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Thursday, April 26, 2018

Wicomico County 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election Local Candidates List

County Executive

Culver, Bob
Republican

Jurisdiction Wicomico County
Status Active -
Filed Regular - 10/12/2017

Email Culverproperties@hotmail.com

Contact Information
PO Box 446
Salisbury, MD 21803-
(410) 548-4801

Hamilton, John William
Democratic

Jurisdiction Wicomico County
Status Active -
Filed Regular - 02/23/2018

Email electjohnwilliamhamilton@gmail.com

Contact Information
PO Box 3133
Salisbury, MD 21802-
(410) 490-7538

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Staged Crash Leads To Carjacking – Bear

Bear – Delaware State Police are investigating a carjacking that took place after an intentional motor vehicle collision.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:31 p.m., Wednesday, April 18, 2018, on DE Route 71 (Red Lion Road), in the area of Old Summit Road, Bear. A 30 year old Middletown woman was travelling DE 71 eastbound, at the posted speed limit, when she observed a vehicle approach from behind at an increased rate of speed. As the victim’s vehicle continued moving forward, without slowing or braking, it was struck from behind by the trailing vehicle.

Immediately after the collision the victim pulled on to the shoulder of the roadway, followed by the striking vehicle. Both operators exited their vehicles and the victim began to inspect the damage to her vehicle. The suspect proceeded to walk past the victim without speaking, then entered her vehicle and drove off. A second suspect, who was a passenger in the striking vehicle, then moved to the driver’s seat and also drove off.

The victim’s vehicle was recovered in Philadelphia later the same night.

Suspect #1 could only be described as a male, 6’00, 180 lbs., wearing all dark clothing.

Suspect #2 could only be described as a male.

The suspect vehicle was described as a dark, four door vehicle.

While staged car crashes are typically carefully planned and are primarily related to insurance fraud, similar tactics may be utilized to commit vehicle theft. If you are involved in a motor vehicle collision immediately call 911 to initiate a police response. If you are alone or in an isolated area, trust your gut instincts and remain in your secured vehicle if possible, to wait for the police to arrive. If you fear for your safety, stay on the line with the 911 operator to keep them apprised of the situation as well as your current location, if it is necessary to move from the original scene.

In addition to the tactic used in this incident, described below are other common schemes used to stage a motor vehicle crash.

The T-Bone Accident: In this scenario, a scam artist will wait for your car to proceed through an intersection and then jam the gas pedal and T-bone your vehicle. When the police arrive, phony witnesses, also known as “shady helpers,” will then claim you were the one who ran the stop sign or traffic signal.

McCaskill: DNC Lawsuit Against Trump Campaign Is 'Silly Distraction'

Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D., Mo.) office responded on Friday to the Democratic National Committee lawsuit against the Trump campaign, calling it a "silly distraction."

Early Friday, the DNC filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit alleging the Trump campaign, the Russian government, and Wikileaks conspired to elect Donald Trump president.

"During the 2016 presidential campaign, Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump's campaign," DNC chair Tom Perez said in a statement.

"This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for president of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency," he continued.

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Coffee chain Boston Tea Party 'first' to ban disposable cups

An independent coffee chain is believed to be the first in the UK to ban the sale of hot drinks in disposable cups.

From 1 June, Boston Tea Party, which has 21 branches around England, will only sell hot drinks in reusable cups.

Customers must either bring their own mug, buy one in store or pay a deposit on one they can return to any branch.

Supermarket giant Waitrose has made a similar pledge to stop using disposable cups by autumn while Costa Coffee has vowed to improve on recycling.

Boston Tea Party owner Sam Roberts said that to carry on handing out 300,000 disposable cups a year was "senseless".

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Kim Jong-un has stepped into South Korean territory, a first for a North Korean leader, to begin a summit meeting with the South's president

Kim Jong-un on Friday became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korean-controlled territory, starting a historic summit meeting with the South’s president that will test Mr. Kim’s willingness to bargain away his nuclear weapons.

Mr. Kim’s decision to cross into the world’s most heavily armed border zones, a prospect that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, was broadcast live in South Korea, where all eyes and ears are focused on the intentions of the North’s 34-year-old leader.

Sheriff blames hatred of law enforcement after 2 deputies shot dead in restaurant

Authorities say two Florida sheriff's deputies were shot dead through the window of a Chinese restaurant by a man who then killed himself.

The shooter was identified as a man from a small town just up the road from the restaurant, and his motive wasn't immediately known, but the sheriff blamed Thursday's killings on hatred toward law enforcement.

"What do you expect happens when you demonize law enforcement to the extent it's been demonized? Every type of hate, every type of put-down you can think of," Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz said at a news conference.

This shooter was a "coward," the sheriff said.

"The only thing these men were guilty of is wanting to protect you and me. They just wanted to get something to eat, and they just wanted to do their job," he said.

President Donald Trump called the slain deputies "HEROES" in a tweet sharing his condolences with their friends, families and colleagues.

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The New Liberal America


State Department Releases Annual Human Rights Report, Says Abortion Isn't 'Human Right Under International Law'

The U.S. State Department on Friday released the first human rights report under the Trump administration, revealing it replaced a section previously titled "reproductive rights" that focused on access to contraception and abortion in each country.

The change from Obama-era policy involves the inclusion of a new section titled "coercion in population control," which includes issues like involuntary sterilization, the Washington Post reports.

In what is likely to be the most controversial change, the report strips a section labeled "reproductive rights" that previous reports included for every country outlining access to contraception and abortion, as well as maternal mortality rates. In its place, every country now has a section called "coercion in population control," documenting involuntary or "unethical" sterilization.

