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Iran acknowledged for the first time on Monday that a rocket at its Imam Khomeini Space Center exploded after satellite photos showed the blast last week, with an official saying a technical malfunction during a test caused the explosion. The comments by government spokesman Ali Rabiei were the first explanation offered by Iran for Thursday’s explosion, which came ahead of a planned satellite launch by the Islamic Republic that the U.S. has criticized. Rabiei also criticized President Donald Trump for tweeting what appeared to be a surveillance photo of the aftermath of the explosion shot by a U.S. spy satellite....

VENTURA COUNTY, California – The Ventura County Fire Department has confirmed 34 people have been killed in a boat incident off the Ventura County coast.

2020 Democrat hopeful Robert “Beto” O’Rourke announced he will enact “red flag laws” and forcefully confiscate AK-47’s and AR-15’s if he’s elected president of the United States. “And more importantly and politically difficult to say, buy those weapons of war back — mandate that — not voluntarily. Let’s be clear with our fellow Americans. No place for an AK-47 or an AR-15 on the streets of our communities,” Beto said during an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Old Testament) 2 Kings 24 Zedekiah King of Judah 18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 19 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. The Fall of Jerusalem Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. Footnotes: 1. 2 Kings 24:2...

Dorian has nearly stalled over Grand Bahama this morning, and is barely drifting northwestward, a horrifying situation for the island. In a game of inches, the fact that this has occurred over the eastern half of the island instead of the western half might be good news for Florida, though this guarantees nothing. The one major computer model that was still showing a direct Florida landfall (HWRF) has trended offshore overnight, which is also good news. Other models like ECMWF and GFS trended closer to the coast (40-50 miles offshore), which would still be a dangerous track. The storm is...

Editor’s Note: A PR firm representing actor Jussie Smollett issued a press release stating that “every iota” of the actor’s story about being attacked by Trump supporters is true despite the city of Chicago insisting otherwise. Smollett alleged he was attacked this January by two assailants donning Make America Great Again caps that targeted him because he is gay and black. “This is MAGA country!” Smollett said the men said as they poured bleach on him and tied a rope around his neck. “Every iota of information … Smollett has stated has been fully corroborated,” the PR statement said in...

Even over a holiday weekend the Wall Street Journal delivers a little something rant worthy, even if it’s only a drink recipe. Now you would think that something as prosaic as a daiquiri would be non-controversial. And you’re probably thinking that, like a liberal, I’m going out of my way to be offended. You be the judge.It doesn’t bother me that the recipe is not for the classic daiquiri, but rather one that Jimmy Buffet would call a “frozen concoction.” The fact that it is made with an immersion blender instead of the standard bar issue Waring blender is also...

More than $4bn has been pulled from UK equity funds since Theresa May announced her decision to step down as Britain’s prime minister as fears mount that the UK is heading for a no-deal Brexit under her successor, Boris Johnson. Investors have withdrawn $4.2bn from UK equity funds since late May, according to EPFR, a data provider. Outflows since the Brexit referendum in 2016 have climbed to $29.7bn. Luke Ellis, chief executive of Man Group, the UK-listed hedge fund manager, said investors had put the UK into the “too hard to think about basket”. Neil Dwane, global strategist at Allianz Global...

A mouse appears to dive headfirst into a deep fryer at a Whataburger restaurant in Bastrop, Texas, in a scene caught on video by a customer and posted online. Brushawn Lewis published the footage to Facebook early on Sunday. It shows restaurant staff trying to catch the mouse as it scampers across the counter, before it launches itself right into the fryer ― to the immense shock of staff and onlookers. “Who else needs a refund?” one person can be heard asking.

The man who killed seven people in Odessa, Texas, over the weekend had been fired from his trucking job hours before the mass shooting, according to multiple reports. The gunman, identified Sunday as Seth Aaron Ator, lead officials on a high speed chase during which he indiscriminately fired on motorists and police officers. Ator was killed after being chased by officers. The New York Times first reported that Ator had been fired from his trucking job in Odessa. ADVERTISEMENT He was pulled over Saturday by state troopers for failing to use a turn single before beginning firing, according to police....

