U.S. Customs and Border Protection Media Releases 7-27-17

CBP Officers Seize More Than $1 Million in Cocaine at the Laredo Port of Entry

LAREDO, Texas –U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized a significant amount of alleged cocaine carrying an estimated street value of more than $1,000,000 in one enforcement action over the weekend. “I congratulate our...

 

Charleston CBP Seizes Counterfeit Toys

CHARLESTON, S.C. –U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations, at Charleston seaport seized $121,442 worth of counterfeit children’s toys that arrived into the port. The cargo arrived in late June from China and was destined...

Brownsville Customs and Border Protection Officers Seize Narcotics Valued at $1.6 Million in Four Seizures

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Brownsville Port of Entry intercepted four loads of alleged narcotics over the past weekend. CBP officers discovered the alleged drugs, which carried a combined street value of...

CBP Canine Sniffs out $153K in Methamphetamine

TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working with a narcotics-detection canine at Arizona’s Port of San Luis arrested a local 19-year-old man after finding more than $153,000 worth of methamphetamine in his vehicle Tuesday...

Laredo Sector Border Patrol Seizes $5.6 Million in Meth

LAREDO, Texas –On July 23, 2017, agents at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate Highway 35 encountered a white 2003 Dodge Durango at the primary lane.  The driver was questioned regarding his immigration status and was referred for further...

Laredo Sector Border Patrol Rescues Teenager Missing from Illinois

LAREDO, Texas – On July 25, 2017, agents working at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate Highway 35 encountered a red Alero vehicle at the primary lane.  The driver and passenger were questioned regarding their immigration status and referred...

New LA/LB Seaport Port Director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke Sworn In During Change of Command Ceremony

LOS ANGELES – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today hosted a Change of Command ceremony to formally instate LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, formerly the Director of the Non-Intrusive Inspection Division at CBP Headquarters, as Port Director for...

CBP Provides Travel Tips for Canadian Holiday Weekend

PEMBINA, N.D. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations is reminding both Americans and Canadians to ensure they have proper documents when crossing into the United States during the upcoming holiday weekend. Also,...

Marijuana Bundle Launched Over Border Fence

TUCSON, Ariz. – A Douglas Police Department officer working within Operation Stonegarden seized more than 140 pounds of marijuana launched over the International Boundary Fence near Douglas on Monday afternoon. Agents recovered a large bundle of...

CBP Canine Sniffs out $153K in Methamphetamine

TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working with a narcotics-detection canine at Arizona’s Port of San Luis arrested a local 19-year-old man after finding more than $153,000 worth of methamphetamine in his vehicle Tuesday...

Northern Arizona man sentenced to 120 years in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography

Samir Wadi, (44), of Sedona, was sentenced July 19, by an Arizona Superior Court Judge following a bench trial who handed a guilty verdict of 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor under the age of 15, making each charged count a class two felony.

Friday Will Be Loaded With Articles

At this point I can say that we will have articles every 30 minutes starting at midnight, for 24 hours. During the busy hours you'll see articles as often as every 7 minutes, (or so). 

As Teachers Adopt ‘Gender Unicorn,’ More Parents Speak Out

The so-called “gender unicorn” is raising concerns and sparking anger across more states as teachers involved in sex education adopt the mythical character, which was created by transgender activists to teach children as young as age five about sex and gender identity.

Its creators call the gender unicorn an upgrade to the “genderbread person,” by replacing the man with a sexually ambiguous mythical creature. In addition to a host of semantic issues, the gender unicorn’s creators state that the male and female binary in biology is “a European construct.” The organization that created it says it is “dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender nonconforming students through advocacy and empowerment.”

Writing for the Oregonian, Elizabeth Hovde says that elementary and middle-schoolers in her school district’s health curriculum haven’t been subjected to learning about the gender unicorn by the schools themselves, but some of their teachers have been more than eager to adopt the mythical character as an educational reference.

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OBX blackout: Mandatory evacuation, state of emergency on Ocracoke Island

Thousands were without power on Ocracoke and Hatteras islands on Thursday and officials were unsure when it will be restored.

The Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative said on Thursday that it could take several days or even weeks before power can be restored on Hatteras and Ocracoke.

A state of emergency was issued Thursday, according to Hyde County officials, and visitors to Ocracoke were told to evacuate so work could proceed on restoring power.

PCL Construction, the company building the new Bonner Bridge, told CHEC that at about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, its crews drove a steel casing into the underground transmission cable running between the south end of the bridge and the overhead riser pole, causing the outage.

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Trump Continues Criticism of Jeff Sessions

President Donald Trump again criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday, after he recused himself from the ongoing Russia investigation.

“So where is the investigation A.G.” Trump wrote on Twitter after noting reports that Democrats worked with Ukrainians to help sabotage his presidential campaign.

