Bush's Iraq War Lies Served as a Blueprint for Donald Trump

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

Bush's Iraq War Lies Served as a Blueprint for Donald Trump President George W. Bush addresses the nation about U.S. attacks on Iraq from the Oval Office on March 19, 2003.Photo: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesPaul Wolfowitz walked among the tombstones of the Iraq war dead.It was April 9, 2009, and Wolfowitz, the former deputy secretary of defense in the Bush administration and one of the chief architects of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, had come to Arlington National Cemetery to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.He came to Section 60, the portion of Arlington where American soldiers who had died in Iraq and Afghanistan lay buried, as the most prominent guest at a small ceremony to mark the day six years earlier when the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad’s Firdos Square had been pulled down. Wolfowitz and other Iraq war hawks had decided that April 9 should be commemorated as “Iraq Liberation Day.”The 2009 celebration was organized and hosted by Viola Drath, a former journalist, longtime socialite, and, at 89, a tireless networker...

Trump’s Last Defense Secretary Has Regrets — but Not About Jan. 6

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

Trump’s Last Defense Secretary Has Regrets — but Not About Jan. 6 When bureaucrats get big promotions, they tend to receive congratulations from their friends, but after Christopher Miller landed the biggest job of his life, his wife and some of his colleagues were horrified.It was November 9, 2020, the day President Donald Trump fired his secretary of defense, Mark Esper. It was widely assumed that Trump would install an acolyte who would do whatever was needed to help the defeated president stay in power. Esper, just days before, had confided to a journalist, “Who’s going to come in behind me? It’s going to be a real yes man. And then God help us.”Trump appointed Miller, an unknown whose rise was so far-fetched that the secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, had to Google his new boss to figure out who he was. Wikipedia was useless because at the time, Miller didn’t merit an entry.After retiring from the Army as a Special Forces colonel in 2014, Miller moved from one mid-level job to another in Washington, D.C., a nobody in a city of somebodies. ...

Today in Sports – Tom Brady agrees to move to Buccaneers.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

Today in Sports – Tom Brady agrees to move to Buccaneers. March 201897 — Yale beats Penn 32-10 in New Haven, Conn., in the first men’s intercollegiate basketball game.1918 — The Toronto Arenas (who would become the Maple Leafs) are the first NHL team to play in the Stanley Cup Final. Toronto’s Reg Noble scores two goals with an assist in the first period of a 5-3 win over Vancouver of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.1939 — In a game of unbeaten teams, Long Island U. defeats Loyola of Chicago 44-32 to win the National Invitation Tournament title.1954 — In the first televised NCAA championship game, La Salle defeats Bradley 92-76 and sets a record for most points in the title game.1965 — Gail Goodrich’s 42 points lead UCLA to a 91-80 victory over Michigan in the NCAA basketball championship.1965 — St. John’s sends Joe Lapchick out a winner, as the Redmen beat Villanova 55-51 to win their fifth National Invitation Tournament championship.1965 — Bill Bradley scores 58 points to lead Princeton to a 118-82 rout of Wichita State in the NCAA ...

Russia and China want to disrupt the world order, US National Security Council says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

Russia and China want to disrupt the world order, US National Security Council says Russia and China are attempting to shake up the international order, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday.China and Russia, Kirby said on “Fox News Sunday,” “are two countries that are chafing against this international rules-based order that the United States and so many of our allies and partners have built up, since the end of World War II.”He added: “They’d like to rewrite the rules of the game globally.”Kirby said the United States would be watching carefully to see what emerges from the much-heralded meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Russia.“They have been increasing their cooperation and their relationship, certainly of late,” Kirby said of the two superpowers.China recently floated a 12-point plan designed to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Kirby told host Mike Emanuel that the Biden administration remains dubious of China’s intentions when it comes to this war.“What we hav...

Couple's 5 kids taken into custody after misdemeanor charge following traffic stop

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

Couple's 5 kids taken into custody after misdemeanor charge following traffic stop COFFEE COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) -- The five children of a couple from Georgia were put in state custody after their parents were pulled over in Tennessee and charged with a misdemeanor.Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were traveling from Georgia to Chicago for a funeral when they were pulled over in Coffee County, Tennessee.According to the affidavit, the traffic stop was for having dark-tinted windows and using the left lane without actively passing.After being pulled over, the state trooper smelled marijuana and found about 5 grams of it in the car, according to court documents.Later on, Clayborne's children were taken into Tennessee Department of Children's Services (DCS) custody after a court ruling. The kids range in age from 4 months to 7 years old. Body cam footage shows Oklahoma police captain arrested for DUI: ‘Turn the camera off, please’ "When I went to go reach him, the man grabbed me, he said, 'Don't touch him,'" Clayborne said, remembering the moments her children we...

