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Audit: $84M in taxpayer funds improperly used for Delta tunnelsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. government improperly spent $84 million to help plan for a massive project to ship Northern California water to Southern California, a new federal audit said. Federal officials gave $84 million to help finance the water districts' planning, backed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, to build two giant water tunnels to re-engineer the state's water system, according to the audit by the inspector general's office of the U.S. Interior Department obtained by The Associated Press. By California law and by an agreement by the water districts, California water districts and not federal taxpayers are supposed to bear the costs of the $16 billion project, the audit said. The proposed tunnels are part of Brown's decadeslong push for a project that would more readily carry water from green Northern California south, mainly for use by cities and farms in central and Southern California. Voters rejected an early version of the proposal in a statewide vote in the 1980s. California water districts are making final decisions on whether to go ahead with the controversial project. The inspector general says federal authorities did not fully disclose to Congress or others that it was covering much of the cost of the project's planning. The actions by the Bureau of Reclamation, which is part of the Interior Department, mean that federal taxpayers paid a third of the cost of the project's planning up to 2016, the audit said. Central Valley water districts that were supposed to pay 50 percent of the tunnels' planning costs contributed only 18 percent, the audit found. California officials, meanwhile, have consistently said no taxpayer money was being spent on the project. Asked if auditors wanted contractors to repay the money, Interior spokeswoman Nancy DiPaolo said, "We certainly hope so." That decision was up to California, she said. Thomas Birmingham, general manager of the sprawling Central Valley rural water district Westlands, which received one of the largest shares from the government, said he knew of nothing about the arrangement that was "inconsistent with either state or federal law." "The state was aware of it," Birmingham said of the federal payments. "No one indicated this was somehow a violation of the letter or spirit of the agreement" guiding the costs of the project. Birmingham said water districts would be responsible for reimbursing the federal money if the project went forward and benefited those districts. Spokespeople for the Bureau of Reclamation, Brown's office and the state Department of Water Resources either had no immediate comment Friday or did not respond to requests for comment. The audit's findings were "appalling," said Doug Obegi of the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group, which has opposed the project on the grounds that it would speed up the extinction of several endangered native species. "The public is paying for what a private party is supposed to pay for," Obegi said. "That is taking the public's money, and that's not OK." A former lobbyist for Westlands, David Bernhardt, has been a top official in the Interior Department under the George W. Bush administration and again under Trump. Critics long have said Westlands has benefited from its ties to the federal agency, which the water district and Interior deny. "I wish I were surprised to learn that the Westlands Water District colluded with the Interior Department to hide millions of dollars in unauthorized payments from Congress, but this is typical of the longstanding and incestuous relationship between the largest irrigation district in the country and its federal patrons," said U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat.

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Barack Obama Is Gone, Now Restoring What It Means To Be An American.(ThyBlackMan.com) Even though I am black, I was raised on Superman’s; truth, justice and the American way. I always believed Americans were the world’s good guys. As a kid, I watched my mom cry over “I Love Lucy” TV stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz getting a divorce. I remember our entire family, mom, dad and five kids gathered around our single television; nail-biting tension in the air as we nervously awaited the final out for our Baltimore Orioles to win the World’s Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite our country’s racial issues, we patriotically embraced the distinct American culture. We were Americans. When President JFK said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country“, I believe a majority of Americans agreed with him. For years, I sang my song, “Celebrate America” http://bit.ly/2h0Swyv at Naturalization Oath of Allegiance Ceremonies. I thought it was pretty cool that mine was the first song new Americans heard after taking their oath of allegiance. I witnessed thousands of immigrants who jumped through all the hoops, learned our language and history and tearfully pledged their allegiance. I still remember a gentleman who appeared to be in his 90s, raised to his feet from a wheelchair by a grandchild on each arm. Their entire family wept as he took his oath. Clearly, it meant something extremely special to become an American. It pained me deeply watching Obama lower the bar, redefining and dumbing down what it means to be an American. Obama rolled out the red carpet welcoming tens of thousands of illegals to invade our country for welfare benefits; even benefits unavailable to American citizens. http://washex.am/2eL6TGl For immigrants legally becoming new citizens, Obama made pledging to defend our county optional. http://bit.ly/1MkmOmR Assuming Hillary would win the WH, Obama figured his illegal invaders would eventually be gifted voting rights. It did not matter to Obama that they had no desire to embrace our culture, respect our flag or learn to speak English. In essence, Barack Obama took the majestic shine off of becoming an American. The late queen of cosmetics, Mary Kay Ash said the speed of the leader is the speed of the gang. Unarguably, Obama’s disdain and disrespect for Americanism trickled down infecting our country. Public schools banned the singing of “God Bless the USA/Proud to be an America“. http://bit.ly/2mFeyFG Students were barred from wearing t-shirts to school featuring the U.S. flag on Cinco De Mayo http://fxn.ws/2ojaNGY, claiming it was hateful and insensitive to illegal Mexican students. Multimillionaire pro athletes refused to stand for our national anthem, proclaiming themselves victims of America. Their example of dissing our flag trickled down to high and middle school athletes across America. http://bbc.in/2uuuyAu Under Barack Obama, JFK’s words inspiring Americans to strive for excellence for the good of their country were thrown on the junk-heap of forgotten history. Obama’s new Americanism was about demonizing and punishing self-reliant achievers, pandering to lazy parasites and addicting as many Americans as possible to big government dependency. Due to decades of our Leftist controlled public schools abandoning teaching U.S. history, far too many Americans quickly surrendered their precious God-given and fought for freedom and liberty for a free Obama phone and his promise to Robin Hood the rich. Ben Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Barack Obama actually launched an ad campaign begging illegals to apply for food stamps. http://dailym.ai/1PPPdR1 Using a Hispanic soap opera , Barack Obama told illegals that applying for as many U.S. government freebie programs as possible was the honorable thing to do for their families. http://bit.ly/2tH14AA It was also painful watching Barack Obama insidiously divide Americans into supposed victimized voting blocs; blacks, Hispanics, women, transgenders and so on. Suddenly, we became an entitlement-minded gimme-society; everyone running around claiming America abused them and therefore owed them a living. I kept thinking what the heck is going on. We are better than this. I wanted to scream from the roof tops, “This is not who we are. Darn it, we are AMERICANS!!!” In my song, “We Are Americans” http://bit.ly/1AIVqp6 , I ask my fellow Americans to repent and return to our founding principles. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mark Levin recently penned a book in which he brilliantly articulated the source of my heartache for my country; the well-orchestrated cultural and moral decline of America. Levin’s book is titled, “Rediscovering Americanism And The Tyranny of Progressivism” http://amzn.to/2udTux9 The good news is Donald Trump winning the WH in an electoral landslide proves that despite decades of Leftists trying to convince Americans that we are the greatest source of evil in the world, the masses still love our country and long to see her made great again. And for that, I am extremely hopeful and grateful. Prayerfully, Trump will usher in us becoming Americans again. Staff Writer; Lloyd Marcus Chairman of The Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama. Please help me spread my message by joining my Liberty Network. Lloyd is singer/songwriter of the American Tea Party Anthem and author of Confessions of a Black Conservative, foreword by Michele Malkin.

