Here’s How Major News Outlets Updated Their Stories About the Covington Controversy

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Some prominent media outlets had to update their stories on a video that showed a Native American activist’s encounter with a group of high school boys wearing “Make America Great Again” hats.

A short video and picture of the incident were initially described as the boys antagonizing and mocking the Native American veteran, Nathan Phillips, but a longer video shows that Phillips approached the boys and played a drum in front of one of them, now identified as Nick Sandmann, while the boy looked on and smiled.

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The New York Times initially led with a “Boys in ‘Make America Great Again’ Hats Mob Native Elder at Indigenous Peoples March” story but added a note to it.

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“Interviews and additional video footage have offered a fuller picture of what happened in this encounter,” they wrote, “including the context that the Native American man approached the students amid broader tensions outside the Lincoln Memorial. Read the latest article here.”

However, they later added updates providing Sandmann’s side of the story and changed the headline to “Teen in confrontation with Native American elder says he was trying to defuse the situation.” (Read more from “Here’s How Major News Outlets Updated Their Stories About the Covington Controversy” HERE)

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Trump’s Not Kidding When He Promises ‘Cutting-Edge’ Missile Defense

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Thursday at the Pentagon, President Trump released his administration’s long-awaited Missile Defense Review (MDR). In his announcement, Trump promised “nothing less for our nation than the most effective, cutting-edge missile defense systems.” Indeed, the steps called for in this review will go a long way to toward employing new technologies to address next-generation threats and strengthening U.S. and allied security.

The missile threats to the United States and its allies have significantly increased in recent years. North Korea may now be able to reach the continental United States with a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile. Despite the curbs on Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran’s missile program continues to advance, making it the most sophisticated in the Middle East. . .

To these ends, the new MDR promises to beef up the number of radars and interceptors for existing U.S. missile defense systems. Most importantly, however, it also promises to pursue next-generation technologies. You cannot hit what you cannot see, and a new space-based sensor layer will allow the United States to track new enemy cruise and hypersonic missiles (President Obama published a “Ballistic” Missile Defense Review, but this document drops the first word in recognition of the broader array of missile threats now facing the United States).

Existing missile defenses use ground-based missiles to intercept an incoming enemy missile. It is like hitting a bullet with a bullet. But Trump’s new missile defense review calls for exploring directed energy interceptors. The idea would be for drones armed with lasers to hover in international airspace. If Pyongyang, for example, launches a missile in the future, drones will zap it with a laser in its most vulnerable boost phase. . .

The U.S. test record across all missile defense systems since 2001 is 86 successful intercepts in 105 attempts. New technologies such as lasers promise to drastically reduce the cost per shot of future defenses. Finally, the greatest threat to international security is not U.S. defenses, but Russian and Chinese efforts to tear down the U.S.-led international order. Putting Moscow and Beijing on notice will bolster, not undermine, global stability. (Read more from “Trump’s Not Kidding When He Promises ‘Cutting-Edge’ Missile Defense” HERE)

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Judge Demolishes Leftist Theory That Climate Change Is to Blame for Deadly California Wildfires

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By The Blaze. As massive wildfires ravaged dense areas of California last autumn, progressives and liberals alike placed blame for the tragedy on climate change. . .

The Washington Post dedicated an entire story to debunking claims made by President Donald Trump in which he blamed “forest mismanagement” for the deadly fires. That’s false, the Post declared, identifying climate change as the fire antagonist. . .

U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled last Thursday that California utility company Pacific Gas and Electric was “the single most recurring cause” that contributed to devastating wildfires that burned millions of acres and led to the deaths of dozens of California residents. . .

Scott McLean, deputy chief of communication for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told NBC the state determined PG&E was liable for 12 of 17 wildfires during the 2017 season, but has yet to rule on last year’s fires, including the Camp Fire, which killed 88. (Read more from “Judge Demolishes Leftist Theory That Climate Change Is to Blame for Deadly California Wildfires” HERE)

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Judge says uninsulated power conductors caused California fires

By NBC News. A federal court in San Francisco tentatively found that equipment owned by Northern California utility Pacific Gas and Electric was “the single most recurring cause” in deadly wildfires that have plagued the state since 2017.

