JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
OTHER STORIES
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/11-dead-in-texas-tornadoes-26-at-least.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/california-wildfire-and-2nd-round-of.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/storms-kill-15-in-america-australia-and.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/merry-christ-mas-and-happy-new-year.html
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Environment Canada ends winter storm watch for southern Ontario-[The Canadian Press]-The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
TORONTO - Environment Canada has issued winter storm and freezing rain warnings for large swaths of Ontario and southern Quebec after an unseasonably warm December.The agency says an intense low pressure system that originated in Texas is expected to roll into the Windsor area Monday afternoon, bringing freezing rain, ice pellets and strong winds before changing to rain Monday night.The storm will hit Sault Ste. Marie hard with upwards of 35 centimetres of snow Monday night.It says the system will move across the province where it will turn into snow in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec where it could also dump between 20 to 35 centimetres of snow by Tuesday afternoon.Environment Canada says ice could build up on roads and walkways by as much as five centimetres in southwestern Ontario.The agency says driving conditions will be treacherous and visibility will be near zero at times.
Flood watch issued for Leamington and Pelee Island-[CBC]-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
High winds that could reach up to 70 km/hr could wreak havoc on the shores of Lake Erie, warns the Essex Region Conservation Authority.There's a possibility of flooding and shoreline erosion on the east side of Pelee Island and along the south-east shoreline of Leamington between Wheatley Harbour and Point Pelee, according to a statement issued Monday.A flood watch advisory remains in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Storms snarl U.S travel, threaten rare winter tornadoes-[Reuters]-By Mary Wisniewski-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Snow, sleet and hail snarled transportation in large parts of the United States on Monday during one of the busiest travel times of the year, after dozens died in U.S. storms that were just some of the wild weather seen worldwide over the Christmas holiday period.More than 40 people were killed by tornadoes and floods during the holiday season in the United States, where rare winter tornado warnings were issued in Alabama on Monday.Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida panhandle were expected to bear the brunt of the of the day's strongest storms, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Michael Leseney.As of about 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), more than 1,940 U.S. flights had been canceled on Monday, according to FlightAware.com, while another 2,790 delays were reported. Chicago-area airports were worst hit with hundreds of flights canceled as the city was swept by sleet and hail.More than a foot (30 cm) of snow was forecast for southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota, and snow was also falling in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.A flash flood warning was in effect in eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois, the National Weather Service said. Thirteen people died in flash floods in those two states during the weekend.The U.S. storms came as other countries struggled with extreme weather and stressed holiday infrastructure.In Britain, hundreds of troops were deployed and a government agency said a "complete rethink" of flood defenses was needed after swathes of northern England were inundated by rivers that burst their banks.Severe weather also hit parts of Australia, where more than 100 homes were lost in Christmas Day brushfires.Then on Sunday a freight train carrying sulphuric acid derailed in the Outback, and a Queensland Rail spokeswoman told local media that floods had stopped crews reaching the scene. (video: http://reut.rs/1R3QYwT)-'RIPPED OUR WORLD APART'-The bad U.S. weather caused two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, to cancel campaign events in Iowa.Winter storms that brought ice and high winds to Oklahoma downed power lines and 54,000 customers were without power on Monday in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas, Oklahoma Gas & Electric said. Local news reports said there were 100,000 without power across the state.Operators of the Kerr and Pensacola dams, about 160 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, warned they would have to release large amounts of water due to the storm and area residents might be forced to evacuate their homes.Six tornadoes were reported on Sunday - three in Arkansas, one in Texas, and two in Mississippi.Texas was cleaning up from weekend tornadoes that killed at least 11 people in the Dallas area and damaged about 1,600 structures and homes. One twister in the city of Garland had winds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 km per hour) and killed eight people, including a 30-year-old woman and her year-old son."We are very blessed that we didn't have more injuries and more fatalities," Garland's Mayor Douglas Athas told CNN.In the Dallas suburbs of Garland and Rowlett, which were devastated by tornadoes on Saturday, many residents turned to social media to tell stories of survival and to ask for help finding lost pets.