T.L. Winslow's 2018 C.E. Historyscope

© Copyright by T.L. Winslow. All Rights Reserved.



2018 - The Yuge No Smocking Gun I Am Spartacus Shithole Year of Fake News Trump and North Korea, Yellow Vests, Facebook Scandal, Great Social Media Purge, Royal Kiss, No Soup for Sarah, and #MeToo #TimesUp Social Racial Gender Environmental Justice Toxic Masculinity Feckless Cunt Woman Brett Kavanaugh Christine Blasey Ford Sexual Abuse Accusers Unleashed? North America and Europe burn up all summer, then freeze in the fall and winter, while the U.N. begins demanding unlimited amounts of baksheesh from rich countries to give to the poor ones for the sin of carbon dioxide emissions?

Pres. Trump withdrawing from Iranian nuclear deal, May 8, 2018 British Prince Harry (1984-) and Meghan Markle (1981-) in Royal Kiss, May 19, 2018 Michael Wolff (1953-) Eric Swalwell of the U.S. (1980-) Hope Hicks of the U.S. (1988-) Andrew McCabe of the U.S. (1968-) Larry Kudlow of the U.S. (1947-) Mike Pompeo of the U.S. (1963-) Gina Haspel of the U.S. (1956-) Jerome Powell of the U.S. (1953-) Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa (1952-) Stormy Daniels (1979-) U.S. Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson (1967-) U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (1955-) U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (1955-) U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (1969-) Matthew G. Whitaker of the U.S. (1969-) Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. (1965-) Christine Blasey Ford (1966-) Catherine McKenna of Canada (1971-) Scott Morrison of Australia (1968-) Bill Cosby (1937-) Jim Acosta (1971-) Carlos Alvarado Quesada of Costa Rica (1980-) Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia (1976-) Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine (1935-) Truza Jamal Hassan (1998-) Sajid David of Britain (1969-) Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia (1950-) Jared Polis of the U.S. (1975-) Kelly Knight Craft of the U.S. (1962-) Robert Bowers (1972-) Nikolas Cruz (1998-) Travis Reinking (1998-) Chris Watts (1985-) Ali Irsan Omar Ameen (1973-) Mohamed Mahmoud (1981-) Faisal Hussain Yusuf Aka (1995-) Mohamed Nizamdeen (1993-) Siraj Wahhaj Jr. (1979-) Jarrod Warren Ramos (1979-) Dimitrios Pagourtzis (2001-) Jake Thomas Patterson (1997-) and Jayme Closs (2005-) Alek Minassian (1992-) Momena Shoma (1993-) Cherif Chekatt (1989-2018) Joseph James De Angelo (1945-) Christhian Rivera (1994-) Amber Guyger (1988-) and Botham Shem Jean (1992-2018) Albert Wong (1981-2018) Stephon Clark (1995-2018) Mollie Tibbetts (1998-) Roger Hallam (1966-) Gail Bradbrook (1972-) Franklin Graham (1952-) Greta Thunberg (2003-) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the U.S. (1989-) Andrew R. Wheeler of the U.S. (1964-) David Stroh Buckel (1957-2018) David Turpin (1960-) and Louise Turpin (1968-) Sarah Rose Summers (1994-) Angelique Kerber (1988-) Keith Raniere Corey Johnson (2000-) Nick Foles (1989-) Baker Mayfield (1995-) Red Gerard of the U.S. (2000-) Chloe Kim of the U.S. (2000-) Shaun White of the U.S. (1986-) Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia (1999-) Alina Zagitova of Russia (2002-) Joshua Cooper Ramo (1968-) Jared Goff (1994-) Patrick Mahomes (1995-) Eliud Kipchoge (1984-) Brigid Kosgei (1994-) Vanessa Ponce (1992-) Angela Ponce (1991-) Catriona Gray (1994-) Jeff Rohrer (1958-) and Joshua Ross Louise Glück (1943-) Nada Murad (1993-) Denis Mukwege (1955-) Arthur Ashkin (1922-) Gérard Mourou (1944-) Donna Strickland (1959-) Frances Arnold (1956-) George Pearson Smith (1941-) Sir Gregory Winter (1951-) James Patrick Allison (1948-) Tasuku Honjo (1942-) William Nordhaus (1941-) Paul Romer (1955-) Hans Rosling (1948-2017) '21 Lessons for the 21st Century' by Yuval Noah Harari (1976-), 2018 Max Ritvo (1990-2016) Sara Iftekhar (1998-) Joe Bastardi (1955-) Andrew Light (1966-) Katharine Hayhoe and Andrew Farley (1972-) Rick Santorum of the U.S. (1958-) Cal Thomas (1942-) Chuck Todd (1972-) Danielle Pletka (1963-) Eric Weinstein (1965-) David Robert Whitehouse Morgan Wallen (1993-) Rebekah Mercer (1973-) Kehinde Wiley (1977-) Shoshana Zuboff (1951-) 'Official Portrait of Pres. Barack Obama' by Kehinde Wiley (1977-), 2018 Amy Sherald (1973-) 'Official Portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama' by Amy Sherald (1973-), 2018 'Fake Official Portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama' by Kehinde Wiley (1977-), 2018 '1921', 2018 'Annihilation', 2018 'Apostle', 2018 'Bird Box', 2018 'Black Panther', 2018 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 2018 'The Christmas Chronicles', 2018 'Cucuy: The Boogeyman', 2018 'The Favourite', 2018 'Halloween', 2018 'Hereditary', 2018 'The Nun', 2018 'Overlord', 2018 'The Possession of Hannah Grace', 2018 'Shoplifters', 2018 'Slender Man', 2018 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse', 2018 'A Star Is Born', 2018 'Vice', 2018 'Winchester', 2018 Casa Brutale, 2018 Sir Anish Kapoor (1954-) 'Cloud Column' by Sir Anish Kapoor, 2018 'Morpheus Hotel', 2018 Nat. Lynching Memorial, 2018

2018 Doomsday Clock: 2 min. to midnight (worst since 1953). Chinese Year: Dog (Feb. 16). Time Mag. Person of the Year: Journalists Jamal Khashoggi et al., warriors in the "war on truth" In Trump's first year in office refugee admissions drop 70%, from 98,898 to 29,620 (decline of 69,278). This is the 4th hottest year on record after 2015-17; the first year since records began in 1950 with no killer (EF4 or EF5) tornadoes in the U.S.; also EF3?; global energy demand rises 2.3%, fastest in a decade. For the first time ever world pop. has more people over age 64 than under age 5. For the first time U.S. Dems. rate socialism more positively than capitalism. A mass exodus begins from the San Francisco Bay area in Calif. due to high housing costs combined with high crime and illegal immigrants; another mass exodus is happening in New York City, which is losing 100 residents/day, and the middle class has shrunk from 61% in the early 1970s to 48%. The GDP of the U.S.: $20.4T; China 14T (vs. $12T in 2017), Japan: $5.1T (vs. $4.87T in 2017), Germany: $4.2T, U.K. and France: $2.9T, India: $2.85T, Italy: $2.18T, Brazil: $2.14T, Canada: $1.8T. China's digital economy reaches 42% of the global e-commerce market, vs. less than 1% in 2008; the U.S. shares is down to 24% from 35% in 2005. homelessness in New York City reaches an all-time record of 133,284 unique individuals spending at least one night in a city shelter, becoming a 61% increase since fiscal year 2002. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos passes the $100B mark in wealth, becoming a first for the annual Forbes list of the world's wealthiest. The U.S. becomes a net exporter of oil for the first time in decades (since ?); avg. oil price: $71.31/barrel (vs. $54.19/barrel in 2017). The state of Calif. ranks no. 1 for the percentage of residents aged 25+ who have never finished 9th grade (9.7%) (Tex. is #2 at 8.5%), and 49th for high school grads (82.5%). According to the U.S. Justice Dept. 64% of arrests made by the federal govt. this year are of non-U.S. citizens, vs. 37% in 1998. The 2017/8 2017/18 Northern Hemisphere Mega-Winter btings record cold temps. and snow, incl. the coldest Super Bowl on record, Niagara Falls frozen over, the lowest temp. ever recorded in Bangladesh, frozen crops creating a food crisis in Europe et al. This is the least extreme climate year on record, and according to satellite data of the lower troposphere, the 6th warmest year since 1979 after 1998, 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Male sperm counts worldwide have dropped by 62% since 1973, threatening human extinction by 2100? On Jan. 1 the 2018 Rose Bowl sees the 12-1 Ga. Bulldogs defeat the 12-1 Okla. Sooners in 2nd OT after Lorenzo Carter blocks a Sooners field goal and Sony Michel makes a 27-yard TD; the Sooners led 31-17 at halftime under Heisman Trophy-winning QB Baker Mayfield; the first Rose Bowl game to go to OT. On Jan. 1 (early a.m.) a large New Year's Eve Muslim mob in Champigny-sur-Mer, Paris, France attacks a female police officer and burns 1,031 cars (v. 935 in 2017); 510 are arrested (v. 456 in 2017). On