U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup made the finding Thursday in a case related to PG&E’s response to the deadly 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.

“The Court tentatively finds that the single most recurring cause of the large 2017 and 2018 wildfires attributable to PG&E’s equipment has been the susceptibility of PG&E’s distribution lines to trees or limbs falling onto them during high-wind events,” his order in the case reads.

“The power conductors are almost always uninsulated,” Alsup wrote. “When the conductors are pushed together by falling trees or limbs, electrical sparks drop into the vegetation below. During the wildfire season when the vegetation is dry, these electrical sparks pose an extreme danger of igniting a wildfire.” (Read more from “Judge Says Uninsulated Power Conductors Caused California Fires” HERE)

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Are Dems Starting to Break? Prominent Party Member Signals Chance for Border Wall Accord

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By The Blaze. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) appeared to deviate from his Democratic colleagues on Sunday by saying he “would not rule out a wall in certain instances.”

“The notion that we can’t have barriers is just something that’s not true,” Thompson said on ABC’s “This Week.”

According to Thompson, Democrats are still willing to work with President Donald Trump.

“Mr. President, Democrats will work with you,” Thompson said. “But you can’t pick what Democrats you work with. We have picked our leaders, and you have to work with our leaders.” . . .

“What we have to do is sit down, work through this, and let the public know exactly what we’re talking about and what they can expect,” he said. “And we’re not there yet.” (Read more from “Are Dems Starting to Break? Prominent Party Member Signals Chance for Border Wall Accord” HERE)

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Top Homeland Security Dem Breaks With Party: ‘I Would Not Rule out a Wall in Certain Instances’

By Fox News. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., broke with some of his fellow congressional Democrats on Sunday by acknowledging in an interview that he “would not rule out a wall in certain instances,” although he cautioned that the White House needs a better “plan” than simply using a wall as a “talking point.”

However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who preemptively rejected Trump’s proposed border wall compromise on Saturday as a “nonstarter,” has pledged not to fund the president’s border wall under any circumstances — and, Thompson suggested in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week,” Trump is stuck with her. . .

Pelosi said earlier this month that “a wall, in my view, is an immorality” and “the least effective way to protect the border and the most costly.”

That view has the support of the party’s progressive wing. In an interview last week, for example, Democratic Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar told CNN that “we know walls don’t work, that they don’t stop drugs, that they don’t stop migration.”

Escobar also suggested she was open to destroying existing walls, remarking that they are “really ugly” and “monuments to division.” (Read more from “Top Homeland Security Dem Breaks With Party: ‘I Would Not Rule out a Wall in Certain Instances'” HERE)

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Retired Border Patrol Agent Sets the Record Straight on MSM Claims About Illegal Immigration

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Americans across the country have continually debated whether or not illegal immigration is an issue that severely impacts our nation. Hector Regalado, a recently retired Border Patrol agent, decided to help set the record straight.

Mr. Regalado spent 23 years with the Border Patrol. He’s been stationed in Imperial Beach, California; Naco, Arizona; Nogales, Arizona; Grand Forks, Minnesota; and Spokane, Washington. He’s held various positions, including Senior Patrol Agent, Resident Agent, Supervisor for the Resident Agent Program, Special Operations Supervisor, Special Projects Supervisor and Public Affairs Supervisor. . .

Most Americans fail to realize the number of Border Patrol agents that are stationed in the northern part of the United States. The program, called the Resident Agent Program, puts one to three agents (and in some places, up to five) in small communities to gather relevant intelligence. These agents work with local law enforcement and officials to help in cases they’re undermanned/unequipped to handle. . .

One of the biggest misconceptions and misrepresentations the mainstream media has pushed though, is the idea that President Donald Trump violated humanitarian laws through his various immigration policies, including child separation. It’s something Regalado said is simply untrue. . .

