Harvard Study: Home Ownership at 20-Year Low, Here’s Who Suffers Most [+video]

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The American Dream of a home is slipping out of reach for millions of Americans, especially African Americans, as house sales hit a 20-year low, according to a new Harvard University study of the U.S. housing market . . .

Overall, home ownership, the cornerstone of the American Dream, is down to 63 percent, a far cry from the 69 percent registered in 2004. The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University’s annual “State of the Nation’s Housing” report said current home ownership percentages rival that of 1993.

Those figures, however, are much worse for minorities, especially blacks. “The homeownership rate for minorities continues to lag: It peaked at 51.3 percent in 2004, and has now fallen to 47.2 percent. Of all minority groups, African Americans have the lowest rate of homeownership, just 43.8 percent,” said the report.

The reason for the decline is the languishing economy and poor pay. Harvard said that a key factor is the “steady erosion” of incomes since the recession began. (Read more from “Harvard: Home Ownership at 20-Year Low, Here’s Who Suffers Most” HERE)

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House Conservatives Emboldened, Despite Crackdown

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The tension between GOP leadership and House conservatives might have eased somewhat, now that Rep. Mark Meadows has his subcommittee gavel back. But the distrust, even anger, within the conference after last month’s crackdown on House Freedom Caucus members hasn’t quite been relieved.

Instead, leadership’s effort to subdue the 34 Republicans who defied the speaker on a June 11 trade vote seems to have left conservatives emboldened, not cowed.

Evidence of that came just before the Fourth of July recess, when HFC members made it clear that Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz needed to reinstate North Carolina’s Meadows as chairman of an Oversight subcommittee.

In a roughly two-hour meeting of the panel’s Republicans — a meeting that HFC Chairman Jim Jordan described to CQ Roll Call as “a good family discussion” — HFC members presented Chaffetz with a reality. He needed their votes to pick a new chairman — and Chaffetz was in the minority.

Oversight — not generally considered a plum committee assignment — is stacked with HFC members. Roughly half of the 25 Republicans on the committee are, like Meadows, in the Freedom Caucus; and many more were sympathetic to Meadows, who is well-liked in the conference. (Read more from “House Conservatives Emboldened, Despite Crackdown” HERE)

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Illegal Alien Suspect in California Shooting Allegedly Used a Federal Agent’s Gun

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Photo Credit: Fox News The gun used by a Mexican illegal alien when he allegedly shot dead a 32-year-old woman at a San Francisco pier belonged to a federal agent, a source confirmed to Fox News Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear how Francisco Sanchez, 45, would have obtained the weapon. However, the San Francisco Chronicle reported sources told the paper the gun had been stolen during a car burglary in June.

Earlier Tuesday, Sanchez pled not guilty to first-degree murder in last week’s shooting of Kathryn Steinle, 32, while she was walking with her father and a family friend at Pier 14. Police said witnesses heard no argument or dispute before the shooting, suggesting it was a random attack.

Sanchez had previously told KGO-TV Sunday in a mix of Spanish and English that he found a gun wrapped inside a shirt while he was sitting on a bench at the pier and smoking a cigarette . . .

The shooting has drawn national attention and criticism of the city’s sanctuary ordinance after federal officials revealed that Sanchez has seven felony convictions and was deported five times to his native Mexico. (Read more from “Illegal Alien Suspect in California Shooting Allegedly Used a Federal Agent’s Gun” HERE)

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Dennis Ross: Unfrozen Iranian Funds Will Shift Mideast Balance of Power Toward Tehran

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One of the ramifications of finalizing the nuclear deal with Iran would be a shifting of the balance of Middle East power in Tehran’s favor, wrote longtime State Department negotiator Dennis Ross in Politico on Monday.

If negotiators emerge from their chambers in Vienna with a finalized deal — and right now the deadline has been postponed for the second time to July 10 — and sanctions are phased out according to Iranian compliance, then within six to 12 months Iran could receive up to $150 billion in frozen assets, wrote Ross.

