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)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Trump picks retired general John Abizaid for ambassador to Saudi Arabia-The post has been empty since the start of 2017 and the move comes at a time of tensions with Riyadh over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi-By AP-TOI-NOV 15,18
WASHINGTON — A retired four-star general is President Donald Trump’s pick to be US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, filling a key diplomatic vacancy at a time when US-Saudi relations are being tested by the slaying of a journalist critical of the Saudi royal family.Trump announced Tuesday that he is nominating John Abizaid, the longest-serving commander of the US Central Command, to lead the US Embassy in Riyadh. It’s a post that has been empty since former ambassador Joseph Westphal left in January 2017.If confirmed by the Senate, Abizaid would become ambassador as the Trump administration is weighing the U.S. response to the killing of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.Turkish officials claim Khashoggi was killed by a 15-member assassination squad sent from Riyadh on orders from the highest levels of the Saudi government.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has revoked the visas of the Saudis implicated in the killing. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said additional measures will be taken.Abizaid, who retired in 2007, served in wars in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Following the war in Iraq, Abizaid assumed control of CENTCOM, which overseas military operations in 20 nations stretching from northeast Africa to the Middle East to Central and South Asia.Abizaid, of Nevada, currently works as a private consultant and is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Previously, he was the distinguished chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point. He also served in various senior positions on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Incumbent Shlomo Ne’eman keeps seat in lone West Bank election run-off-Current Gush Etzion Regional Council chair handily defeats challenger Moshe Seville and will begin first full stint in office after taking over midway through the last term-By Jacob Magid-NOV 15,18
Shlomo Ne’eman cruised to an electoral victory for the third time in less than two years Tuesday evening, defeating challenger Moshe Seville in a runoff vote to maintain his position as chairman of the West Bank’s Gush Etzion Regional Council.Ne’eman earned 4,245 votes (56%) to Seville’s 3,364 (44%) in a race that many in the settlement bloc southeast of Jerusalem expected would have been closer. But an endorsement from Yaron Rosenthal, who won nearly a third of the votes in the first round last month, likely helped tip the race in favor of the incumbent.A former Jewish Agency official and aid to Likud’s Environment Minister Ze’ev Elkin, Ne’eman has headed the Gush Etzion Regional Council since a surprise victory over Seville in a February 2017 special election. The 45-year-old resident of Karmei Tzur replaced Davidi Perl, who stepped down from the position after allegations that he sexually assaulted a Jerusalem woman and paid her off to keep quiet.Speaking to reporters after his victory, Ne’eman said he planned “to go right back to work” for the regional council which represents 20 communities and some 17,000 residents.He said he intended to continue lobbying the government to annex the Gush Etzion bloc as well as the entire West Bank.Ne’eman’s victory Tuesday is believed to represent a victory for the settler establishment, embodied most prominently by the Yesha Council of which Ne’eman has been an active member and a possible candidate to one day head the umbrella body.The Yesha Council saw several of its active members replaced in the first round of municipal elections last month by more hawkish candidates looking to push the umbrella body further to the right and into increased friction with the current government. These firebrands such as the Binyamin Regional Council chairman Yisrael Gantz and Kiyat Arba-Hebron Local Council chairman Eliyahu Libman will be joined by several other anti-establishment council chairmen that managed to maintain their seats in the October 30 vote.
Lebanese premier accuses Hezbollah of blocking government-Saad Hariri says terror group bears full responsibility for consequences, including nation’s flagging economy-By Agencies-TOI-15 November 2018
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s prime minister on Tuesday accused Hezbollah of hindering the formation of a new government six months after parliamentary elections were held, a reflection of growing tensions amid serious concerns over the country’s faltering economy.At a press conference in Beirut, Saad Hariri said “it’s Hezbollah, full stop,” when asked who was blocking the formation of a government. He said the Shiite group bears full responsibility for the consequences, including Lebanon’s flagging economy.Hariri stopped short of resigning, however, saying there was still an opportunity to bridge the differences.Hariri, the top Sunni Muslim leader in the country, is coming under increasing pressure from the Iranian-backed Shiite terror group Hezbollah, which insists that six Sunni legislators allied with it be represented in the new Cabinet. Hariri flatly rejects the demand, saying the six independent legislators are not part of a parliamentary bloc and are therefore not entitled to have a minister in the cabinet.“The truth is that government formation has hit a big obstacle,” Hariri said.Lebanon held its first parliamentary elections in nine years in May but political bickering over the distribution has stood in the way of government formation.Giving Hariri’s Sunni opponents a Cabinet seat is the latest delay in the formation after months of negotiations gave the right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces four cabinet seats, including that of deputy prime minister. Hezbollah will likely get three seats, the biggest number of ministers ever for the group, including the health ministry.Some analysts link Hezbollah’s insistence on representing the independent Sunni legislators in the Cabinet to a new wave of US sanctions against its patron Iran that went into effect on November 5.Hariri insisted however that the obstacles were not linked to external politics.Further delays in the government are increasing pressure on the country’s struggling economy and endanger international donors’ pledges of $11 billion in loans and grants to help debt-ridden Lebanon. Those projects that were agreed on during a conference in Paris in April as well as reforms to unlock those loans will have to be carried out by the new government in Lebanon.Lebanon has the third largest debt in the world of about $85 billion or 155 percent of the gross domestic product. The economy is also suffering from high unemployment and little growth.
CNN sues Trump, demanding return of correspondent Acosta to White House-‘The president of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking those who cover him,’ says journalists’ group-By David Bauder-TOI-15 November 2018
NEW YORK (AP) — CNN sued the Trump administration Tuesday, demanding that correspondent Jim Acosta’s credentials to cover the White House be returned because their revocation violates the constitutional right of freedom of the press.The administration stripped Acosta of his pass to enter the White House following US President Donald Trump’s contentious news conference last week, where Acosta refused to give up a microphone when the president said he didn’t want to hear anything more from him.White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said “this is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against his lawsuit.”Trump has made CNN and its reporters a particular target of his denunciation of “fake news” and characterization of the media as an enemy of the people. CNN CEO Jeff Zucker, in a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, called it a “pattern of targeted harassment.”The White House initially contended it was Acosta’s refusal to give up the microphone that led to his banishment; CNN said it’s apparent the president didn’t like his questions.“Mr. Acosta’s press credentials must be restored so that all members of the press know they will remain free to ask tough questions, challenge government officials and report the business of the nation to the American people,” said Theodore Olson, former US solicitor general and one of CNN’s lawyers on the case.The White House Correspondents’ Association backed the lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC, district court.“The president of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him,” said Olivier Knox, president of the correspondents’ group.CNN said Acosta was given no warning of the action, and no recourse to appeal it. Acosta traveled to Paris to cover Trump’s visit there this weekend and, although given permission by the French government to cover a news event, the Secret Service denied him entrance, the company said.“Without this credential, a daily White House correspondent like Acosta effectively cannot do his job,” CNN’s lawsuit said.CNN asked for an injunction to immediately reinstate Acosta, as well as a hearing on the larger issue of barring a reporter.In an effort to prove the administration’s case last week, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders distributed via Twitter a doctored video sped up to make Acosta’s physical actions toward the intern seem more threatening.That wasn’t mentioned by Sanders in a statement Tuesday. She cited his refusal to yield to other reporters after he asked Trump two questions.“The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional,” Sanders said. “The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor.”Trump told Acosta at the news conference that “CNN should be ashamed of itself, having you work for them. You are a rude, terrible person.”Acosta has been a polarizing figure even beyond the distaste that Trump and his supporters have for him. The Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, editorialized last week that Acosta’s encounter with Trump at the news conference “was less about asking questions and more about making statements. In doing so, the CNN White House reporter gave President Donald Trump room to critique Acosta’s professionalism.”
