Lindsey Vonn suffers back injury in World Cup race after Trump comments

Old Saying: What goes around comes around.

What is the meaning of what comes around goes around?

“What goes around comes around” or “as you sow, so shall you reap” is the basic understanding of how karma, the law of cause and effect, works. The word karma literally means “activity.” Karma can be divided up into a few simple categories — good, bad, individual and collective.

American skiing star Lindsey Vonn has withdrawn from her Sunday events at the World Cup in Switzerland after suffering a back injury during a super-G race on Saturday.

The injury occurred two days after she criticized President Donald Trump in an interview about the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.

"I am extremely disappointed," Vonn tweeted Sunday, "but my biggest goal this season is the Olympics and I need to take care of myself now so I can be ready for next week, and more importantly, for February."

Unfortunately I will not be able to race today. I am extremely disappointed but my biggest goal this season is the Olympics and I need to take care of myself now so I can be ready for next week, and more importantly, for February. As always, thank you for the well wishes ❤️🙏🏻

— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) December 10, 2017

On Saturday, Vonn crossed the finish line in obvious distress, almost one second behind the then-leader, and slumped to the snow.

Video

1980 US men's hockey captain on Vonn's criticisms of Trump

Vonn's tentative run after jarring her back early on placed her 24th, trailing 1.56 seconds behind the surprise winner, Jasmine Flury of Switzerland. The race was shortened due to strong winds higher up the mountain.
Vonn stayed in the finish house to be treated, and one hour later limped slowly into a waiting car to be driven from the St. Moritz course.

Looks like i have an acute facet (spinal joint) dysfunction. I got compressed on the 6th gate and my back seized up. Rested and had a lot of therapy tonight. We will see how I feel tomorrow and then decide if I will race. Thanks for the support 🙏🏻

— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) December 9, 2017

Our @usskiteam doctor checked me out and no imaging is needed 🙌🏻 just need the joint and the muscles to calm down so I can move again.

— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) December 9, 2017

Minutes earlier, her father Alan Kildow told the Associated Press his daughter was "OK."

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Twitter users call for boycott of Lindsey Vonn's sponsors

Vonn tweeted Saturday that she had suffered an "acute facet (spinal joint) dysfunction."
Saturday's race was interrupted several times by gusts lifting flurries of snow, and Vonn was left standing at the gate as the No. 4 starter during the first delay of about three minutes. She stayed warm with a thick jacket draped on her shoulders.
Vonn did not speak with media or fans before getting into the car, and wore the hood of a United States team jacket up to shield her face from television cameras tracking her.

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Lindsey Vonn: I'm not representing President in Olympics

The two-time Olympic medalist told CNN in an interview that aired Thursday that she would "absolutely not" visit the White House if the United States Olympic team gets a traditional post-games invitation.
"I was asked my opinion and I gave it," Vonn told reporters Friday. "I mean, it's not necessarily my place to be sticking my nose in politics, but as an athlete I do have a voice."
Looking ahead to the Feb. 9-25 Pyeongchang Winter Games in South Korea, Vonn told CNN she hoped "to represent the people of the United States, not the president."
Though Vonn did not mention Trump by name, the athlete activists she said Friday she admired included Colin Kaepernick. The president has responded to the NFL quarterback by posting confrontational messages on Twitter.
"People like Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe and Colin Kaepernick," Vonn said in the post-race interview zone. "There's definitely been a lot of people that have made their voice heard and made a positive impact."

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Tomi Lahren reacts after Lindsey Vonn slams Trump

"I'm not trying to be negative in any way, I'm trying to be positive," said the 33-year-old Vonn, whose 77 World Cup race wins leads the women's all-time list. "All those people have made a positive impact and hopefully my message does as well."
Vonn told CNN she took the Olympics and "what walking under our flag means in the opening ceremony" very seriously.
"I want to represent our country well," said the 33-year-old skier, who also has seven career world championships medals, including two gold. "I don't think that there are a lot of people currently in our government that do that."
The three-race St. Moritz meeting concludes with a double event on Sunday, when gusts of up 37 mph are forecast.
A morning super-G will count first as a standalone race, then also as the opening run of a combined event with a slalom leg to follow in the afternoon.

Trump says CNN was 'caught red handed' with fake news on WikiLeaks email

President Trump on Saturday slammed CNN for a mistake in a recent report on Russia meddling, saying the cable TV network was “caught red handed” disseminating “fake news.”

“CNN’S slogan is CNN, THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS.” Trump tweeted. “Everyone knows this is not true, that this could, in fact, be a fraud on the American Public. There are many outlets that are far more trusted than Fake News CNN. Their slogan should be CNN, THE LEAST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS!”

