May 28, 2015

Al Sharpton asks if Texas flooding was result of ‘God’s rebuke’

On Wednesday, civil rights activist and MSNBC host Al Sharpton posed a provocative question to his 459,000 Twitter followers about the deadly floods sweeping Texas, including in Austin, San Marcos, Wimberley and surrounding cities.

As was to be expected after asking if this week’s floods were either a result of “climate control” or “God’s rebuke” and not leaving any room for alternate explanations, Sharpton riled many on Twitter.

Read more: http://austin.blog.statesman.com/2015/05/27/al-sharpton-asks-if-texas-flooding-was-result-of-gods-rebuke/

May 27, 2015

Wharton mayor calls for voluntary evacuation due to flooding

WHARTON, TX (KTRK) -- The mayor of the city of Wharton is calling for a voluntary evacuation as of 5pm today for the west side of the city due to the predicted rise of the Colorado River.

Residents on the west side are encouraged to begin preparations to ensure they have an evacuation plan in place, plenty of water, nonperishable food items, sufficient clothing and any prescription medications they may need in the event of a flood.

The city of Wharton continues to monitor the situation and has begun preparations for possible flooding. The City Office of Emergency Management is working with the Red Cross to establish a shelter for those who maybe misplaced by the flood and do not have a place to go. For additional information, check www.cityofwharton.com.

Meanwhile an emergency shelter is being set up by The Red Cross in Liberty as floodwaters continue to rise.

The Lake Livingston Dam release and the nearby Trinity River are major concerns for the area.

Already several families were stranded for days at their homes because of washed out roads. One mother even ran out of formula for her children.

A voluntary evacuation is in place. The emergency shelter is located at 318 San Jacinto in Liberty.

http://abc13.com/news/wharton-mayor-calls-for-voluntary-evacuation/744958/

[font color=330099]I'm in a second floor apartment on the east side of the city where there is higher ground. The river is about a mile away and it is dry here, but I may not post if I lose power or something.[/font]

May 27, 2015

10 of the craziest things Ann Coulter said about immigrants in recent interview

Conservative pin-up Ann Coulter made a stop on the Fusion network to discuss her book “Adios, America”. During the interview she went back and forth with host Jorge Ramos and at one point compared the threat of ISIS with the threat of being killed by someone from Mexico. The focus of her stop was mainly to discuss immigration reform, but she ended up leaving the audience with a slew of shocking views that appeared to show Coulter really doesn’t like Mexicans, or whatever immigrant threat she thinks it destroying the country.

She also bluntly denied a hug in a show of “humanity” to an audience member who said she is an undocumented immigrant (watch below).

1. "Very easy to avoid being killed by ISIS.... If you don’t want to be killed by a Mexican there’s nothing I can tell you."
2. "There are cultures that are obviously deficient, and if they weren’t deficient you wouldn’t be sitting in America interviewing me, I’d be sitting in Mexico."
3. "You fled that culture because it is a cri…..There are a lot of problems with that culture. Hopefully it can be changed, but we can share our culture with other nations without bringing all of their people here."
4. "When you bring the people here you bring their culture here. That includes honor killings."
5. "It includes uncles raping their nieces."
6. "It includes dumping litter all over."
7. "It includes dumping litter all over."
8. "It includes paying bribes to government officials."
9. "America is the best in the world and we are about to lose it."
10. "No country has ever had the respect for women that anglo America does, and that is going out the door."

More at http://blog.chron.com/lavoz/2015/05/10-of-the-craziest-things-ann-coulter-said-about-immigrants-in-recent-interview/#33249101=0

May 27, 2015

Deeper draft in Mississippi River means billions in revenue, 17,000 new jobs nationwide

With cargo ships getting larger and the Panama Canal getting wider, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is once again weighing the costs and benefits of a potential $300 million effort to deepen the lower Mississippi River by as much as 5 feet.

The project — which would cover the stretch from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico — is being considered largely in light of the multibillion-dollar work underway at the canal, which is slated to wrap up next year.

When the Panama project is finished, the canal will be able to accommodate ships with drafts as deep as 50 feet below the water’s surface. That is 5 feet deeper than what’s available on the lower Mississippi.

