Man Wrestles 200 Pound Shark in Massachusetts and Wins (+video)

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Photo Credit: FacebookA Nantucket man has taken on a 200 pound shark and won.

A spectacular photograph captures the moment Elliot Sudal wrestled the enormous sandbar shark after hooking it while beach fishing on Sunday evening.

The fit 24-year-old was with some pals hunting for bluefish off the coast of the Massachusetts island when he met the seven-foot adversary and the energetic tussle ensued.

Photo Credit: Facebook
‘It just kind of seemed sharky,’ he told ABC News. ‘There was something coming by and chomping them (the bluefish) in half. I thought, “It’s got to be a shark.”‘

Read more from this story HERE.

Sen. Harry Reid Morphs Into a Constitution-Loving Patriot in Describing Why the Filibuster Must Go (+video)

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Photo Credit: J. Scott ApplewhiteBy Stephen Dinan. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that the men who wrote the Constitution intended for the president’s nominees to be subject to only a majority vote, and said filibusters of nominees were never envisioned.

The Senate’s leading Democrat, who led repeated filibusters of President George W. Bush’s nominations when Republicans held the majority, said he’s changed his mind since then, and he accused the GOP of forcing his hand by slow-walking so many of President Obama’s nominees.

Mr. Reid, of Nevada, said the Constitution only requires supermajority votes for specific circumstances: treaties, impeachments, constitutional amendments and overrides of presidential vetoes. He said everything else should be subject to a majority vote. Read more from this story HERE.


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Senators: No Deal Yet on ‘Nuclear Option’

By Newsmax, Reuters and The Associated Press. U.S. senators said on Monday that no agreement had yet been reached to avert a showdown over President Barack Obama’s executive-branch nominees and threats by Democrats to strip Republicans of their filibuster power to block such nominations.

As the talks entered their fourth hour, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer said a deal was unlikely on Monday, but Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss said the chamber’s two leaders, Democrat Harry Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell, were urged to keep trying to find common ground.

Votes are set for Tuesday on seven of Obama’s nominees.

Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester indicated progress, telling reporters: “The two sides aren’t off by far.”

All but three senators returned to Washington Monday night for the unusual joint-caucus meeting behind closed doors to hammer out a deal. Read more from this story HERE.

World Trade Center Owners in Court Trying to Collect Billions from Airline Companies

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Photo Credit: cliff1066™One of the last lawsuits tied to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks kicks off in a Manhattan courtroom tomorrow where Massport faces “billions” in potential damages.

The anticipated three-day federal bench trial is being held to decide whether World Trade Center Properties, owner of the World Trade Center towers brought down by terrorists, can seek more compensation from airlines and the Massachusetts Port Authority than the $4.9 billion insurance payouts they’ve already received. The attack destroyed a third building as well.

“You’re talking about billions (of dollars) in this lawsuit,” said retired Federal Aviation Administration Special Agent Brian Sullivan, who pointed out security holes at Logan International Airport prior to the attacks. The two planes that brought down the twin towers left from Logan.

The suit alleges the airlines and other aviation-related companies were negligent, allowing terrorists to board airplanes and overtake their crews before plunging the planes into the trade center complex.

Read more from this story HERE.

Feds Admit that IRS Targeted Political Candidates for Audit

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Photo Credit: Evan VucciThe Treasury Department has admitted for the first time that confidential tax records of several political candidates and campaign donors were improperly scrutinized by government officials, but the Justice Department has declined to prosecute any of the cases.

Its investigators also are probing two allegations that the Internal Revenue Service “targeted for audit candidates for public office,” the Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration, J. Russell George, has privately told Sen. Chuck Grassley.

In a written response to a request by Mr. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Mr. George said a review turned up four cases since 2006 in which unidentified government officials took part in “unauthorized access or disclosure of tax records of political donors or candidates,” including one case he described as “willful.” In four additional cases, Mr. George said, allegations of improper access of IRS records were not substantiated by the evidence.

