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)
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.
Wildfires kill 15, destroy 1,500 homes and other buildings in California wine country-[Reuters]-By Marc Vartabedian-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (Reuters) - Fast-moving wildfires raging across Northern California's wine country have killed 17 people, left about 150 missing and destroyed 1,500 homes, wineries and other structures, state fire officials said on Tuesday.The flames from 17 major blazes have blackened more than 115,000 acres (46,500 hectares) since fires broke out on Sunday amid hot, dry conditions and high winds.The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said 11 of the fatalities were in its jurisdiction, where 155 people were still missing, although 45 others had been found and some of those unaccounted for may be due to confusion surrounding evacuations.In Napa County, the dead included 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his wife, Sarah,, 98, according to the county sheriff's office. No other details on that incident or the other fatalities were immediately available.Crews took advantage of cooler temperatures, lower winds and coastal fog on Tuesday to make headway against the fires but cautioned that homes, wineries and other structures remained at risk."We need to jump on it and take advantage of this lull before any other wind jumps up," said Steve Crawford, a CAL FIRE operations chief, at an afternoon briefing. "There's a lot of devastation out there, people running around who just lost everything."North of San Francisco, the fires reduced houses to ashes in several communities. The city of Santa Rosa was particularly hard hit by the so-called Tubbs Fire, which damaged a Hilton hotel and destroyed a mobile home park.Tens of thousands of residents were forced to flee, as schools closed and at least two hospitals in Sonoma County were temporarily shuttered.Napa Valley Vintners, a trade group with 550 members, said it was too early to estimate the economic impact of the fires. At least four wineries had suffered "total or very significant losses," and at least nine reported damage to their winery, outbuildings or surrounding vineyards, the group said.Ninety percent of grapes had been picked before the fires started, with almost all of those still on the vine Cabernet Sauvignon, a thick-skinned variety that is not expected to be impacted by smoke from the fires.In addition to potential damage to vineyards from fire itself, sustained exposure to heavy smoke can taint unpicked grapes, according to wine-making experts.More than 91,000 homes and businesses served by Pacific Gas & Electric were without power, with most of those customers in Northern California's Sonoma and Napa counties, and gas was shut off to 28,000 customers, representatives for the utility company said.California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and five other counties.In Southern California, the so-called Canyon Fire 2 has spread to 7,500 acres (3,035 hectares) in Orange County, destroying 14 structures and damaging 22, fire spokesman Thanh Nguyen said.The blaze triggered the evacuation of 5,000 people in the communities of Anaheim Hills and Orange Hills as it spread through grass and oak trees, he said, and was only 25 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon.(Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Keith Coffman in Denver, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Diane Craft, Andrew Hay and Nick Macfie)
Wildfires leave chimneys, charred appliances in their wake-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — The flames that raced across California wine country left little more than smouldering ashes and eye-stinging smoke in their wake. House after house is gone, with only brick chimneys and charred laundry machines to mark sites that were once family homes.The wildfires burned so hot that windows and tire rims melted off cars, leaving many vehicles resting on their steel axles. In one driveway, the glass backboard of a basketball hoop melted, dripped and solidified like a mangled icicle.Newly homeless residents of Northern California took stock of their shattered lives Tuesday while the blazes that have killed at least 17 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes and businesses kept burning. Hundreds more firefighters joined the battle against the uncontained flames."This is just pure devastation, and it's going to take us a while to get out and comb through all of this," said Ken Pimlott, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. He said the state had "several days of fire weather conditions to come."The wildfires already rank among the five deadliest in California history, and officials expected the death toll to increase as the scope of destruction becomes clear. At least 185 people were injured during the blazes that started Sunday night. Nearly 200 people were reported missing in Sonoma County alone.Seventeen wildfires raged Tuesday across parts of seven counties. Fire crews and other resources were being rushed in from other parts of the state and Nevada.More than 240 members of the California National Guard helped ferry fuel to first responders because so many gas stations were without power. Guard members