Facebook Censors Pro-Gun Research…Depending on Which Media Outlet Covers the Story

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Last week, the Crime Research Prevention Center (CRPC) released a new study detailing America’s contribution to mass shootings around the world.

CRPC decided to share a Fox News piece detailing the research they conducted on their Facebook page. The organization wanted to boost their post as an ad so more people would see the study’s results. That’s when Facebook’s bias became clear.

One of the ads CRPC posted was a direct link to their website where people could download the study’s results. Facebook quickly approved the ad and all was fine.

When the organization went to post an ad linking to a Fox News article that detailed the study’s results, the ad was not approved. . .

“In our appeal, we wrote back that the Fox News link was to an original news story. I told them that I don’t understand how FB views a news story as either ‘low quality’ or ‘disruptive,’ but that we would appreciate them explaining why. Unfortunately, Facebook just repeated its previous response,” CRPC President John Lott wrote on the organization’s website. (Read more from “Facebook Censors Pro-Gun Research…Depending on Which Media Outlet Covers the Story” HERE)

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Cruz’s Mother to Be Determining Factor on Death Penalty for School Shooter

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The extensive criminal and drug abuse history of Parkland school suspect Nikolas Cruz’s biological mother could be a key factor in whether he is sentenced to die for the massacre that killed 17 people, legal experts and officials say.

The mother, 62-year-old Brenda Woodard, played no role in Cruz’s upbringing after giving him up for adoption after he was born. But her past, which included a crack cocaine purchase arrest while she was pregnant with Cruz, will almost certainly be brought up for a jury considering whether he should live or die.

“It is not necessarily her past, but how her past contributed to his genetic makeup,” said David S. Weinstein, a former state and federal prosecutor now in private practice. “Her use of drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him, and how her genetic makeup was passed on to him.” (Read more from “Cruz’s Mother to Be Determining Factor on Death Penalty for School Shooter” HERE)

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Trump Refuses to Watch Neil Armstrong Biopic ‘First Man’

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The new movie, “First Man” starring Ryan Gosling has caused quite a bit of controversy around the nation for purposely omitting the planting of the U.S. flag on the moon by astronaut Neil Armstrong.

President Donald Trump has weighed into the controversy by saying he has no plans to see the movie.

In an interview with the Daily Caller, Trump calls the omission “unfortunate.” He told the Daily Caller, “It’s almost like they’re embarrassed at the achievement coming from America, I think it’s a terrible thing.”

“When you think of Neil Armstrong and when you think of the landing on the moon, you think about the American flag,” he added. “For that reason, I wouldn’t even want to watch the movie.”

Gosling, who portrays Armstong in the film, had previously told the Telegraph that he believed that the landing on moon “transcended countries and borders.”

“I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement [and] that’s how we chose to view it,” Gosling said. “I also think Neil was extremely humble, as were many of these astronauts, and time and time again he deferred the focus from himself to the 400,000 people who made the mission possible.”

“I don’t think that Neil viewed himself as an American hero,” Gosling added. “From my interviews with his family and people that knew him, it was quite the opposite.”

The president isn’t the only politician to object to the film’s omission.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio took to Twitter and said, “This is total lunacy. And a disservice at a time when our people need reminders of what we can achieve when we work together. The American people paid for that mission, on rockets built by Americans, with American technology & carrying American astronauts. It wasn’t a UN mission.”

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin — who was the second man to step foot on the moon after Armstrong — also slammed the film through a series of tweets. The 88-year-old Aldrin posted one tweet of him and Armstrong on the moon with the hashtags #proudtobeanAmerican, #freedom, #honor, #onenation, #Apollo11, #July1969, and #roadtoApollo50.

In addition, he retweeted a photo of himself saluting the flag.

Armstrong died in 2012 at the age of 82.

“First Man” is scheduled to be released in theaters next month. (For more from “Trump Refuses to Watch Neil Armstrong Biopic ‘First Man’” please click HERE)

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Nike Stock Drops as Furious Ex-Fans Burn Gear

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Nike has picked sides in the divisive NFL protest debate and the value of its shares stumbled in early trading Tuesday as a result.

The athletic-wear giant named former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as its latest advertising spokesperson.