And “even if it chose to use 90 percent of those funds to address real domestic needs, $15 billion could have a dramatic effect on Iran’s ability to use Hezbollah and other Shiite militias to pursue its ‘resistance’ agenda in the region and continue to shift the balance of power in its favor,” wrote Ross, who was a special adviser to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Iran . . .

Ross said the deal basically amounted to lifting international sanctions on Iran, which have crippled the country’s economy, in exchange for full transparency, though Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared recently that inspectors would not have access to all of Iran’s military sites, even if the International Atomic Energy Agency had substantiated suspicions. (Read more from “Dennis Ross: Unfrozen Iranian Funds Will Shift Mideast Balance of Power Toward Tehran” HERE)

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Subway Suspends Jared Amid Kiddie-Porn Probe

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The feds raided Subway sandwich-shop spokesman Jared Fogle’s home as part of a kiddie-porn probe Tuesday — and sources told The Post that the married 37-year-old is “a target’’ of the investigation.

“They got search warrants and raided his place and confiscated electronics,’’ a law enforcement source said of the 6:30 a.m. sweep at Fogle’s house in the Indianapolis suburb of Zionsville. “He is a target.’’

FBI agents, state police and US Postal Service investigators were seen entering the home and taking items out to a mobile forensics van in the driveway.

Subway announced it was suspending its relationship with the longtime spokesman on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Associated Press . . .

According to a criminal complaint, investigators found a 4GB thumb drive in the cache with a file called the Jared Foundation, and inside was a folder labeled “Good stuff,” TMZ said. The folder contained loads of child porn, the website said. (Read more from “Subway Suspends Jared Amid Kiddie-Porn Probe” HERE)

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This UN Report Shamefully Equates Hamas and Israel

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Photo Credit: Alalam The latest UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report on Israel (hereafter “the report”) is poorly reasoned and downright bizarre in many ways. This article focuses on one of its glaring flaws and botched legal analyses: Purporting to analyze the legalities of Israel’s actions while ignoring the basic criminal nature of Hamas and its attacks.

Hamas is an extremist Islamic terrorist organization, similar to Al Qaeda and ISIS, committed to annihilating and replacing Israel with an Arab-Muslim theocracy. The Hamas Charter advocates the next Jewish genocide, and Hamas attacks Israeli civilians by numerous means, including indiscriminate rocketings of nearby towns and villages. Israel conducted military operations to stop the rocketing. Gazans were killed because Hamas embedded its operatives within densely populated areas.

The report mostly ignores these basic facts, and places Hamas on the same footing legally as the State of Israel, treating each as “lawful combatants.”

This is wrong. Hamas rocket attacks are criminal, as is the purpose of the organization: to commit genocide. International law authorizes all nation-states to prevent and punish such crimes. Hamas is an international criminal organization, like Al Qaeda or the Colombian Drug Cartel. Characterizing Hamas’ crimes as “military” grants Hamas unwarranted legitimacy.

Worse, the report sidesteps the issue of criminal aggression. Even if it is a “lawful combatant,” Hamas remains liable for all the consequences of its attacks. When examining any conflict for war-crimes, the first issue is identifying the aggressor. All other questions are secondary. Ignoring Hamas aggression renders the report trivial. (Read more from “This UN Report Shamefully Equates Hamas and Israel” HERE)

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Russell Wilson Appears in Church Question and Answer; Talks Faith [+video]

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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson made an appearance for a question and answer session at The Rock Church in San Diego over the weekend. Wilson, who is openly devout (and often posts scripture from his official Twitter account) helped lead a discussion about about his faith, his family, and his relationship with singer Ciara.

The Church’s Pastor Miles McPherson and Wilson carried on with casual banter — McPherson even got a playful jab in about Wilson’s height (“What are you, about 5’9”? he asked; “Yeah, 5’8”’ joked Wilson).