The tweet came one day after CNN reported that the president’s son Donald Jr. and others on the Trump presidential campaign received an email on Sept. 4, 2016, telling them in advance about the release of some yet-to-be published WikiLeaks documents. These included emails from the Democratic National Committee.
However, the date was erroneous. The email was in actuality dated Sept. 14, one day after the WikiLeaks document dump.
In a tweet Saturday, the president also criticized ABC News and reporter Brian Ross for a recent, incorrect story that Trump, as a candidate in the 2016 White House race, had illegally instructed campaign member Mike Flynn to make contact with Russia, in an apparent attempt to help defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The stock market plunged, and Ross was suspended over the gaffe for four weeks.
CNN BOTCHES DATES, INACCURATELY REPORTS TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAD WIKILEAKS SNEAK PEEK
Trump appeared to suggest that CNN had intentionally put out an incorrect story.
“Fake News CNN made a vicious and purposeful mistake yesterday,” Trump tweeted. “They were caught red handed, just like lonely Brian Ross at ABC News (who should be immediately fired for his ‘mistake’). Watch to see if @CNN fires those responsible, or was it just gross incompetence?”

Washington Post reporter apologizes for 'bad tweet' after Trump calls him out

A Washington Post reporter on Saturday apologized for his “bad tweet” after President Trump called him out by name for posting a misleading photo about the crowd size during Friday’s rally.

“It was a bad tweet on my personal account, not a story for Washington Post,” the reporter, Dave Weigel, tweeted Saturday. “I deleted it after like 20 minutes. Very fair to call me out.”

Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel

"Very fair to call me out," Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel said Saturday, after President Donald Trump tweeted about a photo Weigel posted online.

In a now-deleted tweet, Weigel, known for his humorous take on the news on Twitter, posted a photo of a half empty arena to mock Trump for saying Friday’s rally in Pensacola was “packed to the rafters.” 
But that photo was not taken while Trump was speaking. Trump tweeted photos showing the arena full.
Said Trump: “.@daveweigel @washingtonpost put out a phony photo of an empty arena hours before I arrived @ the venue, w/ thousands of people outside, on their way in. Real photos now shown as I spoke. Packed house, many people unable to get in. Demand apology & retraction from FAKE NEWS WaPo!”
“Sure thing: I apologize,” Weigel replied, saying he deleted the photo after another reporter informed him he had “gotten it wrong.”
The president, though, wasn't satisfied with Weigel's apology.
"FAKE NEWS, he should be fired," Trump tweeted.
Earlier on Saturday, the president had boasted on Twitter about the size of the crowd.
“Arena was packed to the rafters, the crowd was loud, loving and really smart,” he said. “They definitely get what’s going on. Thank you Pensacola!”

Mueller Bias Cartoons

Phony Mueller Team.

More Clinton ties on Mueller team: One deputy attended Clinton party, another rep'd top aide

What a Joke.

New allegations of bias dog Mueller Russia probe

A key member of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe represented Hillary Clinton's IT staffer in the email case. Plus, a top DOJ official demoted amid probe of contacts with Trump dossier firm. #Tucker

More Clinton connections have emerged for members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative team, amid growing Republican complaints about potential bias inside the office created to lead an independent probe. 

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mueller investigator Andrew Weissmann, a former partner at WilmerHale, attended Hillary Clinton’s election night party last November at the Javits Center in New York City. Fox News reported earlier this week that Weissmann in January also praised outgoing acting Attorney General Sally Yates, after she was fired for refusing to defend President Trump’s travel ban. 

Andrew Weissmann, reportedly attended the Hillary Clinton election night party in November 2016. He has donated thousands of dollars to former President Barack Obama's campaign and the DNC.  (Reuters)

Meanwhile, at least two Mueller investigators' past legal work for Clinton-tied figures is getting a second look as Republicans hunt for signs of bias.
Aaron Zebley, another former partner at WilmerHale and a former chief of staff to Mueller when he served as FBI director, represented Justin Cooper, a key figure in the Hillary Clinton email controversy.
Cooper is the longtime Bill Clinton aide responsible for helping set up the now-infamous private email server. Cooper later admitted to “two instances where he destroyed [Hillary] Clinton’s old mobile devices by breaking them in half or hitting them with a hammer.”

Aaron Zebley, a Mueller investigator, represented Justin Cooper. Cooper was a longtime- Bill Clinton aide who set up Hillary Clinton's private email server.  (AP)

Jeannie Rhee, another former partner at WilmerHale, represented ex-Obama National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, the Clinton Foundation in a 2015 racketeering case, and Hillary Clinton herself in a lawsuit seeking access to her private emails.
TOP MUELLER INVESTIGATOR'S DEMOCRATIC TIES RAISE NEW BIAS QUESTIONS 
“You’ve got Donald Trump being persecuted by Hillary Clinton’s fan club—that’s inequitable,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News on Friday. “Many of the members of Mueller’s team donated to the Clinton campaign. We have a lot of highly qualified federal prosecutors in the Justice Department and we could have found a bunch of them who didn’t donate to either candidate. But that didn’t occur, and that’s troubling.”

'[Y]ou might start seeing a real death-spiral in terms of any public support for the investigation.'

