Trump Vows Federal Intervention To Quell Chicago Gun Violence

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to bring federal intervention to bear in Chicago to quell the "carnage" of gun violence plaguing America's third-largest city unless local officials can curb the murder rate on their own.

Trump appeared to be seizing on a story published by the Chicago Tribune on Monday reporting at least 228 people shot in the city so far this year, up 5.5 percent from the same period last January, with at least 42 homicides to date, an increase of 23.5 percent.

A Chicago Police Department spokesman, Frank Giancamilli, disputed the Tribune's numbers, saying there were 182 shootings in the city from Jan. 1 to Jan. 23, "which is exactly flat from last year." He said homicides have numbered 38 year to date, compared with 33 for this time in 2016.

Still, the Tribune said its latest figures put the city on track to exceed last January's 50 homicides, the most for that month in at least 16 years. Chicago's homicide toll for 2016 as a whole reached 762 killings, the most in 20 years.

"If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible 'carnage' going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!" the president said in a Twitter post.

It was not clear what Trump meant by "the Feds," or what kind of unilateral government intervention he could order to address the issue.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson responded by saying he was "more than willing to work" in partnership with U.S. law enforcement and to help "boost federal prosecution rates for gun crimes in Chicago."

Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a Twitter post: "We need a plan, not a threat. We need jobs, not jails."

Urban violence, drug trafficking and poverty were recurring themes in Trump's campaign appearances, and he periodically has cited Chicago as an example of rising inner city crime, which ticked up nationally in 2016 after a two-decade decline.

Speaking in his inauguration address about drugs and crime that "have stolen too many lives," Trump declared: "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now."

Chicago, with a population of 2.7 million, posted more shootings and homicides last year than any other U.S. city, according to FBI and Chicago police data, and its murder clearance rate, a measure of solved and closed cases, is one of the country's lowest.

On Jan. 2, Trump tweeted about Chicago's effort to lower its murder rate, saying: "If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help!"

A spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff to Trump's Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, said then that the mayor welcomed the prospect of working with Trump and that the two men had previously spoken together on the issue.

Source;WASHINGTON (Reuters) 

'1984' Sales Soar After Trump Claims, 'Alternative Facts'

After incorrect or unprovable statements made by Republican President Donald Trump and some White House aides, one truth is undeniable: Sales of George Orwell's "1984" are soaring.

First published in 1949, Orwell's classic dystopian tale of a society in which facts are distorted and suppressed in a cloud of "newspeak" topped the best-seller list of Amazon.com as of Tuesday evening. The sales bump comes after the Trump administration's assertions his inauguration had record attendance and his unfounded allegation that millions of illegal votes were cast against him last fall.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway coined an instant catchphrase Sunday when she called his claims about crowd size "alternative facts," bringing comparisons on social media to "1984."

Orwell's book isn't the only cautionary tale on the Amazon list. Sinclair Lewis' 1935 novel about the election of an authoritarian president, "It Can't Happen Here," was at No. 46. Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" was at No. 71.

Sales also were up for Hannah Arendt's seminal nonfiction analysis "The Origins of Totalitarianism."

Catholic Church Is 'Full Of Sh-t' - Says Philippines President Duterte

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has launched an expletive-filled rant against the Catholic Church declaring it is 'full of sh-t'.

He said Catholic priests are corrupt' and engage in 'sinful acts' and even claimed he was abused by a priest when he was a student at Ateneo de Davao University.

He also said three of his cabinet members had also said they too had been abused by Catholic priests and said if his allegations proved to be untrue he would resign, RT.com reports

The controversial leader stated this during a speech to families of Special Action Forces who died in riots in Mamasapano in 2015.Durterte said:

'I challenge the Catholic Church. You are full of s**t. You all smell bad, corruption and all.
He also accused the Church of asking the Philippines government to fund top of the range cars for Church officials adding it was 'hypocritical'.

'Shouldn’t you be ashamed of yourselves. That’s so expensive and so many people have nothing to eat.
Son of a b**ch, the jerks accepted it.'

