House Approves Bill to Avert Government Shutdown

With just hours to spare, Congress easily approved a short-term spending bill Friday that would prevent a partial federal shutdown over the weekend. But on President Donald Trump’s 99th day in office, lawmakers were leaving until next week without completing two other measures he’s coveted: A Republican healthcare overhaul and a budget financing government for the entire year.

The Senate sent the temporary spending measure to Trump by voice vote after the House approved it by a lopsided 382-30 vote. The bill keeps the government functioning through next Friday, which leaders hope will give bipartisan bargainers enough time to finish a $1 trillion package financing government through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

But in a disappointment for the White House, Trump was destined to serve his 100th day in office — Saturday — without being able to claim victories on health care and a yearlong budget.

The White House had pressured GOP leaders to push legislation replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law through the House this week, in time for Trump to claim bragging rights by the symbolic 100th day. But late Thursday, House leaders abandoned that effort for now after falling short of the votes they would need for passage.

“As soon as we have the votes, we’ll vote on it,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters.

The struggle over both bills was embarrassing to the GOP, which has Trump in the White House and majorities in Congress. Republicans would have preferred to not be laboring to keep agencies functioning or approve a health care overhaul, the gold standard of GOP campaign promises for the past seven years.

On the spending bill, minority Democrats had threatened to withhold support for the temporary spending bill unless there was a bipartisan deal on the long-term $1 trillion measure. But they voted for it anyway, citing expectations that disagreements would be resolved.

Most core decisions about agency budgets have been worked out, but unrelated policy issues — such as a Democratic request to help the cash-strapped government of Puerto Rico with its Medicaid burden — are among the holdups.

Republicans still pressed for policy wins with so-called riders related to abortion, environmental regulations, and curbing new financial rules. But Democrats, whose votes are needed to pass the measure, pushed back.

The bipartisan budget talks had progressed smoothly after the White House dropped a threat to withhold payments that help lower-income Americans pay their medical bills and Trump abandoned a demand for money for a border wall with Mexico.

With neither party savoring a federal shutdown, it seemed likely Congress would approve the week-long stopgap measure in time to keep agencies open.

On the separate health care bill, House Republican leaders are still scrounging for votes from their own rank-and-file to rescue it.

At least 18 Republicans, mostly moderates, said they oppose the health care legislation and many others remained publicly uncommitted. That puts party elders in an uncomfortable spot because if 22 Republicans defect, the bill will fail, assuming all Democrats oppose it.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., wants to avoid an encore of last month’s embarrassment, when he abruptly canceled a vote on a health care overhaul at that time because of opposition from moderates and conservatives alike.

Republicans have recast it to let states escape a requirement under President Barack Obama’s 2010 law that insurers charge healthy and seriously ill customers the same rates. They could also be exempted from Obama’s mandate that insurers cover a list of services like hospitalization and substance abuse treatment and from its prohibition against charging older customers more than triple their rates for younger ones.

The overall legislation would cut the Medicaid program for the poor, eliminate Obama’s fines for people who don’t buy insurance and provide generally skimpier subsidies.

Centrist Republicans were the primary target of lobbying by the White House and GOP leaders seeking the 216 votes they would need to clinch passage of the health measure.

On Wednesday, conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus announced their support for the revised health legislation. That reversed the conservatives’ opposition to the earlier edition of the legislation.

Source: newsmax – House Approves Bill to Avert Government Shutdown

The post House Approves Bill to Avert Government Shutdown appeared first on @tonygreene113.

Report: Caitlyn Jenner Visits the White House

Caitlyn Jenner met with Trump administration officials in the White House, ABC News reports.

“She was there for meetings and on her promo tour for her new book (“The Secrets of My Life”), released this week,” a representative for Jenner told the network news.

Jenner was spotted by ABC News as she entered the White House complex on Thursday.

Her rep did not disclose which White House officials had met with Jenner, who had backed Donald Trump in the election. However, she was recently critical of the president for rescinding protections for transgender students, according to ABC News.

But Jenner told CNN this week she does not regret voting for Trump. 

“As far as LGBT issues, yes, he’s made some mistakes,” she said. “I don’t support him in everything that he does. But we needed to shake the system up.”

