DC lawmaker accused of anti-Semitism reportedly gave constituent funds to Louis Farrakhan event

Trayon White reportedly donated $500 of constituent funds to a Nation of Islam event in which leader Louis Farrakhan made anti-Semitic comments.

A D.C. council member is under fire for allegedly donating $500 to a Nation of Islam event in which leader Louis Farrakhan declared that “powerful Jews are my enemy,” a new report claims.
According to The Washington Post, Trayon White Sr. made the Jan. 29 donation from an account for his constituents.
The private funds were reportedly raised by lawmakers with the intention of being used for members of the community.
Instead White, a Democrat representing Ward 8, allegedly donated to the Nation of Islam’s “Saviours Day,” a weekend gathering each year in which Farrakhan made controversial comments about Jews.
At that February event, Farrakhan railed against Jews, who he claimed were in charge of the FBI and “were responsible for all of this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out turning men into women and women into men.” At the event, Farrakhan also reportedly claimed that both “powerful Jews” and the government were his enemies.
White told The Post that he didn’t know about the donation, but defended the group in broader terms.
“The Brothers from the Nation are of the few men that show up to help . . . us address crime and social ills in Southeast. They also run a feeding program in several public housing communities in ward 8,” White reportedly wrote in a text message to the outlet. “I’m a Christian but I support a lot of people and all religions who support my community.”
An official with the Nation of Islam told The Post that White personally ordered the funds be provided to the group.
“He said to me, ‘I want you to make a payment to the Nation of Islam for Saviours’ Day,’” Darryl Ross, the group’s treasurer, told The Post. “So I went on the website to get the information I needed in order to make the payment.”
The controversy surrounding the contributions follows an outcry over previous anti-Semitic remarks White has made. Last month White claimed that rich Jews control the weather.
"Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man," White said in a Facebook video. "Y'all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation.
"And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man."
During the 19th century, the Rothschild family had one of the world's largest fortunes, amassed through banking and other endeavors.
In a subsequent visit to the Holocaust museum, White reportedly questioned the accuracy of the actions of a Nazi in a 1935 photograph.
White has a May 3 deadline to explain the donation to campaign finance officials and could be fined if they determine that the money given was improper.

Fresno State prof blasts farmers as 'stupid' Trump supporters in video rife with F-bombs

Randa Jarrar, an author and professor at Fresno State’s Department of English, sparked outrage for her comments on Twitter calling the late Barbara Bush an "amazing racist."  (California State University, Fresno)

A video posted online this week includes profanity-laced clips from past interviews and speeches by embattled, Bush-bashing Fresno State professor Randa Jarrar, in which she says farmers who support President Donald Trump are "just f---ing stupid."
The nearly 4-minute YouTube video, published Wednesday under the username Vigilante Goose, was emailed Friday to university officials -- including university President Joseph Castro, the Fresno Bee reported.

Jarrar, an English professor at the school, also known as California State University, Fresno, ignited a firestorm Tuesday, just after news broke about the death of Barbara Bush, whose funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Texas.
In Twitter posts Tuesday, Jarrar called the late first lady an “amazing racist,” and said she was “happy the witch is dead.”
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
Outrage over the posts has had Castro and other university officials worried about alienating key donors -- and sparked debate among the faculty over the professor's free speech rights.
As part of the fallout, the university also has been dealing with reports that Jarrar listed the phone number of a student crisis line in Arizona as being her own number, resulting in a flood of calls to the crisis line.
'The bigger person'
The video posted this week opens with Jarrar commenting about the agriculture industry, which is vital to the Fresno area.
“A lot of the farmers now are Trump supporters and just f---ing stupid,” she says, adding that she “can’t f---ing stand the white, hetero-patriarchy.”

“A lot of the farmers now are Trump supporters and just f---ing stupid.”

At another point, Jarrar talks about guns, and criticizes "the left" for being too "gentle" in dealing with "the other side."
“I don’t give a f---. I’m buying guns. I’m an American, I’m buying guns,” Jarrar says. “You know what, the other side is doing some stupid s—t. I’m going to do some stupid s—t. I'm tired of, like, being the bigger person — literally am, usually — but, like, I'm also just tired of the left being, like, f---ing stupid and being like, ‘No we have to, like, be gentle' … no, don’t be f---ing gentle.'"
To some, the video may appear to be intended to embarrass the professor by recycling her most controversial comments, but the professor herself appears to view it differently, calling the compilation “iconic.”
"A troll made a beautiful clip of all my recent greatest hits,” Jarrar wrote on Twitter this week, and included a link to the video, the Bee reported.
Jarrar has since made her Twitter account private following the slew of tweets about Bush, in which she also said she “can’t wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way 1.5 million Iraqis have.”
As for the fallout her posts have generated, Jarrar taunted that she “will never be fired” as she is a tenured professor making $100,000 per year, and “will always have people wanting to hear what I have to say.”
University president responds
Castro took to Twitter himself Thursday to address Jarrar’s comments that sparked national outrage, saying that he too was “upset” and believes it is “important for us to condemn that part of what was done and said,” while stressing the need to “continue to role-model leadership” while upholding the First Amendment rights.
“A single set of tweets does not define the success of our university,” he said.
The video shows Jarrar’s profanity-laced comments eliciting different reactions from audience members who heard her speak. But at one point it shows people walking during an appearance in Indiana, the Bee reported.
What was Jarrar's reaction?
“I’m so proud when people walk out of my talks," she says.

