May 22, 2017


News and Views


I AM EXTREMELY INTRIGUED AND UNNERVED BY THIS. UNTIL THEY CATCH WHO DID THIS, I WILL FEAR THAT IT IS ANOTHER TERRORISTIC ACTION. UNFORTUNATELY, THE EVIDENCE HASN’T BEEN PUBLISHED YET.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/manchester-arena-emergency-services-respond-incident/
CBS/AP May 22, 2017, 6:46 PM
Police: "Confirmed fatalities" after reports of explosion at Manchester Arena

CBSN Live

Police say there are a "number of confirmed fatalities" following reports of an explosion Monday night at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. A representative said the singer was not injured.

There were no immediate details of what happened during the concert by the American singer, but police advised the public to avoid the area around the Manchester Arena.

Joseph Carozza, a representative from Grande's US record label, said the singer is OK and they are investigating what happened.

Police and emergency services said they were responding to a "serious incident" at the arena.

"Details of a casualty bureau will follow as soon as available," officials said on Twitter.

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G M Police ✔ @gmpolice
Police responded to reports of an incident at Manchester Arena. Please stay away from the area. More details to follow....
5:54 PM - 22 May 2017
7,086 7,086 Retweets 4,209 4,209 likes


G M Police ✔ @gmpolice
Emergency services responding to serious incident at Manchester Arena. Avoid the area. More details will follow as soon as available
6:29 PM - 22 May 2017
6,821 6,821 Retweets 3,933 3,933 likes

"Due to an incident involving the emergency services [Manchester Victoria] has been evacuated," Northern train service officials said. "We will provide further updates when possible.

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Northern ✔ @northernassist
Due to an incident involving the emergency services #ManchesterVictoria has been evacuated. We will provide further updates when possible.
6:13 PM - 22 May 2017
112 112 Retweets 36 36 likes

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, responded to reports of the incident on Twitter. "Terrible incident in Manchester. My thoughts are with all those affected and our brilliant emergency services."

Zach Bruce, who was at the concert, described the scene on the phone to CBSN.

"It was one loud bang -- it was so loud," Bruce said.

Asked if he would describe it as an explosion, he said yes -- "It was an explosion."

He described people panicking.

"I didn't know what was going on," he said.

One Twitter user said she heard an "explosion" from inside the area, where Grande performed moments earlier. There were no immediate details of what happened during the concert.

Video from inside the arena showed concertgoers screaming as they made their way out amid a sea of pink balloons.

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♡♡ @hannawwh
EXPLOSION AT MANCHESTER ARENA AND EVERYONE RAN OUT SO SCARY😭
6:00 PM - 22 May 2017
13,831 13,831 Retweets 11,829 11,829 likes

One concert goer told BBC 5 she was one of first people to exit the stadium. She said she heard an explosion toward the end of the performance. There were an estimated 20,000 people inside the arena on Monday night.

The Dangerous Woman Tour is the third concert tour by Grande to support her third studio album, Dangerous Woman. The tour began on February 3, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

From Manchester the tour is to move through Europe, including Belgium, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and France, through the summer with stops in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and on to Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia and more.

gettyimages-686936318.jpg
Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017 in Manchester, England. DAVE THOMPSON / GETTY

This story is developing. Check back for updates.



SO, WHAT COULD THE PURPOSE OF THIS MANEUVER BE? TO CONCENTRATE “LOYAL” INDIVIDUALS IN KEY POSITIONS TO INCREASE TRUMP’S INFLUENCE, AND FURTHER ROOT OUT THE OBAMA APPOINTEES? IT IS ODD TO ME, BECAUSE IF I READ THIS ARTICLE CORRECTLY, IT WAS TRUMP WHO ISSUED THE EXECUTIVE ORDER IN THE FIRST PLACE. DOES HE FORGET DOING THINGS, OR AUTOMATICALLY SIGN THINGS WITHOUT READING THEM? IT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD EXECUTIVE ORDER TO ME, IN THAT IT SHOULD INCREASE THE OVERALL HONESTY IN GOVERNMENT AND ALLOW THE DOCUMENTS TO BE EXAMINED WITHOUT RESTRAINT. MAYBE HE IS SIMPLY UNNERVED BY THE FACT THAT IT IS THE ETHICS OFFICE WHO ARE INQUIRING.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-attempts-to-block-office-of-government-ethics-request/
By BLAIR GUILD CBS NEWS May 22, 2017, 6:13 PM
White House attempts to block Office of Government Ethics request

