 18TH ANNUAL BOARDWALKIN’ FOR PETS

Are you ready to walk the walk and show your support for the homeless dogs and cats in our community? If so, then join the Worcester County Humane Society for a weekend of fundraising fun which includes the 18th Annual Boardwalkin’ for Pets on Saturday, April 22.

The public is invited to a dinner and silent auction on Friday, April 21 at Adolfo’s on the ocean (13th St.) from 4-9 p.m. Advance tickets will be available for purchase online, at the shelter or at Adolfo’s starting March 30th and will cost $25 (www.worcestercountyhumanesociety.org/boardwalkin-for-pets) which includes choice of spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant Parmesan, chicken Parmesan, side salad, fresh baked rolls, dessert, nonalcoholic beverage and gratuity. Tickets will also be available at the door on the evening of the dinner for $30. Adolfo’s will donate a percentage from every ticket purchased to the Worcester County Humane Society. The dinner is family style seating with seatings at 4 pm, 6 pm, and 8 pm. There will be some fabulous auction items to bid on ranging from $10 to $700.

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Catastrophe Strikes Atlanta After ISIS Terrorists Blow Up Main I-85 Bridge

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

An alarming Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) terror alert bulletin circulating in the Kremlin today is reporting that analysis of signal intelligence (SIGINT) intercepts from both the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and at least 7 of the 16 intelligence agencies under the command of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), point towards an Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL/Daesh) terror bombing being the cause of the catastrophic collapse of a critical bridge in the American city of Atlanta—and that led the State of Georgia to declare an immediate state of emergency. [Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]

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Poplar Hill Mansion hosts Cherry Blossom Tea April 20

Friends of Poplar Hill Mansion
Cherry Blossom Tea
Thursday, April 20, 2017, 11:30 am
Poplar Hill Mansion, 117 Elizabeth Street
Salisbury, MD. 21801
410 749 1776
www.poplarhillmansion.org
curator@poplarhillmansion.org

Come to Poplar Hill Mansion for a Cherry Blossom Tea to celebrate spring on April 20th at 11:30. The Japanese inspired menu will feature Carrot Soup, Japanese Egg Salad Sandwiches, Spring Rolls with Shitake Mushrooms, Pork Dumplings, Cucumber & Tomato Sandwiches with Wasabi Mayo on the side, Cherry Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam, Furutsu Sando (Fruit Sandwiches), Japanese Mochi, Coconut Macaroons, Dessert Sushi, and Asian Cherry Blossom Tea. There will also be a special spring fashion show by The Dressing Room to see all the latest must haves for the season. Bring a friend to this fun event! Cost is $22.00 per person and everyone has a chance to win door prizes. RSVP early as seats are very limited. All proceeds go towards the preservation of Salisbury's Oldest House, Poplar Hill Mansion, a 501(c)-3. Call 410-749-1776 for more information or to RSVP.

Donald Trump’s Terrible Decision To Attack Conservatives

U.S. president Donald Trump made a terrible decision earlier this year to support a partial repeal of Obamacare – a mistake which blew up in his face. Now he is compounding the damage by declaring war on a handful of Republicans who stood on principle and demanded a more complete repeal of his predecessor Barack Obama’s socialized medicine monstrosity.

“The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team,” Trump tweeted on Thursday.

Huh? You mean the “team” Trump raged against just two months ago in his inaugural address?

Trump then added an especially ominous message – one hinting at a forthcoming battle with these lawmakers in next year’s congressional elections.

“We must fight them (and Dems) in 2018!”

Wait … what?

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Islamic Society increases security measures at Frederick mosque as precaution

Leaders of the Frederick Muslim community are asking for increased police presence at the mosque on Key Parkway.

The presence of a police officer during Friday afternoon prayers, Ramadan, and other religious events is one several provisions in the Islamic Society of Frederick’s new crisis management plan.

The plan was developed after Jewish cemeteries were vandalized earlier this year and as threats to Jewish community centers and synagogues have continued nationwide, according to Dr. Syed Haque, chairman of the Islamic Society of Frederick’s newly-formed crisis management team.

No such threats or violent acts have targeted the Masjid, Frederick County’s only mosque, Haque said. He framed the plan as a preventative measure.

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Manchin: Judge Gorsuch ‘a Good Man’; No ‘Just Reason to Filibuster’ Him

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) spoke with Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Friday about several topics, including Trump’s position on coal, his rally in West Virginia, the hyper-partisan state of play in American politics today, as well as the nomination of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

While pointing out his dissatisfaction with how he believes Obama nominee Judge Merrick Garland was treated, Manchin said on Gorsuch and his nomination, “The bottom-line is, if you want a working judicial branch of the government, you’ve got to have nine [justices]. You get to Judge Gorsuch, you start looking at, basically, the qualities of the human being – his temperament, his educational attainment, how he’s viewed by his peers, how his rulings have been.”

Added Manchin, “I could not find a reason why this man, this good man, Judge Gorsuch, should not at least be allowed to have an up or down vote.”

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This Will Keep You Smiling The Entire Time You Watch It

Sanctuary cities free 253 illegal-alien criminals in 2 weeks

Law enforcement agencies in New York City declined 12 detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the week of Feb. 4 to Feb. 10, according to ICE’s latest Weekly Declined Detainer Outcome Report.

