Details From the Horrific Stabbing by Muslim College Student Emerge

The 18-year-old freshman who stabbed four people on the University of California Merced Wednesday intended to shoot people, attack a police officer, and target a specific person who kicked him out of a study group, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office announced late Thursday.

The findings come after a coroner performing an autopsy on Faisal Mohammad found the suspect’s manifesto on his body, according to Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke.

Mohammad listed the intended targets by name in the manifesto, and planned to tie students to desks while drawing out police to steal a gun and shoot people, Warnke said . . .

Mohammad, who was killed by campus police, was described by at least one witness as smiling as he slashed at victims, called a loner by a fellow dorm resident and drew praise Thursday from a Twitter account associated with ISIS, which just last week released a series of videos calling for lone wolf stabbing attacks . . .

“May Allah accept him,” read a tweet in Arabic from a Twitter account that terrorism experts say has carried previous ISIS propaganda, just minutes after Mohammad’s name was divulged by campus authorities. (Read more from “Details From the Horrific Stabbing by Muslim College Student Emerge” HERE)

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These Two GOP Candidates Have Been Cut From Main Debate Stage

When the Republican presidential hopefuls take the stage in Milwaukee on Tuesday night for their fourth debate, familiar faces will be missing from the prime-time lineup — Mike Huckabee and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.

On Thursday, Fox Business Network, the host of the debate, announced on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” the qualifiers for the main stage, and Mr. Christie and Mr. Huckabee — who had been slipping in recent polls — did not quite make the cut.

Then lineup for the main stage debate will be Donald J. Trump, Ben Carson, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

To qualify for the prime-time debate based on the network’s criteria, candidates needed to score at least 2.5 percent or higher in an average of the four most recent national polls through Nov. 4. Those below the 2.5 percent average in the polls could qualify for the so-called undercard debate, as long as they hit at least 1 percent in at least one of the four most recent national polls.

Dropping off the main stage is a huge blow to Mr. Christie, who has struggled to gain the traction for which he’d hoped ever since announcing his bid, and who saw his “tell it like it is” message inadvertently usurped by Mr. Trump’s freewheeling, tell-it-like-it-is campaign. (Read more from “These Two GOP Candidates Have Been Cut From Main Debate Stage” HERE)

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Military Retirees: You Betrayed Us, Congress

Military retirees are outraged that Congress will start voting Thursday on a budget deal that trims military pensions, calling the move “an egregious breach of faith.”

The Military Coalition, some 27 military groups, wrote to leaders in Congress and President Obama late Wednesday about their “strong objection” and “grave concern” over the budget deal.

The deal cuts pension cost of living raises by 1 percentage point for military retirees who aren’t disabled and not yet 62 years old. Cost of living hikes are automatic raises intended to keep up with inflation.

The problem is, most military retirees are a lot younger than private sector retirees. They enlist in their 20’s and retire in their 40’s. Very few stay on till they are 62 — those who may be lucky enough to escape major injuries at war, or rose to higher echelons in the military system . . .

The average cut in pension payouts, including compounding interest, for a retiring Army Sergeant first class, would be about $3,700 each year, according to the Military Officers Association of America. Over 20 years, the total losses could balloon to more than $80,000. (Read more from “Military Retirees: You Betrayed Us, Congress” HERE)

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This U.S. City Has Elected Mostly Muslim Council

Voters [in Hamtramck, Michigan] gave Abu Musa and Anam Miah another term in office. Saad Almasmari was elected for the first time. Now four of the six City Council members will be of Muslim faith.

It’s said to be the first majority Muslim City Council not only in Hamtramck but in the entire country.

“I think that sends a message not only to Hamtramck but throughout the region that people want their representation in offices,” Miah said.

Although there will be more diversity at the table, they want to make clear the goal of public service stays the the same.

“My concern is to give the people, everybody, equal opportunity and be fair for everybody,” said Musa. (Read more from “This U.S. City Has Elected Mostly Muslim Council” HERE)

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Ted Cruz Just Made an Enormous Move Against the Muslim Brotherhood That Could Impact Obama

The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928 that could be finding itself in trouble soon with the United States Congress.