His tirade against the Catholic Church comes after religious leaders have mounted a campaign to stop the killings in his anti-drugs drive, which has claimed about 6,000 lives in less than seven months.

Barack Obama And Michelle Pictured For The First Time Since Leaving The White House (Photos)

Barack and Michelle Obama have been pictured for the first time since the former first couple left the White House .The power couple arrived in the British Virgin Islands after jetting in to the Caribbean on Richard Branson's plane.

 

They also posed with staff at Terrence B Lettsome International Airport, the islands' main airport, on Monday night after a flight from California.

Michelle Obama was earlier seen boarding Branson's Falcon 900EX at Palm Springs International Airport.
The couple spent the weekend relaxing at the home of Spanish ambassador James Costos where Obama was spotted playing golf.

Despite leaving office on Friday, the former president is still being protected by the Secret Service.

Keke Palmer Battles Trey Songz Over Her Cameo in His Video

Keke Palmer has a message for Trey Songz: No means no. On Sunday, Palmer posted a lengthy Instagram rant directed at Songz (real name Tremaine Aldon Neverson), accusing him of “sexual intimidation” after he used her likeness without her permission in a music video for his “Pick Up the Phone” remix, featuring Fabolous. “This is preposterous. How am I in this video Trey?” she wrote. “After you found me in a closet HIDING because I was so afraid of anymore conflict. Literally my last option was to hide because you all would not listen when I said I did not want to be in the video the FIRST time.” She went on to offer some color on the series of events as she saw them.


“Just cause you give someone food and alcohol and throw in a little sexual intimidation doesn’t mean they will buckle,” she wrote. The Scream Queens star seemed even more upset by the fact that Songz did this to her despite their lengthy history. “You still disrespected me as a young women, whom you’ve known since she was TWELVE. YOU STILL, defied my wishes and in turn showed your lack of respect for a brand that took me fourteen years to build and put me in the video against my wishes.”

In the video, the 23-year-old “Hands Free” songstress can be seen sitting (momentarily) on a couch taking selfies on her phone. Later, her likeness appears as MIKExANGEL raps, “I palm her p**** like Keke/Like Keke, Like Keke.” Charming.

“Come on bruh, I clearly said no and you said okay, yet I was being secretly filmed when you told me ‘let me just show you the idea’?? Wow,” she lamented before arguing this was a clear case of “sexism and misogyny.” She speculated, “If I was a dude, he wouldn’t have even tried me like this. Let this be a lesson to all, I’m not for the bullshit. I’m serious about my business and you will not use my likeness without MY permission. When you in front of a boss you treat them like one, like I treat YOU.”

From there, the rant turned to women’s rights in general, echoing some of the themes of the Women’s March from the day before. “NO MEANS NO!!!!!!!” Palmer wrote. “People have to listen to women and stop questioning them and their intelligence.”


Palmer followed up this post with two videos in which she further commented on the circumstances that led to her appearing in the video. In a nutshell, she said that Songz invited her over for a party, but when she arrived, she says he tried to get her to appear in a video he was shooting. She had been drinking and didn’t feel comfortable working under the influence so she said no — but he then allegedly filmed her anyway and used the footage. “Life is life. This stuff happens everyday ain’t no different in ‘hollywood,’” she captioned her video post. “I guess I should say sorry for being real, but I won’t.”

She added a second video, noting that she tried to leave via Uber, but that her ride wasn’t going to get there in time, so she hid in the closet. She also noted in her commentary that she didn’t attend high school and considers herself to be somewhat “socially inept.”

Songz didn’t wait long to respond, posting his own note to Instagram maintaining his innocence from any wrongdoing. “So sorry for those that believe everything without knowing anything,” he began. “However, I cannot devote my life to responding to, or clearing up every side of every story you hear about me, when would I actually live? I know my character, I know my truth, I know my heart. God does too.” He then addressed others who might be going through tough times.

“Words to anyone who’s being tested right now…I feel you, it’ll pass, I’ve been in a million storms…they all pass. Don’t let the noisy thoughts of others drown your inner voice, or inner peace for that matter,” he advised. (His last kerfuffle happened in December, when he was arrested for destroying the stage during a concert in Detroit after the venue cuts his lights.)