The Big Apple was by far the jurisdiction with the most declined detainers during the period. There were four declined detainers in Orange County, California, and three in Washington, D.C., the second and third most, respectively. Overall, 47 ICE detainers were recorded as declined throughout the country from Feb. 4 to Feb. 10.

ICE routinely issues detainers to state and local law enforcement agencies to notify them of its intent to assume custody of an illegal alien currently being detained in state or local custody on criminal charges.

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Tests May Bring New Wave of Cancer Detection

Detecting cancer may be getting easier.

New kinds of tests that promise to be less invasive are beginning to exit the lab and enter the market -- with more under development.

By using blood, urine, and saliva, researchers hope these new tests may reduce the need for often painful, risky biopsies, a type of surgery to remove suspicious tissue for study.

The hunt for new ways to detect cancer has heated up in the past few years, as has investment in new tools and tests. In January, a San Francisco-based startup called Grail pledged to raise $1 billion to develop a blood test for early detection.

“Five years ago, there would not have been such a long list [of new and experimental tests]," says Peter Mazzone, MD, the director of the lung cancer program at the Cleveland Clinic’s Respiratory Institute.

The discovery that cancer can be detected in certain biomarkers, like DNA, RNA, and proteins, is driving test development. Advances in technology over the past 5 to 10 years have allowed scientists to use those discoveries to create tools to diagnose cancers.

Already, at least three early cancer detection tests are on the market. The FDA approved Cologuard, which screens for colon cancer, in 2014. Oncimmune and Integrated Diagnostics have developed blood tests that help screen for lung cancer and are performed in the companies’ federally certified laboratories. (FDA approval is not required for tests unless they are commercially marketed.)

Both tests involve sending a patient’s blood sample to company laboratories for analysis. Both labs are Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certified, meaning the companies can charge for performing tests in their labs and do not need FDA approval to do so.

Meanwhile, the Mayo Clinic and Exact Sciences Corp. recently announced a promising blood test for lung cancer based on Cologuard, also developed by Exact Sciences.

Early detection of cancer is an important key to treating and sometimes surviving it, experts agree.

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Russian diplomats mark April Fool’s Day with election hacking gag

These pranksters are no hacks.

The Russian Foreign Ministry proved its diplomats have a sense of humor by offering free election interference – on April Fool’s Day.

“To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1,” the ministry’s farcical “new” telephone switchboard message starts.

Press 2 “to use the services of Russian hackers,” and 3 “to request election interference,” the message continues in both English and Russian.

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Anti-Gorsuch Liberal Groups Fails to Disclose Donors

One of the leading liberal groups behind the campaign against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch refused to disclose its donors.

The Constitutional Responsibility Project (CRP) was created by several leading figures in President Obama's re-election campaign in March 2016 to boost the nomination of Washington D.C. appeals court Judge Merrick Garland. After the group failed to pressure Senate Republicans to confirm Garland, it set its sights on Gorsuch, a judge in Colorado's 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The group has produced several ads attacking the nomination and the Trump administration as part of a reported "seven-figure ad campaign against Gorsuch" airing nationwide with additional airtime purchased in Arizona and Nevada.

"We need a justice that protects everyone, not just the wealthy or powerful," one ad says.

The CRP, a 501c4 group, has also echoed Democratic critiques on Gorsuch's "troubling views on big money in politics." The group, however, fails to disclose the identities of its donors behind the multi-million dollar effort to shoot down the nomination.

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Alleged High School Bomb Plotter Released From Hospital, Arrested

BALTIMORE (WJZ)– The high school student arrested for planning a shooting plot at a Maryland school, was released from the hospital and taken into police custody Friday morning.

Nicole Cevario, 18, faces charges of possession of explosive material with intent to create a destructive device and possession of incendiary material with the intent to create a destructive device.

Authorities found she had been stockpiling ideas, a shotgun and explosive materials to target students. Cevario purchased the gun and materials legally.

Catoctin High School officials were warned on last Thursday, March 23, about the plan by Cevario’s father, who discovered the possibly deadly evidence in their Thurmont home.

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Joe Biden Tells Trump to 'Grow up' and 'Stop Tweeting'

Joe Biden, the man who gets fresh with other people's wives and has had more gaffes than probably any other politician in the modern era, is telling Trump to "grow up." He also wants the president to "stop tweeting." Maybe it's because he knows Trump's tweeting allowed him to win the election, and Biden is setting up a run for 2020? What a horrible role model for adult behavior!

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EASTERN SHORE EASTER EGG HUNTS 2017

The only grand finale fit for an amazing Easter Brunch is a super awesome Easter Egg Hunt! The ShoreBread team has searched high and low for the very best Easter Egg Hunts this season and we have compiled a list, just for you! This list continues to grow so please be sure to share Easter Egg Hunt information from your neck of the woods with us. We would love to add events to this list to make this holiday Eggstra-special. Enjoy!

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Professor Cohen: Not One Piece of Factual Evidence That Russia 'Hacked the Election'

Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and Princeton, spoke Thursday evening with Fox News' Tucker Carlson about the latest shoes to drop in the investigations into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday that Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security advisor, has told the FBI and congressional investigators that he is willing to be interviewed in exchange for a grant of immunity from prosecution -- not a particularly good sign for the Trump White House.

Cohen, one of the country's foremost experts on Russia, has been arguing for months that the anti-Russia hysteria in Washington, D.C., is becoming a "grave national security threat."

