Federal Appeals Court Forces State to Fund Planned Parenthood

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. . .On Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling blocking that law, mandating that Ohio taxpayers fund abortions . . .

U.S. Circuit Judge Helene White said the two Planned Parenthood affiliates had a right to taxpayer dollars because abortion was a “protected activity” outside of the government-funded programs . . .

Reuters reports that “White said the law had violated Planned Parenthood’s due process rights by requiring a health care provider surrender its right to provide legal abortions as a condition of participating in programs that have nothing to do with abortion.” More of the ruling written by White below:

The issue in the instant challenge is … whether Ohio may require a provider to surrender the right to provide safe and lawful abortions on its own “time and dime” as a condition of participating in government programs that have nothing to do with abortion.

Thus, as a condition of retaining access to abortion free of undue governmental interference, Ohio women must forego the extensive and subsidized access to health services under federal programs that they previously enjoyed. Although Ohio women do not have a right to the programs, they do have a right not to have their access to important health services curtailed because their major abortion providers opted to protect women’s abortion rights rather than yield to unconstitutional conditions.

(Read more from “Federal Appeals Court Forces State to Fund Planned Parenthood” HERE)

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Israeli Arab Doubts That Wearing a Yarmulkah Is Dangerous in Berlin. Then This Happens.

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By The Daily Wire. Two young men wearing yarmulkahs on the streets of Berlin were attacked by three young thugs, one of whom, an Arabic-speaking man, whipped out a belt and started to whip them, but there was one additional piece of evidence the attackers didn’t know: one of the victims was a young Israeli Arab who was testing his friend’s statement that wearing a yarmulkah in Germany is dangerous.

That young Arab, Adam Armoush, told the Israeli broadcaster Kann, “They kept cursing us and my friend asked them to stop cursing. They started to get angry and one of them ran to me and I knew it was important to film it because there would be no way to catch him by the time police arrived. Honestly, I’m surprised a thing like this could happen.” (Read more from “Israeli Arab Doubts That Wearing a Yarmulkah Is Dangerous in Berlin. Then This Happens.” HERE)

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Jewish Men Beaten with Belt in Berlin Anti-Semitic Attack

By The Telegraph. There has been public outrage in Germany after video footage emerged of two Jewish men being violently assaulted in an apparent anti-Semitic attack in central Berlin.

The two men, who were both wearing kippah, traditional Jewish skullcaps, were insulted before being set upon and whipped with a belt in one of the city’s most fashionable neighbourhoods.

A group of three unidentified men can be heard on the video clearly shouting “Yahudi”, the Arabic word for Jew.

The two victims stood their ground and threatened to call the police before their main assailant was dragged away by his companions.

The incident was videoed by one of the victims, who was named by Israeli television as Adam Armoush, a 21-year-old Israeli citizen living in Berlin. (Read more from “Jewish Men Beaten with Belt in Berlin Anti-Semitic Attack” HERE)

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911 Operator Jailed for Hanging up on Callers, Once Saying: ‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time for This’

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A former Harris County, Texas, 911 operator has been sentenced to jail after being found guilty of hanging up on “thousands” of citizens calling in emergencies.

Crenshanda Williams will serve 10 days in jail and face 18 months of probation for the crimes.

Williams was busted after it was found that she had an abnormal number of calls that lasted less than 20 seconds. Investigators discovered that she was systematically hanging up on people.

In one noteworthy incident, Jim Moten called 911 to report two vehicles racing on the same highway stretch where fatalities had occurred weeks earlier. Before Moten was even able to explain his emergency to Williams, who answered, she told him, “Ain’t nobody got time for this. For real,” and cut off the call.

Moten reacted in court documents, saying, “If someone calls in to report an incident whether the person feels this is an emergency or not, you should have time for it. This is a person that probably doesn’t need this job.” (Read more from “911 Operator Jailed for Hanging up on Callers, Once Saying: ‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time for This’” HERE)

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David Hogg Pretty Smug About His Next Boycott Until Kyle Kashuv Drops Some Hellfire on His Little ‘Game’

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By Bizpac Review. Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg is set to announce yet another boycott target after the media sensation’s liberal-backed success in going after Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s advertisers.

“Going to announce another boycott this week… Stay tuned,” Hogg tweeted Monday, using a Hermit the Frog GIF to accentuate his message.

There’s no telling what may have irritated the now 18-year-old high school student this time, but the nation — or at least the liberal media — will be on pins and needles awaiting his decree.

Hogg, who called NRA members “child murderers,” is also plugging another student walkout this Friday, repeating another previous action as media attention begins to wane. . .

Kashuv, the strong Second Amendment supporter the media has little interest in, didn’t hold back in reacting to Hogg’s latest attention-grabbing campaign, tweeting: “Is this a game now?”

(Read more from “David Hogg Pretty Smug About His Next Boycott Until Kyle Kashuv Drops Some Hellfire on His Little ‘Game’” HERE)

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David Hogg Tells Twitter Followers to Boycott Blackrock and Vanguard

By Yahoo. David Hogg, a 17-year-old high school senior and survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is now an outspoken gun law activist. He took to Twitter on Tuesday to encourage a boycott of BlackRock (BLK) and The Vanguard Group.