We’ll have to wait and see whether this storm blows over like Songz says it will, but he might want to get an umbrella out in the meantime.

Source;Celebrity Yahoo

Soulja Boy Slapped With Felony Gun Charges

Soulja Boy might have to postpone his upcoming boxing match with Chris Brown while he settles his latest legal entanglement.

The rapper has been hit with two felony gun charges, a representative for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told TheWrap on Monday.

Soulja Boy — real name: DeAndre Cortez Way — was charged with possession of an assault weapon and being a felon in possession of an assault weapon.

Also Read: Soulja Boy Says He's 'Throwing the Fight' With Chris Brown

According to prosecutors, Soulja Boy was found in possession of an illegal Mini Draco AR-IS; as Glock 21 .45 caliber gun.

Way, who was arrested on Dec. 15 at his home, was also charged with a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property, as the Glock 21 was reported stolen from a police vehicle in Huntington Beach, Calif., according to prosecutors.

The rapper’s arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

Also Read: Chris Brown-Soulja Boy Boxing Match Has Better Talent Lineup Than Trump Inauguration

In addition to his music endeavors and legal issues, Soulja Boy has recently been planning a boxing match with singer Chris Brown, a match that emerged from a reported beef between the two that erupted after Brown allegedly threatened Soulja Boy because the rapper liked an Instagram photo of Brown’s ex, Karrueche Tran.

The rapper has said that the boxing match will take place in March.

Source;Yahoo Celebrity

Chrisette Michele Releases New Track Following Donald Trump Inauguration Performance

R&B singer-songwriter Chrisette Michele released a new track titled “No Political Genius” following her performance at President Trump’s Liberty Ball on Jan. 20.

In the spoken-word single from her forthcoming album, Still American, Michele defiantly states, “Your hateful words won’t be my definition or my defining moment/Not my vision or my anger/I won’t own it/Nor my prison/Won’t condone it/They will be my ammunition to fight the system.”

Before the inauguration appearance, Michele wrote an open letter on her Rich Hipster website, saying she chose to participate in the inaugural ball to help unite the country: “I am here, representing you, because this is what matters.”

Musician Questlove and filmmaker Spike Lee criticized the singer for her decision to perform at President Trump’s inaugural ball, with Spike Lee declining to use her song “Black Girl Magic” in his upcoming Netflix series, She’s Gotta Have It.

Michele responded on the track by mentioning Questlove and Spike by name. She also referenced civil rights icon John Lewis and Ben Carson, Trump’s nominee for secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in her lyrics: “This is my standin’/For John Lewis and Ben Carson/Questlove, Spike Lee, and before them/I won’t divide now/That’s not smart now/God before me/I won’t back down/This is my damn America now.”

Lawsuit: Trump Business Ties Violate Constitution

To fight what it called a "grave threat" to the country, a watchdog group on Monday filed a lawsuit alleging that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by allowing his business to accept payments from foreign governments.

The lawsuit claims that Trump is violating a clause in the Constitution that prohibits him from receiving money from diplomats for stays at his hotels or foreign governments for leases of office space in his buildings.

The language in the clause is disputed by legal experts, and some think the lawsuit will fail. But it signals the start of a legal assault on what Trump critics see as unprecedented conflicts between his business and the presidency.

Trump called the lawsuit "without merit, totally without merit" after he signed some of his first executive actions Monday in the Oval Office.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of New York.

The group is being represented in part by two former White House chief ethics lawyers: Norman Eisen, who advised Barack Obama, and Richard Painter, who worked under George W. Bush. The two have expressed frustration that Trump has refused to take their recommendation and divest from his business, and feel they had no choice but to take legal action.

"As the Framers were aware, private financial interests can subtly sway even the most virtuous leaders," the lawsuit argues, "and entanglements between American officials and foreign powers could pose a creeping, insidious threat to the Republic."

White House Director of Strategic Communications Hope Hicks said that "the president has no conflicts," and referred to arguments made by Trump lawyer Sheri Dillon at the president's news conference earlier this month.

