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farrahda5hy · 1 year ago

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Hey

Favourite fall out boy songs??

Woof…I’ve been a FOB since I was 11 years old circa 2005, so it really hard to say I have an all time favorite song. From an objective standpoint from watching the evolution of the band, I think Infinity on High is the best album they’ve released (this was before SMFS came out. I will have to rerank but I imagine SMFS will be in the top three/for and maybe IOH will be bumped down one or switch with FUTC)

I think the beauty of being a longtime fan is that your favorite song also changes and stays the same as you get older. Because growing up it’s like being a Matrioshka doll of your former selves.

I am always singing “Thriller” because it reminds me so much of being an early teenager since Folie à Deux didn’t come out until the end of my freshman year. But “Gold Shipped Standard” is the song on Folie that’s underrated imo but I think it’s the truth it kinda that era. It’s the weird uncertainty of what’s going to happens it’s the desperation of having a voice but not have the courage or being kept from using it (which being a teen is all about sometimes especially being a teenager of color).

When Save Rock and Roll came out, I was in my sophomore year of college (technically would have been second semester if freshman year), so “Where Did the Party Go” and “Miss Missing You” were very much my jams. I don’t listen to that album as much because….i just don’t. Part of me still see it was the post hiatus album, but I think it’s also just kinda a moment in time that you kinda just think about fondly or something. I think the album being the first post hiatus album gets so clouded that I think I was just so happy they were back….fuck that I just remembered “Phoenix” best song (but also Young Volcanoes because I’m a Pete girlie and I love Patrick’s laugh in that song also umm Rat a Tat Tat.)

AB/AP I was studying abroad, and I was so upset that I thought I wouldn’t be able to hear that album. But I think other than Centuries (because I loved the Song “Tom’s diner” and the bass solo after the bridge still gives me the ASMR tingles to this day and even thinking about it gives me tingles), the song I listened to the most was the “Fourth of July” and “Immortals”. Those are still up there. I didn’t like Favorite Record when the album came out and skipped over it. But I appreciate that song now that I’m older. “Irresistible” has my favorite music video. I love the videos where the band is doing dumb shit, and I just love Andy in that video. Special shoutout to “Twin Skeletons” and “Jet Pack Blues.�� FUCK EVERYTHING I JUST SAID UMA THURMAN! Best song! Best bass! Best summer fun! Good video! Yeah. I loved the Boyz of Zummer tour. Had a good time.

MANIA there are no misses on the album honestly. It was all good. But “Sunshine Riptide” is my favorite song on the album. “Stay Frosty”, “Church” and “Hold me Tight or Don’t” are tied for third.

SMFS there are also no misses on the album. Currently, my most sung while I’m out and don’t have music are “Fake Out” “Heaven, Iowa” and “SMFS.” Honorable mentions for “Baby Annihilation”

I literally was able to buy Clandestine Industries merch for the first time, and my inner selves were so hella impressed.

Also for FUCT: “Sugar” hold the #1 space mostly because it was on the radio playing early Saturday morning in May for the first time in Maryville, TN, and Patrick’s voice literally woke me up out of a deep sleep, and I was like “Who is this!?” Literally was so mad they didn’t say who it was because it was Saturday and then the radio hosts on Monday morning played the song again and I was like “it’s the song!” Fun Fact; the hosts were trying to figure out whether the lyric was “loaded God complex” or “loaded gun complex.”

I forgot Take this to your grave because I think at the time I found out FOB had another album before FUTC (I think this was between FUTC and IOH or slightly after IOH) but “Dead on arrival” “Saturday” (which makes me so happy that it’s their like encore or finisher song) and “Calm Before the Storm”

I will spare you the two EPs because this is just memory lane for me at this point unless you’re curious.

#fall out boy #asked and answered #thank you so much I literally was thinking about this today

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emometalhead · 2 years ago

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AB/AP released January 16, 2015

#happy anniversary!#I can't find any plain posts like this because the tag is understandably new content but I wanted to celebrate this album!!#I did in fact listen to AB/AP already this morning and it has given me extra energy for the day!!#fall out boy #american beauty/american psycho #I love this album so much #though I was a fan before I didn't begin interacting with the fandom until this era #it will always be special in my heart for that reason #ashley posts pics

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newstfionline · 4 years ago

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Saturday, October 10, 2020

UN World Food Program wins Nobel Peace Prize (AP) The United Nations’ World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to fight hunger in regions of conflict and hardship around the globe. From air-dropping food in South Sudan to creating an emergency delivery service to keep aid flowing despite coronavirus travel restrictions, the Rome-based organization has long specialized in getting assistance to some of the world’s most dangerous and precarious places. It provided assistance to almost 100 million people in 88 countries last year.

Homeless to Homed (CBC) In 2018, 115 people who had been homeless for at least six months and weren’t struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues were enrolled in a study by a Vancouver-based charity that saw 50 of them randomly chosen to receive a cash payment of $7,500 (CAD). The results of the study are seriously encouraging: after 12 months, those who got the money had moved into stable housing after an average of three months, compared to five months in the control group. The recipients of the cash spent 52 percent of it on food and rent, 15 percent on items like medication and bills, and 16 percent on clothes and transportation, and 70 percent of them were food secure within a month. Many who object to direct cash payments to people in need argue they may spend the money frivolously; to the contrary, spending on alcohol, cigarettes and drugs went down 39 percent on average. It costs $55,000 on average annually for social services for a homeless person in Canada, and the project saved the shelter system $405,000 over a year across all 50 participants.

FBI foils plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Washington Post) Federal and state officials revealed Thursday that they had thwarted a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, unsealing charges against 13 people who they say were involved in various plans to attack law enforcement, overthrow the government and ignite a civil war. Officials said the conspiracy—which was supposed to come to fruition before the election—seemed to be an ominous indication of how America’s civil unrest has energized violent extremists. The plotters, according to an FBI affidavit, seemed to be motivated at least in part by their belief that state governments, including Michigan’s, were violating the Constitution. One of those involved complained in June that Whitmer (D) was controlling the opening of gyms—an apparent reference to coronavirus shutdown restrictions—and others were involved in a militia group that had contemplated targeting police in their homes, authorities said. They trained together with firearms and experimented with explosives, authorities said. But unbeknown to them, the FBI had confidential informants recording many of their meetings and discussions. Before they could attack, law enforcement moved in, arresting some as they pooled money for more explosives, officials said.

Amid NYC protests, Orthodox Jews urge new virus-era dialogue (AP) After months of grappling with a pandemic that has walloped New York’s Orthodox Jewish communities, prompting changes to holidays, mourning and prayers, new limits on worship and other activity in some areas are pushing tensions in some neighborhoods of Brooklyn to the boiling point. New restrictions in places where coronavirus cases are rising, including several Orthodox areas, led to street protests Tuesday night. Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of Orthodox men gathered in the streets of Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood, in some cases setting bonfires by burning masks, and a crowd attacking a man who filmed the unrest. On Wednesday night, crowds of men returned to the streets as police watched. As the protests made headlines, and the Orthodox group Agudath Israel led a Thursday federal court challenge seeking to halt the constraints, some Orthodox Jews in New York urged officials and fellow believers to find a way to communicate better. “We need partnership. We need government and the community to work together” on an approach to fighting the virus that can “respect the culture” of the faith, said Rabbi Abe Friedman, an Orthodox leader and law enforcement chaplain in Brooklyn. In the view of many Orthodox Jews in New York whose areas were hit hard and early by the pandemic, city and state officials stoked tension with their handling of restrictions on houses of worship and schools in hot spots. On top of feeling singled out as a religious community, some Orthodox Jews can lack sufficient, reliable public health guidance, given often infrequent access to TV and the internet—all while confronting curbs on faith practices built on social engagement that have sustained them for generations.

In the Path of Six Major Storms Since June, Louisiana Braces for Delta (NYT) Seen from above this week, the city of Lake Charles, La., made for an unsettling study in blue—blue being the color of the tarps covering the hundreds of roofs that had been beaten by wind, shorn of shingles or punctured by flying trees. On the ground, mounds of debris from Hurricane Laura, which devastated the area in August, lined roadsides all over Calcasieu Parish. More debris choked the drainage canals. Yet on Thursday, weary residents of this battered oil-patch city prepared, along with the rest of southwest Louisiana, for yet another round of serious trouble spinning up from the Gulf of Mexico. As of Thursday evening, Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, was about 300 miles from the Louisiana coast, churning on a path that could end up strafing Lake Charles again. Many of those blue tarps may soon be whipped away by the wind, said Bryan C. Beam, the administrator of Calcasieu Parish, whose seat is Lake Charles. The debris along the roadsides may turn into flying projectiles. The choked-up drainage canals may overflow, creating new and dangerous flood patterns. Electricity was finally restored in full last week—but homes could again be plunged into darkness, he said. “It’s like a boxer going in the ring a few weeks later after getting pounded,” Mr. Beam said. “You can only take so much in a short period of time. We’re a very resilient people. But it’s very tough right now.”