Carlson began the discussion by bringing up what he sees as the core issue -- the allegations that the Russian government "hacked our election" by breaking into email accounts at the DNC and the Clinton campaign office.

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Orioles Sign Ryan Ripken To IronBirds Contract

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Orioles have announced that they’ve signed first baseman Ryan Ripken, son of Cal Ripken, Jr., to an Aberdeen IronBirds minor league contract.

The IronBirds are owned by the elder Ripken, and the team plays at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium in Harford County.

Ryan Ripken, 23, was only 5 years old in 1998 when his Hall of Famer dad ended his consecutive games streak in 1998.

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Report: Saudi Arabia Still Seeking Nuclear Weapons Capability

Saudi Arabia is still believed to be seeking nuclear weapons technology in a bid to counter the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, which continues to operate in an advanced manner despite the landmark nuclear agreement, according to a new report by a proliferation monitoring organization that labeled the Kingdom a nuclear "newcomer."

Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have only increased since the nuclear deal was signed, leading the Saudis to pursue nuclear capabilities, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington D.C.-based organization that monitors global proliferation issues.

"Saudi Arabia is in the early stages of nuclear development" and is expected to "more actively seek nuclear weapons capabilities" in order to counter the ongoing threat posed by Iran, according to the report.

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Ocean City Exploring Online Beach Bonfire Permit Process; Same-Day Approvals Could Be In Future

OCEAN CITY — Hoping to capitalize on a spike in the popularity of bonfires on the beach, Ocean City officials this week approved a request that could automate and streamline the permitting process.

Ocean City Fire Marshal David Hartley on Tuesday presented a proposal to the Mayor and Council seeking approval to explore an online permitting operation for private bonfires on the beach in the resort. Hartley said the requests for private bonfires on the beach have sharply risen in recent years from just 67 in 2010 to 233 last year.

Under the current system, those seeking a permit to have a bonfire on the beach apply in person, often days in advance at the Fire Marshal’s Office, which carefully reviews the requested time, place and location, provides the strict rules to the applicant, ensures the fees are paid and makes sure other agencies that might be affected are notified. The cost of a beach bonfire permit is $75 and there are strict rules about putting them out and locating them far from structures.

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Salisbury University's 8th Annual Big Event

SALISBURY, MD --- Salisbury University students unite to help the community during the eighth annual Big Event community cleanup day, sponsored by the Student Government Association Saturday, April 14.

During the community service project, some 500 SU students help campus neighbors with household chores such as raking leaves, cleaning attics, and painting.

“The Big Event is a chance for students to connect with the residents of Salisbury and let them know that they mean a lot to the University community,” said Katherine Mooney, SGA vice president of external affairs. “The community does so much for SU, and this is just our way of saying, ‘thank you.’ It is also important that we get to know our neighbors and they get to know us because we can learn a lot from each other. Salisbury is our home too, and we want it to be as nice as it can be.”

”The Big Event is a day where students make a positive impact and difference for the community through our magnanimous gestures,” said Shanita Williams, SGA vice president of university affairs.

For more information visit the SGA Web site at http://www.salisbury.edu/campusgov/sga.

Mt Hermon Plow Days

 

Have you ever attended the Mt Hermon Plow Days?  This was a nice event. 

We got there shortly after they opened and there were already a lot of people there.  The kids seemed to be having a good time seeing the animals at the small petting zoo and the stage coach rides.  Adults were listening to the music and shopping at the vendors that were there.   

They had several displays showing how things used to be done in the "olden" days.  Old plows, how it was to cook using wood, how to make butter, quilting and other displays on how it used to be done.   

Parsonsburg Volunteer fire department was there to direct traffic. Good Job!! It was easy to get into and out of this event.  Even with all the rain that we got yesterday there was very little mud to have to deal with.  

All and all this was a good event.  Several local representatives were there also.  Bob Culver, Matt Maciarello, Joe Holloway, John Cannon and Larry Dodd were a few that we saw there.   As we were leaving Jim Mathias was coming into the event.   This was a family friendly event!  

Click read more below to see a few extra pictures. 

The Minority Report - Week 12

The Minority Report 2017 Session Update - Week 12 Greetings from the 437th Legislative Session! We want to connect with you to keep you informed on caucus initiatives and the latest in Annapolis. Please feel free to share this with friends, family, and colleagues, and on your own social media sites. The Clock Is Winding Down... There are 11 days left in the 2017 Legislative Session. The days after Crossover move slowly, as the House and Senate begin to take up bills passed by the opposite chamber. As with the beginning of session, much of the work is happening in Committee, but at a more-concentrated and faster rate. The pace will pick up again next week, as we approach Sine Die on April 10th.  Shielding Failing Schools To “protect” Maryland’s schools against what they call the “Trump/Devos Privatization Agenda”, the Democratic majority in the General Assembly passed HB 978 - Protect Our Schools Act of 2017 - a bill pushed by the state teacher’s union that weakens accountability standards and creates barriers for the state to intervene in failing schools. Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the State Board of Education will be devising a new accountability system for school performance. HB 978 ties the hands of the State Board and dictates how it will devise this system.

Democrats Gin Up Fake Outrage Against Nunes, Ignore That Obama Spied on Trump

Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel writes that Democrats like California Rep. Adam Schiff are conveniently “ginning up fake outrage” at Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) in order to bury the bombshell news Nunes discovered: that the Obama White House did surveil the incoming Trump administration. “All this engineered drama,” Strassel writes, “served to deep-six the important information Americans urgently deserve to know.”

