Behind Slew of Alaska Break-Ins: Bears

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP File / Mark Thiessen

Photo Credit: AP File / Mark Thiessen

An environmental expert traveled 50 miles of Alaskan coastline last week, and every single cabin he encountered had suffered a break-in—by bears . . .

Though periodic bear break-ins aren’t unusual, this season the creatures have bashed their way into “dozens and dozens” of cabins, a state wildlife biologist says. And they’re “not going straight to kitchen. They’re causing a lot of mayhem,” says a US Park Service biologist. “It looks like a frat party occurred in there.” Two possible reasons: The number of brown bears appears to be up this year, while berry growth is down.

Read more from this story HERE.

Why Top Catholic Education Organization Says Common Core Could Threaten Religious Liberty

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A leading Catholic education organization is warning that Common Core could pose a threat to religious freedom for Catholic schools that adopt the controversial education standards.

The Cardinal Newman Society’s summer newsletter named among the 10 things Catholics should know about Common Core is that it “could lead to religious liberty violations.” That’s in part because of the Department of Health and Human Services mandate to cover contraception coverage for employees.

“Catholic schools’ protection from threats like the HHS mandate depends on showing consistent Catholic identity, because First Amendment protections often depend on demonstrating a bona fide religious character,” the newsletter warned. “The Common Core may diminish a school’s Catholic identity by ‘crowding out’ important elements of authentic Catholic formation, emphasizing skills and practicality over vocation, and failing to teach reasoning from a foundation of truth.”

Further, as more Catholic schools adopt Common Core-certified textbooks and have to comply with Common Core exams, that could in turn lead to schools’ accepting more federal and state funding, which often has strings attached, said Denise Donohue, deputy director of the K-12 Catholic Education Program for the Cardinal Newman Society.

“Testing requirements affect instruction and that can be tied to funding,” Donohue told TheBlaze. “Any federal funding puts contraints on a program.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Half a Mile Long Mysterious Crack Splits the Ground in Northern Mexico – Scientists Puzzled Over Possible Cause (+video)

/6 Comments/in , /by

Giant-Earth-Crack-mexicoIncredible footage has emerged showing a 26ft (8m) deep crack in the in the farmland of northwest Mexico, which stretches for over a kilometer. The crevice which appeared last week, has disconnected Highway 26 between Hermosillo and the coast, Sky News reported. Drivers, including farm workers, have been forced to navigate around the colossal trench. The video showcasing the crack that in some parts is 16ft (5m) wide, was shot using a camera attached to a drone device. It shows vehicles stopped beside the crack, while a green tractor drives away from the scene. People below the drone appear to be discussing the situation. Geological investigators are now assessing what caused the crack, according to El Imparcial newspaper. The civil protection unit believes the fissure may have been caused by an earthquake which hit last Sunday. But another investigation by geologists at the University of Sonora found that farmers in the area had built up a levee stream to contain rainwater which had begun to leak. Experts believe that this may have caused an underground stream to develop, which soften the earth above it until it collapsed. -Independent

Read more from this story HERE.

Report: 25 Percent of Troops Use Food Assistance

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP / U.S. AIR FORCE

Photo Credit: AP / U.S. AIR FORCE

The recent results of a survey by Feeding America (page 16), the largest domestic hunger-relief charity in the U.S., suggests that 620,000 households containing at least one currently serving military member utilize food banks and other food assistance programs.

That’s a staggering statistic – 25 percent of the currently serving force.

Pentagon officials were quick to refute the validity of the report’s statistics, but regardless of the actual number, the survey reflects many military families are using food banks to help make ends meet.

Read more from this story HERE.

School Apologizes for Making Special Needs Kids Sort Trash

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: LifeNews

Photo Credit: LifeNews

On the heels of the controversy over Richard Dawkins’ comments saying that parents of unborn babies who are found to have Down syndrome should abort them comes this. This kind of story shoes the bias and discrimination people with special needs face in our society.

If they are lucky enough to survive an abortion beforehand, kinds with Down syndrome and other special needs children then face a culture that relegates them to second-tier status as somehow less than perfectly human. As a pro-life movement, we must change the culture before and after birth.

From the report:

A Southern California school district has apologized to parents of special education students who were outraged to learn their children had been sorting trash as a school activity.

Read more from this story HERE.

Investigations Underway, Suspected Voter Fraud In Virginia And Maryland

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: REUTERS / Fred Prouser

Photo Credit: REUTERS / Fred Prouser

Virginia Voters Alliance, an election integrity group, has called attention to the surprising amount of duplicate voter registrations in Maryland and Virginia, challenging the view that voter fraud is nonexistent, Watchdog reports.

According to the Virginia Voters Alliance (VVA), the state has decided to term these as inactive voters, meaning that they join the total of 43,896 Virginia and Maryland voters who are eligible to vote up until 2019.

As state officials have taken little action, Fairfax General Registrar Cameron Quinn has announced she intends to step in, although since there are an estimated 14,646 duplicate registrations, it’s a race to the clock to remove them before the voter database freezes 60 days before a general election.

