Temple University Mumps Outbreak: Number of people suspected to be infected reaches 67

File – A health care worker prepares syringes, including a vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), for a child’s inoculations at the International Community Health Services in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:12 AM PT — Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Health officials in Philadelphia said 13 additional people have contracted the mumps at Temple University, sending the count from the outbreak to a new high. The total number of cases now stands at 67.
The outbreak prompted Temple University to change its immunization policy for incoming students. The new policy requires them to receive two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine before entering school.
Some students expressed their frustration with the spread of the infection on campus.
“I feel like its crazy, because this could have been avoided by simply having a vaccine,” said Temple University student Ashley Alex. “And these are preventable diseases, and I think I saw someone with the mumps walking around.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the vaccine significantly decreases the risk of contracting the virus.
Since the vaccine’s effectiveness can diminish over time, however, a booster shot may be necessary to keep up the body’s defenses against the virus. Health officials said this may be why the number of cases at the university is rising.

 Thank you democrats for opening the borders and letting in diseases that most Americans thought were extinct. Mumps is a terrible disease when contracted as an adult.

Tennessee Democratic Party chairwoman apologizes for calling state ‘racist’

Mary Mancini, chairwoman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, apologized this week after calling the state "racist." (Twitter/@marymancini)

The chairwoman of the Tennessee Democratic Party apologized this week for calling the state racist during a discussion of local politics and while promoting less conventional candidates.
Mary Mancini made the comment while speaking with the Coffee County Democratic Party earlier this month about how the party should put forward less conventional candidates, including black and Latinos, millennials and members of the LGBTQ community.
"We have a little bit of a problem in this state, and I'm just going to say it outright," Mancini said. "This is a racist state."

"We have a little bit of a problem in this state, and I'm just going to say it outright. This is a racist state."
— Mary Mancini, chairwoman, Tennessee Democratic Party

In another county party meeting, Mancini was heard on an audio recording calling Tennessee “a very racist state.”
Mancini issued her apology in a statement to the Tennessean newspaper of Nashville.
“In the heat and the frustration of seeing and hearing the constant drumbeat of bigotry, misogyny and homophobia coming from the Republicans at the state legislature, I used a poor choice of words and vented my frustration and I apologize," Mancini said.
Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said it was disappointing that Mancini called the state racist, the paper reported. He said Republicans are working to “lift all Tennesseans up,” citing the state’s economy and efforts to boost educational attainment.
Mancini said the GOP was causing division to be "become ingrained" in residents around the state. During her meeting with Coffee County Democrats, she suggested that Andrea Bond-Johnson, an African-American candidate for a seat in the state Legislature, couldn’t win because the area has a small minority population.
"Two out of the three counties in that area are extraordinarily racist," Mancini told the group.
"I wasn’t the only one who was told that we need to run someone who is not African-American in that district, because (some believed) an African-American cannot win in that district because white people will not vote for an African-American,” Mancini said in an interview with the paper.
Her comments follow state Rep. London Lamar, a Democrat, who apologized last year for calling Tennessee racist and the Republican voters uneducated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. Ilhan Omar's 'anti-Semitic tropes' prompt Jewish New York Dem to apologize to constituents

U.S. Rep. Max Rose, a Jewish New York Democrat in his first term in Congress, apologized to visibly frustrated constituents at a town hall in Staten Island on Tuesday for not "protecting them" from fellow freshman Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar's repeated use of "anti-Semitic tropes."
Rose's comments came as Minnesota Democrats are seriously considering the prospect of supporting an unprecedented primary challenge against the 37-year-old Omar in 2020, following bipartisan condemnation of several of her remarks, according to officials and state representatives. Earlier this month, the House passed a bipartisan resolution condemning hate of all kinds in the wake of Omar's comments. But Democrats kept Omar's name out of the resolution, which several Republicans opposed as a watered-down, half-hearted effort.
“As a young congressman, I’ve got to tell you I’m sorry,” Rose told an audience gathered by the Council of Jewish Organizations (COJO), according to a video of the town hall posted on Facebook by Jewish Insider, which first reported the comments. “You sent me to Congress to take responsibility. You sent me to Congress to have your back ... and I failed you. Because I know that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s comments really caused you all a lot of pain by bringing up anti-Semitic tropes.”
Omar, a Somali-American and one of two Muslim women in Congress, posted on Twitter in 2012 that “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” She drew condemnation in February even from fellow Democrats after she implied that Jewish politicians in the U.S. were bought.
Omar re-ignited the flames later that month when she once again suggested that groups supportive of Israel were pushing members of Congress to have "allegiance to a foreign country."