Wealth disparity (Bloomberg/Federal Reserve Bank) The 50 richest Americans now hold almost as much wealth as half of the U.S., as Covid-19 transforms the economy in ways that have disproportionately rewarded a small class of billionaires. New data from the U.S. Federal Reserve, a comprehensive look at U.S. wealth through the first half of 2020, show stark disparities by race, age and class. While the top 1% of Americans have a combined net worth of $34.2 trillion, the poorest 50%—about 165 million people—hold just $2.08 trillion, or 1.9% of all household wealth.

Political news and happiness (The Atlantic) The amount of political news one consumes and one’s happiness are inversely related, with a Dutch study finding that on average for every additional hard news television program watched every week, the average well-being fell 6.1 percentage points. Another analysis of data from the 2014 General Social Survey found that after controlling for other demographic properties people who are “very interested in politics” were 8 percentage points more likely to be “not very happy” about life compared to people “not very interested” in politics.

Venezuelans once again fleeing on foot as troubles mount (AP) After months of COVID-19 lockdowns that halted one of the world’s biggest migration movements in recent years, Venezuelans are once again fleeing their nation’s economic and humanitarian crisis. Though the number of people leaving is smaller than at the height of the Venezuelan exodus, Colombian immigration officials expect 200,000 Venezuelans to enter the country in the months ahead, enticed by the prospects of earning higher wages and sending money back to Venezuela to feed their families. The new migrants are encountering decidedly more adverse conditions than those who fled their homeland before COVID-19. Shelters remain closed, drivers are more reluctant to pick up hitchhikers and locals who fear contagion are less likely to help out with food donations. Before the pandemic, over 5 million Venezuelans had left their country, according to the United Nations. The poorest left on foot, walking through a terrain that is often scorching but can also get frigidly cold. As governments across South America shut down their economies in hopes of stopping the spread of COVID-19, many migrants found themselves without work. Over 100,000 Venezuelans returned to their country, where at least they’d have a roof over their heads. Leaving again is harder. Official land and bridge crossings into Colombia are still closed, compelling migrants to flee through illegal pathways along the porous 1,370-mile (2,200-kilometer) border with Venezuela. The dirt roads are controlled by violent drug trafficking groups and rebel organizations like the National Liberation Army.

What the U.S. election means for Europe (Washington Post) Europeans do not approve of President Trump—by huge margins in recent surveys. So dim is the view of the U.S. leader that many survey respondents place less hope in him doing the “right thing regarding global affairs” than Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the Pew Research Center. In a recent YouGov poll, substantial majorities across the continent said they favored a Joe Biden victory over a Trump win in November. On one level, this reflects a genuine yearning for a Biden presidency after four years of Trumpian volatility. A liberal White House in 2021 would be expected to revitalize the transatlantic alliance, return the United States to the Paris climate accord, scrap most of the tariffs Trump slapped on U.S. allies and, at the very least, avoid coddling factions and forces that seek to undermine European unity. For officials in Brussels, it would mark something of a restoration. But on a deeper level, Europe’s view of America is also changing. “European attitudes to Americans are shifting from envy to compassion,” wrote Simon Kuper of the Financial Times. He added that “there’s more chance of becoming a billionaire, if that’s your thing, in Scandinavia than in the U.S.,” pointing to widening inequity in the United States and the withering of romantic notions of the “American Dream.”

Kamaikaze drones (Daily Telegraph) Israel has handed Azerbaijan the upper hand in its war with Armenia over the breakaway enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh by selling it drone weapons Armenian forces have little defense against. In the recent flare-up of fighting, Azerbaijan has used Israeli-made ‘kamikaze drones’ that can take out Armenian tank and artillery positions dug into Nagorno-Karabakh’s mountainous terrain. Because they held strategic high ground, the tanks and artillery had previously made the enclave’s defenses almost impossible for Azerbaijani forces to recapture.

‘Rural Surge’ Propels India Toward More Covid-19 Infections Than U.S. (NYT) Sliding out of their rickshaw, masks on, fresh sanitizer smeared across their hands, a team of health workers approached one of the mud-walled homes in Masli, a remote village in northeast India surrounded by miles of mountainous rainforest. “Are you Amit Deb?” they asked a lean, shirtless man standing in his yard. Mr. Deb nodded cautiously. Five days earlier, he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Now his family members needed to be tested. They all refused. “We can’t afford to quarantine,” explained Mr. Deb, a shopkeeper. If anyone else in his family was found positive, they would all be ordered to stay inside, which would mean even more weeks of not working, which would push the family closer to running out of food. The defiance of the coronavirus rules is being reflected across rural India, and it is propelling this nation’s virus caseload toward the No. 1 spot globally. Infections are rippling into every corner of this country of 1.3 billion people. The Indian news media is calling it “The Rural Surge.” In many villages, no one is wearing masks. There is no social distancing. People are refusing to get tested and they are hiding their sick. Hospitals are straining. India outpaces new American cases by 30,000 or so each day, putting it on a path to potentially surpass the United States in the coming weeks.

Protests Spread Across Indonesia Over Jobs Law (NYT) Riot police officers fired tear gas and water cannons in Indonesia’s capital on Thursday as they tried to disperse large crowds of people protesting a sweeping new law that slashes protections for workers and the environment. In cities and towns throughout Indonesia’s vast archipelago, tens of thousands of workers took part in the third day of a national strike against the deregulation law. Workers marched on foot and rode in motorbike parades as sound trucks blared protest messages. Union leaders denounced Parliament and President Joko Widodo for pushing the measure through. Opponents of the new statute, a 905-page omnibus measure that amends more than 75 laws, say that it benefits the wealthy elite by allowing companies to cut workers’ pay, eliminate days off and hire contract workers in place of permanent employees. It will affect women most of all, they say, by allowing companies to eliminate paid maternity and menstrual leave. The government hopes the measure will draw investment.

#headlines #news

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itsfinancethings · 5 years ago

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November 04, 2019 at 01:36AM

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — President Donald Trump has invited Southeast Asian leaders to a “special summit” in the United States early next year after skipping their ongoing annual summit in Thailand.

Robert O’Brien, the national security adviser Trump sent in his stead, included the invitation in a letter from Trump that he read at a U.S.-ASEAN meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Monday’s meeting with the U.S. would normally would be attended by presidents or prime ministers. In a pointed adherence to diplomatic protocol, seven of 10 Southeast Asian countries sent their foreign ministers instead.

Only host Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-cha of Thailand and the prime ministers of Vietnam and Laos joined O’Brien and the foreign ministers sent by other countries.

Last year, Trump sent Vice President Mike Pence to the annual ASEAN summit and related meetings. This year, both he and Pence were busy campaigning during the meetings, wrapping up Monday in the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital.

Trump’s absence from the meetings left plenty of room for China and other regional powers to raise their own profiles.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the leaders who met with their ASEAN counterparts during the summit.

In addition to O’Brien, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also traveled to Bangkok with a trade mission that is touring the region.

Despite the apparent downgrading of the ASEAN gathering by Trump, U.S. businesses and government were seeking to emphasize the American commitment to the region with a privately-led conference attended by about 1,000 business and government officials.

There, Ross outlined a slew of figures on trade and investment between the U.S. and what Washington has dubbed the “Indo-Pacific region.”

“The Trump administration is extremely engaged in and fully committed to this region,” Ross told the meeting.

In his own comments at the meeting with ASEAN leaders, O’Brien made a swipe at China, saying Beijing “has used intimidation to try to stop ASEAN nations from exploiting their offshore resources, blocking access to $2.5 trillion in oil and gas reserves alone. These tactics go against the rules of respect, fairness and international law.”

“The region has no interest in a new imperial era where a big country can rule others on the theory that might makes right. America is helping our ASEAN friends uphold their sovereignty,” he said.

ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Together, they comprise a fast-growing regional market of nearly 650 million people.

#IFTTT #Blogger

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tarant8l · 6 years ago

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Learn Future-Changing #RTRRT

Learn how to predict and change future. http://lulu.com/astrology Tuition guide.