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Withdraw your ethnocentric comment against Northerners – Alhaji Sani to AkpalooThe Aspiring Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Alhaji Mohammed Sani has called on the founder of Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) Kofi Akpaloo to publicly apologise to Northerners in Ghana for saying they can never be Presidents. Mr Akpaloo in a recent interview with Abusua Nkommo hosted by Kwame Adinkra said ‘no Ghanaian will vote for a Northerner to be a President of Ghana’ after the abysmal performance by the former President John Dramani Mahama in the 2016 elections. According to Akpaloo, Northerners who were given the nod to lead the country failed Ghanaians and that Ghanaians will not vote for Northerners in 2020 elections. But speaking on Abusua Nkommo with Kwame Adinkra, Alhaji Sani described as ‘misguided missile’ the tribal comment by Mr Akpaloo that Northerners cannot be in the helm of affairs of the country. He advised the founder of Liberal Party of Ghana to retract his statement warning to retaliate in equal measure if he fails to do so. ‘…This is a misguided missile by Akpaloo, his comment is an insult to Northerners, what research has he conducted to come out with such comment?. If he has personal issues with John Mahama, he shouldn’t rope in all Northerners in his hatred. What kind of language is that, he should stop insulting a group of people, is he important than other people?. ‘He should withdraw and apologise, I am highly offended by his comment, if he refuses, I will be forced to wage war words against him,’ he stated. Alhaji Sani entreated Ghanaians to stop tagging people on tribal lines and judge them according to their performances.

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NFL isn't planning to ask Browns' Jimmy Haslam to step downThe NFL plans to allow the FBI and IRS investigations into the businesses run by new Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to sort itself out before it decides whether it will take any action. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said a report that Haslam might be asked to step down as the investigation into Pilot Flying J continues is inaccurate. "There are no such plans," Aiello said. Haslam told the Associated Press on Friday that he will continue to run the Browns. "No change," Haslam said. "I look forward to the draft next week." Haslam said earlier Friday he won't resign from his position as CEO of Pilot Flying J. "Why would I step down? I haven't done anything wrong," Haslam said Friday while speaking at his company's headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. "It still appears to us that this investigation is focused on a very narrow band of a very large company -- questions about how rebates were handled to a very small percentage of our trucking company customers." An FBI agent's affidavit, which was unsealed Thursday alleges that Pilot Flying J -- the truck stop operator owned by the Haslam family -- engaged in a fraud scheme designed to keep money owed to its customers. According to the documents, multiple current and former employees of the company told authorities that Haslam, who purchased the Browns for $1.05 billion last October, knew of the fraud and was present at meetings where it was discussed. The NFL declined to comment on the matter. Haslam released the following statement Thursday: "I've read the affidavits. I now understand more clearly the questions the federal investigators are exploring. I maintain that the foundation of this company is built on its integrity and that any willful wrongdoing by any employee of this company at any time is intolerable. We will continue to cooperate with the federal investigation and continue our own investigation in these allegations. I value the relationships we have with our customers, our vendors and our team members across this country and regret that they have to go through this with us, but I trust and believe their faith in this company and its principles has never been misplaced." According to The Associated Press, Haslam arrived in Cleveland on Thursday, three days after FBI and IRS agents executed four search warrants at Pilot Flying J company headquarters. The AP reported that at a Tuesday news conference in Knoxville, Haslam revealed the government is investigating rebates offered by the truck stop chain, but said, "We believe we did nothing wrong." His family -- including his brother, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam -- owns 59 percent of the business. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Anonymous Denies Claim They Hacked Neo-Nazi Website Daily StormerAnonymous have denied claims that they hacked the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer, after a post appeared claiming that the hacktivist group was “now in control” of the site. A post titled ‘END OF HATE: ANONYMOUS NOW IN CONTROL OF DAILY STORMER’ appeared on the far-right site earlier this morning, suggesting that Anonymous were going to bring an end to The Daily Stormer following the events of the Charlottesville “Unite The Right” rally, which saw white nationalists converge to protest plans to remove a Confederate statue. The rally led to multiple conflicts between the nationalists and counter-protesters, ultimately leading to the death of civil rights activist Heather Heyer, who was one of many hit by a vehicle driven by white supremacist James Alex Fields. Many outlets reported that Anonymous had infiltrated The Daily Stormer website in response to the events of Charlottesville, with the post on the site reading: “WE HAVE TAKEN THIS SITE IN THE NAME OF HEATHER HEYER A VICTIM OF WHITE SUPREMACIST TERRORISM. FOR TOO LONG THE DAILY STORMER AND ANDREW ANGLIN HAVE SPEWED THEIR PUTRID HATE ON THIS SITE. THAT WILL NOT BE HAPPENING ANYMORE”. However, Anonymous have stated that they believe the post was made by The Daily Stormer in a “stunt” designed to “woo their clueless base.” The clarifications were made by @YourAnonNews, the largest Anonymous Twitter account, who believe that The Daily Stormer had made the post themselves in order to explain away technical issues the site was experiencing, after web hosting company GoDaddy had banned them from using the service. We have no confirmation that "Anonymous" is involved yet. Looks more like a DS stunt. Wonder if they are having issues finding a new host. https://t.co/ikXXRBfC5p — Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) August 14, 2017 This is likely to be the derps from dailystormer engaging in a silly troll to woo their clueless base. If we're proven wrong, so be it. https://t.co/dkiXGCDEwY — Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) August 14, 2017 And all the old content is left up by a "UNITED FORCE OF ELITE HACKERS" on a shit post site "UNDER THE CONTROL OF ANONYMOUS." Doubtful. https://t.co/FNYRCYWEDx — Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) August 14, 2017 If goal of Daily Stormer was to get us to celebrate a BS claim, it backfired. Seriously, suck less. — Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) August 14, 2017 The neo-Nazi site has been given 24 hours to find a new host, otherwise it will be taken offline by GoDaddy. The post suggesting Anonymous were now in control of the site also stated that The Daily Stormer would be taken offline within 24 hours, suggesting that its creators are looking for a conspiratorial explanation as to why the site has disappeared if GoDaddy removes it from the internet.

