Colt Ends AR-15 Production for Civilian Use

Gun-maker Colt is suspending its production of rifles for the civilian market including the popular AR-15, the company said Thursday in a shift it attributed to changes in consumer demand and a market already saturated with similar weapons. . .

“The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity,” Colt’s chief executive officer, Dennis Veilleux, said in a written statement. “Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future.” . . .

FBI statistics show more than 2.3 million people applied for background checks to purchase guns in August, up from just over 1.8 million in July. Those applications, the best available statistic from tracking gun sales, has have been rising steadily, with a slight decline after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, something call the “Trump slump.”

(Read more from “Colt Ends AR-15 Production for Civilian Use” HERE)

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THIRD Instance of Trudeau in Brownface or Blackface Surfaces

A photo of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in brownface swept the internet Wednesday night. Then, we got a second photo of the leader in blackface back in high school. . .

Global News has just shared an exclusive video it obtained showing the prime minister donned in racist makeup yet again. The image is blurry, but you can see Trudeau waving his arms in the air and sticking his tongue out.

The first controversial photo that appeared on Tuesday showed Trudeau with a painted brown face at an “Arabian Nights” party held by the West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver in 2001. He was teaching at the private school.

The second picture featured him in blackface at a high school talent show, where he performed the song, “Day-O.”

(Read more from “Third Instance of Trudeau in Brownface or Blackface Surfaces” HERE)

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Kevin Spacey Accuser Found Dead Ahead of Trial

An anonymous massage therapist who claims to have been sexually assaulted by Kevin Spacey has died, according to a notice filed in court by the actor’s attorneys.

The individual, suing as a “John Doe,” filed claims in September 2018 with the allegation of being forced to grab the actor’s genitals twice during a massage two years earlier at a private residence in Malibu. In May, a federal judge in California allowed the case to move forward despite Spacey’s objection that the plaintiff’s identity was being shielded.

Now, just a month after the parties came to a plan for proceeding in the suit that detailed prospective discovery and envisioned a seven- to 11-day trial, the plaintiff’s attorney has informed Spacey that the client “recently passed.” . . .

Spacey recently got out of another legal situation when criminal charges against him were dropped in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In that case, Spacey pleaded not guilty to felony indecent assault and battery, and prosecutors withdrew charges after the accuser — a teenage busboy — stopped cooperating.

The “John Doe” lawsuit subsequently represented the most significant legal situation for Spacey, who has been accused of sexually improper conduct against multiple individuals. In this case, as detailed in joint report filed in August, the plaintiff’s lawyers represented to the court two other alleged masseur victims of Spacey expressing “concern for their safety and/or do not want their names revealed publicly in the media.” (Read more from “Kevin Spacey Accuser Found Dead Ahead of Trial” HERE)

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Looney Cruz: Deep State Caused Trump to Fire Bolton

Sen. Ted Cruz openly speculated that “deep state forces” may have influenced President Trump’s decision to force out national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton, a foreign policy hawk, was a key figure behind Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. In a flurry of tweets Tuesday, Cruz wondered if Bolton’s exit signals Trump has been convinced to go “soft” on Iran.

“I sincerely hope his leaving the White House does not mean that the deep-state forces at State and Treasury—who have been fighting tooth and nail to preserve the Obama Iran nuclear deal—have finally convinced the president to go soft on Iran,” the Texas Republican said.

“Relaxing the maximum pressure strategy, which is succeeding in dramatically weakening the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, would be an enormous mistake,” he added.

Cruz delivered a similar warning last week, during a speech in Washington, D.C., about sinister forces within the federal government bureaucracy working to salvage the Iran deal. (Read more from “Looney Cruz: Deep State Caused Trump to Fire Bolton” HERE)

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WATCH: Here’s Why Beto Claims People Will Be ‘Compelled’ to Turn in Their Guns

The Democratic presidential candidate told reporters he would impose a fine on AR-15 owners to “compel” them to follow the law and turn in their banned firearms. Owners who turn in the guns will then be compensated.

“We expect our fellow Americans to follow the law. If they do not, there would be a fine imposed to compel them to follow the law,” O’Rourke said. “We’ve seen this implemented successfully in Australia, where you’ve seen a near 50% reduction in gun violence deaths in that country.”

O’Rourke has maintained he believes gun owners would follow the law and turn in the banned weapons because he said gun owners have come up to him on the campaign trail to say they would. He has also defended the proposal as constitutional. (Read more from “Watch: Here’s Why Beto Claims People Will Be ‘Compelled’ to Turn in Their Guns” HERE)

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Airline Mechanic Accused of Sabotaging Plane Had ISIS Video on His Phone

. . .Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani was accused earlier this month of inserting an object into the navigational system of the airplane that would tamper with airspeed readings. The plane detected the mechanical error shortly before taking off from Miami to the Bahamas and was promptly taken out of service, forcing 150 passengers to deplane and seek out other methods of travel.

Alani, who was reportedly seen on video tampering with the airplane, alleged that he was motivated to do so because he was dissatisfied with employment contracts and hoped the mechanical issue could translate to more overtime pay for himself.

Prosecutors in federal court on Wednesday, however, allege that Alani had downloaded an ISIS propaganda video to his cellphone, which he sent to other unnamed individuals. Prosecutors also alleged during the Wednesday bond hearing that Alani confided to coworkers that his brother was involved in ISIS.