You can predict and change any futurity in minutes, even seconds – by memory – like stroll in the park. All you need is already with you – with a little practice… Tips as follow…

a)Find out your true Sun-sign from the choice of 16 zodiacal positions. b)Prediction is simple matter of e.g. subtracting a few numbers from raw data. c)A peripatetic Astrologer walks while making predictions and so does future-changer. d)Marriage prediction often requires two numbers only. e)A novice can thus predict marriage unto whole village in minutes. f)Future-changing generally falls under #RTRRT category. g)Sun sign is big ego, thus least important in any Astrology. Learn to ignore it. h)You will nevertheless need Sun-sign for cardiac and gold market calculi. i)Now you are the only one on your block, country, continent to know Sun-sign. j)The Moon or lunar position is trickier by far and ascendant is mystery. k)Use the search form in order to fetch solar, lunar and ascendant ephemerids. l)Now you probably know your lunar sign and try and figure out ascendant. m)Lunar zodiac includes Fox (Canis Minor), Auriga, Corvus, Orion, Ophiuchus… n)E.g. Kalergi and Saudi boast Moon in Auriga while 911 happened under Orion auspices. o)Simply type e.g. “Moon Orion” in the search form and you are there for good. p)By now you probably know your solar and lunar zodiacal positions. q)The solar zodiac has nothing much to do with the lunar one. r)The Sun never enters Auriga or Corvus. s)Sextans is a special solar zodiacal ascendant position e.g. with New Moon in Sextans. t)Cetus, Orion and Ophiuchus are normal zodiacal ascendants for all planets. u)Kalki has three (triune) ascendants: Fox, Unicorn and Hydra. v)There are 67 horoscope signs, where we include Eris and Pluto zodiacs. w)Every planet has its own zodiac. x)1008 planets have been promptly delineated. y)As 22 and 16 are Tarot-compatible, the Tarot is the Zodiacs. z)There are 22 zodiacal stations along with 16 ascendants. aa)Aries, Gemini, Cancer, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius,Capricornus do not rise at east. ab)Taurine ascendants are extremely rare as perused on the stock market. ac)Gemini is ninety-degrees at north when “astrological” programs miscalculate it at east. ad)Gemini has been last seen at east before Krishna’s own epoch thus long long ago. ae)For thousands of years Gemini never ascended or rose at east. af)There is no such thing as Gemini ascendant. ag)No -one you know has a “Scorpio” ascendant. ah)The ascendant of the USA is Serpens Cauda. ai)People wrongly labeled as “cold Capricorn” are in fact cetacean having Cetus ascendant. aj)We live in the AEON CETI or Age of Cetus betwixt twin Piscean eras. ak)Pisces, Aquarius and Capricornus are averages, meaning dull periods. al)Crater, Hydra, Auriga, Eridanus, Corvus, Pegasus and Scutum mark exceptional times. am)The Aeon of Cetus cuts Piscean era in two around year 2012. an)2025 marks the 7th (known) Pegasean era (ERA PEGASI) with Venus in Pegasus. ao)Venus was in Pegasus in the year #2017shift ap)Pisces, Aquarius and Capricornus are averages happen twice. aq)The Moon enters Cetus thrice. ar)Death is predicted by minute. #CancerCure #RTRRT requires seconds. as)Divination is available in its original “ask 1008 questions” form. at)Standard 1008 pages horoscope is classified.

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channelnewswire-blog · 6 years ago

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Donald Trump, President of the United States of Hate?

There was already significant tension in the overwhelmingly Democratic-voting U.S. Jewish community when Trump won the 2016 election. Since then, there have been a series of events, watershed moments, that have triggered intense debate within the Jewish community about whether the Trump presidency presents a threat to its well-being and safety.

Mourners visit the memorial to the 11 congregants killed in a mass shooting inside the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. October 31, 2018 AFP

From the shocking images of Charlottesville and Trump's morally hazardous comments, to the atrocity in a Pittsburgh synagogue, the same questions are being asked: Is the president consciously inciting against minorities and immigrants? Are we framing anti-Semitism in America solely, and wrongly, as a phenomenon of the Trump era? What is the relationship between xenophobia and hostility to American Muslims and refugees - and anti-Semitism? What activism best answers the needs of these times?

And - a debate that intensifies every day - what is the relationship between Trump's exploitation of racist tropes and a president who loudly proclaims his support for Israel, the Jewish state, and - to the plaudits of not only the Israeli government, but many U.S. Jews as well - moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem?

As Israelis proudly identify as the world's outliers in expressing their confidence in the Trump presidency, echoing Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu's highly vocal warmth towards the president, how solid is the 'special relationship' between the two countries?

Has the Trump administration - by cancelling the Iran nuclear deal and aid to the Palestinians - proven its allyship with Jerusalem, or has it endangered its safety? Is the administration laying the ground for an 'ultimate' peace deal or an ethno-nationalist, annexationist Israel? How does the Israel-U.S. relationship fit into the rise of right-wing populist governments around the world? How reliable is a president as transactional and mercurial as Trump?

Over the last two years, Haaretz has covered these burning issues intensively from a broad range of viewpoints. I invite you to take a deep dive into my pick of the opinion pieces that explore and illuminate these topics from a range of writers distinguished by their diversity, clarity and sometimes passionate engagement.

Anti-Semitism Rises

FILE PHOTO: A Pittsburgh Police officer walks past a memorial for the victims of a shooting in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 28, 2018Gene J. Puskar,AP

The massacre in a Pittsburgh synagogue is the result of Trump’s constant endorsement of hate against the other, a fear-mongering which has brought America to a very dark place

Keep your facile words. Instead, show us some balls. Stand up, don't cozy up, to the purveyors of hate, to the NRA, to the cowardly politicians who legitimized the synagogue shooter's sentiments

We know where bigoted, autocratic, indecent and parochial views like those of Donald Trump lead. U.S. Jews should be praying for every Democratic candidate canvasser to succeed: the American Jewish future depends on it

After his "fine people" comment about Charlottesville's neo-Nazis, there’s nowhere left to hide. Trump is an aider and abettor of Nazis, anti-Semites and racists. He is their hero. There are no two ways about it.

A pro-Kremlin website's sudden 'conversion' to hardcore anti-Semitism provided fuel for an alliance with America's far right, part of Moscow's strategy to provoke further polarization in the U.S.

Why did CPAC love Lapierre's anti-Semitic and anti-minority dog-whistling so much? Because his message - that they're the vanguard of 'real' Americans - resonates with the European-style ethno-nationalism many U.S. conservatives have adopted

Americans who protested Nazism too loudly, including Americans Jews, were criticized for their 'discourtesy': Our fear of incivility appeased Nazism. We can't go there again

White nationalists carry torches on the grounds of the University of Virginia, on the eve of a planned Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11, 2017. STRINGER/ REUTERS

As one of Trump’s court of sycophants, Dinesh D'Souza's noxious libels will likely be his most successful piece of agitprop yet. His migration of foolish, extremist ideas to mainstream audiences should trouble every American

When Richard Grenell praises the 'resurgence' of Europe's 'anti-establishment' populists, in a country where the virulently anti-Semitic, populist far right has returned to parliament, he puts German Jews and democracy in danger

Speaking in Israel's parliament, the U.S. vice president came to praise the Jewish people. But his speech actually repudiated Jewish tradition, echoed tropes used to persecute Jews, and cast us as a mere tools for the salvation of Christians

The Jew haters are celebrating. And Jews – from Jared Kushner to Sheldon Adelson – helped it happen

I’ve never felt less American and more Jewish. I hear my grandmother's voice in my ear: As Jews, we know history doesn't always march forward toward a better day.

U.S. Jews Were Once Strangers, Refugees, Immigrants

Over 100 rabbis and Jewish activists, including prominent Reform leaders, demonstrate in support of DACA at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, January 2018Ralph Alswang

It is an earlier incarnation of Auschwitz, a place of indefinite detention for a vilified minority, that we saw on our border this week. The president's executive order offers no evidence this will change

In resisting the abuse of the vulnerable, prompted by President Trump’s Executive Order, do all American Jews now have a religious duty of civil disobedience?

Only nativist mediocrities shun the competition of new challengers and seek to restrict immigration

From D.C. to Jerusalem: U.S.- Israel relations under Trump

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 26, 2018 in New York on the sidelines of the UN General AssemblyAFP

Trump’s two year Mideast policy scorecard is a mixed picture: Partial success stories and incomplete policies. But an unleashed president could have an explosive effect on the region

Israelis shouldn't celebrate the Trump administration's decision to slash funds for the Palestinians. It's a radicalizing gift for terrorists - and a ticking time bomb for Israel's security

He wanted to rehabilitate an image tarnished by accusations of anti-Semitism. But the U.S. president's 'spiritual grand tour' stop in Israel was an absurd series of empty gestures

Given his complex relationship with Putin - for all that anyone knows, given his debtor relationship with Putin - would Trump even be capable of intervening in a meaningful way?