Trump also criticized Sessions for taking “a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes” failing to investigate his former opponent’s deleted emails and the reportedly “hacked” DNC server. He also urged his attorney general to investigate the leaks of national intelligence.

The president also questioned Sessions failure to investigate Clinton’s ties to Russia, in a Twitter message on Monday.

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Duquesne professor charged with keying neighbors' cars

A Pennsylvania professor known for her expertise on consumer trends has been charged with keying her neighbors' cars, resulting in thousands of dollars of damage.

Duquesne University professor Audrey Guskey, 62, was charged with criminal mischief after police said she scratched four cars with a key and caused more than $10,000 total damage in June.

Police say a neighbor, Zachary McGill, who lives on the same street as Guskey, in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, grew suspicious after several cars were damaged. He set up a camera to try to capture someone in the act of damaging the cars.

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Airbnb has a new revenue-sharing deal with the NAACP

Airbnb has partnered with the NAACP to bring economic opportunities to people of color. Through the partnership, which includes a revenue-sharing agreement, Airbnb and the NAACP will reach out to communities of color about the benefits of sharing their homes on Airbnb.

“For too long, black people and other communities of color have faced barriers to access new technology and innovations,” NAACP interim President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.​ “This groundbreaking partnership with Airbnb will help bring new jobs and economic opportunities to our communities. Airbnb’s commitment to that goal is a tremendous step in the
right direction for Silicon Valley to opens its doors to African-Americans and other communities.”

The NAACP and Airbnb will work together to host in-person community meetings and educational campaigns around issues of fair and affordable housing. The goal is to bring more travelers to communities of color.

As part of the deal, Airbnb will share 20 percent of those earnings with the NAACP. Hosts will not be impacted by the initiative, and Airbnb says it will provide more details in the coming weeks.

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'A 'For Sale' Sign at City Hall': FBI Indicts 2 PA Dem Mayors in Pay-to-Play Probe

Two Democratic Pennsylvania mayors were indicted Wednesday as part of a wide-ranging FBI corruption probe.

The mayors of Reading and Allentown - the state's third-largest city - were named among the defendants in the five-person indictment.

Acting U.S. Attorney for Eastern Pennsylvania Louis Lappen said Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski (D) was charged with 14 counts relating to running a pay-to-play scheme, and other offenses.

Lappen said Pawlowski and former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer (D) "essentially put up a 'for sale' sign in front of their city halls to sell city work to the highest bidder," Lappen said,according to WFMZ-69 News.

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Fourth Friday continues in dwtn. Pocomoke

The Pocomoke 4th Friday Street Festival returns this week, with Market Street between Front and Second streets shut down to traffic from 5-8 p.m. for the occasion.

Karah Lacey, Pocomoke economic development coordinator, said local artists, craftsmen and vendors would fill the downtown sidewalks to sell their wares, including paintings, photography, jewelry, bath and body products, home decor, fashion and much more. She also noted that numerous local businesses would stay open until 8 p.m.

This month’s featured artist is Darren “That Spray Paint Guy” Linton, who began his foray into airbrushing nearly five years ago and in the last few years has increased the scale.

“I find that with spray paint, if it doesn’t turn out exactly like I planned I can add more colors, textures, and still make something I’m proud of,” Linton said.

Over time Linton has come to appreciate the creative process and has found people enjoy witnessing his methods.

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Breaking News: The Senate has approved sweeping sanctions against Russia, forcing the president to accept a hard line against Moscow or veto the bill

The Senate vote followed the passage of a House bill earlier this week to punish Russia, Iran and North Korea for various violations by each of the three American adversaries. In effect, it would sharply limit President Trump’s ability to suspend or lift sanctions on Russia, and won near unanimous support across the Republican-led Congress.

Read More »

The Senate vote followed the passage of a House bill earlier this week to punish Russia, Iran and North Korea for various violations by each of the three American adversaries. In effect, it would sharply limit President Trump’s ability to suspend or lift sanctions on Russia, and won near unanimous support across the Republican-led Congress.Read More »

Why Illinois Is In Trouble - 63,000 Public Employees With $100,000+ Salaries Cost Taxpayers $10 Billion

The 'Big Dogs' of local government in Illinois.

Illinois is broke and continues to flirt with junk bond status. But the state’s financial woes aren’t stopping 63,000 government employees from bringing home six-figure salaries and higher.

Whenever we open the books, Illinois is consistently one of the worst offenders. Recently, we found auto pound supervisors in Chicago making $144,453; nurses at state corrections earning up to $254,781; junior college presidents making $465,420; university doctors earning $1.6 million; and 84 small-town “managers” out-earning every U.S. governor.

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Christmas In July Toy Drive Held At Jolly Roger

OCEAN CITY – Jolly Roger Amusement Park officials joined with members of the First State Detachment Marine Corps League and several jeep clubs to celebrate a Christmas in July Toy Drive this week.

