Police Release Video of Gunfight With Man on ‘Reign of Terror’ Crime Spree — and He Had Been Deported Before

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California police are still piecing together the events of what they call a “reign of terror” from a 36-year-old man who had already been deported from the country once.

Police say Gustavo Garcia shot a farm worker at 1 in the morning on Sunday while he was picking fruit on a ladder. The man was shot in the chest, but is expected to recover from the wound.

Garcia then committed armed robbery at the AA Gas and Grub, where he fired off some shots in the ceiling and demanded $2,000. No one was hurt at the robbery.

That evening on Sunday he shot at a woman who was sitting in her car in the parking lot of a Motel 6. She was shot in the chest area and in the arm, but her wounds are not life-threatening. . .

At 5 in the morning, police attempted to stop Garcia when they recognized his vehicle, but he drove into an orchard, stole a truck from three farmworkers, and fled from police going the wrong way on the highway.

(Read more from “Police Release Video of Gunfight With Man on ‘Reign of Terror’ Crime Spree — and He Had Been Deported Before” HERE)

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Polar Vortex to Bring Bone-Chilling Cold to Much of Nation This Winter, Scientists Warn

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. . .North Carolina, which doesn’t see much snow, got 20 inches last week, leaving two dead and thousands without power. While the Old Farmer’s Almanac offers some good news in a forecast predicting an El Niño will bring warmer temperatures across most of North America this winter, some scientists are saying just the opposite. . .

Judah Cohen, a researcher from Atmospheric and Environmental Research, says a polar vortex will blast across the East Coast later this month and into January, bringing lots of snow and bone-chilling temperatures, The Washington Post reported.

A polar vortex happens when the stratosphere, the upper part of Earth’s atmosphere, warms up suddenly. That brings strong winds, which then splits the vortex, drawing cold air from the north into the south.

“When the vortex, perched some 60,000 feet high in the atmosphere, is stable, winter conditions over the United States and Europe tend to be rather ordinary. Winter is still winter, with the normal mix of storms, cold snaps and thaws,” the Post writes. “But when the vortex is disrupted, an ordinary winter can suddenly turn severe and memorable for an extended duration. ‘[It] can affect the entire winter,’ Cohen said in an interview.”

(Read more from “Polar Vortex to Bring Bone-Chilling Cold to Much of Nation This Winter, Scientists Warn” HERE)

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White House Going Wobbly on Border Wall Shutdown? Trump Needs to Keep His Promise

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Tuesday morning on Fox News, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders gave President Donald Trump a way to save face should he cave to Democrats on funding for a border wall.

Democrats have so far refused the president’s demands for $5 billion in wall funding, a compromise from the $25 billion needed to complete construction of wall on the southern border. Congress must pass a spending bill by midnight Friday to keep the government fully operational and Democrats have only agreed to fund $1.6 billion as part of a continuing resolution to keep spending at current levels.

Sanders suggested that if Congress refuses to appropriate the full $5 billion, the president can look elsewhere for those funds and sign a bill that will keep the government open.

“We have other ways that we can get to that $5 billion that we will work with Congress if they will make sure that we get a bill passed that provides not just the funding for the wall, but there is a piece of legislation that’s been pushed around that Democrats voted 26-5 out of committee that provides roughly $26 billion in border security, including $1.6 billion for the wall,” Sanders said. “That’s something that we would be able to support as long as we can couple that with other funding resources that help us get to the $5 billion.”

She did not get specific about those “funding resources.” In truth, the administration’s ability to move money around is limited without congressional approval, which Trump will be hard pressed to receive once the Democrats assume control of the House of Representatives.

Yet Sanders said the president is committed to border security and does not want to shut the government down.

“We don’t want to shut down the government, we want to shut down the border from illegal immigration, from drugs coming into this country, and make sure we know who’s coming and why they’re coming, and that’s what the president is focused on,” Sanders added later.

That statement contradicts President Trump, who last week proclaimed he would be “proud” to shut down the government for border security. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Republican leaders have been urging the president to avoid a government shutdown. Possibly, Trump is acquiescing to the demands of Republican congressional leaders.