Dillon has said the framers did not intend for the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution to ban fair-value exchanges, such as money for use of venue space or rooms at a hotel.

They didn't think "paying your hotel bill was an emolument," Dillon said at the Jan. 11 news conference.

Trump drew fresh legal attacks from critics almost from the moment he took the oath of office on Friday.

The group behind Monday's lawsuit also filed a complaint Friday addressed to the General Services Administration, an agency that oversees the lease of the government-owned building that houses Trump's new Washington hotel. The complaint argued the agency must cancel the lease because it expressly forbids an elected official from benefiting from it.

GSA officials had said they needed to wait until Trump took office before weighing in on the issue. They have yet to issue an opinion, though, and have not responded to repeated requests for comment. Democrats in the House and Senate on Monday sent letters to Acting Administrator Timothy Horne seeking information about what the agency plans to do.

In the new lawsuit, the group faces several legal hurdles, including making the case that it even has standing to bring the suit.

"There are a lot of issues that have to be litigated for the first time," said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility. He added, though, that "we have never had a president who has in a significant way accepted foreign payments."

Bookbinder said his group will argue it has standing because the president has forced his organization to divert all it is resources to this fight rather than other issues, and therefore is harming it.

That line drew criticism from some legal experts.

Its argument for standing "barely passes the laugh test," said Robert Kelner, chairman of the election and political law group of the firm Covington & Burling and an experienced Republican attorney. "The courts will toss this one out."

Edwin Williamson, a former State Department legal adviser, said that the group will struggle to prove its case. He said the emoluments clause does not apply the payment of a "market price" for a stay at a hotel.

"I don't expect it to succeed," Williamson, said, "and that doesn't even get to the standing issue."

In his news conference earlier this month, Trump said that he would not sell his ownership in his company, but would hand over management control to his two adult sons. He also pledged that his company would strike no more deals abroad and would donate any profits from foreign governments using his hotels to the U.S. Treasury.



Trump has repeatedly said that federal rules on conflicts do not apply to the president. His lawyer, Dillon, a partner a Morgan Lewis and Brockius, has called his moves to limit conflicts "extraordinary."

But the steps have been widely panned by government ethics lawyers as insufficient. They note that no modern president has taken office with as much wealth and as sprawling and opaque a business.

His company, the Trump Organization, has stakes in golf resorts, office buildings, residential towers and hotel licensing deals in about 20 countries. Those include ones with which the U.S. has sensitive relations, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey.

With so many business ties, particularly abroad, government ethics experts worry U.S. interests could take a back seat to his personal financial concerns. And even if they don't, they argue, people will try to curry favor with the new president by buying apartments in his towers or memberships in his golf resorts, raising doubts — fair or not — that U.S. policy is for sale.

The lawsuit on Monday says that Trump's company is receiving payments from foreign government-owned tenants at Trump Tower in New York, including The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

It also argues Trump's "The Apprentice" could get him in trouble. It says government-owned stations in in the United Kingdom and Vietnam are paying for broadcast rights of versions of the reality TV hit.

Eisen and Painter have urged Trump to sell his holdings and put the cash in a blind trust, following the example of recent presidents.

Trump is bucking another presidential tradition by refusing to disclose his tax returns. He has said he would be happy to release them, but only after the completion of an Internal Revenue Service audit.

A public petition to the White House on Friday demanding he release them has gathered more than 250,000 signatures — well over the 100,000 needed to trigger an official response.

Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said over the weekend it's not happening. "The White House response is that he's not going to release his tax returns," Conway said on ABC's This Week. "We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care."

Source;NEW YORK (AP)

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Texas Appeal Over Voter ID Law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by Texas seeking to revive the state's strict Republican-backed voter-identification requirements that a lower court found had a discriminatory effect on black and Hispanic people.

The justices let stand a July 2016 decision by a lower court that found that the 2011 Texas statute ran afoul of a federal law that bars racial discrimination in elections and directed a lower court to find a way to fix the law's discriminatory effects against minorities.