On Tuesday, Jolly Roger guests and members of Eastern Shore, Ocean City, Southern Delaware, Infidel Jeepers and Slightly Altered jeep clubs came with toys in hand – and in cars – to celebrate the amusement parks’ Christmas in July celebration to benefit the Toys for Tots program.

Guests who brought in a toy or cash donation received a discount at any of Jolly Roger 30th Street parks that day.

The toy drive kicked off with a flag raising ceremony from Pocomoke High School’s Marine Corps Junior ROTC Color Guard followed by speeches from Jolly Roger staff and local officials.

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Cops Shoot Man At Wrong Address

Mississippi police officers shot the wrong man when they showed up at the incorrect house to serve an arrest warrant over the weekend.

Southhaven police officers entered the Mississippi neighborhood searching for Samuel Pearman, a man wanted for a domestic aggravated assault after he allegedly choked a woman in front of her daughter at a gas station, reportsWPXI.

The arrest warrant listed Pearman’s address as 5878 Surrey Lane in Tate County, but law enforcement officers entered the house across the street at 5881 Surrey Lane. Ismael Lopez Rodriguez, the man who lived at 5881 Surrey Lane, was fatally shot by one of the officers who came to his house.

“Someone didn’t take the time to analyze the address,” Murray Wells, the attorney for Lopez’s family, said. “This is incredibly tragic and embarrassing to this police department that they can’t read house numbers.”

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BBB warns of pop-up phone scams

BALTIMORE —The Better Business Bureau of Maryland is about a pop-up that might have appeared on smartphones, telling people to download an app that could cause big problems.

Pop-ups are a scam that try to trick people in to handing over information, and while it's made the rounds before, BBB officials said it seems to have made a resurgence.

The messages pop up while surfing the internet. The message says tells the phone user they have been engaged in some activity, like visiting adult websites, but that their phone is now infected with viruses and the "browser is seriously damaged."

The point is to catch people by surprise and lure them into a quick-fix.

People may say, "'I need my iPhone to work. I better do what it says.' So it definitely gets your attention," said Jody Thomas with the BBB of Maryland.

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SPD Press Release 7-27-17 (Fraud Investigation)

NOI 7/27/17 Wicomico Vehicle Fire Airport Road

NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION Date:  7/27/17 Time:  1:01 p.m. Location / Address:  5073 Airport Road, Salisbury, Wicomico Co. Type of Incident:  Fire Description of Structure / Property:  16’ x 20’ wood frame residential outbuilding Owner / Occupants:  Randy Wilson Injuries or Deaths:  None Estimated $ Loss: Structure:  $15,000                      Contents: $10,000 Smoke Alarm Status:  n/a Fire Alarm / Sprinkler Status:  n/a Arrests(s):  n/a Primary Responding Fire Department:  Salisbury # of Alarms:  1     # Of Firefighters:  15 Time to Control:  10 minutes Discovered By:  Owner Area of Origin:  Garden tractor inside outbuilding Preliminary Cause:  Accidental, result of tractor engine malfunction upon ignition Additional Information:

BENOIT CONSTANT CONVICTED IN TWO HEBRON SAVINGS BANK ROBBERIES

THREE MEN CONVICTED IN SHARPTOWN SHOOTOUT

The Six Senate Republicans Who Flip-flopped in Favor of Obamacare

Six establishment Senate Republicans flip-flopped on their pledge to repeal Obamacare on Wednesday.

Senate Republicans shot down Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) clean Obamacare repeal bill. Paul’s bill, the “Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017,” failed 45-55.

Seven moderate Republicans voted against the clean Obamacare repeal bill in the Senate.

Sens. Dean Heller (R-NV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John McCain (R-AZ), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted against Sen. Paul’s clean Obamacare repeal bill. All of these senators except for Sen. Collins voted to rescind Obamacare in 2015.

Conservative activists previously branded Sens. Murkowski, Portman, and Capito “traitors” for betraying their promise to the American people to repeal Obamacare.

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Board of Public Works Approves Expansion of Chesapeake Forest Lands

Program Open Space Acquisition Supports Economy, Environment and Recreation

 

Chesapeake Forest Lands will increase by 1,664 acres following Board of Public Works approval today of a Maryland Department of Natural Resources conservation acquisition in Somerset County.

The adjoining and contiguous parcel will be integrated into the Chesapeake Forest Lands sustainable forestry management plan and provide for economic, environmental and recreational opportunities on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore.

“This strategically important acquisition will benefit both the economy and the environment,” Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said. “The working forests will be retained and will now be managed in a sustainable manner, supporting the local economy and watershed. The acquisition will also protect public access to traditional outdoor activities and recreation like hunting.”

