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Monday, April 02, 2018

Lost Colony settlers ended up here. Now it's becoming a state natural area.

BERTIE COUNTY, N.C.

Lee Leidy stood under towering old cypress trees next to Salmon Creek in Bertie County, where members of the lost colony of Roanoke Island sought refuge with the natives.

Deer tracks were all around. Canada geese swam in the deep, tea-colored creek. Nearby were hundreds of acres of bottomland hardwood offering shelter for bears, rabbits, hawks and bald eagles. Cleared high ground is in cultivation, perhaps similar to the way it was when the Chowanoc tribe lived here and later when it was the plantation of Thomas Pollock, a governor and one of North Carolina’s wealthiest residents.

“You have the Albemarle Sound here, the Chowan River there and Salmon Creek there,” said Leidy, an attorney and northeast regional director for the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. “You can see why throughout history this place was such a vantage point. It’s really pretty remarkable.”

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New Jersey man found bound fatally shot near a creek was killed execution-style over a PlayStation

A man found dead near a creek in Hamilton, New Jersey, was reportedly killed over a gaming system.

Danny Diaz-Delgado, 20, was found bound and fatally shot on March 24 on the bank of Assunpink Creek in Hamilton, police said.

He was killed after trying to buy a PlayStation from a suspect who authorities say they now have in custody, an unidentified police officer told an NJ.com reporter.

Rufus Thompson, 29, was arrested in connection with the killing, and charged with kidnapping and murder, on Saturday, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J Onofri said.

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Teen Mob Randomly Beats Man to Death on NJ Street: Prosecutors

Two teens have been arrested after a New Jersey man was beaten to death on the street by eight people in a seemingly random attack.

Police said the other suspects in the deadly attack on Sebastian Aguilar, 36, are still being sought after the vicious onslaught on 70th Street between Broadway and Hudson Avenue in Guttenberg on Wednesday night.

The two who have been arrested, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old, have been charged with aggravated assault and endangering an injured victim, but additional charges are expected to be filed against them.

A person living in the small town said it's not the first time teens have attacked someone.

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Report: John McCain’s FBI Handoff Turned Trump Hoax Dossier Into ‘Urgent Matter’

NEW YORK — John McCain’s involvement in handing the largely discredited, Democrat-funded dossier directly to then-FBI Director James Comey helped to turn the anti-Trump document into a more urgent matter, according to a recently released book.

It has not been clear why McCain delivered the dossier to Comey in December 2016. By then, the FBI had not only already reportedly launched an investigation into Trump’s campaign partially utilizing the dossier, but Comey himself had two months earlier signed an application using the dossier to obtain a FISA warrant on Carter Page, who briefly served as a volunteer foreign policy adviser to Trump’s campaign.

Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier, reportedly provided the anti-Trump dossier claims to the FBI on July 5, 2016. The controversial Fusion GPS firm hired Steele to do the anti-Trump work that resulted in the compilation of the dossier. Fusion GPS was paid for its anti-Trump work by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee via the Perkins Coie law firm.

The book, Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, is authored by reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn.

In their work, Isikoff and Corn relate how McCain first heard about the dossier and how the Arizona senator dispatched a close associate, David J. Kramer, a former State Department official, to retrieve a physical copy.

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Omnibus spending bill puts an unacceptable debt burden on the American people

My constituents did not send me to represent them in the U.S. House in Washington to grow the size of government. We are bankrupting our country and placing a tremendous financial burden on our children. How big? A total of $21 trillion – $21,000,000,000,000.

Yes, that big.

The omnibus spending bill we just passed increases spending by over $400 billion over the next two years. I voted no. Why? Congress is adding to the $21 trillion debt we already have by creating new trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. By contrast, our tax cut bill pays for itself if the economy grows at 3 percent.

Back in 2016, voters asked us to “Drain the Swamp.” The American people made it clear that they are fed up with the status quo in Washington. They wanted us to put their interests ahead of the special interests that are constantly clamoring for more pork projects from the federal government.

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VW storing around 300,000 diesels at 37 facilities around U.S.

(Reuters) - Volkswagen has taken parking lots to a whole new level in the United States and will not be emptying them soon.

Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) has paid more than $7.4 billion to buy back about 350,000 U.S. diesel vehicles through mid-February, a recent court filing shows. The German automaker has been storing hundreds of thousands of vehicles around the United States for months.