The inclusion of reproductive rights as a separate section for every country is a legacy of the Obama administration. It was introduced in the 2011 report released the following year, at the end of Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

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Feds Studying Adding Warning Labels to Soda

$164,094 study wants to 'nudge consumers toward healthier dietary choices'

The National Institutes of Health is spending over $150,000 to study adding warning labels to soda.

The University of California, Davis, is conducting the study, which will test warning labels akin to those found on cigarettes at the campus cafeteria. The study aims to determine whether the warning labels can "‘nudge' consumers toward healthier dietary choices."

"The prevalence of adolescent and adult obesity is higher than it has ever been in the U.S, driving population risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease," according to the grant for the project. "Robust evidence indicates that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) increases the risk of developing obesity. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Academy of Medicine have called for broad action to reduce SSB consumption, little is known about how to effectively do so in the age group that consumes the greatest amount of SSBs—older adolescents and young adults."

"One promising and potentially scalable approach is the use of SSB health warning labels," the grant states.

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Top doctors push FDA to approve controversial marijuana-based drug

A marijuana-based medication to reduce seizures in children with severe forms of epilepsy has been recommended for government approval by a panel of experts.

The liquid form of a main ingredient in cannabis has been found to reduce seizures by more than half in children who were already taking three or more medications to control their epilepsy.

On Thursday a panel of experts analyzed the safety and effectiveness of the medicine called Epidiolex and unanimously voted in favor of Food and Drug Administration approval.

The liquid could become the first cannabis-derived drug to get the federal government's seal of approval when the FDA makes its final decision in June.

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Inception: James Comey Gave CNN Its 'Pee Tape' News Hook — by Briefing Trump on Their Search for a News Hook

In newly-released personal memos, ex-FBI Director James Comey wrote that he briefed President Donald Trump on unverified claims about an alleged escapade with prostitutes in Moscow in 2013 because “media like CNN had them and were looking for a news hook.”

In actuality, Comey’s very briefing, which was subsequently leaked to CNN, provided the network with the hook to publish a story on the controversial dossier containing the infamous “Russian prostitute” claims as well as unsubstantiated charges of collusion between Russia and members of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. CNN’s report resulted in worldwide coverage of the dossier charges.

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Nassim Taleb Warns Americans Should "Fear The 2% - The Intellectuals & Politicians"

People ask me my forecast for the economy when they should be asking me what I have in my portfolio. Don’t make pronouncements on what could happen in the future if you’re immune from the consequences. In French, they use the same word for wallet and portfolio.

I have never, ever borrowed a penny. So I have zero credit record. No loans, no mortgage, nothing. Ever. When I had no money, I rented. I have an allergy to borrowing and a scorn for people who are in debt, and I don’t hide it. I follow the Romans’ attitude that debtors are not free people.

I carry euros, dollars, and British pounds. What I do with my money is personal. People who say they give it to charity, that’s a no-no in my book. Nobody should ever talk about a charitable act in public.

Better to miss a zillion opportunities than blow up once. I learned this at my first job, from the veteran traders at a New York bank that no longer exists. Most people don’t understand how to handle uncertainty. They shy away from small risks, and without realizing it, they embrace the big, big risk. Businessmen who are consistently successful have the exact opposite attitude: Make all the mistakes you want, just make sure you’re going to be there tomorrow.

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The Pension Crisis Gets A Catchy Name: "Silver Tsunami"

Pensions really are in crisis, but the story is so full of large numbers, obscure projections, and dry terms like “unfunded liabilities” that not many people are paying attention.

The same is true for a lot of other big trends out there, which is why those sounding the alarm eventually settle on pithy/scary (if not always accurate) terms to get people’s attention. Global warming, for instance, or nuclear winter.

Now the pension crisis may have found its hook:

‘Silver Tsunami’ hits as pension costs devour California school budgets

(San Francisco Chronicle) – What happens when state funding improves, but local school budgets get worse? And how did we get into this situation in the first place?

It’s simple. School systems are getting hammered by the rising costs of pension and health care commitments. Meanwhile, they are being pinched by external factors including declining student enrollment, increased competition and frozen federal funding.

California is not an anomaly. Districts throughout the nation are facing the same squeeze.

So why isn’t anyone paying attention? Three main reasons:

Money is boring: And only boring people like chief financial officers talk about money and use phrases like “unfunded liabilities.” Interesting, cutting-edge people talk about “disruptive innovations” like personalized learning, or anything with the word “maker” in it.

Money is politically messy. Everyone wants funding for their favorite education project. In this zero-sum world, no one wants to talk about making tough choices. Even fewer want to discuss sensitive topics such as pension and health care liabilities.

Education finance has never been part of our nation’s education wars.Most of the opinion makers in education are like the Great Houses of Westeros in the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” They are much happier fighting each other to the death about issues like unions and charter schools than focusing on the more powerful forces that could destroy them all.

In “Game of Thrones,” that force is the White Walkers. In education, it’s the “Silver Tsunami” — the tens of billions of dollars in pension and other post-retirement benefits guaranteed to retirees.

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Democrats fight over Ryan Zinke's plan to use energy revenue to fix national parks

Pipeline leaks, broken bathrooms, and potholed roads at America’s national parks have pushed some Democrats to hold their nose and support a Trump administration idea on how to fix it.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has proposed paying for billions of dollars of repairs and maintenance in national parks with money the government collects from the development of oil, natural gas, wind, and solar energy on public lands.

The plan would create the Public Lands Infrastructure Fund of up to $18 billion over 10 years for maintenance and improvements in national parks, wildlife refuges, and Bureau of Indian Education schools. It would use royalty payments and lease sales on federal onshore and offshore lands.

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Booming economy leads to record-high spring break air travel

A booming economy and high consumer confidence levels led to record-high air travel in the United States this spring, according to government and industry experts.

