Reports of Massive Explosion in Ukraine, Likely not Tactical Nuke, but Obama Shaken [+videos]

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Ukraine: Artillery Fire, Not ‘Tactical Nuke’ Attack, Sets Off Large Donetsk Explosion

[Editor’s note: A number of sites, such as Alex Jones’ Info Wars, suggested that the explosion was nuclear, but that seems to be a stretch. Nuclear detonations create significant EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) that would almost certainly have destroyed the electronic cameras recording the events.]

On Sunday night, a series of YouTube videos appear to show a large explosion in Donetsk, Ukraine (several can be watched here). However, it wasn’t a “tactical nuclear weapon,” as some social media users claimed, but just a big blast–reportedly Ukrainian army artillery fire hitting an ammunition depot held by the rebel Donetsk People’s Republic.

Videos that were uploaded Feb. 8 show a massive explosion going off in the distance, with an orange-red fireball lighting up the night sky.

While many details remain unclear, preliminary reports say it was a an artillery attack on a weapons depot owned by the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic. According to Ukrainian news site TSN.ua, right-wing politician Dmitry Yarosh said the blast killed about “200 terrorists,” destroyed 20 Grad rockets, and trucks filled with ammunition. (Read more from about the reports of a tactical nuke in Ukraine HERE)

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New York Times Warn About Russia “Nuclear Saber Rattling” in Ukraine

By JOHN J. MEARSHEIMERFEB. The possibility that Mr. Putin might end up making nuclear threats may seem remote, but if the goal of arming Ukraine is to drive up the costs of Russian interference and eventually put Moscow in an acute situation, it cannot be ruled out. If Western pressure succeeded and Mr. Putin felt desperate, he would have a powerful incentive to try to rescue the situation by rattling the nuclear saber.

Our understanding of the mechanisms of escalation in crises and war is limited at best, although we know the risks are considerable. Pushing a nuclear-armed Russia into a corner would be playing with fire.

Advocates of arming Ukraine recognize the escalation problem, which is why they stress giving Kiev “defensive,” not “offensive,” weapons. Unfortunately, there is no useful distinction between these categories: All weapons can be used for attacking and defending. The West can be sure, though, that Moscow will not see those American weapons as “defensive,” given that Washington is determined to reverse the status quo in eastern Ukraine.

The only way to solve the Ukraine crisis is diplomatically, not militarily. Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, seems to recognize that fact, as she has said Germany will not ship arms to Kiev. Her problem, however, is that she does not know how to bring the crisis to an end. (Read more from this story HERE)

See also Putin Threatens to Use Nukes in Ukraine

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Matt Drudge Warns that “Obama Knows Something Terrible is Coming”

In a tweet yesterday, Matt Drudge said this about Obama’s Grammy appearance:

Arizona Sheriff Calls Out Obama, Insists Our Borders are Not “More Secure Than Ever”

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Photo Credit: Western Journalism By Heather Laskin. For all of President Obama’s talk of the border being safer than ever, Pinal County, Ariz., Sheriff Paul Babeu provided some evidence to the contrary when he spoke before the House Judiciary Committee on the issue of illegal immigration Tuesday.

Babeu, America’s 2011 “Sheriff of the Year” and an Iraq War veteran, testified before the committee that between 88,000 and 123,000 illegal aliens are apprehended at the Tucson Sector, one of nine border-patrol zones along the U.S.-Mexico border, each year. The Tucson Sector covers most of the state of Arizona from the New Mexico state line to the Yuma County line — a total of 262 border miles.

Between 17 and 30 percent of those apprehended have a criminal record in the U.S. “This clearly shows that the border is not more secure than ever,” Babeu said.

He also detailed how 30 to 50 illegal alien criminals are released into Pinal County every day. “These are the people that everybody, including the president, said are the bad actors,” he said. Many of those released have criminal records that include rape, manslaughter, child molestation, financial crimes, armed robbery, and assault against law enforcement.

Babeu said he has asked the federal government for more information regarding those individuals and their criminal histories, but the government refuses to give it to him. “I, as the sheriff, who swore an oath to protect the people of my county, should have a right to that information,” Babeu declared.