Volkswagen has 37 secure storage facilities around the United States housing nearly 300,000 vehicles, the filing from the program’s independent administrator said. The lots include a shuttered suburban Detroit football stadium, a former Minnesota paper mill and a sun-bleached desert graveyard near Victorville, California.

VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said in a statement on Wednesday that the storage facility in Victorville, California, is one of many “to ensure the responsible storage of vehicles that are bought back under the terms of the Volkswagen” diesel settlements.

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After Confederate statue controversy, cities move to tear down monuments seen as offensive to Native Americans

Outrage from Native American activists and their supporters has led a liberal California city closer to tearing down what they considered an offensive monument — to President William McKinley.

It’s the latest in a string of moves to scrap monuments decried as offensive to Native Americans — coming after the nationwide controversy over statues of Confederate leaders.

The activists in Arcata, Calif., some 280 miles north of San Francisco, wanted the city’s 8½-foot bronze statue of McKinley taken down because they said the 25th president of the United States was a proponent of “settler colonialism” that “savaged, raped and killed,” the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous People told The Los Angeles Times.

In February the City Council of the sanctuary city voted 4 to 1 to get rid of the statue.

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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/02/after-confederate-statue-controversy-cities-move-to-tear-down-monuments-seen-as-offensive-to-native-americans.html

Caldwell: Chicago Murder Rate Shows 'False Narrative' on Strict Gun Control Laws

As the debate over gun control rages, Chicago continues to be plagued by gun violence, despite having some of the strictest firearms laws in the country.

In 2017 alone, the city saw more than 2,700 shooting incidents.

Fox News political analyst and Chicago native Gianno Caldwell said this issue can't be solved by expanding gun laws, because criminals don't obey the law.

"That's where this narrative is so false and is so incorrect. And I don't understand the insanity of those -- especially the Democrat legislators in Illinois and in the city of Chicago -- who believe that if you have the most comprehensive gun control laws on the books, that that will prevent this gun violence that continues to occur," Caldwell said.

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http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/03/28/chicago-murder-rate-sky-high-despite-strict-gun-control-laws

Spring snow moving from Plains to Northeast -- with cold to follow

Early on Monday, a new low pressure will develop off the Delmarva peninsula and quickly move to the north and east. As a result, a band of heavy snow will develop along the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston. By Monday morning, heavy snow will be falling in many of the I-95 major cities. Once again the snow will have difficulty sticking to the roadways, but it is looking like it will come hard enough to accumulate to some degree. Snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour are possible in the region.

The Monday morning commute will likely be treacherous from Washington, D.C. to Hartford, including New York and Philadelphia. The storm clears out by early afternoon.

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WATCH: Cops Angry Over Late Pizza, Storm Domino's and Attack the Manager

Jersey City, NJ — Two New Jersey police officers have been suspended without pay after multiple videos showed them attacking a Domino’s manager while on Duty. Surprisingly, both of them have also been charged with multiple crimes.

Rodney Clark and Courtney Solomon are both charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and making terroristic threats after they stormed into a Domino’s pizza restaurant and began shaking down the manager.

Marina Elsamina, an employee at the Communipaw Avenue pizza shop, told The Jersey Journal in an interview that workers there received an online complaint on Tuesday evening by one of the police officers, apparently over a delivery issue, according to NJ.com.

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Trump Rages: "Use Nuclear Option To Stop Massive Inflow Of Drugs And People"

For the second time in two days, Trump took to twitter to warn about the caravan of migrants headed through Mexico to the the US border, and bashed the Mexican government for allowing migrants untrammeled access to its northern border and Democrats for passing laws that "don't do their job."

In doing, the president demonstrated that he's not only listening to his right-wing critics - of which Anne Coulter the most prominentexample - who chastised him as a "lazy ignoramous" and levied charges that "all he wants is for Goldman to like him" - but is clearly worried about the midterms and a potential impeachment should Dems win the House and Senate.

It also seems that the recently emboldened President is at least trying to give the impression of putting his foot down when it comes to his promised border wall (even if he failed to obtain the funding needed to build it) with demands that Congress pass a comprehensive border-security package and lift certain restrictions on ICE agents.

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White House freaking out over EPA chief’s living arrangements

EPA chief Scott Pruitt paid just $50 a night to crash in a condo co-owned by the wife of a lobbyist with clients regulated by his agency — a huge savings over the average price of a hotel room in Washington, DC.

Pruitt paid to rent the room in the two-bedroom condo only on nights when he actually slept there,Bloomberg News reported.

White House officials are freaking out about Pruitt’s living arrangement as well as his foot-dragging before handing over documents about his lease or payments, the news service reported, citing three sources.

