Trump Praised for Improving Vet Services

As America pauses for Veterans Day this weekend, a leading advocate for improving the VA system that cares for those who have served this nation in uniform says the VA system has made made some important improvements in the first year of the Trump administration but she says some badly needed reforms are happening far too slowly.

Jessie Jane Duff served as a gunnery sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. She is now a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research. She gives the Trump administration a ‘B’ grade thus far in improving the health care system for veterans.

Duff says Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has made progress on some bureaucratic issues, including closing down 430 vacant buildings around the nation and another 284 that were underutilized.

“That can save $23 million a year. That money can now be going to health care or receiving mental health care for these veterans,” said Duff . . .

“They have improved same-day services for primary and mental health care at all of their medical centers. They’re making it easier for veterans to file online health care applications. They’re receiving eight times as many online applications this year. That’s good,” said Duff. (Read more from “Trump Praised for Improving Vet Services” HERE)

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Gun-Toting Dad Foils Daughter’s Kidnapping

A father in Florida is being credited with thwarting an attempted kidnapping of his 17-year-old daughter, firing shots as four teen suspects tried to break into his garage, police said.

An investigation revealed that the teens believed the father to be wealthy and had hatched a plot to rob his house and kidnap his daughter, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a possible home-invasion robbery in progress at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at a home in Baker. The 51-year-old homeowner told authorities his daughter had called him to say that someone tried to block the roads to their home with barrels — an apparent attempt to force her to exit her car and walk . . .

He saw some people trying to force their way into his garage and fired three shots, sending the would-be intruders scurrying into the woods, police said. The homeowner later discovered that some security lights at his home had been unscrewed. (Read more from “Gun-Toting Dad Foils Daughter’s Kidnapping” HERE)

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Law Lets Congress Settle Sexual-Harassment Cases in Secret

Equal treatment for lawmakers? Don’t count on it.

A little-known law has been on the books for more than a decade that gives anyone accusing a federal lawmaker of sexual harassment the right to sue – but only if they consent to a lengthy drawn-out process that includes a written statement within 180 days of the incident, 30 days of counseling and another month or so of mediation.

During that time, the claimant’s employer will be notified. The lawmaker’s identity, however, will remain confidential even if he or she is found guilty.

Should there be a settlement – and there have been many – it’s the American taxpayer that’s on the hook, with “no public disclosure and no consequences for the harasser,” said California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier. (Read more from “Law Lets Congress Settle Sexual-Harassment Cases in Secret” HERE)

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2010 Redux: Corrupt Murkowski, RINO McConnell Tell Roy Moore to Withdraw, Encourage Write-In Campaign

Murkowski Encouraging Write-In Campaign Against Judge Roy Moore

By Paul Blumenthal. It’s no surprise that Senate Republicans don’t really like Moore even though many of them have endorsed him since his primary victory. That sets up an easy change of heart for Republicans to back a write-in candidate. In fact, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has already spoken to [loser Luther] Strange about a write-in campaign.

That is a process Murkowski knows well. She is one of three Americans to win a U.S. Senate seat by running a write-in campaign. In 2010, she lost the Republican primary to tea party challenger Joe Miller. This was a very similar situation to Moore’s defeat of Strange. Both Miller and Moore were backed by far-right groups railing against the Republican establishment.

Murkowski waged a write-in campaign and won the general election with 39.5 percent of the vote [in a fraud-laced campaign in which thousands of ballots were unlawfully cast for her].

Strange could run regardless of whether Moore withdraws from the race. If Moore does not withdraw and Strange runs a write-in campaign, it sets up a race among Moore, the Republican; Jones, the Democrat; Strange, technically an independent; and any other write-in candidates. If Moore withdraws, the recipient of the most votes among Jones, Strange and other write-in candidates would win. (Read more from “Murkowski Encouraging Write-In Campaign Against Judge Roy Moore” HERE)

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Swamp Dwellers Murkowski, McCain, Thune, Flake, Toomey, Others Demand That Judge Roy Moore Exit the Race: “Guilty Until Proven Innocent”

By Washington Post. McConnell, in a formal statement on behalf of all Republican senators, said, “If these allegations are true, he must step aside.”

Other Republican senators weighing in included Jeff Flake of Arizona, David Perdue of Georgia, John Thune of South Dakota, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Richard C. Shelby of Alabama and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called on Moore to step aside as well — and without couching his statement with “if true” language.