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Trump Reportedly Is Predicting He Will Appoint Four Supreme Court Justices Image via SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images Trump has told sources that he expects to appoint three more Supreme Court Justices before the end of his first term, Axios reports. Trump has already nominated conservative judge Neil Gorsuch​, who was confirmed and then sworn into office in April of 2017. Gorsuch replaced ​the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Trump believes that Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who​ is 81 years old, will soon be out. Kennedy is rumored to be considering retirement. You can read the exchange with Trump, obtained by Axios, below. "Ok," one source told Trump, "so that's two. Who are the others?" "Ginsburg," Trump replied. "What does she weigh? 60 pounds?" "Who's the fourth?" the source asked. "Sotomayor," Trump said, referring to the relatively recently-appointed Obama justice, whose name is rarely, if ever, mentioned in speculation about the next justice to be replaced. "Her health," Trump explained. "No good. Diabetes." Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 84 years old, while Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor is just 63 years old. Sotomayor, who was appointed by President Obama, is the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court. She was diagnosed with diabetes as a child. Ironically, Trump is the oldest person to be elected president in U.S. history. The reality television star is 71 years old. One source is quoted as saying, "it's all about the numbers for him," which is not surprising because we are talking about a man who constantly bragsabout numbers, whether it be rating numbers, the size of the crowd at his inauguration or crowds for his rallies in general.