Arab public opinion of Israel worse than in past Gaza crises — Foreign Ministry-Informal survey of Arabic-language social media shows ‘considerable hostility,’ as social media users justify Hamas attacks on Israelis-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-15 November 2018
Public opinion in the Arab world has been more hostile toward Israel during this week’s military escalation than in similar previous conflagrations, according to an informal survey conducted Tuesday by the Foreign Ministry.“A general survey of tweets and posts in Arabic on social networks shows considerable hostility toward Israel, even more than in previous rounds” of violence between Hamas in Gaza in Israel, read the survey, a copy of which was obtained by The Times of Israel.“A large portion of online users justify the massive rocket fire at Israel with the fact that Israel first carried out an operation inside Gaza the day before the escalation,” the report said, referring to a botched IDF operation during which one Israeli officer and seven Palestinians were killed and which sparked this week’s escalation.Numerous social media users justified the shooting of an anti-tank missile on a bus Monday at the Gaza border, during which one Israeli soldier was severely wounded, by arguing that it was not an attack on civilians but that the bus was a military target since it carried many soldiers.Since Sunday, a total of 14 Palestinian were killed by Israeli forces — seven during the failed IDF operation in Khan Younis, three kilometers into Gaza, and seven during subsequent air strikes in retaliation of rockets fired at Israeli civilian centers in the South.One Palestinian man was killed by a rocket from Hamas in Ashkelon.More than 100 Israelis were wounded during the unprecedented barrage of rockets fired at Israel.Many Arabic-speaking users of social media expressed the hope that yet more Israelis would be hurt by the rockets from Gaza, according to the Foreign Ministry report.“At the same time, there is no great sympathy for Hamas, especially in those countries where it is perceived as a terrorist organization,” it noted.Many Arab journalists covered the events in and around Gaza, with many of them — especially in Egypt, which was instrumental in brokering a reported ceasefire Tuesday — authoring “very hostile reports about Israel, which they see as an enemy.” The Arab media also criticized their own governments, claiming they are “paralyzed” by the events in Gaza and failed to show enough interest in the matter, according to the survey.There were also, however expressions of support for Israel and condemnations of Hamas as a terrorist organization doing Iran’s bidding in the Arabic-language social media, but “not many,” the Foreign Ministry found.The ministry’s various Arabic-language social media accounts have had a steep increase in traffic since the recent uptick in violence on Monday morning, and many made public comments — “of course, a larger majority of them were negative,” the survey notes.However, it adds, many people sent private messages of support for Israel to the ministry in private channels that cannot be seen by the public.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in recent months hailed the Arab world’s increasing openness to Israel, arguing that nearly all governments in the region have understood that Iran, and not Israel, is their true enemy.He has also repeatedly quoted a Foreign Ministry survey, conducted last year, which purports to show remarkably warm attitudes to Israel in several enemy Arab states.For instance, staggering 48 percent of respondents in Iraq, 42% in the United Arab Emirates, and 30% in Saudi Arabia and Iran are interested in their governments establishing some kind of “relations” with the Jewish state.However, several experts criticized the poll’s methodology, calling it “deeply flawed.”Since Monday morning, more than 460 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at southern Israel, according to the IDF.The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted over 100 of them. Most of the rest landed in open fields, but dozens landed inside Israeli cities and towns, killing one person, injuring dozens more, and causing significant property damage.In response to the rocket and mortar attacks, the Israeli military says it targeted approximately 160 sites in the Gaza Strip connected to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups, including four facilities that the army designated as “key strategic assets.”
Iran, feeling sanctions bite, looks for outlet in Iraq-Tehran hopes to grow trade with neighbor from $7b. annually to $22b. to offset lost trade due to new US restrictions-By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and PHILIP ISSA-TOI-15 November 2018
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — At this year’s Baghdad International Fair, Iranian businessmen displayed thick, colorful Persian rugs to impressed onlookers while others showcased the latest in Iranian manufacturing in power generators and industrial tools.For Iranian companies, the annual Baghdad International Fair is a major event, as exporters in carpets, foodstuffs, and heavy equipment look to score sales in Iraq’s import-dependent economy.But this year’s edition, running this week, is an even bigger deal than usual: Iran, already feeling the bite of newly re-imposed unilateral US sanctions, is turning to its neighbor to soak up its exports in agriculture, manufacturing, and energy.Ambassador Iraj Masjedi promised Iran would grow its already flourishing trade with Iraq. The sanctions, he said, “will not affect the relations between the two countries.”In May, US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran struck with world powers. United Nations monitors say Iran still abides by the deal, in which it agreed to limit its uranium enrichment in return for the lifting of international sanctions.Since then, Trump announced what he billed the “toughest ever” sanctions regime against Iran and the country has seen its oil exports plunge and its currency lose more than half its value. The full brunt of the measures came into effect November 5 when the US re-imposed oil and banking sanctions.However, other major economies including Europe, Russia, and China have refused to take parallel measures, and Iran can still do business with the outside world.Iraq is Iran’s second largest export market. Since 2003, when the US invasion plunged the country into civil war, Iraq has depended on Iran for everything from food and machinery, to electricity and natural gas.Masjedi boasted that trade between the two countries was on track to reach $8.5 billion this year and said Iran’s outlook is to reach $22 billion annually — more than triple its $7 billion in volume in 2017. He did not give specifics.Non-American companies are free to do business with Iran, so long as they do not also do business with the US, or through US financial institutions.“We will not tie ourselves to the dollar,” said Masjedi.More than 60 Iranian companies are represented at the Baghdad fair, which runs until November 19.Mir Zad, director of Hisam, which sells generators and other electrical equipment, said he was aiming to secure deals worth around $1 million at the fair. He wasn’t concerned about the new restrictions on the dollar; deals could be made in Iraqi dinar, he said.Still, a substantial portion of trade between the two nations is done in energy and cannot easily be structured outside the new sanctions regime.It puts Iraq in a delicate position as a partner of both Washington and Tehran.With its electricity sector in tatters, Iraq depends on Iranian gas and power generation to power its economy. A temporary electricity reduction last summer fueled unrest in Iraq’s southern provinces.The US Embassy in Baghdad last Thursday announced it was granting Iraq a 45-day waiver to allow it to continue to purchase gas and electricity in Iran.It said the exception would give Iraq time to “take steps toward energy independence.”But it could take a year or longer to secure enough new power to make up for lost imports, said economist Bassim Jameel Antwan.In the meantime, Iraq may have little choice but to continue to import from Iran. And Iran’s deep entanglement in Iraq’s political and military affairs further complicates the picture.Iran has the ear of several of Iraq’s top politicians and trains, finances and advises some of the largest militias in the country. While it is precisely this sort of influence the US is aiming to curb, Iran can still play the role of spoiler in Iraqi politics.“You plan for one thing, and the result might be something else,” said Antwan.Since May, Iran’s currency the rial has sunk in the black market from 60,000 to the dollar to 148,000 to the dollar. Oil exports fell from 2.5 million barrels per day in May to 1.85 billion in October and are expected to tumble further.