According to the website statista.com, the average price for a room at a DC hotel is about $270 — but that includes a medley of lodgings, from one-star dumps to luxe, five-star digs.

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USDA Hires 'Integrity Officer' to Fight Fraud in Food Stamp Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service announced Thursday that it is hiring a “chief integrity officer” to prevent fraud in the nation’s food stamp program.

Brandon Lipps — the acting deputy undersecretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services — said that the chief integrity officer would oversee the food stamp program and suggest improvements to maintain the program’s integrity, so those who receive benefits are the ones who really need them.

“Where protection of taxpayer dollars is concerned – the job is never done,” Lipps said in astatement. “Today we are renewing our commitment to ensuring that our nutrition programs are run as effectively and efficiently as possible; increasing program integrity while maintaining the nutrition safety net for those truly in need.”

The USDA also announced that it would conduct a “third-party review” of all 15 nutrition assistance programs—including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC); National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs; and the Summer Food Service Program.

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HARDER LEFT TURN: DNC vice chair backs universal basic income, 'maximum wage'

“Let me just say this about the issue of advancing technology, displacement of workers, and what we’re going to do about it,” Ellison said.

“I personally do think that universal basic income is an idea that has a lot of merit,” he said. “There are some pilot programs going on right now in the United States. Stockton, California is working with a program and there’s some different ways to work with it.

“As people are displaced, the truth is there’s still plenty of stuff for people to do,” Ellison continued. “I don’t think that universal basic income means people sit around. I think it means doing other things that are necessary.”

Ellison thinks people will volunteer to work in schools, document history, and contribute to other worthy causes if the government pays their way.

“There are things that are valuable and important that don’t necessarily have a ‘market value,’ that we should have people doing,” Ellison said. “Like in the 1930s, we paid artists to basically document the depression. We went out and had … writers document rural life in America. There were people who had been in slavery who were still living. During the depression, we paid people to go interview them so we could keep that knowledge and you can go to the Library of Congress and listen to them today because of this.”

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Revolutionary New Cancer 'Vaccine' Cures 97% of Tumors in Mice

A new startlingly effective injection revitalizes and boosts the body’s own cancer defenses.

“T cells” play a vital role in our immune system. Typically, it is those lymphocytes that recognize and target cancer when it appears in the body. But as a tumor grows, it begins to suppress the function of those cells, rendering the body defenseless against the deadly, creeping mass.

The immunotherapy injection simply reactivates those cells, stimulating them to ignore cancer’s oppression and fight back. Rather than the less effective — and substantially more difficult — process of CAR T-cell therapy, in which cells are removed from the body and then engineered to fight the cancer before being returned, the two agents in the injection combine to do all the necessary work “in-house,” so to speak.

Stanford University School of Medicine Professor of Oncology Dr. Ronald Levy, the senior author of the Science Translational Medicine study, said that the treatment is “attacking specific targets without having to identify exactly what proteins the T cells are recognizing.” Not only that, but the rejuvenated T-cells are even eliminating metastasized tumors that have spread to other parts of the body.

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Howard University student accused of stealing $429,000 in financial aid, buying fancy clothes

While most busy college kids might spend their days in sweats, one student at Howard University was a notable exception: He's accused of stealing $429,000 in financial aid from 2011 to 2017 to buy fancy clothes.

Students of the historically black university in Washington, D.C. are protesting on Friday over the incident, as well as a larger scandal alleging financial mishandlings which came to light just recently, NBC Washington is reporting.

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http://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/2018/03/30/howard-university-student-accused-stealing-429000-in-financial-aid-buying-fancy-clothes.html

Fired David Shulkin Says He Was Forced Out For Opposing VA Privatization

Former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin says he was forced out of President Donald Trump’s administration because he did not support privatization of military health care.

“They saw me as an obstacle to privatization who had to be removed,” Shulkin writes in aNew York Times op-ed. “That is because I am convinced that privatization is a political issue aimed at rewarding select people and companies with profits, even if it undermines care for veterans.”

Shulkin was fired on Wednesday as Trump nominated White House physician, Dr. Ronnie Jackson, to replace him.

He argued that the private sector was not sufficient to provide care for veterans and that privatizing the agency would hurt existing military hospitals.

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'Palm Sunday Massacre' killer freed from prison

The killer who took the lives of eight children and two young mothers in 1984 in Brooklyn in what has been called the 'Palm Sunday Massacre' has been released from prison, despite multiple denials of parole.