Mr. Grassley has asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to explain why the Justice Department chose not to prosecute any of the cases. The Iowa Republican told The Washington Times that the IRS “is required to act with neutrality and professionalism, not political bias.”

The investigation did not name the government officials who obtained the IRS records improperly, nor did it reveal the identities or political parties of the people whose tax records were compromised. By law, taxpayer records at the IRS are supposed to be confidential.

Read more from this story HERE.

Somehow Federal Debt Has Remained Exactly the Same for Two Months: $25 Million Below Legal Limit

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Photo Credit: APAccording to the Daily Treasury Statement for July 12, which the U.S. Treasury released this afternoon, the federal debt that is currently subject to a legal limit of $16,699,421,095,673.60 has stood at exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 56 straight days.

That means that for 56 straight days the federal debt has remained approximately $25 million below the legal limit.

Even though the portion of the federal debt that is subject to a legal limit has not changed in almost two months, the Treasury has continued to sell bills, notes and bonds at a value that exceeds the value of the bills, notes and bonds it has been redeeming.

The “public debt subject to limit”–as the Treasury calls the portion of the federal debt that is legally limited by Congress–first hit $16,699,396,000,000.00 at the close of business on May 17.

Up to that point in fiscal 2013, according to the Daily Treasury Statement, the Treasury had already redeemed approximately $4,776,995,000,000.00 in U.S. debt instruments (bills, notes and bonds) that had matured. At the same time, the Treasury had issued $5,354,508,000,000.00 in new debt instruments. That means that, on net, as of May 17, the part of the federal government’s debt publicly circulated in instruments likes bills, notes and bonds had increased $577,513,000,000 for the fiscal year.

Read more from this story HERE.

Zimmerman Trial’s Real Goal: Destroy the Second Amendment

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By Jonathon Moseley. Destroying the Second Amendment and the people’s right of self-defense was the real goal of the George Zimmerman prosecution. Liberals hoped to scare gun owners, regardless of the eventual verdict. Traumatizing and intimidating people from using a firearm to defend themselves were what this case was really about.

This prosecution was an attempt to overturn Florida’s “stand your ground law.” Florida dramatically changed the law effective October 1, 2005 by amending Florida Statute 776.013(3). Previously, one had to run away if possible when threatened.

But many believed that this put the burden of proof on the victim of aggression. Victims of crime would have to prove that they could not have escaped safely and they had no other choice but to use deadly force. Florida’s legislature was persuaded that the “duty to retreat” often put the innocent party in an impossible position to prove their innocence. While deadly force should never be used unless necessary, the victims of crime sometimes faced an unwinnable challenge.

But liberals were outraged. Gun control activists hysterically called it “Florida’s Shoot First Law.” Opponents passed out fliers at Miami International Airport scaring tourists, hoping to blackmail Florida’s powerful tourism industry and pressure the Florida legislature into a repeal.

Florida’s “stand your ground law” had to be reversed or nullified. If owning a gun is useful for self-defense, then banning guns becomes more difficult. So self-defense had to be eliminated so that owning a gun would have no purpose. How else could liberals create a population dependent upon government? Read more from this story HERE.

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Ted Nugent says lesson in Trayvon Martin incident: ‘Teach your children not to attack people’

By Jeff Poor. On Dennis Miller’s radio show on Monday, rock and reality show star Ted Nugent sounded off on the outcome of the trial of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of charges in the murder of Trayvon Martin…

“I’m 65 years old this year, Dennis, and I’ve never seen such ugly race relations since the white and black water fountains in Detroit went away,” Nugent said. “We were on an even keel. We were on the upgrade. I think racism for all practical purposes was gone five, six years ago and it’s back with a vengeance and it breaks my heart. But here’s the ultimate lesson, if everyone would take a deep breath — I hear a lot of squawking that parents go, ‘Well, that could have been my kid, that could have been my dead child.’ Well, here’s a little update for you: Teach your children not to attack people, thank you very much.” Read more from this story HERE.