The Transportation Security Administration on Monday reported processing 72.1 million passengers during spring break, which runs from March 15 to April 15. That's nearly 5 percent higher than the same period last year.

Airlines for America, which represents the largest U.S. airlines,expects an additional 6 million more people to board planes for travel from March 1 through April 31 compared to the 145 million who did so in the same period last year.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein explained the increase in two simple words: "good economy."

AAA attributed the increase to a perfect storm of conditions.

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Cosby accusers celebrate conviction outside of courthouse

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Several women who are among some 60 who’ve accused Bill Cosby of drugging and molesting them staged an emotional celebration of his conviction Thursday, calling it a victory in the era of #MeToo.

“I feel like I’m dreaming. Can you pinch me?” sobbed accuser Lili Bernard on the steps of the Montgomery County Courthouse, where a jury found Cosby guilty of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. “This is a victory not just for Andrea Constand. Thank you so much to the jury for positioning yourself on the right side of history.”

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who represented some of the Cosby accusers, read aloud statements from three of the women who testified against the fallen funnyman earlier this month.

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–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

Conviction of Raymond Murray


Bill Cosby Found Guilty Of Sexual Assault, Faces 30 Years In Prison

Update: In a brief statement made outside the courthouse, Cosby attorney Tom Mesereau said "we are very disappointed in the verdict," and added that Cosby's legal team intended to appeal "very strongly."

* * *

After his first trial ended in a hung jury less than one year ago, Comedian Bill Cosby on Thursday was convicted of drugging and molesting a former Temple University athletics department employee in what Bloomberg described as the first guilty verdict of the #MeToo era.

A jury in a Pennsylvania courthouse convicted the former "Cosby Show" star on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby, who is 80, could be sentenced to 10 years for each count - for a total of 30 years - with a minimum sentence of 5 years.

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Swedish Activist: "Everyone's Afraid To Be Branded A Racist"

"If I speak about Islam, they interpret it as hating Muslims. But I do not hate Muslims. I believe that this ideology is dangerous for all mankind. The Muslim community will also suffer under the Sharia." — Mona Walter, Swedish activist from Mogadishu, Somalia.

"Jesus said we should love our enemies, but not that we should be stupid." — Mona Walter.

"I always say to my Christian friends, 'What do you think, what will happen to you if Islam becomes dominant here?'" — Mona Walter.

Mona Walter, age 45, is a Swedish activist from Mogadishu, Somalia. In the early 1990s, she fled as a refugee to Sweden. There, she abandoned Islam and converted to Christianity. The act resulted in criticism and death threats. The mainstream media consider her a person working for religious freedom. Other organizations accuse her of fueling anti-Islamic movements.

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Claire McCaskill Immediately Blamed 'F*cking Russians' for Clinton Election Loss

McCaskill has called DNC lawsuit on Russian election meddling a 'silly distraction'

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) immediately blamed the "f*cking Russians" for Hillary Clinton's loss, according to Michael Isikoff and David Corn.

The comment is revealed in Russian Roulette, a book released last month by Isikoff and Corn that recounts the efforts by Russia to influence the 2016 election. The reporters say McCaskill was already blaming the Russians on Election Night.

"Late on Election Night, when it seemed Trump was going to win, Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat close to Clinton, walked past a reporter and muttered, ‘Can you believe this? The fucking Russians," Isikoff and Corn write.

McCaskill's Republican opponent Josh Hawley is pointing to the Election Night comment as evidence that she is part of the Democratic effort to blame Clinton's defeat on Russia. McCaskill last week criticized the Democratic National Committee for filing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging that Trump campaign officials conspired with Russia to win the election, calling it a "silly distraction."

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The last word on Chappaquiddick (for now)

Believe it or not, there are still things to be said about Chappaquiddick. One of them is that the real thing that protected Ted Kennedy from the wrath of the crowd after his failure of nerve in that night of dark water was much less his family’s money and power than the strength of the victim mystique.

This began with the death of Joseph Kennedy Jr., in 1944 in a suicide mission, continued with the death of their sister Kathleen Kennedy, and crested with the assassination of Jack Kennedy, which traumatized the whole nation. The unbelievable rerun with the murder of Bobby Kennedy sealed the image of the Kennedys as victims of fate and of horrible things which they bore with nobility. This had been so deeply engraved in the mind of the nation that the idea that one of their number could not be brave, could not be honest, and could be in fact the cause of harm coming to others seemed much too unreal be true.

Kennedys were killed; they didn’t kill people; tragedy sought them out, they didn’t invite it, they ran into danger, not from it.

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Bill Cosby Guilty On All Counts

Guilty on all three counts. Could be facing 10 years and $25,000.00 on each count. More to come...

Ranked: The Best And Worst State Economies

On a global scale, the U.S. economy is massive at close to $19 trillion in size.

However, as Visual Capitalist's Jeff Desjardins explains below, the United States is also the sum of its parts. America represents the union of 50 states and other jurisdictions such as D.C., and all of these state-level economies have their own unique problems to overcome, drivers of growth, and local resources that factor into their prosperity.

How can we compare these state economies on an even playing field?

RANKED: STATE ECONOMIES

Using absolute numbers, it’s hard to directly compare California ($2.75 trillion GDP, 39.5 million people) to a state like Vermont ($33 billion, 0.6 million people). By leveling the playing field, we can get an idea of how states contrast in terms of relative economic strength that companies and workers would better recognize.

Today’s infographic uses 27 metrics from WalletHub to rank state economies.

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Add These Voter Fraud Cases to the Growing List

Despite the lack of media coverage, evidence of election fraud continues to mount.

This week, The Heritage Foundation added 26 new entries to its election fraud database, bringing the searchable ledger to a total of 1,132 proven instances of election fraud. That includes 983 cases that ended in a criminal conviction, 48 that led to civil penalties, 79 where defendants were enrolled in a diversion program, and 22 cases of official or judicial findings of fraud.