Christopher Thomas, now 68, was convicted of the mass shooting and sentenced in 1985 to 25-50 years, but was released on January 5 and is now believed to be living in Queens, New York.

'He doesn’t deserve to be on the street. He killed poor, innocent children,' retired NYPD Lt. Herbert Hohmann, who testified against Thomas at trial after leading the investigation told The New York Post on Friday.

The parole board agreed, denying him a total of five times over nine years, before his release no longer required board approval, due to meeting the time-served and other requirements, including 'good behavior.'

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MSP Berlin DUI

Type of Incident: Motor Vehicle Collision
Date and Time: 03-31-2018 @ 1330 hrs
Location: 9913 Elm St, Ocean City, Worcester County, MD
Vehicle(s): 2013 GMC Sierra truck, Maryland registration 9CV9205

Driver: Juan Gabriel Caraballo (Driver/ 12-02-1993) – Transported to PRMC

Passengers: Dennis Wayne Discher – Transported to AGH
Devry Michael Gerlitzki – Transported to AGH

On 3/31/2018 at approximately 1330 hrs, the Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack responded to a single motor vehicle collision in the area of 9913 Elm St, Ocean City, MD.

The preliminary investigation indicated a 2013 GMC Sierra pickup truck operated by Juan Gabriel Caraballo was traveling east bound on US Route 50 in West Ocean City when the vehicle made a right hand turn onto Elm St. At that time the vehicle left the roadway, struck a ditch and then struck the front porch of the residence at 9913 Elm Street, West Ocean City.

While troopers interviewed Caraballo, an odor of an alcoholic beverage was detected. Caraballo was transported to PRMC for his injuries. At PRMC, Caraballo was recontacted and charged with DUI and related traffic offenses.

Pastor with ties to Bush and Obama 'will turn himself in'

A Houston megachurch pastor with ties to former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush is planning to turn himself in to authorities after he was indicted for orchestrating a $3.5 million fraud, his lawyer has said.

The pastor, Kirbyjon Caldwell, and Gregory Alan Smith, a Louisiana financial planner, were brought up on federal charges on Thursday.

According to the indictment, Caldwell and Smith used their 'influence and status' to lure dozens of 'vulnerable and elderly' people to invest in worthless Republic of Chinabonds.

The bonds were issued after World War II, but became worthless when the Communists took over the country in 1949, kicking out the old government who issued the bonds.

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Soros-Funded Groups Fueling Laura Ingraham Advertiser Boycott

The George Soros-financed Media Matters for America progressive activist group has been helping to fuel an advertising boycott targeting Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show following Twitter comments the media star made about Parkland shooting survivor and anti-gun activist David Hogg.

Think Progress, the media project of the Soros-funded Center for American Progress, has also been using its platform to hype the boycott.

On Thursday, Ingraham tweeted an apology to Hogg, expressing her regret “for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland.”

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Obama Judge declares nationwide right to abortion for illegal immigrant minors

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday to grant pregnant illegal immigrant girls in U.S. custody unfettered access to abortions, ruling they have a 'constitutional right' to the procedure.

Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee to U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., who has been a thorn in the side of the Trump administration in several major cases, said that the government has been creating too many hurdles in the path of the teen girls.

The government’s backers had warned of the dangers of abortion tourism, predicting teen illegal immigrants would come to the U.S. to take advantage of more relaxed abortion laws here than in their home countries.

But the judge rejected that warning and the government’s solution of suggesting the girls be deported back to their home countries where they would be free to take whatever steps they wanted.

“This court will not sanction any policy or practice that forces vulnerable young women to make such a choice,” Judge Chutkan said, referring to the minor girls in question.

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Palestinian Govt. Still Paying Terrorists With U.S. Funds, Defying U.S. Law

The Palestinian Authority is continuing to pay out salaries to convicted terrorists using funds provided by the American taxpayer, a policy that defies a recent U.S. law mandating the PA stop these subsidies or face a cutoff in U.S. aid dollars, according to U.S. and Israeli lawmakers who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.

Palestinian officials in recent days have rejected a new U.S. law, known as the Taylor Force Act, or TFA, that bans the PA government from providing salaries to terrorists and their families, a longstanding policy that had become the center of controversy after it was found U.S. taxpayer aid dollars to the Palestinians had been used to subsidize this practice.

While the Taylor Force Act—named after an American who was killed by a Palestinian terror attack in 2016—mandates the PA cease these payments or face a cutoff in U.S. aid, Palestinian officials have made clear in recent days they have no intention of ending this practice of funneling U.S aid dollars to the Palestinian Authority Martyr's Fund.

