OCEAN CITY: Two arrested following video of assault, robbery in resort

Ocean City police arrested two men after they allegedly assaulted a visitor and stole his money and two portable radios last Friday night.

A patrol officer noticed a man yelling in Baltimore Avenue near Dorchester Street around 7:26 p.m. He told police that two men, later identified as Rodney Dotson, 31, of Salisbury and Jemanual Hudson, 25, of Seaford, Delaware, stole a can of money and his radios. The can had approximately $100 in it, according to the police report.

Witnesses who recorded the incident said that the pair had pushed the man down. While Dotson ran off with the can of money, Hudson allegedly pushed the victim down again to stop him from chasing after Dotson.

Police later Hudson near North Division Street, but a search failed to produce either the money or the radios. Police also said they released Hudson after he denied knowing anything about the incident.

More

The Fast Track to “Carmageddon”

Back in the 1950s when GM had 50% of the auto market they always said that, “As General Motors goes, so goes the nation.”

That was obviously a tribute to GM’s economic muscle and its role as the driver of growth and rising living standards in post-war America’s booming economy. Those days are long gone for both GM and the nation. GM’s drastically reduced 20% market share of U.S. light vehicle sales in June was still an economic harbinger, albeit of a different sort.

GM offered a record $4,361 of cash incentives during June. That was up 7% from last year and represented 12% of its average selling price of $35,650 per vehicle, also a record. But what it had to show for this muscular marketing effort was a 5% decline in year-over-year sales and soaring inventories. The latter was up 46% from last June.

My purpose is not to lament GM’s ragged estate, but to note that it — along with the entire auto industry — has become a ward of the Fed’s debt-fueled false prosperity. The June auto sales reports make that absolutely clear.

More

OCEAN CITY: Knives found more often than guns during arrests this year

Weapons arrests in Ocean City are tracking with statistics for the last two years, but law enforcement officers are seizing more knives through arrests than they did last year, according to Ocean City Police.

As of mid-June, 79 weapons arrests were made in the resort, a five percent reduction as compared to the 83 arrests made during the same period last year. Fourteen of those were firearms-related, which is up by one from this point last June.

So far, however, police have seized 77 knives, up 45 percent from this point last summer, where 53 knives were confiscated.

“Looking at the statistics, we see more knives than firearms,” Police Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay Richard said. “It just seems like there’s more firearms because we’ve had shooting incidents in such a concentrated period of time.”

More

July 4, 2017 : Coldest July Temperature Ever Recorded In The Northern Hemisphere

Greenland just set the record for coldest July temperature ever reported in the Northern Hemisphere at -33C.

summit:status:weather

Climate experts immediately responded to the record cold by saying Greenland is melting faster than expected at -33C.

Almost all of Greenland’s surface is gaining ice.

greenland-ice-sheet-surface-mass-budget/

In fact, Greenland has gained a near record amount of ice this year, and the ice is melting very slowly.

More

Route 113 stretch set for paving

Compactors and pavers will be a regular sight for commuters on Route 113 between Snow Hill and Berlin as construction crews begin laying base asphalt on portions of the highway.

Maryland State Highway Administration spokesperson Bob Rager provided a status update on Phase 3 of the $86 million highway dualization project, which covers a 4.6-mile stretch of road between Massey Branch at the north end and Five Mile Branch Road.

“We just started paving last week,” he said. “The order of business for the rest of the summer is going to be paving, paving, paving.”

The initial base asphalt paving was done last week between Massey Creek and Langmaid Road, Rager said.

More

Scarborough: Russia Had Nothing To Do With Trump Win, Calls Hillary A Terrible Candidate

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough said Wednesday that Russia did not tip the scales in the 2016 presidential election, and added former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has no one to blame but herself for the shocking defeat.

“We don’t think the Russians had anything to do with Donald trump winning the election,” said Scarborough.

“I think Hillary Clinton not going to Wisconsin and not listening to Bill Clinton, and not listening to Joe Biden, and not listening to a lot of other people who were telling her back in August. And Robby Mook deciding he’s not going to poll but instead he’s going to look at analytics.”

“There are a thousand reasons why Hillary Clinton lost starting with Hillary Clinton being a terrible candidate,” Scarborough said.

More/Video

Longer holiday shows more police activity in Ocean City

With the Fourth of July falling on a Tuesday, thousands of visitors decided to make it a four-day weekend in Ocean City this year, causing a spike in police activity for the period.

From Saturday to Tuesday, Ocean City Police documented 3,279 calls for service, up 26 percent from 2016, when the holiday fell on a Monday. Last year, 2,588 recorded calls for service were made, which was 12 percent increase from 2015, when Fourth of July was on Sunday.

