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Thursday, April 27, 2017

REMINDER: RESTAURANT JOB FAIR


The Ocean Pines Association will hold a restaurant job fair from 10 am – 1 pm on Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29 at Mumford’s Landing in Ocean Pines.

Seasonal and year-round positions are available at the community’s three restaurants – The Cove at Mumford’s, Ocean Pines Golf Club’s Tern Grille and the Ocean Pines Beach Club, located at 49th St. in Ocean City.

Individuals interested in serving as waitstaff, cooks, servers, bartenders, bussers and hostesses are encouraged to attend.

All three facilities have recently undergone renovations. The association’s flagship restaurant, The Cove at Mumford’s, is currently open; the Ocean Pines Beach Club and Tern Grille will reopen within the next few weeks.

Questions about the job fair should be directed to Mumford’s Landing in Ocean Pines at 410-641-7501.

‘Financial Choice Act 2.0’ Would Eliminate Government’s Ability To Go After Shady Payday Loan Operations

Even though recent surveys indicate that the overwhelming majority of Americans want more regulation of payday lending, federal lawmakers are attempting to strip the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of any authority over these short-term, high-cost loans.

The draft legislation — dubbed the Financial Choice Act 2.0 — is a revision of the previous Financial Choice Act introduced by bank-backed Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling last year.

The 593-page draft [PDF] aims to roll back several provisions under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and limit the CFBP’s ability to oversee the entire financial industry.

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WVFD Dine In/Carry Out Dinners Tomorrow!

Fried Chicken Dinners
on Friday, April 28th 4pm til 7pm

Dinners are $10 each and include
3 pieces of Fried Chicken, Two Sides, and a Roll

Willards Volunteer Fire Company Inc
7370 Main St, Willards, Maryland 21874


** Update** State Police Investigating a Fatal Crash East of Delmar

Delmar – The Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is investigating a fatal crash east of Delmar.

The incident occurred around 12:43 p.m. Thursday April 27, 2017 as a 35-year-old female was operating a 2002 GMC Yukon southbound on Pepperbox Road approaching the intersection at Whitesville Road (SR30) with a posted stop sign. A 32-year-old male operating a 2016 Kenworth tractor pulling a 2014 Ledwell trailer westbound on Whitesville Road approaching Pepperbox Road. Whitesville Road is a throughway and traffic is not required to stop. The Yukon failed to stop at the posted stop sign and entered the intersection as the tractor trailer was crossing and struck the right side of the trailer. As a result, the Yukon began to violently rotate multiple times before coming to a stop on Whitesville Road west of the intersection. The tractor trailer came to a controlled stop in the roadway a short distance west of the intersection.

The 35-year-old female, who was properly restraint was pronounced dead on scene. Her name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The 32-year-old male tractor trailer operator was properly restrained and uninjured.

The Collision Reconstruction Unit is continuing their investigation into this incident. There is no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement on behalf of the 35-year-old female at this time. Whitesville Road was closed at Pepperbox Road for approximately four hours while the crash was investigated and cleared.

Click to view original release ** Traffic Advisory** State Police Investigating a Fatal Crash East of Delmar

Sexual Enhancement Supplements With Ridiculous Names Contain Prescription Drugs For Sexual Dysfunction

A supplement company that must let their 12-year-old cousin name its products has recalled a slew of sexual enhancement supplements — for men and women — after tests showed that these items contained actual FDA-approved prescription drugs used to treat sexual dysfunction.

The generically named Organic Herbal Supply Inc. has announced that FDA testing of a number of its male enhancement products has turned up the presence of tadalafil and sildenafil. If those words don’t sound familiar, you probably know them by their brand names of Cialis and Viagra, respectively.

Both are FDA approved for treating erectile dysfunction, but are currently only available as prescription drugs, meaning they don’t belong in a bunch of random supplements with names like — and we are not making these up — Uproar, Cummor, Zrect, Monkey Business, Xrect, Rectalis, Tornado, Zdaily, BigNHard, and Enhancerol.

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Poplar Hill Mansion hosts Mothers Day Tea May 13


Come join Poplar Hill Mansion for a wonderful Mother's Day Tea on Saturday, May 13th at 11:30. What better way to celebrate the Mom in your life than taking her to High Tea at Salisbury's oldest house? 


The menu will include: Cream of Green Pea Soup with Mint, Assorted Tea Sandwiches (Chicken Salad, Open Faced Cucumber, Pimento Cheese, and Black Forest Ham with Orange Butter), Blueberry Lemon Scones with Clotted Cream and Lemon Curd, Assorted Desserts (Carrot Cupcakes, Chocolate Raspberry Bars, and Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies), and Lady Grey Tea. The Tea will also feature live music by the talents of Judy Willing, Becky Joseph, and Bill Alexander. 

Cost is $22.00 per person and everyone has a chance to win door prizes. RSVP required 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.