Here’s the deal: If Trump signs a spending bill without the full downpayment on wall funding to avoid a government shutdown, he breaks repeated promises to fight for border security but he’ll blame the failure on Democrats and claim his administration is working around Congress. Going this route likely means no wall funding before the 202o election. If Trump keeps his promise, the government will shut down this weekend and Republicans and Democrats will continue negotiations as the media hysterically reports on the government being “shut down” while in reality less than 10% of the government stops working.

To score a win Trump and the GOP need to make a unified argument for border security. Trump should deliver an address to the nation on the hundreds of thousands of criminal convictions of illegal immigrants made in FY2018 and on the illicit drug crisis fueled by international drug cartels taking advantage of our weak borders. Trump ought to demonstrate how a wall works and how Democrats are threatening public safety by refusing to fund the wall. Trump should follow through with the shutdown threat and spend every single day of the shutdown single-mindedly hammering the Democrats until they either give in or keep the government closed indefinitely.

Short of this strategy, what exactly will change in the next two years? A Democratic House will not approve wall funding, or any other of Trump’s priorities. If the case is made to the American people that Republicans should be in control of the House again and Trump is reelected with a GOP majority in 2020, how will anything be different from the past two years of GOP control with no wall funding? Trump has repeatedly given in to demands from Congress to keep the government open and so far he has nothing to show for it. Enough is enough.

If Trump wants the wall, it’s shutdown or bust. If he’s unwilling to fight, he should tell the American people he can’t win and let them find someone else who will. (For more from the author of “White House Going Wobbly on Border Wall Shutdown? Trump Needs to Keep His Promise” please click HERE)

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Justice Department Announces Ban on Bump Stocks

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The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that bump stocks, which allowed a semi-automatic weapon to be considered a “machine gun” under federal law, are now banned.

The Justice Department amended regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which ruled that bump-stock-type devices on a semi-automatic weapon allow a shooter to fire the weapon continuously with a single pull of the trigger.

“President Donald Trump is a law and order president, who has signed into law millions of dollars in funding for law enforcement officers in our schools, and under his strong leadership, the Department of Justice has prosecuted more gun criminals than ever before as we target violent criminals,” acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a news release. “We are faithfully following President Trump’s leadership by making clear that bump stocks, which turn semi-automatics into machine guns, are illegal, and we will continue to take illegal guns off of our streets.”

Bump stocks were thrust into the spotlight following the Las Vegas massacre in October last year. The gunman, who killed 58 people, used the rapid-fire devices to spray bullets into a crowded outdoor concert from the window of his hotel room. . .

The Justice Department “reviewed more than 186,000 public comments and made the decision to make clear that the term ‘machine gun’ as used in the National Firearms Act (NFA), as amended, and Gun Control Act (GCA), as amended, includes all bump-stock-type devices that harness recoil energy to facilitate the continuous operation of a semiautomatic firearm after a single pull of the trigger,” the release said. (Read more from “Justice Department Announces Ban on Bump Stocks” HERE)

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Do Democrats Have a White Man Problem?

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In an interview with CNN’s Van Jones this weekend, Democratic Sen. Kristen Gillibrand was asked if it was a problem that a recent poll shows three white men are leading for the 2020 presidential nomination. Her answer, which grabbed headlines, was a blunt “Yes,” and drew a laugh from Jones.

Gillibrand explained her answer a bit, but only in very broad terms. She talked about the importance of Barack Obama’s first black presidency, then said, ““I aspire for our country to recognize the beauty of our diversity in some point in the future and I hope some day we have a woman president.” . . .

There’s also the fact that the last time the Democrats nominated a white man was in 2004. Granted, all the ones before that were white men, but over the past two decades it’s been a different set. Democrats elected a record number of women into office in 2018 and are handing the gavel back to the first woman to be speaker of the House. So is it really a problem that the three leaders for the nomination are white men?

There are two basic ways to address this question. The first is electoral, and the second is ideological. From the point of view of pure voting math, there are good arguments for and against a white male candidate. Proponents would say that it could help in Trump’s forgotten America. Detractors would argue that today’s Democratic Party must mirror the Obama coalition and pump up minority turnout. . .

