Cities sue after Pentagon failed to report crimes to FBI gun check system

Source: MSN



Three major U.S. cities on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against the Pentagon to address a "clearly broken system" that they contend allowed a former Air Force serviceman to buy a gun and kill 26 people in a Texas church in November.

New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco seek to have the Defense Department (DOD) "fulfill their long-standing legal obligation to report all service members disqualified from purchasing and possessing firearms to the FBI's national background check system," according to a statement from the law firm filing the case.

Law enforcement officials in all three cities "regularly rely upon the integrity of the FBI's background check system," the attorneys write.

The case was brought after Devin Kelley opened fire Nov. 5 at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 people.

Read more about this at MSN

Judge Strikes Down Indiana Law Against Selling Aborted Baby Parts

Source: Life News



Indiana received bad news this Christmas season when a judge struck down part of a state law prohibiting the trafficking of aborted baby body parts.

The Indiana Lawyer reports Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana sided with Indiana University researchers on Friday, arguing that most of the law was unconstitutional.

The university sued the state in 2016 after lawmakers passed a law prohibiting the acquisition, receipt, sale or transfer of aborted baby body parts. Violations would be a felony.

Read more about this at The LifeSite News

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Reports: PA President Mahmoud Abbas Instructs Staff to Sever Ties With U.S.

Source: Breitbart




PA President Mahmoud Abbas president has come to see U.S. President Donald Trump as “a lost cause,” according to the Tims of Israel.

The PA leader reportedly instructed his staff to sever all ties with US diplomatic officials at every level, including relations between the Palestinians and American diplomats posted at the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem.

The White House is reportedly looking for a Palestinian liaison other than Abbas.

Read more about this at Breitbart

Trump supporter Joy Villa says she filed a sexual assault complaint against Corey Lewandowski

Source: Fox News



Singer Joy Villa, an outspoken Trump supporter, is accusing the president’s former campaign manager of sexual assault following an alleged incident at a Trump International Hotel party last month. Villa says she's filed a report with the Metropolitan Police Department stating Corey Lewandowski smacked her on her rear end twice.

Villa, 31, told Politico she met Lewandowski through a mutual friend at an invite-only party in November. However, after a photo opportunity, she claims Lewandowski smacked her on the butt.

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George Soros Suffers ‘Massive Heart Attack’ On Christmas Eve In Hungary

George Soros suffered a “massive heart attack” while inspecting a new faculty building at his private university in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday morning, according to Hungarian reports.

Read about it at YourNewsWire.com

RETAILERS SAY JUST-SIGNED TAX REFORM WILL BOOST ECONOMY ‘MORE THAN ANYTHING WE HAVE SEEN IN DECADES’

By National Retail Foundation



Washington, D.C. - December 26, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- The National Retail Federation welcomed tax reform signed into law by President Trump today, saying the measure will dramatically benefit businesses, workers and consumers.

“This is landmark legislation that will boost our nation’s economy more than anything we have seen in decades,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Middle-class taxpayers are the biggest winners, with significantly more take-home pay thanks to tax cuts and vast new employment opportunities because of tax relief that will help large and small businesses alike create new jobs. Consumers finishing up their holiday shopping this weekend can rest assured that there will be more money in their paychecks by the time the bills come due.”

“Retailers are winners under tax reform since our industry receives few of the tax breaks that benefit other sectors of the economy and pay the highest effective tax rate of any industry,” Shay said. “Lower taxes will help us grow our businesses and offer our customers better value. But the biggest benefit for retailers will come as lower taxes and increased global competitiveness help U.S. companies throughout the economy put more Americans to work and pay them higher wages. Consumers with jobs and money in their pockets benefit the entire economy, including retailers and every job behind every product on our shelves.”

NRF analysis shows that cutting the corporate tax rate will save large businesses enough to create between 500,000 and 1.5 million jobs while reducing taxes for “pass throughs” will benefit the small retailers that make up 95 percent of the industry. Congressional estimates show a family earning the average income of $73,000 a year will see a tax cut of over $2,000 in 2018, which is easily enough to cover the $967 NRF research shows the average consumer will spend this holiday season.

NRF has led the retail industry’s fight for tax reform for years, calling on Congress to eliminate tax breaks that benefit only some industries and to use the revenue saved to lower rates for all companies, including small businesses. During this year’s debate, NRF helped defeat a border adjustment tax proposal that would have driven up the price of imports and put many retailers out of business, took retail CEOs to meet with members of Trump’s cabinet, met with Trump at the White House, arranged for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to address retailers on tax reform and rallied with senators on Capitol Hill to support tax relief for small businesses.

NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.

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DeSantis Condemns Anti-Israel UN Vote, Introduces Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act

by Ron DeSantis (R-FL, 6th)



Washington, D.C. - December 26, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06), Chairman of the National Security Subcommittee, has introduced the Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act as the United Nations holds an emergency session to condemn President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital.

“Instead of addressing ongoing international conflicts and working to uphold human rights, the United Nations is holding an emergency session in order to indulge its pathological anti-Israel bias,” DeSantis said. “I am proud to stand by our friends in Israel and to follow up on President Trump’s historic recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital by introducing the Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act. For decades, the United States has worked hand in hand with our allies at the UN to provide hundreds of millions in foreign aid, but as President Trump said yesterday, ‘we’re not going to be taken advantage of any longer.’ Congress should take this vote into consideration as we determine which allies are deserving of our generous foreign aid.”

The Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act states that it is U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel and expresses the sense of Congress that the President shall relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by January 1, 2019.

Original cosponsors: Reps. Martha McSally, Lee Zeldin, Mark Meadows, Blake Farenthold, Luke Messer, Robert Pittenger, Jody Hice, Claudia Tenney, Todd Rokita, Jackie Walorski, Jeff Duncan, Andy Harris, Bill Johnson, Doug Lamborn, Vicky Hartzler, Dan Donovan, Louie Gohmert, Brad Wenstrup, Steve King, Keith J. Rothfus, Tom McClintock, Jim Jordan, Roger Williams, Adrian Smith, Matt Gaetz, Drew Ferguson, Paul A. Gosar, Ted Yoho.

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Senate Sends to President Legislation Honoring Important Civil Rights Sites

by Senator Lamar Alexander (R - TN)



Washington, D.C. - December 26, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said the Senate has sent President Trump legislation to be signed into law that will recognize and connect important landmarks of the Civil Rights Movement, including two potential sites in Memphis. Alexander said the legislation will preserve history for the next generation.

“The African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017 will help recognize and preserve as part of our national history sites that are central to the Civil Rights Movement, such as Memphis’ Mason Temple, the Church of God in Christ, and the Lorraine Hotel,” Alexander said. “This network will ensure the Civil Rights Movement remains at the front of our history and will help our children grow up learning about this pivotal movement. I'm glad the Senate passed this legislation, and I look forward to President Trump signing this legislation into law."

The African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017 would create a national network facilitated by the National Park Service of existing federal, state, local and privately owned sites that have been found to be significant to the Civil Rights Movement. Two sites in Memphis—the Mason Temple, Church of God in Christ, and the Lorraine Hotel—are on the tentative list of sites that could be included in the African American Civil Rights Network. The legislation would allow the National Park Service to form partnerships with existing entities included within the African American Civil Rights Network to provide technical assistance on preservation and interpretation of the Civil Rights Movement. The Senate passed the legislation last night, and Alexander was the lead Republican cosponsor of the Senate version of the legislation. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation on July 26. The legislation now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law.


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