Quartz – by Marc Bain

It’s not a good sign for retail when a top executive in the industry compares things to the 2008 housing-market collapse that plunged the US economy into a deep recession.

On a call with investors yesterday (March 8) to discuss Urban Outfitters’ lackluster results for the quarter—sales grew less than 2%—CEO Richard Hayne offered a dim assessment of the retail landscape, likening its overabundance of stores to the housing market in the mid-2000s. The threat to the broader economy may not be as dire as the one posed by housing bubble, but for the retail industry, the consequences are proving harsh. According to Hayne, ecommerce owns a good part of the blame.   Continue reading “Urban Outfitters’ CEO says the US retail bubble is bursting, just like housing in 2008”

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USS Liberty Memorial

On June 8, 1967, US Navy intelligence ship USS Liberty was suddenly and brutally attacked on the high seas in international waters by the air and naval forces of Israel. The Israeli forces attacked with full knowledge that this was an American ship and lied about it. Survivors have been forbidden for 40 years to tell their story under oath to the American public. The USS Liberty Memorial web site tells their story and is dedicated to the memory of the 34 brave men who died.   Continue reading “2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S.S. Liberty incident”

The Hill – by Devin Henry

The Senate on Tuesday voted to end a land management rule finalized in the closing days of the Obama administration.

Lawmakers scuttled the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) “Planning 2.0” rule, a measure to modernize federal land management strategies.

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution against the rule is the latest measure pushed by Republicans taking aim at Obama-era rules. Once President Trump signs the resolution, it will be the third successful CRA challenge to an environmental measure so far this year.   Continue reading “Senate passes bill ending Obama-era land rule”

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Tax Revolution Institute – by Chloe Anagnos

Instituted by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Act is one of the largest federal assistance programs in the United States. A cash benefit usually referred to as “welfare,” it provides temporary financial assistance with the goal of getting people off of that assistance, mainly through employment.   Continue reading “Your Welfare Dollars Feed State Budgets, Not Needy Families”

Town Hall – by Justin Holcomb

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky made it clear on Tuesday during an interview with “Fox & Friends” that the House GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare will not pass through Congress.

“This is Obamacare lite,” Paul said.  “It will not pass.  Conservatives aren’t going to take it.  Premiums and prices will continue to spiral out of control.”   Continue reading “Rand Paul: New Healthcare Plan Will Not Pass”

RT

WikiLeaks has published what it claims is the largest ever batch of confidential documents on the CIA. More than 8,000 documents were released on Tuesday as part of ‘Vault 7’, a series of leaks on the agency.

A total of 8,761 documents have been published as part of ‘Year Zero’, the first in a series of leaks the whistleblower organization has dubbed ‘Vault 7.’   Continue reading “WikiLeaks publishes ‘entire hacking capacity of the CIA’”

Yahoo News

Nuclear-armed North Korea said Tuesday its missile launches were training for a strike on US bases in Japan, as global condemnation of the regime swelled.

Three of the four missiles fired Monday came down provocatively close to US ally Japan, in waters that are part of its exclusive economic zone, representing a challenge to US President Donald Trump.   Continue reading “North Korea says missiles were drill for strike on US bases”

CNS News – by Andrew Eicher

Windsor, California Police Chief Carlos G. Basurto issued a letter in Spanish to illegal aliens in his town, assuring them that they are safe from deportation because his department “will not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities,” and that their immigration status is “completely irrelevant,” Judicial Watch reported on Thursday, March 2.

“If you are an undocumented immigrant in the Town of Windsor, you do not need to fear the officers of the Windsor Police Department,” Chief Basurto wrote, “nor assume that they have any reason to bother you, detain you or arrest you for simply being undocumented. Your immigration status is completely irrelevant to us.”   Continue reading “Police Chief to Illegal Aliens: ‘Your Immigration Status Is Completely Irrelevant’”

Yahoo News

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court cleared the way Monday for the city of New Orleans to take down three Confederate-era monuments that have been a source of tension in the Southern city.

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a lower court’s refusal to block the removal.   Continue reading “Court: New Orleans can remove 3 Confederate monuments”

New York Post – by Danika Fears, Kirstan Conley and Selim Algar

State education officials plan to scrap a literacy exam given to prospective teachers and allow certification for some applicants who fail a performance-assessment test — moves that critics warned will weaken the pool of candidates.

The state Board of Regents will likely vote early next week on whether to ax the Academic Literacy Skills Test, one of four exams that teacher-wannabes have to pass for certification, officials said Monday.   Continue reading “New York considering major changes to teacher certification exams”

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Strange Politics

1999: Loretta Lynch is nominated by President Bill Clinton to be the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

2001-2010: Lynch is a partner at Hogan and Hartson, the Clinton’s private law firm.  Continue reading “How a Gangster Government Functions: The Clinton-Obama-Lynch-Comey Corruptocracy Timeline”

Fox News

Clearly annoyed by a drone hovering near her residence, a woman aims a gun at the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in a video that is going viral.

The drone’s-eye video shows the drone hovering close to a house. A woman appears on the porch and throws stones at the UAV, which flies higher to avoid the projectiles.   Continue reading “Woman brandishes gun, scares off drone”

Fox News

President Trump on Monday signed a revised executive order suspending the refugee program and entry to the U.S. for travelers from several mostly Muslim countries, curtailing what was a broadly worded directive in a bid to withstand court scrutiny.

As before, the order will suspend refugee entries for 120 days. But it no longer will suspend Syrian refugee admissions indefinitely.    Continue reading “Trump signs new immigration order, narrows scope of travel ban”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – A strain of bird flu has been detected in a commercial chicken breeder flock in Tennessee’s Lincoln County and the 73,500 birds will be culled to prevent the virus from entering the food system, U.S. and state agriculture officials said on Sunday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said this represented the first confirmed case of highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry in the United States this year.   Continue reading “U.S. confirms avian influenza in Tennessee chicken flock”

Observer – by Ken Kurson

A skirmish has broken out in Tucson as one law enforcement agency has barred another from carrying out its mission. The blue-on-blue battle reflects nationwide concern over just how far various policing bodies will go to enforce the nation’s laws and policies toward immigrants.

The row started on Friday when the Tucson Sector Border Patrol reported that a 5-foot-7, 215-lb man had escaped their custody during a visit to Banner University Medical Center, where he’d been taken for evaluation. The man had been arrested for illegal entry near Nogalez, Arizona.   Continue reading “Tucson PD Evicts Border Patrol Agents Trying to Catch Illegal Escapee”

Reuters

Supporters of Donald Trump clashed with counter-protesters at a rally in the famously left-leaning city of Berkeley, California, on a day of mostly peaceful gatherings in support of the U.S. president across the country.

At a park in Berkeley, across the bay from San Francisco, protesters from both sides struck one another over the head with wooden sticks and Trump supporters fired pepper spray as police in riot gear stood at a distance.   Continue reading “In day of pro-Trump rallies, California march turns violent”