President Trump makes another trip to survey Florida damage
President Trump says he plans to travel to Florida on Thursday in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
Trump's announcement on Twitter did not include details of where in the state he plans to go. The White House had earlier said Trump planned to visit Florida to survey damage from the hurricane that destroyed some parts of the Florida Keys, strafed the western coast and caused flooding across much of the state.
“I will be traveling to Florida tomorrow to meet with our great Coast Guard, FEMA and many of the brave first responders & others.”
The Federal Aviation Administration posted a travel advisory Tuesday that covers Fort Myers, on Florida’s west coast. The VIP Movement notification is typically issued before the president travels to a destination in the U.S.
Trump had announced on Sunday he would make a trip to South Florida in the near future, but had not yet set a date.
"We're going to Florida very soon," Trump said Sunday.
Trump recently made two trips to Texas to tour areas damaged by Hurricane Harvey and to meet with some of those affected by the storm.
A record 6.3 million people were ordered to evacuate from Florida's coastal and southern areas last week. Florida opened more than 400 shelters ahead of the storm.
FEMA estimates 25 percent of Florida Keys homes are gone
With 25 percent of the homes in the Florida Keys feared destroyed, emergency workers Tuesday rushed to find Hurricane Irma's victims — dead or alive — and deliver food and water to the stricken island chain.
As crews labored to repair the lone highway connecting the Keys, residents of some of the islands closest to Florida's mainland were allowed to return and get their first look at the devastation.
But because of disrupted phone service and other damage, the full extent of the destruction was still a question mark, more than two days after Irma roared into the Keys with 130 mph winds.
Elsewhere in Florida, life inched closer to normal, with some flights again taking off, many curfews lifted and major theme parks reopening. Cruise ships that extended their voyages and rode out the storm at sea began returning to port with thousands of passengers.
The number of people without electricity in the steamy late-summer heat dropped to 9.5 million — just under half of Florida's population. Utility officials warned it could take 10 days or more for power to be fully restored. About 110,000 people remained in shelters across Florida.
The number of deaths blamed on Irma in Florida climbed to 12, in addition to four in South Carolina and two in Georgia. At least 37 people were killed in the Caribbean.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but everybody's going to come together," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "We're going to get this state rebuilt."
In hard-hit Naples, on Florida's southwest coast, more than 300 people stood outside a Publix grocery store in the morning, waiting for it to open.
While nearly all of Florida was engulfed by the 400-mile-wide storm, the Keys, home to about 70,000 people, appeared to be the hardest hit. Drinking water and power were cut off, all three of the islands' hospitals were closed, and the supply of gasoline was extremely limited.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long said preliminary estimates suggested that 25 percent of the homes in the Keys were destroyed and 65 percent sustained major damage.
We send our prayers to those who faced devastation.
Black Lives Matter group targets monument of university's founder Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville
Black Lives Matter protesters at the University of Virginia targeted a statue of Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday night.
The monument, which sits just in front of the rotunda on the university's main quad was cloaked in black and decorated with signs that said 'Black Lives Matter' and 'TJ is a racist'.
Roughly 100 students were at the protest and helped adorn the statue, all the while chanting 'No Trump, no KKK, no racist UVA,' according to the Washington Times.
Tuesday night’s rally was officially a protest against the university’s failure to implement a series of demands made last month by the Black Student Alliance.
According to the Cavalier Daily, threats of violence began bubbling up at the latest protest when observers and counter-protesters began to take pictures.
The protesters began chanting “Stop staring! Start fighting!” at people watching them.
One man trying to live-stream the protest on Facebook said the protesters demanded his name and he asked that his video be shared as a safety measure.
There was no indication that police — either city or campus — tried to prevent or immediately undo the attack on the Jefferson statue, which is university property.
The protest came on the month-anniversary of the violent and deadly Unite the Right demonstration in Charlottesville over plans to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E Lee.
The rally was organized as a response to the university denying requests last month by the Black Student Alliance to ban white supremacists from campus and remove all Confederate plaques on the rotunda.
The University of Virginia has not yet responded to the demands of the protesters or commented on the statue's shrouding.
Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819 and was on the original governing board along with James Madison and James Monroe.
He also was the author of the Declaration of Independence and is widely considered to be one of the country's most important founding fathers.
Jefferson did, however, also leave behind a legacy of racism, characterized by his ownership of roughly 175 slaves and belief that blacks were the inferior race.
Killing England out 6 days from today. The book goes into the life of Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with the slaves, all of the things that these people are demanding that he be condemned for now. George Washington is in the book as well. Read the book, get the facts and then decide for yourself, but this is not going to stop. The radical left wants to wipe out all remnants of our history, redo the Constitution. They feel that is a white supremacist situation.