Trump fires back on Twitter over Democrats' lawsuit

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club, April 18, 2018, in Palm Beach, Fla.  (Associated Press)

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Friday night to fire back at a Democratic Party lawsuit alleging a widespread conspiracy to tilt the 2016 election in his favor.
On a night when he was also tweeting about perceived progress on the denuclearization of North Korea, the president had this to say about the Dems' lawsuit:
"Just heard the Campaign was sued by the Obstructionist Democrats. This can be good news in that we will now counter for the DNC Server that they refused to give to the FBI, the Debbie Wasserman Schultz Servers and Documents held by the Pakistani mystery man and Clinton Emails."

The Democratic Party on Friday filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit against Trump campaign officials, the Russian government and WikiLeaks, alleging an election conspiracy.   
Calling it an “all-out assault on our democracy,” the Democratic National Committee filed the civil suit in federal district court in Manhattan. The suit amounts to another legal broadside related to the 2016 race, on top of the special counsel's ongoing Russia probe and the FBI raid on Trump's personal attorney this month.
"The conspiracy constituted an act of previously unimaginable treachery: the campaign of the presidential nominee of a major party in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the Presidency," the suit states.
The new suit claims that Trump campaign officials worked in tandem with the Russian government and its military spy agency to bring down Hillary Clinton by hacking into the computer networks of the Democratic National Committee and spreading stolen material.
The suit names several Trump campaign aides who met with Russian nationals during the campaign, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, former campaign chair Paul Manafort and former campaign deputy Rick Gates.
Gates and Manafort have both been charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The suit also claims WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “shared the defendants’ common goal of damaging the Democratic Party in advance of the election.” The suit states that Russia, using WikiLeaks, would disseminate information stolen from the DNC “at times when it would best suit the Trump campaign.”

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DOJ watchdog sends criminal referral for McCabe to federal prosecutor

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has sent a criminal referral for fired FBI official Andrew McCabe to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington.
The move follows a recent DOJ inspector general report that found McCabe leaked a self-serving story to the press and later lied about it to then-Director James Comey and federal investigators, prompting Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire him on March 16.
A source confirmed to Fox News that the referral was sent.
The Washington Post reported earlier that the IG referred the finding that McCabe misled investigators "some time ago," asking the top federal prosecutor for D.C. to examine whether he should be charged.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe lacked "candor" in conversations with federal investigators.  (AP)

Representatives with the Justice Department, inspector general’s office and U.S. attorney’s office all declined to comment.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., backed the move in a tweet Thursday afternoon.
"The criminal referral from the IG is the right decision. It's about time we have some accountability for this type of conduct at the Justice Department," he said.
In an interview with CNN Thursday, Comey said that he had no knowledge of the referral, but confirmed that he could be a witness against McCabe if he is prosecuted.
"Given that the IG’s report reflects interactions that Andy McCabe had with me and other FBI senior executives, I could well be a witness," said Comey.
The former FBI Director added that he liked McCabe "very much as a person, but sometimes even good people do things they shouldn’t do ... I think it is accountability mechanisms working and they should work because it’s not acceptable in the FBI or the Justice Department for people to lack candor. It’s something we take really seriously."

Former FBI Director James Comey ordered the inspector general investigation that led to Andrew McCabe's ouster.  (AP)

In a statement, McCabe's legal team said they were advised of the referral "within the past few weeks."
"Although we believe the referral is unjustified, the standard for an IG referral is very low. We have already met with staff members from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We are confident that, unless there is inappropriate pressure from high levels of the Administration, the US Attorney’s Office will conclude that it should decline to prosecute," they said.
While Comey may not have intentionally launched the investigation gunning for McCabe, it was spurred by a desire to find who leaked to The Wall Street Journal in October 2016 about an FBI probe of the Clinton Foundation. The story said a senior Justice Department official expressed displeasure to McCabe that FBI agents were still looking into the Clinton Foundation, and McCabe had defended agents' authority to pursue the issue.
That leak confirmed the existence of the probe into the Clinton Foundation, which Comey, who led the bureau at the time, refused to do.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz sent a criminal referral for Andrew McCabe to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Washington D.C.  (AP)

Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report said McCabe authorized the leak and then misled investigators about it, leaking in a way that did not fall under the “public interest” exception.
Horowitz found that McCabe lacked “candor” when questioned by FBI agents on multiple occasions, and that he told agents he did not authorize the disclosure and did not know who was responsible.
But McCabe’s legal counsel, Michael Bromwich, has blasted the inspector general report and has criticized Comey. The report said Comey and McCabe gave conflicting accounts about a conversation they had on the leak.
“The OIG should credit Mr. McCabe’s account over Director Comey’s,” Bromwich wrote to Horowitz in a letter, complaining that the report “paints Director Comey as a white knight carefully guarding FBI information, while overlooking that Mr. McCabe’s account is more credible…”
He issued a similar statement Wednesday in response to Comey's interview comments:
"In his comments this week about the McCabe matter, former FBI Director James Comey has relied on the accuracy and the soundness of the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) conclusions in their report on Mr. McCabe. In fact, the report fails to adequately address the evidence (including sworn testimony) and documents that prove that Mr. McCabe advised Director Comey repeatedly that he was working with the Wall Street Journal on the stories in question prior to publication. Neither Mr. Comey nor the OIG is infallible, and in this case neither of them has it right."
On Thursday night, Comey told MSNBC that McCabe didn't tell him about plans to speak to the press.
“He didn’t tell me about it," Comey said. "He didn’t ask me about it before he did it. And I would’ve expected that. But I think he had the authority to do it. But I think as a matter of rule, he had the authority.”
On Wednesday, nearly a dozen Republican members of Congress sent their own criminal referral to the Justice Department and FBI seeking an investigation of McCabe, along with Comey, ex-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Hillary Clinton and others.
GOP REPS REFER COMEY, CLINTON, MCCABE FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION 
The IG referral, however, could represent a more serious problem for McCabe.

US taps Lockheed for $928M hypersonic project after reported gains by Russia, China

A Russian fighter launches a hypersonic missile during a test in March over southern Russia.  (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)

The U.S. Air Force has tapped defense giant Lockheed Martin to develop a hypersonic weapon, in a deal reportedly worth $928 million.
The contract comes one month after Russia said it successfully tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile with no equal. China has similar capabilities, the Washington Post reported.
Defense officials have warned that hypersonic missiles that can travel at more than five times the speed of sound and could -- in theory -- evade U.S. missile defense systems, the report said.
The Air Force project is considered the Pentagon’s top “technical priority,” which is remarkable due to ever-evolving cyber-warfare threats and bioterrorism.
“We will, with today’s defense systems, not see these things coming,” Michael Griffin, the Pentagon’s research and development leader, said, according to the Post.
The Russian Defense Ministry posted video in March showing a MiG-31 launching a Kinzhal (Dagger) missile during a training flight. The ministry claimed the missile hit a practice target and had been put on combat duty with a unit of Russia’s Southern Military District.
The Pentagon said in a statement that the Lockheed contract "provides for the design, development, engineering, systems integration, test, logistics planning, and aircraft integration support of all the elements of a hypersonic, conventional, air-launched, stand-off weapon."
Defense News reported that the deal’s value could be as high as $928 million for Lockheed.

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Lockheed is reportedly developing a hypersonic unmanned plane, the SR-72, “son of Blackbird,” that aims to fly at Mach 6.
Marillyn Hewson, the company’s CEO, said the SR-72 “could forever change our ability to deter and respond to conflict.”

Bush-bashing professor has Fresno State scrambling to keep its donors

Fresno State is investigating comments made by professor Randa Jarrar, who posted that former first lady Barbara Bush was an "amazing racist," among other things, just an hour after Bush's death was announced.  (Facebook)

A Fresno State professor who called the late Barbara Bush “racist” soon after her death Tuesday, and said she was glad “the witch is dead,” continues to face fallout as donors mull ceasing donations to the institution.
Randa Jarrar, an English professor at the school (also known as California State University at Fresno), sparked outrage Tuesday just hours after the former first lady died at age 92, writing a number of tweets attacking Bush and the family.
“Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal. F*** outta here with your nice words,” the professor tweeted. “I'm happy the witch is dead. Can’t wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way 1.5 million Iraqis have.”

