Ivanka and Jared Kushner's right-hand man Josh Raffel is leaving the White House

Business Insider     By   ELIZA RELMAN  Feb 27th 2018
Josh Raffel, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's right-hand man, is leaving the White House after nine months, Axios reported on Tuesday afternoon.
Raffel, who previously worked with Kushner and Hope Hicks as a New York public-relations executive, handled much of the communications work for the first daughter and her husband, also a top presidential aide.

Josh Raffel, the deputy White House communications director and right-hand man to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, is leaving the White House after less than a year on the job, Axios reported on Tuesday afternoon.

"Josh is honest, passionate and thoughtful. Whether it was offering strategic guidance on the communications for tax reform or a foreign trip, Josh's guidance was invaluable," Ivanka said in a statement to Axios. "The White House won't be the same without him."

A former Hollywood publicist, Raffel joined the White House last April to oversee communications for the Kushner-led Office of American Innovation. He quickly took over media relations for Kushner and Ivanka, while remaining an integral part of the West Wing communications shop.

"I probably talk to Josh 30 times a day," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told BuzzFeed last August. "I certainly wouldn't say he's doing personal PR, but he handles a lot of things in [Kushner and Ivanka Trump's] portfolio."

Last fall, Raffel was promoted to deputy communications director and managed communications for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and issues involving the National Economic Council and the National Security Council.

Raffel, a former Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter, had previously worked with Kushner. He represented Kushner Companies while a public-relations executive at Hiltzik Strategies, where he worked alongside eventual White House communications director Hope Hicks.

Raffel's exit comes as Hicks, with whom he was reportedly close friends, is testifying before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Raffel has told colleagues that he is moving back to New York to attend to family obligations and will return to the private sector, Axios reported.
Raffel did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Let's hear from Witchy :
How did the country go from a Great President like Obama who was respected around the world to the disaster in office now? Millions celebrated Obama in 2008 in the US and around the world. Millions have protested Trump in the US and around the world. Now it is said the US is no longer viewed as a world power thanks to Trump.
Look at Manafort, Nunes, Comey, Snowden, Flynn, Sessions, Page, Stone, Jared, Trump and more! Are these men of Honor, Valor, Ethics, and Integrity? Ha, they are more like double agents, crooks, or criminals with more of an allegiance to themselves and Russia than a love of the US!
Is America great yet? How is Trump care working for You? Is Mexico paying for the wall? Have they reduced the debt or passed nfrastructure? What has trump done about hacking? Nothing! Our country's corporations and individuals hacked over and over.
Obama helped 20 million people get healthcare that never had it before. Obama created 20 million jobs after W crashed the economy even though he faced obstruction. Obama got Bin Lauden and brought the troops home saving the country money instead of paying for two wars. Obama brought the unemployment rate down from 10% to below 4.6%. The stock market went from a record low of below 6000 points to over 19600 points. I retired debt free thanks to Obama!
Everyday under trump is just more bad news!  Can we please get this crooked admin out of Government?
What is it about the republican party today and criminals? Just ask Gates, Manafort, Sessions, Nunes, trump, Kushner, Eric, Papadolpous, Flynn and more. The GOP is the party of crooks, traitors, perv's and criminals!

Hey trump, the Fed's have their eye on you! What you going to do when they come for you? Bad Boy, Bad Boy, What you going to do when they come for you?

What happened to the republican party leadership? Where is Trey, Issa, Gomert, Ryan, Mitch and more? This is unbelievable. You guys are letting trump run all over you, Why? Just imagine the investigations that you would have held if Obama or Hillary had done such a thing. Your job is to protect the country, yet you yield to this traitor! Why!

Can we please get these criminals out of Government?

Randy Rainbow Interviews The Prez's Women

 

 



Donald Trump Jr. admitted a decade ago that many family assets come from Russia

Business Insider       By   BRENNAN WEISS        Feb 21st 2018 
A decade-old quote by Donald Trump, Jr. resurfaced in a New York Times column over the weekend.
"In terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets," President Donald Trump's eldest son said during a conference in New York in 2008.
The comment has taken on new meaning since Trump's election.

During a New York real estate conference in 2008, President Donald Trump's eldest son admitted that a lot of the family's assets come from Russia.

"And in terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets," Donald Trump, Jr. said while speaking at a New York real estate conference in 2008. "Say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo, and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."