were also helping with medical evacuations and security at evacuation centres , said Maj. Gen. David Baldwin.In addition to knocking out electricity, the blazes damaged or destroyed 77 cellular sites, disrupting communication services that officials were rushing to restore, said Emergency Operations Director Mark Ghilarducci.The fires that started Sunday night moved so quickly that thousands of people were forced to flee with only a few minutes of warning. Some did not get out in time."It's literally like it exploded. These people ran out of their homes literally with minutes notice, barely with the clothes on their back," Pimlott said, adding that authorities didn't have time to give more notice. "They burned so quickly, there was not time to notify everybody."Among the victims were 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his wife, Sara, who was 98. The couple was married for 75 years and lived in a residential neighbourhood in Napa.Their son, Mike Rippey, said he and his siblings couldn't imagine how either parent would have navigated life if just one had survived the flames."We knew there's no way they would ever be happy, whoever was the last one. So they went together, and that's the way it worked," he said stoically.A thick, smoky haze cloaked much of Napa and Sonoma counties, where neighbourhoods hit by the fires were completely levelled . Authorities warned residents not to return to their houses for safety reasons, citing the risk of exposed electrical and gas lines and unstable structures including trees.About 3,200 people were staying in 28 shelters across Napa and Sonoma counties."I don't know how long I'm going to be here, or what's happening at home," said Santa Rosa evacuee Kathy Ruiz, who had found her way to a centre at Sonoma County Fairgrounds. "That's what I'm starting to think about now, am I going to have a home to go back to?"In the Santa Rosa suburb known as Coffey Park, Robyn Pellegrini let out a cry of grief as she approached the smouldering ruins of the duplex she had shared with her husband and their 6-year-old son. Daniel Pellegrini held his wife before they went searching for something they could salvage for their child.With bare hands, they sifted through the remains of the exterior wall, which had collapsed into dust inside the house and covered all the other debris in their boy's room. They found a stuffed animal — charred but still recognizable as a turtle. Robyn Pellegrini let out joyful gasps when they found pieces of his rock collection.A young boy across the street, whose home was spared, brought over one of his own stuffed animals to share."You lose all your photos," said Tony Pellegrini, Daniel's father. "You feel like you lost a part of your life."Officials hoped cooler weather and lighter winds would help crews get a handle on the fires."The weather has been working in our favour , but it doesn't mean it will stay that way," said Brad Alexander, a spokesman of the governor's Office of Emergency Services.In Washington, President Donald Trump said he spoke with Gov. Jerry Brown to "let him know that the federal government will stand with the people of California. And we will be there for you in this time of terrible tragedy and need."The government declared a disaster, which should give the state help putting out the flames.More than 400 miles away from the wine-making region, flames imperiled parts of Southern California, too.A fire in northeastern Orange County threatened thousands of homes Monday, turned the sky over Disneyland a hazy orange and rained ash on neighbourhoods .By Tuesday evening, however, winds had died and temperatures were cooler. Most evacuations were lifted in Anaheim, Orange and Tustin, with just a few roads still off-limits.Crews managed to stop the fire from growing and had surrounded more than a quarter of the fire area.However, fire engines were still protecting neighbourhoods around the clock."We can't afford to let one spark, one ember get into any of these homes," Orange County fire Capt. Larry Kurtz said.Some of the largest blazes in Northern California were in Napa and Sonoma counties, home to dozens of wineries that attract tourists from around the world. The fires sent smoke as far south as San Francisco, about 60 miles (96 kilometres ) away.Sonoma County established a hotline to help families looking for missing loved ones. It's possible that many of the people reported missing were safe but simply could not be reached because of the widespread loss of cellphone service and other communications.Much of the damage was in Santa Rosa, a far larger and more developed city than usually finds itself at the mercy of a wildfire. The city is home to 175,000 people, including wine-country wealthy and the working class.It was unusual for so many fires to take off at the same time. Other than the windy conditions that helped drive them all, there was no known connection between the blazes, and authorities have not cited a cause for any of them.___Knickmeyer reported from Sonoma, California. Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker, Olga R. Rodriguez, Sudhin Thanawala and Juliet Williams in San Francisco and Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento contributed to this report.___Jonathan J. Cooper And Ellen Knickmeyer, The Associated Press.
