VA Hospital Cartoons

White House mystery: Where is Macron's gifted oak tree?

April 25: President Trump and President Macron shovel dirt onto a freshly planted oak tree as first lady Melania Trump watches on the South Lawn of the White House. The tree has since disappeared.  (Reuters)

A mystery is brewing at the White House about what happened to the oak tree President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron planted there last week.
The sapling was a gift from Macron on the occasion of his state visit.
News photographers snapped away Monday when Trump and Macron shoveled dirt onto the tree during a ceremonial planting on the South Lawn. By the end of the week, the tree was gone from the lawn. A pale patch of grass was left in its place.
The White House hasn't offered an explanation.
The oak sprouted at a World War I battle site that became part of U.S. Marine Corps legend. About 2,000 U.S. troops died in the June 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood, fighting a German offensive.
Reuters reported that the tree grew near the “Devil Dog” fountain. The nickname stems, in part, from the German moniker “Teufelhunden”, which means “devil dogs.”
It is reportedly believed that Germans used the nickname to descriibe the Marines who fought there due to their ferocity in the fight.

Utah VA hospital launches inquiry after vet's dad posts photo of 'unsanitary' room: report

The father of an Army veteran took to Twitter to show the conditions of a patient room at a Salt Lake VA facility.  (Stephen Wilson/Twitter)

The father of a U.S. Army veteran on Friday tweeted photos of what he called an “unsanitary and disrespectful” exam room that his son was forced to use during treatment for an ankle injury sustained in Iraq, KSL reported.
The pictures, which were released on Twitter, appear to show an overflowing trash bin and dirty bowls in a sink at the Veterans Affairs clinic in Salt Lake City. The photos were reportedly taken on April 5.
"I figured they would say, 'Oh, this room's not clean' and take me somewhere else, but they just kind of blew past it, didn't acknowledge it," Christopher Wilson, an Iraq-war veteran who served in the Army for six years, told the station. "They're doctors, right? So I figure one of them was going to say 'Let's go somewhere else' or 'Give us a minute to clean it,' but nothing."
Dr. Karen Gribbin, the chief of staff at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, on Saturday reportedly said that Wilson should not have been in the room. She said the rooms should be cleaned prior to each patient and called on an investigation.
Gribbin told the news station that she spoke with the veteran and apologized. She said generally "we have enjoyed very high patient satisfaction ratings at our facility."
She told the station that she thanked Wilson for bringing the matter to her attention.
"I do not want another veteran to experience this," she told the station.

Caravan asylum-seekers heading toward showdown as US officials say border crossing is full

U.S. immigration officials said Sunday that the San Diego border crossing where hundreds of Central American immigrants intended to apply for asylum was closed due to high capacity -- but many of the asylum-seekrs were preparing to wait overnight.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said earlier Sunday that the agency "reached capacity at the San Ysidro port of entry for CBP officers to be able to bring additional persons traveling without appropriate entry documentation into the port of entry for processing."
Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told Fox News in a statement that immigrants "may need to wait in Mexico as CBP officers work to process those already within our facilities."
Despite the announcement, about 50 people walked across a bridge and approached the port facility, but were not immediately accommodated by U.S. officials. They were being permitted to wait in passageways until room became available, and appeared prepared to wait overnight, according to Irineo Mujica, one of the organizers of Pueblos Sin Fronteras, an organization assisting the asylum speakers.
Another 50 prepared to camp outside a gate on the Mexican side of the border crossing with backpacks and blankets hoping to get their turn on Monday.
Immigration officials had warned that the San Ysidro border crossing may not be able hold many asylum-seekers if it faces too many at once. The port of entry, according to the agency, can hold about 300 people temporarily.
Roughly 200 people, including women and young children, were expected to turn themselves over to border inspectors after arriving in Tijuana last week, claiming they had a credible fear of persecution at home. Demonstrators gathered along the border to hold a rally in the hours before crossing over, with some people scaling the fence.
ASYLUM-SEEKING IMMIGRANT 'CARAVAN' POISED TO TEST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

A demonstration on the border in Tijuana, Mexico, as a caravan of Central Americans prepares for their border crossing.  (AP )

"The only thing I would tell Mr. Trump is to have a conscious and to look at all the people and the way they suffer. Because the people, they are coming from those countries, they are not doing it for pleasure," Osman Salvador Ulla Castro, who is from Honduras, told Fox News. "They face danger and extortions and they are looking for a better life."
The Border Patrol said Saturday that several groups of families from the caravan earlier tried to enter the U.S. illegally by scaling parts of the "dilapidated scrap metal border fence" near San Ysidro.