An excerpt from the Maryland Fishing Report from DNR

http://dnr.maryland.gov/Fisheries/Pages/fishingreport/index.aspx

At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge are it has been all about the large bluefish for the past week that are being caught on cut menhaden or by casting lures. Tautog are being caught on sand fleas and pieces of green crab. A few flounder are being caught and there continues to be short striped bass in the back bay areas that are providing some catch and release fun. Offshore the boats heading to the wreck and reef sites are reporting good catches of tautog. Bryan Rosensteel got a real surprise when he caught this big bluefish off the balcony of the waterfront condo he was renting.

FDA cracks down on 'Miracle' Cancer Treatment

In an effort to clamp down on a disturbing trend targeting cancer patients, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently sent warning letters to 14 companies ordering them to stop peddling fraudulent cure-all remedies — or else face possible criminal prosecution. The letters, detailed Tuesday on the agency’s website, addressed more than 65 products currently marketed and sold without FDA approval.

CHILI PEPPER, POT MAY FIX YOUR AILING STOMACH

“Anyone who suffers from cancer, or knows someone who does, understands the fear and desperation that can set in,” Nicole Kornspan, a consumer safety officer at the FDA, said in a post on the agency’s website. “There can be a great temptation to jump at anything that appears to offer a chance for a cure.”

As a guide for consumers, the FDA warned against treatments marketed with the following phrases:

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95 arrested in Southeast Texas during 5-day ICE operation targeting criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives

HOUSTON — Federal officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 95 criminal aliens and others throughout Southeast Texas during a five-day enforcement action which ended Friday.
The operation began April 17 and Houston ERO officers made arrests in the following Texas counties:  Brazoria (7), Ft. Bend (2), Galveston (4), Harris (59), Liberty (3), Matagorda (4), Montgomery (13), and Wharton (3). Of those arrested, 87 were men; eight were women. The ERO Houston area of responsibility includes 54 counties in Southeast Texas.
All the foreign nationals targeted by ICE officers during this enforcement action had prior criminal convictions. The majority of those arrested — 82 of the 95 — had criminal histories that included convictions for the following crimes:homicide, aggravated assault, assault, burglary of a vehicle, child abuse, domestic violence, cocaine possession, fraud, driving under the influence (DUI), drug trafficking, felony marijuana possession, illegal entry, larceny, possessing a controlled substance, and weapons possession; thirteen were arrested for having immigration violations. Individuals arrested during this operation are from the following countries: Cambodia (1), Cuba (1), El Salvador (8), Guatemala (3), Honduras (11), Mexico (66), Nicaragua (2), Nigeria (1) and Vietnam (2).
Following are criminal summaries of five arrested during this operation:

U.S. Test Fires Boeing's $40M Missile in Message to North Korea

The U.S. test fired the Boeing (BA)-made Minuteman III missile amid growing tensions with North Korea over the Kim regime’s nuclear program.

The Minuteman III is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying nuclear warheads. When it was built in the 1970s, each missile had a price tag of $7 million, or more than $40 million in current dollars. Since the initial production run, the Air Force has made upgrades to the Minuteman III including modern targeting systems.

The missile test, conducted from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, sent a Minuteman III about 4,200 miles to a test range in the Marshall Islands.

Col. John Moss, 30th Space Wing commander, said the launch “was an important demonstration of our nation’s nuclear deterrent capability.”

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Virginia faulted for handling of cattle pollution in Shenandoah

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is treasured for its natural beauty, its mountains and rivers, and its recreational opportunities. The Valley is also home to hundreds of farms, some of them dating back to colonial days, where cattle are the primary livestock.

But those cows are a major source of pollution, according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project. The Washington-based nonprofit contends that the state is failing to do enough to curb polluted runoff from feedlots and fields in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as not requiring the fencing of cattle away from nearby waterways. Both issues impair water quality and put at risk those who enjoy the river and its tributaries, the group says.

The EIP report estimates that 528,000 dairy and beef cattle in the valley generate one billion gallons of liquid manure annually. This waste, high in phosphorus, is typically spread over fields either owned by the livestock farmer or by neighbors, to fertilize crops. But the local farmland simply can’t absorb the tonnage of waste that needs to be disposed of, the EIP contends. The manure is piled on so heavily that crops can’t absorb all the nutrients, especially phosphorus, leading to runoff into nearby streams and rivers.

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Marine shot dead at McDonald's drive thru after fight

A 25-year-old Marine veteran was murdered at a McDonald's drive-thru after a fight broke out over a honked horn, police say.

Justin Lampkins, 25, was allegedly shot in the chest by Evan Schaffer, 22, in the early hours of Saturday morning in what Indiana police called one of 'the most senseless acts they had ever seen.'

Lampkins had been in the car with friends, just one vehicle behind Schaffer, while they waited in line at the drive-thru of a McDonald's in Bedford, Indiana.