BlackRock, Invesco (IVZ) and Vanguard are the top three institutional holders of American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), the parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp., one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers. BlackRock and Vanguard are also the largest holders of gunmaker Sturm Ruger (RGR).

Many of these funds are passively managed, which means companies like American Outdoor Brands and Sturm Ruger are in the portfolios because they are part of major stock market indexes.

Earlier this month, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced that it would offer two new exchange-traded funds and new index-tracking products for pensions and 401(k) plans that exclude stocks of gunmakers and large gun retailers. This was in response to the mounting pressure from customer pressure for Wall Street to take a stand on the gun debate. (Read more from “David Hogg Tells Twitter Followers to Boycott Blackrock and Vanguard” HERE)

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New York Assembly Passes Bill Allowing Shooting Babies Through the Heart with Poison to Kill Them

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The New York state Assembly proved that promoting the best interest of women apparently includes pushing late-term abortions.

For years, the state legislature has been embroiled in a battle over a package of bills designed to push the interests of women. The bills have been held up in part because it includes a measure that would promote late-term abortions in the Empire State. Despite strenuous support from pro-abortion Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the legislature has refused to pass the package of bills because of the abortion measure.

The abortion bill would allow an abortion procedure that has abortionists shooting poison through the hearts of unborn children to kill them.

Now, the state Assembly has approved part of the package of bills — specifically the abortion promotion measure Governor Cuomo strenuously supports.

Today in a vote of 94-49 the New York State Assembly approved passage of AB 6221, the extreme stand-alone 10th point from the previously packaged 10-point Women’s Equality Act, which would expand third-trimester abortions and allow non-doctors to perform abortions. Since 2013, abortion advocates have been holding the Women’s Equality Act hostage to this single dangerous bill, refusing to break the 10-point bill up. This session, however, the will of the voters was finally heard, and the stand-alone bills have been considered. (Read more from “New York Assembly Passes Bill Allowing Shooting Babies Through the Heart with Poison to Kill Them” HERE)

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Watch What Happens When Two Pro-Gun Control College Students Shoot for the First Time

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Conservative comedian and commentator Steven Crowder likes conducting social experiments where he sets up a booth in a public place with a film crew in tow and asks random pedestrians to “change my mind” about a certain hot-button issue.

Crowder recently carried out such an experiment on the topic of gun control. He met two female college students who were more than a little misinformed about guns, gun control proposals and gun laws that are already on the books, though they expressed an open mind when Crowder gently corrected some of their misconceptions.

Those two young women — neither of whom owned or had ever fired a gun — ultimately agreed to take Crowder up on his offer of a follow-up segment where they would join him at a gun range and then learn the basics of firearms, how to shoot and how to legally purchase a gun . . .

As a reminder to our readers, here are some of the fundamentals of gun safety: Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded, always keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot, never point the firearm at something or someone you don’t want to shoot, and always be aware of what is around and behind your target.

Once they were familiar with these rules and the basics of the firearms themselves, it was off to the actual range, where the young college students — equipped with the requisite ear and eye protection — took turns firing a revolver and several semi-automatic handguns. They also fired an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, as well as a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. (Read more from “Watch What Happens When Two Pro-Gun Control College Students Shoot for the First Time” HERE)

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Report: U.S. Plans to Create Arab Force to Replace American Troops in Syria

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By The Daily Caller. The Trump administration is seeking to raise an army of Arab soldiers from Syria’s neighboring countries that would take over for American troops and help stabilize the northeastern part of the country after the defeat of Islamic State, according to U.S. officials.

John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, has called Egypt’s acting intelligence chief to ask if Cairo would contribute troops to the effort, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The plan comes as the Trump administration searches for a way forward in Syria after launching punitive strikes against targets associated with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons program. There are about 2,000 American troops deployed inside Syria, and Trump has expressed a desire to withdraw at least some of them this year.

Still, top administration officials say American troops will remain in Syria until the U.S. accomplished three goals: The total defeat of ISIS, ensuring chemical weapons can’t be used in any way that harms U.S. interests, and establishing a vantage point to watch what Iran is doing in the country.

As he mentioned in his address announcing the allied strikes, Trump is seeking to enlist the help of regional governments to accomplish those objectives. (Read more from “Report: U.S. Plans to Create Arab Force to Replace American Troops in Syria” HERE)

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U.S. Seeks Arab Force and Funding for Syria

By CNN. President Donald Trump’s newly minted national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo are among those spearheading a push to build a coalition of Arab military forces that could replace US troops in Syria and serve as a stabilizing force in the region once ISIS is defeated, according to sources familiar with internal discussions.

While convincing nations like Saudi Arabia to join the cause is sure to come at a price, the Trump administration is considering an offer that includes putting a compelling reward on the table, a source close to the White House told CNN.

A similar concept was initially floated in 2013 as part of the Obama administration’s anti-ISIS strategy, but the idea of establishing an Arab force aligned with US interests recently picked up new momentum after President Donald Trump declared that he wants to withdraw US troops from Syria and have other countries “take care of it.”