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Even Jerry Springer Thinks This Election Is Too Much Even Jerry Springer Thinks This Election Is Too Much © 2016 Bloomberg Finance LP A chat with the host of the trashiest talk show in television history about Trump, Hillary, and the State of the Union. You can see it, almost: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton sitting just a few steps from each other onstage, going at each other’s throats. “It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country,” Clinton levels. Trump cuts in with a threat: “Because you’d be in jail.” The audience goes wild, collectively gasping, then cheering, either for their audacious, say-it-like-it-is savior, or because they’re just thrilled with the entertainment. Maybe a chair gets thrown. It’s not hard for Jerry Springer to picture some of the crazier moments from the 2016 presidential election on the set of his eponymous talk show. After all, the Jerry Springer Show traffics in drama and dysfunction, and that ugly scene—minus the chair throwing—played out live at the second presidential debate last week, one of the most brutal in recent history. “I've never had a guest on my show who I thought should be president,” says Springer, laughing. “Ever. Except the guy who married his horse.” Faced with the prospect of a Trump presidency, Springer, a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati who once ran for governor of Ohio, has thrown his hat back in the political ring to make the case for Clinton. Last month, he tweeted his assessment of the options facing the American people: “Hillary Clinton belongs in the White House. Donald Trump belongs on my show.” We’ll let him explain. GQ: The second debate was one of the most savage—and personal—we’ve ever seen. How much did it remind you of your show? Jerry Springer: I mean, good God. Other than his money, how in the world is he different than people that are on my show? And that's not trying to be cute. That's the truth. I mean, I think about the issues of the people that come on our show, the language they use, the relationship dysfunctions. You know, other than your net worth, what is the difference, and why do people wind up calling people on my show trash? I've always said that wealthy people haven't cornered the market on propriety or morality or decency. We keep thinking, just because people are poor and maybe didn't go to college or something that all of the sudden they're trash, and then we see this running for president? The behavior's the same. After the first debate, you tweeted that Trump belongs on your show. In the style of segments like “My Girlfriend is a Man” and “I Married a Horse,” what would you call the episode starring him? [laughs] Great question. Oh gosh, I’ve gotta think…"I’ll Beat That Blank To The White House." A hallmark of your show is when people start throwing chairs at each other. Be honest: Do you ever feel like thwacking Trump with a folding chair? [laughs] Well, I’m nonviolent. I think he wouldn’t come on my show—nothing to do with chairs—he wouldn’t come on my show because he wouldn't want his hair pulled. You know, they're always pulling off the wig? That's why he wouldn't come on the show. There’s been speculation that Trump is planning a new media empire to capitalize on his momentum after the election. Are you worried he’s going to take your job? "I'm sorry. I've ruined the culture." TRENDING THIS VERY SECOND travel-and-eats Where to Eat and Drink in Houston, the New Capital of Southern Cool culture Serena Williams' Catsuit Is Banned from All Future French Opens news-and-politics No One Knows Why This QAnon Conspiracy Theorist Was in the Oval Office with Trump Well he’s far better on television than I am, so I'm not worried, because I'm 73 years old. [phone rings in the background] Some other person calling for money. [laughs] It's funny because, on a side note, and then I'll answer your question, once you're identified as being a Democrat and Hillary supporter, etc., then every Democrat running in the country starts calling you for money. WATCH Chris Hemsworth Goes Undercover on Twitter, YouTube, and Quora To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video WATCH Chris Hemsworth Goes Undercover on Twitter, YouTube, and Quora Share Tweet Email More... EMBED URL<script async src="//player-backend.cnevids.com/script/video/5b7490bd8c1abc4fee00001d.js?iu=/3379/conde.gq/partner"></script> VIDEO URLhttp://video.gq.com/watch/chris-hemsworth-goes-undercover-on-twitter-youtube-and-quora Our bad! It looks like we're experiencing playback issues. This live video has ended. It will be available to watch shortly. See what else is new Loaded: 0%Progress: 0% MuteVolume 0% Back Caption Options Close Settings Language English Font Size Small Medium Large Position Auto Bottom Top Sample Caption Text0:000:000:00 The problem with him doing my show is you've got to be able to tell the difference between a host and the guests. So they would have to run a graphic, they would have to keep saying, "He's the host, he's the host, he's the host." But other than that, yeah, he's phenomenal on television. You’re an ardent Hillary Clinton supporter. Aside from “she’s not a demagogue,” what’s your case for her? Certainly in my lifetime, there’s never been a human being more prepared, and more knowledgeable and more balanced to be president of the United States who hasn't already been one. In other words, when you run for reelection for president, you already know all of the world issues. But for someone who hasn't yet been president, I don't think there's another human being that could sit down with her and would know as much about what's going on in the world, has thought more about all these issues for her whole lifetime, than she has. She really is the most qualified person ever to run for president who hasn't been president before. And there's no particular benefit for me other than I love my country. I mean, I'm not looking for a political job. I'm literally just a citizen. And I do take it seriously. I'm [from] an immigrant family. So I take the State of Liberty very seriously. I mean, my family was lost in the Holocaust. We believe in the State of Liberty. This was the place we were going to come. And then you have someone running for president who is opposed to the idea [of] America? Religious, ethnic and all that kind of freedom? And wants to replace the State of Liberty with a wall? So I compare that to the qualifications of a Hillary. You’ve talked about how the election is personal for you. How does it hit home? Someone comes to me and says, "Well, if you knew Trump, he isn’t personally bigoted." It doesn't matter—that's irrelevant. He’s smart enough to know that he is giving cover, he is giving voice to a very ugly notion that you will be judged in this country based on where you're from and what your religion is, what your ethnicity is, and in some instances, even what your color is. And gender. And your disabilities, if you have any. Well, we all have some disabilities. But it’s, like, oh my god, this is so un-American. It's, like, a cruel irony to say we're going to make America great again. Hey! First understand what America is. That is personal. You’re the former mayor of Cincinnati. What have you learned about politics in the two decades you’ve been doing your show that you didn't know during your political career? I always knew we were all alike and the only thing that separated us [is] some of us were luckier in the gene pool of parents, and some of us had more money, and stuff like that. And I saw that in politics, and I see it in the people on my show. ... 99 percent of what we are, we had nothing to do with. Not one person you will ever meet had anything to do with the decision to be born, to whom you'd be born, what kind of health, what kind of brain, what era, what country. None of this stuff. The last one percent of what we become is maybe due to our own efforts. But even that is based on what we were born with. If you understand that, then you will never ever judge people based on what they are. You will only judge people based on what they do. I guess I kind of knew that all along, and every job I’ve ever had just confirmed what I've always believed, is that human beings are alike. Some are just luckier. Your show is in its 26th season— I apologize. [laughs] I'm sorry. I've ruined the culture. I'm so sorry. Oh, please, Rebecca, forgive me. I forgive you! What’s one moment from this election that would have been way better on your stage? Well, any of the debates, clearly. And obviously the video. I mean, really. You can’t even make a parody of it anymore. I can't—it's almost, they’re throwing softballs at me. It's, like, "Hey! Here's a show topic, here's a show topic." I mean, I could have done a whole season of shows just on this campaign. But again, it’s one thing to have a television [show] about that, which is the purpose of the show, to have it about dysfunctional behavior, and another thing to say, "Gee, why doesn't the person on this show run for president?" What? Who thought that was a good idea? You’ve said Trump’s blurring of politics and entertainment helped propel him to the GOP nomination. Are shows like yours to blame for Trump’s rise? No, no one show. Lots of people watch the show and behave properly.