Read more from this story HERE.

ISIS, Mexican Drug Cartels Teaming Up?

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

The relationship between drug trafficking and terrorism has long existed, and can take many forms depending on the goals and needs of each party. Sometimes hybrid criminal-terrorist organizations form in which terrorist groups become involved in the drug trade to fund operations, purchase equipment, and pay foot soldiers. In return, they provide safe passageways for the drugs and give traffickers tips for circumventing customs and security forces. Other times a localized criminal organization or terrorist group lacks expertise, so increased contacts and business with major drug cartels helps advance the sophistication of their operation. Ultimately, though, both have logistical needs and working with or even talking to each other allows the groups to share lessons learned, important contacts to corrupt officials, and operational methods.

Thus, it’s not surprising to hear that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is already talking to Mexican drug cartels. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), a member of the House Judiciary Committee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, said as much on Newmax TV’s “America’s Forum” on Wednesday when asked if there’s any interaction between the two.

Read more from this story HERE.

Begich to Face Sullivan

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A strong showing in Homer by Republican Party U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller surprised almost everybody — everybody except a spirited group of supporters on the lower Kenai Peninsula.

“In the past week and a half, just monitoring what’s going on across the state, we really saw a surge of support in Anchorage,” said Barnabas Firth, a Miller campaign volunteer. “Down here locally we have a strong support base. I really expected him to have a stronger showing than the polls were indicating.”

In all nine House District 31 precincts from Funny River to the head of Kachemak Bay, Miller took first, with 1,332 votes. Former attorney general Dan Sullivan finished second with 948 votes and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell finished third with 586 votes. In Anchor Point, his strongest precinct, Miller won with 53 percent of the vote, 253 votes to Sullivan’s 135.

Statewide, though, Sullivan has won the nomination and will face Democratic Party nominee and incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Begich in the general election. Sullivan got 40 percent of the vote to Miller’s 32 percent and Treadwell’s 25 percent.

For Treadwell supporter Jon Faulkner, Miller’s strong showing came as a surprise.

Read more from this story HERE.

Hillary Clinton 'Caught Misleading Public'

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

In her most recent autobiography, Hillary Clinton misled the public about her role in helping to secure the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, the scene of a 9/11 attack less than two years ago where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were murdered, documents a soon-to-be released book.

Further, she may have deceived lawmakers during her public testimony probing the attacks.

These and other revelations are contained in “The REAL Benghazi Story: What the White House and Hillary Don’t Want You to Know,” by New York Times bestselling author Aaron Klein.

The book is slated for release Sept. 9, two days before the second anniversary of the Benghazi attack.

It breaks new ground on events leading to the actual attacks and cites information that contradicts the Obama administration’s version of what took place that ill-fated night.

Read more from this story HERE.

NYT: U.S. Commandos Tried to Rescue James Foley

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

By Daniel Doherty.

Reportedly captured by an affiliate of the Free Syrian Army and turned over to ISIS, the late journalist James Wright Foley was held in captivity for a period of years before he was brutally executed earlier this week. But the U.S. government didn’t forget about him; on the contrary, the president himself green-lighted a top-secret operation to rescue him and other hostages in Syria. Alas, the mission failed.

The New York Times reports:

A secret nighttime military mission authorized by President Obama to rescue Americans held captive in Syria failed early this summer when a team of two dozen Delta Force commandos raided an oil refinery in the northern part of the country but found after a firefight with Islamic militants that there were no hostages to be saved, administration officials said Wednesday.

The officials — speaking a day after the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria posted a video showing the American journalist James Foley being beheaded — described what they called a “complicated operation” in which the commandos were dropped by helicopter into Syrian territory in an attempt to rescue Mr. Foley and others being held by the Sunni militant group.

The Army commandos fought their way to the spot where they believed that ISIS was hiding the hostages, the officials said. But when the team swooped in, the hostages were gone. “We’re not sure why they were moved,” a Defense Department official said. “By the time we got there, it was too late.” The official said it may have been “a matter of hours, perhaps a day or two” since the hostages had been there.

Read more from this story HERE.

______________________________________________________________________________

Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

Hagel defends disclosure of secret, failed raid to free US hostages in Syria

By Fox News.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday defended the decision to formally acknowledge a failed mission to rescue American journalist James Foley and others held in Syria earlier this year, amid criticism from Republicans over the disclosure.

The White House and Defense Department, in a rare public confirmation of a covert mission, acknowledged late Wednesday that President Obama sent special operations troops to Syria this summer on a secret mission to rescue American hostages held by Islamic State extremists. The mission was not successful.

Hagel echoed White House and State Department claims, though, in saying the only reason they acknowledged the mission was because media outlets already knew about it.

“There were a number of news outlets that were aware of the action, of the raid,” he said Thursday. “It was a decision made by the administration, which we concurred with, to address the mission.”

The statement follows criticism from Republicans, regarding both the formal acknowledgement and the apparent leak beforehand to some members of the press.

Read more from this story HERE.