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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.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 22, 2016 29 Comments
The NBA has decided to move their February 19 All-Star Game out of North Carolina due to the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Bill. The league stated:
"Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 and the issue of legal protections for the LGBT community in Charlotte became prominent, the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets have been working diligently to foster constructive dialogue and try to effect positive change. We have been guided in these discussions by the long-standing core values of our league. These include not only diversity, inclusion, fairness and respect for others but also the willingness to listen and consider opposing points of view.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 21, 2016 6 Comments
The Turkish parliament has formally approved a three month state of emergency after a failed coup last Friday. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promises its needed to protect Turkey's democracy:
“The aim is to rapidly and effectively take all steps needed to eliminate the threat against democracy, the rule of law and the people’s rights and freedoms,” Mr. Erdogan said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 21, 2016 9 Comments
Baton Rouge shooter Gavin Long described killing cops as a "necessary evil" and talked about taking action against law enforcement in his manifesto:
In the letter, Long said he expected people who knew him wouldn't believe he would commit "such horrendous acts of violence." He wrote that he viewed his actions as necessary to "create substantial change within America's police force."

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 20, 2016 5 Comments
Prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet died in a car bombing in Kiev, Ukraine, today. The Belarusian journalist went to Ukraine from Russia after the Kremlin clamped down on the media and his cameraman was murdered. The authorities do not have any suspects. However, the car belonged to Sheremet's partner Olena Prytula, the founding editor of their publication Ukrainska Pravda, a well respected outlet. Sheremet's colleagues believe the perpetrators targeted Prytula.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 20, 2016 9 Comments
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reached out to President Barack Obama about extraditing Fethullah Gülen, who he blames for the failed coup on Friday. The White House said:
“The president made clear to President Erdogan that the United States doesn’t support terrorists and doesn’t support individuals who conspired to overthrow a democratically elected government,” according to White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 19, 2016 18 Comments
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues to purge those allegedly involved in the failed coup on Friday. Today, the Education Ministry sacked 15,200 teachers, canceled 21,000 licenses at private schools, and asked deans at universities to leave:
“Our ministry is carrying out extensive efforts aimed at public personnel in central and rural districts who have connections to FETÖ. As of today, 15,200 public officials have been suspended and investigations were launched into them,” the statement released from the ministry’s Twitter account read.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 19, 2016 7 Comments
Russia prides itself in sports, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended agencies ban the country due to a massive doping scandal that reaches the government. They found:
1. The Moscow laboratory operated, for the protection of doped Russian athletes, within a State-dictated failsafe system, described in the Report as the Disappearing Positive Methodology.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 18, 2016 4 Comments
The Louisiana State Police have confirmed that Gavin Long, 29, wanted to ambush and target law enforcement. He killed three cops on Sunday, leaving three injured:
“Our preliminary investigation shows that he definitely ambushed those officers,” Lt. J.B. Slaton, a public affairs commander for the Louisiana State Police, said Monday. “We are still trying to find out what his motive was, and that’s going to be part of our investigation. But we believe he was targeting those officers.”
https://twitter.com/Sabrinafox8news/status/755119787592691712

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 18, 2016 14 Comments
European Union commissioner Johannes Hahn told the media he believes President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made his purge list before the coup:
"It looks at least as if something has been prepared. The lists are available, which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage," Hahn said. "I'm very concerned. It is exactly what we feared."
The government has arrested more than 6,000 people, some who did not even know they participated in the coup. They claimed their commanders told them "they were taking part in military manoeuvres."

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 18, 2016 13 Comments
Instead of a protest, Black Lives Matter activists in Wichita, KS, joined their local police department for the First Steps Cookout to open dialogue and bring together the community. Both sides decided this was a better option, especially after police shootings in Dallas, TX, and Baton Rouge, LA. https://twitter.com/TrooperChadKHP/status/754832830287405056

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 18, 2016 7 Comments
On Sunday, at 8:40AM, Gavin Long from Kansas City, MO, opened fire in Baton Rouge, LA, killing three officers and injuring three more. https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/754864528375029760

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 17, 2016 14 Comments
Turkish authorities have demanded the U.S. extradite Fethullah Gülen, leader of the Gülen Movement, because they believe he orchestrated the coup. They even said keeping him in the states is a "hostile act" towards the regime:
“I do not see any country that would stand behind this man, this leader of the terrorist gang especially after last night. The country that would stand behind this man is no friend to Turkey. It would even be a hostile act against Turkey,” Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım told reporters at a press conference on July 16 as the coup attempt has been foiled earlier in the day.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 16, 2016 3 Comments
*UPDATE* Turkey has resumed operations at Incirlik air base after they cut it off due to the failed coup. https://twitter.com/FranTownsend/status/754412322513358852 The U.S.'s airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) have stopped due to Turkey's failed coup. Authorities stopped all flights from the Incirlik air base:
“At this time, Turkish authorities are not permitting aircraft to depart Incirlik,” an American military official said on Saturday morning.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 16, 2016 20 Comments
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed his forces have successfully defeated the coup attempted by some in the military, which left over 250 dead and thousands injured. He promised a swift and quick retaliation for those who retaliated against him. It didn't take him long: https://twitter.com/DailySabah/status/754300366603288576 https://twitter.com/DailySabah/status/754319064005283840

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 15, 2016 4 Comments
The U.S. Congress has released 28 pages about the 9/11 attacks that discuss potential Saudi Arabia ties to the terrorist attack. The papers remained classified for 13 years after the investigation by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. They found:
According to sources familiar with the documents, the information in the pages lays out a number of circumstances that suggest it's possible two of the 9/11 hijackers living in California in the months leading up to the attack were receiving operational support from individuals loyal to Saudi Arabia.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 15, 2016 35 Comments
There was an attempted coup in Turkey on Friday. Military officials backing the coup claimed initial success, but as events developed during the day Friday, the coup appeared to faulter and be on the verge of collapse. We will have a full UPDATE at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday. Here are the latest events on Friday. After returning to Istanbul airport, Erdogan appeared on television and proclaimed that he still was in control and the coup would fail: https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov/status/754123604606980101
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