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ICE arrests 76 criminals across the state of Florida and Puerto Rico

MIAMI – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested 76 criminal aliens last week in an enforcement action targeting individuals who pose a threat to public safety. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers made the arrests across the state of Florida.
Of those arrested by ICE during the enforcement action, which was conducted from April 18-21, 57 had criminal records that included felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, such as lewd & lascivious behavior, sexual battery, child sex crimes, sex offenses, aggravated assault with deadly weapon, weapons charges and drug violations. Additionally, 19 had less serious or violent violations to include; larceny, petty theft, trespass, driving under the influence, fraud, driving with no driver’s license.
"ICE is committed to making our communities safer by removing threats to our public safety," said Marc J. Moore, Field Office Director for the Miami Field Office of ERO, which oversees all of Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “Communities across Florida and Puerto Rico are safer today because of the hard work of our ERO officers.
Thirteen of those detained during the action are previously removed individuals who may be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for felony re-entry after deportation.

Bubble Alert: We've Passed 2007 and Are On Our Way to 1999

The US stock market is officially in a massive bubble based on the one valuation metric that cannot be faked.

Corporations can engage any number of accounting gimmicks to juice their earnings, cash flow, and dividends… for this reason P/E, P/CF and P/DY ratios are all suspect when it comes time to value a corporations.

Sales cannot be gimmicked. Either money comes in the door, or it doesn’t. And if a company is caught messing around with its sales numbers, someone is going to jail.

For this reason, Price to Sales is perhaps the single most objective and clear means of measuring stock valuations.

This metric, above all others, you can point to and say, “this is definitively accurate and has not been messed with.”

On that note, as Bill King recently noted, today the S&P 500 is sporting a P/S ratio that is massively higher than it was in 2007 and is onlymarginally lower than it was during the Tech Bubble (the single largest stock bubble of all time for most measures).

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How some young people are now hiding drugs from parents

It's a display that could save a life. And with drug and alcohol abuse taking hundreds of lives in the St. Louis area every year, it's a display every parent should see. It's called Hidden in Plain View. Organizers and visitors alike call it eye-opening.

“I was completely mind-blown,” said Katie Gaehle, who walked through the mock bedroom exhibit Sunday afternoon during a health and safety fair at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton.

“This bedroom has over 70 items in it that should alert a parent to the fact that their child is involved in drug or alcohol abuse,” said organizer Kelly Prunty, Vice President of Addiction is Real, an anti-drug group focused on educating parents and their children on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

Some signs are obvious, like alcohol hidden in a jacket pocket. But some are much more secretive, looking like everyday items that belong in a teenager's room.

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NOI 04-26-2017 Explosive Mt. Airy Carroll County

Date: April 26, 2017
Time: 4:52 pm
Location / Address: 2100 block Knight Squire Drive, Mt. Airy, Carroll County
Type of Incident: Improvised Explosive Device (IED)
Description of Structure / Property:  two-story single-family dwelling 
Owner / Occupants: Undisclosed
Injuries or Deaths: none
Estimated $ Loss: Structure: $ 0      Contents: $ 0
Arrests(s): none
Primary Responding Fire Department: none
# of EMS Staff: n/a    # Of Firefighters: none
Discovered By: juvenile
Nature of Service Requested: investigate possibility of improvised explosive device
Action Taken/ Resolution:   A K-9 scan of residence was conducted during search warrant and device was found in a closet.   Device did  not contain any explosive material.
Assisting Agencies: Carroll County Sheriff's Office
Additional Information:   The Sheriff's Office received information that a juvenile had manufactured an IED that he intended to mail to cause harm to another person.  A search warrant was obtained.  It was determined the juvenile had begun to build the device but no explosive material was inside the device that would cause detonation. 

Dr. Andy Harris Praises New Version of Health Care Bill

WASHINGTON, DC: On April 26, Dr. Andy Harris (MD-01) released the following statement on the proposed amended American Health Care Act:

“I am proud to announce my support for the proposed amended American Health Care Act. As a physician, I’m confident that the amended bill will lower premiums and deductibles for the millions of Americans who have been burdened by the high costs of Obamacare, and it will increase access to affordable policies for the millions who have lost their policies or their doctors under Obamacare. The amendment proposed by Representative MacArthur will also maintain the guarantee of coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions while providing states the flexibility to mold their health care systems to best address the needs of their citizens.”

Trooper Shot Outside Newark Area Convenience Store – **Update #3**

Burgon Sealy, Jr.
Bear- The Delaware State Homicide Unit Detectives continue to investigate the shooting death of Cpl/1 Stephen Ballard which occurred at a Bear area Wawa yesterday afternoon.

On Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at approximately 12:06 p.m. Cpl. Stephen Ballard, an 8 and a half-year veteran of the Delaware State Police, conducted a stop on a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of the Wawa located at 1605 Pulaski Hwy, Bear. Cpl. Ballard, was in uniform and in a fully marked police vehicle, when he contacted the male driver of a red Dodge Charger. The Dodge Charger was also occupied by a second male subject in the front passenger seat. Cpl. Ballard made contact with the driver and the passenger who both provided identification. Cpl. Ballard then walked to the passenger side of the vehicle to address the occupant. The passenger, who was later identified as Burgon Sealy Jr, 26, of Middletown, advised that he had arrived at the Wawa in a gray Honda Accord which was also parked in the lot. Cpl. Ballard then asked him to step out of the Dodge Charger. As he exited the vehicle, a struggle ensued during which time the suspect began firing at Cpl. Ballard with a handgun he had produced from his waistband. Cpl. Ballard attempted to run for cover behind a parked vehicle, however, Sealy pursued him. The suspect fired the handgun, striking him in the upper body. Cpl. Ballard immediately went to the ground. The suspect then fired multiple rounds at close range, again striking him in the upper body. The suspect then ran to the gray Honda and fled from the parking lot. The driver of the Dodge remained in the Wawa parking lot, and was taken into custody by responding troopers. The investigation has determined that he is not a suspect in this incident.

