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Friday, August 04, 2017

Tomorrow: Berlin Peach Festival


Community festival featuring pie-baking and pie eating contests, music, craft demonstrations, games and vendors of handcrafted items and food.

Free parking or park at the Berlin Intermediate School and take the free shuttle to the festival grounds.

Raindate: Sunday, August 6

Alcohol not permitted.

Why CNN's Jim Acosta Is Wrong About the Statue of Liberty

Jim Acosta of CNN delivered a ten-minute speech in the White House Briefing Room yesterday, theoretically asking Trump policy wonk Steven Miller about the new immigration bill. Shortly after that, it became a Thing on Twitter to point out that Miller's own great-grandparents entered through Ellis Island in 1903, the same year that the Emma Lazarus poem was added to the Liberty Island memorial.
Now, I believe my grandmother who, along with her mother and siblings, entered the country in 1904, to join my great-grandfather who had been here since about 1900. And I remember my family telling me stories about how frightening Ellis Island was because you didn't know if you were really going to be admitted, or sent back after you'd spent everything you had to get here. So I got curious about what the entry requirements were at that time. The GG Archives provided some interesting material.

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Departments of Justice and Homeland Security Release Data on Incarcerated Aliens

WASHINGTON – President Trump’s Executive Order on Public Safety in the Interior of the United States requires the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on data collection efforts. The data in this release shows a significant prison population of incarcerated aliens.
Below is a summary of data collected under Section 16 of the Order, which directs “the Secretary [of Homeland Security] and the Attorney General . . . to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports” regarding the following subjects: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States.
Information Regarding Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated Under the Supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has an operational process for maintaining data regarding foreign-born inmates in its custody. On a daily basis, BOP supplies this information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, in turn, analyzes that information to determine the immigration status of each inmate and provides that information back to BOP.
As a part of satisfying the Justice Department’s second quarterly report of this information, below is information regarding aliens currently incarcerated under the supervision of BOP.[1] This information is current as of June 24:
Out of the 187,855 inmates in BOP custody, 42,034 are foreign-born.  The breakdown of the 42,034 aliens is as follows:   
  • 19,749 (46.9%) are aliens who have received final orders of removal;
  • 21,121 (50.2%) are aliens who are under ICE investigation for possible removal;
  • 1,157 (2.8%) are aliens whose cases are pending adjudication before an Immigration Judge in the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR); and
  • Seven (.0002%) are aliens who have been granted relief.

Information Regarding the Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated as Federal Pretrial Detainees
The U.S. Marshal Service (USMS), the Department of Justice’s component charged with the housing and care of federal pretrial detainees, recently instituted a program to capture data regarding the immigration status of these detainees. 
Based upon records current as June 14, USMS identified 12,005 “self-reporting” foreign-born prisoners (aliens) out of 50,135 arrested and detained at USMS facilities. Further details follow for the 50,135 detained aliens:
  • 9,857 (82.1%) are aliens who have received final orders of removal;
  • 2,047 (17.1%) are aliens whose cases are still pending adjudication before an Immigration Judge in the EOIR; and
  • 101 (.8%) are aliens still pending adjudication (ICE has charged these aliens as removal cases, but a final disposition has not yet been reached.)
Immigration Status of All Convicted Aliens Incarcerated in State Prisons and Local Detention Centers throughout the United States
The Department continues to progress towards establishing data collection of the immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers through its Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

Trump transcript leak likely a federal crime, former prosecutors say

Whoever leaked the transcripts of President Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders to the press likely committed a crime, former prosecutors said Thursday – as lawmakers called for rooting out the culprit.

“The unauthorized release of these documents to the press is a crime,” Joe diGenova, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told Fox News. “The series of acts involving release of notes of the president’s conversations with foreign leaders, and these transcripts, are a serious threat to national security.”

Based on the leaked documents, The Washington Post reported new details Thursday about Trump's tense phone calls in late January with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. In the former, Trump reportedly told the Mexican leader to stop publicly saying his government would not pay for a border wall.

The newspaper said the transcripts had notes indicating they had been classified by the chief of staff on the National Security Council. The Post said it obtained full transcripts, which were “produced by White House staff” and based on records kept by White House note-takers.

“There is a federal statute that makes it a crime, a federal crime, to disseminate classified information to an unauthorized person,” Doug Burns, a former federal prosecutor in New York, said in a phone interview.

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Mark Your Calendars: Maryland’s Tax Free Shopping Week Is Coming Up

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — It’s August now, which means Maryland’s tax free shopping week is right around the corner.

The second Sunday of August to the following Saturday is designated as “Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week” each year, and qualifying apparel and footwear that costs $100 or less per item are exempt from the state’s 6 percent sales tax.

Tax free week begins August 13, runs through August 19 and, unlike previous years, the first $40 of a backpack or bookbag purchase will also be tax-free.

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Judicial Watch clashes with DOJ over 'talking points' from Lynch-Clinton tarmac meeting

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch is clashing with the Trump Justice Department over access to “talking points” the DOJ prepared under the Obama administration to explain the controversial tarmac meeting between Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton last year.

Judicial Watch is seeking the documents as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The group complained late Wednesday that it had received “heavily redacted” emails pertaining to the department's internal preparations last year to press inquiries on the Lynch-Clinton meeting.

