Top U.S. & World Headlines — February 28, 2019

Interview:
https://youtu.be/PYwZYL_QEWM

Mitch McConnell finds a novel villain after North Carolina’s fraud-riddled election: Democrats - The Washington Post: Analysis

After his party was broadly silent about what happened in North Carolina, despite its energetic stance on voter fraud for years, McConnell decided to flip the script...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/26/mitch-mcconnell-has-found-real-culprit-north-carolinas-fraud-riddled-election-democrats/

Here are five felonies Trump committed — if Cohen is telling the truth - The Washington Post

Attention, drivers. There’s a multi-car pileup on the information superhighway. On Wednesday, the cable news networks were trying to cover both the North Korea summit and Michael Cohen’s explosive testimony. It was hardly possible to devote any attention to the growing hostilities between two nuclear-armed states, India and Pakistan. Other major stories — the Venezuela crisis, the negotiations with the Taliban, the House vote to override President Trump’s emergency declaration — were left on the side of the road...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/27/here-are-five-felonies-trump-committed-if-cohen-is-telling-truth/

This vulnerable GOP senator just stood up to Trump — and gave an ominous warning to other Republicans - Raw Story

As President Donald Trump rolls out his national emergency declaration to divert military funding for his border wall, he is desperately whipping his allies in the Senate to toe the party line and, when House Democrats' resolution to cancel the emergency comes before the chamber, swat it down...
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/vulnerable-gop-senator-just-stood-trump-gave-ominous-warning-republicans/

Pelosi attends signing of New York's new 'red flag' gun control bill - The Hill

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) as he signed into law a bill that will give authorities increased ability to confiscate guns from individuals deemed dangerous...
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/431471-pelosi-attends-signing-of-new-yorks-new-red-flag-gun-control-bill

White House threatens to veto background check bills - The Hill

The White House on Monday issued a statement warning that President Trump would veto proposed legislation to enhance background checks for gun purchases if it passes the House and Senate...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/431530-white-house-threatens-to-veto-background-check-bills

Bill Gates says he's paid $10 billion in taxes and he thinks rich people like himself should pay more - Business Insider

Do the rich pay their fair share in taxes? Billionaire Bill Gates said he has paid $10 billion in taxes, and he believes that rich guys like himself should pay more. However, he advocates increasing taxes in two ways that will really target the wealthiest individuals and avoid methods that really put more stress on the poor...
https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-says-rich-people-should-pay-more-taxes-2019-2

White House to propose using budget maneuver to prevent defense spending cuts - The Hill

President Trump plans to propose using a budget maneuver to invest in defense and national security without lifting budget caps, according to acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought on Monday...
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/431446-white-house-to-propose-using-budget-maneuver-to-prevent-defense-spending-cuts

Waters begins crackdown on credit reporting industry - POLITICO

There is now a bipartisan appetite for a credit reporting revamp, and interest is only expected to grow...
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/25/credit-reporting-maxine-waters-1209948

Ex-White House aide ‘haunted’ by fear that Trump-loving evangelical hypocrites are pushing people to atheism - Raw Story

Former Trump White House aide Cliff Sims has told the Christian Post that he fears Trump-loving evangelical leaders are turning an entire generation away from Christianity thanks to their embrace of an amoral president...
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/ex-white-house-aide-haunted-fear-trump-loving-evangelical-hypocrites-pushing-people-atheism/

Fact Check: Do 83% of Trump's tax cut benefits go to the 1%? - CNN Politics

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont appeared at a CNN presidential town hall Monday night. After his first question from the audience, Sanders argued that President Donald Trump "said he'd have a tax plan to benefit the middle class, but 83% of the benefits go to the 1%."...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/politics/fact-check-sanders-town-hall-tax-cuts/index.html

Sanders fires back at Trump over socialism - CNN Politics

During a CNN town hall, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders explains the programs he'd like to implement if he were elected president, which have been criticized by President Trump as akin to socialism...
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/02/26/trump-socialism-bernie-sanders-town-hall-sot-vpx.cnn

Michael Cohen’s hearing was explosive — but not for what was new - The Washington Post: Opinion

The takeaway: President Trump is a liar with a defective character — and, possibly, a criminal...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-cohens-hearing-was-explosive--but-not-for-what-was-new/2019/02/27/cf049954-3ac8-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html