Punctuated by Trump’s cartoonish Mideast policy, Israel's 70th anniversary is a melancholy milestone for U.S.-Israel relations, marking the deterioration of the ethics and ideals that once bound them together

An 'Ultimate' Peace Plan - Without the Palestinians

US President's envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt meets with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 25, 2017.ABBAS MOMANI/AFP

The inaccurate, unhelpful and false rhetoric of Palestinian leaders like chief negotiator Erekat have not brought peace, and never will. It’s time to hear different Palestinian voices with the courage to seize peace

In dozens of meetings, Mr. Greenblatt refused to discuss substance: borders, settlements, even the two-state solution. This White House can't come remotely close to facilitating a just and lasting Mideast peace

Trump's Mideast team, unlike the rest of his administration, has been transparent and consistent: Palestinians have no right to a state; Israel doesn't need to answer for its human rights abuses. But there's a Democratic backlash - and a future political windfall for the Palestinians

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip burning posters depicting Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest against the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital, December 6, 2017.Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

Trump’s ego wouldn’t allow him to refrain from boasting about the very steps that pushed the Palestinians away from negotiations in the first place

John Bolton dismisses the efforts of the 'so-called State of Palestine' to legally challenge Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; Palestinian leaders believe international law is key to their fight back against hostile U.S. policy. But what are their chances of success?

He's 83, with no successor and no state. But Palestinian President Abbas consoles himself, in the twilight of his lifetime, with the belief that after two years of Trump, he's come out on top

I've believed in the two-state solution for over 40 years, but I fear it's fast becoming an illusion. Israelis and Palestinians are careening towards a one-state reality that carries extremely dangerous risks for both sides

No Israeli-Palestinian deal sullied by Donald Trump's fingerprints can be trusted, because the man himself can’t be trusted and neither can his word

Trump moves the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem

U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka, and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner attend the opening ceremony of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Monday, May 14, 2018Sebastian Scheiner/AP

Trump isn't destroying his own peace efforts but grounding them in reality: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. And he’s reacted to Arab and Palestinian ‘predictions’ (read: threats) of violence with the contempt they deserve

Along with many other U.S. Jews, I wanted to feel pride at the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. But amid the carnage in Gaza, I felt nausea

Palestinians run for cover from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near Gaza border, May 14, 2018MOHAMMED ABED/AFP

U.S. 'pro-Israel' evangelicals who declare the president enacted God's will, by moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, may want to consider the terrible historical cost of a selective and literalist use of the Bible

'But I gave them Jerusalem!' A recent report warned of a 'growing frustration' in the White House for U.S. Jews' lack of appreciation for his policies toward Israel. Perhaps because they're too grown up, and informed, to supply such unfounded adulation

Uneasy allies: Trump, Israel and threats from the Mideast - Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin SalmanCliff Owen/AP

The grisly hit-job on Khashoggi has implications far beyond its exposure of the Saudi Crown Prince as brutal and reckless. In Jerusalem and D.C., they’re mourning their whole strategic concept for the Mideast - not least, for countering Iran

Obama thought Syria would be Russia’s Vietnam: in fact, the Mideast has become Putin’s playground. Thanks to diplomacy, arms sales and nuclear reactors - and Trump’s policy chaos - Russia is back, big time

Netanyahu has convinced Trump that leaving the Iran deal protects Israel. But the U.S. walk out means a full-on Israel-Iran war in Syria now becomes far more likely

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past an anti-U.S. mural in Tehran, Iran October 13, 2017. \ Reuters Photographer/ REUTERS

Netanyahu always tells us Trump has Israel’s back on Iran. But the president won't confront tyrants, intent as he is on unraveling America’s commitments abroad. If Tehran races to nuclear capability, Israel will pay the price - alone

Israeli and American officials think Iran is trying to ‘wait out’ Trump's first term, and is banking on the wounded nuclear deal to shield it from a military strike until then

Israel is going nowhere, and we in the Arab world have to deal with it. That means offering Israelis prosperity, security and friendship; all Israel needs to do is overcome their prejudices and give Palestinians their rights

Esther Solomon is the Opinion Editor of Haaretz English

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yahoo-roto-arcade-blog · 7 years ago

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In case you missed it: Willson Contreras' hot bat and more

Chicago Cubs’ Willson Contreras is on a tear and a look around the rest of the weekend’s fantasy baseball action (AP Photo).

• Willson Contreras had three homers, 10 RBI and a steal over the weekend series against the White Sox, and the backstop has raised his OPS nearly 200 points over the last five contests. Given that Gary Sanchez ranks as the only catcher who’s a top-100 fantasy player so far this year, Contreras could prove to be a huge difference maker if he keeps hitting like he’s capable of. He ranks 16th in Barrel% (13.1), and Wrigley Field should be more of a hitter’s park as the summer heats up. Patient Contreras owners are going to reap major rewards going forward.

• Freddy Peralta made a memorable MLB debut Sunday, when he recorded a whopping 13 strikeouts over 5.2 shutout innings in Coors Field, becoming just the fifth pitcher since 1908 to fan that many in his first start. He throws his fastball a ton, and the velocity isn’t overwhelming, but it’s deceptive thanks to his long stride. Peralta had control issues in the minors, but the 21-year-old clearly has a bunch of strikeout upside, and he’s owned in just one percent of leagues right now.

[Yahoo Fantasy Football leagues are open: Sign up now for free]

• Danny Duffy was rocked for nine earned runs over 3.1 innings in Cleveland, and he’s now served up nine homers over his last five (abbreviated) starts. His SwStr% is way down, as is his velocity, so he’s droppable at this point.

• Francisco Lindor went 7-for-8 with two homers over Saturday and Sunday, and his slow start is now a distant memory. The star shortstop has nine long balls and is batting .458/.500/.958 over his last 72 at bats.

• Yasiel Puig finally homered Sunday, his first of the season (during his 101st AB of the year). He hasn’t played well, but Puig’s BABIP is .250 despite a career-high in exit velocity (91.3 mph). That’s not painting a perfect picture, as his Hard Hit% is down, so clearly he’s not hitting smarter. Still, Puig is 27 years old and posted a .907 OPS with 18 homers/steals over 202 at bats after the All-Star break last year, so buy low if it’s still possible.

• Trevor Story hit two homers Saturday and is taking home/road splits to the extreme, as he owns a 1.338 OPS in Coors Field and a .524 OPS on the road this season. He does have two homers and five steals away from home, and his speed is underrated.

• Charlie Morton posted a 14:0 K:BB ratio while allowing just one run over seven innings against the Rangers, and there are no signs of his major breakout slowing down anytime soon. Morton’s average fastball velocity (96.1 mph) and SwStr% (13.8) are both far above his career marks (92.2 mph, 8.4%), and I’m beginning to think the Astros have a good starting rotation.

• Dylan Bundy pitched a gem Sunday and ended a three-start stretch in which he posted a 19.00 ERA and 3.00 WHIP. Over his other six starts this year, he has a 1.16 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP with 47 strikeouts over 38.2 innings.

• Luis Castillo held the Dodgers to three runs (two earned) and has allowed two or fewer in each of his last three starts, when he’s posted a 22:2 K:BB ratio. His owners can relax again.

• Jacob deGrom lasted just one inning during his return to the rotation, as he was pulled after throwing 45 pitches. The team states it was precautionary, but considering he’s dealing with a hyperextended right elbow, fantasy owners certainly have the right to panic. The Mets started 11-1 but are 2-9 in their last 11 games.

• Jonathan Gray had “the most 2018 line yet” Sunday, when he struck out 10 and walked one yet allowed 10 hits and six runs. Still, even after the outing, Gray is sporting a 2.49 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP with a 35:4 K:BB ratio over his last four starts (25.1 innings).

• The humidor couldn’t contain this impressive Bryce Harper homer, while Mookie Betts made this terrific play in what’s turning into a special season for him.

• Sean Newcomb has now pitched 20 straight scoreless innings after beating the Marlins on Sunday (during his fourth straight road start), as the rookie continues to pitch well. Among starters, Newcomb ranks No. 5 in Brls/PA.

• Robinson Cano suffered a broken right hand and is likely looking at a long DL stint. There isn’t an obvious replacement for fantasy owners, although those who have Dee Gordon are likely hoping he stays in the outfield, as his bat has thrived while playing there this season.

• Edubray Ramos recorded the Phillies’ save Sunday and now holds a 1.13 ERA with 20 strikeouts over 16.0 innings on the year. Hector Neris has taken a loss in two of his last four appearances, and Ramos is available in 90 percent of Yahoo leagues, so grab him if you’re searching for saves.

Follow the Yahoo fantasy baseball crew on Twitter: Andy Behrens, Dalton Del Don, and Scott Pianowski

#_author:Dalton Del Don #_category:yct:001000854 #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_uuid:a6800089-15e2-336f-820d-799143660520 #_revsp:54edcaf7-cdbb-43d7-a41b-bffdcc37fb56

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kacydeneen · 7 years ago

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'60s Activists Praise Today's 'Creative' Student Protesters

Students furious about school shootings in Parkland, Florida, and confronting the National Rifle Association and its political allies as they demand gun control laws with new urgency, are impressing an earlier generation of protesters who took to the streets 50 years ago.