Numerous Abortion Clinics Closing Nationwide in Wake of New Restrictive State Laws

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Photo Credit: LifeSiteNewsDozens of clinics could close in wake of Texas law, say abortion supporters

By John Jalsevac. Opponents of Texas’ late-term abortion ban bill, which passed the state Senate Friday evening after heated debate, say they fear that the legislation could lead to the closure of dozens of clinics in the state.

In addition to banning abortions after 20 weeks, the bill also mandates that clinics meet the same safety standards as outpatient surgical centers. Currently 37 of the state’s 42 clinics fail to the meet these standards, meaning they will be required to make costly updates to their buildings, such as installing wider hallways, showers, and backup generators.

Sen. Wendy Davis, who famously filibustered the first version of the bill last month, lamented in an op-ed on CNN last week that the bill “would close down almost 90 percent of the women’s clinics in this state.”

Dr. Howard Novick, who owns an abortion facility in Houston, told the Associated Press that he estimates it will cost between $1 and $1.5 million to update his facility – money that he says he doesn’t have.

Hagstrom Miller, the CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, cited similar figures, saying it would cost an estimated $1.4 million to update their McAllen facility, which she says she cannot afford. She adds that another facility she runs in Beaumont would also have to close. Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: Townhall‘Busiest’ Abortion Clinic in Virginia Closes Up Shop

By Cortney O’Brien. NOVA Women’s Healthcare of Fairfax County was one of the largest and most frequented abortion clinics in the state of Virginia. It performed more abortions than any other provider in the Old Dominion in the last few years, including 3,066 in 2012 alone. But, thanks to new abortion regulations in the state and a denied permit, it has seen its last patient.

It’s speculated that new Virginia regulations which require clinics to meet new hospital-grade standards had forced NOVA to find a new location. The clinic never got the chance though, for the city denied its permit for being one parking space short of city laws and therefore forced the business to close its doors.

NOVA is one of many clinics affected by new abortion regulations sweeping across the country. In Texas, the state legislature successfully passed HB2, which bans abortion after 20 weeks and requires an abortionist to have admitting privileges to a surgical center within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. Thirty-seven of the state’s 42 clinics fail to meet these standards and are therefore likely to be shuttered. Read more from this story HERE.

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Vomiting Patients at Northern Va. Abortion Clinic a Near ‘Daily Occurrence’; WashPost Buries Charge Deep in Story

By Ken Shepherd. “Abortion center closes after run of difficulties” lamented a Washington Post headline on the front page of the July 15 edition’s Metro section. “New regulations hamper relocation effort,” a subheadline for staff writer Tom Jackman’s story noted.

But deep in his 20-paragraph story, Jackman noted that the Fairfax City, Va., clinic, Nova Women’s Healthcare, was sued in late 2011 and that court documents in that suit referred to sick patients “lying down in corridors… and, in some instances, even vomiting.” In the 16th paragraph of his story, Jackman admitted that “One filing said witnesses would testify that this was a daily occurrence.” Virginia’s new abortion clinic regulations did not take full effect until June of this year.

A few paragraphs later, Jackman noted that, “In April, [Nova’s landlord] Eaton Place sued Nova in Fairfax General District Court for failure to pay $95,000 in back rent. In June, Nova agreed to pay the back rent and surrender the space, court records show.” Read more from this story HERE.

Teamsters, Other Unions Now Protest the Obamacare Nightmare They Helped Create (+video)

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Photo Credit: WNDBy Drew Zahn. Some of America’s top labor unions – including the influential Teamsters – have suddenly realized Obamacare is bad deal, and they’re suffering some serious buyer’s remorse.

“In campaign after campaign we have put boots on the ground, gone door-to-door to get out the vote, run phone banks and raised money to secure [the Obamacare] vision,” wrote three leading labor unions in an open letter to Congressional Democrats last week. “Now this vision has come back to haunt us.”

