Trump scrambles to untangle business ties as conflict of interest issues loom

President-elect Donald Trump’s team insisted Wednesday that his sons aren’t involved in an inauguration-themed event that appeared to promise access in exchange for charitable donations — but even his allies are saying Mr. Trump needs to get a handle on potential conflicts of interest. Fully divorcing from his vast real estate empire will be difficult for the billionaire businessman, said Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House and a Trump backer. But he said the Trump team must quickly figure out what steps it can take. “The longer they wait, the greater the irritation will be and the more concerned people will be,” he said in an interview with NPR published Wednesday. “So it’s not to their advantage to get to the inaugural without having sorted this out.” Please click to read the rest of the story byDavid Sherfinski – The Washington Times

Mississippi church arson-member of the congergation

State law enforcement officials say a member of the Greenville church that was burned and vandalized with “Vote Trump” in spray

The spray-painted graffiti on the burned out shell of the Hopewell Baptist Church in Greenville MS. It became a rallying cry of some, claiming that all Trump supporters are racist.

The spray-painted graffiti on the burned out shell of the Hopewell Baptist Church in Greenville MS.

paint is in custody for the Nov. 1 crime. Greenville police on Wednesday arrested Andrew McClinton, 45, of Leland for setting Hopewell Baptist Church on fire, according to Warren Strain with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. McClinton is charged with one count of first degree arson of a place of worship. Strain said the investigation is ongoing and declined to comment further. A motive has not been released. Hopewell Bishop Clarence Green could not immediately be reached for comment. However, Green told The Associated Press that McClinton is a member of the congregation. Kenya Collins, spokesperson for the city of Greenville, said McClinton was not currently being charged with a hate crime. Please the entire story from the Jackson Clarion-Ledger

Former Gov. Blagojevich again appeals prison term

By Michael Tarm, The Associated Press CHICAGO – Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is asking a U.S. appeals court to nullify his 14-year

Gov. Rod Blagoevich being arrested by US Marshalls for trying to sell president elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat back in 2008 (NBC News)

Gov. Rod Blagoevich being arrested by US Marshalls for trying to sell president elect Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat back in 2008 (NBC News)

prison term and order a third sentencing hearing, with a lawyer arguing on his behalf that the Democrat’s model behavior behind bars and other factors justified a reduction in his sentence. Attorneys for the Chicago Democrat filed the appeal late Tuesday with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The filing comes in the wake of Blagojevich’s re-sentencing on Aug. 9, when trial Judge James Zagel refused to lower the original 14-year sentence. The 7th Circuit had ordered that August re-sentencing after tossing five of Blagojevich’s 18 convictions in 2015. The 60-year-old’s remaining convictions include trying to trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat for campaign cash. Prosecutors will have a chance to respond to the filing, and oral arguments would then be scheduled before a three-judge panel of the Chicago-based appellate court. Please click to read the rest of the associated press story.

It is official……..Electoral College goes in favor of Trump despite protests

Angry protests fizzled and Donald Trump has now officially won enough electoral votes to claim the White House, with Texas putting him over the edge late Monday afternoon. Some activists screamed

President Elect Donald Trump and Vice President Elect Mike Pence on their victory tour over the weekend (PBS photo)

President Elect Donald Trump and Vice President Elect Mike Pence on their victory tour over the weekend (PBS photo)

and predicted violent deaths for Americans at the hands of Mr. Trump, begging electors to switch their votes to his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. But Republicans maintained ranks and officially selected the billionaire businessman the 45th president. “Today we walk through history together,” said Robert Gleason, chairman of the Pennsylvania GOP, said as he led the proceedings in his state — one of several Rust Belt and midwestern states to flip, delivering the GOP the White House once again. Claims of “dozens” of GOP electors prepared to ditch Mr. Trump didn’t materialize. Indeed, Mrs. Clinton seemed to suffer worse in the actual voting. Please click on the link to read the story from Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times.