From Strassel’s Wall Street Journal column:

We’ve known since early February that a call by former national security adviser Mike Flynn to the Russian ambassador was monitored by U.S. intelligence. There’s nothing improper in tapping foreign officials. But it was improper that Mr. Flynn’s name was revealed and leaked to the press, along with the substance of his conversation. The media nonetheless excused all this by claiming one piece of Mr. Flynn’s conversation (sanctions) was relevant to the continuing investigation into Trump-Russia ties.

Around the same time, Mr. Nunes’s own intelligence sources informed him that documents showed further collection of information about, and unmasking of, Trump transition officials. These documents aren’t easily obtainable..

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Police officer pulled over a speeding car and deployed his ***feline unit*** to sniff for drugs.

THE FBI JUST RELEASED NEVER BEFORE SEEN PHOTOS OF 9/11 PENTAGON WRECKAGE

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Tomi Lahren’s coming — and all the students go, ‘burn the whole University’

Ah yes, the peaceful protesters of the all-inclusive, tolerant left — they seem to be at it again.

Some students at East Carolina University have vowed to go on a rampage and trash stuff if Tomi Lahren, conservative firebrand, is allowed to come and speak. ‘Cause that’s what the college kids do these days when they don’t get their liberal way.

Lahren’s supposed to speak April 17. But not if the brainwashed brats passing themselves off as college learners have anything to do with it.

Campus Reform scarfed up some screen shots of the social media messaging that’s been making the rounds since Turning Point USA secured the speaking deal for Lahren.

They go like this: “Burn the whole University.”

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HORROR: Hillary Clinton Comes Out Of The Shadows To Encourage Americans To RESIST!

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has kept up herself relatively low key in public appearances since her demeaning loss to President Donald Trump in the November presidential election. Now she is slowly crawling out of her hole, to stir up trouble. Are YOU surprised?

Clinton was the concluding speaker for an event hosted by the Professional Business Women of California, where she gave her 4 worded phrase for what Democrats should do about Trump:

“Resist. Insist. Persist. Enlist,” …Oh look, she can rhyme…

It looks like Clinton is struggling to place herself as a key leader in the “resistance” to Trump’s presidency, though her ultimate goal could be just about anything.

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New police horse wanted by resort mounted patrol

As the Ocean City Council braces for its fiscal year 2018 budget hearings, one expense has already been covered: a new horse for the Ocean City Police Department.

OCPD is looking for a new horse for the Mounted Patrol Unit, which works in crowd control and Boardwalk patrol.

“A police horse typically costs between $6,000 to $9,000,” Police Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay Richard said. “They are paid for using money from an endowment that was left to the OCPD Mounted Unit by a local citizen to buy and train horses.”

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Pennsylvania high school gives nearly 500 students suspension notices

More than 500 students at a Pennsylvania high school have been given suspension notices for skipping at least a week’s worth of classes.

Officials at Harrisburg High School gave the notices to the students on Monday for accumulating too many unexcused absences. It’s all part of a crackdown by the school’s new principal, Fox 43 reported.

“Many parents send their child to school and think they’re going to class,” Principal Lisa Love told reporters on Wednesday. “I need to reach out because of the enormous number of students not going to class.”

She said students often go to school but then skip class and are loitering in hallways and other parts of the large school. The principal said she needed to do something “radical” to get students’ attention.

"If you're not in class, all you're here to do then is to wreak havoc upon the school and disrupt the work that we are trying to do here," Love said, according toPennLive. "And that's to focus on student achievement."

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North Korea's 'reckless' actions must be stopped, Mattis says

North Korea’s “reckless” actions in regards to its nuclear weapons and missile programs “has got to be stopped,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday.

Speaking at a news conference in London, Mattis raised the North Korea issue in response to a reporter’s question about Iran. He suggested that North Korea is a more urgent problem.

“This is a threat of both rhetoric and growing capability, and we will be working with the international community to address this,” he said. "We are working diplomatically, including with those that we might be able to enlist in this effort to get North Korea under control. But right now it appears to be going in a very reckless manner."

"That's got to be stopped," he concluded.

The reporter noted that Mattis, as head of U.S. Central Command in 2012, had said Iran was the main threat facing the United States. In responding, Mattis quickly pivoted to North Korea, which has rattled Washington with threats to attack the U.S. with nuclear missiles.

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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/31/north-koreas-reckless-actions-must-be-stopped-mattis-says.html

FBI Recovers Rockwell Painting Stolen From NJ Home in 1976

The FBI recovered a 1919 Norman Rockwell painting stolen more than 40 years ago from a New Jersey home.

The painting, sometimes called "Lazybones" or "Boy Asleep with Hoe," graced the cover of the Sept. 6, 1919, edition of the Saturday Evening Post, reported The Associated Press.

The oil-on-canvas piece was among several items taken during a 1976 break-in in Cherry Hill, a Philadelphia suburb.

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Ken O'Keefe: World War 3 Has Already Begun!

VA, Other Govt Agencies Conduct Deadly Experiments on Dogs

More than 1,100 dogs are experimented on in government labs run by the VA and other agencies, according to a new report.