“It’s jaw-dropping that the Trump administration is blacking out key information about how the Obama Justice Department tried to spin Loretta Lynch’s scandalous meeting with Bill Clinton,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a written statement.

The tarmac meeting fueled Republican complaints at the time that then-Attorney General Lynch had improperly met with the husband of an investigation subject, Hillary Clinton, just before the probe into her personal email use was completed with no charges filed.

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LOST PHONE OUTSIDE SCHOOL (Watch Til The End)

Rep. Franks: Special Counsel Mueller Must Resign, He's in 'Clear Violation of Federal Code'

Because of his "long, close relationship" with former FBI Director James Comey, the Special Counsel for Russia Investigation Robert Mueller apparently is in violation of federal law concerning "conflict of interest," and he must resign, said House Representative Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), who serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

In an Aug. 1 statement, Rep. Franks cited federal law (28 CFR 600.7), which apparently "prohibits Mueller from serving if he has a 'conflict of interest.'" Even if there is an "appearance of a conflict," it qualifies as a violation. The Code of Federal Regulations defines a conflict of interest as the following: "a personal relationship with any person substantially involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution" (28 CFR 45.2).

As Franks noted, the "language is mandatory, saying the employee 'shall' disqualify himself -- not 'may' or 'should.'"

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**Traffic Advisory** – Troopers Investigating Serious Crash – Delmar


Delmar – The Delaware State Police are currently on the scene of a serious crash involving two vehicles in Delmar.

The incident occurred around 6:48 p.m. Friday, August 4, 2017 on Whitesville Road at Pepperbox Road. Multiple persons have been injured as a result of the crash, however, the extent of the injuries is unknown at this time.

Whitesville Road at Pepperbox Road is currently closed in all directions. Commuters should expect delays in the area and find alternate routes of travel.

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

Berlin considering resort’s Dew Tour bowl for town park

Berlin has its eye on the Dew Tour skate bowl, the large skate structure that dominated the inlet parking lot in June 2014 as the centerpiece of the national extreme sports competition.

Town officials will have to wait before pursuing that objective, however, as Ocean City officials ponder whether the bowl — now rusting in pieces in a storage lot — will be incorporated in the Third Street skate park.

Berlin Mayor Gee Williams said he called Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan about a month ago to inquire about the structure.

He apparently told Meehan, “if you all decide not to use it, we might be interested in taking a look at it,” Williams said. “They’re redesigning the entire [Third] Street park, and they haven’t determined yet if any of the components at all [of the skateboard bowl] … will be used in that design. It’s just too early to know.”

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Want to Buy a Farm? Here's Where Prices Are Rising and Falling

Ready to quit the city, buy a farm and live out your rural fantasy? Bargains can be found in South Dakota, but you better move quickly in California, which is getting pricey.

Average farmland values nationwide have risen 2.3 percent to $3,080 an acre so far in 2017, according to an annual report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That gain, which erases last year’s decline of $10 an acre, is mostly due to increases in the value of buildings and land put into non-agricultural uses.

State-by-state, however, the picture is varied.

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Snow Hill to host 19th Blessing of the Combines, Sat.

Snow Hill’s 19th annual Blessing of the Combines will honor another seasonal planting cycle this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Parade of Combines is scheduled for 11 a.m. and includes antique fire trucks, tractors, lawn mowers and floats. After traversing the bridge the procession will stop on Green Street, at which point the crowd will be treated to an ear-shattering thrust as the engines are disengaged.

Organizer Becky Payne said a conversation with a trio of cohorts nearly two decades ago helped birth the agricultural-themed event.

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H.R. McMaster Promised Susan Rice She Could Keep Security Clearance in Secret Letter

President Donald Trump’s National Security adviser H.R. McMaster allowed former President Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice to maintain her security clearance to access classified information — despite reservations Trump had about her motives.

McMaster sent an official letter to Rice informing her that she would maintain unfettered access to classified information, according to a report from Circa’s Sara Carter.

The president was not aware of his actions, according to two senior White House officials and an intelligence official.

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Pocomoke goes on trash offensive

Sprucing up Pocomoke to rid the town of trash and debris is the aim of a new effort initiated by Mayor Bruce Morrison earlier this month.

“It doesn’t look very good and the town is really getting in bad shape,” he said. “Even the residents of Pocomoke have come to me and they want me to do something. They’re saying. ‘Bruce it’s time we get this town cleaned up.’”

Morrison said a small committee was formed after strategizing with city department heads. They have been tasked with improving the town’s unkempt appearance and instilling a renewed sense of pride in Pocomoke.

“Let’s get this town cleaned up and do whatever option we can,” he said. “Let’s start with the downtown and work our way through it.”


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Breaking News: Martin Shkreli has been convicted of fraud. He had become infamous for raising the price of a lifesaving drug 5,000 percent.

Mr. Shkreli, accused of defrauding his hedge fund investors and a pharmaceutical company, was convicted on three of eight counts on Friday, after a five-week trial in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn.
He faces as much as 20 years in prison.
Read More »

Harvard study: 2 teaspoons of salt a day damages the heart

Eating just two teaspoons of salt a day damages the heart, new research suggests.

