Official: Russia knew in advance of Syrian chemical attack
…Russia knew in advance of Syria’s chemical weapons attack last
week, a senior U.S. official said Monday. The official said a drone
operated by Russians was flying over a hospital as victims of the attack
were rushing to get treatment. Hours after the drone left, a
Russian-made fighter jet bombed the hospital…
California lawmakers approve fuel tax hike for $52 billion road plan
Jerry Brown and legislative leaders passed without a vote to spare
and will raise gas taxes by 43 percent, or 12 cents a gallon, while also
increasing diesel taxes. That Republicans felt obliged to step in ought
to cause Californians to worry. They also complain that the state’s
cap-and-trade system, created to battle climate change, will soon drive
fuel prices up even further.
U.S. disasters in first 3 months of 2017 cost record $5B
The National Centers for Environmental Information said there were
five weather disasters from January to March, which cost more than $5
billion, a record for the first quarter of the year.
Data in! Sanctuary cities have higher crime rates
An August 2016 study of the relationship between “sanctuary city”
policies and crime rates shows that cities refusing to cooperate with
federal immigration authorities consistently have significantly higher
violent crimes rates than do non-sanctuary cities with similar
populations and demographics…
ISIS Attacks US-Led Base In Southern Syria, As Assad Said To Use White Phosphorus
The Islamic State attack comes as the U.S. military is deepening its
presence in Syria as part of an intensifying campaign to drive the
extremist group from its de facto capital in Raqqa. For weeks, the U.S.
military has been strengthening its presence along the Jordan-Syria
border, according to U.S. and Jordanian officials.
RED LINE: Putin Says Russia And Iran Will Respond With ‘Real War’ To Any Further US Strikes In Syria
4 days after a US missile strikes on Syria in retaliation for
Assad’s chemical attack on his own people, Putin has issued a statement
and it’s quite the doozy. In short, he said that if President Trump
strikes again anywhere in Syria for any reason, that both Russia and
Iran would ‘respond with real war’. Wha…?? How did Iran just get in the
picture?
Sweden will ‘NEVER GO BACK’ to mass immigration after Stockholm terror, says shocked PM
SWEDEN’S prime minister vowed his country would “never go back” to
the days of mass immigration after it emerged the Stockholm attacker was
a failed asylum seeker. It comes after migrant Rakhmat Akilov from
Uzbekistan drove a stolen 30-tonne truck into pedestrians at a busy
department store in Stockholm on Friday.
Web needs rethink to stop ‘nasty’ ideas spreading, says its creator
The World Wide Web needs a complete rethink to prevent spying and
the spread of “nasty, mean ideas” on social media websites, its
inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, said on Monday.
Tillerson, G7 ministers look to pressure Russia to reconsider Assad support
Tillerson, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Japanese Foreign
Minister Fumio Kishida and the other ministers aim to pressure Russia
to end its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after a
tumultuous week, which included the nerve gas attack and the U.S.’
airstrikes on a Syrian air base.
Jewish Priests Offer Paschal Lamb Just Hundreds of Meters From Temple Mount
After a court battle to gain police permission, the Sanhedrin held a
full reenactment of the Passover sacrifice and Temple service Thursday
evening in a manner reminiscent of the glory that was once the Temple.
This year, the ceremony was closer to the Temple Mount, where the
service would take place if the Temple were standing, than ever before.
Rocket fired from Egypt’s Sinai strikes southern Israel
A rocket fired at Israel landed in a greenhouse in the southern Eshkol
Regional Council on Monday, the IDF confirmed. According to the
military, the projectile was launched from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. One
person suffered from shock as the result of the strike, however no other
injuries were reported.
Israel closes border with Egypt amid Sinai terror concerns
Israel on Monday decided to close its side of the Taba Border Crossing
between Eilat and Egypt in light of concerns of terrorist attacks
targeting tourists, including Israelis, in the volatile Sinai Peninsula.
Following security assessments, as of Monday and at least until April
18, Israel will not allow its citizens to enter Egypt through the
crossing, however Israeli citizens will be permitted to return to the
country via the Taba crossing.
