Spokesman for Missouri State Auditor Found Dead 1 Month After Boss Killed Himself

Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

The spokesman for the Missouri auditor was found dead Sunday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, just a month after the suicide of his former boss, GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Tom Schweich.

Jefferson City police said Monday that Robert “Spence” Jackson was found dead Sunday evening at his home in the capital city. A police statement said Jackson’s death is being investigated as a suicide.

Jackson had been the spokesman for Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, who shot himself to death on Feb. 26 at his home in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton. Jackson had remained as the office spokesman after Schweich’s death.

The 44-year-old Jackson also had previously served as the spokesman for former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt.

Jackson was a strong critic of Schweich’s political adversaries, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Schweich killed himself Feb. 26 at his home in Clayton minutes after telling a reporter that Republican state Chairman John Hancock had started an anti-Semitic “whispering campaign” against him. (Read more from “Spokesman for Missouri State Auditor Found Dead 1 Month After Boss Killed Himself” HERE)

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U.S. Signed Agreement with Mexico to Teach Immigrants to Unionize

Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

The federal government has signed agreements with three foreign countries — Mexico, Ecuador and the Philippines — to establish outreach programs to teach immigrants their rights to engage in labor organizing in the U.S.

The agreements do not distinguish between those who entered legally or illegally. They are part of a broader effort by the National Labor Relations Board to get immigrants involved in union activism.

The five-member board is the agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act, the main federal law covering unions. In 2013, Lafe Solomon, the board’s then-acting general counsel, signed a “memorandum of understanding” with Mexico’s U.S. ambassador. The current general counsel, Richard Griffin, signed additional agreements with the ambassadors of Ecuador and the Philippines last year.

“Those are the only countries that the NLRB has MOUs with,” said spokeswoman Jessica Kahanek.

The agreements are substantially similar, with several sections repeated verbatim in each one. All three documents state that the No. 1 outreach goal is “to educate those who may not be aware of the Act, including those employees just entering the work force, by providing information designed to clearly inform [that nation’s] workers in the United States of America their rights under the Act and to develop ways of communicating such information (e.g., via print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, mobile device applications, and links to the NLRB’s web site from the [country’s] web sites) to the … workers residing in the United States of America and their employers.” (Read more from “U.S. Signed Agreement with Mexico to Teach Immigrants to Unionize” HERE)

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You’ll Never Guess What a Reporter Says John Kerry’s Response to a Nuke Deal Was

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while on Capitol Hill in WashingtonSecretary of State John Kerry allegedly responded in a most unusual way to a reporter’s question Friday whether a nuclear arms deal could be reached with Iran before the March 31 deadline.

“Allah willing,” Kerry replied — in Arabic, according to Laura Rozen, a reporter covering the Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the Washington, D.C.-based online publication, Al-Monitor.

As news reached the public Friday that a deal may be forthcoming, Rozen tweeted:

Friend of colleague ran into @JohnKerry at chocolate shop tdy. She said friends in #Iran are looking forward to deal. He said ‘inshallah’

— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) March 27, 2015

“Inshallah” is Arabic for “Allah willing,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. (Read more from “You’ll Never Guess What a Reporter Says John Kerry’s Response to a Nuke Deal Was” HERE)

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Disgusting: New Spa-Like Abortion Clinic Is Part of a Trend to De-Stigmatize the Procedure

Photo Credit: Life News

Photo Credit: Life News

With its natural wood floors and plush upholstery, Carafem aims to feel more like a spa than a medical clinic. But the slick ads set to go up in Metro stations across the Washington region leave nothing to doubt: “Abortion. Yeah, we do that.”

The Maryland clinic, opening this week in Montgomery County’s tony Friendship Heights area, specializes in the abortion pill. The advertising reflects its unabashed approach — and a new push to de-stigmatize the nation’s most controversial medical procedure by talking about it openly and unapologetically.

Plagued by political setbacks in recent years, abortion rights activists are seeking to normalize abortion, to put a human face on the women getting the procedure and, in some cases, even putting a positive spin on it.

In Los Angeles County, groups recently sent women door-to-door in conservative neighborhoods to talk about their abortion experiences in the hope of changing minds. A number of Democratic lawmakers have publicly acknowledged having undergone the procedure. And new online projects solicit personal testimonials, including from women who have no regrets about terminating their pregnancies.

At Carafem, staff members plan to greet clients with warm teas, comfortable robes and a matter-of-fact attitude. (Read more from “New Spa-Like Abortion Clinic Is Part of a Trend to De-Stigmatize the Procedure” HERE)

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Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from American Cattle Become Airborne, but Is It Life-Threatening?

cattle-yardAirborne particulate matter wafting off American cattle yards contains antibiotics, bacteria, and antibiotic-resistant DNA, a new study finds. Environmental tests on the spread of antibiotics have been performed in the past, but this is the first time researchers have examined aerial dispersion. The work suggests airborne transmission may be contributing to an emerging global health problem, where doctors find it increasingly difficult to treat life-threatening infections.