He stressed to committee members that the situation is so lawless in some areas of Pinal County — the number one pass through county in America for drug and human smuggling — that it often feels like a war-zone on American soil. (Read more about what Arizona sheriff said HERE)

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Two US Veterans Disappear in Mexico

By KRGV. The family of two missing veterans in Matamoros is desperate for any word of their safety.

Ernesto and Jesus Garcia were reported missing in Mexico after they did not return home on Monday. The brothers from Brownsville were visiting their grandmother.

Family said they were staying in the south-west side of the city, about 20 minutes south of Brownsville.

The family said this was a trip the brothers made often. Every few months, they would visit their family in Matamoros and check-in on their grandmother.

This trip was different because the two decided to drive home to the U.S. in the middle of the night. (Read more from this story HERE)

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7 Week Old Baby Survives Abortion Pill After Mother ‘Reverses’ It

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Photo Credit: Live Action News By Nancy Flanders. Since 2012, 77 children have survived abortion attempts on their lives from RU-486 — also called “the abortion pill” — thanks to AbortionPillReversal.com and their network of 226 pro-life OBGYNs . . .

One such woman, “Jen,” visited Assure Pregnancy Center after Planned Parenthood gave her RU-486 and she took the first pill. It was Memorial Day weekend. The staff at the clinic was looking forward to the three-day weekend, but when Jen walked in, they quickly got to work to save a little life.

Jen, as reported by Pregnancy Help News, was a married college student with a toddler. Despite the fact that her husband and family were excited about her pregnancy, Jen felt that she should abort in order to keep her college and career plans on track. She set up an appointment at Planned Parenthood (PP).

While at PP, Jen wasn’t allowed to hear the heartbeat of her baby, which was the one thing giving her doubts about aborting. After she took that first pill, all she could think about was the heartbeat that the pills would be ending. She realized she had made a mistake, and she headed to Assure. (Read more about the baby surviving the abortion pill HERE)

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New York Abortion Clinics Inspected Less Than Pizzerias

By Carl Campanile. Abortion clinics should be inspected at least as frequently as pizzerias, tanning salons and movie theaters, according to new radio ads decrying the sanitary conditions at some of New York’s facilities.

The 30-second and 60-second spots paid for by the pro-life Chiaroscuro Group quote what the organization claims are scathing reviews culled from social-media Web sites and penned by horrified patients who visited some of the clinics.

A sample of the reviews: “Avoid at all costs”; “The Waiting Room is dirty and smelled of dried urine”; “DO NOT EVER GO HERE”; “Filthy Medical Equipment looks like it’s from the 1970s”; and “She Balanced Her Tool Tray on a Garbage Can.”

The narrator says: “New York inspects everything: pizzerias, nail and tanning salons, movie theaters. But for more than a dozen years, it’s failed to inspect women’s clinics around the state.”

The Post reported last year that eight of New York’s 25 abortion clinics had not been inspected at all between 2000 and 2012, and five others were inspected only once in a dozen years. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Here are the Three Most Conservative States in the US

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By Frank Newport. Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana are the most right-leaning states in the union, with between 46% and 49% of residents in each identifying as politically conservative. Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii are the most left-leaning, with 30% of residents in each of those states identifying as liberal.

The top 10 most conservative states in 2014 are very similar to the top 10 in 2013, with the exception of Louisiana, which was not in the top 10 list in 2013, but replaced Wyoming in the top 10 this year.

The list of the top 10 most conservative states is also similar to what it was in 2008, the first year Gallup tracked ideology daily. Mississippi was the most conservative state in 2008 and remains the most conservative in 2014, with 49% of residents identifying as conservative in both years. Three states — Louisiana, Oklahoma and Montana — were not in the top 10 list in 2008 but are in 2014, while South Dakota, Wyoming and Texas dropped out of the top 10 list over the past seven years.