-"RIPPED OUR WORLD APART"-Briana Landrum posted a photo of her living room couch surrounded by wreckage where her house once stood in Rowlett. Her two cats are missing, she wrote, and the freezing rain has made searching for her "sweet babies" difficult."All I remember is the windows all shattering and insulation went everywhere," she wrote. "The roof fell on us one second and the next, it was gone ... The tornado ripped our world apart."Ten deaths and 58 injuries were reported in Mississippi from the Christmas holiday storms, Governor Phil Bryant said at a news conference. Hundreds of homes were damaged.In flooded southern Missouri, dozens of adults and children forced from their homes took refuge at Red Cross shelters.Red Cross spokeswoman Julie Stolting said there was no telling when they might be able to return home. "But we're feeding them, we're sheltering them, we're providing health services," she said.Some roads still were closed in New Mexico, where storms on Sunday dumped as much as 18 inches of snow on eastern parts of the state. Highways with difficult driving conditions included interstate highways 25 and 10.(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski in Chicago, Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas, Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida, Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas, Laila Kearney in New York, Sara Catania in Los Angeles, and Emily Stephenson; Writing by Mary Wisniewski and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Bill Trott)
Christmas time storms, tornadoes kill at least 43 in U.S.[Reuters]-By Lisa Maria Garza-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
DALLAS (Reuters) - Storms hit the U.S. South, Southwest and Midwest over the Christmas holiday weekend, unleashing floods and tornadoes that killed at least 43 people, flattened buildings and snarled transportation for millions during a busy travel time.The bad weather, or the threat of it, prompted the governors of Missouri and New Mexico to declare a state of emergency for their states.Flash floods killed at least 13 people in Missouri and Illinois.In Missouri, emergency workers have evacuated residents from their homes and conducted dozens of water rescues, Governor Jay Nixon said on Sunday. He said at least eight people had been killed and numerous roadways had been closed.Nixon declared a state of emergency, saying continued rains would make already widespread flooding conditions worse.Three adults and two children were near the village of Patoka, Illinois, 85 miles (137 km) east of St. Louis, Missouri, when their car was washed away by floodwaters on Saturday night, according to Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon.In Texas, at least 11 people were killed in the Dallas area over the weekend by tornadoes, including one packing winds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 km per hour). The twister hit the city of Garland, killing eight people and blowing vehicles off highways."It is total devastation," Garland Police spokesman Lieutenant Pedro Barineau said. "It is a very difficult time to be struck by such a horrible storm the day after Christmas." Three other deaths were reported in the Dallas metropolitan area, the United States' fourth most populous with about 7 million residents. Scores of people were injured in the region and officials estimated some 800 homes may have been damaged.Powerful tornadoes are a staple of spring and summer in central states but occur less frequently in winter, according to U.S. weather data-Three tornadoes were reported in Arkansas on Sunday, the weather service said, but there were no initial reports of significant injuries or damage.The service has issued tornado watches and warnings for areas in that state, as well as in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi.A tornado watch means a storm is likely, while a warning means a storm or storms have been sighted.The storms came on the heels of tornadoes that hit two days before Christmas, killing at least 18 people, including 10 in Mississippi.In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said his office had declared Dallas County and three nearby counties disaster areas. He also warned people to be wary of snow in western parts of the state and rivers spilling their banks in other places.The National Weather Service issued severe weather advisories for large parts of the central United States, including a blizzard warning for parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and a flash flood watch stretching from Texas to Indiana.New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency for the entire state due to a winter storm that had dumped up to two feet of snow by Sunday night.The New Mexico city of Roswell bested its one-day snowfall record, receiving 12.3 inches by Sunday evening, the Weather Service said.The bad weather forced the cancellation of nearly 1,500 flights in the nation on Sunday, according to tracking service FlightAware.com. About half of the canceled flights were in Dallas, a major U.S. flight hub. (Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza and Jon Herskovitz; Additonal reporting by Marice Richter in Dallas and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Paul Tait)
KNOWLEGE INCREASED AND WORLD TRAVEL (IMMIGRATION) INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION FROM FLEEING WARS) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
The latest statistics on the Liberals' Syrian refugee resettlement program-[The Canadian Press]- The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - Here is a look at the latest numbers on the Liberals' Syrian refugee resettlement program. 10,000: Number of privately-sponsored Syrian refugees the government had said it was aiming to bring to Canada by the of the year. 7,218: number of Syrians who have arrived in Canada plus those who have had their applications approved but have not travelled. 2,413: As of Dec. 26, total number of Syrians who have arrived in Canada since Nov. 4. 1,452: number of Syrians listed as arriving on flights scheduled on Dec. 27 and 28. 6,135: Number of Syrians that would be required to arrive after that to meet the Dec. 31 goal. 1,500: maximum number of Syrian refugees that Immigration Minister John McCallum has said can arrive via government flights, per day, at the Toronto and Montreal airports combined. 9: government flights of Syrian refugees currently scheduled to arrive between Dec. 29 and Dec. 31. 5: maximum number of flights per day those two airports can accommodate.-SOURCE: Immigration department.
