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Former secretary of defense James Mattis repeatedly refused MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell's invitations to criticize President Donald Trump in an interview Thursday. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, resigned in December over policy differences with Trump, specifically the president's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria. Mattis, an advocate of cultivating alliances and American engagement, said he had "no choice" but to depart. Mitchell quoted a portion of Mattis's new book Call Sign Chaos that criticized the Obama administration—including former vice president and 2020 candidate Joe Biden—for leaving the Middle East in "disarray" and "our friends confused." "Aren't we at...

The White House is considering a plan that would keep most refugees who are fleeing war, persecution and famine out of the United States, significantly cutting back a decades-old program, according to current and former administration officials. One option that top officials are weighing would cut refugee admissions by half or more, to 10,000 to 15,000 people, but reserve most of those spots for people from a few countries or from groups with special status, such as Iraqis and Afghans who work alongside American troops, diplomats and intelligence operatives abroad. Another option, proposed by a top administration official, would reduce...

Colorado's experiment with marijuana legalization has been an epic disaster, according to one doctor seeing its effects on the front lines. Dr. Karen Randall, an emergency room physician certified in "cannabis science and medicine," said the legalization of marijuana has damaged, rather than helped, her home state. Randall, who spoke alongside former White House drug czar John Walters at the right-leaning Hudson Institute on Friday, said the public is being misled about the effects of recreational marijuana. "I think the public needs to know that we are not okay," Randall said. "The grand experiment is not going so well. I...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will have a different makeup by March 2020, when Judge Stanley Marcus will have become a senior judge—along with the circuit’s longest-serving active judge, Gerald Bard Tjoflat. The change means President Donald Trump will select two new judges for lifetime appointments. Tradition dictates that they should come from Florida, where Marcus and Tjoflat are based. With two more appointments, Trump will have named five judges who will serve on the Eleventh Circuit for decades to come. That’s almost half of the court’s active bench, which will be made up of seven...

During former Defense Secretary James Mattis's MSNBC interview with Andrea Mitchell, he refused to criticize President Trump, even though she pressed him firmly to do so on various issues. Mitchell tried to get Mattis to say Thursday if he thinks he is "normalizing" decisions Trump makes by not saying how he truly feels about them, such as when former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired via Twitter. Each time, Mattis maintained that it is inappropriate for former military men and administration officials to undermine the current commander in chief. "Your personal library has thousands, thousands, 7,000 books in it....

The Mexican government announced Friday that the number of migrants coming to its border with the U.S. had dropped by 56 percent over the past three months as the country tries to avert President Trump's threatened tariffs on Mexico's exports to its northern neighbor. Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, citing data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the number of migrants apprehended at the frontier in August was 63,989 in August, down from 146,266 in May. Those numbers included people who presented themselves at U.S. ports of entry and were deemed inadmissible. The Mexican government has deployed more than...

An image of a man standing on a plane as his supposed wife reclines across three seats has provoked outrage online. A tweet shared on Thursday by Courtney Lee Johnson, a life coach from Indiana, claimed that an unidentified man had stood in the aisle of the cabin while his wife slept for a full six hours during a long-haul flight. The scenario has drawn heated criticism from social media users who say the man is 'whipped' and the woman is 'selfish' - while some are questioning the validity of the tweet altogether.

This will be a weekly post. Count remains at 144 judges confirmed. 99 District Court judges 43 Circuit Court judges 2 Supreme Court justices This week two judges on the 11th circuit announced their retirement. The 11th circuit is currently even with six Republican appointees and six Democrat appointees. So Trump will be able to flip this circuit to majority-republican. The retirees are Clinton and Ford nominees so a couple of young Florida conservatives would be good.

NEW CASTLE, N.H. (AP) — Joe Biden is looking voters in the eye and promising to "end fossil fuel." The former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate made the comment Friday after a New Hampshire environmental activist challenged him for accepting donations from the co-founder of liquified natural gas firm. Biden denied the donor's association to the fossil fuel industry before calling the young woman "kiddo" and taking her hand. He said, "I want you to look at my eyes. I guarantee you. I guarantee you. We're going to end fossil fuel."