The Program Open Space acquisition will allow these forested tracts to be managed in an environmentally-sound and sustainable manner benefiting the natural resources-based economy as well as allow for both active and passive recreational pursuits, including birding, camping, fishing, hiking and hunting.

The forested lands will be managed by the Maryland Forest Service in accordance with the state’s dual forest certification through the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Stewardship Council. Timber harvesting and public recreation will be incorporated into the land’s management plan. The public will have many opportunities to comment on the plan as it is being drafted.

The department partnered with The Nature Conservancy on the acquisition of the property.

Motor Vehicle Collision / DUI

Motor Vehicle Collision- Impaired Driver
Date and Time: 07/27/2017 @ 1238 hrs.
Location: Rt 610 @ Murray Rd, Whaleyville, MD
Vehicles: Veh#1 2005 Dodge truck, MD registration 27T013

Accused: Suspect (At Fault)/ Driver Vehicle #1: Charles Allen Jerread

On 7/27/2017 at approximately 1238 hrs, troopers from the Berlin Barrack responded to the area of Rt 610 @ Murray Rd., Whaleyville, Worcester County regarding a motor vehicle collision.

The investigation revealed a 2005 Dodge Truck bearing MD registration 27T013, operated by Charles Allen Jerread (W/M, 66 yoa ) of Whaleyville, MD was traveling on Rt 610 when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a ditch.

Upon contacting Jerread, Senior Trooper Gordy detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and person and noted his eyes to be red, bloodshot and glassy. Due to those observations, standardized field sobriety tests were administered to Jerread to which he performed poorly. Jerread was arrested for DUI and transported to the Berlin Barrack where he refused to intoximeter test.

Jerread did not suffer any injuries.

Jerread was issued citations for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving while impaired by alcohol and negligent/ reckless driving.

No state property was damaged.

Jerread was released to a family member.

Paul Craig Roberts On "The Conspiracy To Remove Trump From The Presidency"

US intelligence services, the Democratic Party, some Republicans including members of President Trump’s own government, and the presstitute US media are conspiring against American democracy and the President of the United States.

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: Was the “Russian Hack” an Inside Job?
Executive Summary

Forensic studies of “Russian hacking” into Democratic National Committee computers last year reveal that on July 5, 2016, data was leaked (not hacked) by a person with physical access to DNC computers, and then doctored to incriminate Russia.

After examining metadata from the “Guccifer 2.0” July 5, 2016 intrusion into the DNC server, independent cyber investigators have concluded that an insider copied DNC data onto an external storage device, and that “telltale signs” implicating Russia were then inserted.

Key among the findings of the independent forensic investigations is the conclusion that the DNC data was copied onto a storage device at a speed that far exceeds an Internet capability for a remote hack. Of equal importance, the forensics show that the copying and doctoring were performed on the East coast of the U.S. Thus far, mainstream media have ignored the findings of these independent studies [see here and here].

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Pugh: State Help, Other Non-Law Enforcement Initiatives Part Of Crime Fight

It was back on July 10 when Mayor Catherine Pugh met in Annapolis with Gov. Larry Hogan to discuss ways the state can help address violent crime in the city. On Wednesday, Pugh spoke about the ways the state is helping and it includes technology.

“Our police department has obtained a $2 million state grant to provide laptops in city patrol cars this year,” Pugh announced at her weekly City Hall news conference. “This will allow our police to efficiently file reports from the field and check backgrounds on outstanding warrants in real time.”

The mayor also says the governor has agreed to restore 16 parole and probation officers to the city that were cut under Gov. Martin O'Malley. The mayor says that will help authorities keep track of repeat violent offenders.

Early next month, two consultants from Los Angeles will come to the city and review crime fighting procedures and make further recommendations.

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Rush Limbaugh: GOP Runs Show, Needs to Act Like It

After years of trying, Republicans finally control both chambers of Congress and the White House, but are making no progress on the conservative agenda, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Monday.

"Six months into a Republican administration, after how many years of promises to, say, repeal Obamacare, and we're not an inch closer to it in reality than we were before last year's election?" he told his radio audience. "It's not gonna get any better than this. The only way it could get better is if this Republican majority were populated by more conservatives and different ideological types."

Limbaugh also noted President Donald Trump's tweet earlier in the day in which he called on investigations into Hillary Clinton and any connection with Russians.

So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2017

"What Trump is talking about here . . . 'Why aren't these Republican committees, why aren't these Republican investigators — why isn't my attorney general — looking into Hillary Clinton's crimes?'" Limbaugh said. "If you're gonna investigate what all went on with Russia, how in the world do you leave the Democrats out of it? How do you leave Hillary Clinton out of it?"

