Counterfeit Painkillers Cut with Deadly Opioids Are Spreading Death in U.S.

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Counterfeit painkillers masked as prescription opioids are increasingly cropping up as a culprit in overdose deaths, according to a recent warning from Iowa’s law enforcement.

The fake prescription pills are often mixed with potentially fatal synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which is a painkiller roughly 30 to 50 times more powerful than pure heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa issued an advisory Thursday due to the increased threat a recent influx of counterfeit pills poses to residents, The Gazette reported.

Their advice to residents is to stay away from any pills not directly prescribed by a doctor. Officials want to raise awareness of the issue, so unsuspecting users are not deceived into taking a deadly pill.

“The opioid epidemic lowered American life expectancy in 2015 and 2016 for the first time in decades,” U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan Jr. said, according to The Gazette. “Heroin and prescription opioid abuse has taken a devastating toll on our community. But we have also seen a rise in the prevalence of counterfeit prescription pills being sold on the internet and on the street.”

Fentanyl continues to pour into the country across the border and through the mail from China. The substance is fueling more overdose deaths as drug dealers increasingly cut the substance into heroin, cocaine and pill supplies to maximize profits. (Read more from “Counterfeit Painkillers Cut with Deadly Opioids Are Spreading Death in U.S.” HERE)

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This Is Who Deserves the Credit for North Korea’s Turn Around

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By The Daily Caller. On Friday’s episode of The Daily Daily Caller Podcast, we break down the biggest revelations in the highly-anticipated Russia investigation report from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. . .

Let’s see, what else is going on? Oh yeah, just the biggest peace development since the Korean Peninsula split in 1945. (Read more from “This Is Who Deserves the Credit for North Korea’s Turn Around” HERE)

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Koreas Summit: North Korean Media Hail ‘Historic’ Meeting

By BBC. Friday’s summit between the leaders of North and South Korea was a “historic meeting” paving the way for the start of a new era, North Korea’s media say.

The North’s Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in of South Korea agreed to work to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons.

The official KCNA news agency hailed this as a “new milestone” in the path to joint prosperity. It also carried the full text of the declaration.

China and the United States both welcomed the news.

However, US President Donald Trump said he would continue to exert maximum pressure on North Korea, as he prepares to meet Mr Kim in the coming weeks. (Read more from “Koreas Summit: North Korean Media Hail ‘Historic’ Meeting” HERE)

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Councilman Brags He ‘Chased NRA Members Underground,’ Quickly Learns He’s Not so Smart

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A New York City councilman boasting about chasing “NRA members underground” is under fire for comments that many likened to those once made by brown-shirt fascists.

Justin Brannan, a New York City Councilmember from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, tweeted out a celebratory comment about how “we’ve successfully chased the @NRA underground in #Brooklyn. Now they’ve gotta sneak around behind our backs and book catering halls under fake names just to have a meeting.”

Gloating about depriving fellow citizens of their right to gather “sounds about right,” to the 39-year-old Democrat.

Brannan, a former professional musician, was responding to a story from the Brooklyn Reporter detailing how the Brooklyn Friends of the NRA had to reschedule their event two times over the last few months over objections by local residents and elected officials.

(Read more from “Councilman Brags He ‘Chased NRA Members Underground,’ Quickly Learns He’s Not so Smart” HERE)

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The Real Reason Republicans Are Retiring? Fear of Assassination, According to GOP Lawmaker

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Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., said a wave of his fellow Republicans are retiring because they may fear being assassinated.

Brooks made the remark while speaking on “The Dale Jackson Show” about the first Republican congressional baseball team practice since House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot and injured last year, according to Roll Call .

“One of the things that’s concerning me is the assassination risk may become a factor,” he said of Republican lawmakers retiring.

Brooks pointed to the number of members on the Republican baseball team who are not running for re-election. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Reps. Ryan Costello, R-Pa., Pat Meehan, R-Pa., Dennis Ross, R-Fla., and Tom Rooney, R-Fla., have announced their retirements. (Read more from “The Real Reason Republicans Are Retiring? Fear of Assassination, According to GOP Lawmaker” HERE)

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Previously Lost Peter Strzok, Lisa Page Texts Leaked to Media

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By The Washington Examiner. A pivotal array of previously missing text message exchanges between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, two FBI officials who in their conversations displayed a bias against President Trump, sent to Congress with redactions this week have been leaked to the media.

Hours after five congressional committees received the recovered text messages, the Daily Caller News Foundation obtained them and subsequently published them.

These text messages were exchanged between Dec. 14, 2016, and May 17, 2017, a critical time period that stretches from the presidential transition period to the first several months of the Trump administration, during which former national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned under pressure and former FBI Director James Comey was fired. . .

“Having a tough time processing tonight, Lis. Feeling a profound sense of loss,” Strzok wrote several days after Comey was terminated.