Having a sodium intake of 3.73 grams, the equivalent of around two teaspoons of salt, is associated with larger heart chambers, a study found.

Previous research suggests hearts become enlarged when the muscle is overworked due to an underlying condition, such as high blood pressure.

Such a salt intake also increases strain on the heart's muscle and boosts its beating rate, the research adds.

These results are thought to be due to salt's impact on blood pressure, which previous research reveals is linked to heart attacks, stroke and kidney disease.

The CDC and NHS both recommend adults eat no more than around one-and-a-quarter teaspoons of salt a day, which is easily exceeded if people eat ready-prepared food.

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POCOMOKE POLICE CHIEF HARDEN DOES THE NAE NAE AT NATIONAL NIGHT OUT

STOP THE REVOLVING JAILHOUSE DOOR: An IPPS Executive Proposal to Reduce Recidivism

The I.P.P.S. Mentoring Program (Involved Parents Productive Students), is a community based mentoring program. The I.P.P.S. Mentoring Program is a nonprofit organization that was founded and created in October of 2005. The mentoring program was developed by a common belief that many youth and the incarcerated in the community lack meaningful academic and career guidance. 

Determined to make a difference, the President of I.P.P.S. convened a series of meetings with several community organizations on the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland with the purpose of developing and implementing a mentoring program for at risk youth and the incarcerated. The I.P.P.S. Mentoring Program is a non-profit IRS 501 c 3 corporation. Since opening its doors, the I.P.P.S. Mentoring Program has forged strong partnerships with the local business community, media, the local school district, local churches, correctional facilities and other youth/incarcerated-serving organizations in the community.

The I.P.P.S. Mentoring Program was the proud recipient of the 2010, Excellence in Mentoring Award given by the Maryland Mentoring Partnership.

The President, in conjunction with a group of approximately nine (9) volunteer staff Directors will oversee the operations of the I.P.P.S. 

Mentoring Program. They will develop and operate a one-on-one mentoring program to help improve the knowledge and skills of involved youth and those incarcerated, in subjects such as Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, Active Parenting, Anger Management, etc. The incarcerated will be trained in job skills, Active Parenting, Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, Anger Management, etc. To provide them with job skills that will help towards obtaining meaningful employment upon their release from incarceration or soon after.

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57th Annual Old-Time Wheat Threshing, Steam & Gas Engine Show


Special Counsel Mueller Adds Another Obama Ally To His Team

With each passing day, it's looking increasingly like the only people qualified to serve on Special Counsel Mueller's investigative team are lawyers who have either directly worked for and/or contributed to the campaigns of Barack Obama and/or Hillary Clinton. As Reuterspoints out today, Mueller's latest hire is Greg Andres, a former DOJ attorney who was appointed during the Obama administartion and served under Attorney General Eric Holder.

A former U.S. Justice Department official has become the latest lawyer to join special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, a spokesman for the team confirmed.

Greg Andres started on Tuesday, becoming the 16th lawyer on the team, said Josh Stueve, a spokesman for the special counsel.

Most recently a white-collar criminal defense lawyer with New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, Andres, 50, served at the Justice Department from 2010 to 2012. He was deputy assistant attorney general in the criminal division, where he oversaw the fraud unit and managed the program that targeted illegal foreign bribery.

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Breaking News: A court rejected 3 long sentences and 1 conviction in the 2007 shootout that made Blackwater a symbol of unchecked U.S. power in Iraq

A federal appeals court on Friday threw out the lengthy sentences for three former Blackwater Worldwide security contractors and ordered a new trial for a fourth man involved in a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad. The shooting injured or killed at least 31 civilians.

Volunteers Needed for Berlin Welcome Center


Have some free time? Want to promote Berlin? We have openings at the Berlin Welcome Center and would love to have you join us. Volunteers assist our visitors to the shops, restaurants and attractions in Berlin. No experience needed, just a smiling face and a desire to show pride in your town. For more information, contact Sharon Timmons at 410-629-1716 or stimmons@berlinmd.gov.

Pennsylvania man shot dead 45 minutes after leaving court in drug case

A Pennsylvania man who had just been sentenced for drugs was found shot to death -- execution style -- in his car less than an hour after his trial.

Anthony Reaves, 41, pleaded guilty to being a member of a drug organization, conspiracy and drug charges while at court in Delaware County on Monday.

Reaves was granted eight years of probation with no jail time, but 45 minutes after walking out of court, he was dead, according to reports.

“We would call it an execution. I mean they meant to do this guy, they get him from both sides of the car. Over a dozen ballistic pieces of evidence,” John Apeldorn, an expert with the Citizens Crime Commission, told Fox 29.

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Felony Theft Warrant Issued to Terry Howard

The Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack has received a Felony Theft and Felony Theft Scheme Warrant which was issued by the Somerset County District Court Commissioner’s Office for Terry Tyrone Howard. Anyone with information in regards to his whereabouts is urged to contact the Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack at 443-260-3700.

White Marlin Open Returns For 44th Year

OCEAN CITY- Ocean City will once again become the center of the sportfishing universe next week when hundreds of anglers and thousands of spectators gather in the resort for the 44th Annual White Marlin Open.