There were no noted dissents from the high court's decision not to hear the case from any of the eight justices, but Chief Justice John Roberts took the unusual step of issuing a statement explaining why the case was not taken up, noting that litigation on the matter is continuing in lower courts.

Roberts said that although there was "no barrier to our review," all the legal issues can be raised on appeal at a later time.

The law, passed by a Republican-led legislature and signed by a Republican governor, had been considered one of the strictest of its type in the United States. It was challenged in court by the U.S. Justice Department under former President Barack Obama, civil rights groups and individual voters.

Critics including the Obama administration had said the Texas law and similar statutes enacted in other Republican-governed states were tailored to make it harder for minorities including black and Hispanic voters, who tend to support Democrats, to cast ballots. Backers of these laws have said they are necessary to prevent voter fraud, despite little evidence of such fraud.

The seven types of government-issued identification permitted under the law as proof of identity included a driver's license, a concealed handgun license, a military ID card and a U.S. passport but not state university ID cards or identification issued to obtain welfare benefits.

A special 15-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9-6 that the Texas law had a discriminatory effect and violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act. The judges were divided differently on other parts of the ruling.

The appeals court directed a federal district court to examine claims by the plaintiffs that the law was actually intended to be discriminatory, rather than merely having a discriminatory effect.

A hearing on that part of the case was scheduled for Tuesday but has now been delayed following a request from President Donald Trump's administration. While Obama's administration had backed the challenge to the Texas requirements, the Trump administration could change course.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office launched the appeal, said he was disappointed by the court's action.

"Texas enacted a common sense voter ID law to safeguard the integrity of our elections, and we will continue to fight for the law in the district court, the Fifth Circuit, and if necessary, the Supreme Court again," Paxton said in a statement.

Challengers of the Texas law have said that up to 600,000 people would be unable to vote if the law were fully in effect because of the large number of voters who lack the limited types of permissible identification.

After the appeals court ruling, Texas and the plaintiffs struck a deal for a short-term remedy to be used for the November 2016 election.

The Texas law is one of several passed by Republican legislatures since 2010. A similar law in North Carolina was struck down by a federal appeals court in July 2016.

White House Falsely Claims Recent ‘Dramatic Expansion Of The Federal workforce’

White House spokesman Sean Spicer was only a few minutes into his press conference Monday afternoon before he made a statement that appears unsupported by the facts.

Listing three executive orders signed by President Trump on Monday morning, Spicer said the president “issued a memorandum outlining executive branch hiring … that counters the dramatic expansion of the federal workforce in recent years … in particular it prevents filling vacant positions and creating new positions except where necessary to meet national or public security responsibilities.”

The order, he said, does not apply to military personnel and “ensures that the American taxpayer gets effective and efficient government.”

It is an article of Republican faith since the New Deal that Democrats have expanded the federal workforce, but statistics do not bear this out, at least in recent years. According to this chart from the Office of Personnel Management, federal civilian employment was 2.094 million in 2009, President Barack Obama’s first year in office, and 2.079 million in 2014, the most recent year reported. Excluding the Department of Defense, the workforce remained almost exactly steady at 1.357 million.

Spicer is under fire after he denounced the press last Saturday for tweets that supposedly downplayed the size of Trump’s inauguration crowd size. While attacking reporters, Spicer offered a number of false statements, including that Trump had the largest in-person inauguration crowd size in history. At his press conference Monday he clarified that he was referring to the total audience for the swearing-in, including those who watched on television and over the Internet.

Trump Moves To Pull US Out Of Pacific-Rim Trade Deal

President Donald Trump moved to pull the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact Monday, dealing a quick blow to Barack Obama's legacy as the new chief executive began fulfilling campaign promises in his first full week in office.

"Great thing for the American worker that we just did," Trump said in brief remarks as he signed a notice in the Oval Office.

The president also signed memorandums freezing most federal government hiring, though he noted an exception for the military, and reinstating a ban on providing federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option. The regulation, known as the "Mexico City Policy," has been a political volleyball, instituted by Republican administrations and rescinded by Democratic ones since 1984.

