Lance Armstrong: “I Wouldn’t Change Decision to Cheat”

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Armstrong, 43, was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles and banned from sport for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in August 2012.

“If I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn’t do it again because I don’t think you have to,” he said.

“If you take me back to 1995, when doping was completely pervasive, I would probably do it again.”

Speaking in his first television interview since confessing to Oprah Winfrey that he had used performance-enhancing drugs during his career, Armstrong tells BBC sports editor Dan Roan:

•The “fallout” since his confession has been “heavy” and he now lives his life at 10mph, not 100.
•His decision to dope was “bad”, but taken at “an imperfect time”.
•He still feels like he won the seven Tour titles he was stripped of.
•He raced clean during his second comeback in 2009 and 2010.

(Read more about what Lance Armstrong said HERE)

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Major Hollywood Executive Joins Cosby Accuser List

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For the first time, a former big-time Hollywood executive, with a powerful Hollywood name, has come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her in 1969, joining more than two-dozen other lesser known women with similar stories.

It’s the first time Cindra Ladd has spoken out, and the last, she says. She has no plans to sue. She doesn’t want money. She’s not calling a press conference or doing any interviews. She’s just telling “the truth,” she says. . .

Ladd, a former film executive-turned-charity activist, and wife of producer Alan Ladd Jr., former president of Twentieth Century Fox and Chairman of MGM/UA , published a compelling essay in the Huffington Post Monday detailing what she says happened to her when she became friends with the married Cosby in New York in the late 1960s. . .

They made a date to see a movie one night, but she arrived at an apartment (he said it belonged to a friend) with a bad headache. He offered her a capsule to take, she kept asking what is it. “Don’t you trust me?” he responded. . .

“What I do recall, vividly and clearly, is waking up the next morning nude in the bed of his friend’s apartment and seeing Cosby wearing a white terrycloth bathrobe and acting as if there was nothing unusual,” she wrote. “It was obvious to me that he had had sex with me. I was horrified, embarrassed and ashamed. There was a mirror above the bed, which shocked me further.”
(Read more about the executive joining the Cosby accuser list HERE)

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Don’t Buy NARAL Propoganda, More Americans are Pro-Life Than Pro-Choice

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For a long time, when pollsters would ask questions on abortion, the “pro-choice” position would come out comfortably ahead. That changed in May 2009, when for the first time ever, Gallup reported that a majority of respondents identified as “pro-life.” “Pro-life” has actually outpolled “pro-choice” in five of nine Gallup polls since then.

As such, groups like NARAL have had to work harder to claim that there’s broad support for legal abortion. This past August, NARAL released another poll on the subject, one which gave respondents a subtly different set of choices. The alternatives were 1) abortion is morally acceptable and should be legal; 2) personally opposed to abortion, but it should remain legal; and 3) abortion should be illegal.

A plurality of respondents preferred the second option, and NARAL quickly announced that the first and second options combined commanded majority support. Of course, the three questions did not allow for much nuance. Specifically, the poll did not ask about the 20-week abortion ban or other incremental pro-life laws that tend to poll well. (Read more about the recent polls saying more Americans are pro-life HERE)

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Christians Growing in Niger Despite Brutal Assaults by Muslims

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Photo Credit: Christian Today The faith of the Christians in Niger continue to grow despite a series of violent attacks from January 16 to 18 that left more than 70 churches in ruins.

The attacks were perpetrated by Muslims who were angry at the latest Charlie Hebdo cartoon that depicted Mohammad carrying a sign expressing solidarity with the victims of the attack on their editorial offices earlier this month.

Now, Christians are holding meetings and services in their own homes under the protection of the Niger police.

“Last night the church members met for prayer as the pastor, who lost everything, encouraged them by flashlight to not only stand strong, but to move forward and to know that this attack will grow the church,” Christian Headlines quoted a letter from a missionary couple in the Niger. “The room was dark on the outside but illuminated by the fire in the hearts of His people, even as stones were being thrown on the roof.”

