Republicans picked up their 8th Senate victory earlier Wednesday morning, as it was announced that Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, defeated Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Begich in the midterm elections.
Sullivan served as the Attorney General of Alaska under former Gov. Sarah Palin (R). Begich previously served as the mayor of Anchorage before being elected to the Senate in 2008.
And you thought the president went on a meaningless trip to China. The man is always working, even when the do-nothing Congress does nothing!
In a surprise announcement Tuesday night, the world’s two biggest economies and greenhouse gas emitters, United States and China, said they will partner closely on a broad-ranging package of plans to fight climate change, including new targets to reduce carbon pollution, according to a statement from the White House.
The announcement comes after President Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping today in Beijing, and includes headline-grabbing commitments from both countries that are sure to breathe new life into negotiations to reach a new climate treaty in Paris next year.
According to the plan, the United States will reduce carbon emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, nearly twice the existing target—without imposing new restrictions on power plants or vehicles.
Tuesday’s announcement is equally remarkable for China’s commitment. For the first time, China has set a date at which it expects its emissions will “peak,” or finally begin to taper downward: around 2030. China is currently the world’s biggest emitter of carbon pollution, largely because of its coal-dependent economy, and reining in emissions while continuing to grow has been the paramount challenge for China’s leaders.
The White House said in a statement that China could reach the target even sooner than 2030. It “expects that China will succeed in peaking its emissions before 2030 based on its broad economic reform program, plans to address air pollution, and implementation of President Xi’s call for an energy revolution.”
Henry Jackson, better known as Big Bank Hank of the Sugarhill Gang, died early Tuesday morning at Englewood Hospital in New Jersey from complications due to cancer. The news — first reported by TMZ — was confirmed to HuffPost Entertainment by David Mallie, business manager for Sugarhill Gang members Michael “Wonder Mike” Wright and Guy “Master Gee” O’Brien. Jackson was 57 years old.
In a statement to HuffPost Entertainment via Mallie, Wright and O’Brien expressed sorrow and condolences: “So sad to hear of our brother’s passing. The three of us created musical history together with the release of ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ We will always remember traveling the world together and rocking the house. Rest in peace Big Bank.”
The Sugarhill gang formed in the late ’70s and was best-known for the 1979 hit single, “Rapper’s Delight.”
DJ Funkmaster Flex was among the many people to pay tribute to Jackson:
h/t – Huffingtonpost
With his release from Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, the United States is currently Ebola free! Dr. Craig Spencer spent 19 days at New York’s Bellevue Hospital, and he is now cured from the disease.
Republicans who used the disease as a fear mechanism to win control of Congress must now look for another way to keep their base afraid!
In a press conference this morning, New York’s mayor Bill DeBlasio thanked the doctor for his tremendous sacrifice and his willingness to put his life in danger to treat the disease at its source. Mr. DeBlasio said that we thank our military when they put their uniform on to protect us, so we should do the same when doctors put on a different uniform to fight diseases at the source, ultimately helping the US.
I said throughout this crisis we honor our men and women in uniform when they go overseas to protect us, Doctor Spencer was wearing a different uniform with the same exact mission – to help people everywhere and to protect people here.
The mayor also asked that the truth be told about Ebola, a clear hit at Republicans and the entire crew at Fox News.
Let’s just spread truth and honest information about Ebola. Let’s get rid of the misinformation. Let’s spread the truth that this is a very hard disease to contact [SIC].
For his part, the 33 year old doctor spoke about the importance of following the protocol for controlling Ebola, and he credits that protocol for his survival. Doctor Spencer also spoke about his 5 weeks working in West Africa.
“During this time, I cried as I held children who were not strong enough to survive the virus,” he said. “But I also experienced immense joy when patients I treated were cured, and invited me into their family as a brother upon discharge.”
He went on to say that when he was diagnosed with Ebola, “many of these same patients called my personal cell phone from Guinea to wish me well and ask if there was anyway that they could contribute to my care.”
The doctor then urged all to remember the doctors and nurses in Guinea, who watch their friends and families die from Ebola as they do all they can to treat other Ebola victims in their communities. “They are the true heroes that we are not talking about,” the Doctor said.