Source: newsmax – Report: Caitlyn Jenner Visits the White House

The post Report: Caitlyn Jenner Visits the White House appeared first on @tonygreene113.

Amazon Surge Places Bezos Within $5 Billion of World's Richest Crown

A surge in after hours trading for Amazon.com Inc. added $3.3 billion to the fortune of Jeff Bezos, putting him less than $5 billion away from becoming the world’s richest person.

Bezos saw his fortune surpass $80 billion for the first time, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 53-year old has added $65.2 billion to his net worth since the index debuted in March 2012 and ended Thursday with a net worth of $79 billion. His net worth will surpass $80 billion on the index for the first time if the gains hold Friday.

Amazon shares added almost $50 after the company projected sales that may beat estimates in the current quarter, furthering an unbroken 20-year streak of double-digit revenue growth. Amazon had first-quarter sales of $35.7 billion and earnings of $1.48 a share, beating Wall Street analyst expectations. Shares closed at $918.38 Thursday and reached as high as $965 after hours.

The rise for Bezos beat the after-hours gains seen by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The pair added $1.4 billion when shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc. rose as high as $938.18 on news that the smartphone ad business helped Alphabet post revenue of $20.12 billion and net income of $7.73 a share.

Page is now worth $44.7 billion and Brin $43.7 billion, the 11th- and 12th-richest people in the world Thursday.

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates has been No. 1 on the Bloomberg index since May 17, 2013. His fortune slipped $200 million to $87.1 billion after hours as Microsoft presented mixed results and slowing tablet sales growth.

Source: newsmax – Amazon Surge Places Bezos Within Billion of World’s Richest Crown

The post Amazon Surge Places Bezos Within $5 Billion of World's Richest Crown appeared first on @tonygreene113.

Michelle Obama Won't Run for Office – for Sake of Children

Michelle Obama made what’s believed to be her first public appearance since leaving the White House and during  her speech on Thursday in Florida she repeated, again, that she won’t be running for office.

“Politics is tough, and it’s hard on a family,” Obama told the American Institute of Architects’ annual convention, the Orlando Sentinel reports. “I wouldn’t ask my children to do this again because, when you run for higher office, it’s not just you, it’s your whole family.”

Obama’s popularity as first lady hovered around 60 percent since 2009, said The Washington Post in December, citing various political polls over that period.

According to a January Gallup poll, her husband left office with a 58 percent favorable rating, while she was 10 percent higher at 68 percent.

She told the convention audience, though, that she didn’t see that as a pathway to running for office, noted the Sentinel.

“It’s all well and good until you start running, and then the knives come out,”

“Plus, there’s just so much more we can do outside of the office, because we won’t have the burden of political baggage,” Obama added.

Obama shared the same sentiment in December during an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

“Look, that’s one thing I don’t do,” Obama said in the interview. “I don’t make stuff up. I’m not coy. I have proven that. I’m pretty direct. If I were interested in it, I’d say it.”

“It’s not something I would do. But it also speaks to the fact that people don’t really understand how hard this is. And it’s not something that you cavalierly just sort of ask a family to do again,” she continued.

Before becoming first lady, Obama worked at the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services and then vice president of community and external affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Barack Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago and won seats in the Illinois State Senate and the U.S. Senate before becoming president.

Source: newsmax – Michelle Obama Won’t Run for Office – for Sake of Children

The post Michelle Obama Won't Run for Office – for Sake of Children appeared first on @tonygreene113.

Economic Growth Weakens to 3-Year Low of 0.7 Percent

The U.S. economy turned in the weakest performance in three years in the January-March quarter as consumers sharply slowed their spending. The result repeats a pattern that has characterized the recovery: lackluster beginnings to the year.

The gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, grew by just 0.7 percent in the first quarter following a gain of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

The slowdown primarily reflected slower consumer spending, which grew by just 0.3 percent after a 3.5 percent gain in the fourth quarter. It was the poorest showing in more than seven years. Analysts blame in part the unusually warm winter, which meant less spending on utility bills.

Economists believe the slowdown will be temporary. They forecast GDP growth will rebound to 3 percent or better in the current quarter.

Averaging the two quarters, they forecast growth of around 2 percent for the first half of this year. That would be in line with the mediocre performance of the eight-year economic expansion, when growth has averaged just 2.1 percent, the poorest showing for any recovery in the post-World War II period.

