Salisbury News |
- MSP, Law Enforcement Partners Provide Food To Needy Families For Thanksgiving
- Rise in Americans dying ever younger: Mortality rates creep up 6% among under-65s as life expectancy falls for the third year in a row, study finds
- When Do You Need to Drink More Water?
- A LOOK at TRUMPs BORDER WALL -UPDATE 2019 - PART 13
- Majority of Americans Want to Increase Deportations of Illegal Immigrants
- Giuliani: People Pursuing Me Are ‘Desperate,’ ‘Liars’ — They Will Be Embarrassed
- American Bible Society Ships out 10,000 Free Bibles to Kanye Fans as Requests Exceed Expectations
- FBI Admits Failing to Defend US Research From Chinese Program
- The Democratic Cold War on Christianity Heating Up
- Sources: NFL teams haven't called Colin Kaepernick since QB's Nov. 16 workout
- Study: College Costs Rise 112% Above Inflation over Past Four Years
- Philadelphia's voting machines challenged in federal court
- New York files appeal to resurrect tax CUT for the wealthy
- Georgia Clark, teacher who asked Trump to deport ‘illegal’ students, wins job back
- Trump campaign slams Google rule changes, says shift will suppress turnout, stifle democracy
- Pompeo: Ending corruption in Ukraine is a 'clear policy'
- ‘They are PUBLIC GOODS’: AOC says she’s not just promising people ‘free stuff’
- Bill Cosby shows no remorse in first interview from prison: 'It's all a set up'
- Social conservatives urge Chick-fil-A to reverse course
- Crime surges in Oklahoma as Republicans continue to open prison doors
- Caribbean Joe's Will Open At 4 PM Thanksgiving Day
- 'Already received subpoenas': Trump mocks impeachment while pardoning turkeys
- Twitter bans gay journalist Andy Ngo for stating objective facts that transgender activists don’t like
- Trump to donate third-quarter salary to fight opioid crisis
- Hunter Biden suspected of smoking crack in DC strip club’s VIP room
- Melania Trump DEFENDS Baltimore students who booed her
- Worcester County Sheriff's Office Press Release 11-27-19
- Putin foe says Fusion GPS was agent for Russia while helping Clinton in 2016
- Barack's Best Buddies Be Baffled and Befuddled
- United States Files Brief Explaining That Maryland Improperly Excluded Christian School From Scholarship Program
- 1600 Daily
- NFL celebrates Michael Vick as Pro Bowl captain in continued whitewashing of his dogfighting past
- Warren's Phony Bio, Continued
- VIDEO: Kamala Harris Tries to 'Cook' Her Way to the Top with Mindy Kaling
- VA Governor: ‘We Welcome Refugee Resettlement In Virginia’
- Martin O’Malley is still in Denial
- House Democrat backs down from impeachment: 'I don't see the value of kicking him out of office'
- Melania Trump Booed, Cheered at Student Opioid Summit
- Political Memes
- Wednesday Morning Funnies
| MSP, Law Enforcement Partners Provide Food To Needy Families For Thanksgiving Posted: 27 Nov 2019 08:30 PM PST  In addition to the Maryland State Police, agencies partnering to distribute food to 53 children and 65 adults in time for the Thanksgiving holiday included the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Police Department, Somerset County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Coast Guard, Maryland Natural Resources Police, and Department of Social Services. "I'm happy that we can help those who need food for Thanksgiving," said Princess Anne Barrack Commander Lt. Patrick Metzger, who created the SLEUTH initiative in 2015 in an effort to bring awareness to the issue of food insecurity in Somerset County. "Knowing that the population of Somerset is one of the poorest in the state with one of the highest rates of food insecurity, it's good to know that we can provide a little help and happiness during the holiday season." Throughout the year, SLEUTH provides outreach, activities and supplies for food insecure families throughout Somerset County. The law enforcement agencies work closely with the departments of Juvenile Services, Social Services, and Somerset County Public Schools to select families for targeted outreach that includes a quarterly food distribution, nutrition and healthy eating information, cooking instructions, connections to community resources. Many of the families served by SLEUTH have at-risk youth with DJS or DSS involvement or are eligible for Free and Reduced Meals through Somerset County Public Schools. Maryland Food Bank provides non-perishable food and meats for distribution. SLEUTH's initiatives are funded in part by the Somerset County Local Management Board.     | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Nov 2019 08:00 PM PST Death rates among working-age Americans are rising, which is decreasing life expectancy, a new study suggests. Researchers found that mortality rates for US adults between ages 25 and 64 have risen by six percent since 2010. Despair has been named as a potential cause for the spike in deaths related to drugs, alcohol, and suicide, referred to by some as 'deaths of despair'. They also found that life expectancy in the US rose from 1959 to 2014, and then fell from 78.9 in 2014 to 78.6 in 2017. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| When Do You Need to Drink More Water? Posted: 27 Nov 2019 07:30 PM PST Your body contains more water than anything else, about 60 percent of your total body weight. Water helps regulate your body temperature, transports nutrients, and helps remove waste. Every day you lose water when you breathe, sweat, urinate, and defecate, and that water needs to be replenished. How Much Water Do You Need? The big question is how much water do you need to drink every day? Although that's a simple question, it doesn't have an easy answer. It depends on some environmental and physical factors that can change every day. Also, it's not just the water you drink—about 20 percent of your water intake comes from the foods you eat. The remaining 80 percent comes from beverages, including water, coffee, tea, milk, and anything liquid. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy reviewed years of research evidence on adequate water intake and has the following recommendations: More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| A LOOK at TRUMPs BORDER WALL -UPDATE 2019 - PART 13 Posted: 27 Nov 2019 07:00 PM PST  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority of Americans Want to Increase Deportations of Illegal Immigrants Posted: 27 Nov 2019 06:30 PM PST A new study has found that 54 percent of Americans want to increase deportations of illegal immigrants. The study, conducted by Pew Research, also found that 68 percent of Americans believe it is important to increase security along the U.S.-Mexico border. Naturally, the responses were heavily divided by party, with 91 percent of Republicans saying that increasing border security is very or somewhat important. Meanwhile, just about half of Democrats and Democratic leaners (49%) rate increased border security as an important policy goal. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Giuliani: People Pursuing Me Are ‘Desperate,’ ‘Liars’ — They Will Be Embarrassed Posted: 27 Nov 2019 06:00 PM PST On Monday at Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., TMZ asked former New York City mayor and President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani if he was concerned he would "end up in jail. Giuliani said, "Me ending up in jail? Fifty years of being a lawyer, fifty years of ethical, dedicated practice of the law, probably have prosecuted more criminals of a high level than any U.S. attorney in history. I think I follow the law very carefully. I think the people pursuing me are desperate, sad, angry, disappointing liars. They're hurting their country. And I'm ashamed of them." When asked if Trump "has his back," Giuliani said, "We are friends for twenty-nine years and nothing will interfere with that. The president knows that everything I did, I did to help him. And he knows it. I did it honorably. I did it legally. I did it in a way that it will embarrass the people who are pursuing me and have nowhere near the integrity and honor that I have." Source  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| American Bible Society Ships out 10,000 Free Bibles to Kanye Fans as Requests Exceed Expectations Posted: 27 Nov 2019 05:30 PM PST A Bible giveaway program sparked by Kanye West's new album has surpassed expectations. A spokesperson for the American Bible Society told Christian Headlines Friday that more than 10,000 free Bibles have been given away as part of a "Bibles for Kanye Fans" giveaway that launched after Kanye released his album, Jesus Is King. Originally, the goal was to ship out 1,000 Bibles. American Bible Society got the idea for the giveaway after noticing a spike in Google searches for information about Christianity the week the album was released. "Kanye West's album has had an immediate effect on the current news cycle. 'Jesus is King' was a trending internet search last week with over 1 million queries on Google alone," John Farquhar Plake, director of ministry intelligence at American Bible Society, said in the October press release. More here  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| FBI Admits Failing to Defend US Research From Chinese Program Posted: 27 Nov 2019 05:00 PM PST A senior FBI official admitted that the agency should have done more to prevent the recruitment of American researchers by Beijing, which used them to exploit U.S. scientific research, National Review reported. "With our present-day knowledge of the threat from Chinese plans, we wish we had taken more rapid and comprehensive action in the past," FBI assistant director of the counterintelligence division John Brown told a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. "The time to make up for that is now." Brown was responding to a bipartisan Senate report released earlier this week that details a plan by Beijing to offer compensation to American-based researchers that resulted in the massive illegal transfer of intellectual property to China. "These failures continue to undermine the integrity of the American research enterprise and endanger our national security," the report said. Brown said that the FBI did not realize the significance of the program when China launched it in 2008. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The Democratic Cold War on Christianity Heating Up Posted: 27 Nov 2019 04:30 PM PST One of the great unknowns in terms of the future electorate is the effect the Democrats' increasingly radical anti-faith stance will have on its voting coalition. Black and Hispanic Democrats tend to be far more religious than the white Democrats who are driving the party's agenda. Will this alliance hold as the party increasingly kowtows to vocal anti-Christian Marxists? Will these voters start to defect as Democrats intensify their open war on people of faith? These questions arose this week when the sad story emerged that Chick-fil-A would no longer support three mainstream Christian-based charities; the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Paul Anderson Youth Home, all under the auspices that they are anti-LGBTQ. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sources: NFL teams haven't called Colin Kaepernick since QB's Nov. 16 workout Posted: 27 Nov 2019 04:00 PM PST In the week since Colin Kaepernick worked out for seven NFL teams at Charles R. Drew High School in Riverdale, Georgia, no teams have reached out to work him out, visit with him or sign him, league sources told ESPN. Kaepernick, 32, remains unemployed, and NFL teams remain uninterested in his services -- the same story that has followed the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback for almost three years. Kaepernick's representatives sent video of their client's workout to the 25 NFL teams that did not attend last Saturday, but that has not led to any interest, either. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Study: College Costs Rise 112% Above Inflation over Past Four Years Posted: 27 Nov 2019 03:30 PM PST A study suggests that the cost of college in the United States has risen 112 percent above inflation over the past four years. According to a report by the College Fix, the cost of a college degree in United States is rising far faster than it should. A study by a startup called Self has shown that the cost of college in the United States has increased dramatically over the past few years. The report revealed that the cost of university tuition has increased 8.3 percent in the past five years alone. In that same time, the cost of textbooks has increased a whopping 36.3 percent. This increase amounts to an additional $2,835 each year over what students paid in 2015. This increase amounts to 112 percent above the rate of inflation during this time period. "One of the biggest financial challenges younger generations will face in their lifetime is accepting and repaying a student loan. In the last 5 years alone, the cost of university tuition has risen 8.3%, which is below the 9.7% increase in room and board prices and far below the 36.3% increase in books and supplies seen in the same time frame. This means that, per year, university students are paying $29,133 on average across all states just to attend. " More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia's voting machines challenged in federal court Posted: 27 Nov 2019 03:00 PM PST  A federal court was asked Tuesday to force Pennsylvania to rescind its certification of a voting machine newly purchased by Philadelphia and at least two other counties in the state ahead of 2020's presidential election. The filing casts doubt onto how 17% of Pennsylvania's registered voters will cast ballots in the April 28 primary election, as well as next November, when the state is expected to be one of the nation's premier presidential battlegrounds. Court papers filed by former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and several supporters accuse Gov. Tom Wolf's administration of violating their year-old agreement in Philadelphia's federal court by certifying the ExpressVote XL touchscreen system made by Omaha, Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software. The plaintiffs say certifying the system violates their agreement, in part because the machine does not meet the agreement's requirements "that every Pennsylvania voter in 2020 uses a voter-verifiable paper ballot." For one, the ExpressVote XL counts votes by counting machine-printed bar codes on paper, a format that is neither readable nor verifiable by an individual voter, they wrote in court papers. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| New York files appeal to resurrect tax CUT for the wealthy Posted: 27 Nov 2019 02:30 PM PST New York and three other high-tax states announced Tuesday that they will appeal a federal court ruling that struck down their creative attempts to frustrate the 2017 GOP tax overhaul. The states — including Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey — had sought to come up with workarounds that would let their wealthiest taxpayers continue to claim a deduction on federal forms for taxes paid to their states and localities. But the IRS said their workarounds were a sham, and a federal court sided with the tax agency. New York, which says its taxpayers stand to owe $100 billion more to Uncle Sam "in the years ahead" because of the changes, said it won't go down without a fight. "New York is already the nation's leader in sending more tax dollars to Washington than we get back every year, and we will not allow this administration to pick the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers to fund tax cuts for corporations and send even more money to red states," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. More Flashback: Andrew Cuomo complains about tax breaks for wealthy Cuomo Blames Trump Tax Plan for Reduced New York Tax Collections  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Clark, teacher who asked Trump to deport ‘illegal’ students, wins job back Posted: 27 Nov 2019 02:00 PM PST A Texas teacher who lost her job after asking President Trump on Twitter to remove the "illegal students from Mexico" from her school has won an appeal to get her job back. Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath ruled Monday that the series of offensive tweets sent in May by Georgia Clark — an English teacher at Carter-Riverside High School in Fort Worth — were protected by the First Amendment, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Clark, whose Twitter account has since been deleted, is now entitled to return to the classroom with back pay and employment benefits or district officials can fork over one year's salary. The teacher was fired in June after seeking assistance from Trump in a barrage of tweets that she said she thought were private messages to the commander-in-chief, Clark later told a district investigator. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Trump campaign slams Google rule changes, says shift will suppress turnout, stifle democracy Posted: 27 Nov 2019 01:30 PM PST The Trump campaign on Tuesday slammed Google's decision to restrict how political operations reach users during the campaign, arguing it will stifle democracy, suppress voter turnout and unfairly hamstring President Trump and Republicans who've built a massive digital operation. The Republican National Committee and the campaign arms for House and Senate Republicans joined Mr. Trump's team in chastising the search giant for tweaks that make it harder to "micro-target" people based on things like political affiliation or public voting records. Instead, campaigns will be limited to targeting people based on age, gender and their general location, or users who tend to read about certain subjects. The Trump campaign said the move smacked of lopsided punishment. "There can be no denying that President Trump and his campaign have built the greatest digital operation in all of politics, and that Google's decision will disproportionately impact both the Trump operation and all of the Republican candidates and organizations that derive strength from it," the campaign and GOP groups said. "What's more, given the growing and documented cases of anti-conservative bias in Silicon Valley, we are highly skeptical that such a ban would be applied equally to conservative and liberal organizations." More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pompeo: Ending corruption in Ukraine is a 'clear policy' Posted: 27 Nov 2019 01:00 PM PST Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that rooting out corruption in Ukraine has been a hallmark of official U.S. policy in Europe as a congressional investigation into relations between the two countries hangs over the department. "We had a very clear policy with respect to Ukraine, and we executed it successfully," Pompeo said Tuesday during a briefing with reporters. "There are still many challenges. Still have Russians in the Donbass. We still have the president in Ukraine working to make sure we move through the challenges the country has had with corruption for an awfully long time now." This is an objective, Pompeo explained, that President Trump's State Department had been working on well before Democrats launched a formal investigation into what they allege to be a campaign of shadow diplomacy orchestrated by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ‘They are PUBLIC GOODS’: AOC says she’s not just promising people ‘free stuff’ Posted: 27 Nov 2019 12:30 PM PST Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unloaded on those who qualify her policy propositions as "free stuff." Ocasio-Cortez, the 30-year-old socialist New York representative elected to Congress last year, expressed her frustration with critics who write off her policies, such as tuition-free college, "Medicare for all," and expanding public housing, as "handouts" or "free stuff" to rope in voters. "It's not that we deserve it because it's a handout. People like to say, 'Oh, this is about free stuff.' This is not about free stuff," Ocasio-Cortes said at a Bronx town hall over the weekend. The freshman Democrat claimed those in her party who believe in free-market orientated policies try to paint her policies in a negative light. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bill Cosby shows no remorse in first interview from prison: 'It's all a set up' Posted: 27 Nov 2019 12:00 PM PST Bill Cosby is speaking out from prison. Over a year after he was first incarcerated for the sexual assault of Andrea Constand, the disgraced actor and comedian — who is serving three to 10 years — has given his first interview. In it, the 82-year-old maintained his innocence from his Pennsylvania correctional institution, Phoenix, which is located outside Philadelphia, and, because of that, he expects to serve the entire sentence. Cosby also called his trial a "set up" and the jurors "imposters." "I have eight years and nine months left," Cosby told National Newspaper Publishers Association's BlackPressUSA.com, clearly not believing he will leave prison on the early side of his sentence. "When I come up for parole, they're not going to hear me say that I have remorse. I was there. I don't care what group of people come along and talk about this when they weren't there. They don't know." More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Social conservatives urge Chick-fil-A to reverse course Posted: 27 Nov 2019 11:30 AM PST Influential social-conservatives have banded together to urge Chick-fil-A to do an about-face on its decision to stop donating to The Salvation Army. Brent Bozell (Founder and President Media Research Center), Kay Coles James (President, The Heritage Foundation), Lt. Col. Allen B. West (US Army, Retired, Member, 112 US Congress), and an extensive list of other famous conservative faces have signed a letter asking the fast-food giant to resume its support for the famous charity, in addition to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Chick-fil-A relented to years of pressure by LGBTQ activist groups earlier this month. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Crime surges in Oklahoma as Republicans continue to open prison doors Posted: 27 Nov 2019 11:00 AM PST Who needs George Soros when you have Republicans in Oklahoma enacting his number one agenda item – de-incarceration? n case you think the stupidity of downgrading crimes and increasing prison release, and the inevitable crime wave that follows is limited to San Francisco, think again. Oklahoma is a state where no Democrat presidential candidate has carried a single county since 2000, but when it comes to crime, Oklahoma Republicans might as well be San Francisco Democrats. By now, most Americans are familiar with California's Prop 47 and how the downgrading of drug and theft crimes led to a rise in drugs and theft, and has saddled San Francisco with a culture of homelessness and shoplifting. "Sure glad we live in a nice red area, far away from San Francisco values" is what many Americans living in the heartland think upon seeing the endless negative headlines on San Francisco. The problem is that, thanks to a perfidious Republican Party, those San Francisco values have permeated every state in the union, particularly Oklahoma. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Caribbean Joe's Will Open At 4 PM Thanksgiving Day Posted: 27 Nov 2019 10:51 AM PST    | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Already received subpoenas': Trump mocks impeachment while pardoning turkeys Posted: 27 Nov 2019 10:30 AM PST President Trump cracked a joke about the impeachment effort against him during the annual White House pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey. Appearing outside the White House on Tuesday alongside two turkeys named Bread and Butter, Trump joked that the fowls had been subpoenaed by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff to appear as witnesses. "Thankfully, Bread and Butter have been specially raised by the Jacksons to remain calm under any condition, which will be very important, because they've already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff's basement on Thursday," Trump joked. "It's true. Hundreds of people have." More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Nov 2019 10:00 AM PST Twitter now considers objective, verifiable facts ban-worthy hate speech. At least, the pesky facts that woke liberal activists don't like. Apparently, dissident gay journalist Andy Ngo, editor-at-large at the Post Millennial, ought to have known that our Twitter overlords wouldn't permit him to cite facts disputing the transgender oppression narrative. Ngo made the mistake of daring to question Chelsea Clinton and the left-wing activist organization Human Rights Campaign for peddling the pervasive myth that transgender people are the subjects of mass hate crimes and identity-targeted murder. Of course, while all of these deaths are tragic, most of these people were not targeted or murdered on the basis of their identity. Rather, they just happened to be transgender and they were murdered. So Ngo questioned this dubious narrative, as to both murder rates and the fact that many are carried out not by evil cisgender white males but by black men. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Trump to donate third-quarter salary to fight opioid crisis Posted: 27 Nov 2019 09:45 AM PST President Trump is donating his third-quarter salary — $100,000 — to help combat the nation's opioid epidemic. The White House on Tuesday said the president has given the money to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, which oversees the public health offices and programs to fight the opioid crisis. The president has declared the opioid crisis a national health emergency and unveiled his "Stop Opioid Abuse" initiative in March 2018. In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hunter Biden suspected of smoking crack in DC strip club’s VIP room Posted: 27 Nov 2019 09:30 AM PST Hunter Biden was suspected of smoking crack inside a strip club where he dropped "thousands of dollars" during multiple visits — at the same time he held a seat on the board of a controversial Ukrainian natural-gas company, The Post has learned. The incident, which took place at Archibald's Gentlemen's Club in Washington, DC, late last year, represents the most recent alleged drug use by Biden, 49, who has acknowledged six stints in rehab for alcoholism and addiction that included a crack binge in 2016. Workers at Archibald's, located about three blocks north of the White House, said Biden was a regular there, with two bartenders and a security worker all instantly recognizing his photo and one worker identifying him by name. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Melania Trump DEFENDS Baltimore students who booed her Posted: 27 Nov 2019 09:15 AM PST Melania Trump on Tuesday defended the rights of teenagers who booed her when she addressed them in Baltimore, a city her husband, President Donald Trump, has disparaged as "rat and rodent infested." She traveled there to urge hundreds of middle and high school students to avoid misusing drugs, saying that would make it harder for them to achieve their life's goals. But her remarks drew a mix of boos and cheers, and the audience remained noisy throughout her five-minute address. It is highly unusual for a first lady to be booed at a public appearance. Mrs. Trump released a statement hours after she had returned to the White House, defending the principle of freedom of expression while reaffirming her commitment to the issue that drew her to Baltimore. "We live in a democracy and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the fact is we have a serious crisis in our country and I remain committed to educating children on the dangers and deadly consequences of drug abuse," Mrs. Trump said. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Worcester County Sheriff's Office Press Release 11-27-19 Posted: 27 Nov 2019 09:07 AM PST    | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Putin foe says Fusion GPS was agent for Russia while helping Clinton in 2016 Posted: 27 Nov 2019 09:00 AM PST The company that conducted anti-Trump research for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign also worked for the Russian government, producing material that was used by Moscow to pressure the United States, according to a longtime foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Businessman Bill Browder alleged Fusion GPS acted as an agent for Russian interests in 2016, when the country was trying to combat the Magnitsky Act and its sanctions on Russian officials. Browder, 55, championed the Magnitsky Act, which was named for his tax lawyer, corruption whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky died in a Russian prison in 2009 after his investigation for Browder's business uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars of Russian tax fraud implicating Russian officials. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Barack's Best Buddies Be Baffled and Befuddled Posted: 27 Nov 2019 08:30 AM PST | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Nov 2019 08:00 AM PST  The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education today filed a Statement of Interest in federal court in Maryland, explaining that the Maryland State Department of Education discriminated against Bethel Christian Academy when it excluded the school from its BOOST Scholarship program due to the school's beliefs regarding marriage and gender set forth in its Parent-Student Handbook. The United States' brief explains that the school is likely to succeed on its claims under the First Amendment's Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses, and thus may be entitled to a preliminary injunction from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. "The First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution protect religious schools from coercive government actions that force them to choose between abandoning or betraying their faith and participating in public programs," said Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to fight for the rights of religious people and organizations, whether or not their beliefs are popular with government officials." "Americans do not give up their religious liberty protections simply because they may participate in a government program or interact with a state government," said Robert S. Eitel, Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Education. "The U.S. Department of Education cannot sit on its hands as the First Amendment rights of Bethel Christian Academy are violated. We are pleased to work with the Justice Department in this important matter." Maryland's BOOST program provides scholarships to students from low-income backgrounds to attend nonpublic schools. Bethel Christian Academy is a nonpublic K-to-8 school in Savage, Maryland run by Bethel Ministries, a Pentecostal church. Bethel Christian Academy provides a rigorous academic program for a diverse student body that is 85 percent nonwhite. Since its inception in 2016, the BOOST program has required participating schools to accept scholarship students without regard to race, color, national origin, or sexual orientation. Starting in 2019, the program added a requirement that schools not discriminate at all on these bases as well as on gender identity or expression. The nondiscrimination provisions provide, however, that they do not "require any school or institution to adopt any rule, regulation, or policy that conflicts with its religious or moral teachings." Bethel Christian Academy states that it does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and that it has no intention of doing so in the future. However, it states in its Parent-Student Handbook that it supports "the biblical view of marriage defined as a covenant between one man and one woman" and that it believes "that God immutably bestows gender upon each person at birth as male or female to reflect His image." As a result of this language, in 2018, Maryland officials removed Bethel Christian Academy from the BOOST program, and demanded the return of $102,600 for previously paid scholarships. The school filed suit and, on Oct. 31, 2019, asked the court for a preliminary injunction. The United States' Statement of Interest explains that the Maryland officials' actions violated the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the Constitution. Regarding free speech, the United States explains that while states may prohibit discriminatory conduct, the school has represented that it will not discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Accordingly, the officials are punishing the school for its beliefs and expression in violation of the First Amendment. With regard to the free exercise of religion, the United States points out that two years ago, in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer, the Supreme Court made clear that a private organization cannot be required to renounce its religious character to participate in a public benefit program. In July 2018, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Religious Liberty Task Force. The Task Force brings together Department components to coordinate their work on religious liberty litigation and policy, and to implement the Attorney General's 2017 Religious Liberty Guidance.  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Nov 2019 07:30 AM PST 
