Belgium shooting: man kills passerby and two police officers in Lige

Source: The Guardian

Belgian investigators have opened a terror inquiry after a prisoner on day release shot dead two police officers and a passerby in the centre of Liège before being killed in a shootout.

The man, named by local media as Benjamin Herman, 31, approached the two officers from behind and repeatedly slashed at them with a boxcutter, or Stanley knife, as they were checking parking meters on Tuesday.

He then took their service revolvers and shot them dead before turning his fire on a parked car and killing Cyriel Vangriecken, 22, who was in the passenger seat of his mother’s Ford Fiesta.

Philippe Dulieu, the prosecutor in Liège, said the assailant then walked to the Leonie de Waha school where he took a woman hostage. “Police intervened, he came out firing on the police officers, wounding several, before he was killed,” Dulieu said.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/29/belgium-gunman-kills-two-police-officers-and-passerby-liege

Supreme court rejects challenge to controversial Arkansas abortion law

Source: The Guardian

The supreme court is allowing the state of Arkansas to put in effect restrictions on how abortion pills are administered. Critics of a state law that had been challenged in the courts say the ruling could effectively end medication abortions in the state.

The justices did not comment on Tuesday in rejecting an appeal from Planned Parenthood’s affiliate in Arkansas, which had asked the court to review an appeals court ruling and reinstate a lower court order that had blocked the law from taking effect. The law says doctors who provide abortion pills must hold a contract with another physician who has admitting privileges at a hospital and who would agree to handle complications.

The law is similar to a provision in Texas law that the supreme court struck down in 2016.

The 8th US circuit court of appeals reversed the court order barring enforcement of the law, but put its ruling on hold while Planned Parenthood appealed to the supreme court.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/29/supreme-court-arkansas-abortion-pill-rejected-planned-parenthood

Hawaii volcano eruption prompts fears of disastrous blow to tourism

David Collier, who has been guiding trips on the island for a decade, clutched the wheel of a 13-person van last week on the road up to Mauna Kea observatory. Up until Kilauea began erupting this month, his full-time job was taking visitors on three separate volcano-related tours. Now, with Hawaii Volcanoes national park closed and the district of Puna inundated with lava, two of those three tours are cancelled until further notice.

“As of this morning, the road where I’ve been conducting tours for a decade is no longer there,” he said. “Things are changing.”

Hawaii island’s $2.4bn tourism industry is struggling in the wake of the Kilauea Volcano eruptions, with bookings for May through July down 50%, according to the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau. Businesses on the island are doing their best to convince tourists that it’s still safe to visit.

If tourism falters much longer, Collier reasoned, there’s still plenty of work in the astronomy industry located on this 13,000-foot-high dormant volcano. Mauna Kea – the largest peak in the world when measured from its base on the seabed – is a mecca for astrologists, as well as tourists. But his feelings about the volcano are mixed: it’s eruptions like Kilauea’s that created the island in the first place.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/27/hawaii-volcano-eruption-prompts-fears-of-disastrous-blow-to-tourism

Maggie Haberman is not very good at her job

Invitations offer wealthy Chinese access to President Trump at fundraiser

The letter, circulated to dozens of wealthy entrepreneurs in China last week, looked official. Topped with the insignia of a real Republican committee raising money for the party and President Trump’s reelection campaign, it purported to offer a handshake and a one-on-one photo with the president for $100,000 — a “VVIP” trip “to be remembered for a lifetime.”

The invitation, which Republican Party officials say they had nothing to do with, was not the only such offer. At least two other China-based companies circulated similar solicitations in the past week, offering access to Trump at an official fundraiser in Dallas on May 31, and charging two or three times the price of a ticket.

In an interview with The Washington Post, a Beijing man who claims to be an organizer of the excursion to Dallas said he coordinated a previous U.S. trip, bringing members of the Chinese business elite to snap selfies and pose for photos at a swanky Manhattan fundraiser headlined by Trump in December.

As part of his promotional materials for the Dallas trip, the man circulated pictures of wealthy Chinese business leaders, including a businessman known as the country’s first owner of a Ferrari, standing shoulder to shoulder with Trump in formal wear and giving a thumbs-up.

While U.S. election law prohibits campaign contributions from anyone but U.S. citizens and permanent residents, foreign visitors may attend fundraisers as long as they do not pay their own entry.

But some campaign finance experts say there would be ethical concerns if foreigners were routinely gaining access to the U.S. president through fundraisers. And the solicitations, if offering a legitimate service, raise questions about whether attendees are indirectly paying for their tickets through a U.S. donor, which would be illegal.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/invitations-offer-wealthy-chinese-access-to-president-trump-at-fundraiser/2018/05/25/3bc6a8ae-5e90-11e8-a4a4-c070ef53f315_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6f47f0123eda


This is the reason to get rid of that ruling by John Roberts and his fucking team of right wing bullshit and to get rid of Citizens United, this is a very good reason to get out and vote......................end of story




November 2018 cannot get here fast enough

Why Your Health Insurer Doesn't Care About Your Big Bills

Patients may think their insurers are fighting on their behalf for the best prices. But saving patients money is often not their top priority. Just ask Michael Frank.


by Marshall Allen May 25, 5 a.m. EDT


This story was co-published with NPR.

Michael Frank ran his finger down his medical bill, studying the charges and pausing in disbelief. The numbers didn’t make sense.

His recovery from a partial hip replacement had been difficult. He’d iced and elevated his leg for weeks. He’d pushed his 49-year-old body, limping and wincing, through more than a dozen physical therapy sessions.

The last thing he needed was a botched bill.

His December 2015 surgery to replace the ball in his left hip joint at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City had been routine. One night in the hospital and no complications.

He was even supposed to get a deal on the cost. His insurance company, Aetna, had negotiated an in-network “member rate” for him. That’s the discounted price insured patients get in return for paying their premiums every month.

https://www.propublica.org/article/why-your-health-insurer-does-not-care-about-your-big-bills

ABC - "When Smokey Sings" - original HQ stereo video

ABC - Be Near Me

Yesterday, Trump invented a quote. Today, it's a fact.

Source: Think Progress

The episode illustrates how Trump launders lies.

AARON RUPAR MAY 24, 2018, 10:49 AM

On Thursday morning, President Trump tweeted that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper “has now admitted that there was Spying in my campaign.”

“Large dollars were paid to the Spy, far beyond normal,” Trump wrote. “Starting to look like one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. SPYGATE – a terrible thing!”

Trump’s tweet is a blatant lie. Clapper has not admitted anything of the sort. In fact, he has repeatedly said the opposite.

Consider what Clapper said on The View this Tuesday.

“So I ask you, was the FBI spying on Trump’s campaign?” host Joy Behar asked Clapper.

Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-big-lie-about-james-clapper-fox-news-republicans-9f4705a23a39/

Yesterday, Trump invented a quote. Today, it's a fact.

Source: Think Progress

The episode illustrates how Trump launders lies.

AARON RUPAR MAY 24, 2018, 10:49 AM

On Thursday morning, President Trump tweeted that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper “has now admitted that there was Spying in my campaign.”

“Large dollars were paid to the Spy, far beyond normal,” Trump wrote. “Starting to look like one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. SPYGATE – a terrible thing!”

Trump’s tweet is a blatant lie. Clapper has not admitted anything of the sort. In fact, he has repeatedly said the opposite.

Consider what Clapper said on The View this Tuesday.

“So I ask you, was the FBI spying on Trump’s campaign?” host Joy Behar asked Clapper.



Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-big-lie-about-james-clapper-fox-news-republicans-9f4705a23a39/