Breaking: School Shooting in Florida [UPDATE: 17 Dead]

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Crime, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

3:15 pm ET – Shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida. Broward County Sheriff Office saying 20-50 hurt. Students and teachers told to barricade although some are evacuated. SWAT team present.  Shooter(s) unknown and at large. 3:25 pm — Reports are that the police know who the shooter is, but not saying anything until confirmed. He is a student. … Read More

Breaking: More Trump Insisting On Loyalty From DOJ/FBI

Ken AshfordBreaking News, L'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

CNN: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein visited the White House in December seeking President Donald Trump’s help. The top Justice Department official in the Russia investigation wanted Trump’s support in fighting off document demands from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes. But the President had other priorities ahead of a key appearance by Rosenstein on the Hill, according to sources familiar … Read More

Breaking: Another Trump Official Resigns For Impropriety

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Trump’s top public health official resigned from her post just now after mounting questions about financial conflicts of interest, the Department of Health and Human Services announced. The resignation comes one day after POLITICO reported that Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bought shares in a tobacco, drug and food companies one month … Read More

Breaking: New Trump Scandal Not Even The Worst Of The Week

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Political Scandals, Sex Scandals, Sex/Morality/Family Values, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

When you realize the president’s lawyer paying hush money to adult film star before election might not be be one of the 5 worst stories of the week for him https://t.co/5MwBsgNZNA — Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) January 12, 2018 Chait is correct. But it is sex and it is easy to understand, so maybe this one will have legs. Stephanie Clifford … Read More

Trumpism And Racism: Part Two — Breaking News

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Immigration and Xenophobia, Political Scandals, Race, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Holy Shit. Washington Post headline: Uh…. when have you ever seen that word in a headline? Story: President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they floated restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to two people briefed on the meeting. “Why are we … Read More

Breaking: Amtrak Derailment

Ken AshfordBreaking News, DisastersLeave a Comment

An Amtrak passenger train derailed and at least one passenger car is dangling on to Interstate 5 in Pierce County, Washington, according to the Washington state Department of Transportation. One train car was beneath the bridge sitting parallel to the roadway, an eyewitness said. Another train car was dangling from a rail bridge that crosses I-5 horizontally. Amtrak tweeted that it … Read More

Failed Terrorist Attempt In Manhattan Port Authority

Ken AshfordBreaking News, War on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

Police were called to a reported explosion at 7:20 a.m. ET in a below-ground walkway that connects two subway lines at 42nd Street. Responding units found an injured 27-year-old male, identified him as Akayed Ullah. He had burns and wounds to his body. Ullah was from Bangladesh & was doing it “in the name of ISIS” Preliminary investigation at the scene indicates that … Read More

No Pee Tape, BUT….

Ken AshfordBreaking News, L'Affaire Russe, Sex Scandals, Sex/Morality/Family Values, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Breaking from NBC: WASHINGTON — After a business meeting before the Miss Universe Pageant in 2013, a Russian participant offered to “send five women” to Donald Trump’s hotel room in Moscow, his longtime bodyguard told Congress this week, according to three sources who were present for the interview. Two of the sources said the bodyguard, Keith Schiller, viewed the offer … Read More

Document Dump: Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Travel Ban… Yet Again

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Courts/Law, Immigration and Xenophobia, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Tired of winning…? UPDATE: A second federal court rules the same — A federal judge in Maryland early Wednesday issued a second halt on the latest version of President Trump’s travel ban, asserting that the president’s own comments on the campaign trail and on Twitter convinced him that the directive was akin to an unconstitutional Muslim ban.

Hurricane Harvey

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Disasters, Trump & Administration, WeatherLeave a Comment

There’s a good reason why Mashable’s Andrew Freedman dubbed Hurricane Harvey—now barreling toward Texas and Louisiana—“the meteorological equivalent of a White Walker from Game of Thrones.”  This is no joke.  Harvey is likely to be the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2005. Harvey will make landfall late Friday or early Saturday.  The storm is expected to hit middle … Read More

Day’s Unfolding Events

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Rightwing Extremism/Violence, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

(1) Protest in Durham NC: Scheduled for noon and 4 pm.  I’m following live feeds and the anti-protesters seem to have taken over downtown Durham. Not much of a fascist presence. Looks peaceful at the moment — some minor vandalism of base of statue that once had confederate monument.  Basically everything postponed until 4 pm. (2) By the way, this … Read More

Breaking: Sean Spicer Resigns

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

The same morning that Anthony Scaramucci is appointed as White House Communications Director, Sean Spicer resigns. Reports are that he vehemently opposed Scaramucci’s appointment. Trump offered Scaramucci the job at 10 a.m. Trump requested that Spicer stay on, but Spicer told Trump that he believed the appointment was a major mistake, according to a person with direct knowledge of the … Read More

5.8 Earthquake off North Korea Coast

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Disasters, North KoreaLeave a Comment

Normally, I wouldn’t care, but I have to wonder if this is an earthquake.  Info coming in….   The quake was very deep – 348.2 miles (560km) below the seabed off the coast Its epicenter was 125 miles (201 km) southeast of North Korean city of Chongjin Early speculation indicated quake was man-made, as has been the case in past … Read More