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| NFL celebrates Michael Vick as Pro Bowl captain in continued whitewashing of his dogfighting past Posted: 27 Nov 2019 07:00 AM PST The NFL announced on Monday that Michael Vick will be among the four legends captains for the 2020 Pro Bowl. Former Washington cornerback Darrell Green, Buffalo Bills defensive end Bruce Smith and Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis are the others. Aside from Green, Smith and Davis all being inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one of these captains is not like the others. They didn't organize a dogfighting ring that saw dogs tortured, electrocuted, drowned, hanged, shot and beaten to death, according to Department of Agriculture officials who investigated Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in 2007. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Nov 2019 06:45 AM PST  "The 2020 Democratic candidate last week appeared to deny that she sent either of her two children to a private school," writes the Washington Examiner's Becket Adams. "The problem is that Warren did indeed send her son, Alex, to a private school in Texas starting at about 5th grade." Warren, like most Democrats, opposes school choice because she's backed by teachers' unions. But Warren also wants blacks to vote for her, and school choice is popular among the black community because it is their kids who suffer most in failing urban schools. A black school-choice proponent confronted Warren, saying, "We are going to have the same choice that you had for your kids, because I read that your children went to private schools." Warren replied simply, "My children went to public schools." More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| VIDEO: Kamala Harris Tries to 'Cook' Her Way to the Top with Mindy Kaling Posted: 27 Nov 2019 06:30 AM PST  Harris, in need of boosting her appeal nationally, teamed up with Kaling, meeting the actress in her home to cook dosa and potato curry and bond over their shared heritage. "I love that you're coming through the kitchen already, like you live here," Kaling said, embracing Harris. The video showed Harris putting her culinary skills on display and Kaling marveling over them. "That's a fine chop," Kaling said, clearly impressed by the presidential hopeful's ability to finely chop an onion. (This is such an exciting video.. )  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| VA Governor: ‘We Welcome Refugee Resettlement In Virginia’ Posted: 27 Nov 2019 06:15 AM PST Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has opened the state to any and all refugees. Northam sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Monday asserting that Virginia will welcome refugees as set up under executive order 13888, "Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement." The order says the federal government will resettle refugees only in jurisdictions in which both the state and local governments have consent to receive them. "I have read federal Executive Order 13888, and I write to reaffirm Virginia's position that we welcome refugee resettlement in the Commonwealth," he wrote in the letter. "Virginia's lights are on and our doors are open, and we welcome new Virginians to make their homes here," the governor wrote. More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Martin O’Malley is still in Denial Posted: 27 Nov 2019 06:00 AM PST In an interview with Newsy, Martin O'Malley shows that he is still living in denial when it comes to his effectiveness and his legacy. At about 2:00, O'Malley says this about Larry Hogan. "In the case of our own current governor, he is the beneficiary of a lot of tough decisions that were made before he came into office, all of which he opposed, that has him able to serve without having to make tough choices. And he also, like Charlie Baker in Massachusetts, has the advantage of being a Republican who is not Donald Trump."Those tough choices, of course, were 40+ consecutive tax increases on middle and working-class Marylanders that bloated state government and wrecked the state economy. More/Video  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| House Democrat backs down from impeachment: 'I don't see the value of kicking him out of office' Posted: 27 Nov 2019 05:00 AM PST Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence of Michigan now favors censuring President Trump after backing impeachment proceedings over allegations that he withheld military aid from Ukraine for his personal benefit. Lawrence appeared on the Michigan radio show No BS News Hour with host Charlie LeDuff on Sunday to discuss the impeachment process in the House. Lawrence told LeDuff, to his surprise, that she does not support removing the president from office and that she would ask her caucus to censure him instead. "We are so close to an election. I will tell you, sitting here knowing how divided this country is, I don't see the value of taking him out of office," Lawrence said. "I do see the value of putting down a marker saying his behavior is not acceptable." More  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Melania Trump Booed, Cheered at Student Opioid Summit Posted: 27 Nov 2019 04:00 AM PST Melania Trump on Tuesday urged students at a youth summit to avoid misusing drugs, saying that would make it harder for them to achieve. She went to Maryland to address the Baltimore Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness, appearing on behalf of her "Be Best" youth campaign, which includes a focus on the U.S. epidemic of often deadly opioid use. But her brief remarks at the event in Baltimore were met with cheers and boos from an audience of middle and high school students that remained noisy throughout her entire five-minute address. When the audience remained rowdy after she began to speak, she interrupted her remarks to say, "Hello, everyone," before continuing. More here  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Nov 2019 03:00 AM PST       | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 27 Nov 2019 02:00 AM PST       |
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