Official visit, state dinner at White House for Trudeau set for mid-March-[The Canadian Press]- The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have set a date for their first meeting in Washington.Trudeau and his wife are to be welcomed by the Obamas for an official visit and state dinner at the White House on March 10.Obama and Trudeau met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the Philippines in November and Obama had mentioned then he had hoped to have the Trudeaus to the White House in the new year.U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman announced the date in a statement Monday, saying the visit is an opportunity for the two countries to deepen their bilateral relationship.Heyman said it is also intended to advance co-operation on issues such as energy and climate change, security and the economic relationship.The meeting will come just ahead of the end of the parliamentary mandate for Canada’s participation in the U.S.-led bombing campaign against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria.Trudeau has said Canada will remain a participant in the fight against the militants but how and in what capacity remains unclear.Another key issue will be the future of the Trans Pacific Partnership deal; Canada agreed to the landmark trade package during the election but it still needs to be ratified and Trudeau has not set a timeline for when that will happen.It will be the first White House state dinner in 19 years for a Canadian leader.The last one was in 1997 when then-president Bill Clinton hosted then-prime minister Jean Chretien.
Five challenges that lie ahead for NDP Leader Tom Mulcair in the new year-[The Canadian Press]-Kristy Kirkup, The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - Tom Mulcair says he is committed to leading the NDP despite a devastating election outcome that punted his party back to third party status.Here are five things challenges he faces in the new year. 1. Prepare for leadership review-Mulcair will face an uncomfortable leadership review at the party's convention in Edmonton in April. Questions are likely to emerge about how much of the party's showing in October was a direcly result of Mulcair's leadership. The NDP's constitution indicates a leadership race must ensue within one year if 50 per cent plus one delegate supports it.-2. Consider his future-While Mulcair has maintained he is in for the long haul as commander-in-chief, he will be 65 the next time Canadians head to the polls. The NDP leader will need to mull what is best for him and his party and if he is the best fit to take on Justin Trudeau in 2019.-3. Work with his existing team-There are now only 44 NDP MPs, which means Mulcair is working with a reduced roster. The New Democrats are keen to hold the Liberals to account on issues including electoral reform and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mulcair's likely to draw on experienced team players, such as environment critic Nathan Cullen, as he pushes forward with his party's agenda.-4. Perform well inside and outside the Commons-Mulcair was praised for his performance in the House in the throes of the Mike Duffy affair. The NDP leader used a prosecutorial approach to go after Stephen Harper in question period, successfully raising eyebrows about what was happening inside the Prime Minister's Office. Now Harper is gone, Mulcair has a new new prime minister's feet to hold to the fire while also ensuring he connects with voters outside the Commons.-5. Sell NDP policies-Observers say the NDP struggled to sell its brand during the last election campaign. The party is now calling itself the "progressive opposition" in a bid to distinguish itself and a challenge will be to find a way to show Canadians how the New Democrats differ from the governing Liberals.
Five challenges that lie ahead for the Conservative party in 2016-[The Canadian Press]-Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - From figuring out a shadow cabinet to restocking the stationery supplies, the Conservatives took the first few weeks of the new Parliament to shake off the pain of their loss in the fall election and settle into life in Opposition.Here are five challenges they, and interim leader Rona Ambrose, face in 2016.-1) Set the course for leadership. When former leader Stephen Harper stepped down on election night, it triggered the creation of an internal party committee to figure out how to replace him. The rules for that process are expected to be unveiled in January. While some had been lobbying for the leadership vote to take place at the party's May convention, consensus seems to be that election won't take place until 2017. But the May get-together is also a chance for the party to update its policy positions, a key milestone for the eventual leadership race.-2) Renew the party. In the Atlantic provinces, urban centres and among new Canadians, the Tories saw their support erode dramatically in the October vote. So, outreach will be key — and that includes fundraising. Fewer star MPs in caucus, a small number of visible minority MPs and no elected representatives in the Atlantic provinces will all provide challenges that need to be overcome. At the same time, a strong showing in Quebec means those new voters can't be ignored either.-3) Balance party realities with Parliament. Within the Tories' 99-member caucus are several MPs with designs on leadership. Ambrose, who cannot run, will have to manage internal party jockeying in order to keep her caucus united and focused on their job as Opposition.-4) Keeping a civil tone. Ambrose has committed to bringing creating a more respectful atmosphere to debates in the House of Commons and in her party's approach to policy. While she's been called one of the most "civil" parliamentarians in Ottawa, some in her caucus have the opposite reputations and keeping their sharp tongues in check will be one of her jobs.-5) Do more with less. The joke going around the Opposition Leader's office is that anyone coming in with an idea is going to be handed a card that reads "we are in Opposition. We have no money. If your idea costs money — no." The Tories now have fewer parliamentary resources for everything from question period preparation to speech writing and they'll have to get used to operating in that new reality.
