California Adds State to ‘Travel Ban’ Over Refusal to Fund Gender Transitions

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California announced last week that it has added Iowa to the list of states on its ever-expanding “travel ban” list because of that state’s new prohibition against funding gender-transition surgeries under Medicaid.

The announcement by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra means that as of Oct. 4, California will no longer offer taxpayer-funded trips to Iowa for any public employee or student at a state-run university. . .

“The Iowa Legislature has reversed course on what was settled law under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, repealing protections for those seeking gender-affirming health care,” Becerra said in a statement. “California has taken an unambiguous stand against discrimination and government actions that would enable it.”

The brouhaha began after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in March that taxpayers could be forced to pay for gender reassignment surgery. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law effectively overriding that ruling two months later.

“This narrow provision simply clarifies that Iowa’s Civil Rights Act does not require taxpayer dollars to pay for sex reassignment and other similar surgeries,” Reynolds spokesman Pat Garrett said in a statement at the time. “This returns us to what had been the state’s position for years.” (Read more from “California Adds State to ‘Travel Ban’ Over Refusal to Fund Gender Transitions” HERE)

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Report: Here’s Why John Bolton Resigned (Or was fired)

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. . .According to Axios, Bolton resigned one day after Trump suggested relieving severe economic sanctions on the Islamic nation, a source close to Bolton told the news outlet.

Bolton did not agree with giving Iran sanction relief and “believed the maximum pressure campaign was working,” Axios reported. . .

One day later, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “signaled approval” of Bolton’s departure, the Associated Press reported. Bolton is widely seen as a war hawk, which certainly made Iran uneasy given increased tensions Iran has generated in the Middle East this year.

The Daily Beast reported this week that Trump is actively considering offering Iran a $15 billion line-of-credit under the condition that Tehran complies with rules established by former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal. (Read more from “Report: Here’s Why John Bolton Resigned” HERE)

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DOJ Inspector General Has Finished FISA Abuse Investigation

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By Daily Wire. Justice Department (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz has finished his investigation into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses during the 2016 election committed by then-President Barack Obama’s DOJ and, specifically, the FBI.

Horowitz wrote a letter to congressional leaders to inform them that his team of investigators was in the process of finalizing the report — and preparing to turn it over to the DOJ and FBI so that classified material could be redacted.

Fox News reports: “Horowitz and his investigators have probed how the infamous, anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele was used to secure the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant for former Trump aide Carter Page in October 2016, as well as for three renewals. Horowitz’s team has questioned why the FBI considered Steele a credible source, and why the bureau seemed to use news reports to bolster Steele’s credibility.”

“I am writing in connection with the [DOJ] Office of the Inspector General’s ongoing Examination of the [DOJ] and the FBI’s Compliance with Legal Requirements and Policies in Applications Filed with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Relating to a certain U.S. person,” Horowitz wrote in his letter, adding, “the team has reviewed over one million records and conducted over 100 interviews, including several of witnesses who only recently agreed to be interviewed.”

“We have now begun the process of finalizing our report by providing a draft of our factual findings to the [DOJ] and the FBI for classification determination and marking,” Horowitz continued. “This step is consistent with our process for reports such as this one that involve classified material. Once we receive the marked document back from the [DOJ] and the FBI, we will then proceed with our usual process for preparing final draft public and classified reports, and ensuring that appropriate reviews occur for accuracy and comment purposes.”

(Read more from “DOJ Inspector General Has Finished FISA Abuse Investigation” HERE)

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FISA Abuse Investigation Completed

By Washington Examiner. . .Horowitz’s team examined the FISA application and three renewals beginning in October 2016 to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The applications relied on the unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, who was hired by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and funded by Democrats.

Republicans have alleged the FBI and the Justice Department misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court about the dossier’s Democratic benefactors, which included Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee, and its author’s anti-Trump bias were left out of the FISA applications, and they have demanded accountability. Democrats countered that the FBI acted appropriately, saying the Justice Department and the FBI met the rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis for probable cause.