A piece slated to air during Sunday's "Full Measure" takes a look at the practice of using dogs in the lab. Host Sharyl Attkisson discovered that it sometimes involves running dogs on a treadmill for long periods and dissecting their hearts after they suffer deadly heart attacks.

The practice occurs nationwide in several government facilities. Anthony Bellotti and his group White Coast Waste Project want to see it end.

"What we found in the open, in our analysis of their paperwork, was that in 2016 the VA said they had not — were not — experimenting on any dogs. Didn't turn out to be the case," Bellotti said. "What we found was that they were indeed experimenting on these dogs. We're talking about experiments involving high levels of pain and distress, unrelieved by anesthesia or pain relief.

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Inmate costs down, confrontations increase

Worcester County Jail Warden Garry Mumford told the county commissioners this week that even though costs for food and medical care for inmates were down, use-of-force interventions along with an increased number of addicts or mentally ill prisoners could end up costing the county more money.

During his detailed budget hearing earlier this week, Mumford said about 35 percent of inmates have addiction or mental health issues, and may have neglected their care before becoming incarcerated. In those situations, he explained, the person must be brought up to an acceptable standard, which could end up costing the county money.

However, use of in-house medical facilities had the jail lower this year’s budget request by almost a third to $55,000. Last year, $85,000 was budgeted.

Beyond medical care, Mumford said these inmates tended to be unruly.

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New Terrorist Laptop Bombs May Evade Airport Security

Terrorist organizations, including ISIS and al-Qaida, may be developing laptops bombs capable of avoiding airport security, CNN reported Friday, after speaking with U.S. intelligence officials and law enforcement agencies.

Intelligence sources maintained that as airport security improved, "terrorists have obtained sophisticated airport security equipment to test how to effectively conceal explosives in laptops and other electronic devices," CNN reported.

The intelligence also "played a significant role in the [President Donald] Trump administration's decision to prohibit travelers flying out of 10 airports in eight countries in the Middle East and Africa from carrying laptops and other large electronic devices aboard planes,"

The terrorist organization leading the way in finding creative ways to conceal bombs was al-Qaida, according to intelligence officials, CNN reported.

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WikiLeaks: CIA Disguises Its Own Hacking to Appear Russian, Chinese

WikiLeaks' latest dump of hacked info from the CIA shows how the spy agency could mask its own cyberattacks to make it look like it came from another foreign government, the Daily Mail reported.

Russian, Chinese, North Korea, Arabic, Farsi — it's all in the source code, the Daily Mail reported.

It's the latest revelation from holed-up fugitive Julian Assange, who released 676 files from the CIA that prove its software capabilities in waging cyber warfare.

But it's one Russia's foreign minister picked up on when WikiLeaks first dumped about 9,000 files of the CIA's cyberespionage toolkit on March 7, including hacking into Smart TVs and phones and using them as surveillance devices.

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Report: Surveillance of Trump Team Began Before He Was GOP Nominee

Numerous private citizens connected with President Donald Trump's campaign team were "unmasked" in intelligence information swept up in "incidental collection" that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes secretly viewed last week, according to news reports on Friday.

The names were exposed by an individual who is not in the FBI, but is "very well known, very high up, very senior in the intelligence world," a source told Fox News.

Nunes, the California Republican who is under fire for seeing the information but not sharing it with his committee, now knows who the individual is, the source told Fox.

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Too much haze around medical marijuana in Maryland

Maryland needs to get to the finish line when it comes to providing patients with medical cannabis. It’s just not happening. It seems to us that instead of focusing on delivering cannabis to those Maryland residents who would medically benefit from its use, the state has, instead, set upon a path to build cannabis empires for those fortunate enough, for whatever reason, to get the state's awards of what amounts to winning lottery tickets. This includes dispensers, growers, and distributors.

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Morgan Stanley: Used Car Prices may Crash 50%

For months we've been talking about the massive lending bubble propping up the U.S. auto market. Now, noting many of the same concerns that we've highlighted repeatedly, Morgan Stanley's auto team, led by Adam Jonas, has just issued a report detailing why they think used car prices could crash by up to 50% over the next 4-5 years.

Here's the summary (flood of supply, poor lending standards and desperate OEMs who need to keep new car sales elevated at all costs):

Off-lease supply: This has already more than doubled since 2012 and is set to rise another 25% over the next 2 years.
Extended credit terms: Auto loans are at record lengths and lease assumptions (residuals, money factor) are at record levels of accommodation.
Rising rates: Starting from record low levels in auto loans.
Overdependency on auto ABS: The outstanding balance of auto securitizations has surpassed last cycle's peak.
Record high deep subprime participation: 32% of subprime auto ABS deals were deep subprime (weighted average FICO < 550) in 2016 vs. 5% in 2010.
Record high units of new car inventory: 2016YE unit inventory levels were near 10% higher than 2015YE, and are continuing to trend higher in 2017.
OEM price competition: Car manufacturers have capacitized to a 19mm or 20mm SAAR. At this point in the cycle we start seeing more money 'on the hood' to move the metal. As new car prices fall, used prices look relatively more expensive, which necessitates a decline in used prices to equilibrate the supply/demand imbalance.
Increased ADAS penetration: We expect auto firms to achieve nearly 100% active safety penetration by 2020, creating an unprecedented safety gap between new and used vehicles, accelerating obsolescence of the used stock. Rising insurance premiums on older cars could accelerate this shift.
Trouble in the car rental market: Due to a number of secular shifts, including how consumers access transportation options (e.g. ride sharing), car rental firms are facing stagnant growth, weak pricing and over-fleeted conditions. As these cars hit the auction, the impact on prices could be significant.

