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Author: Mary Chastain

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Mary Chastain

Mary is the resident libertarian. She covers stories in every vertical, but her favorite thing to do is take on the media. She saw its bias against the right when she was a socialist.

Mary loves the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, tennis, cats, Oxford comma, Diet Coke, and needlework.

Eyes turned to the NFL on Sunday to see which players would take a knee during the anthem after President Donald Trump called those who kneel a son of bitch and asked the audience if they wouldn't like to see the NFL fire them. He reiterated this thoughts on Twitter with his catchphrase YOU'RE FIRED. Well, some NFL players chose to kneel while others locked arms together. A few teams chose to stay in the locker room, like the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, one player on the Steelers decided to stand for the anthem...a veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan.

Next Tuesday, the citizens of Alabama head to polls to vote in the special election for senator between incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, who took over after Jeff Sessions became attorney general, and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. President Donald Trump attended a rally in Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday to show his support of Strange. Will this be enough for Strange? After all, polls are too close to call.

Elections officials in Philadelphia discovered that a glitch allowed hundreds of illegal voters to cast ballots in the last decade. From Philly.com:
Commissioner Al Schmidt blamed that on what he said was a PennDot glitch that enabled legal permanent residents to register to vote at kiosks when they applied or renewed for driver’s licenses or registrations.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) officially decided he will vote no on the Graham-Cassidy bill, which is the latest attempt the GOP has taken to repeal and replace Obamacare. From CNN:
"I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal," the Arizona Republican said in a statement. "I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried. Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will effect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it. Without a full CBO score, which won't be available by the end of the month, we won't have reliable answers to any of those questions."

Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez killed himself in his prison cell last April as he served a life sentence for a 2013 murder charge at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, MA. His lawyers revealed today that tests on Hernandez's brain "showed severe signs of the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)." They also said that his daughter plans to sue the NFL and the Patriots "for leading Hernandez to believe the sport was safe."

It was a busy day in New York concerning North Korea. We learned that China's central bank told banks to stop working with North Korea. President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis. Trump also announced new sanctions against North Korea. From The Hill:
Speaking at the United Nations before a working lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, two key allies in the region, Trump said the order would significantly expand the U.S.’s ability to crack down on individuals and companies that do business with North Korea. The president said he had empowered the Treasury Department to “target any individual or entity that conducts trade in goods, services or technology” with North Korea.

Virginia police reports show that three Muslim women have told authorities that Imran Awan, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's former IT aide in the middle of the House network scandal, allegedly abused them. The Daily Caller reported:
Officers found one of the women bloodied and she told them she “just wanted to leave,” while the second said she felt like a “slave,” according to Fairfax County Police reports obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group. A third woman claimed she was being kept “in captivity.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the nuclear deal with Iran is not enough to keep pressure on the regime since officials continue with ballistic missile tests and still try to bully regions around it. From Reuters:
“Is this agreement enough? No. It is not, given the evolution of the regional situation and increasing pressure that Iran is exerting on the region, and given increased activity by Iran on the ballistic level since the accord,” Macron told reporters in New York.

I have been documenting the horrors the Rohingya minority are facing in Myanmar and their cries for help as they face genocide and ethnic cleansing. 421,000 Rohingya have escaped to Bangladesh with next to nothing and aid groups doing as much as they can to help these people. The U.S. has answered the call. Right before the UN General Assembly kicks off its second day of speeches, the State Department announced the U.S. will send $32 million in aid to help the Rohingya minority.