Hamas TV station captures its own final moments on air before Israeli bombing-Host cuts guest mid-interview to evacuate as booms are heard overhead — the result of IDF warning shots — and panicked shouting is heard outside the studio-By TOI staff-15 November 2018
As Israeli aircraft carried out multiple air raids in the Gaza Strip Monday night in response to the launching of hundreds of rockets at Israeli communities, one of the targets destroyed by IAF munitions was the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV headquarters in Gaza City.But to limit casualties at the non-military site, the army fired several warning missiles at the building’s roof before later bombing it. The practice, frequently referred to as a “knock on the roof,” uses missiles armed with very little explosive material to inform occupants that a strike is imminent and give them a chance to evacuate.The moments those warning missiles hit the Al-Aqsa TV building were caught on camera, during a live discussion on the cross-border flareup with Israel. The video has been provided courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch.As Hamas official Rafiq Abu Hani says, “The Palestinian resistance’s capability is clear in the Gaza Strip,” several muffled booms are heard, followed by panicked shouting outside the studio.As Abu Hani continues to tout Hamas achievement, the host cuts him off.“Apparently there are certain events, developments on the ground. Apparently there is a new Zionist attack against the Gaza Strip,” he says. Growing increasingly concerned, he adds: “I don’t know. I’m waiting for a signal from the editing room and from the control room. If there are any developments, they should notify us right now.”He then moves to end the broadcast in order to evacuate, adding “one last word: The last word is always the word of the Palestinian resistance. Many greetings to these young people who always cared to defend our people…”The broadcast freezes mid-sentence. The screen then cuts to black.No one was hurt in the Israeli strike, which demolished the building utterly. Palestinian media said broadcasts resumed from a different location not long afterward.The IDF confirmed that it destroyed the structure. “This is an attack on a central government property for Hamas, which was conducted as part of additional attacks that the IDF carried out and as a response to the terror attack that the Hamas terror group is leading against Israeli citizens,” the army said.Israel also bombed the building in December 2008, during the first war to break out in Gaza in the wake of the 2005 disengagement.On Monday and Tuesday Palestinian terrorists in the Strip fired some 400 rockets and mortar shells at Israeli cities and towns along the border, killing at least one person and wounding dozens. IDF retaliatory strikes on around 160 terror targets killed seven Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Strip.The rocket barrages came after an IDF special operations officer was killed Sunday in an undercover operation in Gaza gone awry that also killed seven Palestinian gunmen.Hamas denounced the demolition of Al-Aqsa TV headquarters.“The occupation’s targeting of the station’s headquarters is barbaric and barefaced aggression,” the terror group said in a statement, according to the Hamas-linked Palestinian Information Center. “It reflects the enemy’s criminal mindset and is an attack on every free voice seeking to expose the enemy’s crimes, terrorism and violations at the expense of Gaza.”The IDF said that Al-Aqsa TV was “used by [Hamas] for military activities, including sending messages to terrorist operatives in the West Bank, calls for terror attacks and instructions on how to commit them.”The outlet was recognized as a terror group by the United States in 2010.The army said the outlet also broadcasts “incitement against the State of Israel and its citizens.”Al-Aqsa TV reporters have frequently praised violent attacks on Israelis and rocket attacks on the Jewish state.AP, Adam Rasgon and Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
U.S. lays barbed wire at border as migrant caravan draws closer-[Reuters]-By Lizbeth Diaz-YAHOONEWS-November 15, 2018
TIJUANA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Central American migrants planning to seek asylum in the United States moved toward the country's border with Mexico on Tuesday as U.S. military reinforced security measures, laying barbed wire and erecting barricades.Some 400 migrants who broke away from the main caravan in Mexico City arrived in the border city of Tijuana on Tuesday by bus, according to a Reuters witness. Larger groups are expected to arrive in the coming days, human rights organizations said.U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he would travel to the border area on Wednesday, his first visit since the military announced that over 7,000 U.S. troops would go to the area as the caravan of mostly Hondurans has made its way through Mexico.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement that it would close lanes at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa crossings from Tijuana to allow the Department of Defense to install barbed wire and position barricades and fencing. Tijuana, in the Mexican state of Baja California, is at the westerly end of the border, around 17 miles (38km) from San Diego, California."CBP has been and will continue to prepare for the potential arrival of thousands of people migrating in a caravan heading toward the border of the United States," Pete Flores, the agency's director of field operations in San Diego, said in a statement, citing a "potential safety and security risk."The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a firm stance against the caravan, which began its journey north on Oct. 13 and briefly clashed with security forces in the south of Mexico early on its route.On Friday, Trump signed a decree that effectively suspended the granting of asylum for those who cross the border illegally, a move that could drastically slow claims at gates of entry.But migrants planning to seek asylum in the United States said they were undeterred by the crackdown."I prefer to be in detention in the United States than to return to my country, where I know they are going to kill me for being different," said Nelvin Mejía, a transgender woman who arrived in Tijuana on Monday with a group of about 70 people seeking asylum. "Last month, they killed my partner, and I do not want to end up like that."For years, thousands of mainly Central American immigrants have embarked on long journeys through Central America and Mexico to reach the United States. Many of them die in the attempt or are kidnapped by organized crime groups.Several thousand more migrants in at least three caravan groups are making their way through Mexico toward the border.(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; writing by Julia Love, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
I HEARD THE SEWER RAT-MENTALLY ILL LIBERALS WILL BE DOING AT LEAST 85-100 INVESTIGATIONS INTO TRUMP. SO MUCH FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS. THE DEMONUTS WILL BE TO BUSY TRYING TO GET RID OF TRUMP. BUT THE CRY BABY SORE LOSERS WILL GET CRUSHED IN THE 2020 ELECTIONS ESPECIALLY IF THAT HITLARY 2ND (QUEEN OF MENTALLY ILL LIBERALS) CLINTON RUNS AGAIN. LIKE THE RUMOUR MILL SAYS.
House Democrats to probe Trump impact on FBI, Justice: lawmaker-[Reuters]-By David Morgan-YAHOONEWS-November 15, 2018
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming Democratic chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee intends to investigate President Donald Trump's impact on the integrity of the Justice Department and the FBI, according to a letter sent to top federal law enforcement officials on Tuesday.Representative Jerrold Nadler, now the panel's top Democrat, gave acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and FBI Director Christopher Wray until Dec. 31 to respond to more than 100 letters House Democrats have already sent concerning Trump's behavior toward U.S. law enforcement, including verbal attacks on senior officials."I write with growing concern over President Trump's repeated attacks on the integrity of the Department of Justice and the FBI," Nadler told Whitaker and Wray in the Tuesday letter that was made public."The president's behavior appears to be motivated by an urge to shield himself, his family, and his business interests from the ongoing work of the department and the bureau."A Justice Department official said Nadler's letter had been received.The letter, surfacing a week after U.S. congressional elections gave Democrats control of the House, is an early sign of the heightened scrutiny that Trump and his administration can expect after the new Congress convenes in January.Democrats are worried that Trump could undermine a federal investigation into Russia's role in interfering with the 2016 presidential election and any collusion by the Trump campaign. The probe is being led by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller.Moscow has said it did not meddle in the election and Trump has denied that any collusion occurred.Trump set off alarms among Democrats last week by forcing the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replacing him with Whitaker, a Trump loyalist who has said the Mueller probe should be scaled back."The president has called the special counsel's investigation a 'witch hunt' at least 84 times this year," Nadler wrote."He has identified the investigation as a significant threat to his administration, stating that he wants it stopped. He has threatened to fire department officials for failing to 'totally protect him'," Nadler continued."These actions are not normal," the letter added. "And they ignore the guidance of the White House Counsel, flout the Constitution and undermine our federal law enforcement agencies."(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Sitting in the embers, Californians wonder: can Paradise be rebuilt?-[Reuters]-By Sharon Bernstein-YAHOONEWS-November 15, 2018
PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) - Lovingly placed statues of a family of deer still mark the entrance to Mare Reasons' house in Paradise, California, but her woodland home was so thoroughly devoured in the state's deadliest wildfire that only an iron bed and an antique stove remain intact above the rubble.Like many residents of this town of about 27,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, Reasons came to Paradise for its spectacular natural vistas and affordability."I loved it," said Reasons, 62, who moved here 18 years ago from the expensive coastal city of San Luis Obispo. "I loved smelling the pines in the morning. A very simple life for me."On Thursday, the Camp Fire roared through Paradise reducing Reasons' entire neighborhood to rubble along with the business district and other communities. On a drive into the blackened foothills from nearby Chico, thick smoke lingered, making it difficult to breathe. Burned-out cars dotted the streets and bits of flame burst forth from smoldering ruins.By Tuesday, the fire about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco expanded to 130,000 acres. The death toll remained at 48, a record for a California wildfire, with 228 listed missing. More than 7,600 homes and other structures were destroyed, another record.On a drive to Reasons' lost home, the remains of a roadside sign gave the only clue of a candy factory's site. Police officers searching for survivors cut open an automobile using "Jaws of Life" clippers.Despite the devastation, the town has vowed to rebuild."We consider ourselves survivors, and we will come back from the ashes," said Paradise Emergency Operations Coordinator Jim Broshears, a resident since 1974. "We are fully committed to building a new Paradise".Rebuilding will take a lot of work, but those who love the town say it will be worth it. Perched on a ridge overlooking the Feather River about 10 miles from the college town of Chico, Paradise was home initially to the Maidu Tribes of Native Americans, according to the town website. The 1848 gold rush brought prospectors. One hot day, a lumber mill owner resting in the shade declared the place to be "Paradise," according to a story on the website.Families and retirees flocked to Paradise in the 1960s; the town incorporated in 1978. The median household income in 2016 was $48,000, according to the U.S. Census, far less than the statewide median of $68,000.NEIGHBORLY TOWN-Carol Barnes, whose home was also destroyed, was impressed by the neighborliness in Paradise shortly after she and her husband moved there three years ago.One day her husband's truck broke down, she said, and he started pushing it across the road. He was amazed at how light the truck felt; then he realized two passersby had jumped out of their own vehicles and quietly started helping him push.Barnes and her husband remade their mobile home to look like a woodland cabin. Her husband built a workshop out back to repair old vacuum tube radio sets; she sold antiques from the house."The town's dead now," Barnes said, sitting on a cot at a Red Cross shelter at the Neighborhood Church next to her two dogs. Her cat was still missing.Bruce Hopkins, 77, a former Vietnam marine sergeant who moved to Paradise from San Francisco, fled on foot when the fire threatened. A man in an SUV picked up him and a neighbor and brought them to the shelter.Hopkins said he was unable to persuade another neighbor to leave, a retiree who was confined to a wheelchair.Donna Broughton learned Tuesday that the mobile home where she lived with her two grandchildren had survived, but it would be a long time before the family would be allowed back in, as firefighters mopped up hotspots and toxic fumes and smoke abated."I'll stay here and carry on, with or without a house," she said at the Neighborhood Church shelter. "Even if it's a tent in the middle of the forest, it's home."PRIVATE HALF-ACRE-Paradise was so affordable that Reasons purchased an 800-square foot house at the end of an unpaved road on wages as an office assistant. To renovate her two-bedroom house, Reasons salvaged antique wood flooring from an old schoolhouse in a nearby town.Her half-acre was secluded enough that she felt comfortable sunbathing in the yard in her underwear. She turned her wooded property into a refuge for injured wildlife: squirrels, raccoons, an opossum, hawks and even hummingbirds.Reasons was surprised last Thursday when the order came to evacuate. She thought an autumn shower had begun which would help douse the fire, but the raindrops were really falling embers."The transformers were going, 'boom, boom, boom," she said. "People's propane tanks were blowing up."I thought that it was rain," Reasons said. "It was raining fire."(Additional reporting by Noel Randewich in Chico, California; editing by Bill Tarrant and David Gregorio)
Teams 'look for skulls' in ashes of California's deadliest wildfire-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-By Noel Randewich and Sharon Bernstein-November 15, 2018
PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) - White-clad forensic teams with cadaver dogs fanned out across a ghostly landscape strewn with ash and charred debris searching on Tuesday for more human remains left from a blaze that killed at least 42 people in California's deadliest wildfire disaster.The intensified effort to locate victims came on the sixth day of a blaze that incinerated over 7,000 homes and other buildings, including most of the town of Paradise in the Sierra foothills of rural Butte County about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco.County Sheriff Kory Honea said 228 people were listed as missing, and his office also was conducting "well-being checks" on nearly 1,300 individuals whose loved ones had reported concern for their whereabouts.By Tuesday, the killer blaze dubbed the Camp Fire had blackened 125,000 acres (50,500 hectares) of drought-parched scrub and brush, up 8,000 acres from the night before, but crews had carved containment lines around nearly a third of the fire's expanding perimeter.More than 50,000 area residents remained under evacuation orders and 15,500 structures were still listed as threatened by the blaze.However, diminished winds allowed crews to make solid headway against the flames, fire officials said."Things look much better than yesterday, due to weather conditions," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).The news was likewise more upbeat on the southern end of California's wildfire front, where a blaze called the Woolsey Fire has killed two people, destroyed over 400 structures and displaced some 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills near the Malibu coast west of Los Angeles.'DEEP INFRASTRUCTURE' LOSSES-That blaze has scorched 96,000 acres (39,000 hectares) of chaparral-covered rolling hills and canyons spanning Ventura and Los Angeles counties, an area roughly the size of Denver.Beyond the loss of homes, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said the fire had destroyed "deep infrastructure such as power lines, water lines, sewers, roads, lights and other things that make a city, a city, particularly a safe one."But containment of the fire grew to 35 percent on Tuesday as four communities previously under evacuation orders were reopened to residents, a sign firefighters were gaining the upper hand, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.The causes of both the Camp and Woolsey fires were listed as under investigation. But two utility companies, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, reported to regulators in recent days that they experienced problems with transmission lines or substations in areas where the blazes were reported around the time that they started.While prospects for suppressing the Camp Fire grew more hopeful, authorities stepped up the grim task of sifting through the rubble of homes obliterated in flames that roared through Paradise on Thursday night, sending residents fleeing for their lives in chaos.The remains of some victims were found in and around the burned-out wreckage of vehicles engulfed in the firestorm as evacuation traffic halted in deadly knots of gridlock hours after the fire erupted.Sheriff Honea announced on Monday the remains of at least 42 people had been recovered, making the Camp Fire the deadliest single wildfire in California history, surpassing the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles that killed 29 people in 1933.It remained unclear how many of the 200-plus individuals listed as unaccounted for were actual fire victims or merely evacuees who failed to alert authorities after fleeing their homes.'LOOK FOR SKULLS'-Teams of workers wielding chainsaws cleared downed power lines and other obstacles from the streets, while forensics investigators picked through fire-scorched empty lots in a town once home to 27,000 people.On a residential street in Paradise lined with burned-down houses, a team of 10 search-and-recovery workers and forensic examiners wearing white protective suits and red helmets used a dog to search for victims."Look for skulls, the big bones," one forensics worker said to others as they used metal poles and their hands to sift through the ruins of one house.Nearby at a community swimming pool, forensics workers stirred the darkened waters with long poles to search for bodies.Honea said 150 additional search personnel were due to arrive in the area on Tuesday, bolstering 13 coroner-led recovery teams in the fire zone.The sheriff has requested three portable morgue teams from the U.S. military, a "disaster mortuary" crew, cadaver dog units to locate human remains and three groups of forensic anthropologists.President Donald Trump on Monday night declared a major disaster from the California wildfires, making federal emergency funds more readily available to people and local governments in the stricken counties."We mourn the lives of those lost and we pray for the victims," Trump said from the White House on Tuesday while thanking first responders. "We will do everything in our power to support and protect our fellow citizens in harm's way."California has endured two of its worst wildfire seasons in history the past two years, which experts attribute in large part to prolonged drought across the western United States.(Reported by Noel Randewich and Sharon Bernstein; Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Steve Gorman; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Lisa Shumaker)
