Freak Accident As Airport Sign Falls On Family, Kills Child In Alabama (+video)

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Photo Credit: Mark Almond

One of four children injured when a Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport flight information sign fell on a family today has died.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office confirmed they received a call a short time ago from Children’s Of Alabama. Deputy Coroner Derrick Perryman identified the child as Luke Bresette, age 10. He was pronounced dead at Children’s of Alabama at 2:26 p.m.

Perryman said it’s unclear where the family lives. Preliminary information is that they were on a layover in Birmingham and were to catch a connecting flight.

The boy’s mother, Heather Bresette, is listed in critical condition at UAB Hospital, according a hospital spokeswoman. Bresette and her four children were trapped under the sign when it toppled on top of them just after 1:30 p.m. today in the newly-renovated terminal. All four children were taken to Children’s of Alabama. Their father was not injured.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell moments ago issued this statement: “I have offered our full support to the Airport Authority as they investigate what has occurred this afternoon. I have asked our public safety staff to assist this family in their time of need in any way possible as they grapple with what has happened.”

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Senators Paul, Cruz, and Lee Join Democrats to Vote Against Ryan Budget

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Photo Credit: breitbart

Earlier this week, GOP Rep. Mick Mulvaney offered the Senate Democrat budget proposal for a vote in the House. The budget plan was defeated, with 35 Democrats crossing the aisle to oppose it. Thursday night, Dem Sen. Patty Murray responded by offering Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget for a vote in the Senate. The measure failed, 40-59, with 5 GOP Senators joining in opposition. Interestingly, among these 5 were Sens. Paul, Cruz and Lee.

Sens. Paul, Cruz and Lee are providing the nucleus of an emerging conservative opposition in the Senate. While there are other conservatives in the GOP caucus, these three are establishing themselves as reliable voices to articulate the conservative opposition to an ever encroaching government.

They are becoming skilled at identifying issues to make a stand on principle. I have no doubt that if their votes could have pushed the Ryan budget into passing, they would have voted for it, as it is likely the best option on the table. Frankly, however, the Ryan budget doesn’t go as far as conservatives would prefer. A vote against an amendment that was already going to be defeated was a good moment to stand on that principle.

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Al Gore Says Now Is The Time For A Carbon Tax

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Former Vice President Al Gore published a blog post on his website entitled “‘The time has come’ for a carbon tax,” which includes excerpts from an editorial from the Financial Times which endorses a carbon tax.

“Taxes are always a regrettable necessity, but some are less regrettable than others,” the FT editorial reads. “A tax that strengthens energy security and cuts pollution, while minimising the damage done to employment and investment, is one of the least regrettable of all.”

“Yet a carbon tax, which has all those characteristics, is struggling to find support from the US administration or in Congress,” the editorial continues. “It deserves much wider enthusiasm.”

President Obama has made addressing climate change a top priority for his second term, promising to use his executive authority to act on the issue if Congress failed to pass act on it first. However, the administration has repeatedly said it is not planning to propose a carbon tax.

Congressional Democrats have recently been pushing legislation that would put a price on carbon dioxide emissions in order to raise revenues and address global warming.

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Syrian With Direct Ties To 9/11 Hijackers Still In US, Apparently Immune From Deportation

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Free to do as he pleases, living out his days in the suburbs of northern New Jersey, a Syrian national who is a known associate of the 9/11 hijackers never has to worry about deportation by the U.S. government, according to an investigation by Fox Files.

With nearly 400,000 people waiting for U.S. citizenship, Daoud Chehazeh last November received political asylum for a third time after a series of bureaucratic screw ups at the federal level, according to a review of court documents and interviews with former federal and state investigators.

“It’s a slap in the face to Americans, especially the victims of 9/11 and the families,” said Jim Bush, who as a New Jersey state criminal investigator was part of the 9/11 investigation code-named PENTTBOMB. His partner in the investigation was Bob Bukowski, a now-retired FBI special agent.

“Three thousand people were murdered,” Bukowski said. “(Chehazeh) was definitely part of that conspiracy. … He facilitated the moves and protection up to the whole flight, basically, of Flight 77. Could we prove that in a court of law? No. But there are other remedies. Deport him. That’s what should have been done in this case.”

“This is an example of our national security policy gone mad,” Debra Burlingame, the co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America, said. Fox Files’ findings and the connection between Chehazeh and the Flight 77 hijackers were especially disheartening because Burlingame’s brother, Charles, was the pilot of Flight 77, which was hijacked and slammed into the Pentagon.

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‘Most Palestinians Hate Obama’; US President Gets Heated Reception In West Bank

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Photo Credit: AP

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, hit the red carpet first, followed by Barack Obama. The welcome ceremony lasted five minutes, with time for only solemn-faced handshakes and a reedy rendition of the Star Spangled banner before presidential entourage disappeared into Muqata’a building. The red carpet rolled up promptly behind them.

The pageant of love Mr Obama has engaged in with Benjamin Netanyahu may have won over several Israeli hearts, but it may have caused considerable damage to his relationship with the Palestinians.

The first 24-hours of Obama’s visit was marked with early morning rocket fire from Gaza towards Sderot, violating ceasefire agreed with Israel in November.

In Ramallah, empty streets were dotted with truculent Palestinian soldiers deployed to prevent violent protest at the president’s visit. Ramallah’s major thoroughfare, running from the presidential compound to Qalandiya checkpoint, was lined with posters censored with black paint. Their slogans had read: “Mr President, don’t bring your smart phone to Ramallah, there is no 3G in Palestine!”