Locals warned to stay away as Japanese volcano erupts-Agence France-Presse-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
Tokyo (AFP) - Mount Shinmoedake in southern Japan erupted for the first time in six years Wednesday, shooting a plume of ash several hundred metres into the air and sparking warnings to local residents.People were ordered to stay away from the volcano after it rumbled to life at 5:34 am (2034 GMT Tuesday) as Japan's Meteorological Agency said air blasts caused by the eruption could shatter windows."The ash plume reached a height of 300 metres (1,000 feet) when the volcano erupted," an agency official told AFP, adding that the eruption would continue and "become more active".Ash deposits would spread as far as two kilometres from the crater, the agency warned.Authorities raised its alert to level three, meaning that locals should avoid approaching the volcano. They detected 90 small tremors on October 5 near the mountain, which featured in the 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice".Japan, with scores of active volcanoes, sits on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" where a large proportion of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.On September 27, 2014, Japan suffered its deadliest eruption in almost 90 years when Mount Ontake, in central Nagano prefecture, burst unexpectedly to life.An estimated 63 people were killed in the shock eruption which occurred as the peak was packed with hikers out to see the region's spectacular autumn colours.
Catalan leader postpones independence By Eric Maurice-OCT 11,17-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 07:10-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said that the region "has won the right to be independent", but stopped short of unilaterally declaring secession from Spain in a plea for dialogue."The ballot boxes, the only language we understand, say yes to independence. And this is the route I am committed to traveling," he told the Catalan parliament on Tuesday (10 October), in a much awaited speech nine days after the 1 October independence referendum."Arriving at this historic moment," he said, "I take it upon myself to say ... that the people have determined that Catalonia should become an independent state in the form of a republic."He added, however, that he would ask the Catalan parliament to "suspend" the declaration of independence "so that in the coming weeks we may begin a dialogue without which it is impossible to arrive at an agreed solution.""We must keep [the referendum's] results in mind during the period of dialogue which we are willing to open," he said, adding that this was "a gesture of responsibility" from his government "to de-escalate tension".The Catalan leader, together with 61 deputies from his Junts pel Si (Together for Yes) coalition and 10 deputies from the far-left CUP party, later signed a declaration of independence. But no deadline was set for the implementation of the text.Puigdemont was under pressure from Catalan, Spanish, and European politicians not to unilaterally declare Catalonia's independence on the basis of a referendum that was considered as illegal by Spain and the EU."I ask you to respect - in your intentions - the constitutional order and not to announce a decision that would make … dialogue impossible," European Council president Donald Tusk has said in a speech in Brussels moments before Puigdemont address.Earlier in the day, the Green leader in the European Parliament, Ska Keller, had called on the Catalan leader to "reconsider" his intention to declare independence.She said that despite being "a strong supporters of the right to decide for Catalans", she thought it would be a "huge mistake."The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, who had been an ally of Puigdemont over the referendum, had also said on Monday that the vote could not be considered as "an endorsement to proclaim independence".Since the 1 October referendum, the EU has made clear that an independent Catalonia would not be part of the EU, several companies decided to or were considering moving their headquarters out of Catalonia, and fewer tourists were coming to the region.'A European affair'While suspending any declaration of independence, Puigdemont batted the ball into the court of Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, as well as of the EU."Far from being an internal and domestic affair, Catalonia is a European issue," he said.He pointed out that eight Nobel prize winners and many other personalities have called for dialogue.He added that there was "a prayer for dialogue which runs through Europe."He called on the Spanish government to "renounce repression" and to "listen, not to us if they don't want to, but to those who advocate for mediation."He also called on the EU "to get deeply involved" and "hold up the fundamental values of the Union."Puigdemont's speech, which was due at 6PM, started an hour later because of last-minute talks. The CUP, a far left independist party that supports the ruling coalition, was said to be unhappy about some parts of the speech.A rumour was that European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was on the phone with the Catalan leader, but the Commission quickly denied that, saying it was "fake news".In his speech in Brussels, Tusk said that he has asked Rajoy to look for dialogue, "because the force of arguments is always better than the argument of force."'Implicit' declaration-Puigdemont's failure to explictely declare independence triggered some criticism fro his CUP ally, which asked for a deadline of "more or less a month" before implementing independence.On Tuesday evening, the Spanish government rejected what it said was an "implicit declaration of independence"."Neither Mr. Puigdemont nor anybody else can claim to impose mediation," deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said in the evening. "Any dialogue between democrats has to take place within the law,"Rajoy met the leader of the opposition, Pedro Sanchez from the Socialist Party, to discuss the next steps.A ministers' meeting was called at 9AM on Wednesday, where Rajoy will decide whether to trigger Article 155 of the constitution, the clause that allows him to suspend Catalonia's autonomy.