For over four decades, the White Marlin Open, deemed the largest billfish tournament in the world, has been one of the highlights of the summer season, a sort of crescendo before the gradual downward slide into mid-August and the end of another summer season. The tournament officially begins on Sunday with a captain’s meeting and late registration, but the real action gets started on Monday, the first of five official fishing days. Participating boats will choose to fish three of the five days from Monday to next Friday.

Thousands of spectators will cram into host Harbour Island Marina each day next week for an opportunity to see a million dollar fish raised at the scale. The otherwise peaceful Harbour Island community for the entire week will become a large festival of fishing, big boats, live entertainment, food and vendor tents and an ever-changing leaderboard.

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Mueller Gave Clintons a Pass on Foundation Scams in Russia Uranium Deal

Mueller’s role as “Clinton Fixer” as Bill and Hillary Sold Russia 20% of All Uranium Mined in USA

WASHINGTON, D.C. –
The FBI Vault provides ample documentation that then Attorney General Robert Mueller, like his successor James Comey, closed several different criminal investigations into Clinton Foundation activity, without producing any recommendations for criminal indictments.

During Mueller’s term as FBI Director, the FBI dismissed repeated “pay-to-play” accusations that Frank Giustra paid the Clintons millions of dollars to induce Bill and Hillary to wield public influence in the United States, Kazakhstan and Russia, to assist Giustra in a complex scheme that ended up with Giustra’s Canadian company, Uranium One, controlling some 20 percent of all the uranium mined in the United States.

As detailed here, from 2005 to 2013, the public record suggests Giustra was responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in “charitable donations” to the Clinton Foundation and hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bill Clinton in speaking fees that are suspected of violating numerous federal, state and international violations of the laws regulating the operation, administration and financial reporting of charitable entities.

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Republicans Hope to Simplify the Tax Code

Trivia question: Whose idea was it to tax people at different rates based upon their income?

Answer: Karl Marx, as in 'the father of Marxism,' the ideology adopted worldwide by totalitarian communist regimes that are responsible for the murder of more than 100 million people in the 20th century alone.

In his 1848 “Communist Manifesto,” Marx outlined the basic tenets of communism. Tenet One: abolish private property. Tenet Two: Establish a progressive income tax. Why? Because whatever you cannot confiscate in land, you can confiscate in income.

Thus, the graduated income tax finds its roots in the Marxist/Leninist/Communist concept of wealth redistribution. In Marxist theory, the land and money seized by the government would be given back to “the people.” In reality, the Soviet government seized the land and money and kept it for elitist government bureaucrats.

The U.S. adopted the graduated income tax as the 16th Amendment to the Constitution in 1913 (though some scholars claim it was never officially ratified). The same Soviet dynamic actually happens in our country today. Unaware of who is really getting the money, people think that high taxes are good for the poor and needy. Yet the elitist government bureaucrats benefit the most.

Last week, a joint statement by House and Senate leaders, the Treasury secretary and the National Economic Council director declared their commitment to tax reform. They stated that the mission of the forthcoming legislation is to “protect American jobs and make taxes simpler, fairer and lower for hard-working American families.”

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Pulitzer-Prize Winning Reporter: FBI Report Shows It Was Seth Rich – Not Russians – Who Gave DNC Emails to Wikileaks

We’ve noted for many months that the DNC emails were leaked by an insider, not hacked by the Russians.

Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh – who revealed in 1974 that the CIA was spying on Americans, who broke the story of the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam and the Iraq prison torture scandal – said in a recent phone interview linked by WikiLeaks:

[The DC police took Seth Rich’s computer, but couldn’t get past his password.] So they call the FBI cyber unit.

***

The Feds get through [the password-protection on Rich’s computer], and this is what they find. This is accoring to the FBI report.

***

What the report says is that – some time in late spring or early summer – he [Rich] makes contact with WikiLeaks. That’s in his computer.

***

They [the FBI] found what he [Rich] had done was he had submitted a series of documents – of emails, of juicy emails – from the DNC.

By the way, all this shit about the DNC, where the hack, it wasn’t hacked …

He [Rich] offered a sample, an extensive sample, I’m sure dozens of emails, and said I want money. [Remember, WikiLeaks often pays whistleblowers.]

Later, WikiLeaks did get the password. He [Rich] had a dropbox, a protected dropbox, which isn’t hard to do.

***

They got access to the dropbox. That’s in the FBI report.

He also let people know with whom he was dealing … the word was passed, according to the FBI report, “I also shared this box with a couple of friends, so if anything happens to me, it’s not going to solve your problem”.

***

But WikiLeaks got access, before he was killed.

***

I have a narrative of how that whole fucking thing began. It’s a [former CIA director John] Brennan operation. It was an American disinformation [campaign].

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McMaster On ‘Warpath,’ Purges Key Trump Allies From White House NSC

An ongoing staffing purge being conducted by White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has thrown the West Wing into chaos, according to more than half a dozen Trump administration insiders who told the Washington Free Beacon that McMaster has been targeting long-time Trump loyalists who were clashing with career government staffers and holdovers from the Obama administration.

The purge is part of a larger drama unfolding inside the administration, between veteran Trump staffers committed to the president's campaign vision of "draining the swamp"‘ in Washington and entrenched bureaucracies seeking to maintain control over policy decision-making, according to these sources, who said that many of these actions against his supporters are being conducted without Trump's knowledge.