Those political donations have been well-known since the start of the Mueller probe. At least seven of Mueller's investigators on the Russia meddling case have donated to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee.
Weissmann donated a combined $2,300 to the Obama campaign in 2008, and at least $2,000 to the DNC in 2006. Rhee donated a total of $5,400 to Hillary Clinton in 2015 and 2016 and a combined $4,800 to former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2011.
MUELLER PROBE: MEET LAWYERS WHO GAVE $$ TO HILLARY, NOW INVESTIGATING TEAM TRUMP 
Zebley has no history of political donations or any affiliation with a political party.
Neither political donations nor past legal work alone proves that an investigator is biased or unable to work a case objectively. But the revelation last weekend that another investigator, Peter Strzok, was removed from the Russia probe over anti-Trump texts has critics looking closely at every bio.
“Mueller did not have to select attorneys who had made donations to, or even represented, Democratic candidates, but as those partisan connections are becoming clearer, it gives an appearance of bias that could have been avoided,” former high-ranking Justice Department official James Trusty, who served under the Bush and Obama administrations, told Fox News on Friday.
“Add a lead investigator having a 10,000 text affair with an already dubious selection for the team (in terms of litigation experience) and you might start seeing a real death-spiral in terms of any public support for the investigation,” Trusty added in an email to Fox News.
That was a reference to Strzok's anti-Trump text messages with another former Mueller investigator, Lisa Page, with whom he was romantically involved.

Peter Strzok was removed from Mueller's team after the discovery of anti-Trump text messages he exchanged with another former Mueller investigator.  (FBI )

Strzok, who was an FBI counterintelligence agent, was reassigned to the FBI’s human resources division after the discovery of the texts. Page was briefly on Mueller’s team but returned to the FBI over the summer. The two exchanged more than 10,000 text messages, Fox News reported.
Strzok has been involved in a host of significant developments in both the Clinton and Russia probes. He was present during the FBI’s July 2016 interview with Hillary Clinton at the close of the email investigation, shortly before then-FBI Director James Comey called her actions “extremely careless” without recommending criminal charges.
Strzok also oversaw the FBI’s interviews with Trump’s fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty last week to lying to FBI investigators in the Russia probe.
Trump allies routinely have sought to raise bias concerns about Mueller's team to discredit the Russia investigation.
The special counsel’s office told Fox News this week that they had no comment on such allegations, but pointed to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s comments earlier this year.
“If there were conflicts that arose, because of Director Mueller or anybody employed by Director Mueller, we have a process within the [Justice Department] to take care of that,” Rosenstein said on Fox News.
The special counsel himself has been appointed to five Senate-confirmed positions by four different presidents – two Republicans, and two Democrats. Mueller is said to be a life-long Republican, serving as FBI director for President George W. Bush.
Justice Department policies and federal law prohibit discriminating based on political affiliation when it comes to hiring for nonpolitical positions, like the FBI and Justice Department.
MUELLER DEPUTY PRAISED DOJ OFFICIAL AFTER SHE DEFIED TRUMP TRAVEL BAN ORDER: 'I AM SO PROUD' 
A spokesman for the special counsel told Fox News on Friday Weissmann is still a member of Mueller's team.

Jobs Report Crushes Expectations Thanks to Pres. Trump’s Agenda

In this Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, photo, job seekers wait in line to apply for part-time, full-time or seasonal positions at a job fair held at Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater, Fla. On Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, payroll processor ADP reports how many jobs private employers added in November. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

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President Trump’s economic agenda and promise of tax reform continues to push the economy forward as job creation and wages continue to soar.
The latest APD Payroll report shows the manufacturing sector added 40,000 jobs in November, the most in 15 years.
Unemployment has hit a 17-year-low as small and medium businesses led in private-sector job creation, adding 149,000 jobs last month.
Economists say this points to further gains in disposable incomes and the stock market.

Pres. Trump Declares State of Emergency as Calif. Wildfires Continue to Spread

A helicopter drops water over a wildfire Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Bonsall, Calif. The wind-swept blazes have forced tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes in Southern California. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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President Trump declares a state of emergency in southern California as wildfires continue to spread.
The declaration opens up federal assistance to supplement fire crews from across the western U.S. battling a series of mostly uncontained fires.
Cal Fire says over 8,000 firefighters have descended on the region with nearly 160,000 acres burned.

Firefighter Mike Warren, part of a Portland, Ore., crew, battling the Thomas fire, stages in Ojai, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. The biggest and most destructive of the windblown fires raking Southern California shut down one of the region’s busiest freeways Thursday and threatened Ojai, a scenic mountain town dubbed “Shangri-La” and known for its boutique hotels and New Age spiritual retreats.(AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Dry winds are expected to fuel the flames through the weekend, prompting officials to issue their first ever “Purple Warning,” the highest possible warning for wildfires.
California Governor Jerry Brown has also declared a state of emergency for affected regions, while schools across 16 districts have been forced to close.

Trump says 'get out and vote for Roy Moore' at Pensacola rally

President Donald Trump doubled down on his support for embattled Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore at a Florida rally Friday night, telling supporters to "get out and vote for Roy Moore."

Many had speculated that the rally in Pensacola, which is near the Alabama border and feeds television markets in the state, was a backdoor way for the president to give Moore's campaign a boost without actually setting foot in the state.