Phone fraud investigation leads to Cape Sable Island mailbox-[CBC]-December 28, 2015-YAHOO NEWS
David Myers was a beacon in Mary's life. She never met him in person, didn't know where he lived, but he would ring her home in a small southwest Nova Scotia fishing community four times a day just to see how she was doing.He struck just when Mary needed the support most. She was nearly 70, her husband had been sick for six years and she lived in a mobile home off a dirt lane on Cape Sable Island with nothing more than old age pension and supplement for income.He first called to tell her she'd won a prize she could secure by sending a cheque to cover fees. But he quickly turned his attention to a second scheme when she told him she had no money.Unbeknownst to her, Mary and her community mailbox became cogs in a scheme to defraud Canadians, exploited by a scammer who used her to cover his tracks.A scammer who would eventually resort to threats and intimidation — even dispatching messages to her by hiring people to go to her home after she tried to cut all ties."I think he was just preying on what I was going through at the time," says Mary, which is not her real name and who CBC News has agreed not to identify because of concerns for her safety."I needed to hear some of the things he … he sounded like somebody that cared. But obviously he didn't."-Moving money-At his behest she began cashing money orders that arrived by mail, transferring the amounts by MoneyGram to addresses in Alberta, Ontario and Jamaica. She said David Myers never really told her why, and she did not question him.Mail, phone and internet scams are now routine. Police often put out public warnings about the latest round of fraudulent calls: scammers purporting to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, offering prizes, or posing as grandchildren in trouble.Through interviews and court documents used to obtain a search warrant, CBC News has pieced together details of one such multi-provincial fraud, showing the lengths criminals will go to extract money from their victims and avoid arrest. The case centres on a mysterious man who calls himself David Myers. It's not clear if that's his real name or where he lives, and his victims only know him over the phone.When Michael Berger, a retired media technician in Kelowna, B.C., first heard the name, it was following a call in January from the woman who looks in weekly on his 90-year-old father in Winnipeg.The father, who has a touch of dementia, had told the caregiver he'd just won $5.5 million through Publishers Clearing House, and had sent off an $8,500 cheque so the money could be secured.-'So convincing'-Berger immediately called the bank and stopped the cheque. He also retrieved the address given to his father, a mailbox in rural in Nova Scotia."I had a really hard time convincing him that is was a fraud attempt," Berger said in an interview. "This David Myers fellow who was phoning him half a dozen times a day was so convincing."Due to Berger's quick action, the money never made it into the hands of David Myers. What followed was a cascade of nasty and aggressive phone calls from the fraudster to Berger's father."This guy was just incessant, like just calling him six, seven times a day and threatening. Just awful, it was absolutely awful," Berger said."He would just like literally lean on him like nobody's business. Just be really mean and threatening."Alerted by Berger, by this point RCMP in Nova Scotia had intercepted the cheque at Mary's community mailbox.An affidavit sworn by an RCMP officer to get a court order to seize the cheque says the name David Myers and phone numbers used by him are linked to scams and attempted scams in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Montreal.-'Vulnerable psychologies'- The Nova Scotia officer investigating the case, Sgt. MJ DeLuco, said she won't detail publicly what police have found so far or the chances of catching whoever is behind the scheme. But she said scam artists often groom their victims."The perpetrators of the fraud are very sophisticated in the sense that they prey upon vulnerable psychologies," she said.Mary says she became roped in after Myers called out of the blue last year to tell her she'd won money and a car like the "expensive ones they have in Halifax."He required money to change the prize from American to Canadian dollars. She sent what little she had, but told him she "really didn't have a cent."That's when he began to capitalize on her in a different way. Mary says she never kept a penny from the money orders that landed in her mailbox — at least 10 over a six-month period, most in the range of a "couple hundred dollars."-'Wishful thinking'-She said she only learned the transfers were illegal after RCMP came looking for her. She quickly changed her phone number and cut off all ties with David Myers. Or at least she tried.Twice he sent taxis to her home from Yarmouth, 80 kilometres away, telling the drivers she was to pay them. With no money she could not.Soon after, neighbours told her a strange vehicle was spotted near her home. The subtle intimidation came to a head when a plumber knocked on her door. As he arrived, he got a call. She could hear an "angry" David Myers on the line and he wanted to speak with her.She was so unnerved she went to police.Since then she's heard nothing from David Myers, and recently reflected on how she became tangled up in his scheme."I guess when you're down and out, wishful thinking takes over and you hope that things are going to better for you," Mary said.
