Planes Delayed After Bomb Threats Throughout the Nation

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By Mike Lindblom. Passengers on two arriving planes were delayed and then bused to the terminal following bomb threats Sunday afternoon, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Both planes were “cleared of security concerns” and passengers bused to the terminal, the airport tweeted around 6 p.m.

The first one, JetBlue Flight 1006 from Long Beach, arrived around 4:15 p.m. from Long Beach. It was sent to the far southwest end of the airfield, about 2,500 feet from other coming and going flights, said Cooper. Passengers were walking off using portable stairs, he said. They were taken to the terminal on buses. A passenger named Tiffany has been tweeting pictures of airport police, luggage being sniffed on the pavement by dogs, and the sunset.

The evacuation was a precaution, and other jets continued to take off and land, Cooper said earlier.

Then another plane was detained, Delta/SkyWest #4741 from Phoenix. The pilot mentioned three bomb threats, said Jenna Luthman, an executive producer at Northwest Cable News, who was on board and spoke live to KING 5 during its 5 p.m. newscast. (Read more about the delays after bomb threats HERE)

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BOMB THREATS NATIONWIDE FORCE PLANES TO REROUTE, ISOLATE UPON LANDING

By JORDAN SCHACHTEL. Two planes that had just touched down on Sunday afternoon at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were immediately isolated, reportedly due to multiple bomb threats.

A third plane, a Delta Airlines flight originally scheduled to fly on Sunday afternoon from Los Angeles to Orlando, was diverted to Dallas due to “a security concern”. . .

It remains unclear whether the three Sunday bomb threats are connected. Sunday’s threats come just one day after NORAD scrambled two fighter jets to escort two flights to Atlanta. On Saturday, airline officials received a “credible” bomb threat via Twitter, prompting the partial shutdown of Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Brace for Potentially Historic Snowstorms Northeast

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The Northeast is bracing for a crippling snowstorm that the National Weather Service called “potentially historic” and could dump 2 to 3 feet of snow from northern New Jersey to Connecticut.

“This could be a storm the likes of which we have never seen before,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Sunday.

During the news conference De Blasio held up a list of the city’s top 10 snowstorms and said this one could land at the top of a list that goes back to 1827. “Don’t underestimate this storm. Prepare for the worst,” he said as he urged residents to plan to leave work early Monday.

A blizzard warning was issued for New York and Boston and the National Weather Service said the storm could bring heavy snow and powerful winds starting Monday and into Tuesday.

“Commuters should consider working from home on Monday if possible to avoid disruptions from likely road and public transportation closures,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “New York State is taking all necessary precautions to prepare for this storm, and I urge residents to put safety first and plan ahead to protect themselves and others throughout the duration of this snowstorm.” (Read more about the potentially historic snowstorms northeast HERE)

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Sex Ed Teacher Gives Student Hands on Lesson

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Photo Credit: Ijreview By Lawrence Bonk. Remember that one time you went to the Alamo, or some place similar, on a history class field trip? The experience helped the teacher get some points across.

However, what happens when a sex education teacher decides to adopt that same, uh, hands-on approach?

Daresa Poe, a 32-year-old sex-ed teacher from Oklahoma, did just that and is now facing a litany of criminal charges after admitting she had been engaged in an affair with a student.

Even worse than that? The dynamic duo even, uh, “studied” in the teacher’s lounge, in addition to Poe’s home and the student’s truck.

“I am Daresa Poe, a wife, mother and teacher. I have made a horrible mistake. I have let my judgment falter and I am embarrassed and mortified for the decisions I have made in the last two weeks. I have had sexual intercourse with a student.” Poe said in a written confession. “I would take it back in a heartbeat if the chance was given to me.” (Read more about the sex ed teacher HERE)

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Teacher Sends Student Home with Stern Letter for Parents

By James Nye. One Missouri dad was shocked to receive a letter from his daughter’s substitute teacher telling him he had packed her a lunch that was too unhealthy.

The girl’s father Justin Puckett, who is a family doctor, posted the letter, written on orange paper to his Facebook, outraged at the ‘Big Brother’ approach from the Kirksville Primary School teacher.

Annoyed at the implication he and his wife Kylene were not up to the task of caring for their own daughter, Dr. Puckett refused to sign the letter acknowledging he accepted the lunch was not up to scratch . . .

It read: ”Dr. and Mrs. Puckett, The cafeteria reported to me that Alia’s lunch today included four chocolate bars, a bag of marshmallows, Ritz crackers and a pickle. Please see that she packs a proper lunch tomorrow.’