Specifically, the US is pursuing contributions from Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help counter Iran in Syria by filling the void should the US significantly reduce its footprint in the country. (Read more from “U.S. Seeks Arab Force and Funding for Syria” HERE)

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Bump Stock Inventor’s Company Shutting down Its Website and Will Cease Taking Orders Next Month

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Slide Fire Solutions based out of Moran, Texas has announced it is shutting down its website and will cease taking orders for the product it invented and manufactures: bump stocks.

In a statement on its website, Slide Fire said, “On Sunday, May 20, 2018 at midnight CDT, Slide Fire will cease taking orders for its products and shut down its website. Orders places prior to May 20th, 2018 will all be processed and shipped. We thank you for your support.”

The bump stock firearm accessory gained national attention after it was utilized during a mass murder in Las Vegas last fall. A bump stock device is used to increase the firing rate of semi-automatic weapons.

Shortly after the killings, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence teamed up with Las Vegas law firm Eglet Prince to announce a class-action lawsuit against manufacturers, marketers and sellers of bump stocks; Slide Fire was included as a defendant.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gave Slide Fire the go-ahead to produce bump stocks in 2010, in light of the fact that the agency has no authority over firearm accessories. But in the aftermath of the Las Vegas murders, the NRA raised eyebrows by expressing their support in regulating bump stocks. The ATF is currently exploring options for banning the devices. (Read more from “Bump Stock Inventor’s Company Shutting down Its Website and Will Cease Taking Orders Next Month” HERE)

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Civil War: Comey’s Ego Goes After Obama’s DOJ

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By The Daily Caller. Former FBI Director James Comey is at odds with three key figures over the Obama Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein have all found themselves at odds with Comey over events related to the Clinton investigation. . .

He said “the unverified material would undoubtedly have been used by political opponents to cast serious doubt on the attorney general’s independence in connection with the Clinton investigation.”

Comey cited the information — a “development still unknown to the American public to this day” — as his reason for taking a more public role in the Clinton investigation, rather than deferring to Lynch.

Comey testified last June that he believed Lynch had a “conflict of interest” in the Clinton investigation, and that he thought she should have recused herself from the investigation. (Read more from “Civil War: Comey’s Ego Goes After Obama’s DOJ” HERE)

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Comey: Classified Info Would Have ‘Cast Serious Doubt’ on Loretta Lynch Handling Clinton Investigation

By The Daily Caller. Former FBI director James Comey wrote in his new book that classified information could have “cast serious doubt” on Loretta Lynch’s ability to investigate Hillary Clinton’s email server in 2016.

ABC News reports, “Comey writes that he felt obligated to take more of a personal role as the public face of the investigation rather than deferring to then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch – in part because of something involving Lynch that he cryptically refers to as a ‘development still unknown to the American public to this day.’”

The government learned of this information in 2016. The book does not reveal anything about the information.

Comey also wrote that “the unverified material would undoubtedly have been used by political opponents to cast serious doubt on the attorney general’s independence in connection with the Clinton investigation.” (Read more from “Comey: Classified Info Would Have ‘Cast Serious Doubt’ on Loretta Lynch Handling Clinton Investigation” HERE)

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Report Finds ‘Insider Threat’ from Unsupervised and Unvetted House IT Aides Greater Than We Thought

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Only one IT aide currently working directly for members of Congress has ever completed a background check, members’ data have been improperly mixed with other members’ data, and members provided almost no supervision, officials revealed Thursday in a House hearing spurred by “egregious” violations by former IT aide Imran Awan.

Members of Congress threw “$10 million” in additional funding to the [chief administrative officer (CAO)] in order to enhance their cybersecurity program” in June 2017. The move followed repeated cybersecurity threats against members of Congress, including the detection of what an IG report called “unauthorized access” by Awan. They also had the CAO and others propose how best to clamp down on vulnerabilities. But the CAO revealed Thursday that members blocked the resulting proposal, which called for eliminating Awan’s job category, that of a floating IT aide accountable only to members.

System administrators like Awan “hold the ‘keys to the kingdom,’ meaning they can create accounts, grant access, view, download, update, or delete almost any electronic information within an office,” Inspector General Michael Ptasienski said at the House hearing.

“A rogue system administrator could inflict considerable damage to an office and potentially disclose sensitive information, perform unauthorized updates, or simply export or delete files,” he continued. “A rogue system administrator could take steps to cover up his/her actions and limit the possibility that their behavior being detected or otherwise traced back to them.”

House Chief Administrative Officer Phil Kiko testified that experts found “two dozen” problems with the way the House managed cybersecurity. “Enforcement gaps range from improper vetting of the employees themselves, to unfettered access to House accounts and use of non-approved software and/or cloud services, to the use of unauthorized equipment … far too many have privileged access to the House network with little to no supervision,” he said. (Read more from “Report Finds ‘Insider Threat’ from Unsupervised and Unvetted House IT Aides Greater Than We Thought” HERE)

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