Jarrar, a tenured professor, boasted on social media that because she has tenure, she won’t be fired from her job. She’s currently on leave this semester and was reportedly traveling overseas.
Amid the backlash, someone on social media shared Jarrar's publicly available work phone number and email address, to which the professor responded with a phone number for a crisis hotline at Arizona State University, saying that’s her number, prompting a flood of calls to the hotline that normally receives just a few calls per week.
FRESNO STATE SAYS BARBARA BUSH-BASHING PROFESSOR CAN BE FIRED DESPITE TENURE
A university investigation is underway. But several donors to Fresno State are reportedly considering whether the university deserves their contributions.
Ed Dunkel Jr., who made sizable financial contributions to Fresno State, said he will await the outcome of the controversy before deciding whether to close his checkbook.
“I have a lot of friends that I've been talking to, and these are people who donate now and talking about holding back, and some are even questioning whether to send their kids to Fresno State," Dunkel told the Fresno Bee.
"I admire and have a lot of respect for President (Joseph) Castro and huge affection for Fresno State," Dunkel said. "But I have huge concerns. This represents such an embarrassment to the university and the community. It's hard to believe this is an isolated thing that just happened. I have to imagine people previously knew of this person's character and what she's about."
Fresno State President Joseph Castro acknowledged that he’s been having conversations with donors regarding the controversy.
"The conversations I'm having are more about their concern, and I share that concern. I understand where they're coming from. I'm asking them for understanding here as we work through the complexities of this issue,” he told the Fresno Bee.

"I understand where [university donors are] coming from. I'm asking them for understanding here as we work through the complexities of this issue."

"They're outraged, and I'm outraged as well," he added. "This is behavior that is unacceptable as a university that models the development of leaders. We just cannot tolerate it."
On Wednesday, the school seemed to make a point of posting on Twitter that campus flags were at half-staff in memory of Barbara Bush.
The school's College Republicans also tweeted that they were "outraged" by Jarrar's comments.
But while Jarrar is facing calls to be terminated, she attracted support from multiple advocacy organizations and professors who defended her right to free speech.
“Jarrar’s tweets are unquestionably protected speech under the First Amendment and Fresno State has no power to censor, punish, or terminate Jarrar for them,” Adam Steinbaugh, senior program officer for FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education), said in a statement to Fox News.
FIRE also joined other free speech advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in opposing the university’s decision to investigate Jarrar, saying it conflicts with the First Amendment.
Another controversial Fresno State professor, who was demoted after tweeting that President Donald Trump “must hang” in order to “save American democracy,” said the university is failing to live up to its promise to defend academic freedom.
Lars Maischak, a history lecturer, wrote an article for the Bee claiming the university professor is siding with attackers of Jarrar rather than standing up to the “fascist threat to academic freedom.”

