Washington state trooper

It's hard to imagine, but until Monday a high school coach could be fired for taking a knee to pray at a football game in America. A coach was well within his constitutional rights to take a knee to protest the national anthem, but petitioning the Almighty was forbidden. All that changed thanks to a man named Joe Kennedy of Bremerton, Washington—a Marine Corps veteran, a high school football coach and a devout Christian. In 2015 Coach Joe was fired from his job as an assistant coach at the local high school after he disobeyed a school directive banning him from saying post-game prayers on the 50-yard line. Coach Joe had been offering those prayers for eight years without incident—inspired by the faith-based football film Facing the Giants . The coach was moved by the film's message to praise God regardless of what happened on the field. But the school district determined that the coach's brief prayers constituted a violation of the law—separation of God and gridiron. … [Read more...] about Football coach wins right to pray on field | Opinion

Swiss billionaire and Clinton donor Hansjorg Wyss sat in a packed Washington State courtroom Monday to face his first trial over unsuspecting patients who died when his company used an illegal medical substance. Ultimately, five people died. Four of Wyss’ executives went to prison in the federal case, but Wyss walked free. A woman who accompanied Wyss to Lisbon, Portugal in July 2010 told The Daily Caller News Foundation the Swiss citizen collapsed when he received a phone call from his lawyers telling him the Department of Justice would not indict him.  She reported he was “deliriously happy” at a dinner after the call. At the time he told the woman the government didn’t have enough evidence on him. “They do not have enough on me.  They don’t have enough emails on me,” he reportedly said. Her riveting account about Wyss’ state-of-mind during the Justice Department investigation was given several years ago in a private meeting with this reporter. Interest in the case has … [Read more...] about EXCLUSIVE: Clinton Donor ‘Deliriously Happy’ He Escaped Indictment

The United States and European Union need a shared understanding of China to resist it, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday, calling Beijing a threat and accusing it of stealing European know-how to develop its economy. Pompeo said he had accepted a proposal by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to create a formal U.S.-EU dialogue on China and would travel to Europe soon to host the first session. "There is a transatlantic awakening to the truth of what's happening," Pompeo told a think-tank event via video link. "This isn't the United States confronting China, this is the world confronting China," he said. Borrell raised the idea of a U.S.-EU dialogue earlier this month at the end of a video call between Pompeo and EU foreign ministers. While details are thin, Pompeo said it would be run by senior officials and would be open-ended. Two EU diplomats said the dialogue could be a forum for tackling issues such as how to combat what the West says is Chinese … [Read more...] about Mike Pompeo Says America And US Must Face Down China Together, Calls Beijing a Threat

The Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Aurora Pro Services for allegedly illegally terminating two employees after they refused to participate in daily prayer sessions. The federal agency filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina-based renovations and repairs company in the District Court in Greensboro on June 28, according to a statement . The suit seeks compensation for the two individuals, as well as permanent injunction to ensure the company’s religious practices do not discriminate against other employees based on their religious beliefs in the future. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: FAA Discrimination Lawsuit Names EEOC Chair) Aurora Pro Services in Greensboro, NC fires an employee for not praying with them pic.twitter.com/N5sPTDsZk9 — Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) November 25, 2020 John McGaha, a construction manager at Aurora, asked to be excused from the meetings in late August of 2020, but was declined, WRAL reported . After … [Read more...] about US Sues Company For Allegedly Requiring Employees ‘To Participate In Religious Prayer Sessions’

Just three months ago, the Yellowstone region like most of the West was dragging through an extended drought with little snow in the mountains and wildfire scars in Red Lodge from a year ago when the area was hit by 105-degree Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius) heat and fire. Rivers and creeks this week raged with water much higher and faster than even the rare benchmark 500 year flood. Weather-whiplashed residents and government officials raced to save homes, roads and businesses. Mostly natural fleeting forces with some connections to long-term climate change combined to trigger the switch from drought to deluge, scientists said. It was a textbook case of “weather weirding,” said Red Lodge resident and National Snow and Ice Data Center deputy lead scientist Twila Moon. Her cropped hair was up in a sweat band and she was covered head to toe in mud from helping residents clear out flooded areas. But these were conditions unique to the northern interior West, scientists say. … [Read more...] about From dry to deluge, how heavy snow, rain flooded Yellowstone