Through investigative leads, it was learned that the suspect had made contact with family members and advised them that he had shot a trooper at the Wawa. The family immediately relayed that information to police. With that information investigators learned that the suspect was now in a residence in Brick Mill Farms, Middletown.

As the Delaware State Police Special Operations Response Team arrived at the residence and proceeded to establish a perimeter, the suspect began firing multiple rounds at the officers from inside of the residence. Special Operations Response Teams and Conflict Management Teams from allied police agencies then responded to the scene and attempted to make contact with the male suspect, in an attempt to persuade him to surrender. It had been learned that he was the sole occupant of the home.

When the suspect ceased contact with negotiators, at approximately 8:22 p.m., the Delaware State Police Explosives Ordinance Disposal Unit (EOD) utilized an explosive breeching charge on the front door. Still no contact was made with the suspect. Attempts to contact him to work toward a peaceful surrender continued throughout the overnight hours.

At approximately 4 AM this morning, Thursday, April 27, officers reported hearing numerous gunshots originating from inside of the home. However, once again no contact was made with the suspect.

At 9:17 AM, the armed suspect exited the residence and engaged police. He was then shot by law enforcement. Lifesaving efforts were then initiated by Delaware State Police and EMS personnel, however Sealy succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 9:29 AM. His body was turned over to the Division of Forensic Science where an autopsy will be performed.

Most of the residents of the neighborhood who had been evacuated were permitted to return home.

This investigation into this incident by the Delaware State Police is still on-going. More information will be released as the investigation progresses.


Cheswold- On April 26, 2017 Delaware State Police Corporal Stephen Ballard was killed in the line of duty while serving the citizens of our state. Corporal Ballard, age 32, an eight-year veteran leaves behind his wife and 5 year old daughter.
A memorial fund has been established at the Delaware State Police Federal Credit Union in the name of Corporal Ballard and all proceeds will be given to his family. Checks can be made out to the DSTA- Stephen Ballard Memorial Fund, PO Box 168, Cheswold DE 19936.
This is the only official memorial fund dedicated in the name of Cpl/1 Stephen Ballard.
For any questions please contact the Delaware State Troopers Association at 302-736-9958.

Citizens have no comment at Baltimore County hearing on $3.5 billion budget

Baltimore County has more than 826,000 residents, but not one of them showed up Tuesday to tell the county how it should spend its $3.5 billion budget.

The County Council held a public hearing in Towson to gather input on the budget, which will guide the county government's spending for the coming fiscal year starting July 1.

While a few people were in the audience -- including two reporters, one school board member and a handful of others -- no one stepped up to speak.

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Governor Carney Order Flags at Half Staff for Fallen State Police Officer


Governor Carney this evening ordered both the U.S. and State flags to be flown at half-staff in memory of fallen Delaware State Police Corporal Stephen J. Ballard. Corporal Ballard was killed this afternoon valiantly protecting the community and fellow Delawareans in the line of duty.

Flags are to remain at half-staff until further notice.

Nearly 400 military bases must be tested for drinking-water contamination

Contamination from former or current military installations has ignited a nationwide review of water on or around bases that used a firefighting foam containing toxic chemicals.

The military is now testing nearly 400 bases and has confirmed water contamination at or near more than three dozen, according to an analysis of data by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. The new numbers offer the best look to date at the potential scope of the problem.

But despite more than $150 million spent on the effort so far, the process has been slow and seemingly disjointed. The Air Force, for example, has completed sampling at nearly all of its targeted bases; the Navy, barely 10 percent. The Army has not begun. The branches and the Pentagon say they are coordinating, but have varying responses on how many bases must be tested, and limited information about remediation timelines and cost.

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Dog Missing In Pittsville

He went missing in Pittsville. My contact number is 443-859-5450

Impaired drivers trying to do right thing can still get in trouble

BALTIMORE —A new state Court of Appeals ruling says the licenses of drivers who refuse a blood-alcohol breath test can be suspended, even if they're not driving or attempting to drive.

Drivers are horrified. Many asked why doing the right thing gets them in trouble.


Impaired drivers trying to do the right thing: pulling off the roadway, putting the vehicle in park, calling a friend or taxi to handle the rest of the trip, sleeping it off. But guess what? They're still in trouble.

"Once they smell the alcohol and you are in the driver's seat and you have the keys on your person you are in trouble even if you are sleeping," DUI attorney Bruce Robinson said.

Robinson is an expert in DUI cases. He said the state's highest court recently upheld current law saying police, with reasonable suspicion, can still request an alcohol breath test even when the motorist is spotted parked along the side of the road. Drivers who refuse get their license suspended.