Spanish PM opens small window for talks By Eric Maurice and Helena Spongenberg-oct 11,17-euobserver
Brussels and Barcelona, Today, 18:58-Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy opened up to a possible reform of Spain's regional system, on Wednesday (11 October), while threatening to suspend Catalonia's autonomy if the region's leaders confirmed Wednesday's declaration of independence.After an emergency cabinet meeting in the morning, Rajoy gave the Catalan government five days to "confirm whether or not it has declared independence."On Tuesday evening, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont signed a document proclaiming Catalonia's independence, but he said he would suspend its implementation and asked Rajoy to negotiate."The answer from the Catalan president will determine future events, in the next few days," Rajoy said in a TV address.The answer will determine whether he triggers Article 155 of the constitution, which would allow him to suspend the autonomy of Catalonia.Later in the afternoon, Rajoy told the Congress of Deputies, the lower chamber of parliament, that "no mediation is possible between the democratic law and the disobedience and illegality."He said that Catalonia's independence "will not be recognised by Europe, and everyone now knows that it will have serious consequences."He said that "no European constitution recognises the right to self-determination" and that Catalonia's independence was "contrary to any standard of international law".But Rajoy also recognised the need for dialogue "in a situation like this one.""The framework of the living together can be improved, but in the framework of the existing institutions," he said, opening the door to a reform of the 1978 Spanish constitution."It is not a perfect law and it can be modified," he noted.Rajoy got support from the leader of the opposition, Pedro Sanchez."We go with the president of the government in his request for clarification and get out of the swamp in which the president [of the Catalan government Carles] Puigdemont has put Catalan politics," the leader of the Socialist Party said on Wednesday.Sanchez also agreed with Rajoy to "activate" a parliamentary committee to evaluate Spain's regional autonomy system and start a debate on constitutional reform after a six-month cooling off period.Rajoy is trying to "pass the ball to the Catalan government" by asking whether independence was really declared, said Jaume Lopez, a professor of political science at Barcelona's Pompeu Fabre University."This way, Rajoy tries to make the implementation of the article 155 automatic," he told EUobserver.The Spanish and Catalan leaders "are mutually passing the ball to position themselves without entering into the question of how to solve this," he said."By offering negotiations they are talking about the context but not the question itself," he pointed out.-Constant contact with Rajoy-The EU reacted cautiously to the latest developments in the crisis.The college of EU commissioners discussed the issue "briefly" during its weekly meeting on Wednesday morning, its vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said.He told reporters that the EU executive "is following closely the situation in Spain and reiterates its earlier call for full respect of the Spanish constitutional order."He added that the commission's president Jean-Claude Juncker was "in constant contact" with Rajoy.In Berlin, German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said "a solution can only be found through talks on the basis of the rule of law and within the framework of the Spanish constitution"."A unilateral declaration of Catalonian independence would be irresponsible," he warned.The EU reaction had "the effect of cold water" for Catalans, Lopez said.On Tuesday, European Council president Donald Tusk had called on Rajoy to "look for dialogue" because "the force of arguments is always better than the argument of force."-Cold water-"Yesterday it seemed like the EU opened up a bit, but now it has gone back to what it was a few days ago," Lopez, the political analyst, said."Tusk's message was in part used to justify the suspension [of independence], in order to answer what appeared to be a conditional request with possible positive effect," he said.But calls from Puigdemont for the EU to get "deeply involved" and facilitate a dialogue fell flat."This will have its effect on the public opinion about sovereignty," Lopez said.In Brussels, even the most critical voices of the Spanish leader have refrained for calling for an EU mediation.Marina Albiol, an MEP from the Spanish United Left party said that the EU should "decide on which side" it is - "the side of dialogue or the side of violence" - but that it had only "the possibility to force dialogue"."I have no illusion, nor hope. I don't believe that EU institutions are neutral," said Miguel Urban, another MEP, from the radical-left Podemos party.-Individual solutions-Their leader in the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament, German MEP Gabi Zimmer, insisted that "the EU cannot tell member states which kind of constitution they should have"."There is no clear answer to what to do," she said, rejecting comparisons with previous situations in Scotland, the Basque country, or Kosovo. "We have to find individual solutions."In Barcelona, Puigdemont said that he was ready for a "dialogue without conditions".He said representatives of the Catalan and Spanish government should sit together to choose a mediator."Catalan supporters of independence were divided" by Puigdemont's stopping short of declaring independence, political scientist Lopez said.He noted that "the unity of the separatists does not just depend on Puigdemont and his government but also on the reaction of the [central] state.""An implementation of article 155 will only unite them again," he said.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