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House of Representatives Prioritizes Border Security in Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, DC: On July 27, the House of Representatives voted to include nearly $1.6 billion of funding for border security projects in the Make America Secure Appropriations Act. Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) issued the following statement in support of this funding:

“As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Homeland Security Subcommittee, I have consistently voted in favor of this funding since the appropriations process began, and I am proud to vote in favor of this funding again today. Securing our nation’s borders and cutting off illegal immigration are critical to our national security and sovereignty. I will continue to support efforts to add to the barriers protecting our border.”

The House of Representatives will vote on the passage of the Make America Secure Appropriations Act later tonight.

Disorderly Man Tased Twice After Wife Allegedly Hit By Boardwalk Tram

OCEAN CITY — An Pennsylvania man had to be tased twice last week after launching into an expletive-laced tirade at police who were investigating an incident when the suspect’s wife was allegedly struck by the Boardwalk tram.

Around 7 p.m. last Thursday, the Boardwalk tram was making a turn toward the loop around the pier when the conductor observed Christopher and Lydia Campbell of Blossburg, Pa. facing the opposite direction in the tram’s path. According to the incident report, the conductor called out to the Campbells to watch out for the tram, but she instead stepped back, hit the tram and fell down.

An Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer arrived on the scene a short time later and found Lydia Campbell siting on the ground near the tram and Christopher Campbell standing behind her. According to police reports, Christopher Campbell was loudly shouting and cursing at passersby and tram passengers and was actively trying to start a fight with one of the tram caboose observers.

The OCPD officer positioned himself between Campbell and the tram operator and attempted to calm him, telling him the police were there to investigate the tram’s alleged collision with his wife. However, Campbell continued an expletive-laced tirade against the police and everyone else on the crowded section of Boardwalk on a busy late July evening including “you [expletive deleted] ran us over.”

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Reining in Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuse

On Jan. 20, 2015, the federal government dropped its case against the Hirsch family and returned $446,000 in assets and cash seized by the IRS. The agreement required the Hirschs to pay their own legal fees and cleared the feds of any wrongdoing.

The problem? The Hirschs, who own a distribution company on Long Island, were never even charged with a crime, much less convicted. They were victims of civil asset forfeiture, a process whereby government can seize property and cash they suspect is related to the commission of a crime.

Last Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered the expansion of civil asset forfeiture laws, insisting they are a “key tool” for enforcement.

A constitutionally dubious money spigot for government is more like it. And while CBS News painted Sessions’ decision as a “reversal” of former AG Eric Holder’s policies, the numbers tell a different story. During Holder’s tenure from 2009 through early 2015, the yearly dollar value of assets seized by the DOJ went from less than $2 billion to more than $5 billion.

Holder did indeed receive praise for ending the program. Yet as The Washington Post reported on March 28, 2016, the Obama administration’s DOJ — then headed by Loretta Lynch — was “resuming a controversial practice that allows local police departments to funnel a large portion of assets seized from citizens into their own coffers under federal law.”

It was a practice Lynch pursued with vigor during her tenure as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of New York.

More here

Belligerent teacher gets detained and schooled after refusing to tell ICE if she’s a US citizen at checkpoint

If you are stopped by a police officer in your car, what do you do?

Well, of course, the first rule that everyone learns is ‘do what the cop tells you to.’

Especially true, perhaps, at border stations and with border control.

But apparently, an English teacher from San Diego, decided it was her moment to pull a liberal social justice warrior act.

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Police Were Going To Auction Off Crime Victim's Car Instead Of Returning It

Mary and Clyde Antrim’s Ford Crown Victoria was stolen on June 1 of this year in Pueblo, Colorado. Once recovered, instead of returning the car to Mary, who says she needs it to get to doctors appointments, the police were going to auction it off to make money off the backs of the elderly victims of theft.

Being the victim of theft is hard enough. But what happens when youtrust the cops to return your stolen property once they recover it? Nothing. They planned to make money by auctioning off someone else’s stolen property. Two wrongs make a right when it comes to agents of the government. As if the police state isn’t already bad enough.

“I need my car for my doctor’s appointments that I have to go to,” Mary said. “That’s my transportation and I’m 80 years old and I’d like to have my car back so I can do what I have to do.” Colorado Springs police have nothing to say on camera about this case (And why would they? They were just doing their job, right?), but Mary is talking after she says police would not give her car back or answer her phone calls.

The car was later recovered 45 miles away from Mary’s home in Colorado Springs following an aggravated robbery at Dillard’s on Briargate Blvd. “They (police) told me it was involved in a robbery and that it was being held for evidence and that’s all I was told,” Mary said about the conversation with police on June 5.

When she found out her car was going to be sold at auction, she called News 5 Investigates for help.

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AT LAST! Mizzou Has Officially Fired Both Employees Who Bullied Students During Mob Protests

Officials at the University of Missouri’s flagship campus in Columbia have finally rid themselves of the administrator and the professor who physically and verbally attacked student journalists during the eruption of Black Lives Matter protests that rocked the school’s campus in November 2015.

