Afghan Security personnel arrive outside the Telecommunication Ministry during a gunfight with insurgents in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 20, 2019. A suicide blast rocked Afghanistan's capital Saturday during a gun battle with security forces, officials said, killing several people a day after hopes for all-encompassing peace talks collapsed. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says the Taliban ambushed a security convoy, killing nine policemen in western Farah province.
Abdul Samad Salehi, a provincial councilman, says the convoy was heading to defuse a roadside bomb on Wednesday afternoon when the ambush happened in Anardara district.
Saleh says that shortly after the attack on the convoy, other Taliban insurgents targeted and briefly overran the district police headquarters. After a few hours of clashes, reinforcements arrived and wrested back control of the headquarters.
The insurgents did not immediately comment on the Farah attacks. The Taliban have been active in the area and have launched large-scale attacks against Afghan security forces in Farah.
The Taliban stage-near daily attacks even as they hold talks with a U.S. envoy tasked on a peaceful resolution to the war.
Another video has emerged showing a young Trump supporter being harassed, attacked, and intimidated — this time by a bigger student at a high school.
The attack reportedly occurred at the Edmond Santa Fe High School in Edmond, Oklahoma, whereby an older student knocked a Make America Great Again off the younger student and tried to rip away his Trump banner.
A Trump supporting student at Edmond Santa Fe High School had his MAGA flag ripped off of him by another student.
“You gotta take it off,” the bully told him. “Take it off now.”
As the younger student tried to walk past him, the bully said: “Hey where you think you’re going? You goin’ to take it off or you want me to rip it off? You want me to rip it off?”
“I can rip it off or I can burn it. Which one you want?” the bully continued.
The younger student didn’t retaliate, while other students tried to intervene and calm the unhinged bully, who only continued to try to tear the Trump flag from the boy’s grasp.
As we reported, attacks against Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats has reached a point of occurring almost daily while the mainstream media blacks them out, and instead covers hate crime hoaxes to demonize Trump supporters.
At least four attacks against Trump supporters took place in the last two weeks alone.
Last week, a woman assaulted a man for simply wearing a MAGA hat.
In one of the most notorious cases against young Trump supporters, a grown man stole the MAGA hat from a teenager inside a Whataburger, then tossed a drink in his face saying, “You ain’t supporting shit, nigga.”
Thanks to the frothing media, unprovoked attacks against Trump supporters have become commonplace in America, but you wouldn’t know that by watching the news.
It’s clear the “Jussie Smollett hoax” benefits the globalists’ false flag agenda. Alex calls in from the road to expose those that actually want to divide America.
Former NFL player, Cierre Wood appears in court on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 in Las Vegas. Wood, arrested on suspicion of child abuse, now faces murder charges after his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter died. (Michael Quine/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas judge expressed shock at the severity of injuries found on a 5-year-old girl whose death led to murder and child abuse charges against her mother and mother's former NFL player boyfriend.
Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson denied bail Tuesday to Amy Taylor and former running back Cierre Wood pending a May 21 preliminary hearing.
Prosecutor Michelle Jobe said a grand jury is expected to hear evidence about the April 9 death of La'Rayah Davis.
The Clark County coroner determined she had a lacerated liver, broken ribs and died of multiple injuries. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Attorneys for both defendants declined comment outside court.
Wood played for Houston, New England, Buffalo, and in the Canadian Football League.
MSNBC anchors Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle were frustrated by Trump EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler saying climate change isn’t an immediate threat.
Ruhle declared, “The Trump administration has managed to downplay the impact of climate change again. Andrew Wheeler, the new EPA administrator, insisted the effects of manmade global warming are not here yet.”
In an interview with CBS correspondent Major Garrett on Wednesday, Wheeler explained his position on climate change.
“When you hear Democrats running for nomination in 2020 say we’re in a catastrophic situation, is there anything unreasonable about those impressions or that rhetoric?” Garrett asked.
Wheeler responded, “Yes, I think it is unreasonable. On the climate change, it is an important issue that we have to be addressing, and we are addressing it, but most of the threats from climate change are 50 to 75 years out.”
Ruhle responded to Wheeler’s comment, saying, “Well, for facts sake, climate change is here, happening right now. Like the historic record-breaking flooding that ripped through the Midwest. You know when what happened? This week.”
Speaking with former Obama administration EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Velshi complained, “It’s sort of beyond frustrating that an EPA administrator would say that a matter 50 to 75 years out is not important.”
McCarthy said the Trump administration is acting like “they’re blind and all of these things are happening around them that threaten our lives, that threaten our public health, that are destroying communities, destroying farmland, that are killing and impacting millions of people across the world…”
The issue is that McCarthy never explains what “these things” are.