Trump tweets that Comey memos ‘clearly’ show no obstruction, collusion

President Trump late Thursday tweeted that the newly released memos written by former FBI Director James Comey “show clearly” no collusion with Russia in 2016 and no obstruction into the investigation.
The memos, which were written by Comey about his interaction with Trump, prove that the fired FBI director never felt obstructed, GOP lawmakers said. Many Democrats claim that Trump tried to hold up the FBI’s investigation into alleged collusion leading up to the 2016 election.
“James Comey Memos just out show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION. Also, he leaked classified information. WOW! Will the Witch Hunt continue?” Trump tweeted.
The memos also showed that eight days after he was sworn in as president, Trump told Comey during a one-on-one dinner at the White House that he "needed loyalty and expected loyalty."
Comey wrote that he "did not reply, or even nod or change my facial expression, which [Trump] noted because we came back to it later." At a later point, Comey wrote that Trump told him directly, "I need loyalty."
"I replied that he would always get honesty from me," said Comey. "[Trump] paused and said that's what he wants, 'honest loyalty.' I replied, 'you will get that from me.'"
"It is possible we understood that phrase differently," Comey added as a parenthetical, "but I chose to understand it as consistent with what I had said throughout the conversation: I will serve the President with loyalty to the office, the country, and the truth. I decided it would not be productive to push the subject further."
More than two months later, on March 30, Comey wrote that Trump had called him and pressed the FBI director to make public that the president was not under investigation over contacts between Russian officials and members of his campaign.
"I reminded [Trump] that I had told him we weren't investigating him and that I had told the Congressional leadership the same thing," Comey wrote. "[Trump] said it would be great if that could get out and several times asked me to find a way to get that out."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.; House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.; and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said in a joint statement that Comey's memos "show the President made clear he wanted allegations of collusion, coordination, and conspiracy between his campaign and Russia fully investigated.
"The memos also made clear the 'cloud' President Trump wanted lifted was not the Russian interference in the 2016 election cloud, rather it was the salacious, unsubstantiated allegations related to personal conduct leveled in the dossier" compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele, they added.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., disagreed, tweeting that the memos "are further proof of [Trump's] contempt for the rule of law.
"His attempts to intimidate, circumvent the law & undermine integrity of law enforcement investigations demand immediate action to protect the Mueller investigation," she said.
The assurance from Comey that Trump was not being investigated seemed to have weighed on the president's mind as Michael Flynn was fired as national security adviser after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about contacts with the Russian envoy to the U.S.
Trump told Comey during their March 30 conversation that "if there was 'some satellite' (NOTE: I took this to mean some associate of his or his campaign) that did something, it would be good to find that out, but that he hadn't done anything," Comey recalled.
Comey said Trump restated at the end of their conversation that the president "hoped I could find a way to get out that he wasn't being investigated.
"I told him I would see what we could do and that we would do the work well and as quickly as we could," Comey said he responded.
Goodlatte, Gowdy and Nunes noted that Comey "never wrote that he felt obstructed or threatened," adding that while Comey "went to great lengths to set dining room scenes, discuss height requirements, describe the multiple times he felt complimented, and myriad other extraneous facts, he never once mentioned the most relevant fact of all, which was whether he felt obstructed in his investigation."
Trump called Comey again on April 11 to ask "if I did what he had asked last time -- getting out that he personally is not under investigation." Comey says he advised Trump to have White House Counsel Don McGahn call then-Acting Attorney General Dana Boente to request that such a statement be made.
After Trump said he would do so, Comey said the president told him, "I have been very loyal to you, very loyal, we had that thing, you know."
"I did not reply, or ask him what he meant by 'that thing,'" wrote Comey, who added that as Trump ended the call, the president told him he was "doing a great job and wished me well."
During their Jan. 27 dinner in the Green Room, Comey wrote that Trump "thought maybe he should ask me to investigate" salacious allegations "to prove [the dossier] was a lie."
Comey wrote that "it was up to [Trump], but I wouldn't want to create a narrative that we were investigating him, because we are not and I worried such a thing would be misconstrued."
"My sense is that [the president] was focused on the personal piece [of the dossier]," Comey told MSNBC Thursday night. "He would bring it up to me repeatedly."

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Democrat hopes McConnell changes mind about bill to protect Mueller's job

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, remained hopeful Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would bring to the Senate floor legislation designed to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired.  (Reuters)

A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill designed to shield Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by President Donald Trump isn’t dead, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said Wednesday, despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell previously shutting down any hope of a vote on the measure.
Booker’s comments came a day after McConnell told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on “Your World” that there was “no indication” that Mueller would be fired.
As a result, “We’ll not be having this on the floor of the Senate," McConnell said, referring to the shield proposal.
Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, told NJ.com he was “disappointed” by McConnell's remarks, but remained hopeful for the bill's “success.”
"McConnell's changed his mind before and he might change his mind again if we show enough bipartisan support and momentum," Booker told NJ.com. "I'm encouraged with the progress and I'm hoping that we can convince McConnell to change his mind."
The proposed legislation would allow the special counsel’s firing only for good cause by a senior Justice Department official. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider the proposal later this month.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. co-sponsor the legislation with Cory Booker, D-N.J.  (Reuters)

In addition to Booker, other senators supporting the bill include Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware.
All four senators serve on the judiciary committee.
"I don't think he's going to fire Mueller, but I think institutionally it would be nice to have some protections," Graham said Tuesday.
McConnell, R-Ky., told Cavuto that he would be shocked if Trump fired the special counsel, who is investigating contacts between Russian officials and Trump's campaign.
"I don't think the president's going to do that, and just as a practical matter, even if we passed [the bill], why would he sign it?
"I’m the one who decides what [legislation] we take to the floor," McConnell said. "That's my responsibility as the majority leader."

3 in National Guard disciplined over use of dinosaur hand puppet during oath ceremony

Disciplinary actions were announced Wednesday after three Tennessee Air National Guard airmen filmed a re-enlistment oath ceremony that involved a dinosaur hand puppet.  (Facebook)