As survivors of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School prepare to lead a march in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, veterans of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s are praising them for their quick mobilization and their fearlessness.

How the Parkland Teens Spearheaded a Worldwide Movement

"I think they're focused, and I think they're creative," said Abe Peck, an editor at the underground newspaper, the Chicago Seed, in the 1960s and the author of "Uncovering the ‘60s: The Life and Times of the Underground Press." "They've also done something which all movements have to do, they've identified an enemy."

"They're osmosing certain previous movements," he said.

Teens Seek to March Against Gun Violence Between Trump Hotel, Capitol

Saturday's March for Our Lives, in Washington, D.C., and smaller marches in every state in the nation come a little more than a month after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former student at at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, returned to the school and opened fire. As students and teachers hid in closets and huddled under desks, he killed 17 of his former schoolmates.

Almost immediately, the students upended what had become the accepted response to bloody school shootings: thoughts and prayers from politicians and others but no action on curbing the prevalence on guns in the United States. They debated the NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch at a televised town hall on CNN. One student, Cameron Kasky, 17, demanded Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio stop taking donations from the NRA. Another, David Hogg, also 17, told Bill Maher that he had hung up on the White House asking him to attend President Donald Trump's listening session on gun violence. Trump needs to the screams of the students, Hogg said.

Fighting Gun Violence After Shooting Gives Teens Purpose

At a gun-control rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, days after the shooting, 18-year-old Emma Gonzalez, a senior at the school, vowed: "We are going to be the kids you read about in textbooks. Not because we're going to be another statistic about mass shooting in America, but because … we are going to be the last mass shooting. Just like Tinker v. Des Moines, we are going to change the law."

Gonzalez was referring to Mary Beth Tinker and her older brother John, who when they were 13 and 15 in 1965 wore black armbands to school in Des Moines, Iowa, to protest the Vietnam War. They and other students were suspended when they refused to remove them.

With the help of the ACLU, they sued and the U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled 7-2 that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates."

Mary Beth Tinker, 65, said that she and the others were ordinary people living in extraordinary times just as the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas are. She predicted that their protests would be turning point in what the former nurse called an epidemic of gun violence.

"This issue has been percolating for awhile," said Tinker, who now speaks to students about the First Amendment and visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 2013 as part of a tour of schools. "It really started with Black Lives Matter and it's just the mistreatment of young people has gotten to the breaking point. And it’s good that young people are turning their grief into action and they're also joining together across racial divides and economic divides and that’s very exciting to see."

Their activism isn't coming in a vacuum, said Angus Johnston, a history professor at the City University of New York who specializes in student activism.

"We're seeing a tremendous upsurge of student protest and youth activism and generally lots of people in the streets and organizing and running for office and taking action in all sorts of ways," he said.

Many of the Florida students are in Jeff Foster's AP government class and had been studying the NRA even before the shooting. They consciously used the protests of the 1960s as a model, they say.

The junior-class president, 17-year-old Jaclyn Corin, told the liberal political podcast “Pod Save America” this week that they were following the example of students from the Vietnam War era and especially Martin Luther King Jr.'s principles of nonviolence.

"We are peacefully protesting," she said. "That's what the school walkout encompassed. That's what the march is going to be like. And we're just not fighting fire with fire, we're fighting the NRA with the hopeful voices of the generation that's going to soon be the core power of America."

Sixty-six percent of Americans want stricter gun laws, a Quinnipiac University poll released Feb. 20 found, the highest level since it started asking about the topic after the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Support jumped almost 20 points since 2015. Sixty-seven percent polled wanted a ban on assault-style weapons.

The students want assault weapons banned, the sale of high-capacity magazines prohibited and background checks to be required for all sales at gun shows and online.

Peck chronicled the earlier decade of upheaval, from the Summer of Love in San Francisco and the Pentagon demonstration in 1967, to the Democratic Convention in Chicago the following year, when police outside clashed violently with protesters. These students are non-violent and "just so smart and so organized," he said. The question will be whether they can keep it up.

"The war was a root canal for us, year after year," Peck said. "What happens when the seniors graduate? What happens when ordinary life takes over? Obviously this was a life changing event for many of these kids but can they sustain it?"

Bill Zimmerman, an anti-war activist who helped lead the Indochina Peace Campaign and Medical Aid for Indochina, said both groups were motivated by public policies that put their lives at risk.

The earliest anti-war demonstrators were driven by moral objections, but young people joined in massive numbers after the number of men drafted into military service surged in 1966 to more than 380,000, he said.

"And it helped create a movement that eventually had a major impact on the public policy that before had only been addressed by people concerned with morality," he said. "So there may be a parallel today, because these kids are not dealing with gun control as an abstract issue. They’re dealing with it in terms of their own safety."

The students successfully organized a school walkout on March 14, a month to the day of the shooting, when students left their classrooms by thousands in cities across the country, sometimes defying authorities as they did. They pushed Florida lawmakers to pass modest but unprecedented new gun control laws, the first in the state in two decades, raising the age to buy all firearms to 21 and restricting gun access to people who show signs of mental illness or violence, among them.

Looking forward, they plan another walkout for April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings, and will try to vote out opponents to gun control in the midterm elections.

Dawson Barrett is an assistant professor of U.S. history at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the author of "Teenage Rebels: Successful High School Activists, from the Little Rock Nine to the Class of Tomorrow." High school students have been a part of every one of the country's movements, but what is new now is the size of the protests.

"I think we are very likely witnessing what are almost certainly the largest protests by high school students in U.S. history," he said.

To be effective, he said, students have to recruit adult allies, which this group has done from organizations urging gun control.

"If they want to play a role in the fall elections, they’re going to have to maintain momentum after this weekend and after the April 20 walkout and how they do that, I don’t have those answers," he said. "But that’s going to be so important.

Zimmerman, now a partner in Zimmerman & Markman, a national political consulting firm based in Santa Monica, said that to keep attention on their issue, the students will have to address the public policy questions seriously but also take actions that could involve civil disobedience and offend some people.

"The stakes for some kids are going to be life and death so the kids of action they take need to comparatively militant and dramatic and forceful," he said.

It is hard to know whether their protests will explode into a national movement or fizzle, he said. The gun control laws they convinced Florida lawmakers to pass, though limited, were enormous symbolically, he said.

"So the elements are there," he said. "It hasn’t happened yet but the elements are definitely there for this thing to turn into a major national mass movement."

Photo Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images '60s Activists Praise Today's 'Creative' Student Protesters published first on Miami News

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bngnews · 8 years ago

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Seager homers twice as Dodgers rally past Giants 6-4

By TIM LIOTTA, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (BNG)(AP) — For Corey Seager, the pitch he recognized allowed him to get over an error he wasn't about to forget.

Seager hit two home runs, including a go-ahead, two-run shot in the seventh inning that was followed by a surprise celebration as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 on Friday night.

"Yeah, I don't really know. It kind of came out of nowhere," Seager said of his animated response after crossing home plate. "That normally doesn't happen but that was a fun one."

Seager capped a four-run seventh with a towering drive over the right field wall on an 0-1 pitch from reliever Josh Osich (3-2) to lift the Dodgers to their sixth straight victory and their 37th win in their last 43 games.

"It was a curveball, but they had been throwing those pretty much all game after the first AB so I was ready for it, I guess," Seager said.

Seager's second homer came just a half-inning after he committed an error on a ball he tried not to throw but lost it into right field in the midst of a three-run inning that put the Giants in front.

"That one was hard to move on from," Seager said. "You can accept it if it was something you actually did and made a mistake, but when it slips out of your hand, that one hurts a little bit more. At the last moment I tried to not throw it and it came out of my hand."

Seager's first homer gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first. He hit the first pitch from Giants starter Matt Moore deep into the left-centerfield bleachers.

It was Seager's second multihomer game of the season, and his sixth in less than two major league seasons. He hit two home runs against the New York Mets on June 20, and has 18 on the season.

The Dodgers recorded their 30th comeback victory, and their second in two games.

Dodgers starter Alex Wood (12-1) got the win despite giving up four runs and eight hits over seven innings. He was coming off his worst start of the season, having given up a career-high nine runs in 4 2/3 innings against Atlanta last Saturday.

Kenley Jansen struck out the side on 13 pitches in the ninth for his 26th save in 27 opportunities.

Brandon Crawford hit his ninth home run in the second inning for the Giants, driving a 0-1 pitch from Wood a dozen rows into the right field bleachers.