Democrat Max Rose won in an upset over Republican Rep. Dan Donovan in New York's 11th Congressional District. Photo Credit: Pool / Staten Island Advance via AP/Bill Lyons

Rose, 32, a U.S. Army veteran of the war in Afghanistan and Purple Heart recipient, denied that his Jewish faith affected his patriotism and called Omar's remarks "horrifying" -- but he said she should not yet lose her seat on the powerful House Foreign Relations Committee, a prospective move he called an unnecessary "escalation." Republicans, earlier this year, stripped U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, of his committee assignments after he made remarks widely seen as supportive of white nationalism, although King denied those charges.
“Certainly as a Jewish combat veteran, I could tell you I don’t have dual allegiance,” Rose said, as an attendee pushed him for answers on Democrats' response to Omar's comments. “I have allegiance to the flag. I have allegiance to the United States of America.”
Rose continued: “We have got to show her that there is a pathway for her to do the right thing, and we have to be vigilant towards that. Believe me, she understands that [removing her from her committee assignments] is a possibility, and nobody is taking that off the table, but we are not there yet.”
Adding that “I am not satisfied with what I’ve seen thus far, I’m not," Rose concluded by saying that he nevertheless accepted Omar's apology. President Trump and top Republicans have characterized Omar's apology as half-hearted and insincere, saying that her repeated anti-Israel comments revealed her true feelings.
"I was horrified and sad when she made the comments," Rose said. "So horrified that as a freshman member of Congress I stepped in front of my party’s leadership and I was the first member of the Democratic Party to criticize her. I did say that I accepted her apology. You know why I did that? Because I am an adult. Because my goal was to continue the quiet and non-glamorous actions of coalition-building and trying to protect the people in this room from those comments being made.”

"I was horrified and sad when she made the comments."
— U.S. Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y.

Other Democrats have offered less-than-flattering defenses for the congresswoman. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised eyebrows earlier this month when she said Omar “doesn’t understand” that some of the words she uses are "fraught with meaning."
Activists and officials interviewed in Minnesota have said recently while they have not yet recruited a viable alternative candidate to run against Omar, frustrations are mounting.
“There’s definitely some buzz going around about it, but it’s more a buzz of, 'Is anyone talking about finding someone to run against her?' than it is anyone saying they’re going to run against her or contemplate it," state Rep. Ron Latz, a Democrat, told the Hill. "There’s definitely talk about people wanting someone to run against her."
And Omar Jamal, a Somali community activist, told the Washington Post that he has been in touch with Jewish community leaders about Omar. He said he supported her campaign but called her recent comments, "wrong, period."
"This is up to Ilhan Omar," he said. "She has really spoken in a very dangerous way, and it’s going to be up to her to reach out to people and fix this."

Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan emphasizes need for Space Force

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:35 AM PT — Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan recently reiterated the need for a Space Force. While speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Wednesday, Shanahan said the force is needed to protect the U.S.
“We can’t afford to lose our margin of dominance,” he stated. “What is vital is that we protect a $19 trillion economy and the systems our military runs on.”
The acting defense secretary said China and Russia already treat space as a war fighting domain. He mentioned China is rapidly growing its presence in space. Shanahan said their government put 38 rockets in orbit last year, which is more than double the 17 the U.S. launched in 2018.
The proposed Space Force would be a potential sixth military branch, with about 15,000 to 20,000 personnel. It would be under the Department of the Air Force (DAF), which is similar to the Marine Corps’ relationship with the Navy.
The Pentagon has requested more than $72 million for fiscal year 2020 to set up the branch. It submitted its proposal to Congress, which must authorize the new service.
“To move forward effectively, space needs an advocate — that advocate will be the Space Force,” stated Shanahan.

Anti- Demo Political Cartoons

SCOTUS gives Pres. Trump victory on immigration, upholds push to detain illegals

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 10:39 AM PT — Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling on immigration, favoring the Trump administration’s policy proposals. In a five-to-four vote Tuesday, the nations highest court ruled to restrict parole or bail for illegal aliens during their deportation proceedings.
The Supreme Court said ‘catch and release’ may not be available for criminal aliens, and those who are seen as potentially able to commit a crime. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have previously criticized ‘catch and release’ as well as weak immigration laws.
The ruling allows ICE to detain deportable aliens at any time, and is said to mark a major victory for President Trump.
“We’re on track for a million illegal aliens to rush our borders,” stated the president. “People hate the word invasion, but that’s what it is, it’s an invasion of drugs and criminals…we capture them because border security is so good.”
The Supreme Court ruling also reverses last year’s decision of the notoriously leftist Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which mandated to release certain illegals from detention.

Trump: Dems 'Are Getting Very Strange'

President Donald Trump jabbed Democrats, saying they are getting very “strange” for a proposal to eliminate the Electoral College and change the size of the Supreme Court.
Trump’s comments came in a tweet shortly after midnight Wednesday.
He wrote:

“The Democrats are getting very ‘strange.’ They now want to change the voting age to 16, abolish the Electoral College, and Increase significantly the number of Supreme Court Justices. Actually, you’ve got to win it at the Ballot Box!”

His post on Twitter came after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, said Monday that she would support abolishing the Electoral College. And some Democrat candidates have also backed lowering the voting age and adding more Supreme Court justices, Newsweek reported.

Trump's middle-of-the-night post followed on the heels of a pair of tweets from late Tuesday that seemed to oppose the idea of eliminating the Electoral College:

“Campaigning for the Popular Vote is much easier & different than campaigning for the Electoral College. It’s like training for the 100 yard dash vs. a marathon. The brilliance of the Electoral College is that you must go to many States to win. With the Popular Vote, you go to....

“....just the large States - the Cities would end up running the Country. Smaller States & the entire Midwest would end up losing all power - & we can’t let that happen. I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote, but now realize the Electoral College is far better for the U.S.A.”

Rep. Cummings: White House 'Stonewalling' House Panel

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D- Md. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., says the White House has “engaged in an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction.”
Cummings, who is chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, made his comments in a column posted by The Washington Post on Tuesday evening.

“In November, the American people voted overwhelmingly to put Democrats in charge of the House of Representatives to start serving as a truly independent check and balance on the executive branch,” he said. “Since then, President (Donald) Trump and his allies have complained of “Presidential Harassment,” decrying Democrats for having the audacity to request documents and witnesses to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities.

“The problem is that the White House is engaged in an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction.”
Cummings claimed he has sent 12 letters to the White House on a half-dozen topics. But the administration has refused to turn over any documents and has not produced any witnesses for interviews.

He said his committee is reviewing White House security clearances, “hush money” payments to silence women alleging affairs with Trump, White House officials’ alleged use of personal email in violation of federal law and other issues.
Cummings maintained the refusal to produce any documents or witnesses “to the primary investigative committee in the House reflects a decision at the highest levels to deny congressional oversight altogether.”

And he added: “If our committee must resort to issuing subpoenas, there should be no doubt about why. This has nothing to do with presidential harassment and everything to do with unprecedented obstruction.”