Just 100 metres away from the Muqata’a, a small crowd of angry demonstrators gathered outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken, contained by flanks of riot police. “Obama get out”, they chanted in the direction of the president.

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‘Fast And Furious’ Report Finds DHS Missed Warning Signs, Napolitano In The Dark

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Photo Credit: Center for American Progress

The second of two reports examining who’s to blame over the federal anti-gunrunning scheme known as Operation Fast and Furious exonerates top officials at the Department of Homeland Security, but paints a picture of ineptitude, ignorance and mismanagement at the DHS operations in Arizona.

A report by the Homeland Security inspector general, obtained Friday by Fox News, concluded many in the agency’s Arizona operation knew for a long time the U.S. helped criminals smuggle guns to Mexico in violation of policy, but did nothing to stop it.

Further, the report said word of the gun-smuggling operation within DHS never traveled beyond Arizona — and claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano were never informed of the role ICE played.

According to the report, on numerous occasions ICE and Border Patrol agents stopped vehicles smuggling guns to Mexico, but were instructed by the ATF and U.S. attorney’s office to back off. Even after “suspects admitted to having transported weapons across the border five or six times,” they were not arrested, and ATF did not “try to flip the suspects to get them to cooperate, which was a mistake,” the report said.

The report was especially critical of senior management in Arizona, who oversaw the Fast and Furious case and assigned a full-time agent to the task force running the operation. That agent conducted surveillance, wrote and received reports, and was aware “gun-walking” — or allowing the guns to go into Mexico — “was against policy.” But “senior leaders did not read (his) reports nor instruct him to change his methodology or activities.”

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New Documents Reveal Obama Administration ‘Cooking The Books’ To Achieve Record Deportation Numbers

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Internal documents obtained by the House Judiciary Committee show that the Obama administration has been “cooking the books” in order to reach their “record” number of deported illegal immigrants, chairman Rep. Lamar Smith said Friday.

Based on the internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents, the number of removals are actually down, the opposite of what the administration has been claiming.

According to the committee’s review, in 2011 officials at the Department of Homeland Security began including the number of individuals removed through the Alien Transfer Exit Program (ATEP) in its annual removal numbers. ATEP is a program which moves apprehended illegal immigrants to another point along the border.

The committee chair claims that counting those individuals as removals is misleading because there are no repercussions for illegal immigrants who are deported through the program, and they can simply try to re-enter.

“It is dishonest to count illegal immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol along the border as ICE removals,” Smith explained in a statement. “And these ‘removals’ from the Border Patrol program do not subject the illegal immigrant to any penalties or bars for returning to the U.S. This means a single illegal immigrant can show up at the border and be removed numerous times in a single year — and counted each time as a removal.”

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This Week’s Biden Gaffe: VP Says Gabby Giffords Was ‘Mortally Wounded’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: YouTube

According to the Vice President, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was “mortally wounded.”

“Think about what happened out in — when Gabby Giffords, my good friend, was shot and mortally wounded,” Biden said during a gun control press conference on Thursday morning.

Biden held the press conference with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as family members of shooting victims. The group was pushing for what they call “common sense” gun control legislation.

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Another Obamacare Casualty: More Docs Plan To Retire Early (+video)

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Photo Credit: Every Day Health

Most physicians have a pessimistic outlook on the future of medicine, citing eroding autonomy and falling income, a survey of more than 600 doctors found.

Six in 10 physicians (62 percent) said it is likely many of their colleagues will retire earlier than planned in the next 1 to 3 years, a survey from Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found. That perception is uniform across age, gender, and specialty, it said.

Another 55 percent of surveyed doctors believe others will scale back hours because of the way medicine is changing, but the survey didn’t elaborate greatly on how it was changing. Three-quarters think the best and brightest may not consider a career in medicine, although that is an increase from the 2011 survey result of 69 percent.

“Physicians recognize ‘the new normal’ will necessitate major changes in the profession that require them to practice in different settings as part of a larger organization that uses technologies and team-based models for consumer (patient) care,” the survey’s findings stated.

About two-thirds of the survey responders said they believe physicians and hospitals will become more integrated in coming years. In the last 2 years, 31 percent moved into a larger practice, results found. Nearly eight in 10 believe midlevel providers will play a larger role in directing primary care.

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DHS Denies Massive Ammunition Purchase

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Photo Credit: US News

The Department of Homeland Security responded Friday to questions from Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., about why the agency was allegedly planning to buy some 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over the next five years.

DHS told Whispers it regularly fills all of its goods and services requirements at one time because it’s cheaper for the agency, and that the 1.6 billion number was misleading because the language of DHS’s purchase said it would need “up to” a certain amount.

One solicitation by the agency—for training centers and law enforcement personnel—was for “up to” 750 million rounds of training ammunition over the next five years, DHS spokesman Peter Boogaard told Whispers.

Another five-year contract allows for the purchase of “up to” 450 million rounds of ammunition, he said, and was also for law enforcement. Boogaard noted that the contract would be used by all DHS agencies except the Coast Guard.

“With more than 100,000 armed law enforcement personnel in DHS, significant quantities of ammunition are used to support law enforcement operations, quarterly qualifications, and training, to include advanced firearms training exercises,” Boogaard told Whispers. According to a letter to one lawmaker detailing DHS ammunition purchases, the department procured 148 million rounds in 2012.

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