The Trump staffers fired by McMaster had repeatedly clashed with career government staffers and holdovers from the Obama administration on issues as diverse as military strategies for Syria and Afghanistan, whether to tear up Obama's landmark Iran deal, the controversial détente with Cuba, the U.S. role in confronting Islamic radicalism, and the Paris Climate Accord, according to these sources.

More purges are said to be on the way, according to multiple insiders who described a list of at least four other senior NSC officials McMaster intends to target.

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New Buddy Benches on Seven Wicomico School Playgrounds

We look forward to seeing Wicomico elementary students put playground Buddy Benches to great use this school year! Seven schools have new playground Buddy Benches, thanks to a project funded by sales of Kindness Bracelets - The Original, made by retired educator Grace Murdock. If you've purchased a bracelet, you've helped bring the Buddy Benches and kindness books to Wicomico elementary schools. This is a great partnership for students by high school students, Wicomico Schools staff, retailers, bracelet customers, and Miss Grace. Within a year all Wicomico elementary schools will have Buddy Benches, almost all built by high school students.

McMaster Ejects Another Trump Reformer

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has fired another pro-reform staffer who arrived with Donald Trump’s January team.

The White House’s National Security Council has hundreds of long-term staffers, nearly all of whom were appointed by former President Barack Obama. Trump supporters say those staffers are the source of many media leaks intended to embarrass and weaken Trump.

According to Conservative Review:

Cohen-Watnick, 31, was originally brought on board by [Trump’s first] NSC chief Gen. Michael Flynn … McMaster has, in the past, attempted to rid the council of Cohen-Watnick, but was overruled by President Trump, Steve Bannon, and Jared Kushner.

He has been described as an “Iran hawk” who wanted to revamp counter-Iran efforts in the Middle East, and sought to reform the intelligence community to rein in the “deep state” of unaccountable bureaucrats with rogue agendas.

Cohen-Watnick is the latest Trump loyalist to be fired by Gen. McMaster, whose security council continues to be overwhelmingly staffed with Obama holdovers (almost all of whom have retained their positions).

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Ingraham on Republicans: 'A lot of them don't want Donald Trump to succeed'

Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham lashed out at establishment Republicans Tuesday night, telling Fox News' "Hannity" that "a lot of them don't want Donald Trump to succeed."

"A lot of them don't like his policies," said Ingraham, who singled out Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake as being part of "a significant Chamber of Commerce wing of the Republican Party."

Flake made headlines Tuesday with the release of his book, titled "Conscience of a Conservative," in which he described the GOP as being in "denial" about the consequences of electing Trump president.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/02/ingraham-on-republicans-lot-them-dont-want-donald-trump-to-succeed.html

McMaster ‘Deeply Hostile to Israel and to Trump’

Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick wrote Wednesday evening that National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster is purging pro-Israel staff from the National Security Council (NSC), turning the administration against President Donald Trump’s policies.

In a Facebook post, Glick noted that “all of these people” whom McMaster has fired this week — Rich Higgins, Derek Harvey, and Ezra Cohen-Watnick — “are pro-Israel and oppose the Iran nuclear deal, positions that Trump holds.”

She noted that the firings were the latest evidence that NSA McMaster is “deeply hostile to Israel and to Trump”:

According to senior officials aware of his behavior, he constantly refers to Israel as the occupying power and insists falsely and constantly that a country named Palestine existed where Israel is located until 1948 when it was destroyed by the Jews.

Glick noted that “McMaster disagrees and actively undermines Trump’s agenda on just about every salient issue on his agenda,” including the Iran deal: “As for Iran, well, suffice it to say that McMaster supports the deal and refuses to publish the side deals Obama signed with the Iranians and then hid from the public.”

She also noted the irony that Trump had only hired McMaster, under pressure, because he was recommended by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ):

Google Manipulates Searches on Islam and Jihad

The jihad against the freedom of speech is advancing rapidly, and most people don’t even know it’s happening.

Turkey’s state-run news outlet Anadolu Agency reports:

Google’s first page results for searches of terms such as “jihad”, “shariah” and “taqiyya” now return mostly reputable explanations of the Islamic concepts. Taqiyya, which describes the circumstances under which a Muslim can conceal their belief in the face of persecution, is the sole term to feature a questionable website on the first page of results. (emphasis added)

“Reputable” according to whom? “Questionable” according to whom?

Google has bowed to pressure from Muslims such as Texas imam Omar Suleiman, who led an initiative to compel Google to skew its results. Apparently Google hasn’t considered whether those who are demanding that search results be manipulated in a particular direction might have an ulterior motive. Could it be that those who are pressuring Google wish to conceal certain truths about Islam that they would prefer non-Muslims not know?

I discuss the Islamic supremacist initiative to compel the West to accept Sharia blasphemy laws under the guise of stamping out “hate speech” -- an initiative that is now galloping forward and achieving immense success -- in my new book The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies). Google executives should read it, and should study Islam themselves in order to determine whether or not they have been misled by the Muslims who are pressuring them. But that’s not going to happen.

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Two days, 318 rescues made

One person drowned and hundreds of people had to be rescued by the Ocean City Beach Patrol this week, after strong northeast winds over the weekend created a multitude of treacherous rip currents in what had been a relatively peaceful ocean.