Just days after his party was routed in the midterm elections, President Obama said that he and his White House team had not succeeded in effectively selling the benefits of his policies to the American people, calling it a “failure of politics” that he must change in the final two years of his presidency.
“It’s not enough just to build a better mousetrap,” Mr. Obama said in an interview that was taped Friday at the White House and broadcast Sunday on the 60th anniversary of CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “People don’t automatically come beating to your door. We’ve got to sell it. We’ve got to reach out to the other side and, where possible, persuade.”
Mr. Obama acknowledged bluntly that “we got beat” in the elections on Tuesday and said that the Democratic losses prompted him to have a “gut check” about what he needed to do differently. But as he has in the past, the president defended the merits of his administration’s policies, blaming the election results on a poor communications effort in the White House.
“There are times, there’s no doubt about it, where, you know I think we have not been successful in going out there and letting people know what it is that we’re trying to do and why this is the right direction,” Mr. Obama said.
NBC News is reporting that internationally known minister and motivational speaker Myles Munroe, his wife and several other people, were killed when their crashed in the Bahamas on Sunday. Munroe’s ministry confirmed the news Sunday night and the Bahamian aviation ministry also confirmed that there were “some fatalities” among the nine people on board.
Dave Burrows, head of youth ministries for Munroe’s non-denominational Bahamas Faith Ministries International, said at a hastily convened news conference Sunday night that Munroe’s wife, Ruth — also a widely known figure in international evangelical circles — and the ministry’s senior vice president and pastor, Richard Pinder, were among those killed in the crash.
The Department of Civil Aviation said the Learjet 36 crashed at 5:10 p.m. ET while making a landing approach at Grand Bahama International Airport. Burrows said a small number of other people were on board the plane, along with two pilots, none of whom were immediately identified.
Munroe, 60, was an internationally known Christian preacher and motivational speaker. He frequently appeared before mass audiences at Christian events with other widely known preachers, like Bishop T.D. Jakes and Bishop Eddie Long, and he was associated during the early 2000s with the Promise Keepers movement, a Christian ministry focused on strengthening the role of men in Christian life. He wrote or co-wrote more than 100 inspirational and motivational books, many of which were best-sellers in the Caribbean and Africa.
She returned from West Africa 21 days ago where she treated Ebola victims, but when she landed on U.S soil, Kaci Hickox was greeted with a tent with no heat or plumbing where she was expected to stay for 21 days, compliments of Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo.
Kaci loudly opposed her inhumane and unnecessary isolation, even writing articles about her isolation. After telling the world about her tent accommodations, Kaci was allowed to travel to her home in Maryland where she remained monitored and under surveillance.
On Tuesday, Hickox will no longer require daily monitoring for Ebola symptoms, and said she looks forward to stepping out her front door “like normal people.”
But the Texas native said she won’t back away from the debate over treatment of health care workers.
“In the past, a quarantine was something that was considered very extreme. I’m concerned about how lightly we’re taking this concept today,” said Hickox, who defied state-ordered quarantine attempts in New Jersey and Maine. “I’m concerned that the wrong people are leading the debate and making the decisions.”
She said the U.S. needs a public education campaign to better explain the virus that has killed nearly 5,000 in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. However, Hickox said she wouldn’t let her experience prevent her from returning to West Africa.
Last week Ebola was coming for you and the Obama administration and the Democrats were leading it straight to your doorstep. This week however, Ebola is no longer an issue worthy of our time or money and the funding the president requested to help fight the disease is pointless and unnecessary.
What changed? There was an election on Tuesday so Fox News and the Republican party needed to keep the American people scared in the hopes that they will vote Republicans into power. Well, it worked, so now, after the election, Fox is now downplaying the Ebola threat.
Before the November 4th midterm elections, Ebola and ISIS practically shared office space in the Fox News building. The two issues were talked about so much by Fox News hosts, that they could have collected a paycheck from Rupert Murdoch. After the November 4th midterm election, however, where fear of Ebola and ISIS caused the American people to vote Republicans in control of the U.S Congress, President Obama made a request to House Speaker John Boehner asking for more money to help fight the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Fox News is now asking if the Ebola crisis is “worthy of all theat money being shipped overseas!”