Wilson admitted he wasn’t always as devout as he is today, saying that when he was young he used to go to church to see a crush; however, he began to foster his faith as he grew older. According to Wilson, at 14 he dreamt that his father passed away, and Jesus walked into the room and told him “I’m preparing you.” This moment, and a number of other moments Wilson discusses in the video, have helped shape his faith.

Wilson also spoke about his relationship with his girlfriend, singer Ciara [Harris].

“She’s everything you could ever want, honestly. She’s a special girl. I met her I don’t know how long ago… five, six months ago. Funny thing is, I told somebody ‘that’s the girl I want to be with’ before I even met her. (Read more from “Russell Wilson Appears in Church Question and Answer; Talks Faith” HERE)

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Plane in Deadly Alaska Crash Had Safety Technology, NTSB Says

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A sightseeing floatplane that crashed in a mountainous area in southeast Alaska, killing all nine people on board, was equipped with technology to provide detailed information about the terrain, according to a federal accident report released Tuesday.

The preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board also said the June 25 crash occurred in conditions of reduced visibility. However, it drew no conclusions about the cause of the crash.

The deHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop crashed on a steep cliff about 25 miles from Ketchikan, killing the pilot and eight cruise ship passengers. The excursion was sold through the cruise company Holland America and operated by Ketchikan-based Promech Air. (Read more from “Plane in Deadly Alaska Crash Had Safety Technology, NTSB Says” HERE)

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One Year After Protective Edge, IDF Set to Launch New Detection System for Gaza Tunnels

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Photo Credit: Reuters The IDF will activate in the coming days a new detection system for underground tunnels running between the Gaza Strip and Israel, a senior Israeli military official said on Tuesday, according to Israel’s Channel 2 news.

Marking one year since the launch of last summer’s Operation Protective Edge, the IDF official told reporters that the new system had recently been deployed along the Gaza Strip . . .

Hamas has long used smuggling tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s Sinai to smuggle weapons and other goods restricted by Israel’s security blockade. Since the end of hostilities last summer, the group has been seeking new smuggling routes, especially as Egypt has recently ramped-up efforts to stymie smuggling along the Sinai border, the IDF official said.

The source also made note of ties between Hamas and Islamic State-affiliated groups in Sinai, which recently launched a series of deadly attacks against Egyptian forces. He said Hamas had provided training for the Egypt-based terrorists and assisted them in smuggling weapons into Sinai. (Read more from “One Year After Protective Edge, IDF Set to Launch New Detection System for Gaza Tunnels” HERE)

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Feds Find Another Reason to Target Combat Vets: Connection With Motorcycle Clubs

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By Tom Roeder. The Infidels Motorcycle Club, a group made up of troops, veterans and military contractors in Colorado Springs, drew attention recently with its pig roast to protest the holiest of Muslim holidays.

While some people decried the club’s gathering as tantamount to a KKK cross-burning, the group is not classified as an outlaw motorcycle group by authorities. But other, less law-abiding motorcycle gangs are actively recruiting troops in the Pikes Peak region and worrying federal agents, a federal report obtained by the Gazette says.

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Denver spokesman Chris Amon said his agency’s concern over the interaction of troops and outlaw motorcycle gangs is obvious.

“It always concerns us when people with specialized training in weapons and explosives is involved in a criminal enterprise,” he said . . .

“I think it makes a natural draw for them,” said Steve Cook, who heads the Midwest Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association. “You have to look at people in the military and fresh back from deployment — they are into a warfare mentality.” (Read more from “Feds Target Combat Vets Associated with Motorcycle Clubs” HERE)

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Colorado Biker Gangs Reaching out to Former Military Members

By The Associated Press. Federal agents are worried about outlaw motorcycle gangs they say are actively trying to recruit former military members in the Pikes Peak region.

“It always concerns us when people with specialized training in weapons and explosives is involved in a criminal enterprise,” said Chris Amon, the Denver spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms . . .

The report says that the gangs “court active-duty military personnel and government workers, both civilians and contractors, for their knowledge, reliable income, tactical skills and dedication to a cause.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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