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December 2017

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 09, 2017 6 Comments
Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has declared that the country has fully liberated itself from the Islamic State (ISIS). The defeat of ISIS comes after three years of battles since the terrorist group leaked into Iraq and captured Mosul, the country's second largest city, and other key cities along the border of Syria.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 09, 2017 13 Comments
When I reported on the Los Angeles area fire, threatening the famed Getty Center Museum, I was deeply worried that the Santa Ana winds would ignite another blaze somewhere in the vicinity of my hometown, San Diego. This fear materialized the day after that post, and a retirement community and equestrian center were the first victims in the area's rural community of Fallbrook:
Flames were practically on top of Dick and Joan Marsala's home when they got an urgent knock on the door and were told to leave.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 09, 2017 12 Comments
Nikki Haley certainly has raised her public profile as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and with good reason. Haley has become a very effective public face of Trump's U.S. diplomacy, in many ways overshadowing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at least in terms of public exposure. What this means in terms of Haley's political future is uncertain. But with Governor and UN Ambassador on her resume, and being in front of the cameras as much as she is, it has to make her a contender for either higher national office (Secretary of State?) or VP nominee at some point in the future. I don't think she yet has what it would take politically to mount a presidential campaign, but who knows in 2024. From the beginning of her service, Haley has attacked the UN's profound bias against Israel.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 09, 2017 28 Comments
Back in January, two men and two women in Chicago were arrested after they used Facebook to broadcast images of themselves torturing a mentally disabled man. The defendants were black and their victim was white. The case was classified as a hate crime.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 09, 2017 22 Comments
More details have come out after reports revealed that Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) asked former female aides to carry his baby. In his resignation statement, Franks insisted he never "physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have, any sexual contact" with members of his staff. However, aides believe Franks wanted to impregnate them via sex. One of the aides said he offered her $5 million to have his baby and he retaliated against her after she said no.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 08, 2017 44 Comments
The speed with which Democrat Senators turned on Al Franken was startling. After the first few allegations of groping, including the infamous breast-squeezing photo, Democrats mostly shrugged their shoulders. It was uncomfortable for Democrats, but not fatal. There were few calls for Franken to resign from his fellow Democrat Senators. After all, it's hard to claim zero tolerance for sexual harassment and assault when Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton are the two modern icons of the Democratic Party.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 08, 2017 13 Comments
The attacks on American officials at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, keeps getting stranger and stranger. The latest information revealed that doctors have found brain abnormalities in the victims. From The Associated Press:
It's the most specific finding to date about physical damage, showing that whatever it was that harmed the Americans, it led to perceptible changes in their brains. The finding is also one of several factors fueling growing skepticism that some kind of sonic weapon was involved.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 08, 2017 15 Comments
*UPDATE 3:25PM* AP just tweeted that Franks is retiring immediately after wife is admitted to the hospital. Frank Thorp tweeted Franks' statement, which said she is in the hospital for an ongoing ailment and after discussions with family, he decided to retire today. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) has decided to resign amid reports that he asked female staff members to bear his child. The House Ethics Committee had said it would investigate the lawmaker. Franks said in a statement that he brought up surrogacy with two former female staffers because he and his wife have struggled with infertility. The topic made the females feel uncomfortable.
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