Fox’s Peter Johnson, Jr.: Is The Ebola Crisis “Worthy Of All That Money Being Shipped Overseas?” During the November 7 episode of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, Fox contributor Peter Johnson, Jr. hosted an interview with Betsy McCaughey in which they criticized President Obama’s request for emergency funds to fight Ebola:
JOHNSON: President Obama asking congress for $6.2 billion in emergency funds to help fight Ebola in West Africa. But is this crisis worthy of all that money being shipped overseas? Would it be better spent on deadly diseases threatening Americans right here at home right now?
[…]
MCCAUGHEY: It’s totally out of proportion, Peter. Five thousand people have died from Ebola. No Americans. Three hundred and sixty thousand Americans die from cancer every year. The president wants to spend a hundred times as much, per Ebola victim, as per cancer victim. That tells you what’s going on here. [Fox News Channel, Fox & Friends.
The Daily Mail reports that American war planes have reportedly launched a strike on a gathering of ISIS leaders, critically wounding their leader.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hurt in the strikes today, according to local witnesses and government sources.
Two witnesses confirmed that bombs had fallen on the town of al-Qaim, next to the Syrian border.
Local government sources described how an aircraft had swooped over a meeting of senior ISIS figures and dropped its payload, killing more than a dozen people.
Another witness said that eight people had died when a bomb struck a market.
A local hospital was said to be overwhelmed with the volume of patients from the raid – including al-Baghdadi.
Local ISIS officials were reportedly roaming the streets with loudspeakers ordering residents to donate blood to help the wounded.
Striking Baghdadi would be the most significant blow yet in the campaign against ISIS, who have been defiant in the face of sustained air attacks from the U.S. Air Force and allies.
A provincial leader from Anbar in western Iraq, as well as his deputy, are said to be among those killed instantly by the bombs.
A commentary from Canada.
In preparing for the upcoming Veteran’s Day celebration on Tuesday, President Obama used his weekly address to honor all the men and women who have put on the military uniform for this country.
Let’s honor our veterans by making sure they get the care and benefits they’ve earned. That means health care that’s there for them when they need it. It means continuing to reduce the disability claims backlog. And it means giving our wounded warriors all the care and support they need to heal, including mental health care for those with post-traumatic stress or traumatic brain injury. Some of the most moving moments I’ve experienced as Commander in Chief have been with our wounded warriors. Some have to learn how to walk again, talk again, write their names again. But no matter how hard it is, they never give up. They never quit. And we can’t ever quit on them.
Let’s honor our veterans by making sure they get their shot at the American Dream that they risked their lives to defend – by helping them find jobs worthy of their skills and talents, and making sure the Post-9/11 GI Bill stays strong so more veterans can earn a college education. When our veterans have the opportunity to succeed, our whole nation is stronger. And let’s work together to end the tragedy of homelessness among veterans once and for all – because anyone who has defended America deserves to live in dignity in America.
Finally, let’s honor our veterans by remembering that this isn’t just a job for government. It’s a job for every American. We’re all keepers of that sacred trust that says, if you put on a uniform and risk your life to keep us safe, we’ll do our part for you. We’ll make sure you and your family get the support you need. We’l have your backs – just like you had ours.
President Obama is determined to get something done on immigration. And despite the threats from Republicans to block all his other policies if he does immigration alone, the president is insisting on doing the right thing.
Seated with 12 top members of the House and Senate in the Old Family Dining Room, Obama shot back that he intended to proceed, saying that he had already waited almost two years for congressional action on immigration. He added that his decision should not upend chances for cooperation on unrelated matters, according to aides familiar with the exchange.
The new focus on Obama’s plans to revamp the immigration system by executive fiat came as the president is reportedly reviewing proposals to allow as many as 5 million illegal immigrants to stay in the United States at least temporarily, according to several people familiar with his plans. He is expected to announce his intentions after returning from a visit to China, Burma and Australia, either this month or in early December, said those familiar with the subject, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not