Americans should be alarmed. These entries represent irrefutable evidence that fraud has impacted elections in 47 states, and across all levels of government.

Worse still, they are probably just the tip of America’s election fraud iceberg. The Heritage database is not comprehensive, so the actual volume of vote fraud is likely far higher. Exactly how much higher is anybody’s guess.

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Of Course The NY Times Should've Reported On The Hacked Clinton Emails

In an adapted excerpt of her new book "Chasing Hillary" published in the New York Times, the paper's political reporter Amy Chozick flirts with the idea that maybe the media never should have covered the hacked DNC and Clinton campaign emails during the 2016 election.

Here's how she describes the decision to cover the John Podesta emails the day they were published by WikiLeaks:

Editors and reporters huddled to discuss how to handle the emails. Everyone agreed that since the emails were already out there — and of importance to voters — it was The Times’s job to "confirm" and "contextualize" them. I didn’t argue that it appeared the emails were stolen by a hostile foreign government that had staged an attack on our electoral system. I didn’t push to hold off on publishing them until we could have a less harried discussion. I didn’t raise the possibility that we’d become puppets in Vladimir Putin’s master plan. I chose the byline.

Later when naming the mysterious and amorphous forces that in Clinton's view would "never allow" her to be president, Chozick cites herself:

They were Fake News drummed up by Vladimir Putin’s digital army. They were shadowy hackers who stole her campaign chairman’s emails hoping to weaken our democracy with Mr. Podesta’s risotto recipe. And they were The Times and me and all the other journalists who covered those stolen emails.

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Jordan Candler: American Ingenuity Defies Carbon Emissions Orthodoxy

"No major industrial economy on Earth has made as much progress as the U.S." in reducing emissions.

A few months ago The Washington Post begrudgingly reported, “Countries made only modest climate-change promises in Paris. They’re falling short anyway.” As we noted at the time, there’s absolutely nothing surprising about the report because the entire Paris Climate Accords façade was predicated on a pipe dream. That’s why President Donald Trump dumped it. In a free market like the one upon which America was built, innovation, not reckless government mandates, must be the policy centerpiece of the economy. Maintaining a clean environment is important, no doubt, but statist decrees will inevitably do more harm than good.

The benefits of natural human innovation are far too often taken for granted. That’s a shame because much heartache could otherwise be avoided — including when it comes to emissions control. According to Investor’s Business Daily, “The latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that the emission of so-called greenhouse gases declined by 2% in 2016 from 2015 and 11% from 2005. No major industrial economy on Earth has made as much progress as the U.S. And no, we’re not claiming this as a victory for Donald Trump or anyone else in government. It’s due to fracking and the replacement of high-CO2 fuels like coal with far-cleaner natural gas.”

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Judge Napolitano Says There’s ‘No Question’ Democrats Tried To Frame President Trump

Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano accused Democrats of trying to frame President Donald Trump, Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.”

“It looks like a brazen plot simply to frame the President of the United States,” said host Steve Doocy about the Russia probe.

“Yes, it does,” Napolitano replied. “It looks like it was commenced by his most virulent political enemies. Particularly Sid Blumenthal who’s sort of the fixer if you will, for Hillary Clinton and that branch of the Democratic Party.”

WATCH:

Europe Free Riding on American Drug Innovation, Congressmen Warn Trump

Numerous developed nations may be "free riding" on American medical innovation, according to a letter sent Tuesday by congressmen to President Donald Trump, and released exclusively to the Washington Free Beacon.

The letter, authored by Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wisc.) and cosigned by 26 Republican colleagues, comes as French president Emmanuel Macron made his first visit to the United States. Macron is expected to discuss trade with Trump, as is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will pay a visit to the United States beginning Friday.

Both Germany and France are cited as developed countries with more-socialized health care systems that are consequently taking advantage of U.S. health care innovation while indirectly causing Americans to shoulder the cost burden.

"Developed countries like Germany, France, Japan, and Australia consistently undermine American companies through longstanding, impermissible practices that place an unfair burden on U.S. patients, cost our economy jobs, and rob us of new treatments and cures," Duffy writes.

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Ex-Liberian warlord sentenced to 30 years in U.S. prison

A former Liberian warlord known as 'Jungle Jabbah' was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Thursday for gaining U.S. asylum by lying about his role in the civil war in his homeland and atrocities he committed, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.

Mohammed Jabbateh, 51, who has lived in East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, since the late 1990s, was found guilty in October on two counts of fraud in immigration documents and two counts of perjury.

During the height of Liberia's first civil war from 1992 to 1995, Jabbateh, while serving as commander of a warring group, either personally committed or ordered acts such as rapes, ritual cannibalism, mutilation, murder and the use of child soldiers, according to prosecutors.

An attorney for Jabbateh, Greg Pagano of Philadelphia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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This County Just Declared Itself A 'Sanctuary' For Gun Owners

On Monday, Effingham County, Illinois declared itself a "sanctuary" for gun owners. In a resolution passed 8-1, the country board directed their employees to neglect enforcement of any new state gun regulations that “unconstitutionally restrict the Second Amendment," reports Fox News.

Effingham County board member David Campbell told "Fox & Friends First" that the county decided it was "time for someone to take a hard stand" against "the increasing number of House and Senate bills coming through attacking our Second Amendment" rights.

Campbell, who helped in crafting the resolution, said he received inspiration from a similar measure recently passed in Iroquois County, which is also located in the state.

Effingham County State’s Attorney Bryan Kibler also helped to write the resolution. The attorney said the "sanctuary county" declaration is "mostly symbolic," though it sends an important message about Effingham County's citizens' beliefs and worries over the state of their gun rights.