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College Grads See Slim-to-Nothing Wage Gain Since Recession

The bachelor's degree — long a ticket to middle-class comfort — is losing its luster in the U.S. job market.

Wages for college graduates across many majors have fallen since the 2007-09 recession, according to an unpublished analysis by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce in Washington using Census bureau figures. Young job-seekers appear to be the biggest losers.

What you study matters for your salary, the data show. Chemical and computer engineering majors have held down some of the best earnings of at least $60,000 a year for entry level positions since the recession, while business and science graduates's paychecks have fallen. A biology major at the start of their career earned $31,000 on an annual average in 2015, down $4,000 from five years earlier.

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Governor Larry Hogan Signs Fiscal Responsibility Bill into Law

Also Signs Pension Relief for School Boards

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today was joined by Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller and Speaker of the House Mike Busch for the second bill signing ceremony at the State House in Annapolis.

“Today, I am proud to sign legislation that will help ensure Maryland’s fiscal stability in years when revenues are less than projected,” said Governor Hogan. “I’d like to thank the majority leadership for working with us in a bipartisan way to enact meaningful, common sense budget reforms.”

The governor today signed HB 503 - State Budget - Appropriations - Income Tax Revenue Estimate Cap and Revenue Stabilization Account. The legislation incorporates the governor's Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2017, which places a cap on the estimate of non-withholding (e.g. capital gains) revenues assumed in the budget process. This cap is designed to reduce revenue volatility by ending the practice of using temporary revenue spikes to fund known recurring future expenses. It will also create a process whereby excess state income during years with a revenue surplus will be automatically moved into the Rainy Day Fund to make that excess revenue available for use in years where revenues are less than projected.

This bipartisan legislation is based on recommendations from a joint report by the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Legislative Services, and the Office of the Comptroller.

The governor also signed HB 1109 - Teachers' Retirement and Pension Systems - County Boards of Education Payments. This legislation reduces public school pension costs by nearly $20 million in response to an unanticipated cost issue this year. This legislation will provide a one-year suspension of the local administrative costs incurred by the pension system. The State will fund the difference ensuring that the pension system remains secure. This legislation was part of a bipartisan compromise between Governor Hogan and the presiding officers to provide incentives for Marriott and Northrop Grumman to remain and expand in Maryland.

The Yasser Arafat of the Democrat Party

The late terrorist Yasser Arafat (1929-2004) was famous for saying one thing to American media and the opposite to Palestinian audiences. To U.S. presidents and chief diplomatic correspondents he would profess his desire for peace and for a two-state solution, while to Arabs and Muslims he would impugn Jews, hint at Israel's abolition, and incite and pay for anti-Semitic violence.

His problem was that, like most liars, he was eventually found out. President George W. Bush saw through Arafat's skein of deception and disengaged from the self-defeating "peace process" that he had manipulated to his advantage for decades. By the time of Arafat's death, it was clear that any practical improvement in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship would have to bypass the Palestinian autocrat. He just couldn't be trusted.

It is by this standard that I hereby judge Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to be the Yasser Arafat of the Democratic Party. Schumer is so practiced at saying one thing to Democratic elites and another to the Democratic base that it is easy to fall for his charade. But neither Arafat nor Schumer should fool you. Schumer is a hypocrite and a liar and out for no one but himself. And it is for these reasons that his threat to filibuster Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch should be viewed with incredulity.

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Two Democrat Senators Announce They’ll Vote to Confirm Gorsuch

Two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, announced Thursday that they will vote to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, bucking their own party's leadership.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has promised that Senate Democrats will filibuster Gorsuch's nomination and prevent him from joining the high court. If a filibuster occurs, the Senate's 52 Republicans would need eight Democratic colleagues to join them in supporting Gorsuch, or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) could invoke the so-called "nuclear option," altering Senate rules so only a simple, 51-vote majority would be needed to confirm the nominee rather than the current 60 votes needed.

Senate Democrats triggered the nuclear option in 2013 to confirm many of then-President Barack Obama's nominees, although an exception was made for Supreme Court picks.

Heitkamp and Manchin, who are both up for reelection in 2018, represent states that President Donald Trump won in the 2016 election. Their seats are considered vulnerable and potential opportunities for Republicans to expand their majority in the Senate.

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Trump's love of getting even comes to Washington

Washington (CNN)Long before Donald Trump ever became a credible presidential candidate, let alone the commander in chief, the former reality TV star was guided by one animating principle: "If they screw you, screw them back 10 times as hard."

Trump's desire for revenge played out in public on Thursday when, in an effort to spook conservative members of his own party, the President lumped the Freedom Caucus -- a collection of conservative Republican lawmakers -- with Democrats and pledged to "fight them" in 2018.

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Trump and his White House feel betrayed by the conservative Republicans. Many backed Trump early in the 2016 campaign and stood by him during some of the toughest trials of the campaign. But when it came to passing his first legislative goal -- health care reform -- the conservatives revolted en masse and killed the bill.

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Orioles sign Ryan Ripken, son of Cal Ripken Jr., to minor league contract

As the full-season minor leaguers head north to their assignments this weekend, theOrioles will have a high-profile player arriving in extended spring training.