Following a tumultuous first weekend in office — consumed by Trump's criticism of the media's inauguration coverage and his spokesman's angry, inaccurate tirade against journalists — the president was seeking to refocus on the sweeping, yet often vague, promises he made as a candidate. He campaigned as a fierce opponent of multilateral trade agreements, particularly the 12-nation Pacific Rim deal.

The deal was the cornerstone of Obama's attempt to counter China's influence in Asia. The Obama administration labored for years to finalize TPP. But Obama's own Democratic Party was skeptical of the pact, and the former president never sent it to Congress for ratification.

Source;WASHINGTON (AP)

Trump Adviser Had Five Calls With Russian Envoy On Day Of Sanctions

Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for national security adviser, held five phone calls with Russia's ambassador to Washington on the day the United States retaliated for Moscow's interference in the U.S. presidential election, three sources familiar with the matter said.

The calls occurred between the time the Russian embassy was told about U.S. sanctions and the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he had decided against reprisals, said the sources. They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing internal U.S. government deliberations about the issue.

The calls raised fresh questions among some U.S. officials about contacts between Trump's advisers and Russian officials at a time when U.S. intelligence agencies contend that Moscow waged a multifaceted campaign of hacking and other actions to boost Republican Trump's election chances against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On Dec. 29, U.S. President Barack Obama announced he had ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over their involvement in hacking U.S. political groups.

The administration told Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, an hour before the decision was made public, one of the sources said.

The phone calls between Flynn and Kislyak were first reported by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.

A Trump official confirmed one phone conversation between the two men on Dec. 29, and said their understanding was they did not discuss the sanctions.

The three sources stressed to Reuters that they did not know who initiated the five calls between Flynn, a former three-star Army general who headed the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama, and Kislyak. Nor did they know the contents of the conversations, and declined to say how they learned of them.

One source said there was nothing intrinsically odd or wrong about a Russian diplomat speaking to a member of Trump's team following the U.S. announcement. Moscow, the source added, probably would want to have some sense of what Trump's team thought about the measures.

That sentiment was echoed Friday by State Department spokesman Mark Toner. "This building doesn’t see anything necessarily inappropriate about contact between members of the incoming administration and foreign officials," Toner said.

TIMING

The other two sources, however, said the timing of the calls raised a question about whether Flynn had given Kislyak any assurances to soothe Russian anger over the U.S. moves.

If that were the case, it would have raised a possible entanglement with the Logan Act. The 1799 law bars unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign governments with which the United States has disputes. It is aimed at preventing the undermining of official U.S. government positions.

Alexey Mosin, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington, said: "The Embassy does not comment on multiple contacts, which are carried out on a daily basis with local interlocutors."

Flynn raised eyebrows among some U.S. foreign policy veterans when he was pictured sitting at the head table with Putin at a banquet in Moscow in late 2015 celebrating Russia Today, an international broadcasting network funded by the Russian government.

However, Flynn has also expressed skepticism about Moscow's intentions - a view that does not seem to fit Trump's vision of closer ties with Moscow.

Classified documents that the heads of four U.S. intelligence agencies presented last week to Trump included unsubstantiated information compiled by a private security firm suggesting Moscow had compromising personal and financial details about Trump. Trump called a dossier that contains salacious claims about him in Russia "fake news" and "phony stuff."

One of the sources said the U.S. actions "took the Russians by surprise." Russian officials threatened to shutter the Anglo-American School of Moscow, the source said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed tit-for-tat expulsions.

But on Dec. 30, Putin announced that he would not retaliate. Trump praised Putin for the decision, writing in a Twitter post, "Great move on delay (by V.Putin). I always knew he was very smart!"

Trump spokesman Sean Spicer earlier Friday said Flynn and Kislyak had spoken on Dec. 28, the day before Washington announced the expulsions and sanctions.

But a Trump official acknowledged later in the day that they held one conversation on Dec. 29 about setting up a telephone call between Trump and Putin after Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was aware of only one phone call between the two that day and did not know if they spoke again since.

