Year: 2017

Yahoo News – by Liz Goodwin

WASHINGTON–Congress has reached an agreement to fund the federal government until September in a bipartisan deal that rejected President Donald Trump’s demand for a border wall and non-defense domestic spending cuts, according to a senior congressional aide.

The spending bill will allocate $1.5 billion for additional technology and infrastructure on the border, but explicitly includes language saying those funds cannot go to the construction of a wall. Lawmakers also rejected the president’s demand for $18 billion in non-defense spending cuts, increasing funds for the National Institutes for Health (NIH) by $2 billion.   Continue reading “Congress reaches spending deal, lowering odds of government shutdown”

The Hill – by Max Greenwood

The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) on Saturday pushed back against President Trump’s claims that news outlets covering his administration critically are reporting “fake news.”

“We are not fake news, we are not failing news organizations and we are not the enemy of the American people,” WHCA president and Reuters correspondent Jeff Mason said at the organization’s annual dinner.   Continue reading “White House Correspondents’ Association chief: ‘We are not fake news’”

Free Thought Project – by Claire Bernish

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, confirmed to the position Thursday by the U.S. Senate, is one in a string of disputed appointees to President Trump’s Cabinet, but this contention doesn’t concern his politics, rather, it’s centered on his lax treatment of billionaire pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

And former Green Party candidate and U.S. Representative, Cynthia McKinney, is none too pleased with the confirmation, tweeting shortly after the news,   Continue reading “Trump’s New Sec of Labor Let “Lolita Express” Billionaire Off “With a Wrist Slap””

New Historian – by  Daryl Worthington

1st May is treated as a holiday in much of the world. Celebrations, rituals, festivities and protests take place across the planet on the 1st May, or in some countries, the following Monday.

Through the course of history however, the date’s meaning has changed and evolved, developing from pagan roots into an occasion that has come to be synonymous with workers’ rights, class action and trade unionism.   Continue reading “The History of May Day”

PhilStar Global – by Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines –  US President Donald Trump invited President Duterte to the White House during a “friendly” conversation that also tackled regional security issues including the threat posed by North Korea, officials said yesterday.

Trump called Duterte Saturday night after the closing ceremonies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit hosted by the Philippines.   Continue reading “Trump invites Rody to White House”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

After two years of recurring warnings (both on this website and elsewhere) that Canada’s largest alternative (i.e., non-bank) mortgage lender is fundamentally insolvent, kept alive only courtesy of the Canadian housing bubble which until last week had managed to lift all boats, Home Capital Group suffered a spectacular spectacular implosion last week when its stock price crashed by the most on record after HCG revealed that it had taken out an emergency $2 billion line of credit from an unnamed counterparty with an effective rate as high as 22.5%, indicative of a business model on the verge of collapse .   Continue reading “Panic Bank Run Leaves Canada’s Largest Alternative Mortgage Lender On Edge Of Collapse”

USA Today – by Rick Jervis

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets Monday in massive May Day events across the USA mostly protesting the policies of President Trump.

May Day — also known as International Worker’s Day — has spawned protests around the globe in past years highlighting workers’ rights. But on Monday, the impetus for the U.S. marches span from immigrants’ rights to LGBT awareness to police misconduct.   Continue reading “Thousands expected to hit the streets for May Day protests”

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The Guardian – by Michael Finkel

Christopher Knight was only 20 years old when he walked away from society, not to be seen again for more than a quarter of a century. He had been working for less than a year installing home and vehicle alarm systems near Boston, Massachusetts, when abruptly, without giving notice to his boss, he quit his job. He never even returned his tools. He cashed his final pay cheque and left town.   Continue reading “Into the woods: how one man survived alone in the wilderness for 27 years”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – At least 352 civilians have been killed in U.S.-led strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since the operation began in 2014, the U.S. military said in a statement on Sunday.

The Combined Joint Task Force, in its monthly assessment of civilian casualties from the U.S. coalition’s operations against the militant group, said it was still assessing 42 reports of civilian deaths.   Continue reading “U.S.-led fight on ISIS have killed 352 civilians: Pentagon”

Snap Out Of It America – by Michael Hutcheson

President Lincoln has been all but deified in America, with a god-like giant statue at a Parthenon-like memorial in Washington. Generations of school children have been indoctrinated with the story that “Honest Abe” Lincoln is a national hero who saved the Union and fought a noble war to end slavery, and that the “evil” Southern states seceded from the Union to protect slavery. This is the Yankee myth of history, written and promulgated by Northerners, and it is a complete falsity. It was produced and entrenched in the culture in large part to gloss over the terrible war crimes committed by Union soldiers in the War Between the States, as well as Lincoln’s violations of the law, his shredding of the Constitution, and other reprehensible acts. It has been very effective in keeping the average American ignorant of the real causes of the war, and the real nature, character and record of Lincoln. Let us look at some unpleasant facts.   Continue reading “The Terrible Truth About Abraham Lincoln and the Confederate War”

AOL

HETH, Ark. (WREG) — An Arkansas dad is using a handmade sign on his rural St. Francis County property to defend and protect his 16-year-old daughter.

Shelton Kitchens said he learned recently that his daughter was in a sexual relationship with a 21-year-old man.

“I find my daughter like she’s almost eaten alive. It’s sickening when you raise her shirt and look at it. Hickeys all over,” he said.   Continue reading “Angry father posts ‘child molester’ sign in his neighbor’s yard”

ABC News – by Dave Kolpak, AP

A firebrand commissioner in Fargo wondered out loud during a council meeting last September how much money North Dakota’s largest city was spending on its decades-old refugee resettlement program, comments he has since backed up with speculation linking immigration to crime.

Dave Piepkorn’s words have resonated for some, especially during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign when the Republican candidate promised to build a wall along America’s border with Mexico. But Piepkorn’s comments have also struck fear into Fargo’s diverse immigrant community, already concerned that the administration’s focus on blocking and deporting more refugees could tear families apart.   Continue reading “North Dakota official faces recall threat for refugee claims”

CNN

President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his administration — but so far his administration is deporting fewer people than his predecessor.

According to statistics from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) given to CNN, the pace of removals under Trump in his first three months lags behind even the last two years of his predecessor, when then-President Barack Obama ordered his agencies to use more discretion when it came to deporting undocumented immigrants, focusing specifically on criminals.
Continue reading “Despite tough talk and more arrests, deportations slow under Trump”