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drug free manatee citres reasons to reject medical marijuana amendment on Florida's ballot | Bradenton HeraldDrug Free Manatee was disappointed in a recent Bradenton Herald editorial endorsing the legalization of “medical” marijuana. The coalition would like to point out that the medical establishments listed in the BH article have NOT endorsed marijuana for medical use, as they favor research-backed solutions, not state and/or ballot run initiatives. The amendment has been opposed by the American Cancer Society, American Glaucoma Society, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Epilepsy Society, American Medical Association, Florida Baptist Convention, Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, Jewish Federation of Manatee/Sarasota, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Medical Association, National Multiple Sclerosis Society and five former Supreme Court justices. Drug Free Manatee sees the following issues with the amendment: Latest news by email The afternoon's latest local news Recaptcha requires verification. protected by reCAPTCHA Privacy - Terms Privacy - Terms • Florida already has multiple laws providing legal marijuana to children and adults in medical crisis including the Right to Try Act and the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act. • Amendment 2 is promoted by four billionaires who have pushed similar measures in other states. • “Medical” marijuana has no quality controls, medical standardization, or dosage requirements. • Anyone with a “debilitating illness” can obtain a cannabis certification, which could translate to a migraine or trouble sleeping. • The amendment puts children at risk by allowing the sale of high concentrate edibles (up to 80-90 percent THC) and NOT requiring child-proof packaging or any marketing/advertising restrictions to prevent accidental ingestion. • “Medical” marijuana states have increased drugged driving mortalities, increased ER visits for people ingesting cannabis and increased teen marijuana usage. • 2,000 dispensaries are expected to open in Florida and the amendment provides no zoning limitations on dispensary location within a community. The problems that plagued the medical marijuana amendment in 2014 have not been addressed, leaving too many existing loopholes for voters to even consider voting yes on Amendment 2. Sharon Kramer, Executive Director of Drug Free Manatee Bradenton

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A Nixonian end to the 2016 sleaze sweepstakes?Opinion Modal Trigger Hillary Clinton As the presidential campaigns sink to the challenge of demonstrating that there is no such thing as rock bottom, remember this: When the Clintons decamped from Washington in January 2001, they took some White House furnishings that were public property. They also finished accepting more than $190,000 in gifts, including two coffee tables and two chairs, a $7,375 gratuity from Denise Rich, whose fugitive former husband had been pardoned in President Clinton’s final hours. A Washington Post editorial (“Count the Spoons”) identified “the Clintons’ defining characteristic: They have no capacity for embarrassment. Words like shabby and tawdry come to mind. They don’t begin to do it justice.” Today, Hillary Clinton strives to live again among some White House furnishings that she and her helpmeet were compelled to disgorge, her campaign flounders because as secretary of state some of the nation’s business might have been melded with the contents of a computer that is pertinent to an FBI investigation of a former Democratic congressman’s alleged sexual texting with a female minor. Ransack the English language for words to do this justice. During the recent welter of reports about the Clintons’ self-dealing through their charity that has been very charitable to them, The New Yorker, reporting her plans to uplift the downtrodden, quoted her aspiration: “I want to really marry the public and the private sector.” This would solve the Clintons’ problem of discerning the line between public business and private aggrandizement: Erase the line. So, herewith America’s choice. Restore the House of Clinton. Or confer executive powers — powers that President Obama by his audacity, and Congress by its lethargy, have proven to be essentially unlimited — on another competitor in the sleaze sweepstakes, Donald Trump, who shares his opponent’s disinclination to disentangle the personal and the political. Into this political maelstrom, FBI Director James Comey injected an announcement that intensified the chaos without providing a scintilla of news that voters can use: An unknown number of emails of unknown provenance and unknown content might be “pertinent” to an investigation that already has established, beyond peradventure, that Secretary Clinton was “extremely careless” with sensitive material. Add the FBI, and the Justice Department to which it belongs, to the carnage of institutions that is a byproduct of bad judgments by the political class that have voters asking Casey Stengel’s question. In 1962, Stengel, manager of the New York Mets, an expansion team en route to a record of 120 losses, looked down his dugout at his woebegone players and wondered aloud, “Can’t anybody here play this game?” It is grimly hilarious to hear it said that the Justice Department, by not holding Comey to established protocols concerning discussions of ongoing investigations, and concerning pronouncements close to elections, has tainted itself. ObamaCare would not have passed if Justice Department lawyers had not conducted what a federal judge declared a corrupt prosecution of Alaska’s Republican senator Ted Stevens, costing him re-election. The department has enabled, by not seriously investigating, the IRS’ suppression of political advocacy by conservative groups. Or of the IRS’ subsequent destruction of subpoenaed emails pertinent to this. So, unsurprisingly, the most intrusive and potentially punitive federal agency continues to punish conservative groups for being conservative, according to Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer for political groups who confirms there are indeed conservative organizations that were targeted by the IRS and have still not received their tax-exempt status. In 2013, Barack Obama professed himself “angry” about “inexcusable” IRS behavior, before he decided there was not a “smidgen” of IRS corruption. He claimed to have learned about the IRS behavior from the media. Now he claims that he learned from the media about Clinton’s email abuses, although they had exchanged emails using her private server. Perhaps. The defining scandal of the Obama era has been the media’s lackadaisical consensus that Obama’s administration has had no serious scandal. This, although with the Justice Department protecting the IRS, the administration has (in the words of Richard Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean) used “the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.” Clinton, the ultimate author of her current agony, resembles no one so much as Nixon in her paranoia and joyless pursuit of joy. Her government career began with the House committee preparing Nixon’s impeachment. Twenty-two years earlier, he had saved his career by addressing a supposed scandal with his nationally broadcast “Checkers speech,” which was mawkish, abasing and effective. How fitting it would be for a Clinton “Checkers speech” to end our long national nightmare that this campaign has been.

