"This downward spiral is antithetical to our Constitution that recognizes our right to speak freely," a San Francisco federal judge wrote in a case by international students who had their visas threatened.
Wyoming's attorney general is investigating how two U.S. Department of Justice officials monitored poll workers and observed voters in the state's most populous county during the Aug. 18 primary, a spokesperson for Republican Gov. Mark Gordon said Friday.
Gordon called the monitors' behavior "a bit aggressive" and "irregular" in an otherwise routine meeting to confirm the election results in the mostly rural and Republican state.
Senators are renewing calls for anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to step down or be ousted -- and at least one is calling for a criminal investigation -- amid the release of documents they say prove Kennedy lied to them during his confirmation hearings last year. "This is a pattern, not a slip," Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement. "RFK Jr. has lied to the Senate, lied to the American people, and jeopardized the health of children to advance his anti-vaccine agenda."
A candidate with the same name as Alaska's incumbent U.S. senator advanced Tuesday ... read more
Martin Luther King, Jr. August 28, 1963 Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., United States of America I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. read more
@#9 ... These are all toothless threats now. ...
Especially since Pres Trump has said that he believes Pres Putin over what the US Intelligence Agencies tell him.
Donald Trump Says He Trusts Putin More Than U.S. Intelligence Lowlifes' (January 2023)
www.newsweek.com
... Donald Trump has suggested he trusts Russian president Vladimir Putin more than the "lowlifes" who work in U.S. intelligence.
In a post on Truth Social, the former president referenced comments he gave after meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018 when he said that he didn't "see any reason" why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 election, despite what the FBI stated.
Trump once again suggested he trusts Putin over U.S. intelligence while sharing an a article about former FBI official Charles McGonigal, a leading figure in the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia ahead of the 2016 election. ...
Navy Planning for Extended Carrier Deployments as Iran Conflict Continues, CNO, MCPON Say
news.usni.org
... Families of sailors assigned to the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group are already preparing for a deployment that will last more than seven months as the U.S. conflict with Iran continues.
When USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), its escorts and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 11 leave from San Diego in the coming weeks, the strike group is expected to move to U.S. Central Command to relieve the Japan-based USS George Washington (CVN-73), which entered U.S. 5th Fleet last week. Since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, the U.S. has maintained a carrier presence in the Arabian Sea, launching strike missions over Iran and enforcing a subsequent naval blockade of Tehran.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman, each one year into the job, told reporters Wednesday that this commitment shows no signs of stopping and the service is doing what it can to ease the pressure on deployed sailors and their families facing the longest deployments in decades. ...
Perryman said Theodore Roosevelt families are already planning for their loved one to be away from home for more than seven months.
"[Sailors] will go do really hard things for me without really batting an eye because they like that part of it. But we do have to be able, when possible, to stick to schedules and be very honest, like we are with Roosevelt," Perryman said. "They know they're going to be there longer than seven months. Their [commanding officer] is giving them eight months to plan on."
The Navy already recorded the longest deployment since the Cold War when USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) returned from a record-breaking 326-day deployment in May. Meanwhile, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is on track to come in just behind Ford with a more than 300-day deployment. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel and the subsequent threat to commercial shipping from Houthi forces in Yemen, carrier deployments have averaged 8.5 months, according to the USNI News carrier deployment database.
"I would prefer, you know, seven-month deployments. I typically am not a big fan of extensions, and I push back hard on that. But the enemy gets a vote," Caudle said. ...
Trump's CIA director delivered secret, urgent messages to Moscow
www.ms.now
... During his secretive trip to Moscow on Tuesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe urged Russian officials to do three things: not attack NATO countries, end the war in Ukraine and not aid Iran, two sources familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about sensitive national security issues, said the meeting was primarily about the war in Ukraine. But they said the U.S. war with Iran was also discussed.
One of the sources said Ratcliffe told Russian officials that the United States remains committed to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an attack on one member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be considered an attack on all.
He met with senior Russian intelligence officials, but not with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a U.S. official who was granted anonymity to describe the sensitive meeting told MS NOW. ...
@#20
New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed (2003)
www.youtube.com
(not as serious as the #20 song...)
Maggie Haberman Hits Back at Trump's Personal Insults By Tearing Apart WH Claim About Her 9/11 Report
www.mediaite.com
... Haberman said she and the Times were "transparent" about their reporting on Trump skipping a 9/11 ceremony in New York in part due to his desire to give a speech. Speeches are barred at the annual event.
She said:
Look, we stand by the reporting and the Times put out a statement explaining that this is based on multiple sources. We went to the White House. We were quite transparent with them about what we were reporting, including the part about that part of the reason why he was not going to New York was because he did want to speak, and the White House did not say anything, pushing back on what we were reporting. And then 24 hours later, the president started attacking the piece. You know, so readers can make their own assessment about a denial that comes a day later.
Judge throws out KSM confession in 9/11 case in blow to prosecution
www.usatoday.com
... A U.S. military judge has thrown out Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's 2007 confession to FBI agents about his alleged lead role in the 9/11 attacks, ruling that it wasn't given voluntarily and can't be used against him at trial.
The Aug. 28 ruling by the trial judge, Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, throws yet another wrench into the long-running death penalty case on the eve of the 25th anniversary of America's deadliest terrorist strike that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Last month, a U.S. appeals court refused to allow Mohammed and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty under earlier agreements that would have spared them the death penalty. ...
New York City Events Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of 9/11
https://www.nyctourism.com/articles/new-york-city-events-commemorating-the-25th-anniversary-of-9-11/