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Trump picks retired general John Abizaid for ambassador to Saudi Arabia-The post has been empty since the start of 2017 and the move comes at a time of tensions with Riyadh over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi-By AP-TOI-NOV 15,18
WASHINGTON — A retired four-star general is President Donald Trump’s pick to be US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, filling a key diplomatic vacancy at a time when US-Saudi relations are being tested by the slaying of a journalist critical of the Saudi royal family.Trump announced Tuesday that he is nominating John Abizaid, the longest-serving commander of the US Central Command, to lead the US Embassy in Riyadh. It’s a post that has been empty since former ambassador Joseph Westphal left in January 2017.If confirmed by the Senate, Abizaid would become ambassador as the Trump administration is weighing the U.S. response to the killing of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.Turkish officials claim Khashoggi was killed by a 15-member assassination squad sent from Riyadh on orders from the highest levels of the Saudi government.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has revoked the visas of the Saudis implicated in the killing. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said additional measures will be taken.Abizaid, who retired in 2007, served in wars in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Following the war in Iraq, Abizaid assumed control of CENTCOM, which overseas military operations in 20 nations stretching from northeast Africa to the Middle East to Central and South Asia.Abizaid, of Nevada, currently works as a private consultant and is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Previously, he was the distinguished chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point. He also served in various senior positions on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Incumbent Shlomo Ne’eman keeps seat in lone West Bank election run-off-Current Gush Etzion Regional Council chair handily defeats challenger Moshe Seville and will begin first full stint in office after taking over midway through the last term-By Jacob Magid-NOV 15,18
Shlomo Ne’eman cruised to an electoral victory for the third time in less than two years Tuesday evening, defeating challenger Moshe Seville in a runoff vote to maintain his position as chairman of the West Bank’s Gush Etzion Regional Council.Ne’eman earned 4,245 votes (56%) to Seville’s 3,364 (44%) in a race that many in the settlement bloc southeast of Jerusalem expected would have been closer. But an endorsement from Yaron Rosenthal, who won nearly a third of the votes in the first round last month, likely helped tip the race in favor of the incumbent.A former Jewish Agency official and aid to Likud’s Environment Minister Ze’ev Elkin, Ne’eman has headed the Gush Etzion Regional Council since a surprise victory over Seville in a February 2017 special election. The 45-year-old resident of Karmei Tzur replaced Davidi Perl, who stepped down from the position after allegations that he sexually assaulted a Jerusalem woman and paid her off to keep quiet.Speaking to reporters after his victory, Ne’eman said he planned “to go right back to work” for the regional council which represents 20 communities and some 17,000 residents.He said he intended to continue lobbying the government to annex the Gush Etzion bloc as well as the entire West Bank.Ne’eman’s victory Tuesday is believed to represent a victory for the settler establishment, embodied most prominently by the Yesha Council of which Ne’eman has been an active member and a possible candidate to one day head the umbrella body.The Yesha Council saw several of its active members replaced in the first round of municipal elections last month by more hawkish candidates looking to push the umbrella body further to the right and into increased friction with the current government. These firebrands such as the Binyamin Regional Council chairman Yisrael Gantz and Kiyat Arba-Hebron Local Council chairman Eliyahu Libman will be joined by several other anti-establishment council chairmen that managed to maintain their seats in the October 30 vote.
Lebanese premier accuses Hezbollah of blocking government-Saad Hariri says terror group bears full responsibility for consequences, including nation’s flagging economy-By Agencies-TOI-15 November 2018
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s prime minister on Tuesday accused Hezbollah of hindering the formation of a new government six months after parliamentary elections were held, a reflection of growing tensions amid serious concerns over the country’s faltering economy.At a press conference in Beirut, Saad Hariri said “it’s Hezbollah, full stop,” when asked who was blocking the formation of a government. He said the Shiite group bears full responsibility for the consequences, including Lebanon’s flagging economy.Hariri stopped short of resigning, however, saying there was still an opportunity to bridge the differences.Hariri, the top Sunni Muslim leader in the country, is coming under increasing pressure from the Iranian-backed Shiite terror group Hezbollah, which insists that six Sunni legislators allied with it be represented in the new Cabinet. Hariri flatly rejects the demand, saying the six independent legislators are not part of a parliamentary bloc and are therefore not entitled to have a minister in the cabinet.“The truth is that government formation has hit a big obstacle,” Hariri said.Lebanon held its first parliamentary elections in nine years in May but political bickering over the distribution has stood in the way of government formation.Giving Hariri’s Sunni opponents a Cabinet seat is the latest delay in the formation after months of negotiations gave the right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces four cabinet seats, including that of deputy prime minister. Hezbollah will likely get three seats, the biggest number of ministers ever for the group, including the health ministry.Some analysts link Hezbollah’s insistence on representing the independent Sunni legislators in the Cabinet to a new wave of US sanctions against its patron Iran that went into effect on November 5.Hariri insisted however that the obstacles were not linked to external politics.Further delays in the government are increasing pressure on the country’s struggling economy and endanger international donors’ pledges of $11 billion in loans and grants to help debt-ridden Lebanon. Those projects that were agreed on during a conference in Paris in April as well as reforms to unlock those loans will have to be carried out by the new government in Lebanon.Lebanon has the third largest debt in the world of about $85 billion or 155 percent of the gross domestic product. The economy is also suffering from high unemployment and little growth.
CNN sues Trump, demanding return of correspondent Acosta to White House-‘The president of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking those who cover him,’ says journalists’ group-By David Bauder-TOI-15 November 2018
NEW YORK (AP) — CNN sued the Trump administration Tuesday, demanding that correspondent Jim Acosta’s credentials to cover the White House be returned because their revocation violates the constitutional right of freedom of the press.The administration stripped Acosta of his pass to enter the White House following US President Donald Trump’s contentious news conference last week, where Acosta refused to give up a microphone when the president said he didn’t want to hear anything more from him.White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said “this is just more grandstanding from CNN, and we will vigorously defend against his lawsuit.”Trump has made CNN and its reporters a particular target of his denunciation of “fake news” and characterization of the media as an enemy of the people. CNN CEO Jeff Zucker, in a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, called it a “pattern of targeted harassment.”The White House initially contended it was Acosta’s refusal to give up the microphone that led to his banishment; CNN said it’s apparent the president didn’t like his questions.“Mr. Acosta’s press credentials must be restored so that all members of the press know they will remain free to ask tough questions, challenge government officials and report the business of the nation to the American people,” said Theodore Olson, former US solicitor general and one of CNN’s lawyers on the case.The White House Correspondents’ Association backed the lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC, district court.“The president of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him,” said Olivier Knox, president of the correspondents’ group.CNN said Acosta was given no warning of the action, and no recourse to appeal it. Acosta traveled to Paris to cover Trump’s visit there this weekend and, although given permission by the French government to cover a news event, the Secret Service denied him entrance, the company said.“Without this credential, a daily White House correspondent like Acosta effectively cannot do his job,” CNN’s lawsuit said.CNN asked for an injunction to immediately reinstate Acosta, as well as a hearing on the larger issue of barring a reporter.In an effort to prove the administration’s case last week, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders distributed via Twitter a doctored video sped up to make Acosta’s physical actions toward the intern seem more threatening.That wasn’t mentioned by Sanders in a statement Tuesday. She cited his refusal to yield to other reporters after he asked Trump two questions.“The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional,” Sanders said. “The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor.”Trump told Acosta at the news conference that “CNN should be ashamed of itself, having you work for them. You are a rude, terrible person.”Acosta has been a polarizing figure even beyond the distaste that Trump and his supporters have for him. The Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, editorialized last week that Acosta’s encounter with Trump at the news conference “was less about asking questions and more about making statements. In doing so, the CNN White House reporter gave President Donald Trump room to critique Acosta’s professionalism.”