"We thought ... why don't we just make this a sanctuary county like they would for undocumented immigrants. So we did flip the script on it," he said.

As noted by Fox News, the resolution comes on the heels of Chicago voting to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

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Another Rapper Stands Up to Leftist Mob

Chicago-based crooner Chance the Rapper seemed to show his support for fellow Chi-Town artist Kanye West’s beliefs about free thinking by pointing out that black people should not feel obliged to support the Democratic Party.

“Black people don’t have to be democrats,” Chance the Rapper wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, amid liberal uproar over Kanye West’s vocal admiration for President Donald Trump.

The Grammy-winner’s comment about black people not needing to support Democrats immediately angered many of the rapper’s fans, several of whom took to social media and suggested Republicans are racist.

Meanwhile, Kanye sent Twitter into meltdown after posting a picture of himself ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, as well as defending his relationship with Trump, sparking anger from parts of his left-wing fan base.

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Was the Starbucks Incident a Setup?

I live in an Italian neighborhood in the Bronx. Growing up, it was a place where racism was not only rampant, but seemingly an integral part of the community's essence – so much so that it was one of the jurisdictions covered by Section 5 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Any changes made to election practices or procedures necessitated preclearance from Department of Justice. I wrote about my neighborhood here.

As the world turns, times change. Today, while the area is still mostly white, the balance shows a level of diversity that would have appalled the Mob wannabes with their baseball bats from back in the day. Blacks now live in a place where forty years ago they would have caught a beating just walking through.

In any case, I bring this up to elucidate two recent instances of bigotry in my life and the similarity they have to the now infamous Starbucks incident.

Once a month, I go to a bank in a neighborhood that is probably 95% black. After conducting business, I go to the supermarket next door. I have never seen a white person in the bank and only occasionally see one in the supermarket.

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Double standard? FBI agent who leaked under Comey, McCabe going to prison

Former FBI agent Terry Albury is likely to receive between three and five years in prison when he’s sentenced for giving classified information to reporters, raising questions of a double standard benefiting the men who led the bureau at the time of his leaks.

Albury’s illegal activities, which his attorneys call “an act of conscience,” began in February 2016, when the bureau was led by Director James Comey, and continued until August 2017, when FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s three-month stint as acting director ended.

Albury, allegedly motivated by discrimination as the only African-American agent in Minneapolis, is believed to have sent The Intercept a guide to informant recruitment and rules for seizing records from journalists. Albury pleaded guilty Tuesday to two felony counts, and prosecutors want 4-5 years in prison. Albury’s attorneys say 3-4 years would be appropriate.

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Breaking News: fire with explosion

Ocean Pines Berlin fire departments on scene at Plaza Tapatia restaurant, south gate. Fire with explosion. One person with severe burns. Trooper 4 has been disployed. More to come...

Hillary Clinton's email list, voter data, campaign software costing Democrats millions, report says

Democratic campaign organizations have paid or pledged to pay more than $2 million for key parts of Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign infrastructure -- including her email list and campaign software -- as the party ramps up a costly campaign to win back both houses of Congress this November, The Intercept reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the Democratic National Committee will pay Clinton's PAC Onward Together $1.65 million for access to her campaign resources, including voter data. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has paid more than $700,000 to rent the email list.

In contrast, then-President Barack Obama gifted his email list worth nearly $2 million to the DNC as an in-kind contribution in 2015, the report added.

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D.C. Democratic Lawmaker Donated to Event Where Farrakhan Denounced Jews

D.C. City Councilman Trayon White Sr. (D.) donated to an event in Chicago where National of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan again denounced Jews.

White donated $500 from his constituent services account to the Chicago event known as "Saviours’ Day," theWashington Post reports. Campaign finance law dictates that the constituent services account's privately-raised funds must be used on D.C. residents.

White denied knowing about the payment. However, the account's treasurer, Darryl Ross, said otherwise.

"He said to me, ‘I want you to make a payment to the Nation of Islam for Saviours’ Day,’" Ross told the Post. "So I went on the website to get the information I needed in order to make the payment."

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NY Times Reporter: 'I Cried' After Writing Story About How Clinton Lost the Election

New York Times reporter Amy Chozick writes in her new memoir that she cried after finishing her article on how Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump.

Chozick covered Clinton for a decade during stints at the Wall Street Journal and now at the New York Times, which meant covering her ultimately doomed presidential bids in 2008 and 2016. Her experiences and insights make up her new book Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling.

According to the Washington Post review of her book, "the day after the 2016 election, Chozick sat in her cubicle and wrote the "how she lost" story. "Then I finally cried," she writes.

That article was entitled, "Hillary Clinton's Expectations, and Her Ultimate Campaign Missteps." Chozick wrote in the postmortem:

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Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Fundraises Off Columbine Anniversary

Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, who is running for governor of Colorado this year, on Friday sent an email that fundraises off the anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.

"Today is the 19th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School," Polis says in the email. "I remember watching the news in horror, shocked that something so terrible could happen anywhere, but especially in my home state."

Polis touts how, in the wake of the 1999 school shooting, Colorado "took action" by closing the gun-show loophole, banning high-capacity magazines, and passing universal background checks.

"Sadly, Republicans in Congress have failed to show the same courage in the face of the NRA that we've shown here in Colorado," he adds. "These tragedies continue to take place every single day—in the form of both heavily reported mass shootings and the under reported gun violence that happens daily."

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Broward Sheriff Israel To Face No-Confidence Vote For "Suspected Malfeasance"

The Broward County Sheriff's Office Deputies Association has scheduled a no-confidence vote for Sheriff Scott Israel for "many instances of suspected malfeasance" among several claims that his conduct leading up to, and following, the Feb 14th Parkland school shooting.