Infielder Ryan Ripken, the son of Hall of Fame infielder and club legend Cal Ripken Jr., has been signed to a minor league contract for Short-Season Class-A Aberdeen and will report to extended spring training.

Ripken, a Gilman product, first attended South Carolina before finishing his career with one year at Indian River State College, which produced former Orioles utility man Steve Pearce. During the summer, he played for Youse’s Orioles in the Cal Ripken League in Baltimore.

The Washington Nationals selected him in the 15th round of the 2014 MLB draft, and after two seasons in the Gulf Coast League, he split time in 2016 between Class-A Hagerstown and Short Season Class-A Auburn.

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GOP pushes for 2% fee on money immigrants send home

A group of House Republicans on Thursday introduced the first major bill to fund President Trump’s border wall, saying the government could collect billions of dollars by imposing a 2 percent fee on all the money Mexicans and other immigrants send back home.

Estimates vary, but remittances from those in the U.S. to their relatives back home could top $130 billion a year. A 2 percent tax could net more than $2 billion a year if it applied to all money regardless of who’s sending it.

“This bill is simple — anyone who sends their money to countries that benefit from our porous borders and illegal immigration should be responsible for providing some of the funds needed to complete the wall,” Rep. Mike Rogers, Alabama Republican, said in a statement. “This bill keeps money in the American economy, and most importantly, it creates a funding stream to build the wall.”

Mr. Rogers and Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania are leading the effort.

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LEGENDARY COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER

Tasty Treats

An ice cream cone or a piece of candy was a big thing a hundred years ago. Nowadays, they are just another matter-of-fact thing in our day to day lives. Every country store had an assortment of penny candy. Some stores even have them still available, but they cost at least 15 cents.

Most cakes and pies were made by the housewife in those days. They were usually made on a Sunday when family dinners were the occasion. We can now buy any style cake or pie at a number of places. There is nothing like a piece of homemade apple pie made with cinnamon and a slice of cheddar cheese on top. Most cakes are made from a ready mix in a box and are quite good, especially if you add a box of pudding mix when making it.

Candy in the old days was a bit more limited in choices of what to get. It is hard to tell when hard candy was first sold in stores. Usually a bagful was a few pennies. When people came to town to get their staples in the 19th century, they usually found the few pennies to make the children happy.

Ice cream was made at home the old fashioned way. Some summertime venues still make and sell homemade ice cream when local fruits are in season. There is even an ice cream truck operating in Salisbury, but the cones are no longer a nickel. Ice cream cones were first made at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The ice cream vendor ran out of the paper cups he used. He got the idea of rolling up the confection sold next to him to make a cone shaped holder for his ice cream. The cone was invented.

Anybody growing up in Salisbury in the 1950’s has got to remember the Shore Maid Ice Cream truck. That distinctive bell was sure to bring out all the kids in the neighborhood. I think the truck was green and had some age on it, but that didn’t matter to us kids. Shore Maid had a store on Camden Avenue with an “S” shaped counter. It was always a special treat to be taken there. The different confectionaries all had ice cream, but Shore Maid was just special. Popsicle made the famous two-stick frozen treats that came in mainly orange, cherry and grape They also made a blueberry that left your lips as blue as could be. I think that more popular than the two-stick was the Dreamsicle, which was an orange creamsicle. It had a vanilla center with an orange ice coating and was mighty tasty on a hot summer day. Before the advent of the Popsicle, children would chase the home ice delivery man to beg some shavings from the cake of ice he was delivering,

Chewing gum has been around in its present form for years. Before that people had been chewing different substances for thousands of years. In my youth, the preferred gum of choice was the gum that came with baseball cards. In the summer, all of us guys had several slabs of the pink gum stuffed in our hip pockets. What seemed so innocent then has resulted in many a cavity over the years.

Maddow Raises Possibility Trump, Campaign Innocent and ‘Scandal’ Isn’t ‘Existential Presidency-Ending Conflagration’

Thursday on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” host Rachel Maddow said there was still a “possibility” President Donald Trump and his campaign were innocent of accusations of being in cahoots with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential campaign and that this may not take down the Trump presidency.

If that is indeed the case, Maddow urged her viewers not to let their guards down against public corruption, especially as there are any other numbers of storylines to pursue while the Trump-Russia saga dominates the news coverage.

Partial transcript as follows:

The news today that we may get testimony in exchange for immunity from fired National Security Advisor Mike Flynn who is in a position potentially to know more about the scandal than anybody else, that news today revs this scandal up into higher gear that we didn’t even know we had in our national transmission, and you know, we will — we here at the show and I think on this network, we will cover this as aggressively as anybody. I think it’s been fair to say we have been as aggressive as anybody on this story already and that will remain the case.

But I want to just plant this flag here — there remains the possibility that the president and his campaign are innocent. There remains the possibility that the president and his campaign are not incident — not innocent, but that this scandal does not prove to be an existential presidency-ending conflagration, even if they are found to have committed very bad acts. There remains the possibility that at the end of this, even if these investigations continue to go as badly as they have for the president thus far, there remains the possibility that the end of all of it, he’s still president and then for the sake of our democracy, we have to figure out how we are going to regain our in tolerance for corruption and scandal and throwing our American ethical and political norms out the window.