“This is the time of year we see this, because of the storm activity. Even if a tropical storm is hundreds of miles away, it can cause rip currents like we’ve been seeing this week,” Beach Patrol Capt. Butch Arbin said.

Lifeguards made 194 water rescues on Monday alone. One fatality also was reported, after Timothy Thomson, 35, of Prince George, Virginia drowned in the waters near First Street around 7:20 p.m.

The Beach Patrol made another 124 rescues on Tuesday, and around 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Ocean City Fire Department responded to a call about four swimmers in distress near North Division Street after one of their party made it back to shore and called 911.

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Three Arrested After Battling OC Cops, Paramedics

OCEAN CITY — Three New York residents were arrested on various charges including assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing and hindering after battling verbally and physically with police and paramedics after their friend was involved in a pedestrian collision.

Around 10:10 p.m. last Saturday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian in the area of Coastal Highway and 67th Street. According to police reports, the pedestrian sustained minor injuries and was assessed by Ocean City EMS in an ambulance on the scene.

When an OCPD officer arrived, they encountered a group of people who were friends of the injured pedestrian and witnesses to the collision. According to police reports, the group was argumentative with the police on scene and other first-responders. One member of the group, identified as Danielle Gurtowitz, 25, of Huntington, N.Y., was screaming expletives at officers and the paramedics.

Gurtowitz reportedly demanded to be allowed into the ambulance, but paramedics told her she could not because of her argumentative and apparently intoxicated state. Another member of the group, identified as Liam Brennan, 21, also of Huntington, N.Y., demanded the OCPD officer’s identification information because he wanted to file a complaint. The officer provided the information verbally and told Brennan he would write it down for him after the accident scene was cleared.

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Wicomico County Sheriffs Office To Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors In Ford Explorers

In a proactive move by the Sheriffs Office, carbon monoxide detectors are being installed in all of their Ford Explorers based on all of the problems law enforcement agencies are having nation wide. 10 new Explorers were orders recently along with additional vehicles ordered previously.  

Pharmacists May Be Legally Liable for Opioid Overdoses

As the US opioid epidemic continues to soar, physicians have been held criminally responsible for patients' overdose deaths. Now, it appears pharmacists may be next to be held legally liable.

That's the opinion of pharmacy law experts who have watched the crisis unfold during the past decade.

Keith Yoshizuka, PharmD, JD, assistant dean for administration at the Touro University College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, California, notes, for example, that in 2015, a California physician, Lisa Tseng, MD, was convicted of second-degree murder for the overdose deaths of three patients. She was later sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

"I don't think it's too large of a leap to expect a pharmacist to face criminal liability in the event that one or several of the patients overdose on medications that were filled by that pharmacy," Dr Yoshizuka told Medscape Medical News. "I can see the district attorney going after that pharmacy or the pharmacist for second-degree murder for, basically, recklessness — criminal negligence. But demonstrating that liability is still not clear-cut," he added.

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Harvard University's 2017 intake 'majority non-white' for first time

More than half of Harvard University's next student intake will not be white, for the first time in its 380-year history, official figures show.

The varsity, which has educated more US presidents than any other, will take 50.8% of its freshmen from minority groups.

That compares to 47.3% last year.

Asian Americans make up 22.2%, followed by African Americans at 14.6%, Hispanic or Latino students at 11.6%, and Native American or Pacific Islanders at 2.5%.

The milestone figures come just days after Harvard was drawn into a row over affirmative action between the US justice department and the New York Times.

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Did TV Series Trigger Suicide Searches Online?

Online searches about suicide and suicidal methods soared in the weeks following the release of controversial Netflix drama "13 Reasons Why," about a teenage girl who killed herself, US researchers said Monday.

While the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine did not examine whether the number of actual suicides rose following the popular show's release, researchers called for the series to be removed from Netflix's site until it can be made safer.

Overall, suicide-related queries were 19 percent higher than expected following the show, said the research letter in JAMA.

"There were between 900,000 and 1,500,000 more suicide-related searches than expected during the 19 days following the series' release," said study co-author Mark Dredze, a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University.

Phrases like "how to commit suicide" rose 26 percent, "commit suicide" was up 18 percent and "how to kill yourself" increased nine percent.

On the flip side, searches for phrases like "suicide hotline" were up 12 percent, and "suicide prevention" rose 23 percent.

More here

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

One day last summer, around noon, I called Athena, a 13-year-old who lives in Houston, Texas. She answered her phone—she’s had an iPhone since she was 11—sounding as if she’d just woken up. We chatted about her favorite songs and TV shows, and I asked her what she likes to do with her friends. “We go to the mall,” she said. “Do your parents drop you off?,” I asked, recalling my own middle-school days, in the 1980s, when I’d enjoy a few parent-free hours shopping with my friends. “No—I go with my family,” she replied. “We’ll go with my mom and brothers and walk a little behind them. I just have to tell my mom where we’re going. I have to check in every hour or every 30 minutes.”