“I feel that same loss,” Page said in response. “I want to see what the FBI could become under him! His vision of greatness for our strong but flawed organization. I’m angry. Angry and mourning.” (Read more from “Previously Lost Peter Strzok, Lisa Page Texts Leaked to Media” HERE)

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Read the Strzok-Page Texts the DOJ Handed over to Congress

By The Daily Caller. Many of the text messages in the 49 page release are shorthand and are not entirely clear to the outside interpreter. The congressional committees that obtained the messages Thursday will likely siphon through them to see if, as GOP lawmakers currently believe, there is any evidence of political bias on the part of Strozk and Page.

Strzok was the chief investigator during the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and, notably, watched over the FBI’s investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.

A group of House Republicans are calling for the Department of Justice to investigate Strzok and Page for their potential involvement in a potential interference scheme in the Clinton private email case.

A number of the text messages released thus far between Strzok and Page have caused congressional Republicans to raise their eyebrows.

For example, Strzok told Page that he wanted to have an “insurance policy” in the off chance that Trump defeated Clinton in the 2016 election. (Read more from “Read the Strzok-Page Texts the Doj Handed over to Congress” HERE)

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Michigan Candidate Under Attack for Warning About Islamic ‘Civilization Jihad’ in U.S.

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Michigan state senators criticized a gubernatorial candidate on Thursday for making claims about a “civilization jihad” the Muslim Brotherhood started in the U.S.

State Sen. Patrick Colbeck on Thursday defended statements in which he claimed the Muslim Brotherhood orchestrated a cultural jihad in the U.S. and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed also had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood via the Muslim Student Association, according to The Associated Press. Colbeck’s defense came two days after Buzzfeed reported he made similar accusations at an event United West hosted — the senator garnered harsh criticism from Democratic state senators.

“There’s a lot of pressure being applied in our society right now. You’re seeing Muslim legislators in the state legislature. And you’re seeing also a push at the local level at city councils,” Colbeck said at the event where he presented a slideshow featuring “Civilization Jihad Techniques” as a subject.

“But we also have somebody [who] I will likely be running against in the general election, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, whose parents apparently have ties to Muslim Brotherhood back in Egypt. This is scary stuff. They’re already advertising him as the first Muslim governor. So this is a big deal,” he added.

Democratic state senators decried his comments and the defense thereof as cowardly, unsubstantiated, and a ploy to garner attention for his candidacy. (Read more from “Michigan Candidate Under Attack for Warning About Islamic ‘Civilization Jihad’ in U.S.” HERE)

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Watch: U.S. Army Completely Humiliates ISIS, Releases Seized ‘Bloopers Tape’

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By Conservative Tribune. One of the ways the Islamic State group made its mark on the international terrorism of the 21st century was through its savvy release of videos celebrating the kind of depravity decent people are repelled by.

But a compilation video released this week by the U.S. military shows a different side of the once-fearsome fighting group — and gives viewers a pretty good idea of why they abandoned the battlefield in droves once President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis decided to teach them that war is for keeps.

According to Stars and Stripes, the four-minute video is made up of hours of footage capture of special operations forces. There’s no audio, but as one social media user pointed out on YouTube, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the “Yakety Sax” theme song from “Benny Hill” playing in the background . . .

That last one is especially disturbing. It’s easy to forget now that the Islamic State group savages have been essentially destroyed, but it wasn’t that long ago, on President Barack Obama’s watch that they looked like world-beaters.

Vast swaths of Iraq and Syria were under Islamic State group control, and killers in Europe and the United States were pledging allegiance to the group while carrying out their bloody operations. (Read more from “Watch: U.S. Army Completely Humiliates ISIS, Releases Seized ‘Bloopers Tape’” HERE)

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ISIS Fighters Display Less-Than-Stellar Leapfrogging, Martial Arts Skills in Seized Videos

By Stars and Stripes. Islamic State propaganda videos seized by the U.S. appear to show masked militants training inside a mosque in northwestern Afghanistan, doing pushups, playing leapfrog and bunny hopping.

The four-minute compilation, released last week by the U.S.-led special operations task force in the country, seems aimed at undermining the group’s fearsome reputation. It resembles a selection of comical outtakes.

The video features camouflage-clad fighters performing calisthenics, demonstrating dubious martial arts skills and facing off in rows to practice firing positions with their Kalashnikov rifles.

At one point, the compilation shows several clips of a man flanked by two gunmen as he gestures and points, somewhat like an insurgent Uncle Sam. In the background, men box and others wave ISIS flags. (Read more from “Isis Fighters Display Less-Than-Stellar Leapfrogging, Martial Arts Skills in Seized Videos” HERE)

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Officials: State Dept. Keeping Shock Obama Era Palestinian Report Secret

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By Conservative Tribune. A key report which details just how many Palestinian refugees were subsidized under the Obama era is being kept classified by the State Department months after its existence was disclosed, leading to serious questions about how taxpayer dollars were spent.

The Washington Free Beacon first reported in January that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency — which claimed to have given money to 5.3 million Palestinian refugees — may actually have just spent the money on just 20,000 to 30,000 individuals.