President Donald Trump repeatedly attacked the weak GDP rates during the campaign as an example of the Obama administration’s failed economic policies. He said his program of tax cuts for individuals and businesses, deregulation and tougher enforcement of trade agreements would double growth to 4 percent or better.

In unveiling an outline of the administration’s tax proposals on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he believed growth above 3 percent would be achievable.

Private economists are more skeptical. They are forecasting growth of this year around 2.2 percent. That would be an improvement from last year’s 1.6 percent, the weakest showing in five years, but far below Trump’s goal. Many analysts believe that the impacts of Trump’s economic program will not be felt until 2018 because they are not expecting Congress to approve some version of Trump’s tax program until late this year.

The GDP report released Friday was the first of three estimates the government will make of first quarter growth.

The 0.7 percent increase was the worst showing since GDP contracted by 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

In addition to warmer weather holding back spending on utility bills, the slowdown also reflected a cutback in restocking of store shelves. The slowdown in inventory rebuilding cut nearly a percentage point from growth in the first quarter. Also acting as a drag was a reduction in government spending, which fell at a 1.7 percent annual rate with both the federal government and state and local governments seeing cuts.

On the positive side, business investment rose at a 9.4 percent rate, helped by a 449 percent surge in spending in the category that tracks spending in the energy sector. This category had seen sharp cutbacks in recent quarters, reflecting reductions in exploration and drilling as energy prices declined.

In recent years, the first quarter has often turned out to be the weakest for the year, reflecting in part problems the government has not been able to resolve in adjusting its figures for normal seasonal changes.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis, which prepares the GDP report, has a three-year program aimed at addressing this problem, which has been particularly problematic in the first quarter. Analysts say that lingering issues in this area may artificially hold down Friday’s initial GDP estimate for the first quarter.

Many economists believe growth in the current April-June quarter will rebound to a rate of 3 percent or better as consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of economic activity, regains momentum.

“There are a lot of tailwinds behind consumers going into the spring, including low unemployment, better wage growth, high consumer confidence and record stock prices,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

Job growth was strong in January and February before slowing in March, and the unemployment rate is at a nearly decade-low of 4.5 percent.

Trump noted the weak 2016 GDP performance in a tweet Wednesday and contended that “trade deficits hurt the economy very badly.” For the first quarter, trade was actually a small positive after a major drag in the fourth quarter.

Part of the problem for the administration is that its efforts to boost the economy are coming after the economic expansion has been underway for nearly eight years. At this point in a recovery, stimulus measures tend to have less impact. The Federal Reserve, in fact, has begun raising interest rates to ensure that the tight job market doesn’t trigger high inflation pressures.

For now, analysts say they think Trump’s stimulus efforts and the Fed’s gradual tightening can co-exist. Yet they also caution that the Fed may eventually raise rates to a point where they will begin to constrain growth, making it harder for Trump to achieve his GDP goals.

Source: newsmax – Economic Growth Weakens to 3-Year Low of 0.7 Percent

The post Economic Growth Weakens to 3-Year Low of 0.7 Percent appeared first on @tonygreene113.

S&P Warns: Sears, 9 Other Public Retailers Most in Danger of Default

Researchers at S&P Global Market Intelligence recently released a list of 10 publicly traded retailers they consider most at risk of default within the next 12 months.

The firm’s analysis is based on industry factors, such as intensity of competition and barriers to entry, as well as company-specific metrics, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“The shift to online shopping has left a lot of financial distress in its wake,” Jim Elder, director of risk services at S&P, wrote in a research note. “The results from the first quarter do not suggest that a quick recovery is on the horizon,” WSJ.com quoted Elder as saying.

“The number of bankruptcies so far this year has already come close to the total in 2016, with 14 retailers filing compared with 18 last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Payless Inc., RadioShack Corp. and Limited Stores Co. are among those that have sought relief from creditors,” the Journal explained.

Here’s S&P’s ranking:

• Sears Holdings Corp.
• DGSE Companies Inc.
• Appliance Recycling Center of America Inc.
• The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.
• Bebe Stores Inc.
• Destination XL Group Inc.
• Perfumania Holdings Inc.
• Fenix Parts Inc.
• Tailored Brands Inc.
• Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc.