The firing of both taxpayer-funded employees — mass communication professor Melissa Click and senior associate director for Greek life Janna Basler — took 20 months.

Basler, the Greek life director, shoved up against a lone student photographer Tim Tai as he attempted to capture images for a local newspaper.

Scuttlebutt about Basler’s employment status began earlier this month when Mizzou officials announced approximately 400 layoffs in the face of massive state budget cuts and a huge plunge in student enrollment.

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Dem Leader Dodges Questions About Busted IT Employee

WASHINGTON — House Ethics Committee ranking member Ted Deutch fled from The Daily Caller and his office refused to respond to emailed questions about his knowledge of former House IT employee Imran Awan, who is now charged with multiple counts of bank fraud and previously worked for the Florida lawmaker and other Democrats.

Last week, TheDC asked Deutch about the IT staffers as he walked down the steps of the Capitol, but Deutch motioned to his middle school daughter being with him and complained that he could not answer the question at the time.

“You know as much as I do,” Deutch said.

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New Study Confirms Owning A Dog Is A Health Benefit

A new study has confirmed what most dog owners already know: their companionship with their furry canine is incredibly good for one’s health and overall well-being.

Research now shows that all pets bring real health benefits to their owners, but dogs may be different because of their heightened level of loyalty and need for exercise. Pet ownership has already been associated with lower levels of stress for both adults and kids. Researchers have also found that dogs can decrease the risk of asthma in children and have been linked to lower blood pressure.

Adding to that, a new study confirmed that dog owners are more active than those who don’t own dogs, packing in more steps per day on their walks or just regular playtime. Last month, a study showed that older dog owners take 2,760 more steps per day on average compared to non-owners, which amounted to an additional 23 daily minutes of moderate exercise.

Researchers from University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Center for Diet and Activity Research at the University of Cambridge used data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Norfolk cohort, and they focused their study on 3,123 participants between the ages of 49 and 91. Nearly 20% of those participants owned a dog, and they all wore an accelerometer for seven days to track their movements. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

“Physical activity interventions typically try and support people to be active by focusing on the benefits to themselves, but dog walking is also driven by the needs of the animal,” project lead Andy Jones, a UEA professor, said in a press release. “Being driven by something other than our own needs might be a really potent motivator and we need to find ways of tapping into it when designing exercise interventions in the future.”

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Texas energy company to lay off 108 employees in Maryland

Direct Energy Solar will lay off 108 employees and close its Columbia office in September, the company notified the state on Tuesday.

The Howard County solar energy company used to be known as Astrum Solar. Houston-based Direct Energy acquired Astrum for $54 million in 2014 and rebranded the firm as Direct Energy Solar in 2015. That same year, the firm moved its headquarters from Annapolis Junction to Columbia.

Direct Energy Solar said in 2015 it had 145 employees in Columbia. In the filing on Tuesday, the company reported to state officials that the layoffs were part of a "plant closure," the term used in the state's WARN notification log.

The layoffs are part of a shift in the business model, Direct Energy Solar said in a statement. The firm decided to move away from doing residential installations and will instead focus on developing community solar projects and energy storage systems. Direct Energy also said the change will it allow it to concentrate more on growing its commercial business.

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Mo Brooks Offers to Withdraw Bid to Reinstate Jeff Sessions as Senator

Wednesday, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), a GOP hopeful competing in his party’s primary for an Alabama U.S. Senate seat on August 15, offered to withdraw his candidacy if Attorney General Jeff Sessions were to step down as attorney general and want to return to the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) currently holds the Senate seat up for grabs and he is also a candidate in that primary. Brooks’ offer is contingent on the other front-runners, Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, also withdrawing from the contest.

“I offer to withdraw completely from the race for Senate if my other GOP opponents in this race will concur on the terms and conditions set forth in the accompanying ‘Resolution Reinstating Jeff Sessions as United States Senator,’” Brooks said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “If all Republican candidates collectively agree to simultaneously withdraw from this race, then we clear the way for the Republican Party of Alabama to nominate Jeff Sessions to be the Republican nominee for the December 12, 2017 general election. He can return to the Senate where he has served us so well. President can then appoint whomever he wants as Attorney General.”

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Republicans Toy with a Misguided Tax on the First Amendment

President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have laudably made passing tax reform — real tax reform, not just shuffling money from one group to another — a top priority. Now, however, some supply-side economics skeptics are open to the possibility of taxing free speech — a constitutional right — to fill Washington’s coffers.

As you read this, the “Big Six” are meeting to discuss which deductions to keep or eliminate, and Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady must quell these whispers of taxing advertising. Imposing such a levy would trample on our country’s liberty and values, setting a dangerous precedent for further constitutional breaches in the foreseeable future.

