All Purpose Politics and News Thread

Secret service stops potential explosive devices sent to Obama, Clintons

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Potential explosive devices addressed to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were detected and intercepted by the U.S. Secret Service, which has launched a criminal investigation into the incidents.
“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the Secret Service said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”

One device was addressed to Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, who lives with former President Bill Clinton in Chappaqua, a suburb about 40 miles north of New York City. The other was addressed to former President Obama in Washington.
The FBI’s New York field office said in a tweet that its Joint Terrorism Task Force “has engaged with our federal, state and local partners to investigate” the package sent to the Clintons.
Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton, said in a tweet that “nothing got to any home.”
The incidents followed an earlier discovery when police on Monday “proactively detonated” a pipe-bomb found at a residence in New York’s suburbs owned by billionaire philanthropist and Democratic donor George Soros.

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CNN:Time Warner building evacuated due to suspicious package

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Police have been called to the Time Warner Center in New York to investigate a suspicious package, with CNN employees saying they have been evacuated from the building.
CNN was forced to cut a live broadcast out of its New York City studios, which are housed in the building, after an alarm went off due to the suspicious package.
CNN President Jeff Zucker said in a note sent to employees in New York that the building was evacuated "out of an abundance of caution," saying the suspicious package was received in the mailroom.






"We are working with authorities to determine the severity of the situation," he said in the memo shared by CNN's Oliver Darcy, which mentioned the NYPD. "We are also checking all bureaus around the world, out of a complete abundance of caution."

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Three planned campuses in Ontario are not getting monies from the Ford government:
https://www.thestar.com/politics/pro...n-program.html

If you're an Ontario resident and know that the doctors have not had a contract with ON for a couple of years or more, here are two developments:
https://www.thestar.com/news/queensp...ettlement.html
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...ecialties.html

Canada Post's rotating strike affected Toronto and area for a second day, as well as Kelowna BC:
https://twitter.com/cupw/status/1055066639891345409


The Ontario College of Trades will be closed:
https://www.canadiancontractor.ca/ca...ay/1003284417/

Packages sent to Biden, de Niro match other suspect packages

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A suspicious package found Thursday at the building housing Robert De Niro's office in downtown Manhattan and another addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden discovered in Delaware are similar to the pipe bombs found a day earlier sent to political and media figures, according to law enforcement officials.
The package addressed to Biden was discovered at a postal facility in New Castle, Delaware, officials said. They suspected Wednesday that the package was somewhere within the postal system.
A building worker in New York called authorities around 4 a.m. about the package addressed to De Niro, an official said. The employee called because after seeing news reports about other pipe bombs, he remembered seeing the suspicious package a day or two earlier, the official said.

snip


Mail bombing targets:

• Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
• Former President Barack Obama
• Former CIA Director John Brennan
• Billionaire George Soros
• Former Attorney General Eric Holder
• Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. *Two bombs addressed to Waters
• Actor Robert De Niro
• Former Vice President Joe Biden

/snip

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Suspect in Florida arrested in connection over mail bombs

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A man in Florida has been arrested in connection with the suspected mail bombs sent to high profile figures, authorities said Friday morning.

The arrest came after authorities responded to two more devices on Friday — one in Florida, the other in New York — pushing the total number of packages found by law enforcement to 12. None have detonated, but all have put officials on high alert as they worried about additional devices being delivered.

The FBI and the Justice Department both confirmed that a person was in custody and said more information would be released at a news conference later Friday.

Authorities had been pursuing a lead that some of the devices could have been mailed from South Florida. After news of the arrest broke, FBI agents and other law enforcement personnel could be seen in news footage draping a blue tarp over a van in a South Florida parking lot.

A law enforcement official said the person in custody was a man in his 50s. According to another person familiar with the investigation, this man lives in Florida near a facility through which the packages were mailed. It remains unclear if he acted alone or had help, this person said.

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Glad they caught him, it wasn't his first rodeo

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/n...ombs-sent.html

Pittsburgh shooting: Causalities at Squirrel Hill Synagogue

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There are multiple casualties at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after a gunman opened fire during a service on Saturday.
Three police officers are among those wounded. Police have not yet said how many people were killed.
The man, who was injured in an exchange of gunfire with police, has now surrendered and is in custody. His name has not yet been released.
Officers are still searching the Tree of Life synagogue.
Local residents are still being asked to stay at home.
The synagogue serves the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in Pennsylvania.
Emergency services arrived at the building at about 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT). A service was taking place at the time.