Retailers reportedly are filing for bankruptcy protection at a disturbing rate that’s flirting with recessionary levels.

Meanwhile, a steady stream of store closures continues to haunt the battered American retail industry.

“It’s only April, and nine retailers have already filed for bankruptcy since the start of the year — as many as all of last year,” Business Insider explained.

“2017 will be the year of retail bankruptcies,” Corali Lopez-Castro, a bankruptcy lawyer, told Business Insider. “Retailers are running out of cash, and the dominoes are starting to fall.”

More than 3,500 stores are expected to close over the next several months, BI reported.

Annual retail bankruptcies peaked at a total of 20 in 2008. The U.S. could hit that dismal milestone by September if the rate is sustained, CNBC has reported.

The pace of store closings this year is already ahead of 2008, that measurement’s most recent peak, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

Steve Beaman, chairman the Society to Advance Financial Education, recently told Newsmax TV that mass store closures and layoffs by Sears, Macy’s and Kmart only prove that the retail industry continues to undergo a sea change because of online shopping.

And this seismic shift may soon extinguish a cultural landmark of the recent past – the American shopping mall.

JD Hayworth asked Beaman on Newsmax TV’s “America Talks Live” if malls are a relic of a bygone era.

“My personal opinion is they are,” he said. He cited many many requiring adults to chaperone those under the ages of 21 or 18.

“So we’re already going to see the demise of it being the hang out for kids and I think that will change the retailing habits of it. The overall security concerns of the brick-and-mortar retailers is going to become a draining cost on them. So, they’re going to think more and more let’s go to the internet,” he said.

To be sure, Newsmax Finance Insider Jeff Snyder said the retail malaise just may be indicative of a deeper economic malady.

“When analyzing the shift in consumer preferences it is usually presented as “all or nothing,” meaning that shoppers leaving brick-and-mortar stores are bestowed with a convenience option that they are exercising,” Snyder wrote for Newsmax Finance.

(Newsmax wires services the Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report).

Related Stories:

Source: newsmax – S&P Warns: Sears, 9 Other Public Retailers Most in Danger of Default

The post S&P Warns: Sears, 9 Other Public Retailers Most in Danger of Default appeared first on @tonygreene113.

Obama Disses Trump's Twitter Use

Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump’s frequent use of Twitter during an appearance Thursday, according to the New York Post.

Interviewer Doris Kearns Goodwin, at an advertising event for the A&E TV network, asked Obama how he handled moments of frustration during his presidency.

“For starters, by not having a Twitter account,” Obama responded.

The former president earned $400,000 for the appearance, the same as his fee for a September speech at a Wall Street bank-sponsored healthcare event, The Post reported.

Obama’s $400,000 fee drew criticism, but his spokesman Eric Schultz defended it, saying the former president would remain true to his values and his vision in his speeches regardless of payment.

Source: newsmax – Obama Disses Trump’s Twitter Use

The post Obama Disses Trump's Twitter Use appeared first on @tonygreene113.

State Dept. Wants to Clear Nikki Haley's Comments in Advance

The State Department wants to clear all remarks by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley before she speaks, The New York Times is reporting.

The outspoken Haley often comments on major foreign policy issues, ranging from military strikes on Syria to sanctions against Russia. And much of the time her words come as a surprise to officials at the State Department, according to the Times.

Officials are urging her to rely on “building blocks” prepared by the department to prepare her remarks, the newspaper reported.

If she substantially differs from the building blocks, particularly on high profile issues such as Syrian, Iran, Israel-Palestine or North Korea, her comments should be “re-cleared from Washington,” according to a State Department email viewed by the newspaper.

Haley has praised President Donald Trump for letting her speak out on major policy issues.

“He has given me a lot of leeway to just say what I think and interpret what he thinks,” Haley an interview with CNN. “I would never go rogue, because I’m very aware of who I work for.

“I’m a strong voice by nature. I’m sometimes a bull in a china shop. And, you know, he allows me to do that.”

Trump has joked about firing Haley, The Washington Post reported.

“Now, does everybody like Nikki?” Trump asked at a meeting of U.N. Security Council ambassadors and their spouses. “Otherwise she could easily be replaced. Right?”