Most people don’t know that the process of asylum is grueling and long. And there are officers who do nothing but process asylum requests. Border Patrol agents and Customs officers take basic biographical information about where the person is from as well as running background checks for criminal history. But then the case is turned over to the Asylum Officer. (Read more from “Retired Border Patrol Agent Sets the Record Straight on MSM Claims About Illegal Immigration” HERE)

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Trump Team Sets 2020 Plans in Motion. Here’s What’s Happening.

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By Townhall. President Donald Trump and his team are gearing up for the 2020 election and part of that preparation includes fending off any potential GOP challengers. To help combat the threat, Trump’s team on Friday made the announcement that former White House official Nick Trainer will lead delegation and party efforts, the Associated Press reported.

One of Trainers primary tasks will be making sure Trump allies are sent to the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina next year. The last thing the president’s team wants is for Never Trumpers to make an appearance. He’ll also work with three regional directors to organize state-by-state delegation selection. (Read more from “Trump Team Sets 2020 Plans in Motion. Here’s What’s Happening.” HERE)

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New Trump Campaign Hires to Focus on Convention Delegates, Party Organization

By Politico. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign continues to grow, adding a handful of aides devoted to ensuring the 2020 GOP convention is free of any anti-Trump mayhem.

According to a campaign news release announcing the hires set to be made public Friday, the group will also be “tasked with organizing the country’s state, county and local Republican parties, managing the delegate selection and ballot access process, and executing the national convention whip operation.”

Joining the campaign will be former White House official Nick Trainer and David Huguenel, who most recently worked at the Republican consulting firm Jamestown Associates. Former RNC officials Josh Findlay and Ashley Walukevich will also be coming aboard. (Read more from “New Trump Campaign Hires to Focus on Convention Delegates, Party Organization” HERE)

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Former Democratic Adviser Has a Proposal to End the Shutdown That Includes Wall Funding, but There’s a Catch

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It’s the longest government shutdown in American history. When will it end? Nobody knows. House Democrats and President Trump are not budging from their positions that set off this chain of events. Trump wants $5 billion for a border wall. Democrats don’t want to give him one cent. One side wants to secure our borders, curb illegal immigration, human trafficking, and the transportation of narcotics. The other side doesn’t. For the Left, it’s all about sticking it to Trump. And so, the shutdown drags on. So, what could break the impasse? How about giving Trump everything he wants in terms of border wall funding in exchange for…the Robert Mueller protection bill Democrats, and some Republicans, have been clamoring about? Now, Morley Winograd, a senior policy adviser to former Vice President Al Gore, floated the idea, which for argument’s sake—isn’t necessarily that off base in terms of having a discussion. At the same time, Winograd thinks the shutdown is a way to distract us from the pending Mueller report (via Brookings):

To end the government shutdown, the Democrats should give Trump what he wants—$5 billion for the wall—and insist in return on what the country needs: complete protection of the Mueller investigation and the full public disclosure of its report.

President Trump’s shutdown is nothing more than a shiny bauble to distract the American public from the real threat to the president’s future—Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation and his forthcoming report. The president has insisted that he will not agree to reopen parts of the federal government, even those agencies whose functions have nothing to do with border security unless Congress appropriates $5.7 billion to start fulfilling his most well-known campaign promise to create a wall on the Mexican border. Even as this idea has morphed from Mexico paying for the wall to U.S. taxpayers picking up the tab, and from a concrete barrier to a set of steel slats, Trump has continued to insist his presidency depends on its construction.

There is a simple way to get past Trump’s latest PR stunt and end the government shutdown at the same time.

The House Democrats should pass all the remaining appropriations bills that have passed both the House and the Senate at least once already—but with just a few amendments. The first change would be to add up to $5.7 billion for construction of an effective barrier on the southern border as Trump has insisted upon. The second set of changes would be to insert and amend the current bipartisan Senate bill designed to protect Robert Mueller’s investigation and his ultimate report.