Republicans can’t claim to be the party of national security - The Washington Post

An impressive list of 58 former national security officials — who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents — have released a declaration attacking the fiction that there is an “emergency” along the southern border, justifying President Trump’s power grab. Coming on the eve of Tuesday’s House vote on a resolution to short-circuit the declaration, it makes clear the degree to which Republican lawmakers will endanger national security to stay on Trump’s good side...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/26/republicans-cant-claim-be-party-national-security/

Press: Pope misses mark on sexual abuse - The Hill

By any account, it was an extraordinary occasion. After decades of sweeping it under the rug, the Catholic Church openly acknowledged the issue of widespread sexual abuse by Catholic priests...
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/431510-press-pope-misses-mark-on-sexual-abuse

Trump doesn’t ‘grasp’ basic facts about US economic policy: Former Fed chair Janet Yellen - Raw Story

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen wasn't renominated to a second term as the head of the U.S. central bank because President Donald Trump wanted to make his own mark on the institution — despite the fact that her replacement holds broadly similar views and she was widely seen as a steady hand at the helm...
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/trump-doesnt-grasp-basic-facts-us-economic-policy-former-fed-chair-janet-yellen/

How to record the screen on your iPhone - Business Insider

Screen record on your iPhone with these simple steps. Apple makes it easy to record a video of your iPhone screen without installing additional apps. It's handy for recording short demos or documenting a problem with your iPhone. The video can be silent or include narration captured by your phone's microphone...
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-screen-record-on-iphone

Oklahoma Lawmaker Wants to Push Christian Revisionist History in Public Schools | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

Christian nationalists are always looking for ways to use our public schools to promote their warped, revisionist version of U.S. history. Myths like Christianity and the Bible playing a central role at the Constitutional Convention (nope, and it didn’t include a formal prayer either), like George Washington praying in the snow at Valley Forge (he didn’t), or the Ten Commandments forming the basis of our laws (not even close)...
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/02/16/oklahoma-lawmaker-wants-to-push-christian-revisionist-history-in-public-schools/

For Cops, Stress May Be the Biggest Danger. This City Is Trying New Ways to Improve Their Mental Health - Mother Jones

On the dimly lit second floor of Stockton, California's police headquarters, Lieutenant Brad Burrell addressed a room full of recent cadets: "Please come into this with a very open mind," he told the seated officers, who had just signed up to patrol one of America's most dangerous cities...
https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2019/02/stockton-wellness-network-police-force-suicides/

Rise Up - Girls' Choir of Wilmington

Interview:
https://youtu.be/P-Yr9GsWkNk

"Joel Osteen" - a Roy Zimmerman song parody - YouTube

Interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXY7-XyfBvs

The Catholic Church Is Breaking People’s Hearts - NYTimes

It fires gay workers, vilifies gay priests and alienates parishioners who can't make any sense of this.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/opinion/catholic-church-gay-discrimination.html

An Alabama newspaper editor wants to bring back lynching - The Washington Post

Two decades ago, the editor of the tiny Democrat-Reporter newspaper in Linden, Ala., was being talked about as a potential contender for the Pulitzer Prize. A congressional citation read on the floor of the House of Representatives in 1998 lauded “his truly American heroism and dedication to the truth” and called him “one of Alabama’s finest and most ethical journalists.” Glowing profiles in the New York Times, People magazine and the American Journalism Review highlighted his tenacious reporting and down-home Southern charm...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/02/19/time-ku-klux-klan-night-ride-again-an-alabama-newspaper-editor-wants-bring-back-lynching/

Catholic Mom Sues Trump Administration for Funding Bigoted SC Foster Agency | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

The Trump administration said last month that it continue giving federal funds to a South Carolina foster agency that discriminated against non-Christians. Under the previous rules, Miracle Hill Ministries was denied funding from the Department of Health and Human Services because the Christian organization didn’t want to place kids in the homes of otherwise qualified parents who happened to be gay or atheist...

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/02/16/catholic-mom-sues-trump-administration-for-funding-bigoted-sc-foster-agency/?