Arab public opinion of Israel worse than in past Gaza crises — Foreign Ministry-Informal survey of Arabic-language social media shows ‘considerable hostility,’ as social media users justify Hamas attacks on Israelis-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-15 November 2018
Public opinion in the Arab world has been more hostile toward Israel during this week’s military escalation than in similar previous conflagrations, according to an informal survey conducted Tuesday by the Foreign Ministry.“A general survey of tweets and posts in Arabic on social networks shows considerable hostility toward Israel, even more than in previous rounds” of violence between Hamas in Gaza in Israel, read the survey, a copy of which was obtained by The Times of Israel.“A large portion of online users justify the massive rocket fire at Israel with the fact that Israel first carried out an operation inside Gaza the day before the escalation,” the report said, referring to a botched IDF operation during which one Israeli officer and seven Palestinians were killed and which sparked this week’s escalation.Numerous social media users justified the shooting of an anti-tank missile on a bus Monday at the Gaza border, during which one Israeli soldier was severely wounded, by arguing that it was not an attack on civilians but that the bus was a military target since it carried many soldiers.Since Sunday, a total of 14 Palestinian were killed by Israeli forces — seven during the failed IDF operation in Khan Younis, three kilometers into Gaza, and seven during subsequent air strikes in retaliation of rockets fired at Israeli civilian centers in the South.One Palestinian man was killed by a rocket from Hamas in Ashkelon.More than 100 Israelis were wounded during the unprecedented barrage of rockets fired at Israel.Many Arabic-speaking users of social media expressed the hope that yet more Israelis would be hurt by the rockets from Gaza, according to the Foreign Ministry report.“At the same time, there is no great sympathy for Hamas, especially in those countries where it is perceived as a terrorist organization,” it noted.Many Arab journalists covered the events in and around Gaza, with many of them — especially in Egypt, which was instrumental in brokering a reported ceasefire Tuesday — authoring “very hostile reports about Israel, which they see as an enemy.” The Arab media also criticized their own governments, claiming they are “paralyzed” by the events in Gaza and failed to show enough interest in the matter, according to the survey.There were also, however expressions of support for Israel and condemnations of Hamas as a terrorist organization doing Iran’s bidding in the Arabic-language social media, but “not many,” the Foreign Ministry found.The ministry’s various Arabic-language social media accounts have had a steep increase in traffic since the recent uptick in violence on Monday morning, and many made public comments — “of course, a larger majority of them were negative,” the survey notes.However, it adds, many people sent private messages of support for Israel to the ministry in private channels that cannot be seen by the public.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in recent months hailed the Arab world’s increasing openness to Israel, arguing that nearly all governments in the region have understood that Iran, and not Israel, is their true enemy.He has also repeatedly quoted a Foreign Ministry survey, conducted last year, which purports to show remarkably warm attitudes to Israel in several enemy Arab states.For instance, staggering 48 percent of respondents in Iraq, 42% in the United Arab Emirates, and 30% in Saudi Arabia and Iran are interested in their governments establishing some kind of “relations” with the Jewish state.However, several experts criticized the poll’s methodology, calling it “deeply flawed.”Since Monday morning, more than 460 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at southern Israel, according to the IDF.The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted over 100 of them. Most of the rest landed in open fields, but dozens landed inside Israeli cities and towns, killing one person, injuring dozens more, and causing significant property damage.In response to the rocket and mortar attacks, the Israeli military says it targeted approximately 160 sites in the Gaza Strip connected to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups, including four facilities that the army designated as “key strategic assets.”
Iran, feeling sanctions bite, looks for outlet in Iraq-Tehran hopes to grow trade with neighbor from $7b. annually to $22b. to offset lost trade due to new US restrictions-By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and PHILIP ISSA-TOI-15 November 2018
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — At this year’s Baghdad International Fair, Iranian businessmen displayed thick, colorful Persian rugs to impressed onlookers while others showcased the latest in Iranian manufacturing in power generators and industrial tools.For Iranian companies, the annual Baghdad International Fair is a major event, as exporters in carpets, foodstuffs, and heavy equipment look to score sales in Iraq’s import-dependent economy.But this year’s edition, running this week, is an even bigger deal than usual: Iran, already feeling the bite of newly re-imposed unilateral US sanctions, is turning to its neighbor to soak up its exports in agriculture, manufacturing, and energy.Ambassador Iraj Masjedi promised Iran would grow its already flourishing trade with Iraq. The sanctions, he said, “will not affect the relations between the two countries.”In May, US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran struck with world powers. United Nations monitors say Iran still abides by the deal, in which it agreed to limit its uranium enrichment in return for the lifting of international sanctions.Since then, Trump announced what he billed the “toughest ever” sanctions regime against Iran and the country has seen its oil exports plunge and its currency lose more than half its value. The full brunt of the measures came into effect November 5 when the US re-imposed oil and banking sanctions.However, other major economies including Europe, Russia, and China have refused to take parallel measures, and Iran can still do business with the outside world.Iraq is Iran’s second largest export market. Since 2003, when the US invasion plunged the country into civil war, Iraq has depended on Iran for everything from food and machinery, to electricity and natural gas.Masjedi boasted that trade between the two countries was on track to reach $8.5 billion this year and said Iran’s outlook is to reach $22 billion annually — more than triple its $7 billion in volume in 2017. He did not give specifics.Non-American companies are free to do business with Iran, so long as they do not also do business with the US, or through US financial institutions.“We will not tie ourselves to the dollar,” said Masjedi.More than 60 Iranian companies are represented at the Baghdad fair, which runs until November 19.Mir Zad, director of Hisam, which sells generators and other electrical equipment, said he was aiming to secure deals worth around $1 million at the fair. He wasn’t concerned about the new restrictions on the dollar; deals could be made in Iraqi dinar, he said.Still, a substantial portion of trade between the two nations is done in energy and cannot easily be structured outside the new sanctions regime.It puts Iraq in a delicate position as a partner of both Washington and Tehran.With its electricity sector in tatters, Iraq depends on Iranian gas and power generation to power its economy. A temporary electricity reduction last summer fueled unrest in Iraq’s southern provinces.The US Embassy in Baghdad last Thursday announced it was granting Iraq a 45-day waiver to allow it to continue to purchase gas and electricity in Iran.It said the exception would give Iraq time to “take steps toward energy independence.”But it could take a year or longer to secure enough new power to make up for lost imports, said economist Bassim Jameel Antwan.In the meantime, Iraq may have little choice but to continue to import from Iran. And Iran’s deep entanglement in Iraq’s political and military affairs further complicates the picture.Iran has the ear of several of Iraq’s top politicians and trains, finances and advises some of the largest militias in the country. While it is precisely this sort of influence the US is aiming to curb, Iran can still play the role of spoiler in Iraqi politics.“You plan for one thing, and the result might be something else,” said Antwan.Since May, Iran’s currency the rial has sunk in the black market from 60,000 to the dollar to 148,000 to the dollar. Oil exports fell from 2.5 million barrels per day in May to 1.85 billion in October and are expected to tumble further.
