Psychologist in Chris Kyle Murder Trial Gives Critical Testimony

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Photo Credit: NY Post By Danika Fears. The man who killed “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and his pal was in a state of pot-induced psychosis when he shot them but knew what he was doing was wrong, a forensic psychologist testified Friday.

Dr. Randall Price determined that Eddie Ray Routh, 27, doesn’t meet the state’s definition of ­insanity, the Dallas Morning News reported.

“He did know what he was doing was wrong, and he did it anyway,” Price testified, adding Routh that suffers from a personality disorder instead of schizophrenia. (Read more about the testimony from the Chris Kyle murder trial HERE)

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Oscars Host Calls American Sniper ‘the Oprah’ Over the Other Nominees

By Real Clear Politics. Congratulating this year’s nominees for Best Picture, host of this year’s Oscars Neil Patrick Harris took note that American Sniper alone has raked in more at the box office than all the other nominees combined.

“Congratulations to all the nominees, especially for the 8 films up for Best Picture. They have grossed over $600 million,” Harris said.

“American Sniper alone is responsible for over $300 million of that,” Harris said. “So congratulations to them.”

“To put that in perspective, everyone on this side of the theater is the 7 other nominees and American Sniper is Oprah.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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How Does Your State Rank in Church Attendance?

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A new Gallup poll offers some clues about Americans’ church attendance—and the sizeable difference depending on the state where you live.

Gallup asked 177,030 American adults, “How often do you attend church, synagogue or mosque—at least once a week, almost every week, about once a month, seldom or never?” It ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to how many responded that they attend religious services “at least once a week.”

Residents of Utah are most likely to attend a religious service weekly. According to Gallup, Utah owes its No. 1 ranking to Mormons, who “have the highest religious service attendance of any major religious group in the U.S.”

Utah is followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas.

[Editor’s note: Alaska ranks in the bottom ten states in the nation for church attendance, along with Colorado, Hawaii, Connecticut, and Vermont. Only one out of four Alaskans attend church regularly]

(Read more about each states rank in church attendance HERE)

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Shocker: Brian Williams Hasn’t Donated a Dime to His Cash-Strapped High School

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By Natalie O’Neill and Gary Buiso. Brian Williams plays fast and loose with the truth, but apparently keeps a tight grip on his wallet.

The disgraced NBC newsman hasn’t given a dime to his old New Jersey high school, which is trying to raise enough dough just to stay open, principal Craig Palmer told The Post.

Middletown’s Mater Dei Prep warns it will be forced to shut its doors by June if it doesn’t raise enough cash. Earlier this month, supporters launched a campaign to raise $1 million.

The school has raised $427,000, but is still waiting to hear from its most famous graduate, according to Palmer.

Earlier this month, Williams, 55, said he was “heartbroken” when he learned of the school’s sorry financial state. (Read more about Williams never donating to his cash-strapped high school HERE)


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What Brian Williams Could Learn From Bill O’Reilly

By Andrew Wallenstein. The evidence is mounting that Bill O’Reilly fudged the truth of his coverage of the Falklands War, much the way Brian Williams did same regarding his time in Iraq.

Debate all you want whether one man’s words were more inaccurate than the other’s. But how they chose to react to their respective controversies is quite different, and perhaps will make all the difference in determining their fates . . .

Sadly, the way Williams chose to rise above the fray is not a countermeasure that works well in these fevered, Twitter-driven times. To suggest that you are too high and mighty to dignify allegations with anything more than a rote response is a bygone from a long-ago era.

When a celebrity in the crosshairs goes silent, it creates a vacuum more deafening than the din of the accusations being leveled. It conjures up images of backroom spin doctors helping the privileged cover up their crimes. Once that enters the picture, you’re already dead.

O’Reilly didn’t let that happen. He reacted with instant indignance. It’s as if he’s so outraged by the allegations that he can’t shut up. That’s the way to go. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Bank Hackers Stole Hundreds of Millions via Malware

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In late 2013, an A.T.M. in Kiev started dispensing cash at seemingly random times of day. No one had put in a card or touched a button. Cameras showed that the piles of money had been swept up by customers who appeared lucky to be there at the right moment.