“The allegations against Roy Moore are deeply disturbing and disqualifying,” McCain said. “He should immediately step aside and allow the people of Alabama to elect a candidate they can be proud of.”

Moore has denied the allegations and given no indication that he will exit the race. “Our children and grandchildren’s futures are on the line,” he tweeted Thursday. “So rest assured — I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight!” Moore also emailed a fundraising pitch off the revelations. “I believe you and I have a duty to stand up and fight back against the forces of evil waging an all-out war on our conservative values,” he wrote.

The state Republican Party has the power to disqualify Moore from the election, according to the Alabama secretary of state. If that happens, McConnell and other Republicans would face the challenge of figuring out which candidate would run in Moore’s place — and how to win an election in which it is too late to replace the former judge’s name on the Dec. 12 ballot. (Read more from “Swamp Dwellers Murkowski, McCain, Thune, Flake, Toomey, Others Demand That Judge Roy Moore Exit the Race: “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” HERE)

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Financially Troubled Woman With Cloudy Background Makes Allegations Against Moore Timed to Turn Election

By Washington Post. [Leigh] Corfman, 53, who works as a customer service representative at a payday loan business, says she . . . thought of confronting Moore personally for years, and almost came forward publicly during his first campaign for state Supreme Court in 2000, but decided against it [because, among other things,] her background — three divorces and a messy financial history — might undermine her credibility. . .

Corfman describes herself as a little lost — “a typical 14-year-old kid of a divorced family” — when she says she first met Moore that day in 1979 outside the courtroom. She says she felt flattered that a grown man was paying attention to her. . .

After her mother went into the courtroom, Corfman says, Moore asked her where she went to school, what she liked to do and whether he could call her sometime. She remembers giving him her number and says he called not long after. She says she talked to Moore on her phone in her bedroom, and they made plans for him to pick her up at Alcott Road and Riley Street, around the corner from her house. . .

She remembers an unpaved driveway. She remembers going inside and him giving her alcohol on this visit or the next, and that at some point she told him she was 14. She says they sat and talked. She remembers that Moore told her she was pretty, put his arm around her and kissed her, and that she began to feel nervous and asked him to take her home, which she says he did. . .

She says that Moore drove her back to the same house after dark, and that before long she was lying on a blanket on the floor. She remembers Moore disappearing into another room and coming out with nothing on but “tight white” underwear. (Read more from “Financially Troubled Woman With Cloudy Background Makes Allegations Against Moore Timed to Turn Election” HERE)

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Saudi Arabia and Iran Battle for Power in the Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s order for its citizens to evacuate Lebanon is the latest ominous signal in an escalating confrontation between the Middle East’s chief regional rivals, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The two nations have long fought proxy wars against each other, but many fear that the newly empowered Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is looking to assert Saudi Arabia’s regional dominance at any cost. The conflict heated up last year when Saudi Arabia executed a Shiite cleric and then severed diplomatic ties with Iran.

Now the Saudis are publicly airing their disapproval with Iran’s chief foreign affiliate, Hezbollah, which has significant representation in Lebanon’s parliament and has asserted its influence in neighboring Syria.

Experts, however, don’t think a regional conflagration is imminent. “The Saudis have always thought the wrong solution for their problem with Iran and now their hope is the Trump administration will come in and tilt the balance in their favor,” said Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at Crisis Group. “It’s unlikely to change Iran’s regional policy — Iran will continue to support its allies and proxies in the region — but it’s unlikely to result in a major conflict.”

Even if the conflict doesn’t boil over, there is plenty at stake for the U.S. and the world in the battle between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. There’s the price of oil, which rises during crises — an ironic benefit to the belligerents, who have some of the world’s largest oil reserves — and there’s the regional balance of power. (Read more from “Saudi Arabia and Iran Battle for Power in the Middle East” HERE)

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NASA Spots a 7,000mph Whirlpool of Plasma on the Surface of the Sun

A stunning new Nasa image shows an extremely rare pattern streaming from the sun at close to 7,000 miles per hour (11,200 km/h).

A dark snake-like filament can be seen erupting from the star, but while the formations are normally stretched out like a strand, this one is circular like a whirlpool.

This is because it is being yanked back by the star’s staggering gravitational pull – which is about 27.9 times that of Earth.