The letter, signed by James Hoffa of the Teamsters, as well as the presidents of the UFCW and UNITE-HERE, demands Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., “fix” the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – also known as “Obamacare” – before it “destroy[s] the very health and well-being of our members along with millions of other hardworking Americans.”

“When you and the president sought our support for the Affordable Care Act, you pledged that if we liked the health plans we have now, we could keep them. Sadly, that promise is under threat,” the unions wrote to Reid and Pelosi. “Unless you and the Obama Administration enact an equitable fix, the ACA will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40-hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class.”

According to the letter, Obamacare is laced with “perverse incentives” that create “unintended consequences” and “nightmare scenarios.” Read more from this story HERE.

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‘Unintended consequences’ causing ‘nightmare scenarios’

By Avik Roy. The union leaders are concerned that Obamacare’s employer mandate incentivizes smaller companies to shift their workers to part-time status, because employers are not required to provide health coverage to part-time workers. “We have a problem,” they write, and “you need to fix it.”

“The unintended consequences of the ACA are severe,” they continue. “Perverse incentives are causing nightmare scenarios. First, the law creates an incentive for employers to keep employees’ work hours below 30 hours a week. Numerous employers have begun to cut workers’ hours to avoid this obligation, and many of them are doing so openly. The impact is two-fold: fewer hours means less pay while also losing our current health benefits.”

What surprises me about this is that union leaders are pretty strategic when it comes to employee benefits. It was obvious in 2009 that Obamacare’s employer mandate would incentivize this shift. Why didn’t labor unions fight it back then? Read more from this story HERE.

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Obamacare Delay Has Serious Implications

Avik Roy appeared before the Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee to testify on the White House’s one-year delay in implementing the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. “Obamacare”), which requires firms to offer health coverage to their full-time workers:

Black American Leadership Alliance Marches With Thousands in DC for Jobs and Against Amnesty

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Photo Credit: APBy Matthew Boyle. Thousands of grassroots activists from all around the country descended on Washington, D.C., on Monday for the Black American Leadership Alliance (BALA) March For Jobs, a movement against amnesty aimed at defeating the Senate “Gang of Eight” immigration bill.

The activists convened at Freedom Plaza early and several speakers rose up against amnesty there before they marched from the downtown landmark near the White House up Pennsylvania Avenue onto Capitol Hill. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) spoke at Freedom Plaza and then led the march through the capital to Congress.

“We have a great country,” King said at Freedom Plaza. “Our Founding Fathers framed it for us. Their job was harder than ours is. They had to identify the pillars of American exceptionalism. We just have to defend them.”

“The rule of law,” King continued. “You can’t be a great nation without the rule of law. And you can’t have amnesty and still have the rule of law. All Democrats and Independents in the Senate believe there ought to be amnesty. Some Republicans think that also.” Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: APRev. Peterson: working class black Americans don’t want immigration bill

By Tony Lee. Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, who founded the South Central Los Angeles Tea Party, emphasized on Monday that working class black Americans and those at the bottom of the economic ladder oppose the Senate’s immigration bill, contrary to what politicians and those who represent them in Congress may claim.

“Politicians want amnesty,” Peterson said on Breitbart News’ exclusive broadcast of the D.C. March for Jobs rally. “People don’t.” Read more from this story HERE.

Top Aide to Michele Bachmann Arrested by Capitol Police

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Photo Credit: Gage SkidmoreA top aide to Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., was arrested by Capitol Police in connection with a string of burglaries in the Rayburn House Office Building, The Hill reported.

Javier Sanchez, 37, of Virginia, is Bachmann’s senior legislative assistant. He was charged with Theft II, and police issued the following statement on Monday:

“Earlier this year the United States Capitol Police was apprised of thefts that occurred in the Rayburn House Office Building,” spokesperson Shennell Antro told The Hill. “The USCP conducted an investigation and were able to identify a subject. The investigation resulted in the arrest of 37-year-old Javier Sanchez of Virginia.”

Sanchez was arrested July 11, Antro said.

Read more from this story HERE.