Those mall trips are infrequent—about once a month. More often, Athena and her friends spend time together on their phones, unchaperoned. Unlike the teens of my generation, who might have spent an evening tying up the family landline with gossip, they talk on Snapchat, the smartphone app that allows users to send pictures and videos that quickly disappear. They make sure to keep up their Snapstreaks, which show how many days in a row they have Snapchatted with each other. Sometimes they save screenshots of particularly ridiculous pictures of friends. “It’s good blackmail,” Athena said. (Because she’s a minor, I’m not using her real name.)

She told me she’d spent most of the summer hanging out alone in her room with her phone. That’s just the way her generation is, she said.

“We didn’t have a choice to know any life without iPads or iPhones. I think we like our phones more than we like actual people.”

I’ve been researching generational differences for 25 years, starting when I was a 22-year-old doctoral student in psychology..

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Audit Recaps Wicomico Civic Center Alcohol Sales

SALISBURY – Officials in Wicomico County this week approved a satisfactory audit report on concessions cash and alcoholic beverage handlings at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center.

In a Wicomico County Council meeting Tuesday, Steve Roser, the county’s internal auditor, presented the council with findings from a recent audit on sales and alcohol dispensing protocols at the Civic Center.

Roser said the objective of the audit was to evaluate concession operations, cash handling procedures and the efficiency of the Civic Center’s current practices.

“We wanted to gain an understanding of the programs and evaluate controls,” he said. “Testing, observations and document review led to a satisfactory conclusion. The Civic Center folks did an outstanding job developing and adhering to internal controls in all areas tested.”

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Huge Public Support for Donald Trump’s Immigration Reforms

Immigration reform advocates are showing 10 Senators up for election in 2018 that their voters strongly support President Donald Trump’s wage-boosting merit-based reform plan.

The data comes from 10 polls in 10 swing states conducted by NumbersUSA, a pro-reform group which is trying to pressure Senators in those states to either support or be neutral in the populist versus elite fight over immigration and the nation’s cheap-labor economic strategy.

In Michigan, for example, where Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow is up for election, the poll shows that 61 percent of people “strongly” support “setting up rules to ensure that businesses give first preference for jobs to American workers and legal immigrants already in this country before businesses can ask for new immigrant workers.” Only 10 percent “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose that rule.

The Michigan poll also showed that 74 percent of people say “business should be required to try harder to recruit and train from groups with the highest unemployment,” while only 11 percent said, “government should continue to bring in new immigrants to compete for jobs.”

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VIDEO: Man Tells Nancy Pelosi "Prison Time Is Coming Soon"

Congresswoman left shaken as Dems rocked by scandals

A man filmed himself delivering an ominous warning to Nancy Pelosi during an encounter in Washington D.C. that left the California congresswoman visibly disturbed.

“Nancy,” the man calls out, extending his hand as Pelosi walks by.

“Hi,” she responds, reciprocating the handshake.

“Prison time is coming soon,” the man says while inches from her face. “Be ready.”

“Mmm,” returns Pelosi.

“Donald Trump. Not much time left,” he calls after the retreating Congresswoman as she is guided away by her aides. “Bad news for you.”

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Breaking News: Employers added 209,000 jobs in July

The Labor Department released new hiring and unemployment figures on Friday morning. This is the latest official snapshot of the state of the American economy.

• 209,000 jobs were added in July, somewhat above Wall Street economists’ expectations.

• The unemployment rate was 4.3 percent. June’s jobless rate was 4.4 percent.

Economists had been expecting a gain of 180,000 jobs, with a slight decline in the unemployment rate to 4.3 percent. So the actual data is a convincing sign that the economy is growing faster than other data has suggested.

Military Has Become Politically Correct Human Drones, WARNING: Foul Language

President Trump Announces HISTORIC Immigration Reform with Senators Tom Cotton & David Perdue

Thank God Its Friday 8-4-17

What will you be doing this weekend?

Lost Dog In Rockawalkin Rd. Area

Please Call 410-726-4490

OMARI JOYNER AND DEXTON JACKSON GUILTY OF RAPE IN THE SECOND DEGREE AND RELATED CHARGES


The First Six Months


Teen Cadesia Fields Still Missing From Fruitland

Believed to be in the Salisbury or Baltimore areas.

Unbelievable


EMERGENCY TRAFFIC ADVISORY - LONG-TERM SINGLE LANE CLOSURE ON EASTBOUND SALISBURY BYPASS

MDOT SHA to Repair Damaged Culvert and Pavement at Northwood Drive

The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) has closed the right lane on eastbound US 50/US 13 (Salisbury Bypass) at Northwood Drive due to significant pavement damage caused by a collapsed concrete culvert under the road. MDOT SHA is assessing the damage and developing a repair plan, but expects the work to take until fall.

“The travel lane is damaged and the lane needs to remain closed until the repair is completed,” said MDOT SHA District 1 Engineer, Jay Meredith. “MDOT SHA is evaluating the extent of the damage and will begin the repair as soon as possible. This will create heavy eastbound delays, particularly on Friday afternoons during the summer travel season.”

Due to the culvert damage, a void in the road was created between the damaged section of pipe and the pavement. Crews will repair the culvert, fill the void and repair the concrete pavement. This involves cutting out the damaged concrete, pouring new concrete and allowing it to strengthen. During this process, drivers may not see crews working in the lane closures.