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** Traffic Advisory** State Police Investigating a Fatal Crash East of Delmar

Delmar – The Delaware State Police are currently on the scene of a fatal crash east of Delmar.

The incident occurred around 12:43 p.m. Thursday April 27, 2017 on Whitesville Road west of Pepperbox Road and involves a tractor trailer and a truck. The operator of the truck has been pronounced dead at the scene.

Whitesville Road is currently closed at Pepperbox Road. Commuters are advised to seek alternate routes of travel.

Further details will be released upon the conclusion of the investigation.

Trump reassures Canada, Mexico he's not pulling out of NAFTA

President Trump informed Mexican President Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday afternoon that he will not pull the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) despite reports earlier in the day that he had considered doing so.

Trump's separate conversations with both North American leaders were "pleasant and productive," the White House said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

The three leaders agreed to proceed quickly with renegotiation plans as the initial review process comes to a close.

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This Ohio school district will allow staff to be armed next year


GEORGETOWN, Ohio (WKRC) - Georgetown schools will allow staff, who are trained, to carry guns in school starting in the fall.

The school board voted unanimously to put the policy in effect.

Those who will carry guns will have extensive training, such as the training sessions that some staff underwent.

Under the policy, no one would be allowed without being certified.


The training also includes how to de-escalate situations.

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Breaking News:

There's been a serious accident at Whitesville Rd. & Pepperbox with a commercial vehicle overturned. Expect major delays in that area. 

Ohio Woman Shoots Intruder After He Tackles Her in Her Elderly Parents’ Home

An Ohio woman and her elderly parents are safe while the man who attacked her on Friday is in prison facing several pending charges.

Kim Sinnott of Hamilton, Ohio, was at her parents' home in the early morning hours of Friday celebrating her father's 75th birthday when the home's alarm went off. She and her twin sister Tamie Lesher went to investigate the disturbance.

"About 1:30 a.m. the alarm went off in the house," Sinnott told Pantagraph. "We noticed the light on in the garage. We saw somebody walking in the garage."

That's when the pair came across a man police later identified as 21-year-old Mykale B. Davis. Sinnott pointed her father's .32 caliber pistol at the man.

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Senators Told North Korea Nuclear Threat Is Urgent

The Senate took part in a rare White House briefing on Wednesday to hear what senior leaders described as "an urgent national security threat" posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

The hour-long secret session for all senators was held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, and included a brief appearance from President Trump who made short, introductory remarks.

Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also took part in the session. His presence is an indication that military options for dealing with North Korea likely were discussed.

New steps by the administration will include the imposition of additional economic sanctions.

"The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies," Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Director of Intelligence Dan Coats said in a joint statement after the briefing.

Trump's approach seeks to pressure North Korea into dismantling nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs through imposing tighter economic sanctions and diplomatic measures, the three leaders said.

The senior officials noted that past efforts to halt the North Korean illicit arms programs had failed.

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ARREST MADE IN RECENT HOMICIDE CASE


Date of Incident: 26 April 2017

Suspect: Brian Lamar Watkins, 23, Salisbury, MD

Narrative: On 26 April 2017 authorities took the above listed suspect, Brian Lamar Watkins of Salisbury, into custody in Howard County, Maryland.

Following an intense investigation, Sheriff’s Office detectives identified Watkins the previous day as a suspect in the murder of Wyatt Fitzgerald and also managed to track him to a residence in Howard County where Watkins had fled to following this heinous crime.

At this time Watkins is still being processed and more information will be forthcoming.

Charges: Murder 1st Degree, Murder 2nd Degree, Assault 1st Degree, Reckless Endangerment, Dangerous Weapon with the Intent to Injure, Possession of a Firearm during a Felony/Crime of Violence, Handgun on Person

Gov’t spends 17 percent more on feds’ compensation than private sector, CBO says

The Congressional Budget Office’s latest findings that the federal government overall spends 17 percent more compensating its employees compared to the private sector is renewing fresh debate on a well-worn topic.

For some, the latest CBO report throws more fuel on the fire in an ongoing push for civil service reform and reemphasizes past arguments that federal employees are simply paid too much. For others, it reinforces government’s struggles to recruit and retain top talent in mission critical areas.

In total, federal employees with a high school diploma or less earn on average 53 percent more than their counterparts in the private sector, while federal workers with a bachelor’s degrees received 21 percent more in compensation.

In contrast, total compensation costs for employees with a professional degree or doctorate were 18 percent lower than workers in the private sector, CBO said.

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Hoyer Blames $10 Trillion Debt Increase Under Obama on ‘Big Tax Cuts’ And Recession Recovery

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) appeared Wednesday on Fox News where he blamed the $10 trillion debt increase during former President Obama's tenure on recession recovery from the Bush administration and on tax cuts.

Host Neil Cavuto asked him whether congressional Democrats could support the tax cuts that were proposed in President Trump's newly revealed tax plan.