Christopher Columbus Statue In Central Park Vandalized With 'Bloody' Hands & Message: 'Hate Will Not Be Tolerated'
A statue of Christopher Columbus near the southeast corner of Central Park was spray painted with the message "HATE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED," and the statue's hands were painted blood red. A message sprayed on the statue's base bears the hashtag #somethingscoming.
The NYPD was alerted to the spray paint at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, a spokesman said. An investigation is ongoing. The statue is currently cordoned off with caution tape and metal fences.
So far it appears no one has taken responsibility for the vandalism. Neither the Parks Department nor the Central Park Conservancy immediately responded to a request for comment.
On Monday, a conservancy employee told The Resurgent that the paint was still sticky at 7:00 a.m. By 10 a.m., parks workers had already scrubbed off the spray painted message. They began removing the red paint around 10:15.
"I think it's a good look, honestly," said Christen Clifford, 45, of Jackson Heights. She came across the statue after dropping her child off at school near the park Tuesday, before the lettering was scrubbed. "I think that with Christopher Columbus and colonialism, we have a lot of blood on our hands in this country."
The incident comes in the midst of a heated debate about statues and monuments locally and nationally, in the wake of a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. There, participants rallied around a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a committee of historians, artists, activists and philanthropists tasked with reviewing all "symbols of hate" in New York City over the next three months. In the meantime, he has refused to take a side on Gaetano Russo's Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has called for the Columbus Circle statue to be removed, citing Columbus's legacy as a colonizer, while mayoral challengers Nicole Malliotakis, the GOP frontrunner, and Democratic challenger Sal Albanese have come out in the statue's defense.
A City Hall spokesperson initially declined to comment, referring our inquiries to the NYPD.
Mayoral spokeswoman Natalie Grybauskas issued a statement a few hours after her initial response. "The mayor thinks vandalism is wrong and never the right approach to these conversations or monuments," she said.
"Vandalizing and defacing public property is unacceptable and does nothing to facilitate necessary conversations about New York City’s historical monuments," echoed Council Speaker spokeswoman Robin Levine.
Fear of the Far-Left
The far-left is feared in this country and they know it. It’s not just the antifa violent people, its people working behind the scenes to smear and destroy and it’s getting worse by the day.
Utah Valley University "Less Inclusive" Will Be Reported to Behavior Assessment Team
According to The College Fix, Utah Valley University, is telling the faculty to report “inappropriate language,” are “argumentative,” or who speak “loudly.”
So now, the Behavior Assessment Team is in place at this University and I assume other colleges and universities will implement the same types of groups.
The letter, titled “Recognizing and Responding to Students of Concern,” was provided to The College Fix by a professor at Utah Valley. The document instructs faculty on the various types of behaviors that merit concern, including stalking, angry outbursts and bullying, as well as the signs that a student may harm himself or others.
The guidance letter gave professors advice on how to respond to a wide range of student behaviors. Professors are instructed to use techniques ranging from “supportive gestures” to calling 911, depending on the severity of the situation.
It also advises faculty to report “concerning…communication” and vulgar language.
The scholar added he sees the Behavior Assessment Team as “a tool of intimidation instead of a tool to foster inclusion.”
“In the past,” the faculty member told The Fix, “we have always been told that [the Behavioral Assessment Team] was for students who were a threat to physical safety…or for students who are disrupting the learning process. This year is the first time when we have been encouraged to report students for their words that may go against the inclusivity initiative or that may subjectively make someone ‘feel unsafe.’”
Other behavior that the university suggests could be reported to the Behavior Assessment Team include “unreasonable demands,” “behavior that challenges University expectations” and “making numerous complaints.”
California sanctuary state bill headed for approval
Gov. Jerry Brown and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León struck a deal on California’s “sanctuary state” bill Monday after weeks of negotiations.
“This bill is all about amnesty and open borders is what this is about.”
The bill was amended to expand law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, reflecting a compromise between the two political leaders. Brown previously said he was seeking changes to the measure, casting doubts on whether he would sign an earlier and stronger version of the bill.
“This bill protects public safety and people who come to California to work hard and make this state a better place,” Brown said in a statement.
The bill previously built a wall between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, with a few exceptions. It allowed police to respond to federal immigration requests related to inmates who are serving time for or who have been previously convicted of a violent or serious felony and called for the state to give ICE at least 60 days before such felons are released from prison.
The new changes give local police discretion to hold someone for federal authorities if they have been convicted of a serious or violent felony, a misdemeanor punishable as a felony, felony drunk driving, unlawful possession of a deadly weapon, felony drug crimes and other lesser crimes.
The new iteration of the bill also gives immigration agents access to interview individuals in jails, which was previously prohibited, and removes a ban on sharing information from databases with immigration authorities.
Despite the changes, de León and pro-immigrant groups stood by the measure Monday. De León, D-Los Angeles, said the bill continues to provide “landmark protections for our undocumented community.”