For some time now, scientists have worried that we may be entering a “post-antibiotic era,” when the drugs that once defeated potentially fatal infections are no longer effective. Simply put, the bacteria causing infections in many cases are now immune to (or “resisting”) the drugs. Since antibiotic-resistant bacterial DNA, if imbibed in water or consumed in meat, can be transferred to humans, many researchers say misuse and overuse of veterinary pharmaceuticals may be responsible, in part, for this global health threat. Large, commercial food operations rely on veterinary drugs, including antibiotics, to promote bigger growth of the animals. However, after the animals excrete the drugs, these antibiotics enter the environment via runoff, leaching, and the spread of manure.

For this new study, then, environmental toxicology researchers at Texas Tech University decided to look at whether these drugs become airborne. Over a period of six months, they gathered airborne particulate matter from 10 commercial cattle yards each with a capacity of 20,000 to 50,000 head of cattle, within 200 miles of Lubbock, Texas.

“Mass of [particulate matter] collected immediately downwind of feedyards was significantly different than that collected immediately upwind of each feedyard,” the authors wrote in the study. (Read more from “Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from American Cattle Become Airborne, but Is It Life-Threatening?” HERE)

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Access Denied: Reporters Say Federal Officials, Data Increasingly off Limits

Photo Credit: Washington Post

Photo Credit: Washington Post

Stacey Singer, a health reporter for the Palm Beach Post in Florida, was perusing a medical journal in 2012 when she came across something startling: a federal epidemiologist’s report about a tuberculosis outbreak in the Jacksonville area. Singer promptly began pursuing the story.

But when she started seeking official comment about the little-reported outbreak, the doors began closing. County health officials referred her to the state health department. State officials referred her to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even though the CDC’s own expert had written the investigative report, the agency’s press office declined to let Singer speak with him. A spokesman told her it was a local matter and sent her back to the state office in Tallahassee.

Through public records requests, Singer eventually was able to piece together the story of a contagion that had caused 13 deaths and 99 illnesses — the worst the CDC had found in 20 years.

“It’s really expensive to fight this hard” for public information, said Singer, now an editorial writer at the newspaper. She suspects that officials were slow to respond because news of the TB outbreak might have harmed Florida’s tourism industry. “They know that to delay is to deny. . . . They know we have to move on to other stories.”

The stories aren’t always as consequential or as dramatic as a TB outbreak, but Singer’s experience is shared by virtually every journalist on the government beat, from the White House on down. They can recite tales with similar outlines: An agency spokesman — frequently a political appointee — rejects the reporter’s request for interviews, offers partial or nonresponsive replies, or delays responding at all until after the journalist’s deadline has passed. (Read more from “Access Denied: Reporters Say Federal Officials, Data Increasingly off Limits” HERE)

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Obama Trying to Stop the US Army From Prosecuting Bergdahl?

Obama and BergBy Conservative Tribune. President Barack Obama has certainly staked a lot on the fate of likely deserter Bowe Bergdahl. He sacrificed the lives of several of our men in uniform in a vain attempt to rescue him, then traded five Taliban terrorists from Guantanamo Bay for his release.

Now, it appears the president is even willing to obstruct justice for Bergdahl. Recent reports indicate that senior Department of Defense officials are doing their best to poison the well for those prosecuting Bergdahl.

During the week, two DOD sources spoke to CNN to confirm that Bergdahl had left his post to “report what he believed to be problems with ‘order and discipline’ in his unit.”

While the way this was reported indicated that they were speaking on background about DOD investigations to CNN, it turns out that they were just repeating what Bergdahl had told authorities.

“This was a kid who had leadership concerns on his mind,” CNN reported that one of the officials said. “He wasn’t fed up; he wasn’t planning to desert.” (Read more from “Obama Trying to Stop the US Army From Prosecuting Bergdahl” HERE)
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Bergdahl’s ex-Platoon Members Already Undercutting the New “Whistleblower” Defense

By Jake Tapper. U.S. troops who served alongside Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on the day he disappeared told CNN that the emerging “whistleblower” defense being prepared for him makes no sense.

Bergdahl’s lawyer is making the case that Bergdahl left his post on foot to report his unit for troubling behavior, but his fellow troops say the platoon was already scheduled to drive back to their Forward Operating Base, or FOB, just hours after his disappearance.

“We were literally going back to the FOB Sharana the next day,” then-Sgt. Evan Buetow, Bergdahl’s team leader, told CNN. “If for whatever reason Bergdahl had complaints, he could have brought them to the attention of senior officers before our five-day mission, or easily could have waited a few more hours till we returned to the FOB.”