The Giants' bullpen was unable to hold a 4-2 lead as George Kontos gave up Yasiel Puig's RBI groundout and Chris Taylor's run-scoring single. The score was tied 4-4, setting the stage for Seager.

"It wasn't a good inning, was it?" said Giants manager Bruce Bochy of the seventh. "We just hung some breaking balls there and we paid for it. It started with the walk and that's never a good thing.

"That's a good hitting ballclub, and when you make mistakes you are probably going to pay for it."

The Giants took a 4-2 lead with three runs in the top of the seventh as Nick Hundley and Gorkys Hernandez stroked back-to-back, run-scoring doubles. Jae-gyun Hwang had tied the game 2-2 with an RBI single.

Los Angeles had taken a 2-1 lead in the fifth by converting two walks, a wild pitch, an error and a ground ball into an unearned run.

Austin Barnes walked, took second on a wild pitch, advancing to third on Hundley's wild throw to second. Joc Pederson walked and broke for second when Wood pulled back after squaring to bunt and hit a hard grounder to shortstop, scoring Barnes from third.

Moore held the Dodgers to two hits through his first six innings, only to surrender two runs in the seventh thanks to a walk and a double.

"You have to tip your hat to what they have been doing this season - it has been pretty special for them," said Moore. "They battled and scrapped their way to get back to four runs."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: 1B Brandon Belt was in the Giants' original starting lineup but was scratched about 90 minutes before the first pitch.

Dodgers: 1B Adrian Gonzalez and OF Andre Ethier both took early batting practice before Friday night's game. Gonzalez will hit in a simulated game on Sunday, and is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week.

UP NEXT

Giants: LHP Ty Blach (7-6, 4.50 ERA) comes off a losing effort in which he gave up five runs and eight hits over seven innings against San Diego. In his only appearance at Dodger Stadium, Blach threw three perfect innings in relief on Sept. 21, 2016.

Dodgers: LHP Rich Hill (7-4, 3.48 ERA) has limited opponents to four runs in 25 1/3 innings and posted a 3-0 mark over his last four starts, striking out 37, walking three. He's 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA in his last five starts at Dodger Stadium. Hill is 3-2 with a 2.62 ERA in nine lifetime starts against the Giants.

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studentofrhetoric-blog · 8 years ago

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Wednesday, February 15th, 2017

International News:

--- "North Korea's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it rejected a U.N. Security Council statement denouncing its latest missile launch test. The North's state-run KCNA news agency cited a spokesman at the ministry as saying the Sunday launch was a sovereign right and a self-defense measure."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-ministry-idUSKBN15U0LD

Domestic & International News:

--- "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump shared his view at last week's summit that Japan's monetary policy was not currency manipulation but was intended to end deflation. Abe's comments about the Feb. 10 summit suggest Trump may be softening his criticism that Japan was manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage. "I think Trump shared the view that our monetary policy is not for currency manipulation but for ending deflation," Abe said in the upper house of parliament. Abe also said he explained how Japanese automakers with factories in the United States contributed to job creation in the world's largest economy. Trump did not make any demands for Japan to further open its economy to imports, Abe added. Trump has questioned the small number of U.S. auto exports to Japan, raising concerns he could pursue protectionist trade policies to lower the U.S. trade deficit."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-abe-idUSKBN15U06R

--- "BONN, Germany (AP) — Recently-installed U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has his work cut out for him. On his first overseas trip as America's top diplomat this week, Tillerson will face a blizzard of questions about the Trump administration's foreign policy from nervous Asian and European allies. And there will be penetrating inquiries from America's watchful rivals like Russia and China, who will be eager to seize on any miscues or gaffes for their own advantage. Tillerson arrived in Germany late Wednesday for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of 20 nations. He will be playing defense amid the chaos and turmoil caused by the firing of national security adviser Michael Flynn for misleading officials about his contacts with Russia...Tillerson has taken a low-key and reserved approach in his first two weeks on the job and declined the opportunity to speak with reporters traveling with him. As America's top diplomat, he has yet to comment publicly on developments with Russia, its alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election or its actions in Syria and Ukraine...In Bonn, Tillerson will also meet privately and in small groups with the top diplomats of Britain, Turkey, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, Argentina and Brazil...Tillerson will be hoping to reassure his European colleagues of the Trump administration's commitment to trans-Atlantic institutions like NATO and the European Union."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/76e428dbc08747b49995d85e77a3a2e2/Trump's-secretary-of-state-faces-questions-on-first-trip

--- "BRUSSELS U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary warned NATO allies on Wednesday that they must honor military spending pledges to ensure the United States does not "moderate" support for the alliance. Jim Mattis, on his debut trip to Brussels as Pentagon chief, also accused some NATO members of ignoring threats, including from Russia. "America cannot care more for your children's future security than you do," Mattis said in a closed-door session with NATO defense ministers, according to prepared remarks provided to reporters. The comments represented some of the strongest criticism in memory of allies who have failed to reach defense spending goals. Europe's low expenditure has long been a sore point for the United States, which puts up 70 percent of alliance funds. But Trump has made change a priority, saying allies have "been very unfair to us" for not spending more. Trump was sharply critical of NATO during his election campaign, making European allies nervous by calling the alliance obsolete and praising Russian President Vladimir Putin."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-defence-idUSKBN15T31U

--- "Russia dismissed on Wednesday as groundless a U.S. media report that said members of Donald Trump's presidential campaign had contacts with Russian intelligence officials. The report, from the New York Times, has boosted concerns about Russia's role in influencing the outcome of the United States' election. U.S. intelligence agencies have already accused Russia of being behind the hacking of Democratic Party emails in order to help Trump, a Republican, to win."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-kremlin-idUSKBN15U0YR

Domestic News:

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress on Wednesday sent President Donald Trump legislation blocking an Obama-era rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of certain mentally disabled people. On a vote of 57-43, the Senate backed the resolution, just one of several early steps by the Republican-led Congress to undo regulations implemented by former President Barack Obama. The House had passed the measure earlier this year. The White House has signaled Trump will sign the legislation. The Obama rule would have prevented an estimated 75,000 people with mental disorders from being able to purchase a firearm. It was crafted as part of Obama's efforts to strengthen the federal background check system in the wake of the 2012 massacre of 20 young students and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/553ff88b430a4334868105f7a943b912/Congress-blocks-rule-barring-mentally-impaired-from-guns

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday pledged support for magnet schools in a bid to repair ties with proponents of public education in the wake of a bruising confirmation battle, but also slammed her critics for rejecting innovation and change. In one of her first public speeches since taking office last week, DeVos praised magnet schools for showing strong academic results, combating segregation and striving for equity...DeVos, a billionaire Republican donor, has been vilified by her critics during the confirmation process as an enemy of public education for her many years of promoting charter and private schools. But she said Wednesday that the type of school is less important to her than what the school gives to its students...Todd Mann, executive director of the Magnet Schools of America group, told The Associated Press that magnet schools currently receive one-third of the public funding that is available to charter schools. There are more than 4,300 magnet schools in the United States that serve about 3.5 million students. They are free public schools that offer rigorous programs and innovative approaches usually focused on themes such as math, science or the arts. Magnet schools also strive to provide racial and socio-economic diversity. At the conference Mann urged DeVos to commit to increasing the funding, but DeVos responded with a broad statement of support."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/0813f63829464a0ab7e040760aca7226/Education-Secretary-DeVos-pledges-support-for-magnet-schools

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Wednesday called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from any executive branch investigation into possible ties between the Trump administration and Russia. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sessions should not be involved because of potential conflicts of interest and because of Justice Department regulations that prohibit individuals with political ties to the subjects of an investigation from leading it. President Donald Trump nominated Sessions for the attorney general's post and the senator was one of his earliest and staunchest backers in Congress. "When the FBI looks into a matter, they do so alongside prosecutors from the Justice Department," Schumer said. "Those prosecutors should not be reporting to the first senator who endorsed Donald Trump's campaign." But Republicans continued to brush off demands from Democrats for a Watergate-style probe, insisting investigations underway by the House and Senate intelligence committees are adequate. And nothing requires Sessions to appoint a special prosecutor. A statute mandating the use of independent counsel in certain situations was allowed to expire in 1999."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/a023c6e73e0b440892f4b9901c202844/Dems-call-for-Sessions-to-recuse-himself-from-Russia-probe