Moore, who is 70, has been dogged by multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including accusations that he molested two teenage girls and pursued romantic relationships with several others while in his 30s. He has denied the allegations.
Trump did not mention Moore for the first 40 minutes of his address, which lasted approximately 80 minutes. Finally, appearing to acknowledge a Moore supporter in front of the stage, the president asked how many members of the crowd were from Alabama.
"We cannot afford ... to lose a seat in the very, very close United States Senate," Trump said. "We need somebody in that Senate seat who will vote for our 'Make America Great Again' agenda … So get out and vote for Roy Moore. Do it. Do it."
Trump reiterated past criticisms of Moore's Democratic opponent, Doug Jones.
"We can’t afford to have a liberal Democrat who is completely controlled by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer," the president said. "His name is Jones and he’s their total puppet and everybody knows it."
The president also referenced one of Moore's accusers, Beverly Young Nelson, who admitted Friday that she had written part of an inscription in her yearbook that she originally attributed to Moore in its entirety.
ROY MOORE ACCUSER ADMITS SHE WROTE PART OF YEARBOOK INSCRIPTION ATTRIBUTED TO HIM
"So did you see what happened today?" Trump asked. "You know, the yearbook? Did you see that? There was a little mistake made, She started writing things in the yearbook."
Trump then took a shot at Nelson's lawyer, Gloria Allred, saying, "Anytime you see her, you know something's gone wrong."
White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters onboard Air Force One that the president and White House have made clear they find the allegations "troubling and concerning" and believe they "should be taken seriously." But he said Moore has maintained his innocence, and that should be taken into account as well.
"Ultimately his endorsement is about the issues," said Shah. "He doesn't want to see Alabama elect a Nancy Pelosi/Chuck Schumer puppet who's going to be wrong on the issues and not support the agenda," he said, referring to top congressional Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
Top Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, had called on Moore to step aside after the allegations were made public.
During the rally, Trump also crowed about stock market gains and other upbeat economic indicators. He said he was confident he'd win re-election in 2020, despite his dismal approval rating.

"I think it's going to be very hard for somebody to beat us in a few years," Trump said, pointing to the impact on 401(k) investments. "All you have to say is: With us it goes up, with them it goes down. And that's the end of the election, right?"
But the president also touched on some darker themes, telling the audience, "It's being proven we have a rigged system."
"This is a sick system from the inside," Trump said. "And, you know, there is no country like our country but we have a lot of sickness in some of our institutions."
Trump also took his now-customary shots at the news media, referring to suspended ABC News correspondent Brian Ross as a "fraudster" and mocking CNN for an incorrect report earlier in the day on his campaign's contacts with Wikileaks.
CNN BOTCHES DATES, INACCURATELY REPORTS TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAD WIKILEAKS SNEAK PEAK
"They apologized! Thank you CNN!" Trump cried in mock gratitude. "Thank you so much! You should have been apologizing for the last two years."
The crowd at the Pensacola Bay Center included some Alabama voters who traveled across the border for the rally.
"These are lies, just malicious lies," said John Maddalena, head of the south Alabama chapter of "Bikers for Trump." Maddalena and his wife, Alisha, rode to the Trump rally from their home near Montgomery, Ala.
Alisha described herself as a "strong woman" who still doesn't believe Moore's accusers.
"You let him sit there and pass judgment on people" as a jurist "for 40 years and don't say anything?" she asked. "You wait until he's running for the Senate to come up with this? That makes you suspicious."

FBI Cartoons

DOJ Reading 10K Texts Between FBI Agents After Anti-Trump Messages

Newly discovered text messages between FBI agents could shed light on whether several high profile federal investigations had anti-Trump bias.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department confirmed they are reading more than 10,000 text messages sent between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
This comes just one day after Judicial Watch revealed an anti-Trump email sent from Strzok, who has already been removed from Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.

FILE – Robert Mueller at FBI Headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

The revelations are prompting concerns over the objectivity of other investigations, including the anti-Trump dossier, interviews with Michael Flynn, and the Clinton email investigation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has also requested the FBI turn over all documents related to Strzok.

Strong November U.S. job gains anticipated; wages seen rising

U.S. job growth likely increased at a strong clip in November and wages rebounded as the distortions from the recent hurricanes faded, creating a portrait of a healthy economy that analysts say does not require the kind of fiscal stimulus that President Donald Trump is proposing.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, the Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday will likely show that nonfarm payrolls rose by 200,000 jobs last month after surging 261,000 in October.
Employment gains in October were boosted by the return to work of thousands of employees who had been temporarily dislocated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. November's report will be the first clean reading since the storms, which also impacted September's employment data.
The unemployment rate is forecast to be unchanged at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent. Average hourly earnings are expected to have risen 0.3 percent in November after being flat the prior month. That would lift the annual increase in wages to 2.7 percent from 2.4 percent in October.
Readings in line with expectations would underscore the economy's strength and fuel criticism of efforts by Trump and his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress to cut the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent.
"The labor market is in great shape. Tax cuts should be used when the economy needs tax cuts and it doesn't need tax cuts right now," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania.