Photograph -- FILE: White House exterior WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / MATT WADE PHOTOGRAPHY

The White House has positioned itself to block the disclosure of ethics waivers granted to dozens of former lobbyists now working in the White House and other federal agencies, The New York Times reported on Monday.

The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) needs the waivers in order to determine whether these individuals are violating federal ethics rules in their new positions as government officials.

The Trump administration sent a letter challenging the legal authority of Head of the OGE Walter M. Shaub Jr. -- an Obama appointee who is in his fifth and final year of the job -- to request copies of these ethics waivers from federal agencies, which he did in late April.

Schaub's action falls under the category of "data request," which is a legal right of the OGE. In its letter, the White House also asked Schaub to withdraw his request. No previous administration has made a request like this, the Times reported.

The Trump administration has hired a number of former lobbyists and industry lawyers, many of whom are working in the same area as their previous private-sector jobs, compared to the Obama administration.

"I have never seen anything like it," Mr. Shaub said of the White House's request. He does not intend to comply.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) accused Shaub of submitting a politically motivated request.

"The very fact that this internal discussion was leaked implies that the data being sought is not being collected to satisfy our mutual high standard of ethics," a statement by OMB read.

In January, President Trump signed the "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees" executive order. It prohibits officials who were formerly lobbyists or lawyers from working directly on matters they had been involved with in their previous position for a two year period.

The president has the right to issue waivers to this ban, although Obama made these documents public without request and offered explanations for each exception made. The Trump administration has not made this information as readily available, thus prompting Mr. Shaub's request for copies of these waivers in an effort to make them public and see how many have been issued under Mr. Trump.

OMB director Mick Mulvaney wrote to Shaub Wednesday and said the request for the waivers "appears to raise legal questions regarding the scope of O.G.E.'s authorities." Mulvaney also asked to hold the request "until these questions are resolved." The letter was obtained by a Freedom of Information request issued by the Times.

While the OGE has the clear authority to make this request, it does not have the power to force compliance. Typically, the White House would follow up on agencies' compliance, but this may present a problem, given that in this case, it's the White House that does not want to comply with the OGE.



ELLA FITZGERALD LYRICS - Undecided www.azlyrics.com – ONE OF THE GREATEST VOICES OF MY TIME.
“... First you say you do And then you don't And then you say you will And then you won't You're undecide ... "Undecided" lyrics. ELLA FITZGERALD LYRICS "Undecided" ...”

“FIRST YOU SAY YOU DO, AND THEN YOU DON’T. FIRST YOU SAY YOU WILL, AND THEN YOU WON’T.” COMEY NEEDS TO TESTIFY. EVER SINCE HE WROTE THE LETTER TO THE SENATE IMPLYING THAT MORE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING CLINTON EMAILS WERE FOUND, I HAVE ASKED MYSELF WHETHER HE WAS IN FACT COMPLICIT WITH THOSE WHO WANTED TRUMP ELECTED. TRUMP OBVIOUSLY HAS NO HIGH REGARD FOR HIM, BUT MANY REPUBLICANS WERE “HOLDING THEIR NOSES” TO HELP TRUMP TO GET A REPUBLICAN OF ANY STRIPE INTO OFFICE, I’M AFRAID. ALSO, THE FACT THAT COMEY WANTS TO TALK TO MUELLER LOOKS AS THOUGH COMEY HIMSELF COULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE RUSSIA MESS, OR “SWAMP,” TO BORROW TRUMP’S WORD. WHO KNOWS? I BELIEVE THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AND CERTAINLY ARE NOW MANY SECRETS BEHIND THE WHITE HOUSE DOORS, AND THE FBI, TOO, FOR THAT MATTER. THERE IS THE OLD QUESTION OF WHO REALLY SHOT JOHN KENNEDY.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chaffetz-says-comey-hearing-before-house-oversight-committee-postponed/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS
May 22, 2017, 6:50 PM
Chaffetz says Comey hearing before House Oversight Committee postponed

Fired FBI Director James Comey will not be testifying in a public hearing at any time this week.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, had invited Comey to testify at a hearing on Wednesday on the circumstances surrounding his termination.