Amid special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, Trump, Jr.'s comments have taken on new meaning.

The curious quote resurfaced in The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's latest op-ed, published on Sunday, which tears into Trump and his handling of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

"President Trump is either totally compromised by the Russians or is a towering fool, or both, but either way he has shown himself unwilling or unable to defend America against a Russian campaign to divide and undermine our democracy," Friedman wrote.

While much of Friedman's column was speculation, the decade-old quote from Trump, Jr. sheds new light on the Trump family's past financial holdings, although it does not implicate the Trumps in any illegal activity.

Liberals have used Trump, Jr.'s words to illustrate their belief that Russia may have leverage over Trump because of his previous business dealings in the country.

"My guess is what Trump is hiding has to do with money," Friedman said in his column. "It’s something about his financial ties to business elites tied to the Kremlin. They may own a big stake in him."

'It's clear Russia meddled'

As far as we know, the Justice Department's investigation into Russian election meddling and whether Trump coordinated with any Russians in their efforts, has not found any evidence that Trump or members of his presidential campaign colluded with Russia in their attempts to sway the 2016 election.

But the investigation is ongoing, and Mueller has not ruled out the possibility.

Last week, the investigation took a turn when Mueller's office announced the indictment of 13 Russians and three Russian companies for sowing political discourse and meddling in the US political system in the run-up to the 2016 election.

The indictment forced White House press secretary to defend the intelligence community's long-held assessment that Russia interfered.

"It's very clear that Russia meddled in the election," Sanders said during a press conference on Tuesday. "I think one of the places where you [reporters] seem to get very confused — and it seems to happen regularly — is the president hasn't said that Russia didn't meddle. What he's saying is that it didn't have an impact and it certainly wasn't with help from the Trump campaign."

Trump, who has repeatedly called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt," insists that there was no collusion.

"Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President," Trump said in a tweet last week. "The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!"

Witchy sez :
Mini-Don stated much the same thing during the Trump campaign. One can consider the possibility that Putin has one firm grip over the Trumps; why else would an American family that proclaims to want to "make America great again" decide to sell us out to Russian ambitions?
Trump couldn't borrow money anywhere else since he went 1.5 BILLION in debt.
 It wouldn't surprise me if Russia was looking into the future and taking a chance they could use some rich American to their advantage.
 Not especially because of politics but for some other reason.
 They weren't really risking anything since they held the notes on his property.
 POSSIBLE gain with very low risk.
Trumps Presidency will never be viewed as legitimate, regardless of all the righties hooting and hollering no collusion.  Whatever the outcome of the Mueller investigation, there will forever be a asterisk by Trumps name in the white house.  Sorry righties but your boy is a joke.  You and the Russians can go cry together.
Trump is either totally compromised by the Russians or is a towering fool, or both, but either way he has shown himself unwilling or unable to defend America against a Russian campaign to divide and undermine our democracy,"
On the other side of the coin   Kushner has a weak spot for avoiding jail!!!  He didn't like visiting his father when he was there and most likely doesn't want his own kids doing that.  How fast will he cave and sing like a canary?  If Trump had a brain, he'd be getting Kushner out of hearing range instead of letting him stay with no security clearances!
Question : every photo of Don Jr . looks like he's smelling something , maybe he smells how deep in s**t he's in ....HeHe

To A Fallen Comrade"We called friend "

Nine years has passed , it  seems like a short time ago we call you friend . We knew who you were  thinking you would tell us in time , you never did  , did you not trust us  or just didn't care  who you hurt  .
You was  a lost soul  reaching out  , we felt  your pain , from what you told us   you had no family  or friends  to share your pain with , we knew  the  Mexican police was closing in on you .
We enjoyed the time we spent with you  , tried to make your life  a little more  worthwhile  , let you know no man was worth losing your daughter over  . 
When we found your blog  it was fun to rack old  Caruso over the coals  for how he treat women ,  I realize  you  was so full of hate  and the fun stopped , you was  full of hate so I decided to start a blog  so we could  have fun  we only wanted to  gossip about our families  and have a few laughs . You asked to be included  on the blog with us  , it was okay until you tried to turn it into a hate  blog , Keyser  befriended  you  and they  dogged him so bad  he moved his  blog .
We were the most hated  ladies  on the web , every Caruso  blogger was after us , we  weather the storm  and the fan girls found out  we was not  haters  , but we sure could fight  . Now , where are they , all gone  after nine years  we are still here with 5 blogs  , not bad  for  two women that didn't know a thing about  blogging  ... it was ten years last October  20, 2017 .
You came back  , we were happy to hear from you  , we was  kind of  skeptical   and wondered if  the therapy help you with your hate . We waited ... didn't take long  before you started another hate blog  about Caruso  , started up your old blog DCR  , we knew you had not change .  
Witchy