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Japan's Annual Antarctic Expedition Returns With 333 Whale Carcasses

For the second consecutive year, Japanese whalers have returned to port after an Antarctic expedition with the carcasses of 333 whales. The five-ship fleet, put forth by the country's Fisheries Agency, killed the minke whales during a months-long voyage to southern waters for what it calls ecological research.

The agency released a statement describing the mission as "research for the purpose of studying the ecological system in the Antarctic Sea," according to Agence France-Presse.

The Associated Press reports that Fisheries Agency official Shigeto Hase lauded a successful expedition in Shimonoseki, the home port for Nisshin Maru, mother ship of the Japanese fleet.

"It was great that we have achieved our plan," Hase told those gathered for a welcome ceremony, including the city's mayor and about 200 local people, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. notes. "We will steadily continue our research toward a resumption of commercial whaling."

It is not by chance that the word "research" served as the centerpiece of both statements.

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Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill Allowing Women to Quickly Arm Themselves Against Domestic Abusers

While media outlets focused on the collapse of Speaker Paul Ryan’s healthcare bill, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) quietly vetoed legislation that would have granted women immediate approval to carry guns for self-defense against domestic abusers.

The bill, HB 1852, would make exceptions in the issuance of concealed carry permits, “[providing] that for a period of 45 days after the issuance of a protective order the individual seeking the protective order may lawfully carry a concealed weapon.”

McAuliffe vetoed the legislation on March 24, claiming HB 1852 weakens the “Commonwealth’s gun safety laws” and “perpetuates the dangerous fiction that the victims of domestic violence will be safer by arming themselves.”

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In 24 States, 50% or More of Babies Born on Medicaid; New Mexico Leads Nation With 72%

(CNSNews.com) - In 24 of the nation’s 50 states at least half of the babies born during the latest year on record had their births paid for by Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

New Mexico led all states with 72 percent of the babies born there in 2015 having their births covered by Medicaid.

Arkansas ranked second with 67 percent; Louisiana ranked third with 65 percent; and three states—Mississippi, Nevada and Wisconsin—tied for fourth place with 64 percent of babies born there covered by Medicaid.

New Hampshire earned the distinction of having the smallest percentage of babies born on Medicaid. In that state, Medicaid paid for the births of only 27 percent of the babies born in 2015.

Virginia and Utah tied for the next to last position, with 31 percent of the babies born on Medicaid.

However, according to KFF, some of the nation’s most populous states shared the distinction of having 50 percent or more of the babies born there born on Medicaid.

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Delaware Auto Exchange Is A Great Buying Experience

Last Thursday evening a few of us decided to drive to Felton Delaware to look for a clean used pickup truck for our Grandson. It's hard to believe this young guy is of age to actually drive but one thing is for sure, he's earned it.

For starters, his grades are always honor roll level. To top it off, he's been working his tail off every summer as well as every single weekend during the school year. He has earned and saved 100% of every penny he's earned and is ready to purchase his own vehicle for cash.

As you can see from the pictures above, we were successful in finding the perfect starter truck for this young man and he couldn't be more excited. While we were there I came across a Prius I just couldn't resist buying. To top it all off, my friend was also able to find the perfect pickup truck he had been searching for and ultimately purchased it as well. 

To give you a good idea of just how well worth the trip it is to search for a used vehicle at an auction, I purchased both the 4x4 Ranger and the Prius for exactly $2,700.00 each. There is a buyers fee, (around $250.00) and while these auctions can be very exciting, you really do need to know when to fold on a particular vehicle you like. I've been going to auctions most of my life and know when to walk away. Then again, there are many cases where you can absolutely steal a deal and or buy something you really want to have. 

If you'd like to learn more about Delaware Auto Exchange, they just put up a new Website that allows you to look at their inventory in advance for each upcoming auction HERE. They hold these auctions on Thursday and Saturday each week. Good Luck and Enjoy!

WH: Trump Feels Transgender Bathroom Issue Not a Federal One

The issue of which public bathrooms and locker rooms transgender people should use is best dealt with at the state and local levels, the White House said Friday.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked to comment on North Carolina's decision this week to overturn a law passed last year that dictated which bathrooms transgenders could use while in public places.

"He believes in states' rights," Spicer said of President Donald Trump's opinion on the matter.

"This issue came up when Caitlyn Jenner, in particular, came to Trump Tower. [Trump] said he didn't really care. I think it is a state and local issue, not one that he believes needs federal attention."

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Canadians Report More Scrutiny And Rejection At U.S. Border Checkpoints

Church volunteers on their way from Ontario to New Jersey were stopped at the U.S.-Canada border and turned away.

So were Canadian nurses who work at a hospital in Detroit.

Scores of Canadians say they've been refused entry at U.S. border checkpoints in recent weeks, and their stories have gotten a lot of attention.

At 4,000 miles, the U.S.-Canada line is the longest unprotected land border in the world, and it's relatively easy for Canadians to visit the U.S.; most don't require visas.

But immigration lawyers on both sides of the border say officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, have gotten more aggressive in their questioning of Canadian citizens, and about who they're letting into the country, since President Trump took office.

"Definitely things have changed on the northern border," said Heather Segal, an immigration attorney in Toronto. She said CBP agents are "denying people, erring on the side of denial, slowing people down and preventing people from getting into the United States ... with this notion by CBP that this is how they're supposed to be behaving right now."

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