Robert Mueller, former director of the FBI, said about the group during testimony in 2011: “I can say at the outset that elements of the Muslim Brotherhood both here and overseas have supported terrorism.”

Although multiple members of the organization are on the Obama administration terror list, thus far the US has not yet officially designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

That could soon be changing. Republican presidential candidate and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, along with Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, introduced a bill this week called the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act.

Passage of the bill would not automatically designate the organization as a terrorist group. Instead, it would express a “sense of Congress” that the Brotherhood meets the criteria of being a terrorist organization. The State Department would be given 60 days to express whether agrees. If the State Department decides against listing the organization as a terrorist group, it would have to provide a “detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met.”

Five countries – Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Russia – already consider the Brotherhood to be a terrorist group. (Read more from “Ted Cruz Just Made an Enormous Move Against the Muslim Brotherhood That Could Impact Obama” HERE)

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Poll: Trump Holds Slim Lead as GOP Race Comes Into Focus

Is the race for the Republican nomination finally shaking out? Four candidates get double-digit backing — and then there’s a steep drop-off to the rest of the field.

The latest Fox News national poll on the 2016 election finds that Donald Trump has the edge, as GOP primary voters by wide margins identify him as the best candidate on the economy, as well as the one most likely to beat presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The poll also finds Ben Carson remains within striking distance of Trump.

Here are the numbers: Trump has the backing of 26 percent of Republican primary voters and is closely followed by Carson at 23 percent. The next tier includes two first-term Cuban-American senators: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio at 11 percent each. Those four capture the support of 7 in 10 primary voters (71 percent).

From there, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, and Rand Paul receive 4 percent each . . .

The favorites among white evangelical Christians include Carson (33 percent), Trump (23 percent) and Cruz (12 percent). Those three are also the top picks among the Tea Party movement, although in a different order: Trump (26 percent), Cruz (24 percent) and Carson (19 percent). (Read more from “Poll: Trump Holds Slim Lead as GOP Race Comes Into Focus” HERE)

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Pastor Sends a Terrifying Warning to U.S. About Christian Persecution

The challenges faced by Christian Americans right now are similar to the ones faced by Jews in Nazi Germany during the 1930s, Pastor Carl Gallups said during a recent guest appearance at CTN’s “It’s Time with Herman & Sharron.”

He warned Christians to be prepared for the worst forms of persecution since the attack on America’s faith-based groups is only getting started, according to a WND report.

“This is what Americans are beginning to see,” Gallups said. “We see these similarities [with the conditions faced by the Jews in Nazi Germany]. We know that we don’t live under government decree to persecute us like other Christians do, but we see the progression, or digression.”

He mentioned the following initial signs of Christian persecution in the US: the removal of prayer from schools; the banning of Christmas and Easter events in schools; the pending gun registration and eventual confiscation; the apparent fading away of free speech where the media only tell the government’s side; and pastors becoming fearful of addressing serious moral and political issues because of government intimidation.

Gallups said dangers confront Americans all over. As an example, he cited FBI confirmation that there are Islamic State cells in all 50 states. (Read more from “Pastor Sends a Terrifying Warning to U.S. About Christian Persecution” HERE)

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Veterans Are Not Applying for Discharge Status Upgrades, Pentagon Blamed

Very few veterans take advantage of a Pentagon policy designed to make it easier for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to upgrade their discharge status and become eligible to apply for veterans’ benefits, according to a Yale Law Clinic report.

At a news conference Monday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., veterans, and Yale law students, blamed the Department of Defense for not adequately publicizing the policy to veterans with less than honorable discharges. Since new guidelines were announced last year, just 201 of tens of thousands of eligible veterans applied for a PTSD-related service upgrade, according to the report. Blumenthal called the statistic “a staggering, outrageous fact.”

“Veterans on the streets of New Haven or Connecticut or the rest of the country have no idea about this,” Blumenthal said. “It takes a vigorous and rigorous effort, which the DOD committed to and they have failed,” he added.