The violence began in the city of Zinder on January 16. By January 18, the destruction and attacks have spread to the capital city of Niamey. The perpetrators specifically targeted Christian buildings and properties, leading Mahamadou Issoufou to condemn the attacks on live TV. (Read more about the Christians growing in numbers HERE)

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Quadcopter Drone Crashes On White House Grounds

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By Anthony Domanico. The US Secret Service said Monday that a quadcopter drone crashed on the White House grounds just after 3 a.m. ET, causing a brief lockdown while the agency investigated to determine if there was a threat to the site.

After it ruled out a potential threat, the Secret Service revealed that the drone was a run-of-the-mill quadcopter that is sold in stores, though stopped short of identifying the exact make and model. The crash occurred on the southeast side of the compound.

The Secret Service is still working to determine who was controlling the drone, though no additional information on suspects was provided. The Federal Aviation Administration bans unmanned aerial flight systems in a 10-nautical-mile area around Washington’s Reagan National Airport, which according to Time would include the White House, Pentagon and the CIA.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were in India at the time. There’s no word on whether other family members were staying in the White House when the drone crashed this morning.

Even though it may be tempting to get an inside look at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with your fancy new drone, the risk far outweighs the reward as you’d likely end up in jail, or at least on the wrong side of a Secret Service interrogation. So remember, if you try to take drone images of the White House, you’ll probably end up in the Big House. (Read more about the quadcopter drone crashing HERE)

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White House Drone Crash was Accidental

By Tribune Wire Reports. A two-foot-long drone apparently flown by a hobbyist crashed on the White House grounds Monday in an extraordinary, if unintended, breach that raised fresh questions about the president’s security — and a growing threat from the sky.

A man later came forward to say he was responsible for the mishap in the middle of the night and hadn’t meant to fly the drone over the complex, officials said. “Initial indications are that this incident occurred as a result of recreational use of the device,” said Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary. . .

Officials believed the intrusion to be the first of its kind on the White House grounds, although not the first in the vicinity.

Low-flying drones like the quadcopter — a craft lifted by four propellers — have become increasingly sophisticated and affordable instruments that authorities worry could also become tools for terrorists or others meaning to do harm. (Read more from this story HERE)

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2015 Blizzard Will Add to Snowiest Decade on the East Coast

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Photo Credit: Climate Depot By Marc Morano. The monster 2015 blizzard will be adding to what is already the snowiest decade on the East Coast.

“Assuming this storm gets ranked by NOAA as one of the high impact (population affected by snowstorm) snowstorms (likely since the November storm was), we will have had 14 major impact storms this decade (only half over) beating out the 10 in the 1960s and 2000s,” Joseph D’Aleo, CCM (Certified Consulting Meteorologist), told Climate Depot on Monday.

“Watch for widespread sub-zero cold next week if the European models are right (all the way to North Carolina and including DC area),” D’Aleo, the co-chief Meteorologist with Weatherbell Analytics, added. (Read more about the snowiest decade on the East Coast HERE)

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New York City Mayor Warns: Don’t Underestimate This Storm

By Ashley Fantz and Ed Payne. This is no ordinary snow storm, weather experts say.

The National Weather Service is using terms such as “life-threatening” and “historic” to describe the system ready to spread across the Northeast.

The storm could dump up to 3 feet of snow in Boston and New York before it ends Tuesday, along with freezing rain and strong wind gusts possibly reaching hurricane level.

Blizzard and winter storm warnings are up from New Jersey through Maine and into Canada . . .

“I want everyone to understand that we are facing — most likely — one of the largest snowstorms in the history of this city,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Read more from this story HERE)

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‘Madden NFL 15’ Superbowl Predictions (+video)

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Tom Brady is about to leave Seahawks fans deflated.

So says EA’s annual Super Bowl simulation, at least. If the Xbox One version of Madden NFL 15 is to be believed, the ball-obsessed QB will nab his fourth Super Bowl ring this Sunday when the New England Patriots top the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 to win Super Bowl XLIX.

According to the sim, it’ll be a nailbiter . . .

It’s coming off a bad loss, however. Last year’s Madden NFL 25 predicted the Broncos would beat the Seahawks 31-28, which was just a hair off the actual outcome of 43-8, Seahawks. Only missed it by 38 points, guys . . .