Egypt’s Sisi says three-month state of emergency to be declared
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said a three-month state of
emergency would be imposed after two deadly bombings hit Coptic churches
on Sunday, killing at least 44 people. “A series of steps will be
taken, most importantly, the announcement of a state of emergency for
three months after legal and constitution steps are taken,” Sisi said in
a speech aired on state television.
U.S. Strike in Syria Raises Tensions With Iran
The U.S. airstrikes on Syria stoked new tensions with Iran and generated
calls in Tehran for increased military support for President Bashar
al-Assad’s regime. Iranian officials said on Friday the U.S. attack
violated international law and accused President Donald Trump of siding
with Islamic State and al Qaeda in Syria.
Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds Cold War levels: U.S. admiral
Recent Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds levels seen during the
Cold War, a top U.S. and NATO military officer said, voicing concern
that the distributed nature of the deployments could end up “splitting
and distracting” the transatlantic alliance. Navy Admiral Michelle
Howard…said Russia had clearly stepped up its naval actions in recent
years although the size of its navy was smaller now than during the Cold
War era.
China offers concessions to avert trade war with U.S.
China will offer the Trump administration better market access for
financial sector investments and U.S. beef exports to help avert a trade
war, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing officials familiar
with the matter. China is prepared to raise the investment ceiling in
the Bilateral Investment treaty and is also willing to end the ban on
U.S. beef imports, the newspaper also reported.
Gorsuch’s impact on divided Supreme Court will begin immediately
Neil M. Gorsuch joins the Supreme Court just in time to cast potentially
significant votes in cases that pit religious liberty against gay
rights, test limits on funding for church schools and challenge
California’s restrictions on carrying a concealed gun in public. Such
issues arise either in appeals filed by conservative groups that have
been pending before the justices for weeks or in cases to be heard later
this month.
China, South Korea discuss more sanctions on North Korea amid talk of Trump action
China and South Korea agreed on Monday to slap tougher sanctions on
North Korea if it carries out nuclear or long-range missile tests, a
senior official in Seoul said, as a U.S. Navy strike group headed to the
region in a show of force. North Korea marks several major
anniversaries this month and often marks the occasions with major tests
of military hardware.
Glum EU braces for Turkey vote on Erdogan’s powers
A referendum in Turkey on granting President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new
powers is unlikely to ease strained relations with the EU and risks
killing off Ankara’s stalled bid for membership of the bloc, officials
in Brussels say. Even if voters do not give Erdogan the executive
presidency he seeks on Sunday, Turkey’s democracy and judiciary will
suffer damage and he is likely to put even more pressure on critics,
they say.
Russia, Iran Warn U.S. They Will “Respond With Force” If Syria “Red Lines” Crossed Again
“What America waged in an aggression on Syria is a crossing of red
lines. From now on we will respond with force to any aggressor or any
breach of red lines from whoever it is and America knows our ability to
respond well.”
Palm Sunday bombings of Egyptian Coptic churches kill 44
At least 44 people were killed in Egypt in bomb attacks at the cathedral
of the Coptic Pope and another church on Palm Sunday, prompting anger
and fear among Christians and leading to troop deployments and the
declaration of a three-month state of emergency.
Bizarro World: Some Republicans Now Defending “Failing” ObamaCare
Last month, former House Speaker John Boehnor warned that the idea of a
quick repeal and replace of Obamacare was just “happy
talk” because “Republicans never ever agree on health care”…it’s looking
increasingly like he was absolutely right.
ISIS Attacks US-Led Base In Southern Syria, As Assad Said To Use White Phosphorus
Islamic State militants attacked a US-led coalition base in southern
Syria on Saturday, “triggering a fierce fight that required coalition
airstrikes to repel, U.S. military officials said Sunday.” Meanwhile,
on Sunday the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera reported that Syrian jets have
bombed the town of Idlib using White Phosphorus.
Judge won’t protect doctors fighting assisted-suicide rule
A federal judge threw out a lawsuit by two alliances of doctors
opposing state rules that require them to advise terminally ill patients
to consider doctor-assisted suicide.
Why Are Chinese Troops In Mexico?(video)
It is well documented that the Chinese have a strong military presence
in Mexico. Isn’t it interesting that when the producers of Red Dawn #2
needed an invading force, they chose the Chinese. However, the Obama
administration had a fit and the movie producers chose North Korea
instead.