For years, local maritime officials have argued that the extra 5 feet of depth are overdue for the sinuous, 175-mile shipping waterway. In fact, Congress authorized the river to be dredged to 55 feet in the 1980s, 10 feet deeper than it is now. Each additional foot means more cargo that ships can carry, and that means more money.

Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/neworleans/12444862-148/ahead-of-panama-canal-expansion

May 27, 2015

3 Louisiana congressional members ask more time to file personal finances

WASHINGTON -- Three Louisiana members of Congress asked for more time to fill out required financial disclosure forms for 2014.

The forms, listing assets and liabilities, were due on May 15.

Sens. David Vitter and Bill Cassidy, both Louisiana Republicans, filed extension forms asking that they be given 90 days -- until Aug. 13 -- to file their reports. Also asking for a 90-day extension was House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson. The extensions are routinely approved.

The reports for the Louisiana House members who filed by the May 15th deadline should be made public shortly.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/_3_louisiana_congressional_mem.html#incart_story_package

May 27, 2015

Mary Landrieu takes job at Washington lobbying firm

WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is joining the Washington lobbying firm Van Ness Feldman, the firm announced Tuesday (May 26).

Landrieu said she will join Van Ness Feldman as a senior policy advisor, working closely with another recent hire, former Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., the former top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

Former senators are barred from lobbying their former colleagues for two years after the end of their congressional careers. For Landrieu, that means she can't lobby colleagues until January, 2017. But she can lobby members of the executive branch, and is free to provide Van Ness Feldman clients with strategic advice. .

Landrieu said the job will provide her with the "flexibility" to continue her work for the Walton Family Foundation, advocating on education issues, such as support for charter schools in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and nationally.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/mary_landrieu_takes_job_at_dc.html

May 27, 2015

New Ebola study says a dozen more were hospitalized in Dallas outbreak than was revealed

Source: Dallas Morning News

More people than the public knew were hospitalized for possible Ebola exposure during Dallas’ outbreak, a new study says.

Last fall, only two people were known to be hospitalized here after potentially contracting the often-fatal disease from a Liberian traveler. They were the nurses who tested positive.

At the time, it was not revealed that an additional dozen people, nine of them health care workers, came down with Ebola-like symptoms while being monitored for possible exposure. The report said they developed fevers, headaches, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Without fanfare, the patients were hospitalized for one to five days and released after testing negative for Ebola. Their average stay was 2.5 days.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20150526-new-ebola-study-says-a-dozen-more-were-hospitalized-in-dallas-outbreak-than-was-revealed.ece

May 27, 2015

This picture says it all...

May 27, 2015

Sinkhole near runway disrupts traffic at DFW

D/FW AIRPORT — Hundreds of flights were delayed at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on Tuesday after one of its four main runways was shut down because of a nearby sinkhole.

Airport airfield inspectors found the sinkhole in a grassy area about 250 feet between a taxiway and runway 18L, which sits just west of Terminals B and D, airport spokesman David Magaña said in a statement. The sinkhole, estimated at 25 feet by 25 feet, is toward the south end of the runway.

“Crews discovered that a section of a storm drain had become dislodged from the main storm drain line, creating erosion of the soil around the storm drain,” Magaña said. “The engineering analysis determined that the integrity of the runway itself is intact, and the runway was unaffected by the soil erosion.”

The runway reopened about 6 p.m.

Construction crews will excavate and repair the storm drain starting on Wednesday morning. The runway will not need to be closed to complete the repairs, Magaña said.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/aviation/sky-talk-blog/article22329858.html#storylink=cpy

May 27, 2015

Alabama House votes to block abortion clinics near schools

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Abortion clinics would be prohibited near schools under legislation approved by the Alabama House. It would force one of the state's five abortion clinics to move or close.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 79-15 for the proposal to ban clinics within 2,000 feet of a public K-12 school. The state would not license or renew a license for clinics within that distance. The bill now moves to the state Senate, where it faces an uncertain outlook with five meeting days remaining in the legislative session.

Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, said the clinics are not appropriate near children, nor are clinic protests, which he said can include graphic statements from "both sides" and photos of aborted fetuses,

Opposing lawmakers called the bill an attempt to close an abortion clinic.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article22389348.html#storylink=cpy