"Not now, Neil. One of the groups just put out a cost analysis of the– and we just have a one page paper. We don't have any bill. We don't have any really detailed proposal, but they estimate the cost at $6 trillion," Hoyer said, before getting corrected by Cavuto.

"Over 10 years," Cavuto said.

More here

**Update #12** State Police Investigating Shots Fired

Middletown –Allied police agencies continue to operate on St. Michaels Drive in the Brick Mill Farms Development. The subject continues to remain barricaded inside the residence and is armed with an unknown type firearm.
At 8:22 p.m. Wednesday April 26, 2017, the Explosives Ordinance Disposal Unit (EOD) utilized an explosive breeching charge on the front door.  At that time, no entry was made into the residence.
Around 4:00 a.m. this morning, Thursday April 27, 2017, officers once again came under fire from the suspect. Allied agencies explosively breached numerous windows but did not enter the residence.
Multiple Special Operations Response Teams and Conflict Management Teams from allied police agencies continued to make contact with the male subject and  attempted to persuade him to surrender.
At 9:17 a.m., the male suspect exited the residence and engaged police. The suspect was then shot by law enforcement. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:29 a.m.
A news conference will be held at Delaware State Police Troop 2, Glasgow at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon where more details of this investigation will be discussed.
Residents in the area remain evacuated.  The Odessa Fire Company, located at 304 Main Street in Odessa, has opened its facility to temporarily house the evacuated residents of Brick Mill Farms Development.
Brick Mill Road remains closed between Marl Pit Road and Middletown Odessa Road (SR299).

US Consumers Tap Out: Credit Card Defaults Surge To 4 Year High And It's Getting Worse

Two weeks ago, when JPMorgan launched Q1 earnings season, we noted that while the results were generally good, one red flag emerged: the company's credit card charge offs rose to just shy of $1 billion, the highest in four years.

It wasn't just JPM: all other money-center banks reported similar trends, so we decided to look into it.

What we found was not pretty. According to the latest data from the S&P/Experian Bankcard Default Index, as of March 2017, the default rate on US credit cards had jumped to 3.31%, an increase of 13% from a year ago, and the highest default rate since June 2013.

This is how S&P/Experian explained the recent 5 consecutive month surge in bank card default rates:

The bank card default rate recorded a 3.31% default rate, up nine basis points from February. Auto loan defaults came in at 1.00%, down five basis points from the previous month. The first mortgage default rate came in at 0.75%, up one basis point from February and reaching a one-year high.

The National bank card default rate of 3.31% in March sets a 45-month high. When comparing the bank card default rate among the four census divisions, the bank card default rate in the South is considerably higher than the other three census divisions. Upon further analysis to the South's three census regions, East South Central – comprised of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi – has the highest bank card default rate.

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Ayres Creek Campground Proposal Shelved As Developer Returns To Family Farm Plans

BERLIN – A local developer has abandoned plans to turn the former Pine Shore Golf property on Route 611 into a campground.

Developer Todd Burbage confirmed Tuesday he has pulled his campground plans and now intends to build his family home on the property along Ayres Creek. Area property owners who objected to the proposal are elated.

“We look forward to having Todd and his family as a neighbor,” neighborhood resident Donald Bounds said.

Burbage said he plans now to donate a conservation easement on the property to the Lower Shore Land Trust or the Maryland Environmental Trust. He will seek a rezoning of the existing Maryland Coastal Bays Program office property (former Pine Shore Golf clubhouse) to a B-2 classification so he can rent the property to a commercial enterprise in the future if need be.

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Fed Up With Losing Their Kids To Drug Overdoses, Parents Share Their Stories

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” Parents take to social media to demand justice for their children.

Every morning, when I log into Facebook, I’m already braced for the punch. I know what I’ll see. Another parent, another family, posting about their child’s fatal overdose. Social media is flooded with pictures of kids grinning in their graduation caps – and comatose, plugged into a monitor in the ICU. These posts are sad memorials to the victims of the opioid crisis – and a call to action, to government, big pharma, and our communities. These deaths are preventable, and they affect every one of us. After all: this could be your kid.

Heroin use continues to grow dramatically as the opioid epidemic ravages our communities. Yet, many people who use opiates and die from overdoses aren’t truly addicted. Some haven’t even developed a chemical dependency yet. They’re recreational users, or they get their opiates from the pharmacy. I was one of those people: prescribed painkillers following a bad ankle injury, I quickly found that I needed more pills. Like many other people, I turned to black market alternatives when my prescription ran out. I ended up nearly dying. What would my mom have posted on her Facebook page? What stories would my friends have told about me? I am one of the lucky ones: I survived, and now I’m working to fight the addiction crisis that kills so many people who are just like me.

Council Approves Lighting Up Beach Ball Water Tower, But Not Before Mild Debate On Funding Source

OCEAN CITY — Resort officials approved a relatively low cost plan for illuminating the new beach ball-themed water tower at 1st Street but not before considerable debate about how the project should be funded.