This is the post I wrote  when we heard you  was gone :

"To A Fallen Comrade"We called friend         February ,21 2009

Bad things are going to happen.Painful,ugly,frustrating events are going to take place.There are no way around getting your feeling hurt,having your ego bruised,your trust weighed,your heart broken...believe me my friend I have been there,I am so very thankful I had a strong belief in God and a strong family unit,from the understanding you gave us,you had neither.There is not much you can do while you are going through your challenges,and difficulties,but there is something that you can remember that will make it a bit easier to bear.

Guilt says,there is nothing wrong in what I have done,shame says,"there is something wrong with me".

You can eliminate guilt by making amends for what you have done.You cannot eliminate shame until you atone/repent for the heartache you have caused others.We are glad we got to know you,you was opening up to us....You needed a smile , a kind word...because we don't know what troubles others have....I wonder was you trying to tell Jeannie/I goodbye,I truly think you was.....we might be down by one,but honey we are still here..."The Partners in Crime".

You know I always said flowers meant friendship....well old friend these are for you from Jeannie/Cupcake.You will always be remember with fondness...Its time now to write the book the three(3) of us talked about. Jeannie said you could do it...But hey that's just me...(GIGGLES) .
Cupcake 

We hope you are well  and happy .

Bombshell indictment details Russian election interference operations

The 37-page indictment details efforts to support Trump and undermine Clinton.
By    CASEY MICHEL              FEB 16, 2018 
A bombshell indictment released Friday by the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller accused 13 individuals and a trio of Russian companies of “interference operations targeting the United States.”

The indictment primarily details the efforts of the Internet Research Agency — the Russian organization responsible for spearheading Moscow’s social media interference operations during the 2016 U.S. election. While the 37-page indictment doesn’t identify any new Facebook or Twitter accounts created by the IRA, it does detail the methods with which the Russian operatives skirted and allegedly broke U.S. law — as well as hints at the Americans with whom they communicated.

The biggest takeaway from the indictment — alongside the details of the operations, from bank transfers to false identities — likely comes with the confirmation that Russian social media interference operations were dedicated to “supporting the presidential campaign of [Donald Trump] and disparaging Hillary Clinton.” As the indictment reads:

[Russian operatives] engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump… Specialists were instructed to post content that focused ‘on politics in the USA’ and to ‘use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump — we support them).

One Russian operative, according to the indictment, was even “criticized for having a ‘low number of posts dedicated to criticizing Hillary Clinton’ and was told ‘it is imperative to intensify criticizing Hillary Clinton’ in future posts.”

The indictment describes how Russian operatives impersonated Americans, traveled to the U.S. for intelligence gathering operations, and, in at least one instance, “communicated with a real U.S. person affiliated with a Texas-based grassroots organization.” The indictment doesn’t identify the individual or the organization, but notes that the “U.S. person [said] they should focus their activities on ‘purple states like Colorado, Virginia & Florida.’”

All told, the defendants are accused of “conspir[ing] to obstruct the lawful functions of the United States government through fraud and deceit, including by making expenditures in connection with the 2016 U.S. presidential election without proper regulatory disclosure; failing to register as foreign agents carrying out political activities within the United States; and obtaining visas through false and fraudulent statements.”

While questions remain as to which Americans the Russian operatives communicated with, the indictment makes clear that the Russian operatives tried to primarily support Trump’s campaign, while undercutting Clinton’s. Indeed, some of those identified “communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign,” as well as “other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities.”

Coordinating with a number of LLCs and operating out of St. Petersburg, Russia, the operation, per the indictment, “employed hundreds of individuals for its online operations, ranging from creators of fictitious personas to technical and administrative support,” including data analysis and a graphics department. Approximately 80 employees within the broader Russian apparatus focused primarily on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Some of those employees, including defendants like Aleksandra Krylova — at one point the third-highest ranking employee in the organization — traveled to the U.S. “under false pretenses for the purpose of collecting intelligence to inform” their operations. Others “oversaw the procurement of U.S. servers… that masked the [organization’s] Russian location when conducting operations within the U.S.”