Then-Specialist Josh Cornelison, the platoon medic, said the base was “a lengthy drive away from” Observation Post Mest, where Bergdahl was last seen by his fellow troops.

“And he wanted to walk back? Knowing full well how many times we’d been blown up on the way there and back? Everyone knew bad dudes were around and watching us move to and from OP Mest,” Cornelison said. (Read more from this story about prosecuting Bergdahl HERE)

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GOP Puts Obama’s Bergdahl Swap on Trial

By Kristina Wong. Republicans intend to highlight the controversial trade for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to mount an attack on President Obama’s foreign policy.

The Army’s moves to charge the solider with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy have given Republicans a new opportunity to challenge Obama’s decision last year to secure his freedom by releasing five senior Taliban commanders from Guantánamo Bay.

Republicans say the president paid too high a price for Bergdahl’s return, especially since the five former detainees will be released from house arrest in Qatar in a few months. At least one of the former detainees is reportedly already suspected of returning to the fight.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee turned up the heat on Friday by sending a letter to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough that requests documents and information related to the swap.

The letter also requests documents and information related to comments by National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who days after the trade was announced said Bergdahl had served with “honor and distinction.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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RNC on Clinton: ‘Even Nixon Didn’t Destroy the Tapes’

CRepublican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus blasted Hillary Clinton on Saturday for wiping her server and permanently deleting all emails.

“Even Nixon didn’t destroy the tapes,” Priebus said in a statement.

Clinton’s lawyer informed the House Select Committee investigating Benghazi on Friday that Clinton no longer had copies of any emails from her four-year tenure as secretary of State, ending in 2013.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the committee, said in a statement Friday that “Clinton unilaterally decided to wipe her server clean and permanently delete all emails from her personal server.”

Gowdy, whose committee had subpoenaed the server earlier this month, charged that Clinton apparently decided to delete her emails after Oct. 28, 2014, when the State Department first asked her to turn over public records. (Read more from “RNC on Clinton: ‘Even Nixon Didn’t Destroy the Tapes'” HERE)

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Clinton Angles for the Pro-Israel Vote, Declares Need to Bring US-Israel Ties Back to ‘Constructive’ Footing

clBy Lazar Berman. As the relationship between US President Barack Obama and Prime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu becomes even more frayed, prospective Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appeared to emphasize that her approach to Israel would be different than that of the current administration.

In a telephone conversation Sunday with Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Clinton said that “we need to all work together to return the special US-Israel relationship to constructive footing, to get back to basic shared concerns and interests.”

“We must ensure that Israel never becomes a partisan issue,” she added.

Clinton also called for “a two-state solution pursued through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.”

Hoenlein initiated the conversation, according to the Conference of Presidents. (Read more from “Clinton: Bring US-Israel Ties Back to ‘Constructive’ Footing” HERE)

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Obama-Netanyahu Feud a Problem for Hillary and Dems

By Fredric U. Dicker. A top GOP strategist and pollster for newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that New York Democrats, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, “will pay a heavy price” at the polls next year if they don’t break with President Obama’s policies on Israel and reject any deal he makes with Iran.

“Hillary Clinton, [Sen.] Chuck Schumer, [Reps.] Nita Lowey, Steve Israel, Jerry Nadler, Eliot Engel and others are about to get a whole new wave of pressure from Republicans on whether they agree or not with Obama on Israel,’’ New York-based national GOP pollster and strategist John McLaughlin told The Post.

“You’re going to have Republicans running for president, the Senate, for Congress next year supporting Israel and pledging to abrogate any deal Obama makes with Iran and challenging the Democrats to do the same,’’ said McLaughlin, who runs McLaughlin and Associates with his brother.

McLaughlin, who was with Netanyahu at the Israeli leader’s Jerusalem home the night of his victory earlier this month, said the GOP push would be especially powerful in heavily Jewish voting areas in the city, Westchester and Long Island.

“A lot of New York Democrats are going to have to decide if they back Israel, our strongest ally in the world, or a White House that has made a mess of the Middle East and threatens to do to Israel what they’ve just done to Yemen,’’ contended McLaughlin. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Boston Police Officer Shot ‘Without Provocation’

cop-shot-3Police Commissioner William Evans said Saturday Boston police officer John Moynihan remains in critical condition after he was shot “without provocation” on Friday night in Roxbury.

Evans said at a press conference from the Boston Police Department headquarters that officers approached 41-year-old Hyde Park resident Angelo West’s vehicle without guns drawn and the man opened fire.

According to police, West has a violent criminal history with several gun convictions.

On July 23, 2001, Boston police officer William Griffiths came upon an alleged drug deal involving West on Stuart Street. He and a State Police officer wrestled with West and were able to disarm him but not before he shot at several officers.

No one was hurt in that shooting. West was arrested following the incident. (Read more from “Boston Police Officer Shot ‘Without Provocation'” HERE)

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