Kaepernick, who started the ongoing pregame protests against racial inequality and police violence in 2016, shared the news in a tweet that sparked praise, criticism and countless social-media arguments.

As Business Insider reported, the news also resulted in trepidation among traders, though some of the initial losses had been recovered shortly after markets opened. When the opening bell rang, the corporation’s stock was trading 3.7 percent lower than at its previous close.

The theme of an anticipated campaign for the 30th anniversary of Nike’s iconic slogan is reflected in the image shared online by Kaepernick, who is also 30 years old.

“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt,” he wrote.

The revelation was immediately met by clashing narratives.

In comments directly to Kaepernick’s tweet and separate posts, supporters posted images of themselves in Nike apparel while detractors called for boycotts and even posted videos of themselves destroying the company’s merchandise.

Some former customers said they would shift their loyalty to a competing brand.

A handful of particularly upset Twitter users posted video footage of themselves setting fire to their own Nike sneakers.

One protester shared his destructive video and directed a message to Nike reading, “how you going to endorse @Kaepernick7 a person that advertises socks with cops portrayed as pigs, a person that hasn’t played NFL for 2 years, well it’s good I never really spent money on your brand but to the money I did, here they are”

“Due to your support of C.K. in your coming adds, I as an American can no longer support your company,” read the caption of a similar video uploaded by another Twitter user.

That tweet included the hashtags “#boycottNike” and “#IStandForOurFlag.”

Though not to this extent, Nike has previously expressed general support for the right of Kaepernick and others to protest in the way they feel is appropriate.

“Nike supports athletes and their right to freedom of expression on issues that are of great importance to our society,” read a company statement issued last year. (For more from the author of “Nike Stock Drops as Furious Ex-Fans Burn Gear” please click HERE)

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Pro-Lifer Accuses Shout Your Abortion of Stealing Her Photo for Piece Bragging About Abortions

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The pro-abortion “Shout Your Abortion” campaign is under fire for using a photo of a pro-life woman without her consent for a piece in which a different young woman takes pride in having had three abortions by age 23.

As covered last week by LifeSiteNews, the original essay was titled “I am 23 and I have had 3 abortions. YES I HAVE!” and appeared under the name “Heather.” The author details having two abortions after casual sexual encounters in which she used no birth control whatsoever, and a third after her birth control pill failed and she ultimately decided to abort because pregnancy would interfere with a summer job at a national park. . .

24-year-old Molly Schaap subsequently reached out to LifeSiteNews and other pro-life outlets to declare that she was actually the woman in the header image … but she was pro-life, had never had an abortion, and did not give Shout Your Abortion permission to use her photo.

“I was horrified to wake up yesterday and learn that a photo of me was stolen and used without my permission or knowledge,” Shaap wrote, noting that “Heather” says “she is proud of who she is and her actions, yet she used a picture of a random stranger instead of herself.”

“All of my life, I have been pro-life and believe that life begins at conception,” Schaap declared. “I have personally donated to pro-life causes and believe that every life is valuable. As a Christian, I believe that God is the author of life, and life is not ours to take away.” (Read more from “Pro-Lifer Accuses Shout Your Abortion of Stealing Her Photo for Piece Bragging About Abortions” HERE)

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After Leftists Smear Woman at Kavanaugh Hearing as White Supremacist, Her Attorney Husband Issues Fierce Response

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As reported by The Daily Wire on Tuesday, leftists went full-crazy at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing and, among other insane things, smeared a woman siting behind Kavanaugh as a white supremacist. The internet erupted with conspiracy theories that Zina Bash, a former Kavanaugh clerk, flashed a “white power” sign, apparently giving a nod and wink to her white supremacist, Kavanaugh-supporting brethren. (In reality, she randomly rested her right hand on left arm, but TRUMP!)

Leftist activist and serial fake news-spreader Amy Siskind was unsurprisingly one of the many, many hysterical leftists to take part in the shameful smearing:

What fresh hell is this!!!???
Kavanaugh’s assistant Zina Bash giving the white power sign right behind him during the hearing? This alone should be disqualify!!! pic.twitter.com/ZzXVqgTXhC

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) September 4, 2018

Hours later, Mrs. Bash’s husband, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas John Bash, unloaded on the despicable leftists spreading such falsehoods about his part-Mexican, part-Jewish wife. . .