Three U.S. postal workers indicted on theft charges

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

Three U.S. postal workers indicted on theft charges PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WTAJ) — Three U.S. Postal Services workers from Pennsylvania are facing charges for allegedly stealing mail and gift cards, according to the Department of Justice. Adam Galagher, 38, of Rochester, and Christina Ankney, 39, of Braddock, are both accused of stealing mail while on the job, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania. Additionally, India Schatzman, 47, of McKees Rocks, is accused of stealing a gift card from the mail. All three postal workers have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, according to Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti. Pennsylvania, Ohio residents indicted on federal drug charges In the indictments, Gallagher is accused of stealing mail on Oct. 19, 2022, while Ankney is accused of stealing mail on May 19, 2022. Schatzman is accused of stealing a gift card from the mail on Dec. 30, 2022. If they are found guilty, they could each face up to five years in prison and be fined up to $250,0...

Can a college savings account change a child's trajectory?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

Can a college savings account change a child's trajectory? (NewsNation) — Going to college can be so expensive that some families are deterred from attending altogether. Families who can afford it can open up a college savings plan, sometimes called a 529 plan, but that's not a reality for everyone in America. The Oakland-based nonprofit Oakland Promise sought to give families a leg up by starting the Brilliant Baby program. Oaklanders who qualify for Medicaid and recently had a baby get a college savings account (CSA) seeded with $500. Could college requirement reduce police misconduct? The program also offers free financial coaching and educational programming designed to support child development. "There's a lot of research that points to how financial stress — the taxing nature of financial stress makes it harder to focus on everything... We wanted to reduce financial stress, increase kind of focus and optimism around early development," said Amanda Feinstein, a childhood development specialist who previously founded and directed...

What is the most popular cereal in Illinois?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

What is the most popular cereal in Illinois? PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- The Breakfast Cereal Market has a yearly revenue of $21.3 billion in the United States. With many famous brands, from Lucky Charms to Cheerios, what is Illinois's most popular cereal brand?According to IllinoisBet.com, data was taken from Google searches over the last year to determine the most popular cereal in Illinois. Orange juice over milk? Tropicana creates ‘first cereal made for OJ’ According to the findings:#CerealGoogle Searches (last 12 months)1Rice Krispies81,9602Cheerios71,040 3Lucky Charms67,680 4Cinnamon Toast Crunch55,920 5Fruity Pebbles45,120 6Frosted Flakes 44,280 7Count Chocula43,560 8Corn Flakes40,080 9Reeses Puffs37,560 10Honey Bunches of Oats 31,920 These numbers were released ahead of National Cereal day on March 7.

American skier Mikaela Shiffrin ends season with record 21st GS win

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

American skier Mikaela Shiffrin ends season with record 21st GS win SOLDEU, Andorra — Mikaela Shiffrin won her 21st career giant slalom at the World Cup Finals Sunday as the American standout ended the season with yet another record.The victory moved Shiffrin past Vreni Schneider, a week after matching the Swiss skier’s mark of 20 World Cup GS victories. The American has won seven of the last eight events and took the GS world title last month.The overall record, between men and women, is held by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark, who won 46 giant slaloms in the 1970s and 80s.“I don’t know, you guys tell me,” Shiffrin said with a laugh when she was asked about possible next records in a course-side interview, conducted by her boyfriend and World Cup downhill champion, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.“Just keep moving right along,” added Shiffrin, who secured the overall, slalom and GS titles this season and extended the all-time record for most career wins to 88.After Kilde asked her about plans to improve for next season, Shiffrin quipped: “We can discu...

'Coroner to the stars' Ed Winter dies at 73 

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

'Coroner to the stars' Ed Winter dies at 73  Ed Winter, the Deputy Los Angeles County Coroner who handled the death investigations into some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities, has died at the age of 73, according to TMZ. Winter handled several high-profile death cases during his tenure, including Whitney Houston, Paul Walker, Tom Petty, Brittany Murphy, and most notably, Michael Jackson. He signed Jackson’s death certificate after Jackson’s doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, who was supposed to sign it, reportedly fled the hospital. He famously said that Jackson had "enough Propofol in him to put down a rhinoceros or an elephant."Winter’s first assignment on his first day on the job was the investigation into the 2003 death of actress Lana Clarkson inside the mansion of famed music producer Phil Spector. A jury found Spector guilty of Clarkson's murder in 2009.Winter retired from his position as Deputy L.A. County Coroner in 2019 after nearly 17 years on the job.