Military officials announced disciplinary actions Wednesday against three Tennessee Air National Guard airmen after filming a re-enlistment ceremony in which an officer recited her oath using a dinosaur hand puppet.
An unidentified colonel in the Guard was demoted and retired after leading the disrespectful ceremony last week in which Master Sgt. Robin Brown wore the puppet as she recited her oath.
Brown, a senior noncommissioned officer, was removed from her full-time position with the Tennessee Joint Public Affairs Office, with other administrative actions pending, officials said.
Another senior noncommissioned officer, responsible for filming the video that sparked the uproar, received an official reprimand and was removed from his job as unit first sergeant, but will remain in the Guard.
Army Maj. Gen. Terry Haston announced the disciplinary measures in a Facebook post and criticized the airmen.
“I am absolutely embarrassed that a senior officer and a senior NCO took such liberties with a time-honored military tradition,” Haston wrote. “Not taking this oath solemnly and with the utmost respect is firmly against the traditions and sanctity of our military family and will not be tolerated.”
“The Tennessee National Guard leadership as a whole is appalled by the actions of these individuals which do not represent our nation’s service members nor the Airmen and Soldiers of Tennessee,” he added.
The controversial video of the ceremony spread on social media like wildfire, with the original footage watched more than 2.6 million times on Facebook, and immediately caught the attention of military officials and civilians alike.
Many said the use of the hand puppet, in addition to the colonel not raising his own right hand and not remembering the oath, was disrespectful.
Some suggested that perhaps the video was unofficial and made merely for Brown’s children to watch later. But William Jones, a spokesman for the joint public affairs office for the Tennessee National Guard, told the Washington Post that the ceremony was official and claims to the contrary were incorrect.
Lt. Gen. Scott Rice, director of the Air National Guard, issued a Facebook statement on Monday slamming the airmen in the video.
“I’m equally shocked and dismayed by this event that mocks such a cherished and honorable occasion,” Rice said. “This action goes against our very foundation.”

New York Gov. Cuomo grants 35,000 paroled felons right to vote; GOP sees 'power grab'

Jan. 17, 2017: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo releases his proposed state budget during a news conference at the Executive Mansion in Albany, N.Y.  (AP)

In an executive order signed Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted some 35,000 paroled felons the right to vote.
The move by the second-term Democrat came after state Republicans blocked a bill in the state Senate.
“I’m unwilling to take no for an answer,” Cuomo said at the annual convention of the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network in New York City. “I’m going to make it law by executive order.”
The new directive includes New York in a list of 14 states and the District of Columbia that allow felons to vote in elections after serving their sentence.
“It is unconscionable to deny voting rights to New Yorkers who have paid their debt and have re-entered society,” Cuomo said in a statement.
“This reform will reduce disenfranchisement and will help restore justice and fairness to our democratic process. Withholding or delaying voting rights diminishes our democracy.”
Cuomo said that nearly three-fourths of parolees in New York are black or Latino, and allowing parolees to vote will help them to reconnect with the community.
But Republicans disagree and already started pouncing on Cuomo over the new measure. Republican Senate Leader John Flanagan said Wednesday that the order was bad public policy and could potentially be illegal because the governor ignored the Legislature.
Ed Cox, chairman of the state Republican Party, in a statement, called the directive an “outrageous power grab” in a bid to appeal to “radical primary voters,” according to the New York Times.
Cuomo is facing an energized Democratic primary challenge from "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon, who has repeatedly attacked the governor from the left and for failing to support minorities in the state.

Most Californians back more deportations; nearly half support travel ban, survey finds

An overwhelming majority of Californians want to deport more illegal immigrants, and nearly half support President Donald Trump's travel ban aimed at reducing terrorism, according to a new survey from the University of California at Berkeley's Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society.
But in reporting the findings of the statewide December 2017 survey, the Haas Institute on Wednesday appeared to put a liberal spin on some of the results.
For example, the headline of its news release reads, "Majority of Californians oppose border wall, support racial inclusion."
But the actual data say that in California, "66% reject the idea that the U.S.-Mexico border wall is an important immigration policy priority" -- not that they oppose the wall entirely.
And results also demonstrate that only 54 percent -- or slightly more than half -- of Californians "have positive views of Muslims," and only 51 percent "oppose banning people from majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States."
Meanwhile, "59% find it important to increase deportations of those here without documentation." Nearly 80 percent, however, support a pathway to citizenship for so-called DREAMers, and "67% think undocumented immigrants should be able to purchase health insurance on the California state exchange."
The Haas Institute concedes in its news release that "Californians hold some contradictory and troubling views."
Its suggested fix: "[O]utreach and information campaigns anchored in narratives that point Californians towards their shared progressive values and identity."
CALIF. PROFESSOR CALLS BARBARA BUSH 'AMAZING RACIST,' SAYS SHE'S HAPPY 'WITCH IS DEAD'
But the results show that many Californians already have a sense of identity and values, outreach campaign or not. For example, 45 pecent of Californians said that being Christian is an "important part of being American," and nearly 40 percent don't want to limit law enforcement cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to the survey.
The survey comes as several California cities and counties back the Trump administration's lawsuit against the state's pro-illegal immigration sanctuary policies.

"Californians hold some contradictory and troubling views."