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"When politics and economics are mixed in the stew, the policies that are created often have a very awful smell."
Republicans argue that the proposed tax cut package will boost the economy and allow companies to hire more workers. But with the labor market near full employment and companies reporting difficulties finding qualified workers, economists disagree. Job openings are near a record high.
"Companies want workers and do not need tax cuts to give them the financial wherewithal to hire more workers," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. "It's labor, that the economy is running out of."
The economy grew at a 3.3 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, the fastest in three years.
FULL EMPLOYMENT
While November's employment report will probably have little impact on expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its Dec. 12-13 policy meeting, it could help shape the debate on monetary policy next year.
The U.S. central bank has increased borrowing costs twice this year. It has forecast three rate hikes in 2018.
Job growth has averaged 168,000 jobs per month this year, down from the average monthly gain of 187,000 in 2016. A slowdown in job growth is normal when the labor market nears full employment.
The economy needs to create 75,000 to 100,000 jobs per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. The unemployment rate has declined by seven-tenths of a percentage point this year. Economists believe that the tightening labor market will unleash a faster pace of wage growth next year.
That, combined with the tax cuts, would help boost inflation.
"I think that in the next three to six months we will see a broader uptick in wage pressures," said David Donabedian, chief investment officer of CIBC Atlantic Trust in Baltimore.
"Given where we are in the economic cycle, if you throw some gasoline in the fire with fiscal stimulus, that will ultimately spark some higher inflation."
Employment gains were likely broad in November. Construction payrolls are expected to show strong growth, thanks in part to rebuilding efforts in the areas devastated by the hurricanes.
Another month of steady increases is expected in manufacturing employment, while hiring for the holiday season likely boosted retail payrolls. Retailers, including Macy's Inc, reported strong Black Friday sales.
Macy's said this month it would hire an additional 7,000 temporary workers for its stores to deal with heavy customer traffic in the run up to Christmas.

Parting shot: Franken, in disgrace, quits with blast at Trump and Moore

Let’s face it, it looked like Al Franken was going to skate.

A few weeks ago, when Los Angeles radio host Leeann Tweeden went public with her tale of unwanted kissing and that cringeworthy groping photo, it was a major embarrassment for the Minnesota senator. But it didn’t seem likely to cost him his job.

Even after a couple of other women came forward with stories of butt-grabbing during photo ops, the media and political consensus was that the former "SNL" star was in an entirely different category than the allegations against, say, Roy Moore.
Then the dam burst. And yesterday, Franken bowed to fierce political pressure from his own party and said in a floor speech that he is resigning.
I had told a colleague before the speech that by this morning, Democrats would be using the resignations of Franken and John Conyers to position themselves as the party of zero tolerance on sexual harassment and rip the Republicans for backing Roy Moore. Well, Franken framed the contrast even as he said he disputed some of the allegations against him but could no longer effectively serve in the Senate.
Franken noted the "irony" that he is leaving "while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party."
With the Alabama election on Tuesday, expect to hear this about a million more times. It's not true, though, that Moore has the GOP's full support. While President Trump has endorsed him, Alabama Republican Richard Shelby voted for a write-in candidate and Arizona Republican Jeff Flake donated to Democrat Doug Jones.
What happened to Franken speaks volumes about the political climate right now. On Wednesday, Kirsten Gillibrand called for Franken to quit, nearly all the female Democratic senators joined her, and his support collapsed.
A report by Politico on the seventh accuser may have been the tipping point. The unnamed woman, a former congressional aide, said Franken tried to kiss her in 2006, before he was a senator. It was just one allegation too many.
That same day, former congressional aide Tina Dupuy became the eighth accuser with a disturbing piece in the Atlantic. Her account of Franken squeezing her waist during a photo op at a 2009 inaugural party may have seemed less dramatic than the others, but she wrote that “he knew exactly what he was doing.
"It shrunk me. It’s like I was no longer a person, only ornamental. It said, 'You don’t matter — and I do.' He wanted to cop a feel and he demonstrated he didn’t need my permission."
Dupuy, who was reluctant to come forward, added: "I'm also no longer defending Bill Clinton. I’m ashamed I ever did."

A couple of years ago, Franken might have hung on, or the ethics committee might have delivered an empty reprimand. But not in the post-Weinstein climate. And maybe other politicians will now be judged in the post-Franken climate.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

Roy Moore banking on Trump bump ahead of highly anticipated rally

Donald Trump won’t be in Alabama on Friday, but Roy Moore is happy he'll be just miles away.

“We’re looking forward to President Trump being on the Gulf Coast tomorrow,” Ben DuPre, a Moore adviser, said at a campaign event here in the state’s capital, Montgomery, on Thursday.

Just days before voters go to the polls, Trump is set to headline his own campaign-style rally on Friday evening just 25 miles away from the Alabama state line,  in Pensacola, Florida.
Moore’s campaign says the candidate is not scheduled to attend Trump’s Florida event. But campaign staffers are hopeful that Trump’s visit could still give them a boost as their candidate tries to claw his way to victory in the state’s Senate election next week.
Pensacola shares a media market with Mobile, Alabama, and is an easy car drive for Trump-supporting Alabamians – the type of voters the scandal-plagued Moore needs to energize if he hopes to defeat Democrat Doug Jones in the tight race.

"The balance of power in the Senate is very narrow."