Meanwhile, Barr’s “investigation into the investigators” is underway, and the attorney general has said he is working very closely with Horowitz. The inspector general can recommend prosecutions, and U.S. Attorney John Durham, whom Barr tasked to lead the review of the origins of the Russia investigation, has the ability to convene a grand jury and subpoena people outside the government.

Collins said his committee “must act swiftly to address concerns outlined in the Inspector General’s report” and implored Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler to hold a hearing with Horowitz and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Nadler, confronted by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan earlier this week, said a hearing with Horowitz will happen at the “appropriate time.”

The FISA filings required approval from top members of the FBI and the Justice Department; targets of Horowitz’s inquiry likely included the approvers of the four applications and renewals: former FBI Director James Comey; former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates; Dana Boente, the only signatory in active government service and currently Trump’s top lawyer at the FBI; then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe; and then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to be special counsel the month before. (Read more from “FISA Abuse Investigation Completed” HERE)

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Andrew Yang Does What No Other Presidential Candidate Has Ever Done at Democratic Debate — but It Could Be Illegal

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Presidential candidate Andrew Yang promised to do what no other candidate has ever done at the third Democratic debate, and he revealed his legally-suspect strategy in his opening statement.

The entrepreneur announced that he would give $1,000 a month to ten randomly selected families that signed up at his website. . .

“In America today everything revolves around the almighty dollar,” he began.

“It’s time to stop trusting politicians and start trusting ourselves – so I’m going to do something unprecedented tonight,” he continued.

“My campaign will now give a freedom dividend of $1,000 a month for an entire year to 10 American families,” he announced. (Read more from “Andrew Yang Does What No Other Presidential Candidate Has Ever Done at Democratic Debate — but It Could Be Illegal” HERE)

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Woman with Dementia Euthanized Against Her Will and the Doctor Isn’t Getting in Trouble

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Three years ago, a 74-year-old Dutch woman with dementia was euthanized by a doctor who drugged the patient’s coffee without her knowledge and then had family members physically restrain her for the final lethal injection.

The doctor, who has not been publicly named, was cleared of all wrongdoing by a court in the Netherlands on Wednesday, “clarifying” the country’s euthanasia law enacted in 2002 in relation to patients with “severe dementia,” according to MedicalXPress.

Patients with dementia can now be killed by their doctors even if they strongly object to euthanasia at the time, so long as they have previously given consent for the fatal procedure. In other words, if a patient were to change their mind about the assisted suicide, a doctor could still legally kill them against their will. “The court ruled that in rare cases of euthanasia that were being performed on patients with severe dementia — and who had earlier made a written request for euthanasia — the doctor ‘did not have to verify the current desire to die,'” MedicalXPress reported.

And in the case of this specific Dutch woman with dementia, she never once gave an express request to be euthanized. In her will, which was renewed about a year before her death, the woman said she would like to be euthanized “whenever I think the time is right.” And when she was asked if she wanted to be euthanized, she reiterated multiple times that her suffering was not bad enough to where she wanted to be killed:

“The 74-year-old woman had renewed her living will about a year before she died, writing that she wanted to be euthanized ‘whenever I think the time is right.’ Later, the patient said several times in response to being asked if she wanted to die: ‘But not just now, it’s not so bad yet!’ according to a report from the Dutch regional euthanasia review committee.”

(Read more from “Woman with Dementia Euthanized Against Her Will and the Doctor Isn’t Getting in Trouble” HERE)

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CNN Says ‘Right Wing Terrorists’ Are Worse Than Islamist Terrorists Who Attacked on 9/11 — and Gets Brutal Backlash; Al Qaeda Leader Cheers 9/11 Attacks, as Search to Bring Him to Justice Continues

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By The Blaze. CNN’s John Avlon faced a lot of backlash on social media after a bizarre segment where he tried to compare the attack on 9/11 to the threat of “right wing terrorism,” on the anniversary of the horrible attack.