OTHER STORIES
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/11-dead-in-texas-tornadoes-26-at-least.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/california-wildfire-and-2nd-round-of.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/storms-kill-15-in-america-australia-and.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/12/merry-christ-mas-and-happy-new-year.html
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Environment Canada ends winter storm watch for southern Ontario-[The Canadian Press]-The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
TORONTO - Environment Canada has issued winter storm and freezing rain warnings for large swaths of Ontario and southern Quebec after an unseasonably warm December.The agency says an intense low pressure system that originated in Texas is expected to roll into the Windsor area Monday afternoon, bringing freezing rain, ice pellets and strong winds before changing to rain Monday night.The storm will hit Sault Ste. Marie hard with upwards of 35 centimetres of snow Monday night.It says the system will move across the province where it will turn into snow in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec where it could also dump between 20 to 35 centimetres of snow by Tuesday afternoon.Environment Canada says ice could build up on roads and walkways by as much as five centimetres in southwestern Ontario.The agency says driving conditions will be treacherous and visibility will be near zero at times.
Flood watch issued for Leamington and Pelee Island-[CBC]-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
High winds that could reach up to 70 km/hr could wreak havoc on the shores of Lake Erie, warns the Essex Region Conservation Authority.There's a possibility of flooding and shoreline erosion on the east side of Pelee Island and along the south-east shoreline of Leamington between Wheatley Harbour and Point Pelee, according to a statement issued Monday.A flood watch advisory remains in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Storms snarl U.S travel, threaten rare winter tornadoes-[Reuters]-By Mary Wisniewski-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Snow, sleet and hail snarled transportation in large parts of the United States on Monday during one of the busiest travel times of the year, after dozens died in U.S. storms that were just some of the wild weather seen worldwide over the Christmas holiday period.More than 40 people were killed by tornadoes and floods during the holiday season in the United States, where rare winter tornado warnings were issued in Alabama on Monday.Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida panhandle were expected to bear the brunt of the of the day's strongest storms, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Michael Leseney.As of about 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), more than 1,940 U.S. flights had been canceled on Monday, according to FlightAware.com, while another 2,790 delays were reported. Chicago-area airports were worst hit with hundreds of flights canceled as the city was swept by sleet and hail.More than a foot (30 cm) of snow was forecast for southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota, and snow was also falling in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.A flash flood warning was in effect in eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois, the National Weather Service said. Thirteen people died in flash floods in those two states during the weekend.The U.S. storms came as other countries struggled with extreme weather and stressed holiday infrastructure.In Britain, hundreds of troops were deployed and a government agency said a "complete rethink" of flood defenses was needed after swathes of northern England were inundated by rivers that burst their banks.Severe weather also hit parts of Australia, where more than 100 homes were lost in Christmas Day brushfires.Then on Sunday a freight train carrying sulphuric acid derailed in the Outback, and a Queensland Rail spokeswoman told local media that floods had stopped crews reaching the scene. (video: http://reut.rs/1R3QYwT)-'RIPPED OUR WORLD APART'-The bad U.S. weather caused two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, to cancel campaign events in Iowa.Winter storms that brought ice and high winds to Oklahoma downed power lines and 54,000 customers were without power on Monday in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas, Oklahoma Gas & Electric said. Local news reports said there were 100,000 without power across the state.Operators of the Kerr and Pensacola dams, about 160 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, warned they would have to release large amounts of water due to the storm and area residents might be forced to evacuate their homes.Six tornadoes were reported on Sunday - three in Arkansas, one in Texas, and two in Mississippi.Texas was cleaning up from weekend tornadoes that killed at least 11 people in the Dallas area and damaged about 1,600 structures and homes. One twister in the city of Garland had winds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 km per hour) and killed eight people, including a 30-year-old woman and her year-old son."We are very blessed that we didn't have more injuries and more fatalities," Garland's Mayor Douglas Athas told CNN.In the Dallas suburbs of Garland and Rowlett, which were devastated by tornadoes on Saturday, many residents turned to social media to tell stories of survival and to ask for help finding lost pets.