The Russian operatives traveled extensively through the U.S., including to states like Nevada, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, and New York — all “to gather intelligence.” An additional trip to Atlanta provided further intelligence. While in the U.S., the defendants, according to the indictment, “posed as U.S. persons and contacted U.S. political and social activists.”

As it is, the indictment doesn’t shed any new light on specific fake Russian Facebook or Twitter accounts; rather, it details the efforts of groups already identified, including “Secured Borders,” “United Muslims of America,” “Blacktivist,” and “Heart of Texas,” confirming that the size of many of the pages “had grown to hundreds of thousands of online followers.” According to the indictment, the Russian operatives further tracked engagement using an assortment of metrics. As the indictment reads:

Defendants and their co-conspirators also regularly evaluated the content posted by specialists… to ensure they appeared authentic — as if operated by U.S. persons. Specialists received feedback and directions to improve the quality of their posts.

The indictment also details some of the methods with which the defendants purportedly purchased ads on Facebook as well as disbursed money, including opening PayPal accounts with fake identities. The operatives further “used, possessed, and transferred… the social security numbers and dates of birth of real U.S. persons without those persons’ knowledge or consent.”

But the efforts weren’t solely dedicated to undercutting Clinton’s campaign, or to sowing division across the U.S. As the indictment points, the Russian operatives “began to encourage U.S. minority groups not to vote in the 2016 U.S. presidential election” — or even to support third party candidates like Jill Stein. As one post read, “Choose peace and vote for Jill Stein. Trust me, it’s not a wasted vote.”

Mueller’s office announced an additional guilty plea on Friday. The plea, connected to Mueller’s ongoing Russia probe, details how a California man named Richard Pinedo “offered a variety of services designed to circumvent the security features of large online digital payment companies,” while also selling bank account numbers online. Pinedo, according to the plea, additionally “knew that many of the persons to whom he sold bank account numbers were outside the United States.” The plea does not detail where Pinedo’s customers were located.

This is a developing story and will be updated with additional information. 

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Chloe Kim, 17-year-old American snowboarding phenom, wins gold at women's halfpipe finals in Olympic debut

The American phenom has done it.

Chloe Kim, 17, won gold at the women's halfpipe finals Monday with a final score of 98.25. It was the U.S.' third gold medal of the Winter Olympics so far.

The event was over before it even began after Kim started things off with an impressive first-run score of 93.75 to put the rest of the competition on their heels. The run featured a flawless backside 1080. Kim, got off to another superb start on her second run before failing to land the second of a back-to-back 1080 combo. Kim had the opportunity to take a victory lap on her third run, having already wrapped up the gold medal by that point, but instead opted to improve on her final score, posting a near-perfect 98.25.

China's Jiayu Liu took silver with a best score of 89.75, while fellow American Arielle Gold earned bronze with a best score of 85.75. Thirty-four-year old Kelly Clark, one of the most decorated American snowboarders, fell just shy of earning a medal, finishing with a best score of 83.50.

Despite making her Olympic debut and being one of the youngest Olympians at Pyeongchang, Kim, who is the first woman to successfully land back-to-back 1080s, was a heavy favorite to take gold in the women's halfpipe.

The 17-year-old Long Beach native dominated the qualifying round Sunday, posting the two highest-scoring runs in the event - a 91.50 on her first run and a 95.50 on her second.

Prior to the Winter Games, Kim won gold in both women's halfpipe and women's slopestyle at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. Kim is also a four-time X Games gold medalist, becoming the first person under the age of 16 to win three gold medals in 2016.

While winning your first Olympic gold medal is a special feeling in of itself, the achievement is most likely even more memorable for Kim since she's the daughter of South Korean immigrants and she still has family living there.

Kim became even more of a fan-favorite after the teenager tweeted about eating churros and craving ice cream during her qualifying round Sunday.

She continued her food-loving tweets Monday, posting about her love of breakfast sandwiches before her third run of the event.


“Wish I finished my breakfast sandwich but my stubborn self decided not to and now I'm getting hungry,” Kim wrote.