But he quickly added: “No, we won’t do that. I promise. She’s doing a fantastic job.”

Source: newsmax – State Dept. Wants to Clear Nikki Haley’s Comments in Advance

The post State Dept. Wants to Clear Nikki Haley's Comments in Advance appeared first on @tonygreene113.

Tillerson Eyes 9 Percent Cut in State Department Workforce

The State Department plans to cut 2,300 U.S. diplomats and civil servants — about 9 percent of the Americans in its workforce worldwide — as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson presses ahead with his task of slashing the agency’s budget, according to people familiar with the matter.

The majority of the job cuts, about 1,700, will come through attrition, while the remaining 600 will be done via buyouts, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the decision hasn’t been publicly announced. William Inglee, a former Lockheed Martin Corp. official and policy adviser in Congress, was hired to help oversee the budget cuts and briefed senior managers on the plan Wednesday, the people said.

The personnel cuts, which may be phased in over two years, represent the most concrete step taken by Tillerson as he seeks to reverse the expansion the department saw under former President Barack Obama’s administration and meet President Donald Trump’s demand — outlined in an executive order signed last month — to cut spending across federal agencies. A draft budget outline released in March for the year that begins Oct. 1 seeks a 28.5 percent reduction in State Department spending from fiscal 2016.

The proposed cuts reflect a belief shared by many conservatives that the State Department and other government agencies have grown too large and drifted away from their core missions. Tillerson was taken aback when he arrived on the job to see how much money the State Department was spending on housing and schooling for the families of diplomats living overseas, according to one person familiar with his thinking.

Current and former diplomats fear that the cuts will bite into the work of the State Department and undermine the voice of the U.S. overseas.

‘Simply Mindless’

“Just cutting without deciding what change you want to make is simply mindless,” said Stephen Sestanovich, a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs who served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for the former Soviet Union.

“A new administration is right to look at what Cabinet departments do, but does it want the United States to do less in the world — and if so, exactly what?” he added. “Those are the questions that need to be answered before you make big cuts at State.”

The planned jobs cuts come as the State Department is preparing a major reorganization of its work and mission. The rethinking is part of a process of asking if the State Department is “set up to meet the needs of the next two decades” after 16 years focused on counterterrorism following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to R.C. Hammond, Tillerson’s communications adviser.

90-Day Mark

Tillerson will address staff next week to mark the first 90 days since he came into office to tell them his vision for the department, Hammond said. In excerpts of an interview with NPR News airing Friday, Tillerson said the department’s mission is to deliver on Trump’s policies to “to provide the national security needs of the American people and to advance America’s economic interests around the world.”

“I think the issue for us is how well we deliver on that mission through all of the various aspects of what the State Department does, from diplomacy to our assistance programs to helping nations that are just emerging to dealing with conflicts,” he said.

That reorganization plan will also involve a survey that will be sent next week to all 75,000 or so State Department staff, including foreigners, as well as employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development and diplomats’ family members to determine whether they have the resources they need to do their jobs.

“Do you have the tools you need to do your job? If you do, what’s working and if you don’t, what do you think you need?” Hammond said. “And from there you will see what comes back and will make the next decision.”

Hiring Pace

The survey, being conducted by consulting company Insigniam, will later select several hundred State Department and U.S. AID staff and diplomats for in-person interviews. Hammond said there wouldn’t be a conflict between cutting spending and the outreach to see if employees have the resources they need.

“This is what we work out through the budget process,” Hammond said. “Our plan is to start with priorities and work backwards. You start with the resources you do have and you prioritize your choices.”

State Department officials are also seeking to ease concerns about the slow pace of hiring in the department: Almost all Senate-confirmed jobs, including ambassadorships and assistant secretaries, remain unannounced.

Policy is being determined by a relatively small group that includes Tillerson, policy planning chief Brian Hook, chief of staff Margaret Peterlin and a few acting assistant secretaries of state at regional bureaus.

But the lack of clarity has damaged morale among the department’s rank and file, according to the people. Departments are supposed to be in the thick of planning for the 2018 and even the 2019 budgets, and many of those conversations have been frozen by a lack of clarity.