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Days of Our Lives SpoilersWeek of August 7: Monday August 7: Joey puts himself in harm’s way to save Kayla. Brady interrogates Victor, who finally comes clean. Gabi makes a difficult decision regarding Chad. Sonny is stunned by Paul's news. Tuesday August 8: "Marlena" breaks up with John. Anjelica lures Adrienne into a trap. Brady's jealousy threatens to push him over the edge. Nicole makes a risky move to be near Holly. Wednesday August 9: Hattie breaks Bonnie out of Statesville. Steve and Kayla clash over the situation with Tripp and Joey. Brady gets the wrong idea about Nicole and Eric. Justin makes a confession to Sonny. Thursday August 10: More: Days recap: Chad plays the martyr and turns himself in to the police More: Beloved, unforgettable soap characters who touch our hearts Tripp secretly decides to skip town. Anjelica meets with Bonnie for the first time and explains her first order of business. Lani is put in a tough position at work. Chad and Abigail's reunion takes a surprising turn. Friday August 11: More: Deconstructing DOOL: A well-rounded week showcased zaniness, drama and that Chabby reunion Bonnie breaks Lucas's heart. Brady breaks into Eric's room and makes a shocking discovery. Chad and Sonny compare notes about the night of Deimos's murder. Marlena wakes to find herself trapped. Find late-breaking Days of our Lives news, and who is coming and going at Days of our Lives. Follow Soaps.com on Twitter, Days of our Lives on Twitter, Soaps.com on Facebook and Soaps.com on Instagram. Photo credit: Jill Johnson/JPI - Amy Mistretta/Christine Fix

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Gutfeld: 'The Media Wants Hillary to Win; There's No Doubt About That'As seen on The Five Police Group Boycotts Ben & Jerry's After Black Lives Matter Endorsement As more women come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump, the Republican nominee is lashing out at the mainstream media, which he claims is running with this "total fiction" to distract from Hillary Clinton's scandals. At a rally in Greensboro, N.C., Trump said these accusations are part of a conspiracy involving the Clinton campaign and what he called “the corrupt media.” Greg Gutfeld agreed with much of Trump's assessment on "The Five" today, saying, "The media wants Hillary to win. There's no doubt about that." Judge Jeanine on Trump Accusers: 'All on One Day? It's a Little Too Convenient' Gutfeld explained that Trump has actually been "set up," as he was given countless hours of coverage and "billions of dollars of free media," only to have the rug pulled out from under him. "The media ... [and] Hillary and Obama, they knew elevating Donald Trump - giving him an air of respectability in the press, as well - turned him into the Republican nominee. Then, out came the knives." Watch the co-hosts of "The Five" discuss above, and let us know what you think in the comments. New WikiLeaks Bombshell: Clinton Aides Discussed 'Emails to and from POTUS'