That leaves the ideological problem as the one that is truly at issue here. It isn’t merely symbolic. Sure, somebody not white or male polling over 10 percent would be the kind of PR win Democrats got with the photos of their wave of new female legislators. But for many Democrats, apparently including Gillibrand, equal representation on the basis of race and sex really does go beyond campaign narrative and is a driving principle of the party itself. (Read more from “Do Democrats Have a White Man Problem?” HERE)

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Girl’s Inoperable Brain Tumor Disappears, Doctors Can’t Explain It

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By USA Today. A girl’s inoperable brain tumor is gone and doctors have no explanation.

Today, Roxli Doss is doing what she loves, and that’s horseback riding. . .

It’s hard to imagine that in June doctors diagnosed Roxli with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG.

“It is very rare, but when we see it, it is a devastating disease,” said Dr. Virginia Harrod with Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. “You have decreased ability to swallow, sometimes vision loss, decreased ability to talk, eventually difficulty with breathing.”

Harrod said the now 11-year-old went through weeks of radiation, even though there is no cure. The family held a benefit for her in August, and the community responded in a big way. At that point, all Gena and Scott Doss could do was pray for a miracle. (Read more from “Girl’s Inoperable Brain Tumor Disappears, Doctors Can’t Explain It” HERE)
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11-Year-Old Girl’s Brain Tumor Disappears in Medical Mystery

By CBS News. When 11-year-old Roxli Doss was diagnosed with what appeared to be a rare, inoperable brain tumor in June, she faced it with courage. Each year, some 300 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with this particular brain tumor, known as a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG. . .

Roxli was given months to live. As she went through weeks of radiation, her parents Scott and Gena Doss prayed for a miracle. . .

Typically, radiation is a life-extending treatment and not a cure. But just over two months after being diagnosed, the tumor appeared to have completely gone away. (Read more from “11-Year-Old Girl’s Brain Tumor Disappears in Medical Mystery” HERE)

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Federal Judge Shreds Michael Flynn Before Delaying His Sentencing

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By Townhall. A federal judge ripped into former White House National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn Tuesday afternoon before delaying his sentencing. A new date will be set when his cooperation with Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel is complete, but will be delayed for at least 90 days. The request for a delay was made by Flynn’s attorney after he confirmed his guilty plea of lying to the FBI.

“All along, you were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the national security adviser to the president of the United States. Arguably that undermines everything this flag over here stands for. Arguably you sold your country out.” Judge Emmet Sullivan stated from the bench. “I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain, for this criminal offense.”

Flynn’s attorneys have requested no prison time be considered due to his life-long service to the United States and because of his extensive cooperation with Mueller’s investigation. Mueller’s prosecutors agreed and encouraged the judge not to put him behind bars. . .

(Read more from “Federal Judge Shreds Michael Flynn Before Delaying His Sentencing” HERE)

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Judge’s Rebuke of Flynn Upends Sentencing, Prolongs Case

By NBC Los Angeles. A federal judge who described himself as disgusted by Michael Flynn’s behavior upended a straightforward sentencing hearing, postponing punishment for President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser and telling him in a stinging rebuke, “Arguably you sold your country out.”

Lawyers for Flynn requested the delay Tuesday after a tongue-lashing from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan raised the prospect that Flynn could spend time behind bars for lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts.

Prosecutors hadn’t recommended prison, but the hearing that began with the defendant upbeat and smiling took an unexpected turn when the judge said his sentence would take into account not just Flynn’s extensive cooperation with investigators but also the lies the Trump administration official told from the grounds of the White House.

“I can’t make any guarantees, but I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain for this criminal offense,” Sullivan said.

The postponement gave Flynn a chance to continue cooperating with the government in hopes of staving off prison and proving his value as a witness, including in a foreign-lobbying prosecution brought this week. The possibility of prison had seemed remote for Flynn since prosecutors had praised his cooperation, including 19 meetings with investigators. (Read more from “Judge’s Rebuke of Flynn Upends Sentencing, Prolongs Case” HERE)

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Democrat Senator Urges Republican Aide to Kill Herself, Continues Attacking Her

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A New York State Democrat senator came under intense fire on Tuesday after he urged a Republican aide to kill herself in a now-deleted tweet and then immediately continued attacking her.

Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) instructed New York State Republican Deputy Communications Director Candice Giove to “Kill yourself!” after she allegedly exposed Parker appearing to misuse a parking placard.

“[I] got to the bottom of this. The placard is assigned to @SenatorParker,” Giove tweeted. “However, the license plate # on the placard does not match the vehicle. So he either used it in another car or gave it to someone to use, both of which are not permitted.”