Police Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay Richard said despite the call volume, it was business as usual for the department.

More

FACT CHECK: Does Planned Parenthood Use Medicaid To Fund Abortions?

The Washington Post claimed in an article Friday that Planned Parenthood does not use Medicaid funds for abortions. “As the nation’s largest abortion provider, the 100-year-old nonprofit has sustained attacks at both the state and federal level, although the clinic does not use Medicaid funding to provide abortion services,” the article states.

Verdict: False

The Hyde Amendment allows Medicaid funding exclusively for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is in danger. The Washington Post’s claim that Planned Parenthood does not use Medicaid funds to cover abortions is false.

Fact Check:

The Washington Post’s article, covering Planned Parenthood closures in Iowa and the potential removal of governmental funds from abortion providers, mistakenly claimed that Planned Parenthood does not receive Medicaid funds for abortion services. The claim is in direct contradiction to a federal amendment, several state decisions, and Planned Parenthood’s website.

More

Canoe Joust swings back into action in Snow Hill, Tomorrow

The Snow Hill Volunteer Fire Company’s annual Canoe Joust provides a new, and slightly wetter, spin on a favored sport from the Middle Ages.

This Saturday in Sturgis Park teams consisting of a pair of paddlers, along with the prerequisite jouster, will compete with foam-tipped sticks to see who can force their opponent to take a dive in the Pocomoke River.

The cost for day-of registration is $75 for each trio and begins at 9 a.m. in Sturgis Park. Participants receive free beverages and one meal ticket.

The action commences about 11 a.m. and the games are double elimination. First through third place honors will be awarded.

Howard Stephens, fire company secretary treasurer, said last year the annual event, as usual, was a fun and successful fundraising effort for the volunteer company.

More 

DCCC Plans To Take Back Congress With Some Pretty Lame Bumper Stickers

People are mocking the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for offering supporters bumper stickers with pretty uninspiring messaging.

In a fundraising email sent Wednesday, the DCCC asked its supporters to choose which bumper sticker the group should print next. However, people who got the email quickly began deriding the four choices and accused the DCCC of being unable to come up with compelling or unifying messaging.

The slogan on one sticker read, “I mean, have you seen the other guys?”

More

New battle looming over permitting hog farm in PA

Last year, the Bivouac Swine Farm owners thought that by now, they would be wrapping up construction on their barns by a wooded stream in south-central Pennsylvania, and preparing to house 8,700 pigs in a new breeding facility.

Instead, the 224-acre operation near McConnellsburg is on hold, after neighboring residents and environmental activists concerned it would harm local water quality won a rare legal victory blocking it. An appeals board judge ruled last year that state regulators had failed to properly vet the farm’s plans for preventing pig waste from entering Big Cove Creek, a state-designated coldwater fishing stream that ultimately drains into the Potomac River.

The dispute may be about to resume, as a representative of Country View Family Farms, the parent company for the swine operation, said it planned to reapply in June to the Department of Environmental Protection for approval of its stormwater management plan for the site. Residents say they’re girding to oppose it again.

“I’ve lived here for more than 30 years,” neighbor Marjorie Hudson said. “My family is from here. I’m related to almost everyone in the county. I don’t think this is the right thing in the right place.”

More

At Least 101 Shot And 15 Killed In Chicago During Bloody July Fourth Weekend

At least 101 people were shot and 15 were killed on the streets of Chicago over the long Fourth of July weekend between Friday afternoon and early Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The carnage marks one of the most violent Fourth of July weekends in the Windy City in recent years.

The violence was mostly confined to the South and West sides of the city in districts where the Chicago Police Department deployed hundreds of overtime police officers to help quell the violence.

More

House Dem IT Suspects Wanted Untraceable Payments — And Sure Enough, Millions Disappeared

A Pakistani family under criminal investigation by the U.S. Capitol Police for abusing their access to the House of Representatives information technology (IT) system may have engaged in myriad other questionable schemes besides allegedly placing “ghost employees” on the congressional payroll.

Imran Awan, his wife Hina, and brothers Abid and Jamal collectively netted more than $4 million in salary as IT administrators for House Democrats between 2009 and 2017. Yet the absence of signs of wealth displayed among them raise questions such as was the money sent overseas or did something other than paychecks motivate their actions?

Capitol Police revoked the Awans’ access to the congressional IT system in February 2017 after a major data breach was detected. Their access had allowed them to read emails and files of dozens of members, including many serving on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

More

New Research Shows Increase In Strokes For Millennials

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — New research finds a startling increase in the number of strokes among young adults, which might come as a surprise to many.