The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Thomas Homan, told Fox News on Sunday that President Trump made the right move replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan.
Homan, a Fox News contributor, called McAleenan one of the smartest men with whom he has worked.
“He knows border issues, and he can hit the ground running,” Homan told Jon Scott on “Fox Report.” “He knows the border... he will start day one.”
Nielsen resigned on Sunday amid the administration’s growing frustration over migrants approaching the Mexico border.
Trump thanked her for her work in a tweet and announced McAleenan would be taking over as acting head of the department. McAleenan is a longtime border official who is well-respected by members of Congress and within the administration. The decision to name an immigration officer to the post reflects Trump’s priority for a sprawling department founded to combat terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Homan said he blamed Congress and current U.S. law for the border crisis: “We are enticing people to come.”
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold up a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights as Netanyahu exits the White House from the West Wing in Washington, U.S. March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
March 27, 2019
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council will meet later on Wednesday, at the request of Syria, over U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move the U.N. Security Council declared “null and void and without international legal effect.”
In a letter to the 15-member Security Council requesting a meeting, Syria described the U.S. decision as a “flagrant violation” of Security Council resolutions.
Trump, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking over his shoulder during a visit to Washington, on Monday signed a proclamation officially granting U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
The European members of the council – France, Britain, Germany, Belgium and Poland – said on Tuesday they did not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territories it has occupied since June 1967, including the Golan Heights, and raised concerns about “broader consequences of recognizing illegal annexation and also about the broader regional consequences.”
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait on Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision and said the territory was occupied Arab land. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi said it was an impediment to peace. Iran echoed the comments, describing Trump’s decision as unprecedented in this century.
The Security Council deployed a peacekeeping force in 1974 – known as the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) – to monitor a ceasefire between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights. There are more than 880 U.N. troops on the ground.
George Washington, circa 1780/The letter on God and the Constitution. (Photo by Stock Montage/Stock Montage/Getty Images/The Raab Collection)
Each year, on the third Monday of February, we celebrate Presidents Day to honor U.S. presidents, past and present. Instead of kings who wield absolute power for entire lifetimes, America was established as a nation ruled by the people. The government’s ability to wrest power from the people was reined in by an ingenious system of checks and balances. But what is often missed by pundits today was the expectation of our Founding Fathers, all of whom held great reverence for God and Scripture, that leaders possess a moral compass, and that virtue, justice and righteousness were essential for government not to trample on the God-given rights of the people.
George Washington warned America in his first inaugural address never to depart from its founding principles, which he clearly believed flowed from God. He declared, “the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”
Christians share the same spiritual obligation our Founding Fathers felt to express our faith in the political and public sphere. Here are three reasons why:
1. Political involvement demonstrates love for our neighbors.
Jesus told us in Matthew 22 that the greatest commandment is to love God with all that we are and he went on to say that the second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
As Americans, we are allowed the unique opportunity to influence our laws.
Using our voice and our vote as Christians to influence the political landscape of our country is one way we can show love to our neighbor. Good laws and a well-run government are essential to produce a flourishing society. Obeying these two commandments includes seeking legislation that protects the sanctity of life, religious freedom, marriage and family, and that compassionately cares for those in need. Engaging in politics allows us to effect change and is essential for believers who love their neighbor.
2. Political involvement demonstrates reverence for God.
Paul writes in Romans 13 that Christians should respect and be subject to their governing authorities because “there is no authority except that which God has established.”
The Bible explicitly expresses an obligation to our government that is derived from God’s authority. As Americans, we are allowed the unique opportunity to influence our laws. For Christians, this means we must bring our biblical worldview to the public square. If we begin to remove ourselves from politics, this opens the door for moral decay and culture shift, inevitably changing the direction of a government that honors God.
3. Political involvement shows respect for the Bible.
2 Timothy tells us that, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
“Every good work” definitely includes leveraging our faith to influence politics in a way that seeks to build God’s kingdom on Earth. Believers must understand a biblical worldview speaks into every aspect of our lives, including some of today’s most controversial issues.
So, hopefully, this Presidents Day gives you an extra moment of rest but also time to reflect on — and be grateful for — how our nation’s leaders have exercised their faith while serving in government. Let their example encourage everyday citizens like you and me to let our faith impact our nation, too.
“Outdated laws” need fixing to deal with the surge in illegal immigrant families crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a top Border Patrol official said Friday.
Historically 70 to 90 percent of apprehensions at the border were quickly returned to Mexico, Hastings said.
Now, 83 percent of those apprehended have come from the Central American northern triangle which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and of those 63 percent are “family units” and children who cannot be returned, he said.
“There are no consequences that we can apply to this group currently,” Hastings said. “We’re overwhelmed. If you look at agents there doing a tremendous job trying to deal with the flow.”