Palestinian leaders have continued to praise the so-called "pay-to-slay" policy since the TFA's passage, prompting outrage and concerns from Israeli and U.S. lawmakers who spoke to the Free Beacon about the situation.

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8 Favors Men Should Ask Their Neighbors

My neighbor, JT, is seven feet tall. Or close to it.

His dog, Mia, is 10 inches high at the spikiest hair on her pointiest ear. Or close to it.

JT and I have been neighbors for almost two decades. Telephone-pole JT and Mia the Mini stroll the streets every day on his lunch break. Quite a pair. Mia takes 47 steps for every Ent-like JT stride.

A couple of years ago, I asked JT if I could borrow his ax and maul to split some wood. (See #4 below.) He said yes, but only as long as he could come help. He didn’t seem worried about me or his tools, rather, he seemed eager, like I’d asked to borrow his football and was going to have all the fun by myself.

As we stretched, he casually mentioned that he used to split wood for a living.

What? I stared at him, trying to figure this out.

We live in the city. JT has a cantaloupe-sized yip-yip dog with the same name as my daughter. He runs a dental instruments startup. He’s as skinny as a toothbrush. And he used to split wood for a living? I didn’t even know you could split wood for a living. Who is this guy I’ve been living next to all these years?

He took one swing and I was a believer.

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Brown University Offers ‘Tuition-Free’ Master’s Degree to DACA Recipients

Brown University plans to offer “tuition-free” master’s degree programs to beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals if the federal government ends the Obama administration protections.

DACA, an executive action implemented by then-President Barack Obama, authorized renewable two-year deferrals of deportation along with eligibility for work permits for illegal immigrants brought to this country as children.

President Donald Trump sought to phase out the program and asked Congress to decide by law what to do about the roughly 800,000 DACA recipients and others like them.

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USDA Hires ‘Integrity Officer’ to Fight Fraud in Food Stamp Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service announced Thursday that it is hiring a “chief integrity officer” to prevent fraud in the nation’s food stamp program.

Brandon Lipps — the acting deputy undersecretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services — said that the chief integrity officer would oversee the food stamp program and suggest improvements to maintain the program’s integrity, so those who receive benefits are the ones who really need them.

“Where protection of taxpayer dollars is concerned – the job is never done,” Lipps said in a statement.

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NO DEAL: Trump Signals An End To DACA Compromise, Pushes GOP To Pass Strict Immigration Restrictions

The Democrats had time to come to the bargaining table, Trump said Sunday.

Sunday morning, President Donald Trump signaled to reporters that Congressional Democrats had wasted their opportunity to come to the bargaining table over comprehensive immigration reform, and that the time for a deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Act had passed.

He also encouraged Republicans to pass strict anti-immigration legislation, likely including increased funding for Trump's planned border wall.

Trump Tweeted early Sunday that he was growing tired of Democratic immigration policies, including the nonsensical border patrol "catch-and-release" program instituted under President Barack Obama. He punctuated his social media missive with the words, "NO DACA DEAL" in all capital letters.

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An army of illegal aliens is marching on America

Sounds like the first line of a movie script based on some dystopian future, doesn’t it? But it’s actually an underreported story from the real world.

I first became aware of this developing tale thanks to a tweet from Nicolas Medina Mora lionizing the work of Adolfo Flores of Buzzfeed. What is Adolfo up to?

Flores is apparently on a lengthy trek through all of Mexico with a literal army of migrants from a number of countries including Honduras. Normally one might imagine that a potential national security crisis for the United States such as this would be cause for raising the alarm. Instead, the Buzzfeed reporter is cheering them on and talking about their “struggle.”

You won’t see much in the way of coverage of this on the major networks or CNN, but Buzzfeed is covering it.

For five days now hundreds of Central Americans — children, women, and men, most of them from Honduras — have boldly crossed immigration checkpoints, military bases, and police in a desperate, sometimes chaotic march toward the United States. Despite their being in Mexico without authorization, no one has made any effort to stop them.

Organized by a group of volunteers called Pueblos Sin Fronteras, or People Without Borders, the caravan is intended to help migrants safely reach the United States, bypassing not only authorities who would seek to deport them, but gangs and cartels who are known to assault vulnerable migrants.

Organizers like Rodrigo Abeja hope that the sheer size of the crowd will give immigration authorities and criminals pause before trying to stop them.