One of America's harshest isolation units was exposed by a desperate, handwritten account from the inside - NBC News

A Georgia solitary confinement unit was filled with the "cacophony of prisoner screams and cries for help," a prisons expert said after visiting...
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/one-america-s-harshest-isolation-units-was-exposed-desperate-handwritten-n969531

How to get the most out of Reminders, the best application made by Apple that's also totally free - Business Insider:

The best application Apple makes is Reminders. Released in 2011 as part of iOS 5, Reminders lets you create to-dos that sync across all your Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. You don't need a good memory if you know how to use Reminders, which can be prioritized and shared in different ways. It's like having a superpower. ....
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-reminders-app-tips-tricks-how-to-use-2019-2

Top U.S. & World Headlines — February 27, 2019

Interview:
https://youtu.be/McLamr8DYAE

CNN Politics: Five takeaways from Tuesday's family separation hearing

...There are thousands of allegations of sexual abuse against children in custody...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/politics/family-separation-hearing-takeaways/index.html

Analysis | Mitch McConnell finds a novel villain after North Carolina’s fraud-riddled election: Democrats -- The Washington Post

...This is simply dishonest. McConnell is intentionally conflating in-person, change-your-hat fraud with what happened in North Carolina, which wasn’t that...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/26/mitch-mcconnell-has-found-real-culprit-north-carolinas-fraud-riddled-election-democrats/?utm_term=.b0587c97fd5f

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment is valid, federal appeals court rules -- The Washington Post

“Special Counsel Mueller was properly appointed by a head of Department, who at the time was the Acting Attorney General,” according to the 16-page opinion written by Rogers... https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/special-counsel-robert-muellers-appointment-is-valid-federal-appeals-court-rules/2019/02/26/5c28505c-fd5a-11e8-862a-b6a6f3ce8199_story.html

The Check In: Prescription Drug Prices

Seth takes a break from breaking news to check in on the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, which President Trump claimed he would be able to fix....
https://youtu.be/AerH9ovvJt8

Elizabeth Warren full interview | Pod Save America - YouTube

Senator Elizabeth Warren joins us in-studio to talk to Tommy about why she’s running for president, and what she’ll do if she wins.....
Interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUvqJ6VpXf0

Psychics: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - YouTube

Psychics may seem harmless and fun on TV, but they can make a lot of money by exploiting vulnerable people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhMGcp9xIhY&t=4s

Indiana tax service turned away couple because of gay marriage

Bailey Brazzel and her wife Samantha weren't trying to make a political statement last week. They were just trying to file their taxes. But when the owner of a Russiaville tax service refused to help because the same-sex couple was married, Brazzel said she felt she had to speak out. "I went in there to have my taxes done, not push my beliefs on her," Brazzel, 25, said. "It's not professional to me to turn someone away because they do something differently than you would like."....

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2019/02/18/rfra-same-sex-marriage-indiana-discrimination-russiaville-mike-pence/2903487002/

Rubella gave me a disability. This is my message to anti-vaxxers - CNN

Elsa Sjunneson-Henry was born with disabilities caused by Congenital Rubella Syndrome after her mother was exposed to German measles (before even realizing she was pregnant). Sjunneson-Henry weighs in on anti-vaxxers and how her disability informs who she is. ...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/19/opinions/measles-outbreak-anti-vaccine-movement-disability-sjunneson-henry/index.html

Abbott & Costello 7 x 13 = 28

https://youtu.be/lzxVyO6cpos

Tough cannabis policies do not deter young people – study | Society | The Guardian

Analysis of more than 100,000 teenagers found no link between liberal policies and higher use...
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/18/cannabis-policies-young-people

Can you eat your way to better mental health? Study says yes - CNN

It is well known that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is good for your physical health, but research suggests that it might be good for your mental health too. ....
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/18/health/diet-mental-health-partner/index.html

Shortages in Iran hospitals put patients' lives at risk - CNN

Crippling sanctions in Iran have seen its effect in the medical sector. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports on medical shortages in Tehran...
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2019/02/17/iran-medical-shortage-pleitgen-pkg-vpx.cnn

'We are not monsters': Parents go public about late-term abortions - Yahoo News

As some states move to make late-term abortions for medical reasons easier to obtain, anti-abortion forces, aided by President Trump, are calling it "infanticide." Parents who have had the procedure are pushing back and telling their stories. ....
https://news.yahoo.com/we-are-not-monsters-parents-go-public-about-lateterm-abortions-161058824.html