The rare sight, captured by Nasa’s orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), has only been seen a ‘handful of times’, the agency said.

‘Solar filaments are clouds of charged particles that float above the sun, tethered to it by magnetic forces,’ Nasa said in a statement. (Read more from “NASA Spots a 7,000mph Whirlpool of Plasma on the Surface of the Sun” HERE)

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Bergdahl Rescue Mission ‘Haunts’ Navy SEAL Team Member Eight Years Later

Retired Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike Toussaint, a burly Navy dog handler, grudgingly wiped away tears as he described the barrage of insurgent gunfire that killed his military service dog, Remco, during the search for Army Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Though he was never called to testify, Toussaint served as a prospective witness in the case against Bergdahl, who last week received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army, but avoided prison time for desertion, misbehavior before the enemy, and endangering troops.

The military judge ordered that Bergdahl’s rank be reduced from sergeant to private and required him to surrender $1,000 a month from his pay for 10 months. The sentencing arrived eight years after Bergdahl abandoned his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 before the Taliban held him captive for five years.

Toussaint called the sentencing “disgusting” and said Bergdahl should have received life in prison for his “reckless” actions.

Nine days after Bergdahl’s desertion, SEAL team members Toussaint and Remco were sent on a hostage rescue operation in southeastern Afghanistan to search for the missing private. He said the team, led by Senior Chief Petty Officer Jimmy Hatch, knew prior to the July 8 mission that Bergdahl voluntarily left his post, despite earlier reports stating he was captured on patrol. (Read more from “Bergdahl Rescue Mission ‘Haunts’ Navy SEAL Team Member Eight Years Later” HERE)

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Corey Feldman Living in Fear After Talking to Police

As Hollywood grapples with accusations of sexual harassment and abuse, actor Corey Feldman says he’s living in fear as he tries to expose pedophilia in the industry.

The actor sat down with HLN’s Carol Costello to discuss coming forward to the Los Angeles Police Department with accusations of abuse. The LAPD confirmed it has opened an investigation into Feldman’s allegations.

Feldman alleges that both he and his best friend, the late actor Corey Haim, were abused as child stars . . .

“I’d love to give you something juicy, but my nerves are shot,” Feldman told Costello. “I’m living in fear, not a good place to be.” (Read more from “Corey Feldman Living in Fear After Talking to Police” HERE)

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Wikileaks Begins Publishing Source Code for CIA Hacking Tools

WikiLeaks began publishing the source code of alleged CIA hacking tools Thursday in a new series dubbed “Vault 8.”

The source code, according to a press release from the anti-secrecy organization, is intended to “enable investigative journalists, forensic experts and the general public to better identify and understand covert CIA infrastructure components.”

“Source code published in this series contains software designed to run on servers controlled by the CIA,” WikiLeaks writes, stressing that the material does not contain 0-day or undisclosed vulnerabilities that could be utilized by others.

Hive, the first tool featured in Vault 8, aids the agency in controlling malware installed on target devices.

“Even the most sophisticated malware implant on a target computer is useless if there is no way for it to communicate with its operators in a secure manner that does not draw attention,” WikiLeaks writes. “Using Hive even if an implant is discovered on a target computer, attributing it to the CIA is difficult by just looking at the communication of the malware with other servers on the internet.” (Read more from “Wikileaks Begins Publishing Source Code for CIA Hacking Tools” HERE)

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Former Baby Parts Harvester: Planned Parenthood ‘Made Us Do the Dirty Work’

Planned Parenthood “made us do the dirty work,” an ex-procurement technician for a baby body parts harvester explained in a new video.

She outlined how Planned Parenthood profited from selling aborted baby parts to StemExpress, and how a nurse was reprimanded for throwing out fetal remains rather than letting them be harvested and sold.

Holly O’Donnell worked for StemExpress, one of the companies that found itself in the middle of the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) videos showing the abortion industry’s work with the baby body parts trade.

When the CMP videos first came out, Planned Parenthood claimed that the money they received from companies like StemExpress was just reimbursement for things like shipping costs.

But Planned Parenthood never shipped the body parts, O’Donnell testified in this new video. StemExpress handled all aspects of the fetal organ harvesting process: getting patients to consent, dissecting fetuses, packaging organs, and shipping them off via FedEx. (Read more from “Former Baby Parts Harvester: Planned Parenthood ‘Made Us Do the Dirty Work'” HERE)

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