But Chaffetz has since issued a tweet saying he had spoken with Comey, and that the former director wants to speak speak [sic] with Robert Mueller, the newly-appointed special counsel investigating Russian meddling into the 2016 election, before agreeing to a public testimony. The hearing has now been postponed with no future date on the books.

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Jason Chaffetz ✔ @jasoninthehouse
Spoke with Comey. He wants to speak with Special Counsel prior to public testimony. Hearing Wed postponed. @GOPoversight
5:39 PM - 22 May 2017
2,238 2,238 Retweets 2,691 2,691 likes

Comey had also declined to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which also extended him an invitation to testify, according to that committee's chairman and ranking member.

Comey, however, is still expected to testify in a public hearing before Senate Intelligence Committee members. Chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, and Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, said Friday that Comey would agree to testify sometime after Memorial Day.

This comes as former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, notifying the Senate Intelligence Committee that he will not comply with a subpoena seeking documents, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said Monday.



TRUMP IS APPARENTLY “SCARED TO DEATH” OF PEOPLE WHO DON’T PLEDGE LOYALTY AND WHO QUESTION TRUMP’S ACTIONS. HE BOOTED SALLY YATES OUT, TOO, FOR THE SAME REASON. THAT COULD JUST BE THE KNEE-JERK REACTION OF A VERY BELLIGERENT PERSONALITY, OR A MAN WHO KNOWS THAT HE HAS DONE MORE THAN A FEW THINGS THAT ARE EITHER ILLEGAL OR UNETHICAL, AND THEREFORE COULD EASILY FIND HIMSELF IN TROUBLE. I AM OF THE OPINION THAT ANYONE WHO MAKES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS LIKE THAT HAS NOT BEEN CLEAN ABOUT IT. OF COURSE, I COULD BE WRONG.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-was-scared-to-death-of-james-comey-comeys-father-says/
Trump was "scared to death" of James Comey, Comey's father says
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS May 22, 2017, 10:52 AM

Photograph -- Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee during an oversight hearing on the FBI on Capitol Hill on May 3, 2017 in Washington, D.C. GETTY

Former FBI Director James Comey's father says his son was fired because President Trump was "scared to death of him," according to CNN.

J. Brien Comey spoke to CNN by phone on Saturday about his son's dismissal as the nation's top law enforcement officer.

Comey agrees to testify before Senate panel
Play VIDEO
Comey agrees to testify before Senate panel

"[Comey] didn't give him 100 percent loyalty, and he demands that of people who work with him," he said, according to CNN. "[Comey] said he would give 100 percent honesty, but not loyalty."

"Why he was fired, I think, is Trump changes every day," he added. "He had three reasons three days in a row."

Comey's father said his son is dealing well with his termination.

"He's doing fine. He's a solid citizen, he has lots of opportunity," he said, according to CNN. "It was a dumb thing to get rid of him. A loss for the FBI."

He added that he isn't a fan of Mr. Trump, whom he described as "crazy as a hoot."



NEWS VIDEO ONLY:
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/russia-probe-broadens-to-include-another-former-trump-adviser/
Russia probe broadens to include another former Trump adviser

Play CBS News Video

MAY 22, 2017, 7:28 AM| While President Trump is overseas, the White House is struggling with political problems at home. Officials face new disclosures about FBI Director James Comey's firing, as Mr. Trump reportedly bragged about his decision to Russian diplomats. Lawmakers will have a chance to ask Comey about his memos, now that he's agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Nancy Cordes reports.



THE END, FOR NOW. I HAD TO SIT IN THE WAITING ROOM OF A MECHANIC’S SHOP FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS, AND I’M EXHAUSTED. I’LL COLLECT MORE TOMORROW MORNING.