On Wednesday, California Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans to deploy “up to 400” members of the state's National Guard troops “to combat” criminal activity along the U.S.-Mexico border — after President Donald Trump slammed the Democratic leader a day earlier for “trying to back out” of an earlier pledge to do so.
CALIFORNIA HAS WORST QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE US, REPORT FINDS
Brown issued an order that the National Guard be sent to help “combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers — within the state, along the coast and at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
But the governor sent military personnel on the condition that “the California National Guard will not enforce immigration laws or participate in the construction of any new border barrier.”
Brown's office also said the Trump administration would pick up the tab for the California deployment, the Los Angeles Times reported.
For his part, Trump tweeted Wednesday that Californians are tiring of their government.
"There is a Revolution going on in California," he wrote. "Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!"
The complete Haas Institute survey is available by clicking here.

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San Diego votes to join Trump administration's lawsuit against California's sanctuary city law

San Diego County voted Tuesday to become the latest in a string of local governments throughout California backing the Trump administration lawsuit against the state over its sanctuary city laws.
After hearing from residents, the all-Republican San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to support a lawsuit by the federal government over laws it says limit police cooperation with federal immigration agents. One member was absent during Tuesday’s vote.
As the second largest county in California, San Diego — a region of 3 million residents that borders Mexico — is the largest county to back the lawsuit. 
Supervisor Greg Cox, who cast the only dissenting vote, said in a statement afterward that “the board’s vote is a largely symbolic move that will create fear and divisiveness in our region, waste taxpayer funds and create distrust of law enforcement and local government within many communities.”
The vote followed a similar one Monday when the city of Los Alamitos voted 4-1 to approve an ordinance seeking to exempt the city from the so-called sanctuary law on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LAWSUIT AGAINST CALIFORNIA SANCTUARY LAWS BACKED BY THESE CITIES, COUNTIES
A string of local governments throughout the state of California has backed the Trump administration’s decision to sue last month, arguing that the federal government, not the state, has authority over immigration policy.
San Diego now joins Orange County, the state’s third-most-populous county, in rejecting a state law that shields criminal illegal immigrants from deportation.
The San Diego vote brings to 10 the number of governmental entities that voted against the state law that declared California, and by statute — all law enforcement in it — would not communicate with federal agents when it came to all but the most violent or repeat, convicted criminal illegal immigrants.
California Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that Washington’s tough stance against immigrants in the country illegally is “just an inflammatory football that very low-life politicians like to exploit.”
If President Donald Trump “wants to round them up like some totalitarian government and ship them out, say that,” Brown said. “But he doesn’t say that because the American people would repudiate him and his party.”

Trump rebukes Turkey for espionage trial of pastor Andrew Brunson, tweets 'I am more a Spy than he is'

President Trump sharply rebuked Turkey for the ongoing trial of detained American pastor Andrew Brunson late Thursday, tweeting that he is "being persecuted in Turkey for no reason."
Brunson, who is accused of espionage and aiding terror groups, should be "allowed to come home to his beautiful family where he belongs," Trump said.
The tweet was not the first time Trump has voiced support for the imprisoned pastor. Last May, in a face-to-face meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, Trump called for Brunson's release, the White House said at the time.
But Trump's pointed condemnation Thursday highlighted the increased stakes now that formal proceedings against Brunson have begun. The pastor faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted of the espionage-related crimes.
And the dustup comes amid tensions between the U.S. and Turkey over the conflict in Syria, where Turkish officials have claimed the U.S. is intentionally stalling the fight against Islamic State militants.
Turkey says Brunson, 50, conspired with exiled Turkish Imam Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania resident who Erdogan says orchestrated the July 2016 coup attempt against his government.
US PASTOR DENIES ALLEGATIONS, SAYS 'I LOVE TURKEY'
That failed coup led to a sweeping government crackdown against suspected dissidents, and Brunson was initially held in October 2016 on immigration-related offenses.
Turkey also claims Brunson passed along state secrets and intelligence that might be useful in the event of a war, such as the location of railway stations.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is helping to represent Brunson, said he was held for nearly a year and a half without being formally charged.
"They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is," Trump wrote, after calling Brunson a "fine gentleman and Christian leader in the United States."
TURKEY SEEKS TO EXTEND STATE OF EMERGENCY AFTER 2016 COUP -- FOR THE 7TH TIME
In a hearing Monday, Brunson, appearing gaunt, categorically denied the allegations against him.
"I am a Christian pastor,” Brunson said during the hearing. “I did not join an Islamic movement. Their aims and mine are different."
The U.S. has a team in Turkey observing the trial, including former Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, the U.S. Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom.
The ACLJ has called the prosecution outrageous.
“He has done nothing," the ACLJ senior counsel CeCei Heil said. "He is an innocent pastor who has simply lived out his faith in Turkey."