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation announced Wednesday that it’s partnering with CNN to host a 2020 Democratic presidential town hall focused on issues affecting the LGBTQ community. The event, named “Power of Our Pride,” is set to take place at the Novo, a Los Angeles venue, on Oct. 10, the night before the 31st annual National Coming Out Day, the foundation said. **SNIP** At least six candidates have signed on to join the event, including former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), as well as South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg - the...

Democratic presidential hopefuls are hitting up potential donors after their participation in the seven-hour-long event. After participating in CNN's 10-candidate, seven-hour-long climate town-hall extravaganza on Wednesday night, some of the leading candidates for president are using the event to pitch potential donors. The Bernie Sanders campaign blasted a fundraising request pegged to the network's event on Thursday morning. "Last night I joined 9 other Democratic presidential candidates at CNN's Climate Town Hall, and there is no question that our Green New Deal plan to address the climate emergency is the most ambitious plan of anyone else in this race," the...

Today’s Cryptogram ED V JVGLTXMNQ HU YFVPMXJ. THCD IDHIPD VGDW’X FTDL XH VW DWRMGHWCDWX ZBDGD DSNDPPDWND MT DSIDNXDL. — TXDRD OHET 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...

Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore may be lacking general political acumen, but perhaps he at least knows how to give a fairly accurate prognosis of events to come when it comes to Democratic politics. On Thursday, he issued Democrats a dire warning: Nominate former Vice President Joe Biden and risk alienating progressive voters come 2020. Writing a lengthy Twitter post, Moore first attacked Biden for attending a fundraiser hosted by Andrew Goldman, the founder of the natural gas company Western LNG, and argued that the former vice president is far too similar to Hillary Clinton. "Last night on CNN, a student...

"Is he suggesting Hillary's reaction to the Access Hollywood tape should have been, ‘Oh, nevermind?’ That is a pretty Mad Men-era mentality," a former Clinton aide said. NEW CASTLE, New Hampshire — Joe Biden said Friday that he advised Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 to “not get into the debate” with Donald Trump over his comments about groping women from an Access Hollywood recording that surfaced a month before the election. The remarks came during a long response Biden offered to a supporter who wondered how the former vice president would debate Trump without coming off as too antagonistic. “I...

I haven't posted much in the last six weeks. Here's an update and an apology...

as prosecutors call for actress to spend just ONE MONTH in jail after she pleaded guilty in admissions scandal Felicity Huffman has been recommended to spend just one month in jail in connection to the college admissions scandal where she pleaded guilty in April to mail fraud and honest services fraud. The actress wrote in a letter delivered to a Boston judge on Friday that believed she was giving her daughter with a learning disability a 'fair shot' by paying $15,000 for a SAT test to be corrected to help Sophia gain entry to the University of Southern California. After...

Video footage from a nearby home shows the suspect running away with his clothing on fire, and a witness said they saw a man run from the scene. Police found burned clothing that the man discarded as he fled, and they believe he likely has “substantial” burn injuries.

From Wednesday, August 28, through Monday, September 2, the information provided by NOAA and the National Hurricane Center to President Trump and the wider public demonstrated that tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama. This is clearly demonstrated in Hurricane Advisories #15 through #41, which can be viewed at the following link. The Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time.

The United States extends its condolences to the Mugabe family and the people of Zimbabwe as they mourn the passing of former President Robert Mugabe. We join the world in reflecting on his legacy in securing Zimbabwe’s independence.

The lawyer handcuffed and hauled out of court for arguing with a judge over his refusal to dismiss her client’s Straight Pride Parade protest case blasted the jurist for locking her up at the end of another tense day in Boston Municipal Court.“I was just released after being unlawfufully, unreasonably and honestly outrageously arrested for doing my job,” attorney Susan Church said Wednesday in the hallway of the court. Church was held in contempt for several hours Wednesday by Judge Richard Sinnott while defending Lilley Antoinette, 29, a protester from Somerville who was charged with disorderly conduct at the Straight...