After the Nov. 8 election, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency that the Russian government was in touch with members of Trump's political team during the U.S. election campaign and knew most of his entourage.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Trump declined to answer whether anyone connected to him or the campaign had contact with Moscow during the campaign and said he had no loans or business deals with or in Russia.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday said it remained unclear whether such a call between Flynn and the Russian ambassador would be objectionable .

"It depends on what they discussed," Earnest told reporters. He said he could not weigh in without knowing the content.

Source;Reuters

Ivanka Trump's Brother-in-law Attends The Million Women March Then His Brother's Swearing In Ceremony At The White House

First daughter, Ivanka Trump's husband, Jared Kushner, was sworn in Sunday as President Donald Trump's senior advisor.

His brother, Joshua Kushner who is a lifelong Democrat and the longtime boyfriend of model, Karlie Kloss, (who voted for Hillary), attended the swearing in ceremony and posed with his brother and in-laws family for photos. However, the previous day, Joshua who is younger than Jared was spotted at Saturday's Women’s March on Washington, D.C.

So, people are beginning to wonder if he is playing both sides.

He shared this photo of himself and his brother, Jared posing in front of a portrait of John F. Kennedy.

Americans Are Way Too Dramatic' - Dencia Slams The Women's March

On Saturday, a day after Donald Trump was inaugurated, millions of people around the world marched to show their support for women's rights, while some voiced their opposition of the new president.

Singer and owner of Whitenicious, Dencia, however disagreed with the march and voiced her opinion against it. See more of her tweets below...

British Sniper Killed Three ISIS Terrorists With A Single Shot

In what has been described as a shot in a million, a British marksman in Iraq killed three senior ISIS terrorists with one shot from a range of 1800m as they were preparing to fire shots into a crowd of women and children.

According to a source who spoke with The Daily Star Online, a SAS squad was tracking the IS members when dozens of women and children tried to flee from the extremists.

When the terrorists ordered the civilians to stop and pointed a machine gun at the crowd from a second-storey window, the SAS team decided they had no choice but to open fire and save the fleeing group.
The marksman saved the day with his wonder shot taken from a rifle fitted with a suppressor to reduce noise.

The bullet first struck the man holding the machine gun in the head then hit a second terrorist in the chest. It passed through his body, ricocheted off a wall and hit a third man - who was in the same room - in the neck.


The source said the 'shot was one in a million' and added that he didn't believe it was planned. 'Alongside the sniper was an SAS spotter, who was watching the target through binoculars,' he said.


'The whole incident was over in a flash.' The third man lasted for about 30 seconds before dying, while the others were killed instantly.

'No one could quite believe what had happened,' the source added. The SAS team entered the house following the shooting and confirmed that the three men were dead.


They took fingerprints and photos of the scene and left by helicopter. The incident took place in November last year but has only just come to light.

President Buhari On The Phone With Osibanjo As He Continues To Enjoy His Vacation (Photos)

President Buhari was was snapped relaxing and talking to acting president, Yemi Osinbajo on the phone last night.

The president is on a 10 day vacation to the UK.

Turkish International School: Kidnappers Fail To Release Pupils After Collecting Ransom

Distraught parents and relatives of the kidnapped Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC) are wondering what next after their hope of reuniting with their loved ones was dashed at the weekend.

The kidnappers, who stormed the school premises, snatching away three children and five members of the staff, were said to have promised to release the victims on Friday night.

Their promise, it was gathered, was sequel to the over N10million ransom the kidnappers allegedly collected from the victims’ relatives.

It was learnt that the kidnappers had ordered the relatives to drop the ransom at designated points on Friday. They were later told where to pick up their relatives.But the kidnappers reneged on the agreement on allegation that some of the relatives brought security operatives to the designated places.

While some were asked to go to certain locations in Ogun and Ondo states, others were directed to wait at Agboju, on the Badagry Expressway around 9pm on Friday.They were also warned not to receive any telephone call, except theirs while at the designated points.

Having disappointed them on Friday, it was gathered that the kidnappers told the parents the children would be returned on Saturday night.

The parents, it was gathered, pleaded with the police to stay off the matter, insisting that since they had paid the ransom, they were only interested in having their children back.