But when a Russian cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky Lab, was called to Ukraine to investigate, it discovered that the errant machine was the least of the bank’s problems.

The bank’s internal computers, used by employees who process daily transfers and conduct bookkeeping, had been penetrated by malware that allowed cybercriminals to record their every move. The malicious software lurked for months, sending back video feeds and images that told a criminal group — including Russians, Chinese and Europeans — how the bank conducted its daily routines, according to the investigators . . .

Kaspersky Lab says it has seen evidence of $300 million in theft through clients, and believes the total could be triple that. But that projection is impossible to verify because the thefts were limited to $10 million a transaction, though some banks were hit several times. In many cases the hauls were more modest, presumably to avoid setting off alarms . . .

But the largest sums were stolen by hacking into a bank’s accounting systems and briefly manipulating account balances. Using the access gained by impersonating the banking officers, the criminals first would inflate a balance — for example, an account with $1,000 would be altered to show $10,000. Then $9,000 would be transferred outside the bank. The actual account holder would not suspect a problem, and it would take the bank some time to figure out what had happened. (Read more about how the bank hackers stole millions HERE)

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The Making of Hillary 5.0; Marketing Wizards Trying to Re-Imagine Clinton Brand

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As she readies her second presidential campaign, Clinton has recruited consumer marketing specialists onto her team of trusted political advisers. Their job is to help imagine Hillary 5.0 — the rebranding of a first lady turned senator turned failed presidential candidate turned secretary of state turned likely 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

Clinton and her image-makers are sketching ways to refresh the well-established brand for tomorrow’s marketplace. In their mission to present voters with a winning picture of the likely candidate, no detail is too big or too small — from her economic opportunity agenda to the design of the “H” in her future campaign logo.

“It’s exactly the same as selling an iPhone or a soft drink or a cereal,” said Peter Sealey, a longtime corporate marketing strategist. “She needs to use everything a brand has: a dominant color, a logo, a symbol. . . . The symbol of a Mercedes is a three-pointed star. The symbol of Coca-Cola is the contour bottle. The symbol of McDonald’s is the golden arches. What is Clinton’s symbol?”

Clinton’s challenge is unique. Unlike potential Republican challengers of relatively middling fame who are introducing themselves to a national audience for the first time, Clinton is almost universally recognized. Love her or loathe her, potential voters know who she is after more than two decades in public life . . .

In politics, authenticity can be a powerful trait, and it is one that sometimes has escaped Clinton. In her 2008 presidential campaign, despite some raw displays of emotion, she often came across as overly programmed. (Read more about the marketing wizards trying to re-imagine the Clinton brand HERE)

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High School Showcases State’s First Gender Neutral Bathroom; City Council Will Allow Men to Use Women’s Facilities

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By Nicole Vowell. Park City High School recently opened what’s believed to be the state’s first gender neutral restroom.

Tori Vipond, a senior, walks the halls, goes to class, washes up and flushes the toilet just like any other student at the school. But, Vipond said, “I don’t identify as male or female.” Choosing which restroom to use has been a challenge.

“I usually just hold it until I go to the restroom at home,” Vipond said.

Student council member Adam Snyder said, “We really wanted to make a publicized restroom that everyone knew they could use if they felt more comfortable doing so.”

He got the idea after reading about college campuses with gender neutral private restrooms. (Read more about Utah’s first gender neutral bathroom HERE)

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Franklin Graham Speaks Out on Transgender Bathroom Proposal

By EAG News. If a city ordinance is passed at the March 2 Charlotte City Council meeting, any biological male will be permitted to use a women’s public restroom as the new policy would rank “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” higher than biological sex.

Restrooms in both public and private business in Charlotte, North Carolina, would be required to adhere to the proposed transgender ordinance, which applies to restaurants, stores, bars, gas stations, parks, zoos, libraries, bowling alleys, theaters and many other public places.

Men who simply identify themselves as women would be allowed to use any public women’s bathroom—and vice versa—without any repercussions.