Jan. 1 (1:30 a..m.) a Muslim gunman kills two Copts celebrating New Year in an alcohol shop in Giza, Egypt. On Jan. 1 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!", promising to withhold $255M in aid. On Jan. 1 the #TimesUp movement is founded by Hollywood celebs in response to #MeToo and the Weinstein Effect of people coming out of the woodwork to accuse powerful men of sexual misconduct, gleefully supported by the PC press. On Jan. 1 (12:30 p.m.) Muslim gunmen open fire on Christians returning from a church service in Omoku, Rivers State, Nigeria, killing 14+ and injuring 12. On Jan. 1 North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un gives a speech, in which he gloatingly issues the soundbyte that he has a nuclear button on his desk. On Jan. 1 Calif. legalizes recreational marijuana, anticipating a $100M/mo. industry. On Jan. 1 Baby Asel becomes the first newborn of 2018 in Austria - a Muslim. On Jan. 1 a new law in Iceland makes it illegal to pay women less than women. On Jan. 2 as anti-govt. protests rage in Iran while the Gulf countries rejoice, Pres Trump tweets the soundbyte: "The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their 'pockets.' The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!", causing Iran to accuse Trump of "grotesque" interference in its internal affairs. On Jan. 4 the Dow Jones Industrial Avg. tops 25,000 for the first time. On Jan. 4 U.S. atty. gen. Jeff Sessions announces a decision to rescind the 2013 Obama admin. policy restraining the feds from enforcing marijuana laws in states that legalize it, leaving discretion in the hands of each state's U.S. atty. On Jan. 5 the Iranian Resistance urges the U.N. Security Council to defend the "legitimate right of people of Iran to overthrow ruling religious fascism"; since the U.N. is a virtual puppet of the Org. of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), don't count on it? On Jan. 5-6 authorities close down the St. Catherine Monastery in Sinai, when the Cops hold Christmas church services; the excuse is developing a World Heritage Site plan, but the real reason is fear of Islamist attacks? On Jan. 7 18-y.-o. Austrian Muslim Lorenz K. is charged with plotting with a 12-y.-o. German Iraqi Muslim to bomb a Christmas market in Ludwigshaven. On Jan. 7 (Sun.) light snow falls in Ain Sefra, Algeria ("Gateway to the Sahara Desert"), becoming the first since Jan. 20, 2017. On Jan. 7 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbytes: "I've had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author. Ronald Reagan had the same problem and handled it well. So will I!", and "Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence. "Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius.... and a very stable genius at that!" On Jan. 7 (Sun.) (night) the 2018 (75th) Golden Globe Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., hosted by Seth Meyers award Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri the best motion picture - drama award, snubbing "Dunkirk", "The Post", and "The Shape of Water"; Lady Bird wins for best musical or comedy; Gary Oldman wins for best actor perf. in a drama for Darkest Hour, and Frances McDormand for best actress perf. in a drama for Three Billboards; James Franco wins for best actor perf. in a musical or comedy for The Disaster Artist, and Saoirse Ronan for Lady Bird; Sam Rockwell wins for best supporting actor for Three Billboards, and Allison Jannet for I, Tonya; after she is presented with a Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, uttering the soundbyte "I want all of the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon", the crowd clamors for Oprah Winfrey to run for U.S. pres., causing Pres. Trump to reply that he is not afraid to take anybody on; in an Oct. 1999 interview with Larry King, Trump uttered the soundbyte that "Oprah would always be my first choice", adding "She's a really great woman... She is a terrific woman. She is somebody that is very special." On Jan. 9 Pres. Trump holds an hour-long Conference on Immigration with Repub. and Dem. lawmakers, opening