Former President Barack Obama and wife, Michelle Obama, celebrated the unveiling of their official portraits at the National Portrait Gallery

AOL.COM EDITORS            Feb 12th 2018 11:26AM
Former President Barack Obama and wife, Michelle Obama, celebrated the unveiling of their official portraits at the National Portrait Gallery on Monday, as the nation observed the latest art installations.

The Washington D.C. event commemorating the Obama family's time in the White House marks the first time that black artists were commissioned to work on the presidential works.

Artist Amy Sherald worked on the portrait of the former first lady, while Kehinde Wiley presented his floral composition of the 44th U.S. commander in chief.

See the presidential portraits and other images from the momentous unveiling:

Michelle Obama took the time on stage to thank those who laid the groundwork before her, including her own parents. Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, was present at the event.

"I'm also thinking about all the young people, particularly girls and girls of color, who in years ahead will come to this place and they will look up, and they will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the wall," Michelle Obama said.

"As we see today, we still have a lot more work to do," she added. "But we have every reason to be hopeful and proud."

Artist Amy Sherald says she saw influences of Piet Mondrian and the Gee's Bend quiltmakers in the dress the former first lady is wearing in the image, designed by Michelle Smith.

Sherald thanked the first lady during her remarks, saying, "Thank you for bringing light and clarity to my journey."

Former President Obama thanked Sherald for "so spectacularly capturing the grace and beauty and intelligence and charm and hotness of the woman I love," before joking about the experience of working with Kehinde Wiley on his own portrait.

Obama said he requested less grey hair and smaller ears but was rejected due to Wiley's "artistic integrity."

Obama also nodded to former White House aides present in the audience, saying, "We miss you guys. We miss the way you carried yourselves." Shouts of "We miss you too!" echoed back.

Obama spoke on politics as well, saying it's not about "celebrating the high and the mighty and expecting that the country unfolds from the top down, but rather that it comes from the bottom up."
He also spoke of the similarities between himself and artist Wiley, saying, "Both of us had American mothers who raised us...and African fathers who were absent from our lives."

Wiley explained the floral backdrop for Obama's portrait, noting it symbolizes Obama's background influences of Chicago, Kenya and Indonesia that shape the man he is today.


"The ability to be first African-American painter to paint the first African-American president...it doesn't get any better than that," Wiley stated.

Trump blocks Dem memo

In spite of the fact that Mr Trump earlier overruled FBI objections to release a Republican document, he has blocked the release of a Democratic rebuttal to the Republican memo alleging bias against the US president by the FBI's Russia probe.
The White House said on Friday Mr Trump could not declassify the memo because of "sensitive passages" that create "concerns for national security".
A congressional panel this week voted unanimously to release the document. Democrats say their memo contains corrections to errors and omissions in the Republican document.

 

Last week, Mr Trump defied warnings from the FBI to release a Republican document that alleged the agency had abused its power by investigating a Trump adviser as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Democrats argued that the memo cherry-picked information and was misleading. On Monday, the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee voted unanimously to declassify the 10-page Democratic memo, which aimed to counter the Republican document.
Adam Schiff, who wrote the second memo, said at the time that Republicans had "found themselves in an insupportable position when they released a misleading memo and refused to release the Democratic response".
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said it was a matter of "fundamental fairness" the memo be declassified, urging the president to demonstrate he was not trying to undermine the Russia investigation.
But in a letter to the committee's chairman, White House Counsel Don McGahn said Mr Trump had decided against approving public release of the Democratic memo "because the memorandum contains numerous properly classified passages".
A separate letter, from FBI chief Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, also said releasing the memo would create national security concerns.
Isn't that what they said about the Republican memo?? That had no effect on Trump's approval of it's release. This guy is so obvious with his distractions and misdirection, that it strongly indicates he has something to hide. Are you not so sick of his lies and machinations that you want him gone from the office of president ?? Speak up.

 

 I guess Batman was in the military....Who knew??

Trump Campaign Promises

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made dozens of promises. As he kicks off his first 100 days in office, we will focus on the goals he laid out in his "Contract with the American voter" after his election -- and continue to expand other promises and vows he has and will make, to highlight his accomplishments and see his progress.

07           Promise Kept
24%        In Progress
34%        Promise Broken
10%       Compromise
3%         Undecided
28%       Not Yet Rated



Trump achieved his goal and delivered on the promise he originally made.

  
The president has taken steps toward achieving the goal or promised objective, but has not yet completed it.
         