“I cannot see why City Council would even consider this,” Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said. “It is not only ridiculous, it’s unsafe.

“Common sense tells us that this would open the door, literally, to all sorts of serious concerns including giving sexual predators access to children. It violates every sense of privacy and decency for people of both sexes, adults and children.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Mega Pastor: Ignore the Bible to Stay Relevant (especially 2 Peter 2:1)

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By Jennifer Van Laar. During a special Valentine’s Day episode of Super Soul Sunday on OWN, Oprah Winfrey asked her spiritual advisor Rob Bell if he thought churches were close to accepting homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

He answered that “we’re moments away from the church accepting it,” and that Christians needed to stop relying on its holy text as a basis for opposing homosexuality:

“I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense, when you have in front of you flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and co-workers and neighbors, and they love each other and just want to go through life with someone.”

Bell and his wife, Kristen, were discussing their book on marriage, The Zimzum of Love, with Winfrey when the exchange took place. The book provides “A new way of understanding marriage” which Bell seemed to imply also included gay couples. (Read more about the pastor saying to ignore the Bible HERE)

[Editor’s note: Mr. Bell should probably take a few minutes and reflect upon 2 Peter 2:1]

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Rob Bell on Gay Marriage Support: God Pulling Us Ahead to Affirm Gay Brothers, Sisters

By Nicola Menzie. “I believe God [is] pulling us ahead into greater and greater affirmation and acceptance of our gay brothers and sisters and pastors and friends and neighbors and coworkers,” former megachurch pastor and best-selling author Rob Bell explained just days after surprising the evangelical Christian community with his expressed support for same-sex marriage.

The former Mars Hill Bible Church founder and controversial Love Wins author told Odyssey Networks in an interview published Wednesday that many people are “realizing that God makes some of us one way and some of us another, and it can be a beautiful thing.”

The video interview, titled “Why Rob Bell Supports Gay Marriage,” comes just days after the Michigan church founder visited San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral (the Episcopal Cathedral of the Diocese of California) in a promotional book tour to discuss his purpose for writing What We Talk About When We Talk About God, his views on evangelical Christianity and future projects he has lined up.

During that event, Bell was asked about his stance on same-sex marriage and he explained that he was “for marriage.”

“I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it’s a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think that the church needs to just … this is the world that we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are,” he responded. (Read more from this story HERE)

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New Jersey Retiree Facing 10 Years in Prison for Having an Antique Pistol During Traffic Stop

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By Nina Golgowski. A 300-year-old flintlock pistol may be the exact kind of weapon the Second Amendment was written to protect.

But for 72-year-old Gordon van Gilder — who’s a collector of 18th century antiques — he says he’s facing up to 10 years in prison because he was found possessing such a weapon at a New Jersey traffic stop.

“Beware of New Jersey. Don’t come here. Don’t live here,” the retired teacher recently told NRA News following his big bust for unlawful, felony weapons possession in the Garden State.

The Cumberland County resident said his own honesty got the best of him when he voluntarily revealed the unloaded, antique firearm to prying deputies late last year during a search of his vehicle.

Even though antique guns aren’t considered “firearms” under Federal law, New Jersy’s gun laws treat them like any other modern-day weapon. (Read more about the New Jersey retiree HERE)

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5 Things You Need to Know About Rights-Violating Police Checkpoints

By The Daily Sheeple. It seems that every time we turn around there is some new type of checkpoint or a new way for police to stop innocent people. The fact that you are a law-abiding citizen who hasn’t been drinking is not always enough to keep you safe from police abuse at checkpoints.

The National Motorists Association has put together a helpful list of five key points to consider when dealing with the rights-violating, freedom-diminishing police checkpoints. . .

Q. Are roadblocks legal? A. The US Supreme Court has found roadblocks to be legal for a variety of purposes, the most prominent being so-called “sobriety check points.” There is a longer history of roadblock approvals related to checking vehicles near or at national border crossings. . .