Union president Deputy Jeff Bell announced the upcoming vote on Friday. Of note, Florida governor Rick Scott can fire Israel for"malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty (or) incompetence."

To that end, Israel is accused by the Association of "many instances of suspected malfeasance, misfeasance, failure to maintain fiduciary responsibility by the sheriff, failure to properly investigate possible criminal conduct by members of his senior command staff and the lack of leadership that has crushed morale throughout the agency."

Seems like the Deputies Association is about to give Governor Scott exactly what he needs to get rid of Israel, right down to the official language.

While multiple agencies failed in the lead-up to the Parkland shooting, the Broward County Sheriff's Department - led by Sheriff Israel, had directly interfaced with self-confessed killer Nikolas Cruz - having received nearly 50 calls about him.

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If Current Laws Had Been Followed, There Would Have Been No Waffle House Shooting

On Monday afternoon, Tennessee law enforcement officers captured a 29-year-old Illinois man suspected of opening fire on diners at a Nashville Waffle House, despite the man having had his firearms seized on multiple occasions in the last two years.

Four people died and several others were wounded by the shooter—who wore nothing but a green jacket—before a customer, also 29, heroically wrestled the firearm away and threw it over a counter. The attacker fled the scene naked and evaded police for over 24 hours before the suspect was apprehended.

As often happens in the aftermath of highly publicized shooting incidents, blame has already been placed on the lack of “common-sense gun control.” But, once again, this blame is misplaced—had already-existing laws been properly followed and enforced, this individual would not have had access to a firearm.

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Conservatives Want a House Speaker Who Will Deliver on Promised Reforms

Conservative lawmakers say they want the next speaker of the House to be committed to issues Republicans ran on, and to making important procedural reforms.

“More important than who the speaker is next year is what Republicans do this year,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told The Daily Signal.

“And if we don’t get focused on and stay focused on what the American people elected us to do,” Jordan said, “then there’s not going to be a race for a Republican speaker. It will be a race for who is the minority leader. So that is what we have to be focused on.”

Jordan and two other House conservatives spoke recently with The Daily Signal about what they want to see in House Speaker Paul Ryan’s successor. The lawmakers and two GOP aides emphasized following through on issues Republicans campaigned on in 2016 and earlier, including repealing Obamacare, fixing the immigration system and building a border wall, and reforming welfare programs.

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Salisbury-area pastor arrested on child pornography charges in Laurel

An undercover investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force resulted in the arrest of a local pastor for 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography in Sussex County.

According to the Delaware Department of Justice (DOJ), the investigation revealed that 35-year-old Cesar M. Rios Martinez, of Laurel, downloaded and shared multiple files of child pornography via the internet over an extended period of time.

A search warrant was executed at Martinez’ home on April 25, at which time detectives seized several electronic devices and other related evidence that revealed over 25 files of child pornography as defined by Delaware law.

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$1.9 million settlement reached after death during confrontation with off-duty deputies

The family of Ethan Saylor, a man with Down syndrome who died after a confrontation with off-duty Frederick County sheriff's deputies in 2013, will receive $1.9 million in a settlement reached earlier this month in the case.

Saylor, who was 26, tried to enter a second screening of “Zero Dark Thirty” at the Westview Promenade movie theater on Jan. 12, 2013, without buying another ticket. The three deputies, who were working security on behalf of Hill Management Services at the time, tried to remove Saylor and a struggle ensued. Saylor suffered a fractured larynx during the encounter and died of asphyxia, according to autopsy reports.

"It's some closure and now the job of really healing and going forward is possible," Patti Saylor, Ethan's mother, said when reached for comment Wednesday. "... In a long, drawn out court case like this, healing isn't always possible, so now that this settlement has been reached, we can start to focus on that."

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Candace Owens Smacks Down Black Lives Matter, Kanye Approves

Conservative writer and commentator Candace Owens earned some celebrity cheers and jeers Saturday after she posted a must-see video of herself smacking down a group of Black Lives Matter protesters who were trying to disrupt aTurning Point USA event at UCLA Wednesday night.

Owens, the communications director for TPUSA and frequent guest on Fox News, was having none of it, and let the protesters know in no uncertain terms what she thought about their "victim mentality."

"It's embarrassing!" she exclaimed.

"There is an ideological civil war happening," Owens told the audience. "Black people that are focused on their past and shouting about slavery, and black people that are focused on their futures."

"I can guarantee you, what you're seeing happening is victim mentality versus victor mentality!

"I love that!" TPUSA co-host Charlie Kirk interjected.

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Maryland becomes the second state to take strong action against puppy mill sales

Gov. Hogan signs bill to stop the sale of puppy mill puppies and kittens in pet stores

Today, Maryland became the second state in the nation to prohibit the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet stores. Gov. Larry Hogan signed HB 1662 today after it received overwhelming, bipartisan support in the General Assembly.

HB 1662 prohibits the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores and encourages stores to collaborate with animal shelters and rescue groups to promote the adoption of homeless pets. Animal protection groups, veterinarians and pet-loving Marylanders from across the state supported this measure. Maryland joins California and over 250 localities across the nation, including Montgomery County, which have enacted similar laws.

In addition to promoting adoption, this law will protect Maryland consumers from ending up with a sick pet store puppy, and spending thousands of dollars caring for their new pet, in some cases only to suffer the heartbreak of their new pet dying . Pet store puppies are also often behaviorally challenged because they were not properly socialized by the mill nor the pet store, making the transition to family life difficult.

“We thank Governor Hogan for signing this lifesaving measure which closes the Maryland pet store market to cruel puppy mills,” said Emily Hovermale, Maryland state director of the Humane Society of the United States. “Maryland has set an important precedent with this rejection of animal abuse that other states will surely follow.”