“Here’s a startling statistic. Since 9/11, right wing terrorists have killed more people in the United States than jihadist terrorists,” Avlon said during the segment entitled “Reality Check.”

“There are some folks for who their, for their own political purposes would like to keep the focus on only one form of political violence over another, but that would be unwise because we don’t have the luxury of choosing which threats we face. And there’s a case to be made that these threats actually echo each other,” he continued. . .

“To mark the 18th anniversary of 9/11 is to reflect on how we’re all the children of 9/11. That attack unleashed destructive forces that we’re still wrestling with,” Avlon concluded. “But to truly learn the lessons of 9/11 is to resolve not to let hate win, or fear define us.” . . .

Many critics on social media replied that it was tone-deaf to try to twist the meaning of the 9/11 attacks on a different kind of terrorism altogether.

(Read more from “CNN Says ‘Right Wing Terrorists’ Are Worse Than Islamist Terrorists Who Attacked on 9/11 — and Gets Brutal Backlash” HERE)

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Al Qaeda Leader Cheers 9/11 Attacks

By NBC New York. Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri put out a video Wednesday to again cheer the slaughter of thousands of Americans on 9/11, 18 years ago.

The CIA and U.S. military is still trying to find the elusive Al Qaeda leader who is believed to be hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Analysts believe he does not use cell phones and has little contact with the outside world in order to avoid being captured or killed. But al-Zawahiri is still releasing video and audio messages to try to inspire his thousands of followers, with three recordings released in just the last few weeks — including the one today.

In the tape released for 9/11, al-Zawahiri called the killing of 3,000 people in New York, the Pentagon and on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania “blessed raids.”

As minority leader, New York Sen. Charles Schumer is one of the few leaders on Capitol Hill to get regular intelligence briefings on the hunt for al-Zawahiri.

“He was number two. He has the blood of thousands of Americans on his hands,” Schumer said of al-Zawahiri’s role back in 2001. Schumer said he is hopeful progress could soon be made in finally bringing al-Zawahiri to justice. (Read more from “Al Qaeda Leader Cheers 9/11 Attacks, as Search to Bring Him to Justice Continues” HERE)

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The Secret Service Arrested One of the El Paso Survivors That President Trump Invited to the White House

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The Secret Service arrested one of the El Paso, Texas, survivors that President Donald Trump intended to honor when he arrived at the White House. . .

On Aug. 3, a 21-year-old man entered a Walmart in El Paso and opened fire, murdering 22 people and wounding dozens others. He was later apprehended by police. He later admitted to targeting Hispanics.

One of the invitees was 50-year-old Chris Grant. In addition to being shot during the attack, Grant claimed to have thrown things, including bottles, at the attacker. Trump also praised Grant, asking his family to thank him on behalf of the country. . .

“Nobody bothered to check with us,” El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo told the Washington Examiner. “They would have been informed, as I am telling you now, that our detectives reviewed hours of video and his actions did not match his account.”

“On Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, a White House visitor with an arrest warrant was temporarily detained by U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers,” a spokesperson for the Secret Service explained to the Washington Examiner. “It was subsequently determined that while the arrest warrant was still active, the agency that issued the warrant would not extradite, at which time the individual was released from Secret Service custody.” (Read more from “The Secret Service Arrested One of the El Paso Survivors That President Trump Invited to the White House” HERE)

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WATCH: Analyst Says One Number in New Poll Should ‘Send a Chill down the Spine’ of Trump’s 2020 Campaign

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By The Blaze. CNN political director David Chalian said that of all the numbers in a new CNN poll that one should send a “chill” down the spine of the re-election campaign for President Donal Trump.

According to the new poll published Tuesday, 60 percent of Americans polled said that the president did not deserve re-election, while only 36 percent said that the president did deserve re-election.

“Jake, this number I think may send a chill down the spine of the folks in Trump’s re-election headquarters,” said Chalian to Tapper.

Chalian also pointed out that in their new polling that the president’s favorability rating had fallen to 39 percent, which was the lowest since January.