Q. Do I have to answer the questions posed to me at a roadblock? A. You do not have to answer any questions, particularly questions that would be self-incriminating. You may be required (forced by threat of arrest) to show your drivers license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance, if the state requires these items to be present in your vehicle.

Q. Can they search my car? A. Your car can only be searched under the following circumstances: You voluntarily give the police permission to search your vehicle. The Police have a warrant to search your vehicle. The police have “probable cause” or “reasonable suspicion” based on a reasonable explanation of why they believe you have illegal items in your vehicle. They must be able to explain what they think they will find and why they think said items are in your vehicle. (Read more from this story HERE)

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“Global Warming” in Retreat: Four More Cities in the U.S. Set All-Time Record Weather Lows

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Photo Credit: The Weather Channel By Chris Dolce and Nick Wiltgen. Hundreds of daily record lows and at least three all-time record lows have been set as a frigid air mass with a connection to Siberia grips the central and eastern United States with dangerously cold conditions. Friday morning has brought the most widespread and intense cold of the winter to many areas, sending temperatures into the 30s below zero as far south as Kentucky.

Lynchburg, Virginia, plummeted to 11 below zero Friday morning, setting a new all-time record low for any day of the year. The previous record was 10 below zero on Jan. 21, 1985, and Feb. 5, 1996. Impressively, Lynchburg’s temperature records go all the way back to 1893.

Flint, Michigan, tied its all-time record low of 25 below zero, originally set Jan. 18, 1976. Weather records in Flint began in 1921.

Earlier this week Erie, Pennsylvania, had tied its all-time record low when it reached 18 below zero Monday. That tied the record set Jan. 19, 1994. Not far away, Jamestown, New York, set an all-time record low of 31 below zero Tuesday, though its records only go back to 1960.

At least 72 daily record lows have been set Friday morning from Connecticut to Florida to as far west as Indiana, including major cities such as New York, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Detroit and Cincinnati. (Read more about the all-time record weather lows HERE)

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‘Ice Volcano’ Forms in New York

By Associated Press. The arctic conditions have turned a fountain at a state park in western New York into a five-story-tall “ice volcano.”

The pressure-fed fountain is in a pond near the Glen Iris Inn at Letchworth State Park, which straddles the Wyoming-Livingston county line 40 miles south of Rochester. Days of subzero temperatures have formed a solid cone of ice several feet thick with water still spouting out of the top. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama Administration Sent Nearly 1 Million People Incorrect Tax Forms

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By Fox News. The Obama administration revealed Friday that it sent about 800,000 HealthCare.gov customers a tax form containing the wrong information, and asked them to hold off on filing their 2014 taxes.

The self-inflicted bungle follows weeks of administration officials touting a successful enrollment season — one that saw far fewer technical glitches than the rocky launch in late 2013.

About 11.4 million people signed up this season. But the errors in tax information mean that nearly 1 million people may have to wait longer to get their tax refunds this year.

California, which is running its own insurance market, just announced a similar problem affecting about 100,000 people in that state.

For those using HealthCare.gov, the federal health department said on its blog on Friday that some people received a form that included faulty premium information. The blog said that information “needs to be corrected,” and new forms should be available by early March. (Read more about the incorrect tax forms HERE)

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A Second Chance to Avoid a Second Tax Penalty Over Obamacare

By Margot Sanger-Katz. About six million people face a tax penalty this year for failing to sign up for health insurance last year. Now, many of those people will get an extra chance to enroll in coverage for this year and avoid a second penalty.

Sign-ups were supposed to close this month, but the Health and Human Services Department announced Friday that it would reopen the marketplaces in 37 states for six weeks in March and April. The goal is to make sure that people who are learning about the deadlines and tax penalties for the first time won’t be shut out of coverage — and forced to pay a penalty — for a second year.

Several states running their own marketplaces, including Washington and Vermont, have announced similar policies

The health law requires everyone who can afford insurance to obtain it — and charges people who don’t a fee. The fees that will be hitting people’s mailboxes for failing to get insurance last year will be relatively low — $95 a person or 1 percent of their income — but they rise next year. (Read more from this story HERE)

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