Hamas TV station captures its own final moments on air before Israeli bombing-Host cuts guest mid-interview to evacuate as booms are heard overhead — the result of IDF warning shots — and panicked shouting is heard outside the studio-By TOI staff-15 November 2018
As Israeli aircraft carried out multiple air raids in the Gaza Strip Monday night in response to the launching of hundreds of rockets at Israeli communities, one of the targets destroyed by IAF munitions was the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV headquarters in Gaza City.But to limit casualties at the non-military site, the army fired several warning missiles at the building’s roof before later bombing it. The practice, frequently referred to as a “knock on the roof,” uses missiles armed with very little explosive material to inform occupants that a strike is imminent and give them a chance to evacuate.The moments those warning missiles hit the Al-Aqsa TV building were caught on camera, during a live discussion on the cross-border flareup with Israel. The video has been provided courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch.As Hamas official Rafiq Abu Hani says, “The Palestinian resistance’s capability is clear in the Gaza Strip,” several muffled booms are heard, followed by panicked shouting outside the studio.As Abu Hani continues to tout Hamas achievement, the host cuts him off.“Apparently there are certain events, developments on the ground. Apparently there is a new Zionist attack against the Gaza Strip,” he says. Growing increasingly concerned, he adds: “I don’t know. I’m waiting for a signal from the editing room and from the control room. If there are any developments, they should notify us right now.”He then moves to end the broadcast in order to evacuate, adding “one last word: The last word is always the word of the Palestinian resistance. Many greetings to these young people who always cared to defend our people…”The broadcast freezes mid-sentence. The screen then cuts to black.No one was hurt in the Israeli strike, which demolished the building utterly. Palestinian media said broadcasts resumed from a different location not long afterward.The IDF confirmed that it destroyed the structure. “This is an attack on a central government property for Hamas, which was conducted as part of additional attacks that the IDF carried out and as a response to the terror attack that the Hamas terror group is leading against Israeli citizens,” the army said.Israel also bombed the building in December 2008, during the first war to break out in Gaza in the wake of the 2005 disengagement.On Monday and Tuesday Palestinian terrorists in the Strip fired some 400 rockets and mortar shells at Israeli cities and towns along the border, killing at least one person and wounding dozens. IDF retaliatory strikes on around 160 terror targets killed seven Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Strip.The rocket barrages came after an IDF special operations officer was killed Sunday in an undercover operation in Gaza gone awry that also killed seven Palestinian gunmen.Hamas denounced the demolition of Al-Aqsa TV headquarters.“The occupation’s targeting of the station’s headquarters is barbaric and barefaced aggression,” the terror group said in a statement, according to the Hamas-linked Palestinian Information Center. “It reflects the enemy’s criminal mindset and is an attack on every free voice seeking to expose the enemy’s crimes, terrorism and violations at the expense of Gaza.”The IDF said that Al-Aqsa TV was “used by [Hamas] for military activities, including sending messages to terrorist operatives in the West Bank, calls for terror attacks and instructions on how to commit them.”The outlet was recognized as a terror group by the United States in 2010.The army said the outlet also broadcasts “incitement against the State of Israel and its citizens.”Al-Aqsa TV reporters have frequently praised violent attacks on Israelis and rocket attacks on the Jewish state.AP, Adam Rasgon and Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
U.S. lays barbed wire at border as migrant caravan draws closer-[Reuters]-By Lizbeth Diaz-YAHOONEWS-November 15, 2018
TIJUANA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Central American migrants planning to seek asylum in the United States moved toward the country's border with Mexico on Tuesday as U.S. military reinforced security measures, laying barbed wire and erecting barricades.Some 400 migrants who broke away from the main caravan in Mexico City arrived in the border city of Tijuana on Tuesday by bus, according to a Reuters witness. Larger groups are expected to arrive in the coming days, human rights organizations said.U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he would travel to the border area on Wednesday, his first visit since the military announced that over 7,000 U.S. troops would go to the area as the caravan of mostly Hondurans has made its way through Mexico.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement that it would close lanes at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa crossings from Tijuana to allow the Department of Defense to install barbed wire and position barricades and fencing. Tijuana, in the Mexican state of Baja California, is at the westerly end of the border, around 17 miles (38km) from San Diego, California."CBP has been and will continue to prepare for the potential arrival of thousands of people migrating in a caravan heading toward the border of the United States," Pete Flores, the agency's director of field operations in San Diego, said in a statement, citing a "potential safety and security risk."The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a firm stance against the caravan, which began its journey north on Oct. 13 and briefly clashed with security forces in the south of Mexico early on its route.On Friday, Trump signed a decree that effectively suspended the granting of asylum for those who cross the border illegally, a move that could drastically slow claims at gates of entry.But migrants planning to seek asylum in the United States said they were undeterred by the crackdown."I prefer to be in detention in the United States than to return to my country, where I know they are going to kill me for being different," said Nelvin Mejía, a transgender woman who arrived in Tijuana on Monday with a group of about 70 people seeking asylum. "Last month, they killed my partner, and I do not want to end up like that."For years, thousands of mainly Central American immigrants have embarked on long journeys through Central America and Mexico to reach the United States. Many of them die in the attempt or are kidnapped by organized crime groups.Several thousand more migrants in at least three caravan groups are making their way through Mexico toward the border.(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; writing by Julia Love, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
I HEARD THE SEWER RAT-MENTALLY ILL LIBERALS WILL BE DOING AT LEAST 85-100 INVESTIGATIONS INTO TRUMP. SO MUCH FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS. THE DEMONUTS WILL BE TO BUSY TRYING TO GET RID OF TRUMP. BUT THE CRY BABY SORE LOSERS WILL GET CRUSHED IN THE 2020 ELECTIONS ESPECIALLY IF THAT HITLARY 2ND (QUEEN OF MENTALLY ILL LIBERALS) CLINTON RUNS AGAIN. LIKE THE RUMOUR MILL SAYS.
House Democrats to probe Trump impact on FBI, Justice: lawmaker-[Reuters]-By David Morgan-YAHOONEWS-November 15, 2018
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming Democratic chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee intends to investigate President Donald Trump's impact on the integrity of the Justice Department and the FBI, according to a letter sent to top federal law enforcement officials on Tuesday.Representative Jerrold Nadler, now the panel's top Democrat, gave acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and FBI Director Christopher Wray until Dec. 31 to respond to more than 100 letters House Democrats have already sent concerning Trump's behavior toward U.S. law enforcement, including verbal attacks on senior officials."I write with growing concern over President Trump's repeated attacks on the integrity of the Department of Justice and the FBI," Nadler told Whitaker and Wray in the Tuesday letter that was made public."The president's behavior appears to be motivated by an urge to shield himself, his family, and his business interests from the ongoing work of the department and the bureau."A Justice Department official said Nadler's letter had been received.The letter, surfacing a week after U.S. congressional elections gave Democrats control of the House, is an early sign of the heightened scrutiny that Trump and his administration can expect after the new Congress convenes in January.Democrats are worried that Trump could undermine a federal investigation into Russia's role in interfering with the 2016 presidential election and any collusion by the Trump campaign. The probe is being led by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller.Moscow has said it did not meddle in the election and Trump has denied that any collusion occurred.Trump set off alarms among Democrats last week by forcing the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replacing him with Whitaker, a Trump loyalist who has said the Mueller probe should be scaled back."The president has called the special counsel's investigation a 'witch hunt' at least 84 times this year," Nadler wrote."He has identified the investigation as a significant threat to his administration, stating that he wants it stopped. He has threatened to fire department officials for failing to 'totally protect him'," Nadler continued."These actions are not normal," the letter added. "And they ignore the guidance of the White House Counsel, flout the Constitution and undermine our federal law enforcement agencies."(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Sitting in the embers, Californians wonder: can Paradise be rebuilt?-[Reuters]-By Sharon Bernstein-YAHOONEWS-November 15, 2018
PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) - Lovingly placed statues of a family of deer still mark the entrance to Mare Reasons' house in Paradise, California, but her woodland home was so thoroughly devoured in the state's deadliest wildfire that only an iron bed and an antique stove remain intact above the rubble.Like many residents of this town of about 27,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, Reasons came to Paradise for its spectacular natural vistas and affordability."I loved it," said Reasons, 62, who moved here 18 years ago from the expensive coastal city of San Luis Obispo. "I loved smelling the pines in the morning. A very simple life for me."On Thursday, the Camp Fire roared through Paradise reducing Reasons' entire neighborhood to rubble along with the business district and other communities. On a drive into the blackened foothills from nearby Chico, thick smoke lingered, making it difficult to breathe. Burned-out cars dotted the streets and bits of flame burst forth from smoldering ruins.By Tuesday, the fire about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco expanded to 130,000 acres. The death toll remained at 48, a record for a California wildfire, with 228 listed missing. More than 7,600 homes and other structures were destroyed, another record.On a drive to Reasons' lost home, the remains of a roadside sign gave the only clue of a candy factory's site. Police officers searching for survivors cut open an automobile using "Jaws of Life" clippers.Despite the devastation, the town has vowed to rebuild."We consider ourselves survivors, and we will come back from the ashes," said Paradise Emergency Operations Coordinator Jim Broshears, a resident since 1974. "We are fully committed to building a new Paradise".Rebuilding will take a lot of work, but those who love the town say it will be worth it. Perched on a ridge overlooking the Feather River about 10 miles from the college town of Chico, Paradise was home initially to the Maidu Tribes of Native Americans, according to the town website. The 1848 gold rush brought prospectors. One hot day, a lumber mill owner resting in the shade declared the place to be "Paradise," according to a story on the website.Families and retirees flocked to Paradise in the 1960s; the town incorporated in 1978. The median household income in 2016 was $48,000, according to the U.S. Census, far less than the statewide median of $68,000.NEIGHBORLY TOWN-Carol Barnes, whose home was also destroyed, was impressed by the neighborliness in Paradise shortly after she and her husband moved there three years ago.One day her husband's truck broke down, she said, and he started pushing it across the road. He was amazed at how light the truck felt; then he realized two passersby had jumped out of their own vehicles and quietly started helping him push.Barnes and her husband remade their mobile home to look like a woodland cabin. Her husband built a workshop out back to repair old vacuum tube radio sets; she sold antiques from the house."The town's dead now," Barnes said, sitting on a cot at a Red Cross shelter at the Neighborhood Church next to her two dogs. Her cat was still missing.Bruce Hopkins, 77, a former Vietnam marine sergeant who moved to Paradise from San Francisco, fled on foot when the fire threatened. A man in an SUV picked up him and a neighbor and brought them to the shelter.Hopkins said he was unable to persuade another neighbor to leave, a retiree who was confined to a wheelchair.Donna Broughton learned Tuesday that the mobile home where she lived with her two grandchildren had survived, but it would be a long time before the family would be allowed back in, as firefighters mopped up hotspots and toxic fumes and smoke abated."I'll stay here and carry on, with or without a house," she said at the Neighborhood Church shelter. "Even if it's a tent in the middle of the forest, it's home."PRIVATE HALF-ACRE-Paradise was so affordable that Reasons purchased an 800-square foot house at the end of an unpaved road on wages as an office assistant. To renovate her two-bedroom house, Reasons salvaged antique wood flooring from an old schoolhouse in a nearby town.Her half-acre was secluded enough that she felt comfortable sunbathing in the yard in her underwear. She turned her wooded property into a refuge for injured wildlife: squirrels, raccoons, an opossum, hawks and even hummingbirds.Reasons was surprised last Thursday when the order came to evacuate. She thought an autumn shower had begun which would help douse the fire, but the raindrops were really falling embers."The transformers were going, 'boom, boom, boom," she said. "People's propane tanks were blowing up."I thought that it was rain," Reasons said. "It was raining fire."(Additional reporting by Noel Randewich in Chico, California; editing by Bill Tarrant and David Gregorio)
Teams 'look for skulls' in ashes of California's deadliest wildfire-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-By Noel Randewich and Sharon Bernstein-November 15, 2018
PARADISE, Calif. (Reuters) - White-clad forensic teams with cadaver dogs fanned out across a ghostly landscape strewn with ash and charred debris searching on Tuesday for more human remains left from a blaze that killed at least 42 people in California's deadliest wildfire disaster.The intensified effort to locate victims came on the sixth day of a blaze that incinerated over 7,000 homes and other buildings, including most of the town of Paradise in the Sierra foothills of rural Butte County about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco.County Sheriff Kory Honea said 228 people were listed as missing, and his office also was conducting "well-being checks" on nearly 1,300 individuals whose loved ones had reported concern for their whereabouts.By Tuesday, the killer blaze dubbed the Camp Fire had blackened 125,000 acres (50,500 hectares) of drought-parched scrub and brush, up 8,000 acres from the night before, but crews had carved containment lines around nearly a third of the fire's expanding perimeter.More than 50,000 area residents remained under evacuation orders and 15,500 structures were still listed as threatened by the blaze.However, diminished winds allowed crews to make solid headway against the flames, fire officials said."Things look much better than yesterday, due to weather conditions," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).The news was likewise more upbeat on the southern end of California's wildfire front, where a blaze called the Woolsey Fire has killed two people, destroyed over 400 structures and displaced some 200,000 people in the mountains and foothills near the Malibu coast west of Los Angeles.'DEEP INFRASTRUCTURE' LOSSES-That blaze has scorched 96,000 acres (39,000 hectares) of chaparral-covered rolling hills and canyons spanning Ventura and Los Angeles counties, an area roughly the size of Denver.Beyond the loss of homes, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said the fire had destroyed "deep infrastructure such as power lines, water lines, sewers, roads, lights and other things that make a city, a city, particularly a safe one."But containment of the fire grew to 35 percent on Tuesday as four communities previously under evacuation orders were reopened to residents, a sign firefighters were gaining the upper hand, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.The causes of both the Camp and Woolsey fires were listed as under investigation. But two utility companies, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, reported to regulators in recent days that they experienced problems with transmission lines or substations in areas where the blazes were reported around the time that they started.While prospects for suppressing the Camp Fire grew more hopeful, authorities stepped up the grim task of sifting through the rubble of homes obliterated in flames that roared through Paradise on Thursday night, sending residents fleeing for their lives in chaos.The remains of some victims were found in and around the burned-out wreckage of vehicles engulfed in the firestorm as evacuation traffic halted in deadly knots of gridlock hours after the fire erupted.Sheriff Honea announced on Monday the remains of at least 42 people had been recovered, making the Camp Fire the deadliest single wildfire in California history, surpassing the Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles that killed 29 people in 1933.It remained unclear how many of the 200-plus individuals listed as unaccounted for were actual fire victims or merely evacuees who failed to alert authorities after fleeing their homes.'LOOK FOR SKULLS'-Teams of workers wielding chainsaws cleared downed power lines and other obstacles from the streets, while forensics investigators picked through fire-scorched empty lots in a town once home to 27,000 people.On a residential street in Paradise lined with burned-down houses, a team of 10 search-and-recovery workers and forensic examiners wearing white protective suits and red helmets used a dog to search for victims."Look for skulls, the big bones," one forensics worker said to others as they used metal poles and their hands to sift through the ruins of one house.Nearby at a community swimming pool, forensics workers stirred the darkened waters with long poles to search for bodies.Honea said 150 additional search personnel were due to arrive in the area on Tuesday, bolstering 13 coroner-led recovery teams in the fire zone.The sheriff has requested three portable morgue teams from the U.S. military, a "disaster mortuary" crew, cadaver dog units to locate human remains and three groups of forensic anthropologists.President Donald Trump on Monday night declared a major disaster from the California wildfires, making federal emergency funds more readily available to people and local governments in the stricken counties."We mourn the lives of those lost and we pray for the victims," Trump said from the White House on Tuesday while thanking first responders. "We will do everything in our power to support and protect our fellow citizens in harm's way."California has endured two of its worst wildfire seasons in history the past two years, which experts attribute in large part to prolonged drought across the western United States.(Reported by Noel Randewich and Sharon Bernstein; Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Steve Gorman; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Lisa Shumaker)