For those who choose not to adopt, it’s important to note this law also promotes responsible breeders who care deeply for their animals. Responsible breeders don’t sell to pet stores, so they won’t be directly impacted, but it is likely those who may have purchased a puppy from a pet store will instead seek out breeders who properly cares for their dogs and sells puppies directly to public because they have nothing to hide.

Richmond Fed Survey Crashes By Most In 25 Years

When hope dies... against expectations of a small rise from March to a 16 print, April came in at a disastrous -3 (the worst data since Sept 2016).

From record highs just a couple months ago, Richmond Fed manufacturing has crashed by the most in the survey's 25 year history into contraction...

It was a bloodbath below the surface too.

New orders collapsed to -9 from +17, order backlogs plunged to -4 from +10 and while wages and employees rose, workweek dropped notably.

Finally, prices paid rose once again even as new orders crashed...

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13 semi-trucks line roadway to help man considering suicide

DETROIT, MI (WCMH) -- A photo shared by Detroit police has people talking after it shows a row of semi-trucks lining a roadway to help a suicidal man.

According to WDIV, the Michigan State Police reported a suicidal man threatened to jump from the I-696 overpass early Tuesday morning.

That’s when police began asking semi-truck drivers to pull under the bridge to shorten the man’s fall, should he jump, according to WJBK.

Thankfully the man didn’t jump, but a photo of the trucks lined up has gone viral after it was tweeted by the Michigan State Police.

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Former Black Panther Chairman: 'Hand Over the State of Florida'

WASHINGTON – Malik Shabazz, former chairman of the New Black Panther Party and president of Black Lawyers for Justice, called on President Trump to provide reparations for slavery or designate territory solely for African-Americans.

“We must have reparations, full compensation for the theft of our land, the theft of our bodies, the theft of our people from Africa, the theft of our dignity; the desecration of our souls decade after decade after decade after decade. As I said, we don’t want your food stamps. We don’t want no government handout. We don’t want to be trying to fix up some paperwork so I can get Social Security. We want our own. Donald Trump, you don’t want us? You don’t want to be around us? Hot dammit, I don’t want to be around you,” Shabazz said during a “Save Our Sons: Stop the Killing” and "Condemn Donald Trump" National Black Men’s Convention march and rally outside of the White House on Saturday organized by the National Black Men’s Movement.

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Antifa Protesters Arrested In Georgia For Refusing To Remove Masks

Antifa can be called many things. "Smart" is not one of them.

On Saturday, an Antifa contingent showed up in Newnan, Georgia, to protest a neo-Nazi gathering. (That's right -- for once, Antifa was protesting against actual Nazis.) Only about 30 neo-Nazis showed up, because despite what the media would have you believe, there simply aren't too many left in the entire country.

As usual, Antifa ran afoul of the police. In Georgia, it's illegal to wear a mask in public with a few exceptions. As this wasn't Halloween and they weren't part of a theatrical production, law enforcement told the protestors to remove them. Antifa, being Antifa, refused to comply.

As Huffington Post's Christopher Mathias reports, in an article sympathetic to Antifa's brand of fascism: "Police officers arrived before the rally began and approached a group of about 50 anti-fascist protesters. They demanded the protesters remove their masks or face arrest. The officers -- who wore bulletproof vests and helmets, and carried semi-automatic rifles -- cornered the anti-fascist protesters, then grabbed those who were still masked, tossing them to the ground and handcuffing them."

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Breaking News: Dr. Ronny Jackson withdrew as nominee to lead the V.A. after lawmakers went public with a torrent of accusations against him by colleagues

In a statement released Thursday morning, Dr. Jackson announced that he was withdrawing his name for consideration to be the secretary of veterans affairs.

“Unfortunately, because of how Washington works, these false allegations have become a distraction for this president and the important issue we must be addressing — how we give the best care to our nation’s heroes,” Dr. Jackson said in a statement provided by the White House press office.

Case-Shiller Home Prices Surge At Fastest Pace Since 2014 To Record High

US National Home Prices in February are now almost 7% above the 2006 peak according to the latest Case-Shiller data and are surging at 6.8% YoY - the fastest pace since June 2014.

The data showed monthly gains in all 20 cities, including strong advances in expensive areas such as Seattle and Los Angeles, along with cheaper regions including Cleveland and Detroit.

All 20 cities in the index showed year-over-year gains, led by a 12.7 percent increase in Seattle and an 11.6 percent advance in Las Vegas; Washington was slowest at 2.4 percent

This pushed the national home price to a new record high..

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Help Support Salisbury Womens Rugby

Salisbury University Women's Rugby Football Club has grown enormously since its inception in 1993. Our team continually faces many challenges brought on by lack of funding from the university. Rugby is considered a "club" sport, meaning we receive minimal monetary contributions from the school. However, our lack of money has not stopped us from competing at the highest level.

After receiving a wild card bid to playoffs, our first match was in Charleston, SC. Our team took two 15 passenger vans, filled them each entirely, and drove the 9 hours to South Carolina. In order to save money that we would need to help with flights in the event we made it to the final four (and we did!), 23 of us stayed in a teammates condo. We had girls doubling up in beds, sleeping on air mattresses, and sleeping on the floor. After defeating the University of Charleston, we made it into the sweet 16 at ECU on April 21-22. We defeated George Washington University, 95-10, making it into the elite 8. We then defeated UNC-Charlotte by a landslide, 68-0, punching our ticket to the final four in California.

Our trip to California will cost our team around $20,000. Salisbury University hosted a giving day not too long ago, which helped take some of the burden off, but we are still in need of the majority of the funding required to get to the final four.

Out of any Salisbury Women's Rugby team that has played, our current group of girls hold the highest chances at actually winning a national championship. The chemistry, trust, and family this team has built is unbelievable. We would love, more than anything, to represent Salisbury University, the city of Salisbury, and all the wonderful people that have supported us, in California as we take a USA Collegiate Rugby National Title.