Former ace Navy pilot ID’d as hero who landed damaged Southwest flight: report

Southwest pilot Tammie Jo Shults, left, pictured at her alma mater MidAmerica Nazarene where she graduated in 1983. Shults was praised for landing the Dallas-bound Flight 1380 Tuesday after one of its engines blew mid-air at 32,000 feet.  (MidAmerica Nazarene)

The Southwest Airlines pilot who made an emergency landing Tuesday after the jet blew an engine and lost a window at 32,000 feet was one of the first female pilots to fly with the U.S. Navy, The New York Post reported.

Tammie Jo Shults, 56, was calm as she navigated the damaged Dallas-bound jet, Flight 1380, to an emergency landing in Philadelphia, the report said.

The twin-engine Boeing 737 that left New York’s LaGuardia Airport had 143 customers and five crew on board. One passenger died after she was reportedly hit with shrapnel from the explosion.

U.S. NTSB investigators examine the damage to the engine of the Southwest Airlines plane. Pilot Tammie Jo Schults was forced to conduct an emergency landing in Philadelphia after one of the plane's engines blew mid-air Tuesday.  (REUTERS)

Jennifer Riordan, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was identified as the woman who died. Riordan was the mother of two and a Wells Fargo bank executive.
Witnesses told WCAU that a woman was "partially sucked out" of an airplane window and shrapnel from the exploded engine smashed it, but it remains unclear whether Riordan was that passenger.
Seven others were injured.
“We have a part of the aircraft missing, so we’re going to need to slow down a bit,” Shults told air traffic controllers from the cockpit, Reuters reported.
Shults took the plane into a rapid descent as passengers employed oxygen masks and braced for impact. The veteran pilot managed to safely land the plane at Philadelphia International at 11:30 a.m.
One passenger cited by The Kansas City Star, lauded Shults’ “nerves of steel.”

Shults, a Christian, once said in an interview that sitting in the captain's chair gave her "the opportunity to witness for Christ on almost every flight."

“Tammie Jo Schults, the pilot came back to speak to each of us personally,” wrote another passenger, cited by the paper. “This is a true American Hero. A huge thank you for her knowledge, guidance and bravery in a traumatic situation. God bless her and all the crew.”
Shults was one of the first female fighter pilots in U.S. military history, according to friends from her alma mater, MidAmerican Nazarene. She was a pilot and instructor with the Navy before joining Southwest Airlines in 1993, KUSI reported.
In a written statement, Southwest Airlines said it was ‘devastated’ over Tuesday’s event. The company did not explicitly mention Shults.  

CIA Director Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend

The Washington Post reports the CIA director met with the North Korean leader over Easter Weekend; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports from West Palm Beach, Florida.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend in an effort to lay the groundwork for a summit between Kim and President Trump, Fox News has confirmed.
Pompeo's trip, which was first reported by The Washington Post, came to light hours after Trump told reporters that the U.S. and North Korea are holding direct talks at "extremely high levels" in preparation for what would be an extraordinary meeting following months of heated rhetoric over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
The White House and the CIA declined to comment to Fox News about Pompeo's visit.
"The administration does not comment on the CIA Director’s travel," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Trump, who welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his Florida resort Tuesday, said five locations for the potential summit are under consideration. The president would not disclose the sites but said the U.S. was not among them.
"We'll either have a very good meeting or we won't have a good meeting," Trump told reporters. "And maybe we won't even have a meeting at all, depending on what's going in. But I think that there's a great chance to solve a world problem."
The president did not answer shouted questions about whether he has spoken with Kim.
Kim's offer for a summit was initially conveyed to Trump by South Korea last month, and the president shocked many when it was announced that he had accepted. U.S. officials have indicated over the past two weeks that North Korea's government has communicated directly with Washington that it is ready to discuss its nuclear weapons program.
Abe, who has voiced fears that short- and medium-range missiles that pose a threat to Japan might not be part of the U.S. negotiations, praised Trump on Tuesday for his bravery in agreeing to meet with the North Korean dictator.
"I'd like to commend Donald's courage in his decision to have the upcoming summit meeting with the North Korean leader," Abe said.
Trump also confirmed that North and South Korea are working to negotiate an end to hostilities before next week's meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae In. The meeting will be the third inter-Korean summit since the Koreas' 1945 division.
North Korea has long sought a peace treaty with the U.S. to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. But it is unusual for the North to seek to broach the issue directly with South Korea rather than with Washington. The armistice that ended the fighting was signed by the United Nations Command — the U.S.-led forces in the conflict — North Korea and China. South Korea was a member of the U.N. Command but was not a direct signatory.
Trump said Tuesday that the two Koreas "have my blessing to discuss the end of the war."

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