Siskind later deleted the viral tweet, “which has become way too much of a distraction.” A screenshot can be viewed, below:

(Read more from “After Leftists Smear Woman at Kavanaugh Hearing as White Supremacist, Her Attorney Husband Issues Fierce Response” HERE)

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Don’t Tell Climate Change Fanatics This Piece of News

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By Daily Wire. . .According to a new study published in Nature, in the roughly quarter century between 1982 and 2016, global tree canopy cover increased by 865,000 square miles.

While the area of bare ground and short vegetation is diminishing, forest area is growing. As Ronald Bailey notes in Reason, “Forests in montane regions are expanding as climate warming enables trees to grow higher up on mountains.”

The greatest increase in tree canopy occurred in Europe, including European Russia, where it exploded by 35%. A close second was found in China, where tree canopy gained 34%. In the U.S., tree canopy increased by 15%. (Read more from “Don’t Tell Climate Change Fanatics This Piece of News” HERE)

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Climate Change Warnings Cut From Trump Power-Plant Proposal

By Bloomberg. Warnings about potentially severe consequences of climate change were deleted from a Trump administration plan to weaken curbs on power plant emissions during a White House review.

Drafts had devoted more than 500 words to highlighting the impacts — more heat waves, intense hurricanes, heavy rainfalls, floods and water pollution — as part of the proposal to replace Obama-era restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. That language was left out of the Trump administration’s final analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency proposal, when it was unveiled Aug. 21.

Among the abandoned assertions: an acknowledgment that “the climate has continued to change, with new records being set” for global average surface temperatures, Arctic sea ice retreat, carbon dioxide concentrations and sea level rise, all markers of the phenomenon.

The administration also scrapped a reference to numerous “major scientific assessments” that “strengthen the case that GHGs endanger public health and welfare both for current and future generations.” (Read more from “Climate Change Warnings Cut From Trump Power-Plant Proposal” HERE)

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As School Starts, Military Company Slammed With Orders for This Specific Item

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The latest accessory for heading back to school has more to do with survival than grades.

An Israeli company that developed a bulletproof backpack is seeing sales soar as American schools open for the new school year.

“In two months we have sold hundreds and are gearing up to increase production rates to 500 units per month,” said Masada Armour chief executive Snir Koren, according to Yahoo News.

Koren said the American market was the impetus for the product.

“We designed a bulletproof backpack at the request of our distributors in the United States after the huge trauma caused by the February shooting in Florida,” Snir Koren, CEO of Masada Armor, told AFP on Thursday, according to the Times of Israel.

Seventeen people were killed on Feb. 14 in a shooting at a Parkland, Florida, school.

Protection is not cheap.

The standard model backpack, weighing about six pounds, protects students against 9mm rounds. It sells for $500.

The company also makes an 11-pound version to protect against rounds from an AR-15 or an M-16. That one sells for more than $700.

Masada Armour is developing models for younger students as well.

“We are developing a lighter model for their type of morphology,” said Snir.

Not everyone is sold on the idea.

“We don’t believe in sending teachers to schools with guns and I don’t believe in sending students to school with armor,” said Stamford, Connecticut school board chair David Mannis, according to the Stamford Advocate.

Parent Shira Tarantino called bulletproof backpacks a “Band-Aid.”

“If parents want to buy their kids those items, that’s their prerogative,” said Tarantino, project director for the Stamford Pediatric Gun Safety Project. “I don’t think it changes the safety any way in the schools.”

Joe Curran feels differently. His Massachusetts-based company, Bullet Blocker, sells protective backpacks.

“We see an uptick in sales anytime there’s violence worldwide, and not just gun violence — any violence,” Curran said. “With Parkland and Newtown, we saw a very large upswing. We’ve consistently had growth over the years and we always get a growth at back-to-school, but this year is larger than the past.” (For more from the author of “As School Starts, Military Company Slammed With Orders for This Specific Item” please click HERE)

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Immigrants Jump off Government Assistance, After Trump Admin Threatens to Cut Green Card

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Significant numbers of immigrants, in the United States legally and illegally, are reportedly leaving federal assistance programs out of fear it could hurt their chances of obtaining permanent legal status.

Politico reports that 18 states have noticed a decline of up to 20 percent in the number of people applying for the WIC federal nutritional program for pregnant women and infants.