As substantial “pay-fors” such as the border adjustment tax begin to fall out of the public’s favor, some in Congress have begun to look at provisions from Dave Camp’s 2014 tax reform proposal as a blueprint for replacement. Camp’s proposal would have changed the tax treatment of advertising from a normal, 100 percent deductible business expense to one that is only 50 percent deductible, with the rest being amortized over the course of a decade.

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Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne reveals senior Republican told him of plan to "take out"

Russia probe: Democrats BLOCK key witness against shadowy firm Fusion GPS

Senate Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver Wednesday to cut short a high-profile hearing, where a key witness was set to testify on Russia's misdeeds and also raise fresh allegations against the company behind the infamous anti-Trump dossier.

Bill Browder, the CEO and co-founder of Hermitage Capital, was set to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that the co-founder of the firm Fusion GPS was hired to conduct a "smear campaign" against him. Further, he planned to testify the campaign was orchestrated by Natalia Veselnitskaya -- the Russian attorney who sought the highly scrutinized Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort in June 2016.

Browder released written testimony ahead of the hearing but his public remarks were delayed when Democrats invoked the "two-hour rule" to protest Republican efforts to repeal ObamaCare. The seldom-used rule bars committees from meeting more than two hours after the full Senate begins a session.

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Board Of Public Works OK's Settlement In Tyrone West Case

A state board in Maryland approved a $400,000 settlement on Wednesday in the case of a Baltimore man who died during a struggle with police, and a second settlement with the city could bring the total amount of compensation to $1 million.

The Board of Public Works approved the settlement for Tyrone West's family. Tawanda Jones, West's sister who has held weekly demonstrations, dubbed West Wednesday's, since her brother's 2013 death to raise awareness about Baltimore police practices, has scheduled a news conference Wednesday evening.

A $600,000 settlement will be brought before Baltimore officials next month, A. Dwight Pettit, a family attorney, said. The money will go to West's three children, he said.

"We are very pleased that the state has done its share, and now we're waiting for the city to do its part," Pettit said.

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Migrants Overwhelm German Courts with Asylum Lawsuits: ‘This Will Paralyze Us for Years’

Migrants are overwhelming the German court system as hundreds of thousands have appealed rulings denying them refugee status.

Many migrants are suing after being granted "subsidiary protection" status by the German authorities, seeking to become full refugeees, the Washington Post reports. Those with subsidiary protection status can stay in Germany for up to three years, but do not have the right to reunify with family.

Two-thirds of cases in Berlin's administrative court are from asylum seekers, as 250,000 appeals are pending across the country Germany.

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OC Restaurant Names Dishes After Kids’ Whiny Complaints

Screaming “I’m not hungry!” orders you a basket of chicken tenders

Fager’s Island, a restaurant in Ocean City, Maryland, knows what your kid wants for lunch.

It doesn’t matter how whiny, upset, or squeamish your child is on your vacation — if they let loose a whine, this menu has a response. Titles like “I don’t care” and “I’m not hungry” serve as the ultimate guide to deciding what to order for your tantrum-throwing child. The concept is simple: Hear the complaint, pick a menu option.

So really, no child gets away with throwing a tantrum at this smart establishment. They can screech whatever protest they want — and they’ll just get ordered a kid-friendly classic in response. The “I don’t want that” delivers French fries. The “What?” is a cheese quesadilla.

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Cable Networks Black Out Coverage on Wasserman Schultz IT Scandal

Major cable news networks have given no coverage to the burgeoning scandal involving IT staffers to former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, according to aWashington Free Beacon analysis.

Reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation has revealed that Wasserman Schultz's top information technology staffer Iman Awan was arrested Monday after trying to flee the country amidst investigations into Awan concerning banking fraud and a criminal cybersecurity probe. Awan wired over $280,000 to Pakistan after the FBI recently recovered multiple smashed hard drives from Awan's home.

Despite being blocked from the House computer network since February amid allegations of "committing serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network," Awan remained employed by Wasserman Schultz's office. He and four of his relatives have received $4 million by working for Democratic members of Congress since 2009.

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President Trump Participates in a Jobs Announcement

Michael Moore Takes His Politics of Outrage to Broadway

His one-man show, “The Terms of My Surrender,” is opening at the Belasco Theater. But theater audiences in New York may already be part of his choir.

What the hell does Michael Moore want now?

Is it not enough that for nearly 30 years, this cinematic provocateur has used his movies to harangue us about gun control, the George W. Bush administration, single-payer health care and his myriad other bleeding-heart causes? Didn’t we just spend an election season enduring this man — a bold truth-teller to some, a tedious self-promoter to others — and his Cassandra-like warnings that President Trump was going to win?