-"RIPPED OUR WORLD APART"-Briana Landrum posted a photo of her living room couch surrounded by wreckage where her house once stood in Rowlett. Her two cats are missing, she wrote, and the freezing rain has made searching for her "sweet babies" difficult."All I remember is the windows all shattering and insulation went everywhere," she wrote. "The roof fell on us one second and the next, it was gone ... The tornado ripped our world apart."Ten deaths and 58 injuries were reported in Mississippi from the Christmas holiday storms, Governor Phil Bryant said at a news conference. Hundreds of homes were damaged.In flooded southern Missouri, dozens of adults and children forced from their homes took refuge at Red Cross shelters.Red Cross spokeswoman Julie Stolting said there was no telling when they might be able to return home. "But we're feeding them, we're sheltering them, we're providing health services," she said.Some roads still were closed in New Mexico, where storms on Sunday dumped as much as 18 inches of snow on eastern parts of the state. Highways with difficult driving conditions included interstate highways 25 and 10.(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski in Chicago, Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas, Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida, Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas, Laila Kearney in New York, Sara Catania in Los Angeles, and Emily Stephenson; Writing by Mary Wisniewski and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Bill Trott)
Christmas time storms, tornadoes kill at least 43 in U.S.[Reuters]-By Lisa Maria Garza-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
DALLAS (Reuters) - Storms hit the U.S. South, Southwest and Midwest over the Christmas holiday weekend, unleashing floods and tornadoes that killed at least 43 people, flattened buildings and snarled transportation for millions during a busy travel time.The bad weather, or the threat of it, prompted the governors of Missouri and New Mexico to declare a state of emergency for their states.Flash floods killed at least 13 people in Missouri and Illinois.In Missouri, emergency workers have evacuated residents from their homes and conducted dozens of water rescues, Governor Jay Nixon said on Sunday. He said at least eight people had been killed and numerous roadways had been closed.Nixon declared a state of emergency, saying continued rains would make already widespread flooding conditions worse.Three adults and two children were near the village of Patoka, Illinois, 85 miles (137 km) east of St. Louis, Missouri, when their car was washed away by floodwaters on Saturday night, according to Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon.In Texas, at least 11 people were killed in the Dallas area over the weekend by tornadoes, including one packing winds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 km per hour). The twister hit the city of Garland, killing eight people and blowing vehicles off highways."It is total devastation," Garland Police spokesman Lieutenant Pedro Barineau said. "It is a very difficult time to be struck by such a horrible storm the day after Christmas." Three other deaths were reported in the Dallas metropolitan area, the United States' fourth most populous with about 7 million residents. Scores of people were injured in the region and officials estimated some 800 homes may have been damaged.Powerful tornadoes are a staple of spring and summer in central states but occur less frequently in winter, according to U.S. weather data-Three tornadoes were reported in Arkansas on Sunday, the weather service said, but there were no initial reports of significant injuries or damage.The service has issued tornado watches and warnings for areas in that state, as well as in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi.A tornado watch means a storm is likely, while a warning means a storm or storms have been sighted.The storms came on the heels of tornadoes that hit two days before Christmas, killing at least 18 people, including 10 in Mississippi.In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said his office had declared Dallas County and three nearby counties disaster areas. He also warned people to be wary of snow in western parts of the state and rivers spilling their banks in other places.The National Weather Service issued severe weather advisories for large parts of the central United States, including a blizzard warning for parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and a flash flood watch stretching from Texas to Indiana.New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency for the entire state due to a winter storm that had dumped up to two feet of snow by Sunday night.The New Mexico city of Roswell bested its one-day snowfall record, receiving 12.3 inches by Sunday evening, the Weather Service said.The bad weather forced the cancellation of nearly 1,500 flights in the nation on Sunday, according to tracking service FlightAware.com. About half of the canceled flights were in Dallas, a major U.S. flight hub. (Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza and Jon Herskovitz; Additonal reporting by Marice Richter in Dallas and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Paul Tait)
KNOWLEGE INCREASED AND WORLD TRAVEL (IMMIGRATION) INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION FROM FLEEING WARS) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
The latest statistics on the Liberals' Syrian refugee resettlement program-[The Canadian Press]- The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - Here is a look at the latest numbers on the Liberals' Syrian refugee resettlement program. 10,000: Number of privately-sponsored Syrian refugees the government had said it was aiming to bring to Canada by the of the year. 7,218: number of Syrians who have arrived in Canada plus those who have had their applications approved but have not travelled. 2,413: As of Dec. 26, total number of Syrians who have arrived in Canada since Nov. 4. 1,452: number of Syrians listed as arriving on flights scheduled on Dec. 27 and 28. 6,135: Number of Syrians that would be required to arrive after that to meet the Dec. 31 goal. 1,500: maximum number of Syrian refugees that Immigration Minister John McCallum has said can arrive via government flights, per day, at the Toronto and Montreal airports combined. 9: government flights of Syrian refugees currently scheduled to arrive between Dec. 29 and Dec. 31. 5: maximum number of flights per day those two airports can accommodate.-SOURCE: Immigration department.