The decline has been attributed not just to an improving economy, but a rumored federal rule change by the Trump administration regarding eligibility to obtain a green card based on prior use of government assistance programs.

“Under a provision known as public charge, U.S. immigration law has for more than a century allowed officials to reject admission to the country on the grounds that potential immigrants or visitors might become overly reliant on the government,” according to Politico. “But until now, officials have looked narrowly at whether someone would need cash benefits such as welfare or long-term institutional care.”

The news outlet claimed there is a move within the Trump administration to include a larger array of services such as programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or commonly known as food stamps), Head Start, Medicaid and WIC.

WIC, first launched in 1974, has traditionally been for the most part immigration status-blind regarding eligibility.

When Trump took office, there were 7.4 million women and children enrolled in WIC. As of May, the most recent data available, the number had dropped to 6.8 million.

Similarly, there were 42.7 million enrolled in SNAP in Jan. 2017, which has declined to 39.3 million as of May, or a difference of 3.4 million.

The evidence the Politico piece offers that part of the decline is due to the possible Trump administration rule change is anecdotal. Any change to federal regulation regarding the programs would have to go through a public comment period before being adopted, and would likely be challenged in court before taking effect, meaning a final determination could take several months or years.

“It’s a stealth regulation,” said Kathleen Campbell Walker, an immigration attorney at Dickinson Wright in El Paso, Texas regarding the possible change to WIC. “It doesn’t really exist, but it’s being applied subliminally.”

Jennifer Mejias-Martinez, who works with the WIC program in Topeka, Kansas, recalled receiving a panicked call from an immigrant family wanting to unenroll after hearing a report on Univision that receiving government benefits could hurt their chances in immigration proceedings.

“They were very, very scared,” Mejias-Martinez said. She tried to assure them that the policy had not changed, but they dropped from WIC anyway.

It made me very sad, and quite frankly upset,” she said.

A WIC administering agency in Longview, Texas reported losing an estimated 75 to 90 participants per month to public charge fears, according to Politico.

The Trump administration has argued that it is not trying to alter immigration law, but clarify and enforce existing statutes.

“The goal is not to reduce immigration or in some diabolical fashion shut the door on people, family-based immigration, anything like that,” said Francis Cissna, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, at the National Press Club earlier this month.

The Department of Agriculture, which oversees WIC, is conducting multiple studies looking into why eligible families are not participating in, or choosing to drop their enrollment from, the program.

“The USDA is committed to the health and well-being of all WIC eligible mothers, infants and children and supports families seeking assistance,” the agency said. (For more from the author of “Immigrants Jump off Government Assistance, After Trump Admin Threatens to Cut Green Card” HERE)

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California Legislators Prohibit Schools From Starting Before 8:30am. the Reason Will Have Parents Groan.

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By Townhall. Lawmakers in the Golden State on Friday voted to prohibit middle and high schools from starting before 8:30a.m., one of the final bills the legislature was able to pass during its last day in session, Fox News reported.

The bill, SB328, was extremely controversial. Proponents of the bill say teenagers are facing sleep deprivation when their natural sleep cycle keeps them up late but school forces them to get up early, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), roughly 80 percent of California’s middle and high schools start before 8:30a.m., something proponents believe needs to change.

“Research shows teens do better in school, have lower rates of depression and anxiety and fewer car accidents when school start times start later,” the Chronicle reported.

The bill goes into effect in 2021, should Gov. Jerry Brown (D) sign it. The exceptions to the start time would be made for rural schools or extra periods that begin before the normal school period. (Read more from “California Legislators Prohibit Schools From Starting Before 8:30am. the Reason Will Have Parents Groan.” HERE)

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California Votes to Bar Schools From Starting Before 8:30am to Help Give Students More Sleep

By AP. California lawmakers voted Friday to bar middle and high schools from starting before 8:30 a.m., one of dozens of proposals debated in the Legislature on the final day of its legislative session. . .

Lawmakers also announced they were shelving several high profile bills, including one that would have declared gay conversion therapy a fraudulent business practice.

Nearly 80 percent of California middle and high schools started earlier than 8:30 a.m. in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Read more from “California Votes to Bar Schools From Starting Before 8:30am to Help Give Students More Sleep” HERE)

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