But it’s occasionally been brilliant. In 2013 it correctly picked the winner, point spread, and MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, and was two completions away from perfectly nailing 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s stat line. Madden was even more prescient in 2009 when it was one point off from the final score and managed to predict the exact number of receiving yards for Steelers wideout Santonio Holmes. (Read more about the superbowl predictions HERE)

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Former Alaskan Soldier Sentenced to 62 Years in Prison

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Photo Credit: alana sise/flickrA former Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier was sentenced to 62 years in prison for the murder of his wife in their Anchorage home. . .

A jury last year found him guilty of murder for the 2012 shooting death of his wife, Sara Lopez.

Prosecutors say David Lopez was angry that the Office of Children’s Services took away the couple’s daughter after Sara Lopez brought the toddler to a hospital because of concerns about bruises on the girl. (Read more about the Alaskan soldier HERE)

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Obama Declares War on Alaska: Designating 12+ Million ANWR Acres Off-Limits “Wilderness”

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The Obama administration will propose setting aside more than 12 million acres in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, the White House announced Sunday, halting any chance of oil exploration for now in the refuge’s much-fought-over coastal plain and sparking a fierce battle with Republicans, including the new chair of the Senate Energy Committee.

“Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge is an incredible place — pristine, undisturbed. It supports caribou and polar bears, all manner of marine life, countless species of birds and fish, and for centuries it supported many Alaska Native communities. But it’s very fragile,” President Obama said in a White House video on the move.

The announcement, according to individuals briefed on the plan, is just the first in a series of decisions the Interior Department will make in the coming week that will affect the state’s oil and gas production. The department will also put part of the Arctic Ocean off limits to drilling as part of a five-year leasing plan it will issue this week and is considering whether to impose additional limits on oil and gas production in parts of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. (Read more from this story about Obama’s wilderness designation of 12+ million ANWR acres HERE)

Here’s Obama’s Touchy-Feely Message Supporting the ANWR Shutdown:

Nancy Pelosi Refuses to Say Unborn Babies at 20 Weeks are Human

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Photo Credit: Life Site News By John Jalsevac. Is an unborn baby at 20 weeks human? It’s a straightforward question, but House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi couldn’t bring herself to respond to it when asked twice during a press briefing today.

Both times Pelosi dodged the question, saying that politicians shouldn’t be involved in “reproductive health” choices.

The second time the question was answered, Pelosi argued in her response that as “a Catholic and a mom of five” she has “great standing” on the issue. More, she said, than most of her colleagues, and even the pope.

The question, and follow-up, were asked by a reporter with CNSNews in reference to the ongoing debate about a bill in Congress that would ban abortion after 20 weeks, except in cases of rape, incest, and a threat to the life of the mother. The bill bases the ban upon the science showing that babies at that age can feel the pain of being aborted. (Read more about her answer and unborn babies HERE)

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Amanda Marcotte: Babies With Down Syndrome Should be Aborted

By Cassy Fiano. North Dakota recently passed a bill outlawing the abortion of babies based on birth defects, like Down syndrome. Pro-lifers and disability advocates alike cheered the decision, because it is horrific to deprive a baby of life simply because he does not meet our society’s standards of perfection.

It is disgusting to see how low we will stoop to avoid “defective” babies, with mothers aborting their children even for very minor defects like cleft lips, which can be repaired. For North Dakota step up and ban these abortions is a step in the right direction, reaffirming that people with disabilities and birth defects have intrinsic value and worth just as the rest of us do, and that they deserve life, too. Some people, though, disagree.

Indiana state senator Travis Holdman has just introduced a similar bill to the one passed in North Dakota, and Amanda Marcotte is not happy about it . . .

Perhaps these bills are showing up because medical advances give people a better understanding of disabilities, and more acceptance for people who have them. It’s not about the “growing boldness” of pro-lifers — it’s about protecting life, all life, even life that Marcotte doesn’t see as worth living . . .

Yet pro-abortion extremists like Amanda Marcotte would instead follow in Richard Dawkins’s footsteps, saying that babies with Down syndrome should be aborted, and all because they find these disabilities inconvenient. They relentlessly beat into the heads of women that a child with a disability will ruin their lives, because God knows that if people knew the reality of raising a child with Down syndrome or another disability, people wouldn’t be as quick to abort them. (Read more from this story HERE)

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