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled Senate is poised to confirm President Donald Trump's choice to run the White House budget office on Thursday and is on track to give his controversial pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency a vote of confidence as well. Mick Mulvaney, a tea party lawmaker from South Carolina, is set for a narrow confirmation to the budget office on Thursday despite opposition from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain. McCain says Mulvaney has a "poor record on defense spending" that is "fundamentally at odds with President Trump's commitment to rebuild our military." Immediately after the confirmation of Mulvaney, the Senate will turn to EPA nominee Scott Pruitt, the staunchly conservative Oklahoma attorney general. He should easily clear a procedural tally, but Maine Republican Susan Collins says she'll oppose him on a subsequent confirmation vote...Pruitt is vehemently opposed by environmental activists and almost every Democrat. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., supports him, balancing out Collins, who says she doesn't trust him to protect human health and the environment. Pruitt has sued the EPA numerous times to try to overturn Obama administration regulations."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/8566db57454e4674a69cafd10a02a567/Senate-to-confirm-Trump-budget-chief

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — With the Republican drive to craft a new health care plan sputtering, House GOP leaders are offering options to rank-and-file lawmakers for replacing President Barack Obama's health care law with a conservative approach dominated by tax breaks and a transition away from today's Medicaid program. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other House leaders planned to discuss details of their plans with lawmakers Thursday and gauge their receptiveness. The briefing was coming hours before a weeklong recess sends Congress home to energized voters — mostly Democrats — who have recently crammed town hall meetings to complain noisily about GOP efforts to repeal Obama's statute. Lawmakers are eager to have something to show constituents...With Senate Republicans straining to coalesce around plans, new Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price met privately with GOP senators Wednesday, but participants said no specifics were discussed. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said lawmakers and the White House are trying to decide who should release a plan to replace Obama's law first — the White House or Congress."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/2448f5c57a60417f833dbb93832c6ae2/House-GOP-batting-around-options-for-revamping-health-law

Additional information: https://www.apnews.com/ee1afa47bd044a5c8dd50bdf60c6b92e/Trump-administration-ushers-in-changes-to-Obama-health-law

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — A top executive at the company building the controversial Dakota Access pipeline on Wednesday compared pipeline opponents to terrorists. Joey Mahmoud, executive vice president of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, said protesters have "assaulted numerous pipeline personnel," destroyed millions of dollars' worth of construction equipment and even fired a pistol at law enforcement during months of demonstrations against the 1,200-mile pipeline, which will carry North Dakota oil to an Illinois terminal. Mahmoud said in written testimony to Congress that the protest movement "induced individuals to break into and shut down pump stations on four operational pipelines. Had these actions been undertaken by foreign nationals, they could only be described as acts of terrorism." Mahmoud omitted the comment about terrorism as he read his testimony aloud to a House energy subcommittee Wednesday. The comment was included in written remarks submitted to the panel. The chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux, one of two tribes suing to stop the project, called Mahmoud's comments unfair. "The majority of them are there in prayer," Chairman Harold Frazier said of pipeline opponents. "From what I've seen (law enforcement officers) are the terrorists.""

Source: https://www.apnews.com/8dfd252ea2f74db7a4a5c4fef15b57f4/Pipeline-exec-compares-Dakota-protesters-to-terrorists

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS says it's following President Donald Trump's executive order on health care by easing enforcement of the unpopular Obama-era requirement for people to have coverage or risk fines. Trump directed federal agencies to ease the health law's rules after he took office. An IRS spokesman says the IRS had planned to start rejecting returns this year on which the taxpayer failed to indicate whether or not he had coverage. But the IRS says it will keep processing such returns, as it has in the past. Many of the law's supporters consider the coverage requirement essential for nudging younger, healthy people into the insurance pool to keep premiums in check. The IRS says the requirement is still the law."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/fab30c234eec408f9b0133703673609c/Following-Trump-order,-IRS-shifts-on-health-care-mandate

--- "The Trump administration has offered the job of White House national security adviser, vacated by former U.S. intelligence official Michael Flynn, to Vice Admiral Robert Harward, said two U.S. officials familiar with the matter on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command who has Navy SEAL combat experience, had accepted the offer, according to sources. A White House spokesperson had no immediate comment...Harward, a Rhode Island native who went to school in Tehran before the Shah was toppled in 1979, did a tour on the National Security Council under former Republican President George W. Bush, working on counterterrorism. He also has combat experience on SEAL teams and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Harward now works as an executive for defense contractor Lockheed Martin, with responsibility for its business in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-harward-idUSKBN15U29C

Part 1, Part 2 soon.

#international affairs #domestic affairs #trump administration #source: ap #source: reuters

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tarant8l · 6 years ago

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studentofrhetoric-blog · 8 years ago

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Wednesday, February 8th, 2017

International News:

--- "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe heads to Washington on Thursday hoping promises to help create U.S. jobs and bolster Japan's military will persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to turn down the heat on trade and currency and stand by the decades-old alliance. Japanese officials have been soothed by security assurances from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and others. But they worry Trump may go off script when the two leaders meet, first for a summit in Washington on Friday and then for a round of golf near the "Winter White House" in Florida."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-japan-idUSKBN15N0JO

Additional source: https://www.apnews.com/f4adfd342cb74e0b8bb030be11d14b1e/With-golf-and-gifts,-Japan's-Abe-cuts-own-path-with-Trump

--- "RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who spent hundreds of hours on the phone and in meetings with U.S. presidents and secretaries of state in the past 12 years, has tried unsuccessfully to reach out to President Donald Trump. Abbas and his aides are alarmed by the possibility of being sidelined at a time when the administration is embracing Israel's prime minister who heads to the White House next week. Here's a look at what's at stake for Abbas and Palestinian hopes for statehood."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/1db5815faf584bfba45bf281112f4f00/Palestinians-fear-being-sidelined-by-Trump-White-House

--- "Pope Francis said on Wednesday that society should not create "walls but bridges" to encourage good relations among people, adding it was wrong to be spiteful and say "I'll make you pay for that". U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to build a wall on the border with Mexico and have the Mexicans pay for it. The Argentine-born pontiff did not mention Trump or that specific wall in his comments. Speaking at his weekly general audience, Francis spoke of a Christian calling "to not raise walls but bridges, to not respond to evil with evil, to overcome evil with good.""

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-wall-idUSKBN15N1ZW

Additional source: https://www.apnews.com/ca0a5faed3bd4aa5a458169e8cf147ff/Pope-repeats-'bridges-not-walls'-after-Trump-travel-ban

--- "CAIRO (AP) — Yemen's foreign minister says it has asked for a "reassessment" of a U.S. raid last month that killed several women and children, but denies reports that his government has requested a suspension of American ground operations."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/3b367bc7f13b4c12acc106ffa86a2d4a/Yemen-seeks-'reassessment'-of-deadly-US-raid

Additional source (more detailed): http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-usa-idUSKBN15N1AJ

--- "ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — In a sign of improving ties, Turkish officials said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and responded "positively" on two key Turkish demands that had soured Ankara's relations with the Obama administration. Following the 45-minute telephone conversation late Tuesday, officials from Erdogan's office also announced that CIA Director Mike Pompeo would be making his first overseas visit to Turkey on Thursday. The decision showed the importance the new administration attaches to Turkey, a country on the frontline of the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/51fc546b6e8943bebf2087ae2d554a34/CIA-chief-to-visit-Turkey-in-sign-of-improving-ties-with-US

Additional source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-turkey-idUKKBN15N02I

-- "Friendly phone calls, an invite to the White House, a focus on Islamic militancy and what Donald Trump called "chemistry" have set the tone for a new era of warmer U.S.-Egyptian ties that could herald more military and political support for Cairo. The mutual admiration dates back to a U.N. meeting in September, when then-presidential candidate Trump found common ground with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's hard line on extremism. Trump described the ex-general, who rights groups criticize as authoritarian and repressive, as a "fantastic guy". Sisi, the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump on his election victory, returned the favor last month after the newly inaugurated president barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Egypt, not on the list, refrained from speaking out against the ban on behalf of Muslim countries that often look to it for leadership. That silence spoke volumes about the changing tone of its relationship with the United States."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-egypt-idUSKBN15N27X

--- "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canada opposes the idea of the United States imposing new border tariffs and would respond to any such move, the country's foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, said on Wednesday after her first meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson's meeting with Freeland, and a separate meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, at the State Department touched on the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Donald Trump wants to renegotiate."