Trump’s visit comes just days after the president officially endorsed Moore, saying he needs another Republican vote in the Senate. That’s the argument Moore’s supporters are making to undecideds.
“The balance of power in the Senate is very narrow,” Shanna Chamblee, a gun rights activist who is supporting Moore, said Thursday. “President Trump needs Roy Moore’s support if the opportunity becomes available to appoint another Supreme Court justice.”
For the last several weeks, Moore has resisted calls from top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to drop out of the race after numerous women came forward to say Moore pursued them romantically when he was in his 30 and they were teenagers.
Even Alabama’s senior Republican senator, Richard Shelby, has said he wrote-in another candidate's name rather than support Moore.
But after taking a hit in the polls, Moore has recovered in recent days. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows Moore with 48 percent to Jones’ 45.7 percent.
This isn’t the first time an Alabama Republican Senate candidate has hoped a Trump rally could make a critical difference. In September, the president traveled to Huntsville to campaign for incumbent-appointed Sen. Luther Strange, who went on to lose to Moore in a runoff.
Jones, who has not shied away from liberal positions on abortion, is now emphasizing political stances that could appeal to Republicans who won’t vote for Moore.           
“I’m a person of faith and I try to live my faith every day,” Jones said in a radio ad heard in the state on Thursday.
In the same ad, the Democrat went on to say he’s a gun owner, supports lower taxes, is against deficits and backs a strong military.
At the same time, even as Moore's allies say they believe he has survived the scandal, his campaign is still fighting back against the allegations.
Top surrogates for the Republican held a press conference Thursday morning near Alabama’s state capitol building to denounce a pro-Jones super PAC that has been aggressively running ads against Moore.
“This week, the Judge Moore campaign sent cease-and-desist letters to media around the state requesting they stop running Highway 31’s shopping mall ad, which rehashes debunked myths about Judge Moore and the Gadsden Mall, from which he was never banned,” said DuPre, a former chief of staff to Moore.
After the allegations surfaced, The New Yorker interviewed people who said that Moore had once been banned from the mall. The claim spread across the internet, but Moore denied it and no hard evidence has surfaced to corroborate the story.

Al Green Cartoons

House Rejects Impeachment Measure, Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Reject Resolution by Dem Al Green

In this photo from Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, arrives for a Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House has overwhelmingly voted to kill a resolution from Green to impeach President Donald Trump. The vote Wednesday was 364-58. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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The House overwhelmingly rejected an attempt by Democrat Representative Al Green to impeach the president.
On Wednesday, 364 lawmakers immediately voted to kill Green’s impeachment measure with only 58 Democrats voting to move ahead.
The resolution was expected to fail as it was widely opposed by Republicans and most Democrats.
Texas Congressman Al Green has described the president as having “behavior unfit for the oval office,” but previous accusations against the congressman himself reveal his own behavior was out of line.
Green is a vocal member of the anti-Trump movement in the House of Representatives, and has been at the forefront of the liberal effort to see President Trump removed from office.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

However, past allegations of sexual misconduct have called the Texas congressman’s integrity into question.
Back in 2007, Green’s former district director Lucinda Daniels accused him of sexual contact without consent at her home.
Afterwards, Daniels said the politician tried to pursue a romantic relationship, and when she spurned his advances — Green created a hostile work environment.
She also said Green tried to smear her character, making it difficult for her with future employers.
An attorney for Green said Daniels demanded $1.8 million dollars in damages, but the congressman countered the allegations.
He filed a lawsuit against the alleged victim, claiming he was being extorted by Daniels.
Green suggested she threatened to sue him for workplace discrimination if he did not pay her the large sum.
A year later, lawyers from both Green and Daniels issued a joint statement saying both the congressman and the alleged victim resolved their dispute outside of court without any sort of settlement or litigation.
The congressman’s attorney later said Green would drop his lawsuit if Daniels dropped her accusations and signed an agreement refuting her claims against the Democrat.
After she signed the agreement, Green’s spokesman says the congressman indeed had a — quote — “romantic encounter” with Daniels, but any suggestion of sexual assault was false.
This back-and-forth between Green and his former employee raises questions about his present conduct in the House.
Green appears obsessed with impeaching President Trump, calling for his impeachment whenever the president says something he disagrees with.
He is currently playing “chicken” with his articles of impeachment after scheduling to present them on the House floor and swerving left by not showing up for his presentation
He later claimed he wanted his fellow Democrats and the public to review his proposal.
After more than a decade in office, Green has not done much legislatively.
He has shown strong liberal bias in his political stances, favorably voting for everyone of former President Obama’s budget proposals and voting against everyone of former President George W. Bush’s tax and spending cuts during his tenure.
Critics say a man willing to file a frivolous lawsuit against an alleged assault victim and draft partisan impeachment documents, clearly does not have his priorities or his constituents at heart.

Outrage as Philly pushes through ban on bulletproof glass in crime-plagued neighborhood shops

Philadelphia is one step closer to getting rid of bulletproof glass in many of its small businesses as part of a larger effort to crack down on loitering, public urination and potential drug sales -- but it's triggered backlash from the shopkeepers.

The city's Public Health and Human Services Committee passed a bill that enables Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections to regulate the bullet-resistant barricades that stand between customers and cash registers in many neighborhood corner stores, according to Fox 29.