Last year, the new municipal water tower was constructed at 1st Street and St. Louis Avenue and was later adorned with a distinctive beach ball design welcoming visitors along one of the main entrances to the resort in the historic downtown area. For the last several months, Public Works Director Hal Adkins, at the direction of the city manager, has been exploring alternatives to illuminate the beach ball water tower at night so its distinctive design and official town logo could be visible at all times of day.

The first plan explored called for affixing lights to existing Delmarva Power utility poles in the area, but it was determined the lights would need to be higher than the power lines and raising the poles would raise the cost of the entire project to around $60,000.

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Tech entrepreneur from Baltimore is first Democrat to enter Md. governor’s race

Baltimore nonprofit founder, author and former Obama administration technology adviser Alec Ross on Wednesday became the first in what is expected to be a crowded field of Democrats to enter Maryland’s 2018 gubernatorial race.

The 45-year-old political newcomer declared his candidacy through social media and his campaign website, saying he has the knowledge and experience to prepare the state’s economy for the future.

“I’m going to use what I know about entrepreneurship and innovation to open up high-paying jobs to Marylanders with and without a college degree,” he said.

At least seven other Democrats have said they are considering a 2018 run for governor, including Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III, former Maryland attorney general Douglas F. Gansler, former NAACP executive director Benjamin Jealous, Baltimore County Executive Kevin B. Kamenetz, state Sen. Richard Madaleno (Montgomery), state Del. Maggie McIntosh (Baltimore) and attorney James Shea.

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Baltimore tops 100 homicides before end of April for first time in two decades


For the first time in nearly 20 years, Baltimore reached 100 homicides for the year before the end of the April.

Three new cases Monday pushed the number of victims counted for 2017 to 101.

Among them was a fatal shooting near the Inner Harbor before daybreak Monday. As police discussed that case in the afternoon, a man was gunned down in East Baltimore, in the same block as a new senior center that was rebuilt after it burned while under construction during the rioting two years ago.

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Authorities brace for more overdoses after Maryland deaths linked to elephant sedative

Health and law enforcement officials around the state are bracing for an uptick in drug overdoses as a deadly synthetic opioid only meant for use in large animals has hit Maryland streets.

The drug, carfentanil, already has been linked to two overdose deaths in Anne Arundel County and one in Frederick County. The drug is so potent it was never meant for use in humans and is normally used as a tranquilizer for elephants, hippos and other large animals.

It is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 5,000 times more potent than heroin, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Health and police departments throughout the state have issued special alerts about carfentanil, while clinics and others who work with addicts are taking extra efforts to warn them about the danger of the drug.

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Afghanistan Vet: Don't Celebrate Dropping The 'MOAB' In Afghanistan - It's Just More Of The Same

Jason Dempsey retired from the Army in 2015, last serving as special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He served in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division as an adviser to the Afghan Border Police.

Last week's utilization of a 21,000 pound bomb to destroy an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan was oddly met with jubilation. But as the dust settles, both literally and metaphorically, it is worth asking what we are celebrating.

While large explosions are interesting in and of themselves, the act of dropping the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ was given greater importance than the impact of the ordnance itself. Many saw it as a ‘turning point’ in the war and a ‘gloves off’ moment in the fight against ISIS. Unfortunately, neither interpretation holds, and the utilization of this bomb is only indicative of our continuing failures in Afghanistan.

For one, we’ve been dropping large bombs on Afghanistan for nearly sixteen years, including similar yet smaller bombs on Taliban and Al Qaeda strongholds. Indeed, the overall tonnage of ordnance dropped makes the MOAB an exceptionally small rounding error in the overall total. In the process the United States has killed thousands of members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and now regularly adds members of ISIS to that total. Yet despite all this bombing, transnational terrorist groups are still operating in Afghanistan.

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City Council Work Session Cancellation

The Salisbury City Council’s Work Session, scheduled for Monday, May 1, 2017 has been cancelled. The Council will meet in their regularly scheduled Budget Session on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 in Council Chambers, Room 301, of the Government Office Building, at 8:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend.

Send In A Group Of Disruptive Liberals And This Is What You Get In MSM Headlines

Crowd Hisses, Boos at Ivanka Trump During Women’s Summit

The Main Stream Media, (MSM) has become such an embarrassment in the World, I'm ashamed to say I live in the United States. We should just change our name to the National Enquirer instead of the United States. What a joke we've become and Liberals couldn't care less.  

Former Boy Scout Troop Leader Arrested for Sex With Boys

The Boy Scouts of America represented wholesomeness, normalcy, and traditional values, so of course it had to be destroyed, lest the organization impede the imposition of liberal utopia. Relentless political pressure was applied until BSA knuckled under and agreed to send young boys into the woods with openly not to say belligerently homosexual troop leaders. That means we can expect to see plenty more of this:

James R. Green Jr., 52, of Blue Springs, was charged Saturday with six counts of second-degree statutory sodomy for alleged sex acts about a dozen years ago with a then-16-year-old boy.

Green is accused of sexually assaulting a Smithville High School student in 2005 and carrying on a sexual relationship with him. Police also are investigating allegations that in recent months, Green had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old Blue Springs boy.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as we’ve been conditioned to say.