Source: http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN15N268

Domestic & International

--- "President Donald Trump is planning to issue a directive targeting a controversial Dodd-Frank rule that requires companies to disclose whether their products contain "conflict minerals" from a war-torn part of Africa, according to sources familiar with the administration's thinking. Reuters could not learn precisely when the directive would be issued or what the final version would say. However, a leaked draft that has been floating around Washington and was seen by Reuters on Wednesday calls for the rule to be temporarily suspended for two years. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the document. The sources spoke on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about the plan."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-conflictminerals-idUSKBN15N06N

Additional source (detailed): https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/08/trump-administration-order-conflict-mineral-regulations

Domestic

--- "Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, on Wednesday described as "demoralizing" and "disheartening" the U.S. president's Twitter attacks on a judge who suspended Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, a spokesman for Gorsuch said. Gorsuch's comments came as a federal appeals court in San Francisco was expected to decide in coming days on the narrow question of whether U.S. District Judge James Robart acted properly in temporarily halting enforcement of Trump's ban. A Republican strategist hired by the White House to help guide Gorsuch's nomination through the U.S. Senate said that Gorsuch, himself an appeals court judge, used those words when he met with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-idUSKBN15L0GC

Additional source (discusses how Gorsuch needs to be more public with his concerns): https://www.apnews.com/2f536ddeca56405fb76a2a6c1613dd7c/Dem-senator:-Court-pick-calls-Trump's-words-'demoralizing'

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — A push by a group of senior Republican statesmen for a tax on carbon to help lessen the effects of climate change is already meeting entrenched opposition from within their own party. Former Secretary of State Jim Baker went to the White House on Wednesday to gain Trump administration support for the plan, which would place a new tax on oil, natural gas and coal and then use the proceeds to pay quarterly dividends to American taxpayers. They said the payments would amount to about $2,000 total each year for families."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/216cbfe61477472c90ec7a0cf5e0ee94/Carbon-tax-push-from-former-GOP-officials-faces-uphill-slog

Additional source: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/318486-gop-former-officials-pitch-carbon-tax-as-repeal-and-replace-for

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — Worried about the nearly 20 million people who buy their own health insurance policies, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are weighing how to stabilize a wobbly market, government and industry officials say.The goal is to soothe jittery insurance companies that may bolt next year, while reassuring consumers anxious about the future. That could also buy time for more ambitious GOP attempts to rework the Obama-era health care law. Some of the changes can be carried out the new administration alone, but others require congressional action or cooperation."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/e55da4cf5cbd45fe96715eae93fa2627/Trump-administration-weighs-health-insurance-'stabilization'

--- "DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A plan by Republican lawmakers in Iowa to quickly pass a bill that would drastically cut collective bargaining rights for public workers has several similarities to Wisconsin's signature 2011 law that led to massive protests in that state.The 68-page bill by Iowa GOP lawmakers cleared some procedural votes Wednesday in the state House and Senate. Full chamber debate could happen as early as Monday, less than a week after the legislation was introduced to the public.The Iowa bill has similarities to Wisconsin's collective bargaining law, which prohibited public sector unions from negotiating employees' benefits like health insurance and several other working conditions. Academics who specialize in labor issues say few states have followed Wisconsin as closely as Iowa with its new bill. A law in Ohio in 2011 was overturned by a voter referendum."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/50b4905e70e34dc09fd0b64ad2ae8424/Iowa-GOP's-public-sector-union-bill-similar-to-Wisconsin

Additional (local) source: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/08/union-workers-implore-gop-reconsider-collective-bargaining-changes-iowa-legislature/97636434/

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of labor has proposed avoiding conflicts of interest by resigning as CEO of his fast food empire, selling off hundreds of holdings and recusing himself from government decisions in which he has a financial interest, according to his ethics filings with the government. "I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter in which I know that I have a financial interest directly and predictably affected by the matter" without a waiver from government ethics officials, Andrew Puzder wrote in the nine-page filing, dated Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press. Puzder is CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns such chains as Hardee's and Carl's Jr. Puzder's intent, spokesman George Thompson said, is to recuse himself from all matters involving CKE or its parent companies."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/549e591313fc42939a46c7ad94e9d435/Labor-secretary-nominee-addresses-conflicts-of-interest

Additional source: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/318627-puzder-lays-out-plans-to-avoid-conflict-of-interest

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — Organizations opposing President Donald Trump's executive order to curb government regulations filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to block it. The president's order was issued on Jan. 30 and required federal agencies to repeal two existing regulations for every new regulation proposed or issued. The order also required the cost of the new regulation to be fully offset through the repeals."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/9da00a4de7904fd2a63070bda6e2e60e/Groups-sue-to-block-Trump's-order-on-government-regulations

Additional source: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-sued-2-for-1-regulations-234788

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators wants President Donald Trump to get approval from Congress before easing U.S. sanctions against Russia. Their legislation, dubbed the Russia Sanctions Review Act, is the latest salvo in an increasingly heated debate over Trump's desire to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The measure underscores concerns among many Democrats and a few vocal Republicans that the White House may lift or lessen the penalties without a firm commitment from Moscow to reverse its pattern of aggression around the world...Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters on Wednesday that the bill gives Congress a vehicle for turning disagreement into action."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/e4d070c2e8914651a20839b9e050ccee/GOP,-Dem-senators-want-congressional-say-on-Russia-sanctions

Additional source: http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-russia-congress-idINKBN15N2C6

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — Pondering new restrictions on how the Environmental Protection Agency can use scientific data, congressional Republicans are seeking advice from the chemical and fossil fuel industries. House Science, Space and Technology committee chairman Lamar Smith this week accused the Obama administration of relying on faulty and falsified data to justify new regulations, such as limiting carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. The Texas Republican has been a frequent critic of climate science showing the world is warming and that man-made carbon emissions are to blame. "With the transition to a new administration, there is now an opportunity to right the ship at the EPA and steer the agency in the right direction," Smith said Tuesday. "The EPA should be open and accountable to the American people and use legit science." At a hearing Tuesday called "Making EPA Great Again," Smith's committee sought to build support for several industry-backed measures by calling on a panel of experts that included a chemical industry representative, a corporate consultant and a coal-company lobbyist."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/492f3de64c4645abae104cc008d8ed6f/GOP-backed-measures-seek-to-rein-in-science-used-at-EPA

Additional source (detailed): http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/house-science-committee-may-try-weaken-epa/

--- "NEW YORK (AP) — The United States military is looking to rent space at Trump Tower for use when President Donald Trump returns to his longtime home in New York City. A Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday that the Department of Defense was looking for the space "in order to meet official mission requirements." Two U.S. officials said that the space will likely be rented from a third party, and not from the president or members of his family. The officials said it was not clear yet if the contract had been finalized."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/12195ebd85fa4c27a35c46c387054112/Pentagon-looking-to-rent-space-at-Trump-Tower

Additional source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/07/politics/military-to-rent-space-trump-tower/

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — On her first day on the job, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos plunged into her initial assignment: mending fences with her opponents following a bruising confirmation battle. Parents across the country looked for clues as to whether she will fulfill their hopes or reinforce their fears.

Addressing several hundred Education Department staff members, DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor and school choice champion, vowed to work with everyone, including her critics, in ensuring the best education in the nation's schools."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/5c99b46f3fcb49629b36f769def984f0/Education-boss-gets-first-assignment-_-mend-fences-with-foes

Additional source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/watch-live-betsy-devos-makes-first-speech-education-secretary-department-education/

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott, the Senate's lone African-American Republican, on Wednesday offered a personal and passionate defense of Sen. Jeff Sessions, President Donald Trump's embattled choice for attorney general. Scott, a South Carolina conservative, noted the racist messages he had received since announcing his support for Sessions. He spoke of his personal experiences in introducing the Alabama Republican to African-American pastors at a racial forum in Charleston. And he read the statements of black Alabama Democrats vouching for Sessions, who as attorney general will be the nation's top law enforcement official. Scott said the South is still working through racial differences and said "Jeff Sessions has earned my support and I will hold him accountable if and when we disagree.""

Source: https://www.apnews.com/9dd82840c6634c44b4891799c8606f94/Scott,-Senate's-sole-black-Republican,-defends-Sessions

Additional source: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/tim-scott-jeff-sessions-234817

--- "The White House said on Wednesday that the directors of national intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency would both be members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet. The Senate has confirmed former U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo as CIA director, but the nomination of former Senator Dan Coats as national intelligence director is awaiting confirmation. The decision follows a political controversy over a decision by Trump not to make the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regular members of the Principals Committee, a key White House decision-making body."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-cabinet-spies-idUSKBN15N28M

--- "Days after retail giant Nordstrom announced that it will no longer sell Ivanka Trump's clothing label, the president struck back, accusing the Seattle-based department store chain of treating his daughter "so unfairly."...The same message was posted soon afterward on the president's official @POTUS account, sparking questions about a potential conflict of interest as the aggrieved father speaks with the weight of the White House."

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/08/514203791/trump-slams-nordstrom-for-dropping-ivanka-s-clothing-line

Additional source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/factcheck/ct-fact-checker-ivanka-trump-nordstrom-20170209-story.html

#international affairs #domestic affairs #trump administration #president trump #source: the Chicago tribune #source: npr #source: reuters #source: ap #source: the hill #source: cnn #source: politico #source: the washington post #source: pbs newshour #source: local paper

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