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.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Hotel worker warned of shooter before Las Vegas massacre-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
A maintenance worker said Wednesday he told hotel dispatchers to call police and report a gunman had opened fire with a rifle inside Mandalay Bay before the shooter began firing from his high-rise suite into a crowd at a nearby musical performance.The revised timeline has renewed questions about whether better communication might have allowed police to respond more quickly and take out the gunman before he committed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.Worker Stephen Schuck told NBC News that he was checking out a report of a jammed fire door on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay when he heard gunshots and a hotel security guard, who had been shot in the leg, peeked out from an alcove and told him to take cover."As soon as I started to go to a door to my left the rounds started coming down the hallway," Schuck said. "I could feel them pass right behind my head."It was kind of relentless so I called over the radio what was going on," he said. "As soon as the shooting stopped we made our way down the hallway and took cover again and then the shooting started again."Police said Monday they believe gunman Stephen Paddock shot a hotel security guard through the door of his suite six minutes before he unleashed a barrage of bullets into the crowd of concert-goers, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more.The injured guard used his radio and possibly a hallway phone to also call hotel dispatchers for help.That account differs dramatically from the one police gave last week when they said Paddock fired through the door of his room and injured the unarmed guard after shooting into the crowd.The company that owns Mandalay Bay has questioned the new timeline."We cannot be certain about the most recent timeline," said Debra DeShong, a spokeswoman for MGM Resorts International. "We believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate."Las Vegas police did not respond Tuesday night to questions about the hotel's statement."Our officers got there as fast as they possibly could and they did what they were trained to do," Las Vegas assistant sheriff Todd Fasulo said earlier Tuesday.Gunshots can be heard in the background as Schuck reported the shooting on his radio, telling a dispatcher: "Call the police, someone's firing a gun up here. Someone's firing a rifle on the 32nd floor down the hallway."It was unclear if the hotel relayed the information to Las Vegas police, who did not respond to questions from The Associated Press about whether hotel security or anyone else in the hotel called 911 to report the gunfire.Joseph Giacalone, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired New York City police sergeant, said the new timeline "changes everything.""There absolutely was an opportunity in that timeframe that some of this could've been mitigated," he said.Nicole Rapp, whose mother was knocked to the ground and trampled at the country music concert said she's "having a hard time wrapping my head around" why police changed the timeline of the shooting."It's very confusing to me that they are just discovering this a week later," she said. "How did we not know this before? It's traumatic for the victims and their families not to be sure of what happened."The six minutes that passed between the hallway shooting and the start of the shooting into the crowd wouldn't have been enough time for officers to stop the attack, said Ron Hosko, a former FBI assistant director who has worked on SWAT teams. Rather than rush in without a game plan, police would have been formulating the best response to the barricaded gunman, he said."Maybe that's enough time to get the first patrolman onto the floor but the first patrolman is not going to go knock on that customer's door and say 'What's going on with 200 holes in the door?'" Hosko said.Undersheriff Kevin McMahill defended the hotel and said the encounter between Paddock and the security guard and maintenance man disrupted the gunman's plans. Paddock fired more than 1,000 bullets and had more than 1,000 rounds left in his room, the undersheriff said."I can tell you I'm confident that he was not able to fully execute his heinous plan and it certainly had everything to do with being disrupted," McMahill said. He added: "I don't think the hotel dropped the ball."___Associated Press writers Ken Ritter and Sally Ho in Las Vegas, Anita Snow in Phoenix and Sadie Gurman in Washington contributed to this report.___Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press.