“No establishment required to obtain a Large Establishment license … shall erect or maintain a physical barrier that requires the persons serving the food either to open a window or other aperture or to pass the food through a window or other aperture, in order to hand the food to a customer inside the establishment,” the bill states. It also calls for larger establishments to have bathrooms for customers.
Many of the hundreds of deli owners feel as though they are being singled out and are among those protesting the bill, according to Fox 29.
“If the glass comes down, the crime rate will rise and there will be lots of dead bodies,” Rich Kim, the owner of Broad Deli, which sells soda, meals and beer by the can, said. “The most important thing is safety and the public’s safety.”
Kim said the glass went up after a shooting and says it saved his mother-in-law from a knife attack.
Fox News previously reported that the bill, put forward by Councilwoman Cindy Bass, focuses on “stop-and-go” convenience stores that act more like bars than the restaurants they are licensed to be, selling beer and shots of liquor over the counter and attracting crowds that end up becoming public nuisances, according to lawmakers.
Pennsylvania state law mandates businesses with restaurant licenses should regularly sell food and have tables and chairs to seat 30 people. But some businesses keep their seating locked up or out of reach and the grills shut down, selling little more than alcohol and forcing customers to wander outside.
Bass told Fox News that in “more than 90 percent of cases they are breaking the law in terms of operating outside the requirement of their license.”
Bass said the bulletproof glass and partitions at some of these businesses are a concern of the city’s health department, as if a customer is choking or having an allergic reaction, a barrier should not stand in the way of safety.
She also addressed the security concerns. “Thousands of businesses operate in the same neighborhoods with no Plexiglass,” she told Fox News, mentioning stores like Rite-Aid and barber shops. “I’ve never been to a bar with Plexiglass.”
Kim objected to the claims that the bill stemmed from nuisance complaints city officials got from constituents, and said that calls to police often were met with slow responses.
The chairman of the Asian American Licensed Beverage Association of Philadelphia, which represents 217 ‘beer delis’ in the city, also said most of the businesses being targeted “are in not-as-safe neighborhoods.”
A full council vote is slated for Thursday, December 14, according to Fox 29.

F-35s could assist in intercepting North Korean ICBMs, experiment shows: report

FILE: A U.S.Marine Corps F-35B joint strike fighter jet conducts aerial maneuvers during aerial refueling training over the Atlantic Ocean.  (Reuters)

A 2014 test provided evidence that the U.S.’ F-35 fighter jet could prove to be a viable weapon against the threat of a North Korean-launched ballistic missile, reports said.

The high-tech F-35's sensors could help other missile-defense equipment track and destroy an intercontinental ballistic missile launched by North Korea.

John “Bama” Montgomery, a business development manager at Northrop’s targeting division, told Defense One that information gathered by the F-35s could be transmitted to a THAAD anti-ballistic missile system.
“The shooter now has information to go and put his information in the right place," Montgomery said. "Thus, the radar doesn’t have to search. It goes, ‘I know where it is; it’s right there.'”
The assessment pointed to an Inside Defense report that cited Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who said the joint strike fighter could down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its boost phase.
The Defense One report said the U.S. does not have a foolproof way to down an ICBM. The report said the best chances the U.S. has in intercepting a missile is when it is on, or leaving the launch pad.
Northrop reportedly conducted a test in 2014 to determine if the F-35’s Distributed Aperture System could accurately track an ICBM. The test determined that the sensors could help missile-defense systems destroy the target.
The news was reportedly wasn't released until Tuesday because it took several years to determine. The modeling and simulation numbers are classified, but Montgomery told Defense One that, “I can tell you right now that this system, as depicted here, really does help the ballistic missile environment.”
Last week, North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile that demonstrated a greater range than other missiles North Korea has tested. One expert estimated its range at more than 8,100 miles if launched on a standard trajectory, which would put Washington, D.C., within reach.
The details of the test remain unclear, with a U.S. official saying the missile did not manage to make a re-entry into Earth's atmosphere – the key problem for North Korea's nuclear program.

US Embassy workers in Cuba found to have brain abnormalities, report says

Brain abnormalities have been found in the U.S. diplomats who were victims of suspected attacks at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, according to a new report.

Doctors discovered that white matter in the brains of Embassy workers had “developed changes,” The Associated Press reported. White matter allows different areas of the brain to communicate.

Doctors found changes within the white brain matter in U.S. diplomats who experienced "attacks" while at the American Embassy in Cuba.  (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

At least 24 U.S. Embassy officials in Cuba had reported hearing loud, grating noises before experiencing ear issues, hearing loss, dizziness, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping.
CUBA CITES LACK OF EVIDENCE IN MYSTERIOUS SONIC ATTACKS ON DIPLOMATS
Some victims knew immediately that the attack was affecting their bodies, while some developed physical symptoms within 24 hours.
Other Americans who were not working but were traveling in Cuba had also reported experiencing weird symptoms similar to those that the U.S. officials reported, the State Department said.
While investigators had initially suspected what personnel were expecting as “sonic attacks,” officials are now avoiding that term.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that he believes the Embassy workers were victims of “targeted attacks,” but noted the U.S. doesn’t know who perpetrated them.
However, Tillerson did say that the blame for the attacks falls on Cuba, as its government is responsible for the safety of diplomats in their country.
FIRST RECORDING EMERGES OF HIGH-PITCHED 'SONIC WEAPON' LINKED TO ATTACKS ON US EMBASSY WORKERS IN CUBA
Cuba has denied all accusations of involvement and claimed the Trump administration was “deliberately lying” about the attacks.
The Cuban government has also asked that the U.S. release its findings of the attacks for Cuba to investigate. Tillerson has said that while the U.S. had released some information, the country won’t release additional details that could allow the perpetrator to determine how effective the attacks were.
Most of the victims have fully recovered, officials told The Associated Press.