Now Mr. Moore, this willfully disheveled, 63-year-old hybrid of Noam Chomsky and P. T. Barnum, expects theatergoers to pay Broadway ticket prices to watch him in a one-man show, “The Terms of My Surrender.”After his previous documentaries, books and television shows, does he have anything left to say, and does he really believe it will make a difference?

“I am not going to take up people’s time or this valuable space to lecture people,” Mr. Moore said, sitting in the orchestra level of the Belasco Theater. “I’m not coming to this stage every night to conduct a political rally.”

Instead, he said, he wants to tell stories that will make audiences feel better about this fractured nation, in a show from which they will emerge rejuvenated after a monthslong period of feeling beaten down.

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If Sessions leaves, a new DOJ sheriff could rein in or ax Mueller

It is unconventional, if not unprecedented, for a sitting president to publicly disparage his attorney general after a mere five months on the job.

Nevertheless, is President Trump justified in his displeasure and frustration with Jeff Sessions? Let’s examine the facts.

"If he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me prior to taking office, and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump said at a Rose Garden news conference. “It’s a bad thing not just for the president, but also for the presidency. I think it’s unfair to the presidency.”

Trump’s point is this: Sessions concealed his intent to recuse himself from the federal investigation into possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. In so doing, the attorney general effectively “sandbagged” the president.

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Donald Trump’s ‘Transgender’ Declaration Preserves Americans’ Two-Sex Society

President Donald Trump’s dramatic decision to exclude so-called “transgender” people from the military is a direct rejection of the progressives’ revolutionary demand that Americans’ society should be remade to eliminate all civic recognition of the two different-and-complementary male and female sexes.

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

The Wednesday decision was greeted with anger from the left, which had hoped that the military’s 2016 endorsement of the transgender ideology would push the Supreme Court and legislators nationwide to impose and establish the unpopular claim that a person’s changeable choice of “gender” is more legally important than their biological sex.

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MARYLAND’S ASSAULT WEAPON BAN APPEALED TO SUPREME COURT

A group of Maryland residents – with the help of the National Rifle Association and other 2nd Amendment organizations – formally filed a petition to the United States Supreme Court in an attempt to defeat the state’s assault weapon ban.

This year, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 10-4 in Kolbe v. Hogan that the State of Maryland was within its rights to ban certain types of firearms that the legislature defined as an “assault weapons.” The plaintiffs are now asking the Supreme Court to review the 4th Circuit’s decision on Maryland’s assault weapon ban.

The fundamental question posed by the NRA-backed lawsuit is whether Maryland can legally and constitutionally ban entire classes of firearms that are “in common use at the time.” This language is important because it is directly drawn from the Supreme Court’s 2008 case, District of Columbia v. Heller. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual right to own firearms for self-defense, especially if those firearms are “in common use at the time.”

The plaintiffs argue that the AR-15 is, by the numbers, the most popular rifle in America. The rifle is the semi-automatic (one shot per pull of the trigger) version of the U.S. Military’s M-16 or M4 assault rifles and it is estimated that at least five million Americans have an AR-15 in their gun safes. The lawsuit points to these statistics and asks how a type of rifle that is legally owned by so many Americans would not qualify as “in common use at the time.”

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Huckabee Sanders: Transgender Military Ban ‘Based on a Military Decision’

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a press conference Wednesday that President Donald Trump's ban on transgender Americans in the military "is based on a military decision."

Many questions in Wednesday's press conference centered on Trump's announcement on Twitter, which came without an accompanying Department of Defense press release.

"Why did he decide to do this given that during the campaign he had declared that he would protect the rights of transgender individuals? He said he would be better on this issue than Hillary Clinton and now he's turned the clock back on this issue regarding the military," one reporter asked.

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The Socialism Deniers and the "Better Deal"

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), still reeling from the electoral thrashing put on them by Donald Trump and the Republicans last November, announced a major charade this week. Their Democrat Party is, once again, attempting to reboot and re-brand itself into something it's not.

The party is adopting a new slogan for its policy props, "A Better Deal." Yes, it's a cheap knock-off of Franklin Roosevelt's 1933 "New Deal" slogan and is an updated do-over of FDR's failed socialist policies while cloaking them in the language of Donald Trump's middle class appeal.

Barack Obama used FDR's model to buy two presidential elections, so why not try it again? So what if the Democrats' last grand national experiment with centralized statist policies, the so-called "Great Society," was also an abysmal failure. All that's important to Pelosi, Schumer and the rest of their party is a return to power. And if they can fool enough people at the ballot box with false promises based on economic centralization and wealth redistribution, they'll accomplish their mission.

Of course, the best contemporary case study in the failure of Democrat regulatory schemes is the so-called "Affordable Care Act" — ObamaCare — or what's left of it today..

Fact is, the new and improved “Better Deal” will prove to be nothing more than all the previous Democrat’s socialist Raw Deals over the past century.

How do I know?