Researchers say it is not clear what is causing this troubling trend.

Researchers have studied this upward trend of strokes among millennials for almost a decade, and the fact that they don’t have all the answers is one of their biggest concerns.

Health and fitness seems to be a priority for many millennials. So when new research revealed more millennials in the U.S. are having strokes, this is the sort of reaction WJZ’s Ava-joye Burnett got.

More

New York Times, Associated Press Correct Claims that All 17 Intelligence Agencies Agreed on Russian Interference

The New York Times and Associated Press posted corrections last week walking back the widely reported claim that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies agreed that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election with the goal of helping Donald Trump.

Rather, the assessment involved information collected by the FBI, CIA and NSA, and was then published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which represents all the intelligence agencies.

The Associated Press published a "clarification" on June 30 about four different stories stating all 17 intelligence agencies agreed the Russians interfered in the election in order to help Trump. Instead, it acknowledged, not all those agencies were involved in that assessment:

In stories published April 6, June 2, June 26 and June 29, The Associated Press reported that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies have agreed that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump. That assessment was based on information collected by three agencies – the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency – and published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which represents all U.S. intelligence agencies. Not all 17 intelligence agencies were involved in reaching the assessment.

More

Minimum wage hike set to reverse in Missouri

ST. LOUIS -- Cities all over the United States have been boosting their minimum wage. It's up to $15 an hour in Seattle, but it's going in the opposite direction in St. Louis, Missouri.

Amer Hawatmeh's family-owned restaurant in downtown St. Louis is struggling.

Along with rising sales taxes, and meat prices, a minimum wage hike to $10 an hour two months ago made it expensive to stay open. So he's cut back from five to two days a week for lunch. His hamburgers are smaller, his entrees pricier and his customers scarcer.

More

Rep. Steve Scalise re-admitted to intensive care unit

Doctors at the hospital where House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., has been recovering from a gunshot wound downgraded his condition from "fair" to "serious" Wednesday after he contracted an infection.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center said Scalise had been re-admitted to the intensive care unit. The hospital added that it would provide another update sometime Thursday.

Scalise and four others were hurt when a gunman opened fire on a GOP baseball practice in Virginia on June 14. The gunman, identified as James T. Hodgkinson, was fatally shot by Capitol police.

The congressman was struck in the hip and the bullet tore into blood vessels, bones and internal organs. He has undergone several surgeries.

Sources told Fox News that doctors had anticipated that Scalise would suffer an infection related to the shooting. Sources close to the congressman indicated that they had been told from the start that the Louisianan's recovery would have ups and downs.

More

Indictments outline new charges against officers, new defendants

BALTIMORE —There are new federal charges and new defendants in a far-reaching corruption case against current and former Baltimore police officers.

The new indictments released Thursday lists more allegations of how officers used their authority to steal money and drugs.

The new indictments charge two civilians -- a cousin and a friend of a police detective -- with using the power and equipment of the Gun Trace Task Force to commit a home invasion of a store owner.

The new indictments stretches the allegations against officers in the city's Gun Trace Task Force to 2014.

More

Breaking News: President Trump pressed Vladimir Putin on Russia's meddling in the U.S. election

In their meeting, President Trump pressed Vladimir Putin on Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said

Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin met face-to-face on the sidelines of the Group of 20 gathering in Hamburg. Their encounter lasted more than two hours, far longer than expected.

Read more »

Ted Cruz ‘Consumer Choice’ Amendment Could Save Senate Healthcare Bill

Senator Ted Cruz’s amendment to the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) could save the bill’s prospects of passing through the Senate.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) will continue to push for an amendment that would allow health insurers to sell plans that do not comply with Obamacare insurance regulations if they sell plans that do comply with those regulations. Cruz’s amendment would allow insurers to sell more flexible and affordable health insurance plans.

Conservative leaders such as Freedom Caucus chair Mark Meadows (R-NC) have endorsed the Cruz plan, citing the amendment’s effort to offer more affordable health care plans. Meadows told reporters, “If the Cruz consumer choice amendment gets there, yes I can support it without the MacArthur amendment in there, because I think it gives everybody some options.”

“Right now I’m looking at the Cruz consumer choice amendment as the primary vehicle that makes the most sense to me,” Meadows said, “and I applaud him for stepping out,” Meadows added.

Meadows’ endorsement serves as an important stamp of approval, as the House would have to approve the Senate BCRA if it passes through the upper chamber.

More