Eight of the top 10 most liberal states in 2014 were on the top 10 list 2013. The other two — Connecticut and Maryland — replaced Delaware and Maine, which appeared in the top 10 in 2013. The only two states in the top 10 most liberal list this year that were not in the top 10 in 2008 are Maryland and New Jersey, and in that year, they came in ranked just below the top 10.

These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews throughout 2014 with 177,034 U.S. adults. Gallup asks Americans if they describe their political views as very conservative, conservative, moderate, liberal or very liberal. The results shown combine the two conservative and the two liberal categories. (Read more about the conservative states in the US HERE)

[Editor’s note: According to Gallup’s poll, Alaska is 21 spots from the bottom, ranking behind states like Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, Kansas and two dozen other states.]

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Tyrannical Judicial Rule Continues: Alabama Set to Be 37th State to Allow Same-Sex Couples Can Legally Marry

By Associated Press. Alabama is set Monday to become the 37th state where gays can legally wed.

An order by a federal judge that overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is to take effect Monday. The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on Alabama’s request to stay the decision, hours before courthouses were to open. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Despite Refusing to Meet With Netanyahu, Biden and Kerry Had No Problem Meeting With This Left-Wing Israeli Politician

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US Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry both met informally with Zionist Camp co-leader Isaac Herzog — head of the Labor Party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief rival in the Israeli elections — on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, Germany on Saturday

Their discussions reportedly revolved around security matters and the Zionist Camp’s defense strategy.

The meetings were not formally scheduled, and no photographs were immediately issued.

Herzog also met with the EU’s Foreign Affairs Chief Federica Mogherini and German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the sidelines of the conference.

The Biden-Kerry meetings with Herzog came a day after Biden’s office said the vice president would be abroad and would not attend a contentious speech on Iran Netanyahu is set to deliver to Congress on March 3. Netanyahu’s planned address has infuriated the Obama administration, which accused the Israeli leader of breaching protocol as the visit was not coordinated with the White House. Both Kerry and President Barack Obama said last month that they would not meet with Netanyahu during the visit, citing its proximity to the March 17 elections. (Read more about Joe Biden and John Kerry meeting with the Israeli politician HERE)

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Revealed: What Obama Gave to Al Sharpton After Mandela Funeral

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When the Rev. Al Sharpton couldn’t make it to Nelson Mandela ’s funeral in South Africa, President Barack Obama brought him back a little souvenir.

The memento, a program from the funeral, hangs on a wall in Mr. Sharpton’s nondescript offices above Midtown Manhattan.

“To Rev. Sharpton,” Mr. Obama wrote. “A fellow warrior for justice!”

Much has been made of Mr. Sharpton’s reinvention, the remaking of a local, sometimes divisive activist into a polished insider with a national TV show and a direct line to the White House.

Yet, at home in New York City, as tensions simmered last year over race, police conduct, and the deaths of Eric Garner and police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, Mr. Sharpton’s new role has been tested. (Read more about what Obama gave Al Sharpton HERE)

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Social Media Blasting Texas Lawmaker After She Asks Muslims to Pledge Allegiance to US

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Photo Credit: Western Journalism Freshman Republican state representative Molly White recently wrote a Facebook post asking American Muslim visitors to her office to pledge allegiance to the United States, and now she is getting blasted on social media for it.

The Texas lawmaker wrote on Facebook Thursday:

Today is Texas Muslim Capital [sic] Day in Austin. The House is in recess until Monday. Most Members including myself are back in District. I did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws. We will see how long they stay in my office . . .

CAIR sent a letter to Texas House Speaker Joe Straus asking whether Rep. White had engaged in an ethics violation by asking American Muslims coming into her office to renounce terrorism and pledge allegiance to the US. The letter reads:

Our ethics question is: Has Rep. White violated any House rules in creating such an internal office policy that is selectively being enforced to discriminate against certain religious minorities trying to meet with her or her staff? Are House members prohibited from making constituents take oaths before meeting with their elected representatives or House staff? . . .

Fatima Ahmed wrote on Facebook:

You can’t seriously be this clueless. Not very ‘Christian’ of you. We should organize a group to come visit you and shower you with love in return for your hate. That’s would Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) would do. But what would you know about that. #Islamophobia #Bigotry #MollyWhite #TAKEONHATE. . .