Green was a former troop leader for the Boy Scouts Heart of America Council in Kansas City.

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Planned Parenthood “Lamborghini” Exec Haggles Again Over Baby Parts Prices


LOS ANGELES, -New undercover video shows Dr. Mary Gatter, the Planned Parenthood senior executive who infamously laughed “I want a Lamborghini” about payments for aborted fetal parts, again haggling over per-specimen pricing for livers, lungs, and brains, even while insisting the purchaser must do all the work to harvest.

The video is the second of a never-before-seen batch of undercover footage being released by The Center for Medical Progress.

At a Planned Parenthood conference evening reception, CMP investigators posing as buyers from a biotech company are introduced to Dr. Gatter for the first time by Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services.

“I wanted you to meet Mary Gatter,” says Dr. Nucatola, before Dr. Gatter steps forward.

Gatter was for many years the Medical Director of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, before moving to the same position at the Pasadena affiliate, and then being elected President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Medical Directors’ Council. As Medical Director at PPLA, Gatter oversaw the affiliate’s partnership with Novogenix Laboratories, LLC, a local for-profit fetal organ and tissue harvesting company.

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THE RISE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

“Comrade, your statement is factually incorrect.”
“Yes, it is. But it is politically correct.”


he notion of political correctness came into use among Communists in the 1930s as a semi-humorous reminder that the Party’s interest is to be treated as a reality that ranks above reality itself. Because all progressives, Communists included, claim to be about creating new human realities, they are perpetually at war against nature’s laws and limits. But since reality does not yield, progressives end up pretending that they themselves embody those new realities. Hence, any progressive movement’s nominal goal eventually ends up being subordinated to the urgent, all-important question of the movement’s own power. Because that power is insecure as long as others are able to question the truth of what the progressives say about themselves and the world, progressive movements end up struggling not so much to create the promised new realities as to force people to speak and act as if these were real: as if what is correct politically—i.e., what thoughts serve the party’s interest—were correct factually.

Communist states furnish only the most prominent examples of such attempted groupthink. Progressive parties everywhere have sought to monopolize educational and cultural institutions in order to force those under their thumbs to sing their tunes or to shut up. But having brought about the opposite of the prosperity, health, wisdom, or happiness that their ideology advertised, they have been unable to force folks to ignore the gap between political correctness and reality.

Especially since the Soviet Empire’s implosion, leftists have argued that Communism failed to create utopia not because of any shortage of military or economic power but rather because it could not overcome this gap. Is the lesson for today’s progressives, therefore, to push P.C. even harder, to place even harsher penalties on dissenters? Many of today’s more discerning European and American progressives, in possession of government’s and society’s commanding heights, knowing that they cannot wield Soviet-style repression and yet intent on beating down increasing popular resistance to their projects, look for another approach to crushing cultural resistance. Increasingly they cite the name of Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937), a brilliant Communist theoretician for whom “cultural hegemony” is the very purpose of the struggle as well as its principal instrument. His writings envisage a totalitarianism that eliminates the very possibility of cultural resistance to progressivism. But owing more to Machiavelli than to Marx or Lenin, they are more than a little complex about the means and are far from identical with the raw sort of power over culture enforced by the Soviet Empire or, for that matter, that is rife among us today.

My purpose here is to explain how progressives have understood and conducted their cultural war from the days of Lenin, and how Gramsci’s own ambiguous writings illustrate the choices they face in conducting that war in our time and circumstances—especially with regard to political correctness in our present culture war.

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IRS Employee Indicted for Stealing Taxpayers’ IDs and Filing Fraudulent Returns


A federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Georgia indicted an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee today for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John A. Horn for the Northern District of Georgia.

According to the indictment, since November 2010, Stephanie Parker of Atlanta, Georgia, worked at the IRS and had access to taxpayers’ personal identifying information, such as social security numbers and dates of birth. The indictment alleges that between September 2012 and April 2013, Parker exploited her IRS accesses to steal such personal information, which she then used to file tax returns seeking refunds in the names of other individuals. Parker allegedly directed the fraudulently obtained refunds into nominee bank accounts and used some of those funds to purchase money orders.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Estate Planning

Tom was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. He knew that he would inherit a fortune once his sickly father died. Tom wanted two things: To learn how to invest his inheritance. To find a wife to share his fortune.

One evening at an investment meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, "but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $20 million. Impressed, the woman obtained his business card.

Two weeks later, she became his stepmother.

Women are so much better at estate planning than men.

THE FENCE TEST...

Which side of the fence?
If you ever wondered which side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!
If a Republican doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
 
If a Democrat doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
 
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If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
 
If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
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If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
 
If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.
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If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
 
If a Democrat is down-and-out he wonders who is going to take care of him.
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If a Republican doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
 
A Democrat demands that those they don't like be shut down.
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If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
 
A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
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If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
If a Democrat decides he needs health care, he demands that the rest of us pay for his.
 
 
If a Republican is unhappy with an election, he grumbles and goes to work the next day.
 
If a Democrat is unhappy with an election, he burns down a Starbucks, throws rocks at cops and takes two-weeks off for therapy.