This isn’t a group of family members or some isolated, organized clan. This is an army.

More here

[Related: Mexico aids Easter invasion]

US Naval Academy Dismisses Midshipman for Using Racial Slur

The Naval Academy has dismissed a midshipman from New York for using a racial slur when speaking online with other midshipmen.

Midshipman 4th Class Ted Colter was expelled from the school Feb. 26 for unsatisfactory conduct after using a racial slur for African-Americans three times in talking with members of his company, according to his attorney and a memo provided to The Capital.

Colter plans to appeal his dismissal, his attorney said, arguing the language is common to a "generation of street-tough teenagers" from Colter's home in Queens.

The incident is the only one in recent memory in which a midshipman was separated -- the official term for being expelled -- for using a racial slur, said Cmdr. David McKinney, an academy spokesman.

"We have high standards for dignity and respect here at the Naval Academy and Midshipman Colter did not live up to those high standards," McKinney said.

Jeff McFadden, Colter's lawyer and a Naval Academy graduate, is challenging the decision, saying the academy missed an opportunity to teach leadership by mediating the situation and the slur was not used in a discriminatory manner.

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Breaking News: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died at 81. She fought apartheid with her husband, Nelson Mandela, but grew to resent being overshadowed by him.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, whose hallowed place in the pantheon of South Africa’s liberators was eroded by scandal over corruption, kidnapping, murder and the adulterous implosion of her fabled marriage to Nelson Mandela, died early Monday in Johannesburg. She was 81.

Army May Extend Basic Training, Introduce New Fitness Regime

Senior U.S. Army leaders are pushing a campaign to enhance recruiting, toughen physical fitness training and extend Basic Combat Training to prepare soldiers for a major future conflict.

Secretary of the Army Mark Esper spoke Monday at the Association of the United States Army's Global Force Symposium about his vision for the Army of 2028 that calls for a larger, more physically fit force.

"To meet the challenges of 2028 and beyond, the total Army must grow," Esper said. "A decade from now, we need an active component above 500,000 soldiers with associated growth in the Guard and Reserve."

The Army requested 4,000 soldiers be added to the active force as part of the proposed fiscal 2019 budget. The increase would boost the active-duty ranks from 483,500 to 487,500.

The Army must focus on "recruiting and retaining high-quality, physically fit, mentally tough soldiers who will deploy and fight and win decisively on any future battlefield," he said.

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Company Defends Choosing La. Contractor For Wind Farm Work

OCEAN CITY — One of the first significant contracts awarded in the proposed offshore wind energy project off the coast of Ocean City went to a fabrication firm in Louisiana, leading local officials to question whether a promise to create jobs and spur economic development in Maryland has been broken early in the process.

Last spring, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) approved US Wind’s project of 32 wind turbines off the resort coast at a distance of 17 miles, or the farthest east area of its federally-designated Wind Energy Area (WEA).

Throughout the process, the Town of Ocean City has supported the US Wind project in general, but has strongly opposed the placement of any turbines within 26 miles of the resort coast, or the distance from which town officials believe the massive turbines would not be visible from the Ocean City shoreline. The town’s opposition regarding the distance from the coast has largely been based on the premise visible turbines would have a detrimental impact on the views from Ocean City shore, tourism and property values.

The battle over the distance of the turbines has been waged through an aggressive letter-writing campaign carried out by both sides and culminated this month with strong testimony from both sides during Maryland Senate committee hearings on a bill that would require the turbines to be sited at least 26 miles off the coast. That legislation ultimately failed when it did not make it out of committee.

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Evangelicals emerge as political force in Central America

In tiny, peaceful Costa Rica, a country that lives on its reputation as a laid-back vacation spot, the political ascent of a conservative evangelical pastor has caught many by surprise.

On Sunday, Fabricio Alvarado Munoz — who has said he’ll challenge the rights of same-sex couples, consider withdrawing from the Inter-American Human Rights Court and uphold the country’s rigid anti-abortion laws — hopes to win the presidency.

His popularity is part of the growing tide of evangelical political power in Latin America — a force that is helping make Central America one of the most socially conservative parts of the hemisphere.

“The conservative message of evangelicals regarding reproductive rights and marriage is going mainstream,” said Javier Corrales, a political science professor at Amherst College. “The most important flagships of the evangelicals, including their homophobic and pro-life discourse, is not that extreme to Costa Rican voters and voters in other countries.”