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Iran, Operating From Syria, Will Destroy Europe and North AmericaIran and Russia plan to destroy Western Europe, the US, and Canada by means of a new wave of millions of Syrian Sunnis fleeing to the West to escape the Shiite takeover of Syria. In my weekly column two months ago, I claimed that Iran is the real victor in the Syrian civil war. Using the war against ISIS as a smokescreen, it is taking over large swathes of Syrian territory, mainly in the scarcely populated middle and eastern parts of the country. In the more fertile and densely populated west of Syria, there are Iraqi, Afghan, and Iranian Shiite militias augmenting Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who were given carte blanche to do whatever Hassan Nasrallah decides to do there. Assad’s strength continues to increase as ISIS and the other rebel forces lose ground. The brutality of Russian involvement and the cruelty of Shiite militias overcame the anti-Assad forces, the turning point occurs when in 2015, Turkey’ s Erdogan was forced by Russia to cease his aid to the rebels and ISIS. Today, although Erdogan is an unwilling ally of Russia, Alawite Assad still sees him, justifiably, as an Islamist enemy. The Kurds of northeast Syria, treated as below third class citizens until 2011, will never agree to live under Arab mercy once again and it is reasonable to assume that should Syria remain an undivided country under Assad’s rule, the Kurds will preserve relative autonomy in their region – or fight the regime for their rights. That is certainly a problem, but the main issue facing a united Syria is going to be the drastic demographic changes the country is going to face. First of all, about half of Syria’s citizens – close to 10 million – are refugees, half located in Syria and the other half in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, other Arab countries, Europe, North and South America, Australia and even Israel. Syrian refugees who reached points outside the Arab world will in all probability stay put, benefitting from the secure and orderly lives they can now lead. On the other hand, the 3.5 million now in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey are awaiting the end of hostilities in order to return to their homes. Those expectations may be dashed, however, because Syrian reality is totally changed, and large parts of its cities are in ruins after six and a half years of a cruel and bloody war. Countless bombs dropped from planes and helicopters, artillery and tank barrages, mines, and explosives planted by both sides have made much of urban Syria, where most of the fighting took place, unsafe to live in. In Homs, Aleppo, Adlib, Hamat and many other cities, entire neighborhoods will have to be razed and their infrastructure rebuilt from scratch. Decades and billions of dollars are needed to rebuild the country and I, for one, do not see the world’s nations standing in line to donate the necessary funds. Refugees will not agree to switch their tents in Jordan for ruined buildings lacking basic infrastructure in a desolate and destroyed Syria. The other reason the refugees will not return is their justified fear of the new lords of the land – the Shiites. Iran has been moving Shiites from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan to Syria for a long time in a clear attempt to change the demographic makeup of the country from the Sunni majority it had before the civil war broke out in 2011. The issue could not be more clear because it is no secret that the pre-civil war Sunni majority considered the Alawite ruler’s heretic idol worshippers who had no right to live in Syria, much less rule over it. The Alawites know well that the Sunnis rebelled against them twice: The first time was from 1976 to 1982, a rebellion that took the lives of 50,000 citizens. The second time, slowly drawing to an end, has cost the lives of half a million men, women, children and aged citizens of Syria. The Alawites intend to prevent a third rebellion and the best way to do that is to change the majority of the population to Shiites instead of Sunnis. They will not allow the Sunni refugees to return to their homes, leaving them eternal refugees whose lands have been taken over by the enemy. Iran, meanwhile, will populate Syria with Shiites from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. This ethnic cleansing is the Ayatollah’s dream come true, the dream that sees a Shiite crescent drawn from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. This will cover the eastern Arab world from the north, while the war in Yemen is being fought in order to create a parallel southern crescent, entrapping Saudi Arabia and Jordan between the two. With the help of Allah, both those countries and Israel, the Small Satan, will soon fall into the hands of the Shiites, while Europe and America do nothing because who cares when Muslims fight other Muslims? The Shiite majority in Syria will play along with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, their natural allies, and it is possible that some form of federation might be created between the two in order to push the Lebanese Christians out of the picture, “persuading” them to flee to other countries, leaving Lebanon to its “rightful” Shiite masters. This explains Nasrallah’s eager willingness to fight on Syrian soil as well as the opposition of those against Nasrallah to his involvement there. The new demographic situation in Syria will convince the Sunni refugees that they have no place to which to return. They will try their best to be allowed to leave Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey for any country, preferably North America and Europe, willing to allow them entry. I predict a process that is the exact opposite of the one the world expects to take place when “peace” breaks out in Syria: Instead of refugees returning to their birthplace, expect the mass flight of Sunni refugees from the region, and expect a heightened incidence of Islamist terror in the countries that allow them in. The reasons are obvious: 1. Former ISIS and rebel forces will infiltrate along with the refugees, because they, too, are Sunni. They are filled with fury and hatred for the Western countries who were part of the coalition that fought ISIS or stood by without aiding the rebels. Some of them will continue their Jihad on European and North American soil. Expect shootings, explosives and ramming attacks against citizens of these countries. 2. Some of the refugees will not find work and live on the economic and social fringes of society, in poverty-stricken Islamist neighborhoods which have already existed for years in many European cities, and where the local police fear to tread. Poverty and life on the fringe of society will turn some of the Muslim young people into easy prey for terrorist organization recruiters who arouse the desire for Jihad by describing the accepting host countries as decadent societies infected with permissiveness, prostitution, alcohol, drugs, materialism, and corruption. They present the countries that allowed the immigrants entry as having done so to take advantage of them as industrial slaves, garage hands, cashiers and other degrading occupations, while the privileged citizens are lawyers, accountant, businessmen, and homeowners who take advantage of the migrants in humiliating ways. It is only a matter of time until young Muslims, especially those who were taught that “everyone is equal” in Western schools, enlist in terrorist organizations. 3. Countries which allow in refugees will suffer a higher crime rate as a result, including violence in public places, sexual attacks, and harassment, housebreaking, car theft, substance abuse, unreported work to avoid paying taxes and illegal construction. This will all occur at the same time these countries expend a larger part of their budgets on social services for the refugees, from child allowances to unemployment, health and old age benefits. At this point in time, the percentage of second and third generation immigrants populating the prisons in Western Europe is significantly larger than their percentage in the general population. 4. Increased economic, social and security problems in Europe and North America as a result of the rise in the number of migrants will lead to a rise in the strength of the right and the extreme right. This will, in turn, lead to more social tensions in the West. Members of Parliament whose only wish is to be re-elected will adapt their parliamentary activity – especially the laws they promote – to the expectations of the rapidly Islamizing constituencies, sacrificing their own people’s interests on the altar of their political careers. Many Europeans, aware of their elected leaders’ betrayal, will despair and leave those socially and economically deteriorating countries. This will increase the rate at which Europe turns into an Islamic region. And that is how the agreements Iran and Russia will soon coerce Syria into accepting are going to start a chain reaction increasing the number of refugees and pulling Europe down to a point of no return, without the world understanding what is going on. The Atlantic Ocean is not wide enough to protect North America from this debacle crossing the sea. This is how the Iranian Ayatollahs intend to destroy the heretic, permissive, drunk and materialistic West. More of the unfortunate Syrian millions will find themselves exiled to the heretic countries hated by the Ayatollahs, and Iran will operate from Syrian soil to vanquish Europe and America. Reprinted with author’s permission from Israel National News

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Trump to undo Obama order, allow local police to have additional military-like items Image copyright 2014 Getty Images. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is preparing to restore the flow of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies. The government program had been sharply curtailed by the Obama administration amid an outcry over police use of armored vehicles and other war-fighting gear to confront protesters. Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order undoing an Obama-era directive that restricted police access to military grenade launchers, firearms, ammunition and other gear. The documents say Trump's order would fully restore the program under which "assets that would otherwise be scrapped can be repurposed to help state, local, and tribal law enforcement better protect public safety and reduce crime."