In Arkansas, Thousands Of People Have Lost Medicaid Coverage Over New Work Rule - NPR

The state now requires many of its Medicaid beneficiaries to work, go to school or volunteer in order to keep their health insurance. But more than 18,000 have come off the rolls...
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/02/18/694504586/in-arkansas-thousands-of-people-have-lost-medicaid-coverage-over-new-work-rule

How Not to Defend Jesus' Resurrection (with William Lane Craig) - YouTube

William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith ministry's "Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?" animated video series is a perfect example of how NOT to defend the resurrection of Jesus, particularly to a skeptic or non-believer. In this video, I point out why simple appeals to "for the bible tells me so" doesn't get anyone anywhere in an intellectual or historical discussion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5pOSO9yino

A Teenager's Drive to Beat a Computer Program for Domination Over Artificial Intelligence in China - Newsweek

Much as a Russian satellite launch in 1957 started the space race, a match between a computer program and a teenager galvanized China's dash to AI domination ...
https://www.newsweek.com/2019/01/25/teenagers-drive-beat-computer-program-domination-over-artificial-intelligence-1297774.html

Top U.S. & World Headlines — February 26, 2019

Interview:
https://youtu.be/Q0rRPtqqFvo

'You're ridiculous': Ohio Republican bombarded with fury in first face-to-face meetings with voters in five years - Raw Story

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) faced angry constituents at a series of town hall meetings throughout his southwest Ohio congressional district. The Ohio Republican hadn't held an in-person public meeting in about five years, but he scheduled five events last week and gave constituents about two days notice to attend, reported the Cincinnati Enquirer. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/youre-ridiculous-ohio-republican-bombarded-fury-first-face-face-meetings-voters-five-years/

Trump warns GOP as Congress prepares to vote on rejecting emergency declaration - The Washington Post

President Trump on Monday cautioned fellow Republicans against falling into a Democratic “trap” as lawmakers prepare to vote this week on legislation rejecting his declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. A measure is expected to pass easily in the Democratic-controlled House on Tuesday, forcing a difficult vote for GOP senators, who will have to weigh whether to support Trump on a move that even some in his party have criticized as circumventing the will of Congress.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-warns-fellow-republicans-as-congress-prepares-to-vote-on-rejecting-his-national-emergency/2019/02/25/d021053c-38fe-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html

Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sexual assault

Cardinal George Pell, once the third most powerful man in the Vatican and Australia’s most senior Catholic, has been found guilty of child sexual abuse after a trial in Melbourne. A jury delivered the unanimous verdict on 11 December in Melbourne’s county court, but the result was subject to a suppression order and could not be reported until now.....
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/26/cardinal-george-pell-vatican-treasurer-found-guilty-of-child-sexual-assault?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The Coup Has Failed & Now the U.S. Is Looking to Wage War: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Speaks Out - YouTube

Venezuela’s opposition is calling on the United States and allied nations to consider using military force to topple the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is heading to Bogotá, Colombia, today to meet with regional leaders and Venezuela’s self-proclaimed president, opposition leader Juan Guaidó.....
Interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dim9uOsDuI&t=300s

Trump’s imaginary numbers on military aid to South Korea - The Washington Post

The United States does keeps a large military presence in South Korea, spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year, but Trump’s figures are wildly inflated. Let’s dig in....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/25/president-trumps-imaginary-numbers-military-aid-south-korea/

Trump’s ambassadors are the least qualified in 40 years — but they gave record amounts of money him - Salon

Less than 59 percent of appointees under Trump have experience as foreign service officers, per a new report....
https://www.salon.com/2019/02/25/trumps-ambassadors-are-the-least-qualified-in-40-years-but-they-gave-record-amounts-of-money-him_partner/

Spike Lee’s Oscars speech enraged Trump. Watch and read it here - The Washington Post

It was Lee's first Oscar win and he came prepared. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/02/25/spike-lees-oscars-speech-enraged-trump-watch-read-it-here/

A Republican-backed bill to protect “abortion survivors” won’t pass. It still matters - Vox

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act may be part of a larger strategy for 2020. ....
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/25/18239964/born-alive-abortion-survivors-protection-2019-sasse