“SB 54 will ensure that state and local police are not diverted from protecting our communities in order to enforce federal immigration laws,” de León said in a statement.
The California Sheriffs’ Association has been a vocal opponent of the measure. The sheriffs had previously argued that the more than 60 violent or serious felonies included in the earlier version of the bill omitted a wide range of dangerous criminals.
The sheriffs submitted amendments to the pro tem’s office in late June. They wanted to strike out language that bars law enforcement from using its resources to arrest or detain people for immigration violations, ask about someone’s status, respond to requests for notification about release dates or transfer someone to federal authorities, among other key provisions of the bill.
De León’s staff acknowledged receipt of the amendments, but that was the end of it, said Cory Salzillo, legislative director for the sheriffs’ association.
We believe that “many Americans in their hearts know that this country isn’t going in the right direction.”
President Trump’s broadcast coverage is now 91% negative
Over the past three months, evening news coverage of President Donald Trump on the main broadcast stations was 91 percent negative, according to a new Media Research Center study.
By the end of August, the MRC said, nearly 40 percent of coverage during the nightly news on ABC, NBC and CBS was about the Trump White House or the administration. Comparatively, President Barack Obama received about ten percent of broadcast news coverage.
The top four Trump related topics discussed over the past three months were the Russia investigation 27 percent of the time, the failure to repeal ObamaCare, the handling of the North Korea situation and Trump's controversial response to Charlottesville.
“Since January 20, Media Research Center analysts have reviewed every mention of President Trump and top administration officials on ABC’s World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News, including weekends,” write research director Rich Noyes and Mike Ciandella, a senior analyst for the conservative press watchdog. “As of August 31, coverage of the administration has totaled nearly 74 hours (4,418 minutes) of airtime, or about 39 percent of all evening news coverage.
Guest Interview Excerpts: Rich Noyes, Research Director at the Media Research Center
Noyes starts off the interview saying, that unfortunately the negative coverage of Trump is not surprising to us. “We saw the same negativity during the campaign also during the first 100 days of the administration. What’s amazing is that there is no let up. This is just continuing, the media trying to discredit Donald Trump and the public has heard it over and over again and they’re not buying it.”
We don’t believe that the “public is buying it to the extent that they see through, but Donald Trump’s approval rating hovers around 35-40% so it must be taking some toll.”
Noyes says that Trump’s approval rating has only lowered slightly since Trump took office, but the people who opposed him all throughout the campaign still oppose him. The people who are with him, don’t find all of this coverage to be discrediting.
There will be a lot of smear coverage back and forth, it is going to be a rough and tumble time like the way the partisan media was in the early days of the Republic, but then it was newspapers, it wasn’t this in your face television and internet news that is harder to avoid.
Middle-class income hit highest level on record in 2016
The incomes of middle-class Americans rose last year to the highest level ever recorded by the Census Bureau, as poverty declined and the scars of the past decade’s Great Recession seemed to finally fade.
Median household income rose to $59,039 in 2016, a 3.2 percent increase from the previous year and the second consecutive year of healthy gains, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. The nation’s poverty rate fell to 12.7 percent, returning nearly to what it was in 2007 before a financial crisis and deep recession walloped workers in ways that were still felt years later.
Now, the economy is getting stronger and while Donald Trump didn’t have anything to do with that he can certainly build on it with the tax cut.
Also noteworthy, is that inequality remains high, with the top fifth of earners taking home more than half of all overall income, a record. And yawning racial disparities remain, with the median African American household earning only $39,490, compared with more than $65,000 for whites and over $81,000 for Asians.
MAIL TIME!
- I don’t believe President Trump will be hurt if tax cuts break down. We all see how hard he’s trying and Democrats are against everything he does and just enough Republicans don’t want him to succeed. I believe and I pray that I am right that these Republicans will lose their bids for re-election.
- Bill, please get a message to President Trump that he needs to go to the people. He needs to tell them that he needs to pass the tax cuts.
- Not only am I a Premium Member, but I also subscribe to Rush Limbaugh and listen to his program as I have for many years. I heard his comments about hurricanes and he in no way denied the coming storm, it’s possible impact or diminish the need to evacuate. The left press is also after him as they are with you. Thank you for your support of his situation.
- I told my daughter who wants to have a child very much, not to have children, there’s too much evil in the world. To make matters worse it seems like evil is winning over good. Can this really be true?
UPCOMING TOUR DATES & LOCATIONS
- A week from Saturday (9/23), Miller and I are going to be in Tampa, FL, at the Amalie Arena!
- A week from Friday (9/22), Miller and I will be in Baltimore, MD, at the Royal Farms Arena!
EXCITING UPDATES ON NEW MEDIA TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT BILLOREILLY.COM
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