White stood by her statement. . .

(Read more about the Texas lawmaker getting blasted on social media HERE)

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Elderly Auctioned Off On Ebay to Cheapest Nursing Home

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Photo Credit: Daily Mail By Ruthe Lythe. The elderly and disabled are being ‘put up for auction’ by local councils on ‘eBay-style’ websites, with care firms then bidding to offer them a bed.

At least a dozen local authorities are listing vulnerable people’s details – including their age and what care and medication they need – before inviting bids from care homes in the area.

The bidding is sometimes open for only a few hours, at other times it can last for two or three days. The cheapest offer often wins.

Critics last night said the system was akin to ‘auctioning your granny’ and a ‘cattle market’, saying sensitive decisions about an elderly resident’s final years are being made by a computer programme that is only interested in costs.

It also means the patient or their family often does not see the care home, and that those running the home do not see the patient before they arrive. (Read more about the elderly being auctioned off to eBay to the cheapest nursing home HERE)

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Are England’s Failing Standards in Nursing Homes Forerunners of the US Experience?

By Gail Champion. One in five care homes for older people in England fail to meet set national standards for safety and care, a report by 5 live Investigates suggests.

Research by healthcare analysts LaingBuisson examined inspection records for almost 10,000 care homes, and found 20% had failed to meet at least one key quality measure.

5 live found cases of residents washed in cold water or left with scabies.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) called the figures “disappointing”.

In October 2014, the care watchdog – the CQC – introduced a new “tougher” inspection regime for care homes. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Here’s How Your DNA Can Help Show Your Lifespan

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Photo Credit: Science Daily Scientists have identified a biological clock that provides vital clues about how long a person is likely to live.

Researchers studied chemical changes to DNA that take place over a lifetime, and can help them predict an individual’s age. By comparing individuals’ actual ages with their predicted biological clock age, scientists saw a pattern emerging.

People whose biological age was greater than their true age were more likely to die sooner than those whose biological and actual ages were the same.

Four independent studies tracked the lives of almost 5,000 older people for up to 14 years. Each person’s biological age was measured from a blood sample at the outset, and participants were followed up throughout the study.

Researchers found that the link between having a faster-running biological clock and early death held true even after accounting for other factors such as smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. (Read more about DNA helping show your lifespan HERE)

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Top White House Official Says US Strategy to Beat ISIS is Working; General Disagrees

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By Fox News. Secretary of State John Kerry and a top White House official claimed Sunday that the U.S. strategy to defeat the Islamic State is working – despite warnings from other corners of the Obama administration that the terror network is in fact spreading.

Following the purported deaths last week of two ISIS hostages and concerns about the U.S. needing to do more, Kerry told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S.-led coalition was “on the road” to defeating the Islamic extremist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Iraq and Syria.

He argued that coalition forces have recaptured 22 percent of the populated areas that ISIS once held in the region “without launching what we would call a major offensive.”

The claim came just days after Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, delivered a grim assessment of the group’s evolution in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee. He described how the group was surfacing in North Africa.

“With affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, the group is beginning to assemble a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under governed areas,” Stewart testified. (Read more about the claims that the strategy to beat ISIS is working HERE)

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ISIS ‘Sentenced’ US Hostage to Death Last Year, Activist Says

By The Jerusalem Post. The young American hostage who Islamic State says was was killed in a Jordanian air strike was condemned to death by the militant group last year, according to an American Muslim activist.

Islamic State seized aid worker Kayla Mueller in 2013 in northern Syria and initially gave her a “life sentence” in retaliation for the jailing in Texas of a Pakistani woman whose case is a well-known cause among Islamist militants, said activist Mauri Saalakhan, who leads a US campaign to free the Pakistani.

The militant group said on Friday that Mueller, a 26-year-old from Prescott, Arizona, was killed when Jordanian fighter jets bombed a building where she was being held. Jordan expressed doubt about the claim and US authorities said they could not confirm it. (Read more from this story HERE)

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