Fact Check: Did Ivanka Trump create 'millions of jobs'? - CNN Politics

During an address to US governors Monday morning, President Donald Trump discussed the need for training programs and claimed that his daughter Ivanka had "created millions of jobs." He followed up by discussing the Pledge to America's Workers, an effort Ivanka has been involved in since its inception last year. ....
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/25/politics/fact-check-ivanka-trump-create-millions-of-jobs/index.html

Tapper debunks Trump Jr.'s 'bold' Mueller assertion - CNN Politics

CNN's Jake Tapper reacts to Donald Trump Jr. downplaying connections to people already implicated in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. ....
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/02/25/donald-trump-jr-robert-mueller-investigation-jake-tapper-lead-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/

There is no such thing as an "abortion survivor" - Quartz

The US Senate is set to vote on a bill to protect "abortion survivors" today (Feb. 25.) The bill, introduced by Nevada senator Ben Sasse, a Republican, would "prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion."...
https://qz.com/1556779/who-are-abortion-survivors/

Minnesota Republican Calls for Opponents to Be 'Stomped on and Run Over' at Gun Rights Rally - Newsweek

"The last time that arms were tried to be confiscated from the American public led to a revolution, and it will happen again if they try and steal your arms."....
https://www.newsweek.com/minnesota-republican-calls-opponents-stomped-2nd-amendment-1343169

Racism isn’t dead. Black Americans still need a ‘Green Book.’ - The Washington Post

If you watch the movie “Green Book,” you might leave the theater thinking that the people who made the movie are convinced that U.S. racism died one idyllic snowy Christmas Eve in the warm glow of a Bronx apartment in 1962, when black pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) accepted an invitation to dinner from his Italian American driver, Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen). Roll credits.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/23/racism-isnt-dead-black-americans-still-need-green-book/

Crumbling infrastructure is a hidden tax on all Americans - The Hill

The impact will only grow, threatening U.S. economic vitality and America's future. ....
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/430423-crumbling-infrastructure-is-a-hidden-tax-on-all-americans

How the Federal Government Undermines Prison Education - The Intercept

Access to education behind bars lowers the odds of recidivism by 48 percent. So why is there still a ban on Pell Grants for prisoners? ....
https://theintercept.com/2019/02/18/pell-grants-for-prisoners-education-behind-bars/

Record number cite poor leadership as US's greatest problem: poll - The Hill

More than a third of Americans say that poor leadership is the greatest problem facing America, the highest percentage ever recorded to say so, according to a poll released Monday. ....
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/430443-record-number-cite-poor-leadership-as-uss-greatest-problem-poll

Care of Babies

https://i.redd.it/gf4m8zjv75h21.png

a very hard question for religious people

https://youtu.be/nfHP_LPkyRk

Millions of People Will Starve Unless We Drastically Change Our Diets | Opinion - Newsweek

I had the honor of serving in the White House as the chef for the Obama family and the head of the administration's food policy work. ....
https://www.newsweek.com/millions-people-will-starve-unless-we-drastically-change-our-diets-opinion-1318086

AZ Atheist Lawmaker Gives Invocation, Then Gets Mocked by Christian Colleague | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

In 2017, Arizona State Rep. Athena Salman, an openly atheist legislator, delivered an invocation to open up the day’s session. It was a perfectly respectful speech, referring to “the humanity that resides within each and every person here.” Yet it offended Republicans who insisted all invocations needed to invoke a “Higher Power.” One Republican was even given permission to deliver his own prayer to effectively “correct” the one Salman gave.....
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/02/13/az-atheist-lawmaker-gives-invocation-then-gets-mocked-by-christian-colleague/

EPA Scientists: The Toxic Chemicals Our Agency Won't Regulate Are Definitely in Our Drinking Water - Mother Jones

Remember those disturbingly ubiquitous chemicals that the Environmental Protection Agency can't bring itself to ban from our drinking water? ....
https://www.motherjones.com/food/2019/02/epa-scientists-the-toxic-chemicals-we-wont-regulate-are-definitely-in-our-drinking-water/

Faith Groups: Texas ‘Ignored and Disrespected’ Religious Freedom in Passing Fetal Burial Law

The requirements “purportedly honor dignity of the unborn at the expense of the dignity of the women whose religious and personal freedom they curtail,” a collection of religious organizations wrote in a recent court filing.....

https://www.texasobserver.org/faith-groups-texas-ignored-and-disrespected-religious-freedom-in-passing-fetal-burial-law/