“They’re behind the curve, but they’re not totally off base,” said Richard Boucher, a former assistant secretary of state under secretaries from both parties. “Generally I’d say people don’t have a sense of direction, and the rumors of what the reorganization is going to look like are just rampant and nobody knows if jobs are going to be there and what’s going to happen.”

Source: newsmax – Tillerson Eyes 9 Percent Cut in State Department Workforce

The post Tillerson Eyes 9 Percent Cut in State Department Workforce appeared first on @tonygreene113.

New Scrutiny of Timeline After Arkansas Executes 4th Inmate

Arkansas wrapped up an accelerated executions schedule with a lethal injection that left the condemned inmate lurching and convulsing before he died, prompting calls for investigations and renewed scrutiny of the state’s efforts to put multiple inmates to death on a compressed timeline.

Kenneth Williams on Thursday became the fourth convicted killer executed in Arkansas in eight days as the state sought to carry out as many lethal injections as possible before one of its drugs expires Sunday.

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution said that about three minutes in, Williams’ body jerked 15 times in quick succession — lurching violently against the leather restraint across his chest — then the rate slowed for a final five movements.

J.R. Davis, a spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson who did not witness the execution, called the movements “an involuntary muscular reaction” that he said was a widely known effect of the surgical sedative midazolam, the first of three drugs administered.

Williams’ attorneys released a statement calling witness accounts “horrifying” and demanding an investigation into what they called the “problematic execution.”

Arkansas had scheduled eight executions over an 11-day period before one of its lethal injection drugs expires on Sunday. That would have been the most in such a short time since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, but courts issued stays for four of the inmates. The four lethal injections that were carried out included Monday’s first double execution in the United States since 2000.

Williams read a prepared final statement before the execution began, apologizing to the families he “senselessly wronged and deprived of their loved ones.” He also spoke in tongues, the unintelligible but language-like speech used in some religions. But his prayer faded off as the midazolam took effect. He said, “The words that I speak will forever be, will forever …” before he fell silent.

The inmate breathed heavily through his nose until just after three minutes into his execution, when his chest leaped forward in a series of what seemed like involuntary movements. His right hand never clenched and his face remained what one media witness called “serene.”

After the jerking, Williams breathed through his mouth and moaned or groaned once — during a consciousness check — until falling still seven minutes into the lethal injection.

A Friday morning tweet from the account of a Republican state Sen. Trent Garner, who witnessed the execution, said Williams did not “seem in pain. … It was not cruel, unusual, botched or torture.”

Williams was sentenced to death for killing a former deputy warden, Cecil Boren, after he escaped from prison in 1999. At the time of his escape in a 500-gallon barrel of hog slop, Williams was less than three weeks into a life term for the death of a college cheerleader.

“Any amount of movement he might have had was far less than any of his victims,” said Jodie Efird, one of Boren’s daughters, who witnessed the execution.

State officials have called Arkansas’ string of executions a success, declaring justice served and “closure” for victims’ families. Some concerns had been raised about Monday’s execution of Jack Jones, whose mouth moved after attorneys said he should have been unconscious, though a federal judge determined it did not appear to be “torturous and inhumane.”

All of the Arkansas inmates — including Williams — have died within 20 minutes of their executions beginning, a contrast from troubled midazolam-related executions in other states that took anywhere from 43 minutes to two hours. Though witnesses to those lengthier executions also described hearing inmates breathe heavily, snore or snort or seeing them struggle against their restraints.

“The long path of justice ended tonight and Arkansans can reflect on the last two weeks with confidence that our system of laws in this state has worked,” Hutchinson said in a statement issued after Williams’ execution.

Davis, the governor’s spokesman, said later that he was sure Hutchinson would follow up “as he does with every execution,” but that the governor was confident the Department of Correction “did what it was supposed to do.”

Davis stood by his previous description of the state’s executions as “flawless.”

Dale Baich, an assistant federal public defender who witnessed a flawed 2014 Arizona execution that took two hours, said in an email early Friday that after reading media reports, “It appears from witness accounts that Mr. Williams was not fully sedated when the paralytic was administered.

“At a minimum, this was a deviation from the protocol.”