People climb the border wall fence as a caravan of migrants and supporters reached the United States-Mexico border near San Diego, California, U.S., April 29, 2018.  (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

"In several of these incidents, children as young as 4 years old, and in one case a pregnant female, were detected entering the United States illegally through a dark, treacherous canyon that is notorious for human and drug smuggling," U.S. Customs and Border Protection San Diego Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said. "As a father myself, I find it unconscionable that anyone would expose a child to these dangerous conditions."
The Trump administration has been tracking the caravan since it started March 25 near the Guatemala border, calling it a threat to the U.S., in addition to promising a swift response.
The administration has also claimed the caravan represented a deliberate attempt to overwhelm the U.S. legal system and the courts.
CARAVAN'S ASYLUM-SEEKERS SNUB US WARNINGS AS THEY HEAD TOWARD BORDER
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said last week that asylum claims would be resolved "efficiently and expeditiously," but that the asylum-seekers should seek it in the first safe country they reach, including Mexico.
Asylum-seekers typically are separated from their children and held up to three days at the border before being turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If they pass an asylum officer's initial screening, they may be detained for several months until their court hearing or released with ankle monitors.
Nearly 80 percent of asylum-seekers passed the initial screening from October through December, according to the latest numbers available, but few are likely to eventually win asylum.
Any asylum seekers making false claims to U.S. authorities could be prosecuted, as could anyone who assists or coaches immigrants on making false claims, according to Nielsen.

Members of a caravan from Central America walk next to the border fence between Mexico and the U.S., before a gathering in a park and prior to preparations for an asylum request in the U.S., in Tijuana, Mexico April 29, 2018.  (REUTERS/Edgard Garrido)

Administration officials and their allies claim asylum fraud is growing and that many who seek it are coached on how to do so.
U.S. immigration lawyers who went to Tijuana have denied coaching people in the caravan, but have said they have been providing one-on-one counseling to assess the merits of their cases and how asylum works in the U.S.
ASYLUM-SEEKING IMMIGRANT 'CARAVAN' POISED TO TEST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
"Like how to defend myself with immigration, how to carry myself," a 16-year-old unaccompanied minor from Honduras told Fox News on Saturday regarding the meetings he's had with lawyers.
Central American migrants sit on top of the border wall on the beach in San Diego during a gathering of migrants living on both sides of the border, Sunday, April 29, 2018.  (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Heather Crone, of U.S. advocacy group Show Up for Racial Justice, said Sundays he's found 80 people in America who have agreed to sponsor caravan members if they're released while their petitions are pending.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has called the caravan "a deliberate attempt to undermine our laws and overwhelm our system," pledging to send more immigration judges to the border to resolve cases if needed.

Correspondents' Association throws comedian under bus over jokes on Sanders' appearance

The White House Correspondents’ Association distanced late Sunday from comedian Michelle Wolf, echoing fellow journalists’ and President Donald Trump’s criticism for her vulgar and personal” comedy routine on Saturday.

The White House Correspondents’ Association distanced itself late Sunday from comedian Michelle Wolf after her comedy routine on Saturday that some found vulgar and personal.
“Last night’s program was meant to offer a unifying message about our common commitment to a vigorous and free press while honoring civility, great reporting and scholarship winners, not to divide people,” Margaret Taley, the WHCA president, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the entertainer’s monologue was not in the spirit of that mission.”
The backlash against the correspondents’ dinner was prompted over Wolf’s profanity-laced routine that targeted White House press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"I actually really like Sarah. I think she’s very resourceful," the former “Daily Show” writer said. "She burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies."
"I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders," the comedian continued. "Is it Sarah Sanders? Is it Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women?"
The WHCA president, who’s also a reporter of Bloomberg News, said members of the association expressed “dismay” and concern how Wolf’s routine at the event “reflects on our mission.”
Talev added that the association is “committed to hearing from members on your views on the format of the dinner going forward.”
The WHCA statement echoes President Donald Trump’s criticism of the event, which he didn’t attend and instead held a rally in Michigan, calling it “a very big, boring burst.”
Trump reiterated his views following the WHCA statement, tweeting: “The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was a failure last year, but this year was an embarrassment to everyone associated with it. The filthy ‘comedian’ totally bombed (couldn’t even deliver her lines-much like the Seth Meyers weak performance). Put Dinner to rest, or start over!”
The jokes were also criticized by prominent journalists, with New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman praising the press secretary for not walking out amid attacks on her physical appearance.
“That @PressSec sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth, instead of walking out, on national television, was impressive.”
“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski called the jokes on Sanders “deplorable” and said the association owes Sanders an apology.
“Watching a wife and mother be humiliated on national television for her looks is deplorable. I have experienced insults about my appearance from the president. All women have a duty to unite when these attacks happen and the WHCA owes Sarah an apology,” she tweeted.
Wolf has since pushed back against the criticism, saying she didn’t mock Sanders’ appearance and joked about her “despicable behavior.”
“Why are you guys making this about Sarah’s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials,” Wolf tweeted.