The president was unable to achieve his original goal in any significant way.
           
The president accomplished part of his original goal, but was forced to compromise on certain details in order to achieve part of it.
        
This goal either cannot be or has not been rated yet.

Unnerving Historical Photos That Will Leave You Speechless

ENTERTAINMENT | February  5, 2018 | By Jason Owen
A Presidential Visit

President Abraham Lincoln visits the famous sight of Antietam in 1863. He is accompanied by Allan Pinkerton and Major General John A. McClernand. The photo was taken in front of the headquarters tent of the U.S. Secret Service according to archives in the Library of Congress.
 Four-Year-Old Bill Clinton (1950)

Former President Bill Clinton is seen here in these early photos from his childhood. In the image with the pony, Clinton is 4-5 years old. The other image was taken during the 1950s.
Famous Gangsters' Bloody End

Bonnie and Clyde were the infamous American gangsters of the Great Depression. Their exploits have been glamorized through the years, but the duo’s gang most often robbed small stores and rural gas stations.

The two met a bloody demise when they were ambushed by law officers near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, in 1934. Their bullet-riddled car is seen here.
Witnesses to Devastation

On Jan. 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members.

Witnesses on the ground react to watching the heartbreaking scene. 
A Grand Visit

Famous German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is seen here with his wife (front) and a group of their friends.

Practice for a Big Speech              

Hitler practices a speech and mannerisms in front of a photographer so he can study his movements and dramatic impact. Hitler was famously a rousing public speaker.

General Eisenhower, Patton Examine Stolen Artwork in a Nazi Mine (1945)

Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower is accompanied by General Omar N. Bradley and General George S. Patton, Jr., as they inspect stolen art hidden in a German salt mine by Nazi soldiers.
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns

This startling and heartbreaking image shows a young girl who survived but was blinded by the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. The bombing killed an estimated 90,000-146,000 people in Hiroshima in total.
The Final Execution

On Aug. 14, 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky, 20,000 people gathered around a scaffold to witness the public hanging of Rainey Bethea. A media frenzy ensued after some foul-ups in the execution. It would lead to nationwide changes and be the last public hanging in the country.
Loss of a Legend

The widow of John Lennon posted this photo of the famed Beatles musician to commemorate his birthday. The full post read, “Over 1,057,000 people have been killed by guns in the U.S.A. since John Lennon was shot and killed on December 8, 1980.”
Medal Ceremony

On Aug. 8, 1936, Jesse Owens set an Olympic record in the long jump competition at the Summer Olympics to take home the gold medal. Owens proudly stood atop the medal podium with a military-style salute as German Luz Long gave a Nazi salute with his arm extended.
A Veteran Mourns

Joseph Ambrose, a World War I veteran, sits at the official dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., in November 1982. Ambrose holds the American flag that covered the coffin of his son who died in the Korean War in 1951.
Beard-less Abe

The photo on the left was taken in Beardstown, Illinois, (that’s not a joke) in 1858 and shows the famous 16th president of the United States before he grew out his signature beard. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1858 and was elected president two years later.

The image on the right shows Lincoln still without his beard in 1860.
He's Got Jokes

Singer, songwriter, actor, and social activist Harry Belafonte cracks a joke that hits home for civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., in this photo from the 1960s.
Orville Wright (1944)

Orville Wright, one of the inventors of the airplane, boards a plane for his last flight, piloted by Howard Hughes.
The Redwoods

Early 1900s luggers hold a 28-foot saw and stand in the cut out trunk of a massive Redwood tree in California in this hand-colored photograph dated to 1907.
The Sun Sets on Mars

In this file photo from NASA, the sun sets behind the rocky terrain of Earth’s neighboring planet, Mars.
 A Killer Among Us

Rodney James Alcala appeared on The Dating Game in 1978. Alcala was sentenced to death for five murders between 1977 and 1979. As recently as 2013, Alcala pled guilty to two additional murders in New York City in the early 1970s. His true victim count remains unknown.

Robert Wagner Now A 'Person of Interest' In Wife Natalie Wood's Death After New Witnesses Come Forward

Mackenzie Wright - February 3, 2018
Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood were one of the most beautiful couples to ever come out of Hollywood. In 1981, tragedy struck when Wood's body was discovered floating in the water after a night out on a yacht.For more than 35 years, authorities have been trying to solve the mystery of her death, and now they think her husband might know more than he's let on.