Williams’ lawyers had said he had sickle cell trait, lupus and brain damage, and argued the combined maladies could subject him to an exceptionally painful execution in violation of the U.S. Constitution. They argued Arkansas’ “one size fits all” execution protocol could have left him in pain after a paralytic agent rendered him unable to move. State and federal courts rejected the claims.

Williams was sentenced to death for killing Boren after escaping from the Cummins Unit prison in a barrel holding a mishmash of kitchen scraps. He left the prison — where the execution chamber is located in another part of the facility — less than three weeks into a life prison term for killing University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff cheerleader Dominique Hurd in 1998.

At the conclusion of that trial, he had taunted the young woman’s family by turning to them after the sentence was announced and saying “You thought I was going to die, didn’t you?”

After jumping from the barrel, he sneaked along a tree line until reaching Boren’s house. He killed Boren, stole guns and Boren’s truck and then drove away to Missouri. There, he crashed into a water-delivery truck, killing the driver. While in prison, he confessed to killing another person in 1998.

At the time of Boren’s death, investigators said it did not appear Boren was targeted because of his former employment by the Arkansas Department of Correction.

Source: newsmax – New Scrutiny of Timeline After Arkansas Executes 4th Inmate

The post New Scrutiny of Timeline After Arkansas Executes 4th Inmate appeared first on @tonygreene113.

Every Combat Fighting Course Isn’t The Same – SEALFIT Gives You More

During my time in the Army. All 8 years of the time I spent in old BDU’s was an adventure when time for the combat fighting course time came around.. Of course, my adventures during the last four years were spent primarily out of BDU’s (Battle Dress Uniform) and in civilian clothes. Being attached to a special missions unit like SOCEUR was definitely like nothing else in the Army. When you are primarily assigned to a joint operations unit, the training can become very ingenious. Cost is usually of the least of the unit’s concern.

Our hand to hand training was taught by a NAVY SEAL in the J2 section. He was a boyish face man with the hulking physique of what could be easily deemed a football tight end in today’s sports. I can recall watching this guy swim like the proverbial seal. And of course he drank many of us under the table during trips down rang in Stuttgart. He was a very cool friend and when it came down to missions and training , nothing else consumed him more.

I opened up a current email authored by Mark Devine. a NAVY SEAL officer, who runs the SEALFit training. Have a look see at the enclosed email and please respond via the comments section if you have any questions regarding getting setup with the SEALFit program in your area.

I told you how much of what I’ve incorporated into your SEALFIT training goes back to my BUD/S days…

Specifically, to a program that was part of the Combat Fighting Course. One of the key elements you learn is that your fitness level often has little to do with your ability to successfully handle violence.

Tim showed me story after story of even world-class martial artists severely beaten or even killed when going against simple street thugs.

One I remember was a skilled and highly successful combat sports competitor jumped by two men with knives in a Vegas parking lot where Tim lives.

After a classic takedown and knockout of one guy, this competitor had a textbook arm bar on the second…

…When the guy suddenly taps out. And just as he trained the combat sports competitor let go… only to be stabbed multiple times. He survived but lives with lifelong issues from his wounds.

“But, no one in their right mind would choose to let go of the arm with the knife!”

And you’re correct – no one would willingly choose that action if the choice were presented to them any other time.

The thing about training – you ingrain your choices ahead of time, patterning yourself for the way you want to behave in future situations.

The problem is that few of us understand just how bad actual violence really is. And unless you take your brain (and your training) into this admittedly horrid world of criminal violence BEFORE it happens for real.

You’ll likely end up as the competitor above – in a place where even your elite level of fitness can’t save you.

It’s a bad time for on-the-job training.

What Tim is offering you today – for free – takes your brain into this world and back out again, without the consequences the fighter above lives with.

There’s no question. it’s highly disturbing and beyond ugly.

A place no one likes, including me.

But it’s nothing compared to the alternative.

If for no other reason than to make sure YOUR brain understands what it likely doesn’t today don’t miss this opportunity to get Tim’s free material now.

And if not for you, for others that may depend on you.

Hooyah!

Mark

After reading all of the above would you still attempt to take the SEALfit training regimen called the Combat Fighting Course? Let me know in the comments section below.

The post Every Combat Fighting Course Isn’t The Same – SEALFIT Gives You More appeared first on @tonygreene113.