Trashy Colin Kaepernick Cartoons

Sarah Sanders does press, prays and bakes pies. When will haters like Chelsea Handler leave her alone?

Ever get the feeling that President Trump, and by extension his closest staff, can do nothing right in the eyes of the Washington press corps? It sure seems that way when they pick apart even sweet traditions like serving our troops on Thanksgiving or the decorations chosen by the first lady for Christmas.  But let’s be honest, aside from the president, his female staff receive the harshest and most dishonorable treatment. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Press Secretary of the Trump administration, innocently baked a pie for Thanksgiving and posted it to Instagram.  It looked delicious. It shouldn’t have been controversial – it’s a pie – but leave it to the media to stoke conspiracy, ridiculously accusing Sanders of posting a stock photo and labeling it #piegate. 

Seriously, this happened. Never mind that our nation is grappling with transformative issues like tax reform or dealing with a mad dictator in North Korea. The media focused on a pie solely because Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a member of a presidential administration they despise. Piegate, however, is just nothing compared to the personal attacks.  It’s shocking the depth to which they will sink, criticizing her looks, her weight, and her accent.
Liberal Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, who makes a career of pettiness and the denigration of conservative women (to the point of being obsessive and creepy), wrote, “And so, at Monday’s off-camera briefing, she stood on the podium, frequently cocking her left eyebrow and raising the left corner of her lips to convey displeasure at the line of questioning. Then, as frequently, she opened her mouth and, with a heavy Arkansas twang, said a lot of nothing.” Most recently, he railed against the “Trump mouthpiece” for her “infantilizing of the press corps” by asking them to say what they are thankful for before submitting a question. The tone of the article went downhill from there.

In at time when we are watching the freak show of frat boy behavior unfold in the media, it’s refreshing to watch Sanders handle her job with poise, refusing to engage in futile, useless, and childish behavior.

A piece earlier this year by Pulitzer prize-winning Los Angeles Times’ columnist David Horsey was so nasty they were forced to take down. In it, he called Sanders a litany of things I’d rather not write here.
His comment about being Sanders being a “soccer mom” was particularly disgusting, because he not only denigrated Sanders but implied that soccer moms in general have nothing else to do but bake cookies and wear running shoes. It was an unnecessarily mean.
And do I even need to mention the childish, expletive-packed rant by Wonkette Senior Editor Evan Hurst, who apparently has never met an F-bomb he didn’t like?
Comedian Chelsea Handler wrote last year that we need to “find women that are different than you and figure out the things you have in common. We have a whole generation of girls who are looking at us to see how we treat each other…” Yet just this week she railed against Sanders, choosing to describe her with crass and rude language. Some role model you are, Ms. Handler.
Beyond bad form.
Sanders arguably has one of the toughest jobs in the entire administration as Trump’s press secretary. The White House press secretary must have a grasp of every major and most minor issues on any given day and be able to articulate a concise and coherent answer to a group of people who, for the most part, want to destroy her boss.
The job requires calm under intense pressure. I have yet to see Sanders lose her cool, even when faced with difficult, ridiculous, or from-left-field questions posed by members of the press over and over again.  She’s also funny, exclaiming, “Christmas had come early” when alerted to the fact that CNN was boycotting the White House Christmas party.
The White House press corps were not amused.
Dana Perino, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush, was only one of two female press secretaries in history (Sanders is the third). She wrote an open letter to Sanders at the beginning of her tenure, urging her to be the “most knowledgeable person in the room” and to “take a moment of gratitude” when walking into the West Wing.
Sanders does even more than that. She reads from a Christian devotional and says a prayer before entering the press briefing room and meeting the press. This is a woman who is grounded in her faith, understands her position, and executes her responsibilities well.  On some days it’s a lions den.
One would think that the feminist members of the media would be thrilled to see a courageous woman place another crack in the glass ceiling of power and influence but not so much.  Sanders has faced a barrage of negativity from the very people who handled the Obama administration with kid gloves.
In at time when we are watching the freak show of frat boy behavior unfold in the media, it’s refreshing to watch Sanders handle her job with poise, refusing to engage in futile, useless, and childish behavior. The left will never give her a fair shake, and feminists seem to find her a dangerous threat to their demands for fealty from women.
That’s OK; she doesn’t need their acclaim. Young, aspiring professional women love her. Conservative moms at home cheer her on when she is at the podium. People of faith pray for her.
Sanders doesn’t need your approval or even ours, because she plays to an audience of One even more powerful than Donald Trump.
Penny Young Nance is president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest women’s public policy organization. She is the author of the book "Feisty and Feminine: A Rallying Cry for Conservative Women" (Zondervan 2016).