Official visit, state dinner at White House for Trudeau set for mid-March-[The Canadian Press]- The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have set a date for their first meeting in Washington.Trudeau and his wife are to be welcomed by the Obamas for an official visit and state dinner at the White House on March 10.Obama and Trudeau met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the Philippines in November and Obama had mentioned then he had hoped to have the Trudeaus to the White House in the new year.U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman announced the date in a statement Monday, saying the visit is an opportunity for the two countries to deepen their bilateral relationship.Heyman said it is also intended to advance co-operation on issues such as energy and climate change, security and the economic relationship.The meeting will come just ahead of the end of the parliamentary mandate for Canada’s participation in the U.S.-led bombing campaign against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria.Trudeau has said Canada will remain a participant in the fight against the militants but how and in what capacity remains unclear.Another key issue will be the future of the Trans Pacific Partnership deal; Canada agreed to the landmark trade package during the election but it still needs to be ratified and Trudeau has not set a timeline for when that will happen.It will be the first White House state dinner in 19 years for a Canadian leader.The last one was in 1997 when then-president Bill Clinton hosted then-prime minister Jean Chretien.
Five challenges that lie ahead for NDP Leader Tom Mulcair in the new year-[The Canadian Press]-Kristy Kirkup, The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - Tom Mulcair says he is committed to leading the NDP despite a devastating election outcome that punted his party back to third party status.Here are five things challenges he faces in the new year. 1. Prepare for leadership review-Mulcair will face an uncomfortable leadership review at the party's convention in Edmonton in April. Questions are likely to emerge about how much of the party's showing in October was a direcly result of Mulcair's leadership. The NDP's constitution indicates a leadership race must ensue within one year if 50 per cent plus one delegate supports it.-2. Consider his future-While Mulcair has maintained he is in for the long haul as commander-in-chief, he will be 65 the next time Canadians head to the polls. The NDP leader will need to mull what is best for him and his party and if he is the best fit to take on Justin Trudeau in 2019.-3. Work with his existing team-There are now only 44 NDP MPs, which means Mulcair is working with a reduced roster. The New Democrats are keen to hold the Liberals to account on issues including electoral reform and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mulcair's likely to draw on experienced team players, such as environment critic Nathan Cullen, as he pushes forward with his party's agenda.-4. Perform well inside and outside the Commons-Mulcair was praised for his performance in the House in the throes of the Mike Duffy affair. The NDP leader used a prosecutorial approach to go after Stephen Harper in question period, successfully raising eyebrows about what was happening inside the Prime Minister's Office. Now Harper is gone, Mulcair has a new new prime minister's feet to hold to the fire while also ensuring he connects with voters outside the Commons.-5. Sell NDP policies-Observers say the NDP struggled to sell its brand during the last election campaign. The party is now calling itself the "progressive opposition" in a bid to distinguish itself and a challenge will be to find a way to show Canadians how the New Democrats differ from the governing Liberals.
Five challenges that lie ahead for the Conservative party in 2016-[The Canadian Press]-Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press-December 28, 2015-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - From figuring out a shadow cabinet to restocking the stationery supplies, the Conservatives took the first few weeks of the new Parliament to shake off the pain of their loss in the fall election and settle into life in Opposition.Here are five challenges they, and interim leader Rona Ambrose, face in 2016.-1) Set the course for leadership. When former leader Stephen Harper stepped down on election night, it triggered the creation of an internal party committee to figure out how to replace him. The rules for that process are expected to be unveiled in January. While some had been lobbying for the leadership vote to take place at the party's May convention, consensus seems to be that election won't take place until 2017. But the May get-together is also a chance for the party to update its policy positions, a key milestone for the eventual leadership race.-2) Renew the party. In the Atlantic provinces, urban centres and among new Canadians, the Tories saw their support erode dramatically in the October vote. So, outreach will be key — and that includes fundraising. Fewer star MPs in caucus, a small number of visible minority MPs and no elected representatives in the Atlantic provinces will all provide challenges that need to be overcome. At the same time, a strong showing in Quebec means those new voters can't be ignored either.-3) Balance party realities with Parliament. Within the Tories' 99-member caucus are several MPs with designs on leadership. Ambrose, who cannot run, will have to manage internal party jockeying in order to keep her caucus united and focused on their job as Opposition.-4) Keeping a civil tone. Ambrose has committed to bringing creating a more respectful atmosphere to debates in the House of Commons and in her party's approach to policy. While she's been called one of the most "civil" parliamentarians in Ottawa, some in her caucus have the opposite reputations and keeping their sharp tongues in check will be one of her jobs.-5) Do more with less. The joke going around the Opposition Leader's office is that anyone coming in with an idea is going to be handed a card that reads "we are in Opposition. We have no money. If your idea costs money — no." The Tories now have fewer parliamentary resources for everything from question period preparation to speech writing and they'll have to get used to operating in that new reality.