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) The only positive thing about Hurricane Dorian is that it gives the Climate alarmists something to virtue-signal about other than the Amazon rain forest fires. – Hey, at least Hurricane Dorian is the real deal, although it is certainly not, as some alarmists claimed on Sunday, the most powerful hurricane in modern times. That title still rests with Hurricane Camille, which packed 210 mph sustained winds when it devastated Mississippi, Alabama and much of the Gulf Coast way back in 1969. Still, Dorian’s a big deal, one that is pounding the Bahamas...

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long warned Sunday that Congress, local institutions and individuals must help FEMA for it to complete its mission effectively. "FEMA faces unrealistic expectations by Congress and the American public," Long told CBS’s Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation." "We’ve got to stop looking at FEMA as 911. This is a partnership." Long, who served as head of FEMA from June 2017 to May 2019, said that “we have to refocus the training” to better equip citizens in terms of disaster preparedness, including emphasizing that “insurance is the first line of defense.” “Until...

A French nightclub has caused a stir after it exhibited pole-dancing robots donning high heels. The gyrating robots had CCTV cameras for heads and were interspersed among their human counterparts at the Strip Club Cafe (SC-Club) in Nantes on Friday night. The androids moved their hips in time to the blasting music while on elevated platforms, in front of a male-dominated audience.

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..... Speaking at the conference, Fischer said: "The problem with Trump's approach to trade is that he doesn't understand trade. Trump only understands if somebody wins and somebody loses. Both sides profit if they have a head on them and they know how to conduct negotiations." "I understand that Trump is an expert on this," he added. Fischer also mentioned the book "The Art of the Deal," authored by Trump or someone who wrote it "in his name." "That's not what happens in international trade," Fischer said about the book. "Trump....simply does not understand, and if he does understand then...

Despite the fact that roughly three out of four evangelical Christians support President Donald Trump and most of his policies, the #NeverTrump “right” and the anti-Trump left have somehow managed to fool people into thinking they have at least a solid piece of high ground when it comes to “principles,” “morality” and “values.” I purposefully put those three words in quotes because their mere utterance doesn’t mean the people who pronounce them have an iota of a clue what they really mean. Nevertheless, anti-Trump folks of all political persuations love tossing them around as a way of signaling their “virtue”...

“Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:5 KJV).

Today’s Cryptogram ZMD BDEADZ PL VDZZHRV GMDGO HB VDZZHRV BZGAZDO. –BPSAED SRJRPKR You can find this little fun word game, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram). Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is your first time, don't be intimidated. PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general comments, but DO post your time and any tips you might give the group on how you solve these puzzles as...

HONG KONG—Moments after a gasoline bomb arced over a police-station wall, officers began shooting rounds of rubber bullets at protesters here. One struck a young woman in the eye, leaving her with a bloody orb. Elsewhere, police stormed a subway station, blocked its exits, and launched tear gas inside as demonstrators fled onto trains. At another metro stop, officers in gas masks fired at close range toward the backs of young people, appearing to hit at least one. This was Hong Kong on just one day during this relentless and stunning summer of dissent. The latest salvo was a renewed...

Gov. Kay Ivey joined executives of DaikyoNishikawa US (DNUS) and local leaders at a groundbreaking event to officially launch construction on the auto supplier’s $110 million manufacturing plant in North Alabama. The DNUS facility, which will produce plastic automotive parts for the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing U.S.A. (MTMUS) assembly plant, will employ approximately 380 people at full production. The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site on the MTMUS campus where construction crews are poised to begin work on DNUS’ first U.S. manufacturing plant. “I’m proud to welcome another great Japanese company, DaikyoNishikawa, to Sweet Home Alabama, and I know that...