The law dictates children have to be released after 20 days of detention.
“Up to 40 percent of our agents are processing at any given time,” he said. “That should say that in and of itself is pulling from those border security resources.”
President Trump on Friday blasted liberal billionaire activist Tom Steyer for his continued push to impeach Trump — with Trump claiming Steyer is “trying to remain relevant” and doesn’t have the “guts” to run for the White House himself.
“Weirdo Tom Steyer, who didn’t have the ‘guts’ or money to run for President, is still trying to remain relevant by putting himself on ads begging for impeachment,” the president tweeted. “He doesn’t mention the fact that mine is perhaps the most successful first 2 year presidency in history & NO C OR O! [Collusion or Obstruction]”
Trump and his allies have pointed to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report’s conclusions that there was no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and its decision not to make a conclusion on obstruction of justice as a vindication for the president.
Steyer has been one of the leaders backing a push to impeach Trump and founded “Need to Impeach” and has kept up that push since the report’s release. He announced on Thursday that he was calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to support impeachment proceedings.
On Friday he responded to Trump’s tweet, calling him “angry and scared.”
“I know you want it all to go away. But for the sake of the country you must face your transgressions. Rage away, but that anger doesn’t matter,” he said in a tweet. The truth and the people will prevail.”
Impeachment hearings have been backed by a number of House Democrats, as well as 2020 presidential hopefuls Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. However, Pelosi has long been skeptical of impeachment proceedings against Trump.
“I’m not for impeachment,” Pelosi told The Washington Post in an interview last month. “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it.”
A Florida measure that would ban sanctuary cities is set for a vote Friday in the state’s Senate after clearing its first hurdle earlier this week.
The bill would effectively make it against the law for Florida’s police departments to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
“The Governor may initiate judicial proceedings in the name of the state against such officers to enforce compliance,” a draft version of the Senate bill reads.
A House version of the bill, which passed by a 69-47 vote Wednesday, adds that non-complying officials could be suspended or removed from office and face fines of up to $5,000 per day. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign off on the measure, although it’s not clear which version.
Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), during a press conference at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, speaks out against bills in the House and Senate that would ban sanctuary cities in the state. (AP)
Florida is home to 775,000 illegal immigrants out of 10.7 million present in the United States, ranking the state third among all states.
Nine states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas — already have enacted state laws requiring law enforcement to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Florida doesn’t have sanctuary cities like the ones in California and other states. But Republican lawmakers say a handful of their municipalities — including Orlando and West Palm Beach – are acting as “pseudo-sanctuary” cities, because they prevent law enforcement officials from asking about immigration status when they make arrests.
“There are still people here in the state of Florida, police chiefs that are just refusing to contact ICE, refusing to detain somebody that they know is here illegally,” Florida Republican Rep. Blaise Ingoglia said earlier this month. “So while the actual county municipality doesn’t have an actual adopted policy, they still have people in power within their sheriff’s department or police department that refuse to do it anyway.”
Florida’s Democratic Party has blasted the anti-Sanctuary measures, while the Miami-Dade Police Department says it should be up to federal authorities to handle immigration-related matters.
“House Republicans today sold out their communities to Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis by passing this xenophobic and discriminatory bill,” the state’s Democratic Party said Wednesday after the House passed their version of the bill. “It’s abhorrent that Republican members who represent immigrant communities are now turning their backs on their constituents and jeopardizing their safety.
“Florida has long stood as a beacon for immigrant communities — and today Republicans did the best they could to destroy that reputation,” they added.
Fox News’ Elina Shirazi contributed to this report.
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo
April 26, 2019
By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.
No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.
Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.
By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.
Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.
The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.
The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.
The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.
Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.
It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.
While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.
TRENDING
According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.
Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.
Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.
Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.
“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said
For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.
“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.
For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.
The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.
The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.
That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.
(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)
(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)
LANCASTER, Pa. – The Amish population in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County is continuing to grow each year, despite the encroachment of urban sprawl on their communities.
The U.S. Census Bureau says the county added about 2,500 people in 2018. LNP reports that about 1,000 of them were Amish.
Elizabethtown College researchers say Lancaster County’s Amish population reached 33,143 in 2018, up 3.2% from the previous year.
The Amish accounted for about 41% of the county’s overall population growth last year.
Some experts are concerned that a planned 75-acre (30-hectare) housing and commercial project will make it more difficult for the county to accommodate the Amish.
Donald Kraybill, an authority on Amish culture, told Manheim Township commissioners this week that some in the community are worried about the development and the increased traffic it would bring.
Click below to consent to the use of the cookie technology provided by vi (video intelligence AG) to personalize content and advertising. For more info please access vi's website.