The letter then ends with a curt demand – ‘Parent signature requested’. The Pucketts wrote back, ‘Request declined’. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Married British General Coming Out as a Homosexual

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Photo Credit: Daily Mail A British Army general who is secretly gay plans to reveal his sexuality after being angered by a colleague’s warning that such an admission would amount to career suicide.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the general – who is married with children – takes issue with the Army’s insistence that gay and lesbian soldiers no longer face discrimination.

He said: ‘The Armed Forces cannot claim it is an equal opportunities employer when the view persists that any senior officer who announces he is gay will see his or her career go up in smoke.’

A veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with nearly 30 years’ service, he is the most senior officer to admit he is gay, and the first British Army general to do so.

In observations that will dismay the Ministry of Defence, which has made great strides in improving the Army’s image, he said homophobic bullying and abuse are still common. (Read more about the married British general HERE)

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Exclusive: Canadian Stupidity Over Alaska’s Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal Stoking Tensions

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It was reported in The Canadian Press and The Prince George Citizen that Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada has ostensibly directed his administration to take a precedent setting position in regards to the Alaskan operated ferry terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The Canadian administration’s opening salvo began with threatening to use a little known “Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act,” in order to force the State of Alaska to acquiesce to demands that they use Canadian steel and other products during the construction of a 15 million dollar small ferry terminal.

If done in the manner demanded by the Harper Administration, the procurement of Canadian products will be in violation of the “Buy American Act” provisions embedded in U.S. Federal contracting law. A provision that Alaska Governor Bill Walker has made abundantly clear will not be waived.


Ferry operations by the Alaska Marine Highway System presents challenges at the Port of Prince Rupert. A number of problems with this port, along with additional regulations, add an exorbitant amount of cost to operations. Back on July 23, 1997 a large contingent of fishermen formed a blockade that held hostage the M/V Malaspina for two to three days while the fishermen burned American flags and yelled obscenities at the crew on the Alaskan ferry in protests related to allocation of Pacific salmon harvests. The blockade placed the crew of the vessel and three hundred passengers in fear of additional retaliation due to the belligerent behavior of the fishermen who acted in surprise and impunity of the local authorities . This action was instantly an international incident, which found the United States Senate voting 81-19 in favor of sending in the U.S. Navy to enforce the internationally-recognized Right of Innocent Passage.”

Ultimately cooler heads prevailed and former President Bill Clinton negotiated the “Pacific Salmon Treaty,” which initially was welcomed by both sides of the border, yet was ultimately abandoned in following years. During those hostilities, the blockade lasted until the fishing fleet, based in Prince Rupert, received assurances from their government to renew talks between the United States in regards to fisheries management .

At the time, then Alaskan Governor Tony Knowles engaged in meetings attended by a Canadian delegation including the Canadian Fisheries Minister, and the Washington State Governor as they arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to negotiate the fishing legislation addressing their respective jurisdictions and nations. There was a brief period of time where the State of Alaska suspended all operations in the Port of Prince Rupert, which lasted from the end of July to December 1997.

Ultimately, the parties agreed to the passage of the “Safe Passage” principle that focused on salmon fishing along the Alaskan coast and elsewhere. Eventually, apology letters with assurances from the Mayor of Prince Rupert and Canadian Fisheries Minister that the Canadians will prevent future blockades and give funding to rebuild the image of the Alaskan Ferry System in Canada. The Alaskan Ferry System relented on the suspension of ferry traffic to Prince Rupert, and operations resumed to the present day. (Read page 2 of this story about the Prince Rupert Ferry terminal issue HERE)

Cruz Files Bill to Ban American ISIS Fighters From Returning to the U.S.

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By Adam Kredo. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) [filed] legislation on Friday to ban American citizens who fight alongside the Islamic State (IS) and other terror groups from returning to the United States, where they pose a significant terror threat, according to sources in the senator’s office.

Cruz, who first proposed the legislation last year, seeks to strip those Americans who travel abroad to fight with IS (also known as ISIL or ISIS) of their U.S. citizenship rights and stop them from coming back stateside.

The bill, known as the Expatriate Terrorist Act (E.T.A.), tightens and updates existing regulations by which a U.S. citizen effectively renounces his or her citizenship.