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8 dead, several others shot

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Eight people have been killed and a number of others injured after a shooting situation at The Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Saturday. KDKA’s Meghan Schiller reports that a suspect, a heavy-set white male with a beard, has surrendered. The SWAT team had been talking with the suspect, and he was crawling and injured. It is unclear the extent of his injuries.
KDKA sources confirm to Andy Sheehan that the suspect’s name is Robert Bowers.

Pittsburgh Police spokesman Chris Togneri confirmed that the suspect was in custody and three police officers had been shot. He also confirmed multiple causalities, but did not divulge exactly how many.
Police sources tell KDKA’s Andy Sheehan the gunman walked into the building and yelled, “All Jews must die.” Sheehan’s sources confirmed that eight people were dead. Others had been shot, but the extent of their injuries in unknown at this time.

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That absolutely horrific tragedy at the synagogue in Pittsburgh - I have been moved to tears hearing the stories.

One of Saskatoon's synagogues had some vandalism done to it overnight.
That same place is holding a community vigil tonight to honour the victims from Pittsburgh.

James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in prison

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Infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger has been found dead in a US federal prison in West Virginia.The 89-year-old was discovered unresponsive at the maximum security facility shortly after being transferred there from a Florida jail.
A prison union official told the Associated Press news agency the death was being investigated as a homicide.
The life of Bulger, who was convicted in 2013 of 11 murders, inspired several films.

The former leader of South Boston's Winter Hill gang inspired the film Black Mass featuring Johnny Depp, and The Departed, which won the Academy Award for best picture in 2007.
His death comes on the same day that he was transferred to the Hazelton penitentiary in West Virginia, which houses 1,385 inmates, according to reports.
An inmate with mafia ties is under investigation for Bulger's killing, three sources briefed on the incident told the Boston Globe.
Bulger was severely beaten by one or more of his fellow inmates shortly after arriving at the prison, law enforcement sources told CBS.
Boston-based WFXT-TV, a Fox affiliate, reports that Bulger was killed hours after being admitted to the general inmate population.

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US president, family visit Pittsburgh synagogue

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US President Donald Trump has offered condolences at the Pennsylvania synagogue where 11 Jewish worshippers were shot dead at the weekend.
He was joined by First Lady Melania Trump, his daughter and son-in-law at the Tree of Life temple in Pittsburgh.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on the street chanting slogans against the president.
The visit came as mourners attended the first funerals for victims of the massacre.

The Trumps were greeted on Tuesday by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who led them inside the temple, where the worst anti-Semitic attack in US history unfolded on Saturday.
At a memorial outside, Mrs Trump placed a flower and the president laid a small stone on a marker for each of the victims.

Mr Trump was joined by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is Jewish, and his daughter Ivanka, who converted to Judaism when she married Mr Kushner. Both are White House advisers.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is Jewish, also joined the president.
Before his visit, the president condemned anti-Semitism. The alleged gunman was not a Trump supporter.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNrj87Q-4Yk

Woman decorates with Hitler saluting skeletons

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eighbors couldn't believe what they saw.People stopped and stared as they walked past the New Port Richey home.
Drivers slowed with windows rolled down, mouths agape. Some snapped photos. Others shook their heads. Each person had seemingly the same facial expression - a mixture of disbelief and disgust.
Those who saw it describe the Halloween decorations as pure hate.
The New Port Richey home, located in a subdivision near Decubelis and Ridge Road, has a display is causing controversy and outrage.
In the yard - skeleton after skeleton, saluting Hitler with concentration camp identification numbers on their arms and a Star of David on their chests.
Then there was the sign that read, "Arbeit Macht Frei," which translated in German means, "Work sets you free."
It is a slogan known for being on display at the entrance of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.
Neighbors call the decorations, displayed by a local realtor at her home, evil.

..snip..


So, what does the homeowner, Susan Lamerton, have to say about her Halloween decorations causing controversy in her New Port Richey neighborhood?
We had a chance to ask her, and she told us it all began with her HOA. She claims she's been battling them over landscaping for months.
We asked her - why would put this in front of your home?
"Because they're trying to take my house," she yelled. "Don't you understand?"
She told us she's received death threats over her display, but refuses to remove it.
She says she stands firm in her decision to keep them right where they are.
She also told WFLA that she's Jewish, and this is her right to free speech, her way of protesting the HOA.
"I have freedom of speech, they have freedom of speech," she said, glancing across the street as passersby stared in shock. "They need to leave my property."

In the end, law enforcement says what Lamerton is doing is legal and is considered protected speech.
As for the homeowner herself, she has this message for people who don't lik

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this says it all:

Trump replied. "I do try, and I always want to tell the truth. When I can, I tell the truth."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/01/polit...uth/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jDGQHaWiNQ