MDOT SHA encourages motorists to use US 50 Business (Salisbury Boulevard) as an alternate route for Friday travels. Drivers should remain alert, allow extra commuting time, and slow down when traveling through work zones. 


“MDOT SHA will re-open the lane as soon as possible and we strongly encourage drivers to use 5-1-1 from a hands-free device to obtain real-time traffic conditions,” added Meredith.

While SHA and its transportation partners work hard to maintain safe traffic mobility in work zones, each driver needs to actively modify his or her driving style to help prevent crashes. Stay alert and look for reduced speed limits, narrow driving lanes and highway workers. Slow down and don’t follow too closely. Work Zone Safety is in Your Hands!

Mark Your Calendar


Power restored to Hatteras, Ocracoke; visitors allowed back Today!

DARE COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) — Transmission power has been restored for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, according to the Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative.

The island has been without power for a week after a construction company, PCL Construction, cut underground transmission cable on the Bonner Bridge. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for visitors on both Ocracoke and Hatteras islands. Thousands of tourists were forced to evacuate in the wake of the outages.

The cooperative says crews have completed the work to build a new, overhead transmission line as a means of repair. The new line is near Oregon Inlet and the cable has been energized. All seven villages on Hatteras have been removed from generator power and are now receiving power from the cooperative’s transmission lines.

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Weekly Fishing Report: August 2

Welcome to August! As many of us know, in a blink it will be Labor Day weekend. Although we are more than halfway through the summer there is still time to plan large scale or small scale fishing outings with youngsters. If headed to the beach for vacation, consider bringing a hefty surf fishing outfit and let them enjoy some catch and release action in the evenings with inshore sharks and sting rays. Kids are always fascinated with sharks. If you are more local, consider white perch and channel catfish if you’re near a tidal river. For those more inland there are bluegill sunfish in just about every pond or lake that dot the Maryland landscape. The key to any youth fishing experience is to get them on fish to keep their interest up.

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Transgenders in the military

Best response I saw in regards to the negative feedback about transgenders being banned again from the military... From Sgt. Robert Brown US Army

Nobody has a "right" to serve in the Military. Nobody.
What makes people think the Military is an equal opportunity employer? Very far from it.

The Military uses prejudice regularly and consistently to deny citizens from joining for being too old or too young, too fat or too skinny, too tall or too short.

Citizens are denied for having flat feet, or for missing or additional fingers. Poor eyesight will disqualify you, as well as bad teeth. Malnourished? Drug addiction? Bad back? Criminal history? Low IQ? Anxiety? Phobias? Hearing damage? Six arms? Hear voices in your head? Self-identify as a Unicorn? Need a special access ramp for your wheelchair? Can't run the required course in the required time? Can't do the required number of pushups?

Not really a "morning person" and refuse to get out of bed before noon? 

All can be reasons for denial. 

The Military has one job. War. Anything else is a distraction and a liability.

Did someone just scream "That isn't Fair"? War is VERY unfair, there are no exceptions made for being special or challenged or socially wonderful.

YOU change yourself to meet Military standards. Not the other way around. 

I say again: You don't change the Military... you must change yourself. 

The Military doesn't need to accommodate anyone with special issues. The Military needs to Win Wars.

If any of your personal issues are a liability that detract from readiness or lethality... Thank you for applying and good luck in future endeavors. Who's next in line?

Governor Larry Hogan Announces Three Maryland Schools to Receive Don’t Quit! Fitness Centers

Schools to Receive $100K for State-of-the-Art Facilities from National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today announced that three Maryland’s schools have been selected to receive a Don’t Quit! Fitness Center through the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils. This multi-million dollar physical fitness campaign has named Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Newport Mills Middle School in Kensington, and Vanguard Collegiate Middle School in Baltimore as recipients of the fitness center for demonstrating outstanding leadership in getting and keeping their students fit.

“Encouraging kids to keep active is critical to ensuring that the next generation of Marylanders lead healthy lifestyles. We are excited to partner with the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils to bring this innovative program to Maryland,” said Governor Hogan. “These schools have each demonstrated fitness excellence and will now benefit from state-of-the-art fitness centers that both the students and community can utilize to incorporate fitness and wellness into their daily lives.”

Maryland was selected to participate in the Don’t Quit! campaign, along with Louisiana, Colorado, and Oregon, in January 2017. Applications were accepted from February 1 - May 31, after which the three winning schools were selected. The three state-of-the-art fitness centers will be unveiled during ribbon cutting ceremonies this upcoming fall.

“When I declared war on childhood obesity, I knew it would take an army of leaders to make a difference. I was thrilled when Governor Hogan joined our efforts to help put a stop to this disease in Maryland,” said Jake "Body by Jake" Steinfeld, chairman of the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils. “The National Foundation is really excited to award three Maryland schools with new fitness centers that will have a lasting impact on kids and their community now, and well into their future!”

The National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils program will make its way into all 50 states in the coming years. Each fitness center is financed through public/private partnerships with companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Amerigroup Foundation and Nike, and does not rely on taxpayer dollars or state funding. TuffStuff Fitness International provides all of the fitness equipment, which is manufactured in the United States. The foundation’s goal is to build a nation of the fittest, healthiest kids in the world. For more information about the National Foundation, visit www.natgovfit.org.