Phone fraud investigation leads to Cape Sable Island mailbox-[CBC]-December 28, 2015-YAHOO NEWS
David Myers was a beacon in Mary's life. She never met him in person, didn't know where he lived, but he would ring her home in a small southwest Nova Scotia fishing community four times a day just to see how she was doing.He struck just when Mary needed the support most. She was nearly 70, her husband had been sick for six years and she lived in a mobile home off a dirt lane on Cape Sable Island with nothing more than old age pension and supplement for income.He first called to tell her she'd won a prize she could secure by sending a cheque to cover fees. But he quickly turned his attention to a second scheme when she told him she had no money.Unbeknownst to her, Mary and her community mailbox became cogs in a scheme to defraud Canadians, exploited by a scammer who used her to cover his tracks.A scammer who would eventually resort to threats and intimidation — even dispatching messages to her by hiring people to go to her home after she tried to cut all ties."I think he was just preying on what I was going through at the time," says Mary, which is not her real name and who CBC News has agreed not to identify because of concerns for her safety."I needed to hear some of the things he … he sounded like somebody that cared. But obviously he didn't."-Moving money-At his behest she began cashing money orders that arrived by mail, transferring the amounts by MoneyGram to addresses in Alberta, Ontario and Jamaica. She said David Myers never really told her why, and she did not question him.Mail, phone and internet scams are now routine. Police often put out public warnings about the latest round of fraudulent calls: scammers purporting to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, offering prizes, or posing as grandchildren in trouble.Through interviews and court documents used to obtain a search warrant, CBC News has pieced together details of one such multi-provincial fraud, showing the lengths criminals will go to extract money from their victims and avoid arrest. The case centres on a mysterious man who calls himself David Myers. It's not clear if that's his real name or where he lives, and his victims only know him over the phone.When Michael Berger, a retired media technician in Kelowna, B.C., first heard the name, it was following a call in January from the woman who looks in weekly on his 90-year-old father in Winnipeg.The father, who has a touch of dementia, had told the caregiver he'd just won $5.5 million through Publishers Clearing House, and had sent off an $8,500 cheque so the money could be secured.-'So convincing'-Berger immediately called the bank and stopped the cheque. He also retrieved the address given to his father, a mailbox in rural in Nova Scotia."I had a really hard time convincing him that is was a fraud attempt," Berger said in an interview. "This David Myers fellow who was phoning him half a dozen times a day was so convincing."Due to Berger's quick action, the money never made it into the hands of David Myers. What followed was a cascade of nasty and aggressive phone calls from the fraudster to Berger's father."This guy was just incessant, like just calling him six, seven times a day and threatening. Just awful, it was absolutely awful," Berger said."He would just like literally lean on him like nobody's business. Just be really mean and threatening."Alerted by Berger, by this point RCMP in Nova Scotia had intercepted the cheque at Mary's community mailbox.An affidavit sworn by an RCMP officer to get a court order to seize the cheque says the name David Myers and phone numbers used by him are linked to scams and attempted scams in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Montreal.-'Vulnerable psychologies'- The Nova Scotia officer investigating the case, Sgt. MJ DeLuco, said she won't detail publicly what police have found so far or the chances of catching whoever is behind the scheme. But she said scam artists often groom their victims."The perpetrators of the fraud are very sophisticated in the sense that they prey upon vulnerable psychologies," she said.Mary says she became roped in after Myers called out of the blue last year to tell her she'd won money and a car like the "expensive ones they have in Halifax."He required money to change the prize from American to Canadian dollars. She sent what little she had, but told him she "really didn't have a cent."That's when he began to capitalize on her in a different way. Mary says she never kept a penny from the money orders that landed in her mailbox — at least 10 over a six-month period, most in the range of a "couple hundred dollars."-'Wishful thinking'-She said she only learned the transfers were illegal after RCMP came looking for her. She quickly changed her phone number and cut off all ties with David Myers. Or at least she tried.Twice he sent taxis to her home from Yarmouth, 80 kilometres away, telling the drivers she was to pay them. With no money she could not.Soon after, neighbours told her a strange vehicle was spotted near her home. The subtle intimidation came to a head when a plumber knocked on her door. As he arrived, he got a call. She could hear an "angry" David Myers on the line and he wanted to speak with her.She was so unnerved she went to police.Since then she's heard nothing from David Myers, and recently reflected on how she became tangled up in his scheme."I guess when you're down and out, wishful thinking takes over and you hope that things are going to better for you," Mary said.