(Read more from “Former Democratic Adviser Has a Proposal to End the Shutdown That Includes Wall Funding, but There’s a Catch” HERE)

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Wow: Here’s Why Democratic Leaders Worked Behind the Scenes to Kill a Censure Vote Against Steve King

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Given the multiple concurrent controversies surrounding members of Congress and alleged bigotry, a report from Politico on some behind-the-scenes maneuvering by Democratic leaders this week strikes me as telling. A few days ago, the House of Representatives voted almost unanimously to rebuke Iowa Republican Steve King for comments that appeared to defend white supremacy and white nationalism. King, who has drifted toward nativism while amassing a rap sheet of inflammatory rhetoric, claims that his quote was misunderstood, eventually voting in favor of the resolution that was targeting him. His protestations have evidently failed to convince many within his own party, whose leaders stripped him of committee assignments and strongly condemned him in public. Nevertheless, a number of Democratic members stated publicly that the chamber’s action against King was not robust enough, demanding that he be formally censured. That did not happen. Why not? It turns out that Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and James Clyburn worked intensely to avoid it. Their reasoning may surprise you:

House Democratic leaders have quietly rejected a push by rank-and-file members to force a rare and potentially divisive vote on censuring Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), according to multiple Democratic sources. The House moved Wednesday to essentially shelve a grassroots attempt to further punish King for racist remarks that he made to the New York Times this month. If it had succeeded, King could have faced one of the most severe punishments that a lawmaker can receive…behind the scenes, Democratic leaders, led by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), were clear about their opposition, according to multiple Democratic lawmakers and aides. “Leadership has been full-court press on not bringing it up,” one Democratic aide said..Clyburn and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), were warning rank-and-file members that going as far as censure could come back to harm Democrats…Privately, Clyburn also warned that it would divide the caucus, or even put vulnerable Democrats at risk.

(Read more from “Wow: Here’s Why Democratic Leaders Worked Behind the Scenes to Kill a Censure Vote Against Steve King” HERE)

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National Emergency? Trump Will Make ‘Major Announcement’ on Border Crisis

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Is it coming tomorrow? House Democrats are still holding the line on denying President Trump his border wall. The $5 billion proposal led to the current shutdown, now the longest in American history. Trump wants to at least get part of the border wall built. Democrats are not in a bipartisan mode. They just retook the House on the overarching promise to fight this White House not work with it.

As the two sides dig in, the crisis at the border is worsening. Yes, we do have a crisis on the southern border. The Washington Post and The New York Times reported on it. Former President Barack Obama even said there was a crisis. With another migrant horde setting off for the U.S. border, something has to get done.

(Read more from “National Emergency? Trump Will Make ‘Major Announcement’ on Border Crisis” HERE)

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Prominent Democratic Donor Charged in Teen Sex Abuse Case

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Prominent LGBT activist, Democratic donor, and strong supporter of Barack Obama, Terry Bean, was indicted earlier this month on two counts of sodomy and one count of sex abuse against a teenage boy. . .

Fox News details the long and difficult task that prosecutors faced after Bean was first charged with sexual abuse in 2014:

Bean, a gay rights activist who donated almost $70,000 of his own money to former President Barack Obama’s campaign, was charged with sexual abuse in 2014 but the case was dismissed after the alleged victim did not testify. Prosecutors refiled the charges after this, court records stated, according to The Oregonian. The ‘alleged victim is not named in the new indictment’ but the dates are similar to the previous charges, KGW8 noted.

Bean, a real estate developer, and his former boyfriend, Kiah Lawson, allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old boy in a Eugene, Oregon, hotel in September 2013. They allegedly used the app Grindr to arrange the sexual encounter. Lawson was also charged but his case was dismissed.

According to KGW8, Bean continually donated to Democratic politicians after the 2014 charges were dropped, including Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty and head of the Portland Parks and Recreation Department and Bureau of Environmental Services Nick Fish. While Hardesty declined to comment, Nick Fish said that as long as Bean is presumed innocent, he will not return the donation. (Read more from “Prominent Democratic Donor Charged in Teen Sex Abuse Case” HERE)

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