Cruz said that he is filing the bill partly in response to President Obama’s Tuesday State of the Union address, which he described as “detached from reality” on the foreign policy front. (Read more about the bill to ban American ISIS fighters from returning to the U.S. HERE)

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Charlie Hebdo Protests Erupt Across Southern Asia

By Khurram Shahzad. Tens of thousands across Afghanistan, Pakistan and Muslim-majority Indian Kashmir took to the streets on Friday for southern Asia’s biggest protests yet against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed.

Up to 20,000 demonstrators in the western Afghan city of Herat and 15,000 in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, burned French flags and chanted slogans calling for France’s downfall, while a smaller Pakistani protest saw an effigy of France’s President Francois Hollande set on fire.

In Srinagar, the largest city on the Indian-controlled side of the disputed region of Kashmir, police clashed with a contingent of around 3,000 demonstrators after shops and businesses were ordered to close by a leading Muslim organisation and several separatist groups. (Read more from this story HERE)

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GOP RIP: The Formerly Pro-Life Party

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Last October, Reince Priebus gave a speech with a conspicuous omission. Just 33 days before the midterm elections, the Republican National Committee Chairman headed to George Washington University to give a speech on the issues that bring Republicans together. Priebus ticked off a lengthy list of policy proposals that all the party’s candidates could highlight, noting that they could work for anyone, “whether you’re running for governor in New England or Congress in the South or statehouse in the West.”

The speech was highly detailed. The chairman praised specific pieces of legislation and touted the construction of the Keystone Pipeline and the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment as issues that could unite GOP politicians. On these points and many others, Priebus was clear as glass. But on one enormous issue, the chairman was oddly opaque.

“As Republicans we’re pro-family; and we’re also pro-life,” he said, according to the transcript of his prepared remarks. “So when a woman faces an unplanned pregnancy, society should offer our support and compassion. She should know that adoption is possible. Our laws should be improved to make adoption an easier path for families who want to open their homes to children.”

And that was it. The GOP is pro-life, the chairman said, so the GOP supports making adoption easier. Priebus didn’t add anything beyond that. He couldn’t have, given the reference to the party’s New England gubernatorial candidates, almost all of whom are pro-choice. As the last 24 hours have shown, anti-abortion votes are a dicey prospect for some Hill Republicans. And the Keystone Pipeline just might have broader support among Washington Republicans than the pro-life movement. (Read more about the formerly pro-life party HERE)

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Obama Veers Off of Talking Points, Claims Homosexuality is a Choice, not Genetically Predetermined

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Photo Credit: GettyPresident Barack Obama’s gay allies are ignoring his endorsement of the long-standing claim that sexual orientation is a matter of choice.

“I think people know that treating folks unfairly, even if you disagree with their lifestyle choice… Let them live their lives and under the law they should be treated equally,” he said 25 minutes into his Wednesday interview with GloZell Green, a YouTube personality.

Obama’s statement violates progressives’ demand that Americans believe there’s no choice in sexual orientation.

But Obama’s statement reflects mainstream views.

A May 2014 poll by Gallup showed that only 42 percent of Americans believe all gay people are “born that way,” regardless of choice. Thirty-seven percent of Americans believe that homosexuality is linked to upbringing and environment. (Read more from “Obama: Homosexuality is a Choice” HERE)

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Proposed Law to Allow Assisted Suicide Gaining Support

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Two Democratic state senators in California proposed a “right-to-die” bill to the state legislature on Wednesday, alongside the family of the young woman who brought the issue to light.

Late last year, Californian Brittany Maynard made waves on national news and social media as a result of her desire to end her life on her own terms, as opposed to her alternative of living out a painful terminal illness.

Maynard had tried to end her life at what she felt was an appropriate moment, as she was stricken with an aggressive and debilitating brain tumor.

When the state of California refused to help her carry out her decision, she and her husband ended up moving to Oregon, where assisted suicide isn’t prohibited by law.

She passed away on November 1, 2014. (Read more about the proposed law that will allow assisted suicide HERE)

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Federal Judge Orders State to Issue Illegal Aliens Driver’s Licenses

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A federal judge granted a permanent injunction Thursday affirming the ability of young immigrants protected from deportation to obtain an Arizona driver’s license.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge David Campbell came exactly one month after the so-called DREAMers began getting driver’s licenses in Arizona for the first time.

Arizona was one of the last states where officials refused to issue driver’s licenses to young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children but allowed to remain under a 2012 Obama administration program.

Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, waged a lengthy legal battle over the program.

Courts ruled against Arizona on several occasions and cleared the way for licenses to be issued starting Dec. 22. (Read more from “Arizona Now Must Issue Illegal Aliens Driver’s Licenses” HERE)

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