Kathy Griffin Cartoons

Weinstein ‘believes he will be forgiven’ by Hollywood: Piers Morgan

Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairman of the Weinstein Company, kicks off the Film Finance Circle conference with an informal discussion at the inaugural Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi, October 15, 2007. REUTERS/Steve Crisp/File Photo April 29, 2018

Movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women, believes he will eventually be forgiven by Hollywood, according to television presenter Piers Morgan.
Once one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures, Weinstein has been accused by more than 70 women of sexual misconduct, including rape.
Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.
Morgan told GQ magazine he had spoken to Weinstein at a clinic where he has been seeking treatment.
“I’ve spoken to Harvey in the clinic in Arizona, for about an hour. He’s fighting,” Morgan said.
“He’s a fascinating character. The apocalyptic symptom of the whole thing – the casting couch finally brought to judgment.
Morgan said he was not as surprised by some of the allegations.
“Listen, this has been the system since Hollywood existed,” Morgan said.
“It’s been a moral cesspit since the ’20s, and the idea that Harvey Weinstein is the only villain? Do me a favor.
“Look at Mel Gibson: ultimately Harvey believes he will be forgiven.”
Gibson sparked controversy in 2006 after unleashing an anti-Semitic tirade during his 2006 arrest for drunk driving, but has enjoyed recent success and was awarded a best director nomination for his film Hacksaw Ridge in 2017.
Weinstein said in a statement that he spoke with Morgan last year.
“I have immense respect for Piers Morgan and appreciate him. During our conversation, which was back in 2017, the only thought I conveyed was that my focus now and in the future is on my family,” Weinstein said.
“I did not talk about business or Hollywood. My priority is my family.”
The full GQ interview will be published on May 3.

Kathy Griffin White House Correspondence Dinner

What a joke the White House Correspondence's Dinner has become, laughable :-)

Comedian Kathy Griffin shocked attendees of the 2018 White House Correspondence Dinner on Saturday less than a year after posing for a photo with Trump's decapitated head.

Griffin, 57, turned up to the prestigious Beltway event wearing a racy yet elegant black vintage gown where she was greeted with bemused smiles and embraces from DC veterans, celebrities and journalist alike.

She became the ire of the Trump administration for the controversial image, and was even investigated by the Secret Service. 

But she seemed to have put the scandal behind her when she arrived at the lavish event.  

'I'm having the time of my life at the White House Correspondents Dinner!,' Griffin posted to her Twitter page along with a picture of herself and Washington, D.C., bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks April Ryan.

She also retweeted a message uploaded by MSNBC host Al Sharpton, who wrote: 'Talking with comedian Kathy Griffin at the 2018 White House Correspondent's Dinner.'

Griffin found herself mired in controversy last May following a photo-shoot where she was shown holding a fake severed head resembling President Donald Trump. 

Before attending Saturday's gala, Griffin told online publication Washington Blade -  who extended an invitation to the successful comedic star - that she was ready for whatever reaction her appearance might provoke. 

'I'm only going to bring my head, but that's attached to my body,' Griffin quipped to the Blade a day before the dinner. 

'I'm not sure the feds would find the joke is funny a year later as they didn't find it funny a year ago.' 

Initially apologetic for the disturbing photograph, taken by Tyler Shields, she retracted her statement after suffering a torrent of criticism she said was unwarranted.  

 'I really never thought that photo would take off at all. Like I've been doing 'shocking' things my whole career.' She called the fallout 'faux-outrage.'

She said there were a few missteps, including a hastily put-together apology video followed by a 'disastrous' press conference with attorney Lisa Bloom in which she called Trump a 'bully' and only worsened the still-spiraling disaster.

Initially apologetic for the disturbing photograph, she retracted her apology after suffering a torrent of criticism she said was unwarranted

'My social media was so flooded that I really thought, 'OK, I am the most reviled person in the world right now,' she said. 'It's been a long time to sort of process that and figure out what's real and what isn't.' She added: 'I really do believe if it happened to me it can happen to you.'

During those dark days, Griffin said many colleagues like Anderson Cooper turned away but one celebrity reached out — Jim Carrey, someone she didn't know that well. He advised her to find the comedy in her absurd situation.

'It was really meaningful to me that he called,' she said. 'Jim's advice was right on, which is, 'Lean into this topic and you'll find the comedy.' And luckily I found a lot of comedy while hibernating.'

In November 2017,  Griffin told the Associated Press that Trump had executives place her on a 'Hollywood blacklist,' claiming that he he personally orchestrated the near ruin of her career. 

'I didn't know that the Trump machine had this apparatus ready to go and waiting for an incident like my photo because I've said controversial things my whole career and Trump himself has had me roast him,' Griffin said.

Griffin says she hopes to make her U.S. comeback by laughing about the disturbing photograph that got her in hot water with the feds and almost killed her career. But she also has this warning amid the jokes: 'If it happened to me it can happen to you.' (Still Crying) 'I'm trying to sort of get people to forgive me and get people to come back to me or give me a chance. And it's interesting. It's really like I'm starting all over again,' she said.

Griffin, who said many people still send her Bibles, acknowledges there are some places in America where she will never be welcomed again and that some TV shows won't ever invite her back. 'I still haven't won over the entire cast of 'The View,' she joked.

Hours before the White House Correspondent Dinner was scheduled to start, Griffin posted a tweet expressing her excitement for the event.