A woman, who pleaded not to be named for security reasons, said her family paid N5million on Friday.


She said:

“What else do they want us to do? We paid N5 million and yet they have refused to release my little girl. This is the ninth day and the longest of all such incidents in schools ever witnessed. Is this a repeat of Chibok girls abduction?
“The most annoying part is that the Ogun State government seems to be adamant over this. Apart from the day the Deputy Governor visited the school and assured us that they would be released, nothing has been heard from the government.
“One would have expected that such kidnap in a foreign school should be given the needed attention, so as to redeem our image internationally, but no! They have left us to our fate because it is not their children that are involved.
“The police keep assuring us that they would release them. How long do they want us to wait, for eternity?”

The police said they were hopeful the girls would be rescued in a few days time.

According to the spokesman for Ogun command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), security forces are closing in the kidnappers.

He said:


“We are very optimistic. We believe that we would rescue the girls soon. It is not true that we have not been talking with the parents. How can we abandon them? It will be unfair for any parent to say so because it is far from the truth. The only thing is that we can not reveal the strategy we are taking because that may jeopardise our efforts.”

Source: The Nation

President Donald Trump Won't Release Tax Returns As 'Most Americans' Are Focused On What Their Tax Will Look Like Not His - White House Reaffirms

Kellyane Conway, Trump's presidential campaign manager and current White House senior adviser/counsellor, has revealed that Donald Trump, America's new president will not release his tax returns to the American public after completing his financial audit.

About 200,000 signatures have penned an online petition that Trump should release his tax returns but on Sunday, during an interview with ABC's "This Week," Conway revealed Trump won't release his tax returns.

"The White House response is that he's not going to release his tax returns," Conway said.
"We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care," she said.

"They voted for him, and let me make this very clear: Most Americans are very focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump is in office, not what his look like. And you know full well that President Trump and his family are complying with all the ethical rules, everything they need to do to step away from his businesses and be a full-time president."

"Our position from the campaign has not changed," Conway said.
"He is under audit and has been advised by accountants and lawyers not to release."

Trump is the first major political party nominee since 1972 not to release his tax returns prior to an election.

Source: CNN

Angelina Jolie's Alleged Real Reason For Divorcing Brad Pitt Revealed

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been involved in a messy divorce since last year, with Angelina trying to gain sole custody of their six kids by accusing Pitt of being violent towards the kids. Now it has been revealed by TMZ sources that Angelina's real reason for everything is because she is hoping to score a top position in the UN and move with her kids to London.

Moving with the kids she shares with Pitt all the way to London will not be possible except it's proven that Pitt is an unfit father and these are allegedly her reasons for trying to make Pitt out as a violent, unattentive father. The sources also revealed that Jolie and Pitt have not been getting along well for more than a year and she had been looking for an opportunity to end the marriage and leave with her kids for London believing that a move to London will bring her closer to clinching a UN job.

Jolie has allegedly been taking advice from two women, one is a member of England's House of Lords, and the other also holds a U.K. government position. These women have been convincing her of the possibility of becoming the Secretary General of the UN if she does everything right and she pays these women handsomely for their counsel. It was allegedly for this reason that she accused Pitt of abusing Maddox during a flight and got the Department of Child and Family Services, DCFS, involved in the abuse allegations.

Recall that Jolie is involved in a number of humanitarian activities and was made an Honorary Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for her humanitarian endeavours. This makes it a possibility for her to get a UN appointment if she sets her sight on it.

Meanwhile, Jolie's reps denied these allegations and said Jolie only wants what's best for the children and doesn't have any such move planned. They added that she intends to continue therapy with the kids and Brad.

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#InaugurationDay: Melania Trump steps put in Ralph Lauren and Americans love it

Melania Trump's first outfit is getting the attention of American fashion fashion lovers. The incoming first lady has just made her first inauguration day appearance with her hubby, Donald as they step out for a church service at Saint John's Church, across the street from the White House.

She's dressed in a powder blue outfit from American designer, Ralph Lauren.See what Americans are saying about the outfit after the cut....