If you would like to help support our road to nationals, please follow the link below. Any donation is greatly appreciated and tax deductible.

Women's Rugby

Watchdog Requesting Investigation Into Rogue CFPB Lawsuit

Secret funding for lawsuit could qualify as a prohibited gift

A transparency and accountability watchdog is asking the inspector general's office of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to launch an investigation into reports that the deputy director may be using government time to further her personal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and questions if the anonymous funding of that lawsuit violates ethics laws against receiving gifts in office.

CFPB deputy director Leandra English is suing the administration in hopes that a judge will order her to be installed as the bureau's acting director in place of the current acting director Mick Mulvaney, who was appointed by the president. Mulvaney also currently serves as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust sent a letter Monday to the CFPB's IG and to the Office of Government Ethics saying that "recent evidence suggests that [English] may be using government paid time for personal matters" and that "she may have accepted gifts based upon her government position to fund her lawsuit."

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Nation Patiently Awaits GQ Article Calling Koran Overrated

U.S.—After revered men’s fashion magazine GQ published an article claiming the Bible was overrated, the nation began patiently waiting for the publication to claim the same for the Koran or other religious texts, sources confirmed Monday.

Upon learning of the mag’s recent criticism of the Bible, the nation collectively refreshed GQ’s website and scanned for information on its upcoming issue to determine when the follow-up article criticizing the Koran the team is definitely working on would be published.

“Any second now, they’ll come through,” Andy Paulson, 32, said in an interview. “Any magazine bold enough to call out Christians’ sacred texts is surely brave enough to call the Koran overrated.”

“They’re gonna publish it, just you watch. Any moment,” he added.

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America’s “Silent” $6 Trillion Crisis

America’s silent crisis is no longer… silent.

MarketWatch columnist Jeff Reeves has warned that “collapsing pensions will fuel America’s next financial crisis.”

“This is not a distant concern,” he adds, “but a system already in crisis.”

By some estimates, America’s public pensions alone are sunk in a $6 trillion abyss.

According to the Federal Reserve, pensions — public and private combined — were roughly 27% underfunded as of last year.

Meantime, vast hordes of pensioners are entering or approaching retirement.

Come at the dilemma from any angle… and you come upon a labyrinth.

How has the American pension come to such a sad pass?

As far as public pensions run, the answer is close by.

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Former Tennessee bus driver sentenced to prison in crash that killed 6 kids, report says

A former school bus driver in Tennessee, previously convicted following a 2016 crash that killed six children, was reportedly sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday.

A judge ruled on the prison term for Johnthony Walker following an emotional day in court, which included an apology from Walker, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

Walker was found guilty in March after the bus he was driving on Nov. 21, 2016, carrying 37 kids from Woodmore Elementary School, crashed on a winding road in Chattanooga, Tennessee. More than 20 students were injured, in addition to the six who died.

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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/24/former-tennessee-bus-driver-sentenced-to-prison-in-crash-that-killed-6-kids-report-says.html

It's tick season again. Here's how to avoid the disease-carrying pests

Minnesota's tick season has already begun, and experts say the parasites are hungry after a long winter.

"We found our first deer ticks of the year April 12. Then we had that huge snowstorm and they relaxed for a while, but we're seeing them again this week," Metropolitan Mosquito Control District tick specialist Janet Jarnefeld said.

• Watch: How a tick digs its hooks into you

The year's heavy snowfall actually helped tick populations by insulating their winter habitat, Jarnefeld said.

So how to deal with the pests? Here are Jarnefeld's tips to prevent tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease:

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Mt. Pleasent Church Lunchion


Comey Lawyers Up In Anticipation of Charges

Comey memos contained classified info leaked to press, media reported

Ex-FBI Director James Comey has hired a personal lawyer amid speculation that he’s facing federal charges stemming from his alleged leak of classified information.

Comey’s new lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, has so far declined to tell reporters the official reason for his hiring, but last year it was revealed that over half of his personal memos Comey leaked to the press apparently contained classified material.

Additionally, the Justice Dept. recommended that ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe face charges associated with lying to internal investigators while discussing the FBI’s Clinton Foundation investigation – and back in March, McCabe threatened to “take everyone down” with him if he is prosecuted, a threat that ostensibly includes Comey.

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‘He killed my mommy’: 6-year-old witnessed brutal slaying

A 6-year-old girl in Pennsylvania told investigators she witnessed her mom die at the hands of a boyfriend, according to police.

Devanna Cornitcher, 25, was found stabbed to death Friday night at a Chester apartment.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that her boyfriend, Alonzo Carter, also 25, was covered in blood nearby.

“He killed my mommy,” Cornitcher’s daughter told authorities at the scene.

Police said Carter was smoking a cigarette near Cornitcher’s body when they entered the residence. A bloody kitchen knife reportedly remained on the floor.

Authorities arrested Carter on suspicion of murder, possession of an instrument of crime and reckless endangerment.

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After 29,168 killings in a year, Mexico is more murder zone than tourist mecca

Mexico has hit the headlines time and time again this year, for all the wrong reasons.

Last Sunday tourists watched as a man’s body washed ashore at Caletilla Beach in Acapulco, located in the state of Guerrero. Horrifying images show stunned beachgoers standing near the water as officials removed the body.

On Thursday, 16 people — including six police officers — were killed in two confrontations also in Guerrero, during a bloody gun battle that lasted half an hour.

The next day, gunmen on water scooters shot at a roving vendor on a beach in Cancun’s glittering hotel zone, an incident believed to be unprecedented for the Caribbean city.

According to a police report, the afternoon shooting happened in front of a hotel in the heart of Cancun’s resort-studded strip. The vendor was unhurt.

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