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Russia is deploying between 10,000 and 20,000 mercenaries in Ukraine, a European official said. Some are Syrian and Libyan fighters, though the exact breakdown of the force is still unclear.

Growing number of Kremlin insiders 'feel Ukraine invasion was a 'catastrophic' mistake and fear Putin could use NUKES... but Vladimir is dismissing all criticism of his plan' Kremlin insiders said Ukraine invasion will 'doom' Russia to years of isolation They warn Russia will be left with a crippled economy due to global sanctions It comes as Russian force's death toll rose to 20,900 according to Kyiv estimates A growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are said to feel Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was a 'catastrophic' mistake, and fear the Russian strongman could resort to using nuclear weapons as Moscow's...

Senior presidential adviser Anita Dunn said on Sunday that the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus pandemic makes it impossible for the Biden administration to say for certain whether or not schools could be reopened this fall. During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," host Jake Tapper asked Dunn for clarification on the administration's stance on school reopenings, noting that President Biden had said in an interview that schools should probably reopen by the fall. Dunn responded by pointing to the 80 percent of teachers who had received a vaccine so far. "If you recall, a couple of months...

<p>A crystal ball is being blamed for starting a fire that caused an estimated $250,000 in damage to a Wisconsin home on Monday, authorities said.</p><p>The homeowner in Delton called 911 at around 4:17 p.m. after noticing heavy smoke billowing throughout the house, the Delton Fire Department said in a news release posted to its Facebook page. First responders were able to put out the fire, the department said. Fire officials said flames were restricted to the home’s living room.</p>

A crystal ball didn’t predict a fire in Wisconsin — but it did start one. This happened Monday at a home near Wisconsin Dells. The Dalton Fire Department says a crystal ball was sitting near a window, and when the sun hit it, it set the couch on fire. Investigators say the ball worked like a magnifying glass and focused the sun’s energy. No one was hurt, but the fire caused about $250,000 worth of damage to the home.

...“A race-by-race analysis of Democratic House targets shows the party is close to winning the majority, but they do not have it put away, in our judgment, with Election Day less than three weeks away,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball in his new post. ...the Democrats in a worst-case scenario could be four seats shy of the needed 23 needed to install Rep. Nancy Pelosi as speaker. Of course there are caveats, such as the impact of the huge influx of money to Democrats and President Trump’s decision to campaign furiously through Election Day, but the...

Perhaps even more important in terms of Saudi daily life, the women in attendance at functions did not wear head coverings and abayas.  The entire nation saw this on television and understands that the fracking-created global oil glut changes everything, that the infidels no longer cower in fear of a cutoff of the oil Allah granted to the protectors of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.  The old arguments of the fanatics hold less water. Change is coming. The king signaled that the restrictions declared by the Wahhabi clergy are no longer the ultimate arbiter of personal behavior,...

US President Donald Trump said that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman is a “wise man” during both his visits to Jerusalem and Brussels, adding that the Saudi King wants to see “things get much better rapidly.” Trump highlighted the need to fight terrorism in order to stop attacks similar to what took place in Manchester during a news conference at NATO Summit in Brussels on Thursday. “The recent attack on Manchester and the United Kingdom demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism,” Trump said. “Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks or the horror you saw in Manchester...

Last night I was listening to another one of Bill Mitchell's "YourVoice America" podcasts. And a key commentator/co-host I discovered is Adam Gingrich -- not related to Newt as far as I know. Adams is a former Pennsylvania based Trump campaign operative who speaks with the calm but authoritative and witty conviction of a few FReepers I read here. He apparently doesn't write many columns, but the few I found on his website were spectacular in both content and writing style. The guy is riding the Bill Mitchell Trump train which I found out last night is going national!...

Republican Donald Trump should win the presidency by a slim margin according to a model that has accurately predicted the popular vote since 1988. Using several standards to make his prediction, Alan Abramowitz's "Time for Change" model done for the University of Virginia's Center for Politics "Crystal Ball" shows Trump winning 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent for Hillary Clinton. He added that the model shows a 66 percent chance of a Trump victory. "Based on a predicted vote share of 48.6 percent for the incumbent party, these results indicate that Trump should be a clear but not overwhelming favorite to...

Each year at this time I go out on a limb and predict 10 big news stories I believe will happen in the year to come. Usually I get two or three right, come close on a couple of others, and am way off on all the rest. Click here to read last yearÂ’s predictions for 2014 and see how I did. Now on to 2015. 10. Avengers: Age of Ultron will be the top-grossing movie of the year. I think Star Wars: The Force Awakens will have the biggest opening cinema history when it hits theaters. But since that...

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics and one of the most widely respected political analysts in the country, has come out with his final predictions for the 2014 midterms, and he predicts a good night for Republicans. In his “Crystal Ball” picks, Sabato see an 8-seat pick-up for Republicans in the Senate, which would give them a 2-seat majority.

Each December I gaze into my crystal ball and predict what I believe will be the top 10 stories of the coming year. I almost never get these right but they’re fun to speculate about nevertheless. A year from now we’ll take a look back and see how well I did. You can see the predictions I made 12 months ago for 2013 here and here. 10. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 will be the top grossing movie of the year. Other than the conclusion to The Hobbit, The Hunger Games is the most bankable brand coming out with...

(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Thursday that the Supreme Court will vote 6-3 to uphold the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care law, meaning that one member of the court's 4-vote conservative wing--which includes Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts--will side with the administration on the challenges to the legislation that the court heard earlier this year. "6-3. That's it. 6-3," said a seemingly confident Pelosi. In addition to Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas and Alito, the other five justices on the court are Anthony...

So what will the Washington Post's Headline be the day BEFORE Election 2012? The day AFTER?

NEW YORK (AP) — Some relief from suffocating gas prices will likely arrive just in time for summer vacation. Expect a drop of nearly 50 cents as early as June, analysts say. After rocketing up 91 cents since January, including 44 straight days of increases, the national average this past week stopped just shy of $4 a gallon and has retreated to under $3.98. A steady decline is expected to follow.

The Map The Crystal Ball’s First 2011 Take on 2012’s Electoral College Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics April 21st, 2011With 18 months to go until November 2012, there is exactly one use for a current projection of the 2012 Electoral College results. This is merely a baseline from which we can judge more reliable projections made closer to the election. Where did we start–before we knew the identity of the Republican nominee for president, the state of the economy in fall 2012 and many other critical facts?And so, with that enormous caveat in mind, here is...

"the current heat level places the Crystal Ball's best House estimate in the area of a 6-8 seat Democratic gain."

As we conclude this amazing election campaign, we have just one question for our readers: When has an incumbent candidate ever won when he is tied with his challenger on election eve? The answer is never--at least in the age of polling that began in the 1930s. So George W. Bush needs to beat history, and the polls, to win the election tomorrow. It is possible that the vagaries of the Electoral College will enable Bush to eke out a victory, and it is also possible that the Republican Party's get out the vote effort will equal or exceed the...