Parker’s horrifying remark comes after he “attracted attention late last month when he proposed a bill that would require those seeking a firearm permit to consent to having their social-media accounts searched for objectionable content,” the Democrat & Chronicle reported. “The bill would require gun-seekers to turn over their passwords to key accounts to police, if necessary. If approved, up to three years of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter posts and one year of search-engine history would be open to scrutiny.”

(Read more from “Democrat Senator Urges Republican Aide to Kill Herself, Continues Attacking Her” HERE)

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Watch: Mexico Theme Park Offers Illegal Border Crossing Experience

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With President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, Americans are paying special attention to what’s taking place in Mexico and along the southern border. An interesting discovery has just come to light: a theme park roughly 80 miles north of Mexico City, called Parque EcoAlberto, has an attraction, called “The Nightwalk,” that simulates illegally crossing into the United States.

For roughly $17 USD (or $350 Mexican pesos) a person can make a trek through the simulation. If they’re wanting an “extreme” version of the simulation, they can pay $24 USD (or $500 Mexican pesos) for an additional six hours.

According to park administrator Maribel Garcia, the goal of the simulation is to “bring awareness” to what the situation is like for those who decide to cross into the United States illegally. The amusement park was also designed to be a source of employment for those in the area, since the region previously relied on agriculture. The region failed to grow though because of its lack of roads, sewer, power and telephone systems.

“Our objective is to stop the immigration that exists amongst our citizens, principally from the state of Mexico to the U.S.,” Garcia told PBS back in 2013. “We try to help people so that they won’t leave. It’s time to create some employment, to work with our own and regenerate everything, or at least what we can, even though it might be slow going.” . . .

Here’s a promotional video that hows what the encounter is like:

(Read more from “Mexico Theme Park Offers Illegal Border Crossing Experience” HERE)

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If China Can Ever Bully the United States Like It Is Canada, We’re in Serious Trouble

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The United States started a trade war with China. The Justice Department requested Canadian authorities to arrest Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China’s telecom giant Huawei, on allegations that she had violated sanctions against Iran by committing financial fraud.

China hasn’t taken Meng’s arrest very well. It viewed Meng’s arrest as a politically driven “kidnapping” aimed at curbing China’s technological ambition and forcing China to make trade concessions. Beijing feels it has lost face internationally and in front of its domestic, nationalistic audience. Therefore, Beijing has been in revenge mode. However, its main target so far has been not the United States, but Canada.

Since Meng’s arrest, China’s foreign minister has summoned the Canadian ambassador to China, John McCallum, multiple times, to lodge a “strong protest” and tell him Meng’s arrest caused “serious damage to Sino-Canada relations.” Beijing demanded the immediate release of Meng, or Canada would face “grave consequences” for Meng’s arrest. The same Chinese foreign ministry also summoned the U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, a day after meeting the Canadian ambassador, to protest Meng’s arrest as being “unreasonable.” In diplomatic language, the U.S. ambassador was treated with kid gloves.

The Canadian government has tried very hard to explain to Beijing that Meng’s arrest was not politically driven and its timing, which took place on the same day as the President Trump and Chinese President Xi Xinping’s meeting at the G20 in Argentina, was pure coincidence. The Justice Department launched a criminal probe into Huawei’s dealings in Iran in April 2017. The arrest warrant for Meng was issued in August by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and Meng was charged with “conspiracy to defraud multiple international institutions.” To U.S. authorities, arresting Meng in Canada was a natural choice, because Meng stopped traveling to the United States in 2017, but she does travel to Canada regularly as a legal resident there. . .

Last week, Beijing arrested two Canadians on charges of “endangering national security.” One is Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat and now a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group (ICG). According to ICG’s website, Kovrig “conducts research and provides analysis on foreign affairs and global security issues in North East Asia, particularly on China, Japan and the Korean peninsula.” China declared that ICG is not a legally registered non-governmental organization (NGO) in China. Thus, Kovrig might have also violated China’s notorious foreign NGO law, which gives Beijing the ability to prevent international organizations it doesn’t like, such as human rights organizations, from operating legally in China. (Read more from “If China Can Ever Bully the United States Like It Is Canada, We’re in Serious Trouble” HERE)

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