New timeline in Vegas shooting raises questions on police response-[Reuters]-By Tim Reid and Alex Dobuzinskis-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
(Reuters) - Las Vegas police faced new questions on Tuesday over their response to last week's deadly mass shooting, after releasing a revised chronology in which the gunman shot a security officer before, not after, opening fire from his high-rise hotel window.The updated timeline for the bloodiest case of gun violence in recent U.S. history raised new uncertainty over why Stephen Paddock ceased firing on concertgoers once he began, and whether hotel security and police coordinated as well as first believed.Aden Ocampo-Gomez, spokesman of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, declined to comment on the revised chronology, saying the agency would discuss the implications later.Paddock, 64, killed 58 people and injured hundreds in a hail of bullets from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, overlooking a music festival, and then shot himself to death before police could storm his room.Nine days later, his motive remains a mystery.Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, who oversees the police department, on Monday said Paddock shot a hotel security guard six minutes before beginning to fire on the crowd. By coincidence, the security officer, Jesus Campos, had been sent to check an open-door alarm on the same floor.Officials initially said Paddock began raining gunfire onto the concert first, then stopped shooting after strafing the 32nd-floor hallway through the doorway of his room, when Campos was apparently detected via security cameras the gunman had set up outside his suite.Earlier police accounts said a wounded Campos helped direct police to the room occupied by Paddock, who had quit firing on concertgoers by then. Lombardo originally said police officers reached the 32nd floor within 12 minutes of the first reports of the attack.That sequence of events was changed in Monday's new timeline issued by Lombardo."What we have learned is (the security guard) was encountered by the suspect prior to his shooting to the outside world," Lombardo said.Lombardo did not address whether the mass shooting could have been prevented, or halted sooner, based on the new chronology, but said it remained unclear why Paddock stopped firing on the concert when he did.In an active shooter situation, response time can be as fast as three minutes, said Sid Heal, a retired Los Angeles Sheriff's Department commander and tactical expert.He questioned why it took police as long as it did to reach the room, if hotel security had called them immediately."Someone needs to account for those minutes," he added.Nevada Lieutenant Governor Mark Hutchison acknowledged to CNN on Tuesday that Paddock did not stop firing because of the guard, Jesus Campos, as had been assumed initially.Campos immediately alerted the hotel's in-house security team after he was shot at 9:59 p.m., six minutes before Paddock first opened fire on the concert, according to Lombardo.But police were not aware Campos had been shot until they met him in the hallway, Lombardo said on Monday. The sheriff has estimated the time of their rendezvous at 10:18 p.m., three minutes after Paddock had stopped firing.Rather than storm Paddock's suite immediately, police paused to assemble their SWAT team and burst into his room to find him dead 81 minutes after the shooting began, according to the original account.Protocol for Las Vegas hotels and casinos is to barricade the corridor where a shooting takes place and wait for police to arrive, said David Shepherd, a security expert who advises Las Vegas police and who ran the security team at the Venetian hotel on the Vegas Strip for eight years.Police are trained to wait and negotiate with a shooter, rather than storm the room immediately, he said. Initial reports of multiple shooters at several hotels that night would also have confused police, he added."One of the biggest priorities is not to lose the life of a police officer," Shepherd said by telephone. "So in those six minutes, it is highly unlikely police would have stormed that room."Police and security officers acted as quickly as possible in the circumstances, said David Hickey, the president of the union that represents Campos, based on what he had heard.Officials with MGM Resorts International, which owns the Mandalay Bay, questioned the latest chronology from police."We cannot be certain about the most recent timeline that has been communicated publicly, and we believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate," the company said in a statement late on Tuesday.(Reporting by Tim Reid, Alex Dobuzinskis and Keith Coffman; Writing by Ben Klayman; Editing by David Gregorio and Clarence Fernandez)
