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There were also wins for Sofia Coppola, Joaquin Phoenix and Diane Kruger. The Competition prizes for the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival have been handed out tonight (28 May) in the Lumiere Theatre, with Ruben Östlund’s The Square winning the coveted Palme d’Or. Pedro Almodóvar presided over this year’s jury that also included Will Smith, Maren Ade, Park Chan-wook, Paolo Sorrentino, Jessica Chastain, Fan Bingbing, Agnès Jaoui and Gabriel Yared. Palme D’Or The Square (Ruben Östlund) Grand Prix 120 Beats Per Minute (Robin Campillo) Best Director Sofia Coppola (The Beguiled) Best Actor Joaquin Phoenix (You Were Never Really...

Lest We Forget! Don’t let the memory of our Southern men and women of the Old Confederacy ever die! The birthday of Jefferson Davis is June 3rd. Davis served as President of the Confederate States of America, United States Senator and Secretary of War under United States President Franklin Pierce. If you listen closely, and the wind is blowing in the right direction, you might hear a train whistle in the distance.

Americans refinancing their mortgages are taking cash out in the process at levels not seen since the financial crisis. Nearly half of borrowers who refinanced their homes in the first quarter chose the cash-out option, according to data released this week by Freddie Mac. That is the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008. The cash-out level is still well below the almost 90% peak hit in the run-up to the housing meltdown. But it is up sharply from the post-crisis nadir of 12% in the second quarter of 2012. In a cash-out refi, a borrower refinances an existing...

May the Memory Be Eternal for all the selfless men and women, our true Heroes, who gave their lives for our freedom and comfort! “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” – John 15:13 As soon as we exited the metro station, we heard the roar of thousands of motorcycles revving up their engines or simply lining up in the South and North Parking lots of the non-descript Pentagon building. It was a pleasant low seventies day but the sky was grey with heavy cloudy. We had checked the weather forecast...

Gabriel said Monday that "anyone who accelerates climate change by weakening environmental protection, who sells more weapons in conflict zones and who does not want to politically resolve religious conflicts is putting peace in Europe at risk". "The short-sighted policies of the American government stand against the interests of the European Union," he said, adding that "the West has become smaller, at least it has become weaker". "We Europeans must fight for more climate protection, fewer weapons and against religious (fanaticism), otherwise the Middle East and Africa will be further destabilised," Gabriel said. - 'Take fate into our hands' -...

Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy had “selfish political and ideological motives” when he made secret overtures to the Soviet Union’s spy agency during the Cold War to thwart then-President Ronald Reagan’s re-election, a Reagan biographer said in an interview with The Daily Signal. When they came to light years later, Kennedy’s secret contacts with the Russians through their KGB spy agency in the early 1980s didn’t cause nearly the tizzy that Russia’s alleged interference with this year’s election has for President-elect Donald Trump among liberal activists and reporters. Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Trump has said he hopes to “get...

Germany's top politicians have stepped up criticism of US President Donald Trump, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel said the US and UK were no longer reliable partners. On Monday Mrs Merkel said it was right not to gloss over differences with the US, while her foreign minister said Mr Trump's actions "weakened the West". It comes days after the G7 summit, where Mr Trump refused to commit to the 2015 Paris climate deal. Germany goes to the polls in September. German opposition leader Martin Schulz accused Mr Trump of having tried to "humiliate" Mrs Merkel in Brussels......

Are You Flying Solo? Below is a short presentation I wrote this year for a discussion group I attend locally from time to time. I do not attempt to answer everything here or address objections. I specifically designed this piece to facilitate discussion so as to allow various objections to come out in due course. I did write it as part of a larger argument because I think it gets to the heart of the matter concerning Reformation disputes. That is, the argument is not over epistemological issues (how can we know the correct interpretation of scripture?) but rather normative issues...

Golfer Tiger Woods has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Florida. Palm Beach County Sheriff's office said Woods was booked into a county prison at around 7am local time on Monday. The 41-year-old was arrested in the town of Jupiter and then released just before 11am, prison records show. Woods' representatives have yet to comment. The 14-time major champion, who had his fourth major back surgery in April, said last week he felt better than he had in years and had no plans to retire from competitive golf.

Tiger Woods has been arrested on DUI charges in Jupiter, Florida. The golfer was stopped by cops early Monday morning for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was taken in around 3 AM and released from Palm Beach County Jail at 10:50 AM. You'll recall ... when Tiger and then wife Elin Nordegren got into their blowout fight back in 2009, he hit a tree while allegedly driving under the influence of Ambien. He was not charged with DUI at the time. Story developing ...

This week the Trump administration managed to impose a massive tax increase on middle-income families beginning in 2018. You could be excused for missing this story if you were focusing instead on President Trump’s draconian budget or Republican efforts to take away health care from tens of millions of people. But, indeed, on Monday, the Trump Health Care Tax was born.

Until a few days ago, it was a tasty but obscure cake from Slovenia. But a quip by Pope Francis about Donald Trump's girth catapulted the Slovenian dessert putizza, also known as potica, to international attention. Now Slovenia has decided to capitalise on the dessert’s new-found fame by seeking official European Union recognition for the toothsome treat so that authentic recipes are not messed around with. It's being dubbed “the Melania effect” - it was to the First Lady that the Pope made the joke last Wednesday, when the Trumps visited the Vatican for the first time as part of...

A farmer faces trial in federal court this summer and a $2.8 million fine for failing to get a permit to plow his field and plant wheat in Tehama County. A lawyer for Duarte Nursery said the case is important because it could set a precedent requiring other farmers to obtain costly, time-consuming permits just to plow their fields.

Items not excerpted are in the public domain. In Flanders Fields By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918), Canadian Army In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If...

LONDON — British police said on Monday they had arrested a 16th person in connection with the Manchester suicide bombing last week. The 23-year-old man was arrested in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, "on suspicion on offences contrary to the terrorism act", Greater Manchester Police said on Twitter. A total of 16 people have been arrested in connection with the attack, in which 22 people died. Two were released without charge, while 14 men remained in custody for questioning, the police said. The news comes as MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence agency, reportedly launched two inquiries into how it missed the threat posed by...

<p>Democrats hope to enlist military veterans in another type of fight — for majority control of the House.</p> <p>Looking ahead to next year's elections, Democrats are trying to recruit at least two dozen military veterans to challenge Republican incumbents, arguing that candidates with a military background on their resumes appeal to independent voters and can help the party break the GOP grip on Washington.</p>

The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC, is inscribed with 58,307 names, including 8 women. 41 were men from my base who died in 1970, 2 in rocket attacks and 39 in air crashes. When I remember them, I remember what else we did in Vietnam, besides fighting, that never got a lot of publicity.

Just a reminder that this would be a great day to fly your flag.

This is something to consider. I think it would be wonderful if we could all honor the President on his birthday on June 14, 2017 by not posting any garbage "news" and/or "smears" for one day. Instead, we could post birthday celebration pictures and things that are positive such as comments of appreciation. The President will be 71 years old. Please consider. Thank you. Joan.