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Elliott letter: Vote DemocratsWhat if Idaho sends a message to the rest of the country that we value and respect everyone, especially women, minorities, veterans and the disabled — those denigrated and disrespected by the Republican candidate for president. Idahoans stand for fairness, civility, kindness and compassion. Let go of your ties to the Republican Party for this election and vote for Hillary Clinton and for all the other Democratic nominees. It’s time to stand for fairness. Voting along party lines just to vote for the party does not make sense in this election. Vote Democratic. Barbara A. Elliott, Boise Breaking News Be the first to know when big news breaks Recaptcha requires verification. protected by reCAPTCHA Privacy - Terms Privacy - Terms

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Anti-Gun Crusader Admits What We Already KnewWhen the discussion of gun control rears its ugly head, some well-meaning proponent of “common sense gun measures” invariably tells us that no one wants to take our guns. They swear that they only want the “bad” guns. Maybe they’ll say, “No one needs an assault rifle” but if you mention bans on bolt action guns or handguns, they start backing up with their hands in supplication. “No, no, no, no. No one wants to do anything about those,” he’ll say. That means he’s either wrong or lying. Democratic politicians have been brainwashed by political hacks like me to begin all of their statements about guns by declaring support for the Second Amendment and a deep affinity for the cultures of hunters and sportsmen—even if they themselves have never fired weapons. We call them “gun safety” proposals instead of “gun control” measures because pollsters and consultants divined that “gun safety” would be less alarming to gun voters, and that gun voters were to be coddled at all cost. The Democratic gun control strategy fails because it is defined by this poverty of ambition—the determination never to look beyond fear of political repercussions. Universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines are good ideas and we should seize the opportunity to enact them if it presents itself. But they won’t come anywhere close to making gun violence in America a tolerable problem. We are nibbling around the edges instead of proposing bold, meaningful solutions such as: A national gun registry, so law-enforcement officials can know when someone is compiling an arsenal. The government can track purchases of allergy medicines that can be used to make methamphetamine, and fertilizers that can be used to make bombs, like the one used in Oklahoma City in 1994, but not deadly assault weapons. That’s absurd. Tracking and limiting purchases of ammunition. Requiring that guns use smart-gun technology, which would dramatically reduce accidental deaths, particularly among children, who, according to a 2016 study, are dying accidental deaths at the hands of guns at the rate of one every other day. A national gun buyback program similar to the one Australia instituted after a mass shooting that killed 35 people. That incident was in 1996. There hasn’t been another one since, These proposals are essentially omitted from the national conversation largely because Democrats are scared that the NRA will spin them disingenuously to inflame gun owners. Again, Democrats presume their hand is the weaker of the two. Last week, Republicans rejoiced, and some Democrats winced privately, when Nancy Pelosi said she hoped regulation of bump stocks—the device the Las Vegas shooter used to make his weapon more deadly—would be a “slippery slope” to further regulation. Democrats were concerned that Pelosi had handed the NRA a political cudgel the group would brandish against every one of them. But Pelosi was right, and I would like to see more Democrats find her courage, because the alternative is to surrender our ideals, and the moral high ground, for no discernible upside. Written by former Obama staffer Dan Pfeiffer who seems absolutely in love with gun control. After all, he calls for a national gun buyback program similar to Australia’s but fails to inform his readers that the buyback was simply a more palatable gun confiscation program masquerading as choice. Then again, this is the guy who says this, followed by claiming, “Republicans currently control every branch of government and the NRA is still producing agitprop aimed at convincing gun owners that liberal Democrats and radical leftists are going to come after their guns.” He says this without a hint of irony at the fact that he is telling Democrats to come after our guns. The entire post is nothing more than a paper dedicated to trying to convince Democrats that the answer to guns is to move even more to the left on guns, to stop pretending that they don’t want all the guns, yet he has the nerve to blame the NRA for producing videos? It should be noted that the video he chose is the one where Dana Loesch calls out the leftist media for lying. It actually doesn’t say a thing about how Democrats want all the guns. Not that it matters to someone like Pfeiffer. All that matters is that Democrats aren’t being honest about coming after all of our guns. He’s annoyed they won’t be honest, but I’m going to let Dan know something. We already know they want them all, and that’s why no one is backing down. Especially since none of his proposals would have stopped Las Vegas.

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Odessa businessman donates $1M to American Red Cross as they prepare for more possible tragedy (Source: KWES) ODESSA, TX (KWES) - An Odessa man and his company are donating $1 million to the American Red Cross towards Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The Red Cross said they're expecting to spend $30 million from their funds on the rebuilding. As The Red Cross is helping with the aftermath, they're also preparing for an even stronger hurricane to hit the country. "This is a marathon, it's not a sprint, so this is gonna go a long way to help those people recover," said Tracy Austin, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of The Permian Basin. John Bushman, owner of Investment Centers of America (ICA), decided to give back after watching families and single mothers trying to survive the high floodwaters. He describes to us what he saw on TV. "So all she [single mother] can do is put out a white flag for the police to come help her. She's just standing there with an 8-month-old baby in her arms, I don't know where the other two minor children were that got mentioned were, probably on top of the roof already," said Bushman. "So if that doesn't bring tears to your eyes or makes you think, then I don't know [what will]." The American Red Cross can't ignore a stronger hurricane, Irma. Irma could possibly hit Florida or the east coast, needing the American Red Cross to give even more help. "We will deploy and we encourage everyone to take cover, to go to their shelters, and also to prepare in advance," said Austin. "Right now, that's our messaging to make those preparations in advance and to take cover and go to a shelter because this is going to be a massive storm." The American Red Cross won't know what help to deploy until after Hurricane Irma makes landfall. Even though many resources are in South Texas, they say they're "Red Cross ready." You can donate or sign up to volunteer at redcross.org Copyright 2017 KWES. All rights reserved.

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