Exclusive: U.S. warship sails near islands Beijing claims in South China Sea - U.S. officials-[Reuters]-By Idrees Ali-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Tuesday, three U.S. officials told Reuters, prompting anger in Beijing, even as President Donald Trump's administration seeks Chinese cooperation in reining in North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. But it was not as provocative as previous ones carried out since Trump took office in January.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chafee, a guided-missile destroyer, carried out normal maneuvering operations that challenged "excessive maritime claims" near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.China's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that a warship, two fighter jets and a helicopter had scrambled to warn the U.S. ship away, adding it had infringed upon China's sovereignty and security with its "provocation".China would further strengthen its naval and air defenses, the ministry said."We demand the U.S. side earnestly take steps to correct its mistakes," it added.Speaking earlier at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had lodged "stern representations" with the United States, and reiterated that the Paracels were Chinese territory."China will continue to take resolute measures to protect Chinese sovereign territory and maritime interests. China urges the U.S. to conscientiously respect China's sovereign territory and security interests, conscientiously respect the efforts regional countries have made to protect peace and stability in the South China Sea, and stop these wrong actions."Next month, Trump makes his first visit to Asia as president, including a stop in China, which he has been pressuring to do more to rein in North Korea. China is North Korea's neighbor and biggest trading partner.Unlike in August, when a U.S. Navy destroyer came within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, officials said the destroyer on Tuesday sailed close to but not within that range of the islands.Twelve nautical miles mark internationally recognized territorial limits. Sailing within that range is meant to show the United States does not recognize territorial claims.The Pentagon did not comment directly on the operation, but said the United States carried out regular freedom-of-navigation operations and would continue to do so.China's claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in shipborne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.Experts and some U.S. officials have criticized former president Barack Obama for potentially reinforcing China's claims by sticking to innocent passage, in which a warship effectively recognized a territorial sea by crossing it speedily without stopping.The U.S. military has a long-standing position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and that they are separate from political considerations.The United States has said it would like to see more international participation in freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea.-NORTH KOREA ISSUE-Trump's trip to Asia will likely be dominated by the North Korean nuclear threat. He will also visit South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.In recent weeks, North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear test, all in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and may be fast advancing toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.Trump's visit to China will reciprocate a trip to the United States made in April by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The U.S. president's attempts to get Chinese help with North Korea have met with limited success so far, but he has gone out of his way to thank Xi for his efforts.(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd in BEIJING; Editing by Yara Bayoumy, Peter Cooney and Nick Macfie)
Murdered North Korean Kim Jong Nam had $100,000 in backpack, police witness says-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was carrying $100,000 in cash in his backpack at the time of his murder, the police officer investigating the case told a Malaysian court on Wednesday.Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, a Vietnamese, are charged with murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX, a chemical poison banned by the United Nations, at Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13.The money is now stored in a safe in the office of the police chief of the Sepang district, which has jurisdiction over the murder site, police official Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz said.Wan Azirul said he took posession of the victim's blazer, backpack and watch and handed them to the chemistry department for analysis, but was later told by investigation authorities to hand them over to representatives of the North Korean embassy."I do not know why, I was following orders," he added.In court, the prosecution played more than 30 videos of closed-circuit television footage of the women's activities, after Judge Azmi Ariffin overruled defense objections to their admissibility, saying it could be challenged later in the case.The defense lawyers for both Huong and Siti Aisyah said the videos