Sundiata Sidibe, a student in the law school’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic, called the number of applicants “miniscule.” In previous years, an average of 39 veterans applied annually for status upgrades in connection with PTSD, the report states.

Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had asked the Pentagon to give the committee a progress report by August 2015 on its efforts to inform veterans about the policy. A report was never submitted, he said. (Read more from “Veterans Are Not Applying for Discharge Status Upgrades, Pentagon Blamed” HERE)

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More Than a Decade Later, Missing Alabama Boy Found in Ohio

A child who was reported missing in Alabama 13 years ago has been found safe and unharmed in Cleveland, Ohio, authorities say.

Julian Hernandez was in the legal custody of his mother when he disappeared on August 28, 2002. He was 5 then.

It was suspected that his father, Bobby Hernandez, took him as part of a noncustodial parental abduction, according to the Vestavia Hills Police Department, just south of Birmingham . . .

The missing child they were able to locate and positively identify is now 18. Julian’s mother and family were notified of his recovery.

Bobby Hernandez was arrested Monday in the abduction. The court records from Cuyahoga County in Ohio did not specify exact charges against him. CNN reached out to attorney Ralph DeFranco’s office for further comment Wednesday night but did not immediately receive a response. (Read more from “More Than a Decade Later, Missing Alabama Boy Found in Ohio” HERE)

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Donald Trump Burns Obama’s Debate Critique; Meanwhile, All of Obama’s ‘Achievements’ Are Failing

Trump Shrugs off Obama’s Debate Critique: ‘He Can’t Handle the Country’

By Jeremy Diamond. Donald Trump dismissed Tuesday President Barack Obama’s mocking of the the GOP presidential candidates’ criticism of the CNBC moderators in the last debate.

Trump, whose campaign decided to continue dealing directly with the TV networks rather than forming a united front with other presidential campaigns, said he “doesn’t care too much” about the debate format, instead knocking Obama’s handling of the country.

“They’ve been hitting me one way or the other. I just want to have the debates. I like the debates. They can ask tough questions. … I just want to answer the questions and be done with it, frankly,” Trump said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Of Obama’s criticism, Trump added, “He can’t handle the country. He’s doing a terrible job running the country.”

Obama ripped into the GOP’s field of 2016 hopefuls on Monday night, noting that while they’ve knocked him for being “weak” on the international stage, “it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators.” (Read more from “Donald Trump Burns Obama’s Debate Critique: ‘He Can’t Handle the Country'” HERE)

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All of Obama’s ‘Achievements’ Are Failing

By Jennifer Rubin. President Obama’s biggest domestic “accomplishment,” Obamacare, and his biggest foreign policy objective, extracting the United States from the Middle East and redesigning our alliances (Iran in, Israel out), are now Exhibits A and B in the argument for jettisoning the Democrats from the White House. At the very least these issues, combined with a lackluster economy, suggest Hillary Clinton will have trouble running for a “third Obama term.”

On the Obamacare front, CBS News reports, “Sign-up season started Sunday for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, now in year 3. Premiums are going up an average of 7.5 percent, but they could be much higher depending on where you live.” It is not hard to see that if this keeps up we are headed for the infamous “death spiral,” as Sally Pipes, a health-care expert and critic of Obamacare explains . . .

If the domestic scene looks less than attractive for Democrats, the foreign policy front is abysmal. The president’s latest, cynical move to send just 50 Special Operations forces to Syria — but not into combat! — encapsulates the absence of a coherent strategy that will leave the region bloodier, less stable and more violent than when Obama took office.

His latest move on Syria has unsurprisingly been poorly received. Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute writes:

The situation is now beyond dire and all anyone can do is offer first steps that might start to drive it in a more positive direction. But any such steps must begin from the understanding of what this conflict is really about and who must actually resolve it: the Sunni Arabs and the non-Assad Alawite community. Those are the groups that will have to decide to put down their weapons and work out a mutually-acceptable deal. Defeating ISIS will still be hard in that context, but at least it might be both feasible and meaningful.

(Read more from “All of Obama’s ‘Achievements’ Are Failing” HERE)

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