Latin America remains predominantly Catholic, and Catholicism is the official state religion of Costa Rica. But Protestantism has been making deep inroads in the region. According to the Pew Research Center, about 20 percent of Latin Americans now identify as Protestant, up from just 3 percent just a few decades ago.

And many of those converts subscribe to fundamental forms of Pentecostal Christianity — and that’s being reflected in local politics.

In Costa Rica, women can have abortions only if they can prove their life or health is at risk. In Guatemala, Mexico and Panama abortions are only allowed to save a mother’s life. And in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, abortion isn’t legal under any circumstance.

More here

County Seeks Tax Differential Lawsuit Dismissal

SNOW HILL – Citing the millions in grants provided to the resort each year, attorneys for the Worcester County Commissioners late last week filed a motion to dismiss the civil suit filed earlier this year by the Town of Ocean City over the long-standing tax differential issue.

In January, after years of veiled threats, Ocean City filed a petition for declaratory judgment against Worcester County seeking judicial relief on the tax differential stalemate. In simplest terms, tax differential, or a tax setoff, may be granted by a county to a municipality for services and programs duplicated by the two jurisdictions.

Last Friday, attorneys for the Worcester County Commissioners filed a motion to dismiss the case or, in the alternative, enter summary judgment in favor of the county. While Ocean City is asserting the town is owed tax differential, or a tax setoff, because of the services and programs the municipality provides to its residents and visitors, services the county would otherwise have to provide, Worcester County contends the unrestricted grants it provides to the town each year satisfies the cost of duplicated services.

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Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?

Amazon ran a commercial on this year’s Super Bowl that pretended its digital assistant Alexa had temporarily lost her voice. It featured celebrities like Rebel Wilson, Cardi B and even the company’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos.

While the ad riffed on what Alexa can say to users, the more intriguing question may be what she and other digital assistants can hear — especially as more people bring smart speakers into their homes.

Amazon and Google, the leading sellers of such devices, say the assistants record and process audio only after users trigger them by pushing a button or uttering a phrase like “Hey, Alexa” or “O.K., Google.” But each company has filed patent applications, many of them still under consideration, that outline an array of possibilities for how devices like these could monitor more of what users say and do. That information could then be used to identify a person’s desires or interests, which could be mined for ads and product recommendations.

More here

Former FBI Deputy Director McCabe Raises over $400,000 on GoFundMe for Legal Fees

Fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has raised more than $400,000 on GoFundMe to pay for his legal defense less than 24 hours after the crowdfunding page’s Thursday launch.

The GoFundMe page—created by “Friends of Andrew McCabe”—originally sought $150,000 and later $250,000 to pay for defense attorneys to counsel him on congressional inquiries, Justice Department probes into his conduct, and represent him in “any potential lawsuits he might consider.”

But the page has well surpassed this goal—raising $415,898 as of Friday morning.

“Andrew McCabe’s FBI career was long, distinguished, and unblemished,” a statement on the fundraising page reads. “His reward for that has been a termination that was completely unjustified, amidst repeated ad hominem attacks by the President of the United States.”

The page claims that the proceeds of this fundraiser would not be used to fight for his pension and benefits and that any money left over from the defense fund would go to a charity hand-picked by the McCabe family.

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Traffic Stop Leads to Recovery of Stolen Property

Georgetown - Delaware State Police have arrested a Wilmington couple on felony charges after they were found to be in possession of a large quantity of stolen merchandise.

The incident occurred at approximately 1:55 a.m., Wednesday, March 28, 2018, when a Trooper stopped a silver Mercury Sable for speeding on U.S 113 northbound, in the area of Arrow Safety Road, Georgetown. Upon making contact with the occupants of the vehicle the Trooper observed a large quantity of assorted merchandise in the back seat of the vehicle, which had ant-theft devices still attached.

The driver of the vehicle Detwon Banner, 23, of Wilmington advised that he didn’t know where the merchandise came from. The passenger in the vehicle, who initially gave a bad name, and was eventually identified as Jaleesa Banner, 29, also of Wilmington, stated that she also didn’t know anything about the merchandise.

A subsequent search of the vehicle produced an assortment of electronic devices and miscellaneous merchandise which had anti-theft devices still intact, that had a total value of $5,537.47.

Through further investigation Troopers were able to determine that the merchandise had been stolen from a Wal-mart located in Berlin, Maryland, and the incident was currently being investigated by the Worcester County Sherriff’s Office. As a result of this incident and the positive identification of the Banner’s, Maryland authorities were able to link them to two prior shoplifting incidents at the same Wal-mart, in which merchandise in excess of $12,000.00 had been stolen.