could be considered hearsay, as the investigating officer did not record them himself and was not present to witness the crime.Some of the footage, dated Feb. 11, appeared to show Huong approaching an unidentified man from behind and placing her hands around his neck and face, before backing away slowly with her head slightly lowered and her hands put together.Most of the videos, however, appeared to show Huong and Siti Aisyah before, during and after the attack on Kim Jong Nam. The two women were mostly seen in separate locations, save for during the attack and when they were at a taxi-stand later.The two women were in the same area at the time of the attack, Wan Azirul, who is with the Sepang criminal investigations department, confirmed.The hearing resumes on Thursday, with Wan Azirul returning to the witness stand.(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
North Korea hackers stole South Korea-U.S. military plans to wipe out North Korea leadership: lawmaker-[Reuters]-By Christine Kim-YAHOONEWS-October 11, 2017
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean hackers stole a large amount of classified military documents, including South Korea-U.S. wartime operational plans to wipe out the North Korean leadership, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Wednesday.Democratic Party representative Rhee Cheol-hee said 235 gigabytes of military documents were taken from the Defense Integrated Data Center in September last year, citing information from unidentified South Korean defense officials.An investigative team inside the defense ministry announced in May the hack had been carried out by North Korea, but did not disclose what kind of information had been taken.Pyongyang has denied responsibility in its state media for the cyber attacks, criticizing Seoul for "fabricating" claims about online attacks.Separately on Wednesday, cyber security firm FireEye said in a statement North Korea-affiliated agents were detected attempting to phish U.S. electric companies through emails sent in mid-September, although those attempts did not lead to a disruption in the power supply.It did not specify when the attempts had been detected or clarify which companies had been affected.Rhee, currently a member of the National Assembly's committee for national defense, said about 80 percent of the hacked data had not yet been identified, but that none of the information was expected to have compromised the South Korean military because it was not top classified intelligence.Some of the hacked data addressed how to identify movements of members of the North Korean leadership, how to seal off their hiding locations, and attack from the air before eliminating them.Rhee said the North could not have taken the entire operation plans from the database because they had not been uploaded in full.These plans had likely not been classified properly but defense ministry officials told Rhee the hacked documents were not of top importance, he said."Whatever the North Koreans took, we just need to fix the plans," Rhee later told Reuters by telephone. "I disclosed this because the military hasn't been doing that fast enough."-SIMPLE MISTAKE-Rhee said on radio the hack had been made possible by "a simple mistake" after a connector jack linking the military's intranet to the internet had not been eliminated after maintenance work had been done on the system.The South Korean Defense Ministry's official stance is that they cannot confirm anything the lawmaker said about the hacked content due to the sensitivity of the matter.In Washington, the Pentagon said it was aware of the media reports but would not comment on the potential breach."Although I will not comment on intelligence matters or specific incidents related to cyber intrusion, I can assure you that we are confident in the security of our operations plans and our ability to deal with any threat from North Korea," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning told reporters.FireEye said the phishing attack on the electric companies detected was "early-stage reconnaissance" and did not indicate North Korea was about to stage an "imminent, disruptive" cyber attack. The North has been suspected of carrying out similar cyber attacks on South Korean electric utilities, in addition to other government and financial institutions.Those attempts were likely aimed at creating a means of "deterring potential war or sowing disorder during a time of armed conflict", FireEye said."North Korea linked hackers are among the most prolific nation-state threats, targeting not only the U.S. and South Korea but the global financial system and nations worldwide," its statement said."Their motivations vary from economic enrichment to traditional espionage to sabotage, but all share the hallmark of an ascendant cyber power willing to violate international norms with little regard for potential blowback," it said.(Reporting by Christine Kim in SEOUL and Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish, Michael Perry and Paul Tait)