The U.S. attorney further stated that Alani had traveled to Iraq earlier this year, a fact which he had confided to his roommate, because his brother had been kidnapped. He also reportedly transferred $700 to an unidentified recipient in Iraq this past July. Alani’s phone is said to contain a news article about Lion Air Flight 610, which crashed off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018, killing all 189 on board. (Read more from “Airline Mechanic Accused of Sabotaging Plane Had ISIS Video on His Phone” HERE)

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Christian Artists Celebrate Religious Freedom Win

In response to their stunning victory at the Arizona Supreme Court, Christian artists Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski are proudly standing for “artists everywhere.”

As The Daily Wire’s Hank Berrien reported on Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that Duka and Koski would not be in violation of Phoenix’s ordinance on discrimination if the pair refused to use their artistic talents to create custom invitations for a same-sex wedding. Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, the artists said the victory was deeply important to them, as Christian artists.

“We are super excited,” Koski said, as reported by Fox News. “Ever since Joanna and I were little girls, we had a dream of being artists and starting a business, and we are just so overjoyed that the city recognized our rights as artists. This was super important to us to stand for artists everywhere across the country. We do serve everybody and love everybody, but it’s just certain messages that we cannot promote in our business because of our faith.”

Joanna Duka said the case comes down to whether or not the government should be able to threaten artists with jail time if they do not promote certain messages.

“Can the government force artists by threat of jail time to create art that promotes messages inconsistent with their values?” asked Duka. “For Breanna and I, that includes certain messages about marriage that violate our faith, that includes messages that promote racism or incite violence, exploit women, or demean any member of any community, including the LGBT community. So that’s why we’re extremely excited the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled in favor of artistic freedom and the right of artists, not the government, to decide what messages we can and can’t promote.” (Read more from “Christian Artists Celebrate Religious Freedom Win” HERE)

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Restaurant Accused of Racism After Posting This Dress Code

A soon-to-be opened restaurant in Baltimore is being called racist because it posted a sign with one specific message: the restaurant has a dress code.

The Choptank, which alerted prospective customers that it will be “opening soon” on its website, posted a dress code listing some items that would be unacceptable to wear on its premises. . .

One Twitter user who described themselves as a photojournalist tweeted, “Dress CODED sign at the new Choptank restaurant in Fells,” followed by another tweet with a picture of the sign and a link to a Washington Post article about the restaurant.

The restaurant tweeted back, “Being new to the Fells Point neighborhood, we simply implemented the dress code standard that is used by several other properties in the area including Barcocina, Bond Street Social Moby’s and The Horse You Came In On. Have a great day.”

Another Twitter user added, “This is racist as hell and I will never enter your restaurant & will actively warn others away from it, have a great day.” Another added, “Y’all coulda saved yourselves some time @The_Choptank and just posed a ‘No Black People’ sign.” A writer for ELLE magazine tweeted that the restaurant had a “blatantly discriminatory dress code.” (Read more from “Restaurant Accused of Racism After Posting This Dress Code” HERE)

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Photo of Canadian PM in Racist Brownface Costume Surfaces

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, wore brownface makeup to a party at the private school where he was teaching in the spring of 2001. TIME has obtained a photograph of the incident.

The photograph has not been previously reported. The picture was taken at an “Arabian Nights”-themed gala. It shows Trudeau, then the 29-year-old son of the late former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, wearing a turban and robes with his face, neck and hands completely darkened. The photograph appears in the 2000-2001 yearbook of West Point Grey Academy, a private day school where Trudeau was a teacher.

Earlier this month, TIME obtained a copy of the yearbook, The View, with the photograph of Trudeau in brownface from Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson, who was part of the West Point Grey Academy community. Adamson was not at the party, which was attended by school faculty, administrators and parents of students. He said that he first saw the photograph in July and felt it should be made public. . .

On Wednesday, Zita Astravas, the media relations lead of the Liberal Party of Canada, which Trudeau is the leader of, confirmed that the prime minister was in the photo. “It was a photo taken while he was teaching in Vancouver, at the school’s annual dinner which had a costume theme of ‘Arabian Nights.’ He attended with friends and colleagues dressed as a character from Aladdin,” said Astravas. Trudeau is planning on addressing the photograph to the media later this evening, according to the Astravas. The prime minister’s official director of communications did not return multiple calls. (Read more from “Photo of Canadian PM in Racist Brownface Costume Surfaces” HERE)

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California Lawmakers Pass Resolution to Force Churches to ‘Embrace’ Homosexuality

California lawmakers passed a resolution this month telling “religious groups” — including Christian pastors and churches — to “embrace” the LGBTQ worldview, even if it contradicts the moral values of those religious groups.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 99, introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low, also mentions what many believe are problems with so-called “conversion therapy,” or counseling for people struggling with same-sex attraction.

The resolution calls on “all Californians,” including religious groups, to “embrace” the “individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance” of LGBTQ people.

“[T]he Legislature calls upon religious leaders to counsel on LGBTQ matters from a place of love, compassion, and knowledge of the psychological and other harms of conversion therapy,” the resolution states. . .

“The stigma associated with being LGBTQ often created by groups in society, including therapists and religious groups, has caused disproportionately high rates of suicide, attempted suicide, depression, rejection, and isolation amongst LGBTQ and questioning individuals,” the resolution declares. (Read more from “California Lawmakers Pass Resolution to Force Churches to ‘Embrace’ Homosexuality” HERE)

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