(Read more from “Analyst Says One Number in New Poll Should ‘Send a Chill down the Spine’ of Trump’s 2020 Campaign” HERE)

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Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Drops Below 40 Percent in Three New Polls

By Newsweek. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped below 40 percent in three new polls amid rising concerns of a looming recession.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll, released Tuesday, shows Trump’s approval rating at 38 percent among Americans, with 56 percent disapproving of his performance in the Oval Office. Conducted in early September, the results come as Americans have become increasingly concerned that the U.S.’ trade war with China may cause a recession in the coming months.

The president’s approval rating stands at 39 percent, according to a new CNN/SSRS poll, also released on Tuesday, with 55 percent disapproving of the president’s performance. Compared to CNN/SSRS’ last poll, Trump’s approval rating dropped by one percentage point, while his disapproval rating rose by one point.

Gallup’s latest figures also has Trump’s approval rating at 39 percent, with 57 percent of respondents disapproving of the president’s job performance. Conducted between August 15-30, the results show a two percent drop in Trump’s approval rating from last month, which had him at 41 percent. (Read more from “Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Drops Below 40 Percent in Three New Polls” HERE)

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Watch Some Crazed Vegans and Transvestites Protest the New Toronto Chick-Fil-A

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It’s Friday. Everybody’s tired and can use a laugh. And nobody likes vegans. So enjoy this footage of dumb vegan protesters at Toronto’s first Chick-fil-A. There are also some transvestites yelling and screaming because… LGBT, I guess?

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And you know what would happen if one of these angry transvestites went inside and ordered some food? They’d be treated just like everybody else, which is better than just about any other fast-food place I’ve ever frequented. They’re only victims in their own confused little minds. (Read more from “Watch Some Crazed Vegans and Transvestites Protest the New Toronto Chick-Fil-A” HERE)

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To Prevent Mass Shootings, Trump Looks into ‘Controversial’ Proposal

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By Daily Wire. The Trump White House is looking into a cutting edge but “controversial” proposal that seeks to prevent mass shootings prompted by mental illness.

With studies finding that about a quarter of mass shooters have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness, Trump has repeatedly pointed to psychological as well as ideological causes behind many mass shootings. In his speech following the horrific shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Trump outlined a series of steps his administration is promoting to address the growing problem, including “reform[ing] our mental health laws to better identify mentally disturbed individuals who may commit acts of violence, and mak[ing] sure those people not only get treatment, but when necessary, involuntary confinement.” He added, “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”

One of the new ways of proactively addressing the issue that the administration is considering involves the development of a new research agency and the use of a technology that will help detect those suffering from mental illness who may pose a risk to themselves or others.

“The White House is considering a controversial proposal to study whether mass shootings could be prevented by monitoring mentally ill people for small changes that might foretell violence,” The Washington Post reported Monday.

The proposal, presented by former NBC Chairman and long-time Trump associate Bob Wright, seeks to create a new agency called HARPA to “come up with out-of-the-box ways to tackle health problems,” the Post reports. (Read more from “To Prevent Mass Shootings, Trump Looks into ‘Controversial’ Proposal” HERE)

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Ex-DNC Official: Trump’s Position on Gun Control Is Unclear, He Has Backed Away from Changes in past

By Fox News. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer wait for President Trump to make a move on gun control legislation, former DNC communications director Mo Elleithee said Monday the commander-in-chief has appeared ambivalent on the issue.

Elleithee told Dana Perino on “Daily Briefing” that “the president has sort of danced with this a little bit in the past, only to back away.”

He added that Trump held a “meeting with a bipartisan group of senators saying he was in favor of background checks” — but then “pulled back after talking to the National Rifle Association.”

Calling the moment “critical,” Sen. Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the president a letter Sunday urging him to expand background checks and use his influence to sway Republicans in the Senate who blocked the bill passed by the House earlier this year. (Read more from “Ex-DNC Official: Trump’s Position on Gun Control Is Unclear, He Has Backed Away from Changes in past” HERE)

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