Both subjects were transported to Delaware State Police Troop 4 where they were arrested and each charged with one count each of Receiving Stolen Property and Conspiracy 2nd Degree, both felonies.

Detwon Banner, who was additionally charged with Speeding, No Valid License, No Proof of Insurance and No Proof of Registration, was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court #3 before being committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $4,202.00 cash bail.

Jaleesa Banner, who was additionally charged with Criminal Impersonation, was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court #3 before being committed to the Dolores J. Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution, in lieu of $5,000.00 cash bail.

A Comment Worthy Of A Post 4-2-18

Former Mayoral Candidate Joe Albero attends the Salisbury City Council meeting in 2009 and discusses how in 2007 - 2009 Salisbury has the 2nd highest crime rate in the nation per capita. Since then Jim Ireton and Jake Day has been the Mayor and telling everyone that "Crime" is down and it is not 2018 and nothing has changed. Thank you Mr. Albero!

Please Help Eric Raise Funds For Local Children

Publishers Notes: Believe it or not, the Downtown Barber Shop is possibly the #1 staple business in all of Downtown Salisbury. When you think about it, Eric has more traffic on a daily basis then anyone else and Pays It Forward all the time. 

In the meantime, the City treats him very poorly by not recognizing what he delivers for the Downtown Community. They fail to recognize and respect him and his business. Tens of thousands of dollars are collected in parking meters from his customers and he gets nothing in return. 

If I was Eric, I would've left the Downtown area many years ago. Because he is, (by far) the best Barber on the Shore, customers would have no problem whatsoever following Eric wherever he relocates. Yes, even if he moved to Delmar, DE. I'm NOT saying he is going to do such a thing or that any of what I say is in his future. I'm simply saying, Jake Day and that City Council are NOT business friendly are are too inexperienced to regularly recognize good people like Eric Ludwig. Never forget where you came from. 

Museum slammed after hiring white curator for African art exhibit

The Brooklyn Museum has sparked outrage in the black community after tapping a white woman to curate its vast African art collection.

On Monday the museum appointed Kristen Windmuller-Luna, 31, who has a Ph.D. in African art history from Princeton University, lectures in Columbia University’s department of art history and archaeology, and once worked as an educator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she was “responsible for adult and college gallery tours in the African galleries.”

Despite the stellar résumé, her hiring left some wondering why a qualified person of color did not get the post.

“Seriously, @brooklynmuseum? There goes the neighborhood for good,” opined Philadelphia journalist Ernest Owens on Twitter.

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Scripted News

Somerset County Sheriff's Office reports most recent arrests

Thomas Fontaine of Tulls Corner Rd, arrested 3-4-18 for driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving while impaired by alcohol, negligent driving, failing to return to scene of a motor vehicle accident, and reckless driving. Fontaine was later released on citations pending court actions. The arrest was the result of an accident investigation in the area of Wallace Taylor Rd, and Bowland Rd.

Gregory Allen Cain Jr. of Crisfield, arrested 3-8-18 on a warrant for failing to appear in court, driving on a suspended driver’s license, and open container of alcohol in vehicle. Cain was later released on personal recognizance.

Benjamin Saunders Jr. of Cambridge, arrested 3-14-18 on a warrant for failing to appear in court. Saunders was later held on a $500.00 bond.

Jeremy Douglas Knisley of Seaford Delaware, arrested 3-16-18 on two Worcester County warrants for failing to appear in court, and driving on an out of state suspended driver’s license. Kinsley was later released on an unsecured bond.

James Washington Bryant 3rd of Salisbury, arrested 3-17-18 on a warrant for failing to appear in court. Bryant was later held on bond.

Stephen Andrew Nutter of Marion, arrested 3-19-18 on a warrant for failing to appear in court. Nutter was later held on a $1,000.00 bond.

Charles Robert Carpenter Jr. of Goldsboro Maryland, arrested 3-25-18 on a Caroline County warrant for drug related charges. Carpenter was later returned to the Somerset County Detention Center where he is being held on un related charges.

Tristian Mangum of Princess Anne, arrested 3-28-18 on an arrest warrant. Magnum was later released on an unsecured bond.

Lance Carl Fridley of Chance, arrested 3-28-18 on a warrant for trespassing on private property. Fridley was later released on a unsecured bond.

ISS Tour - Welcome To The International Space Station!

Ouch!


City Of Salisbury Employee Bar Crawl


Jake Day's Newest Riverwalk Concept