Berlin: truck crashes into Christmas market

Several people have been killed and as many as 50 injured after a truck ploughed into a Christmas market in Berlin, according to localmedia reports. They suggested the vehicle ran into the market

The scene in the streets of Berlin after a terrorist attack on a Christmas market

The scene in the streets of Berlin after a terrorist attack on a Christmas market

outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church on Monday evening. The reports cited police at the scene who said initial indications pointed to a terror attack. A photograph posted by the Morgenpost showed damaged tables and stalls, while footage posted online by the same outlet showed a truck on the scene and police officers investigating. The Berliner Zeitung said police also believed there to be multiple injuries. Both newspapers reported it was not immediately clear whether the incident was an accident or some kind of an attack on the market. Breitscheidplatz, where the market was set up, is one of Berlin’s busiest shopping areas. Please click to read the breaking story from Kevin Rawlinson of the guardian.com

Truck crashes into market in Berlin

There has been a truck that has crashed into a market in Berlin.  One person has been killed and several injured.  This is being treated as a possible terrorist attack.  Follow franklincounty-news.com for further updates.  There will be a full news story posted as soon as one is available.

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Is Assassinated in Ankara

ISTANBUL — Russia’s ambassador to Turkey was assassinated at an Ankara art exhibit on Monday evening by a lone Turkish gunman shouting “God is great!” and “don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget

Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov who was assassinated in Ankara, Turkey today

Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov who was assassinated in Ankara, Turkey today

Syria!” in what Russia called a terrorist attack. The gunman, who was described by Ankara’s mayor as a policeman, also wounded at least three others in the assault, which was captured on Turkish video, before he was killed by other officers in a shootout. The assassination instantly vaulted relations between Turkey and Russia to a new level of crisis over the protracted Syria conflict on Turkey’s southern doorstep. It came after days of protests by Turks angry over Russia’s support for Syria’s government in the conflict and the Russian role in the killings and destruction in Aleppo, the northern Syrian city. The envoy, Andrey G. Karlov, was shot from behind and immediately fell to the floor while speaking at an exhibition, according to multiple accounts from the scene, the Contemporary Arts Center in the Cankaya area of Ankara. Please click on the link to read this unfolding story from Rick Gladstone of the New York Times.

Electoral College meeting as we speak

In what is usually a rubber stamp, but the Electoral College is meeting as we speak in the state legislatures in the 50 states.  Here is a summary of the events that have happened over the few weeks.

Protesters in NYC that are part of the Hamilton movement . (AP photo)

Protesters in NYC that are part of the Hamilton movement . (AP photo)

Electors in states that Donald Trump won in the general election have been swayed by supporters of Democratic Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton  using a quote in the Federalist Papers by founding father Alexander Hamilton.  They are questioning Trump’s fitness to be president.  Here is the quote they cling to in Federalist Papers 68:

“Electors should be men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.”

The “Hamilton Electors” movement has been spearheaded by electors Brett Chilafio of Colorado and Michael Bacha of Washington. Mrs. Clinton carried both of these states.

Electors from states that president elect Donald Trump carried, have been bombarded with e-mails, letters, and even harassment from the Hamilton Elector movement.

Some states in their constitutions have “faithless elector” clauses in their constitution that duty bounds electors to go with the will of the people in their states.  If they do not cast the vote in the will of the people, they can face prosecution.

FranklinCounty-news.com will update this throughout the day.

 

Kissinger calls Trump a ‘phenomenon that foreign countries haven’t seen’

“Donald Trump is a phenomenon that foreign countries haven’t seen,” Kissinger said on CBS’s “Face The Nation.” “So it is a shocking experience to them that he came in to office. At the same time,

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who was in the Nixon administration

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who was in the Nixon administration

extraordinary opportunity.” Kissinger said every country now has to consider two things. “One, their perception that the previous president, or the outgoing president, basically withdrew America from international politics, so that they had to make their own assessments of their necessities,” he said. “And secondly, that here is a new president who’s asking a lot of unfamiliar questions. And because of the combination of the partial vacuum and the new questions, one could imagine that something remarkable and new emerges out of it.” Please click on the link to follow the story from Rebecca Sarvalinski of the thehill.com

GOP again eyes sanctuary cities ban due to political tide

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans have spent years trying to crack down on illegal immigration across the southern border with

Major cities in the US that are sanctuary cities

Major cities in the US that are sanctuary cities

Mexico. Emboldened by the election of Donald Trump, however, the time may finally be right for the GOP to mobilize an assault on loosely defined “sanctuary cities,” especially with two large counties eyeing such policies. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pushed the issue to the front of his unofficial agenda for 2017, pledging in interviews and on social media to sign into law a “ban” on cities and local governments that are seen as protecting people in the U.S. illegally, with sanctions such as cutting state funding. Civil rights groups believe such pledges can lead to racial profiling. Click to read the rest of the story from AP reporter Jim Vertuno 

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