(Reuters) - U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner goes on trial in Russia on Friday on drug charges that could see her face up to 10 years in jail, in a case that highlights the already fraught relations between Moscow and Washington. Griner, a star player in the U.S.-based Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on Feb. 17, just days before Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing a broader confrontation with the West. Russian authorities said the 31-year-old was carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil, a substance illegal in the country. She was charged with smuggling a large quantity of drugs, an offence that can carry up to 10 years in jail. U.S. officials and a score of athletes have called for the release of Griner - or "BG" as she is known in the basketball community. They say she has been wrongfully detained and should be immediately returned to her family in the United States. Griner's detention also prompted … [Read more...] about Russia to open trial against U.S. basketball star Griner

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 WASHINGTON (AP) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued a subpoena Wednesday to former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, whose reported resistance to Donald Trump's schemes to overturn his 2020 election defeat has made him a long-sought and potentially revelatory witness. Cipollone is said to have stridently and repeatedly warned the former president and his allies against their efforts to challenge the election, at one point threatening to resign as Trump eyed a dramatic reshuffling atop the Justice Department. One witness said Cipollone referred to a proposed letter making false claims about voter fraud as a “murder-suicide pact.” Another witness said Cipollone had warned her that Trump was at risk of committing “every crime imaginable.” It's the first action from the committee since Tuesday's dramatic testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, … [Read more...] about Jan. 6 panel subpoenas counsel who resisted Trump schemes

KABUL (Reuters) - At least one participant at a gathering organised by the Taliban of 3,000 male religious and ethnic leaders from across Afghanistan called on Thursday for high schools for girls to reopen. It was the first such gathering to take place since the Islamist group took over the country in August. The Taliban in March backtracked on their announcement that high schools would open for girls, saying they would remain closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law for them to reopen. The u-turn left students in tears and drew condemnation from humanitarian agencies, rights groups and diplomats. "They will learn and will be a good guide for their children in society," said Sayed Nassrullah Waizi, from central Bamiyan province, in calling for the schools to open. It was not clear how much support this sentiment would receive or how a decision on the issue might be reached. International governments, particularly Washington, have said the Taliban … [Read more...] about Girls’ education raised at Taliban’s first national gathering since takeover

Attorneys representing Clinton Foundation donor and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss are seeking his pound of flesh from Jacqueline Long, a woman who has publicly accused him of sexual abuse. The high-profile Democratic donor’s attorneys filed a petition Aug. 4 seeking “harsh sanctions” against the Colorado woman following a June 8 The Daily Caller News Foundation article that reported her allegations. They claim Long violated the confidentiality provision of a $1.5 million settlement agreement the two signed in May 2013. The Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia has scheduled a hearing this morning to determine the next step in the long-running saga. The latest chapter began last December when Wyss gave a $5 million commitment to the Clinton Foundation’s No Ceilings project to help women and girls, an effort personally championed by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. At the time, no one knew that Wyss had executed a $1.5 million settlement, in part over Long’s … [Read more...] about Clinton Foundation Donor Wants His $1.5M Back In Sex Abuse Case

In a little-noticed discrimination lawsuit the Mountain States Legal Foundation sued the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last December for purging highly qualified applicants for air traffic controller jobs and dispensing with relevant skills screening in order to foster “diversity.” Because when your plane hits massive turbulence shortly before the scheduled landing, the race of whoever is trying to help the pilot avert disaster is surely of paramount importance? Not surprisingly, the FAA, rather than argue there is a black way to land a plane and a white way to land a plane, tried to pass the buck. FAA lawyers told the MSLF the agency was legally immune because the EEOC had not yet ruled on their client’s individual and class action complaint. So to avoid any confusion MSLF just sued the EEOC as well! MSLF president William Perry Pendley explained to the Washington Gadfly that, “We need all the parties in court. So when an FAA lawyer lies about what is going on … [Read more...] about EXCLUSIVE: FAA Discrimination Lawsuit Names EEOC Chair