“Congressional officials familiar with the classified report, the existence of which was first disclosed by the Washington Free Beacon, say the State Department continues to keep it secret in order to not disrupt billions of dollars in allocations to United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,” the Free Beacon reported Thursday.

“This disclosure could fundamentally change the way billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are allocated to UNRWA and the Palestinian government and impact America’s longstanding policies regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“Lawmakers are pressuring the Trump administration to finally release the report to the public,” the Free Beacon added. (Read more from “Officials: State Dept. Keeping Shock Obama Era Palestinian Report Secret” HERE)

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U.S. Government Hiding Report on Number of Palestinian Refugees

By Washington Free Beacon. The U.S. government continues to inappropriately keep classified a report on Palestinian refugees that congressional officials view as a potential game changer in how America approaches its regional policies and allocates billions in taxpayer funds, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the report.

Congressional officials familiar with the classified report, the existence of which was first disclosed by the Washington Free Beacon, say the State Department continues to keep it secret in order to not disrupt billions of dollars in allocations to United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the organization responsible for providing aid to what they claim is some 5.2 million Palestinian refugees.

Those familiar with the report say the U.S. quietly determined under the Obama administration that the actual number of Palestinian refugees is far smaller, closer to around 30,000. This disclosure could fundamentally change the way billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are allocated to UNRWA and the Palestinian government and impact America’s longstanding policies regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Lawmakers are pressuring the Trump administration to finally release the report to the public. The Free Beacon first disclosed this effort earlier this month, publishing a letter signed by more than 50 members of Congress who are calling on President Donald Trump to finally release the report, as is mandated by current U.S. laws. (Read more from “U.S. Government Hiding Report on Number of Palestinian Refugees” HERE)

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LAPD Officer Arrested for Trying to Smuggle Illegal Aliens into U.S.

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By The Daily Wire. A police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department was arrested this week on charges alleging that he tried to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.

Officials charged Mambasse Koulabalo Patara, who was arrested Tuesday at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint, with violating federal immigration laws, CBS Los Angeles reported.

During questioning, Koulabalo reportedly told Border Patrol agents that two passengers that he had with him in his vehicle were U.S. citizens. (Read more from “LAPD Officer Arrested for Trying to Smuggle Illegal Aliens into U.S.” HERE)

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LAPD Officer Arrested for Trying to Smuggle Immigrants Across Border

By CBS News. A Los Angeles police officer has been arrested on federal charges alleging he tried to smuggle two illegal immigrants into the United States this week in southeastern San Diego County.

Mambasse Koulabalo Patara has been charged with violating immigration laws, according to a federal complaint filed Wednesday.

He was arrested early Tuesday morning at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Pine Valley, located about 12 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to the complaint, at 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, Patara drove up to the checkpoint with two male passengers in a 2006 Toyota Corolla.

While being interviewed by Border Patrol agents, Koulabalo showed them his LAPD badge and stated he was off-duty, the complaint states. Agents later patted him down and found his service-issued gun in his waistband, the complaint reads. (Read more from “LAPD Officer Arrested for Trying to Smuggle Immigrants Across Border” HERE)

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Transgender Inmate Sues North Carolina Prison for the Right to Practice Witchcraft Behind Bars

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By The Blaze. A North Carolina transgender female inmate filed a lawsuit against the prison for allegedly not allowing her to practice Wicca, also known as witchcraft, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Jennifer Ann Jasmaine, 40, claimed in the suit that the prison chaplains are violating “her” constitutional rights to practice “her” religion and that the institution has refused to provide Wiccan foods for “her” to eat.

“Ms. Jasmaine’s religion is not just her religion. It’s her way of life,” the lawsuit said. “This is the path in which she has taken.”

Jasmaine, who filed the handwritten lawsuit earlier this month, is seeking a jury trial, along with $1 in damages from each of the prison’s chaplains.

The lawsuit alleges that Lanesboro Correctional Institution, an all-male prison, allows Christians to worship six times each week and Native Americans are allowed to hold their rituals three times a week. (Read more from “Transgender Inmate Sues North Carolina Prison for the Right to Practice Witchcraft Behind Bars” HERE)

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Transgender Inmate Sues to Practice Witchcraft at Notorious All-Male N.C. Prison

By The Charlotte Observer. . .Under state policy, individual prisons are required to provide “reasonable religious menu accommodations” to inmates practicing religious dietary laws.

Not happening, says Jasmaine. According to her complaint, she has requested and been denied the strict vegan diet that adheres to her spiritual practice. She says prison officials told her if she wanted vegan meals, she needed to become a Rastafarian or a Buddhist.

“The plaintiff, Ms. Jasmaine, shouldn’t have to change her religion to get on the proper diet,” she writes in her suit.

Jasmaine says she is entitled to court protection to practice witchcraft, which she says has been “discriminated against and persecuted for hundreds of years without just cause.”

She says the prison has further limited her practice by restricting her services to the eight Wicca holy festivals, or “sabbats,” held each calendar year. (Read more from “Transgender Inmate Sues to Practice Witchcraft at Notorious All-Male N.C. Prison” HERE)

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