Wagner and Wood were out on the boat that fateful night with friend, actor Christopher Walken, and Captain Dennis Davern. Wood went missing that night, and the next morning her body was found floating in the water near a dinghy.

At the time, the incident was ruled an accident. Wood was believed to have gotten into the dinghy to head for shore, but was thought to have slipped and fell into the water. The cause of death was ruled as hypothermia.

Police reopened the investigation into Wood's death in 2011 because the pieces never seemed to fit in place. The couple had been arguing viciously for a couple of days before her disappearance.

Wood was openly flirting with Walken and hostile toward her husband. Wagner was angry and jealous. There had been a lot of drinking going on.

Wagner was the last person to see Wood alive. Davern remembers the two fighting on the deck of the small boat until what he estimates were her last moments.

Now, two more witnesses have come forward and police have found the testimony credible. The witnesses said they never came forward before because the death had been ruled an accident.

They both heard the couple fighting on the boat the night before, and one saw the couple. Wood was being more aggressive and in coming at her husband at one point, she slipped and fell on her knee.

The autopsy report shows Wood did have a bruise on her knee. It also shows a number of other injuries, including a head injury that has yet to be explained.-
She looked like the victim of assault,- notes Ralph Hernandez, a detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.


Lieutenant John Corina says in a new documentary slated to air on CBS on Saturday night that Wagner's story doesn't add up. -I haven't seen him tell the details that match all the other witnesses in this case.

I think he's constantly changed his story a little bit. And his version of events just don't add up,- he explains. -I think he does [know more] because he's the last one to see her,


Wood began acting at the age of four. Her role in 'Miracle on 34th Street', when she was just seven years old, launched her into stardom. She went on to star in such films as 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'West Side Story'.

Before she was 25 years old she had already earned three Academy Award nominations.

Wagner is best known for his role as Johnathan Hart in the television show 'Hart to Hart', which aired from 1979 to 1984. Most recently, he had a recurring role on 'Two and a Half Men'.

He and Wood were married from 1957 to 1962; they divorced, but then got married to each other again in 1972, and remained married until Wood's death. He’s always denied being involved in his wife’s death.

Teen gets 40 years in mental hospital for Slender Man stabbing

Morgan Geyser, 15, faces a sentencing hearing on Feb. 1, 2018, about four years after trying to kill a classmate to appease the fictional horror character Slender Man. (Pool)
POSTED 10:12 AM, FEBRUARY 1, 2018, BY ASSOCIATED PRESS, UPDATED AT 04:59PM, FEBRUARY 1, 2018
WAUKESHA, Wis. — One of two Wisconsin girls who tried to kill a classmate with a knife to appease fictional horror character Slender Man learned on Thursday how long she’ll spend in a mental institution for the attack.

Morgan Geyser, 15, faces a sentencing hearing on Feb. 1, 2018, about four years after trying to kill a classmate to appease the fictional horror character Slender Man. (Pool)
A judge sentenced Morgan Geyser, 15, to spend the maximum 40 years in a mental hospital for stabbing Payton Leutner in suburban Milwaukee in 2014.

Geyser’s attorneys had made the case for what they believe is best for Geyser during a daylong hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

The hearing included victim impact statements and doctors who have evaluated Geyser. She pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in October in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prison.
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                                     Anissa Weier

Girl convicted in ‘Slender Man’ stabbing sentenced to 25 years in mental hospital
Geyser and Anissa Weier lured Leutner into the woods in a park and repeatedly stabbed her with a kitchen knife. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on, according to investigators. Leutner was left for dead but she crawled out of the woods and got help from a passing bicyclist. She and her attackers were all 12 at the time.

Weier was sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital in December. She had pleaded guilty in August to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, but she claimed she wasn’t responsible for her actions because she was mentally ill. In September, a jury agreed.

Geyser’s attorneys have argued in court documents that she suffers from schizophrenia and psychotic spectrum disorder, making her prone to delusions and paranoid beliefs.

A psychiatrist hired by her attorneys previously testified that Geyser believed she could communicate telepathically with Slender Man and could see and hear other fictional characters, including unicorns and characters from the Harry Potter and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. She also believed she had “Vulcan mind control.”

Slender Man started with an online post in 2009, as a mysterious specter whose image people edit into everyday scenes of children at play. He is typically depicted as a spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face.