it to the press, calling for "a bill of life" that addresses DACA while ending chain migration, secures the border by building a wall, and cancels the visa lottery program; at the private meeting he allegedly utters the soundbyte: "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?", referring to Haiti and Africa, adding that he prefers people from countries like Norway, pissing-off the PC police, who call him a racist and ignore the fact that he's right because that's what they are?; on Jan. 11 Trump enemy John O. Brennan tweets the soundbyte: "Lady Liberty, our founding fathers, and generations of right-thinking Americans are all weeping tonight over the atrocious comments attributed to Donald Trump, who continues to demonstrate daily that he is a deeply flawed person"; Trump really said shithouse?; several meeting attendees later deny hearing the s-word; speaking of shithole, Dirty Denver, Colo., known for being run by leftist Dems. makes the city a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, and makes them feel welcome by reducing punishment for public shitting. On Jan. 9 the Tex. State U. Star student newspaper pub. an op-ed titled Your DNA is an abomination by Trump-hating Hispanic senior Rudy Martinez, causing a firestorm of controversy with soundbytes incl. "White death will mean liberation for all", [Whiteness is] "a construct used to perpetuate a system of racist power", "White is over! If you want it", "Whiteness will be over because we want it to be. And when it dies, there will be millions of cultural zombies aimlessly wandering across a vastly changed landscape", and "Until then, remember this: I hate you because you shouldn't exist. You are both the dominant apparatus on the planet and the void in which all other cultures, upon meeting you, die." On Jan. 9-10 night protests throughout Tunisia cause police to injure dozens and arrest 206, while losing 49 wounded. On Jan. 10 the Southern Calif. Mudslides in Montecito, Calif. kill 20+. On Jan. 13 a false missile alert is sent in the Hawaiian Islands, causing panic until it is canceled after 38 min. On Jan. 15 two suicide bombers detonate on a busy street in Tayyaran Square in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 38+ and injuring 105. On Jan. 15 David Turpin (1960-) and Louise Turpin (1968-) are arrested after one of their daughters escapes their prison-like home in Perris, Calif. and rats on how they have been keeping her 12 siblings ages 2-29 prisoner and starving them; they are charged with torture. On Jan. 15 (night) Pope Francis arrives in Santiago, Chile, where he faces protests over failure to punish child molesting priest Fernando Karadima. On Jan. 16 (2:00 a.m.) British Muslim Yusuf Aka (1995-) launches a jihadist knife attack at a hospital in Nottinghamshire, stabbing a man before being confronted by a female nurse; on Aug. 24 he pleads guilty and is sentenced to five years. On Jan. 16 the Dow Jones Industrial Avg. hits 26,000 for the first time ever. On Jan. 16 the U.S. Depts. of Justice and Homeland Security release a report saying that 73% of 402 people convicted in federal courts on internat. terrorism-related chartes between 9/11 and Dec. 31, 2016 were foreign-born, with 148 naturalized, and that 1,716 aliens "with national security concerns were removed from the U.S., while in 2017 the DHS had "encounters" with thousands of people attempting to enter the U.S. who were in the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database. On Jan. 17 two captive 13-y.-o. girls working for Boko Haram kill 12 and injure dozens in a suicide attack in a market in Maiduguri, Nigeria. On Jan. 18 British PM Theresa May meets with French PM Emannuel Macron in Sandhurst after Britain promises to pay more for border security in Muslim-overrrun Calais. On Jan. 18 U.S. secy. of state Rex Tillerson utters the soundbyte that the U.S. will maintain an open-ended military presence in Syria to ensure defeat of ISIS because Pres. Trump doesn't want to "make the same mistake" Pres. Obama made in 2001; there are currently 2K U.S. troops in Syria. On Jan. 19 (a.m.) a Muslim inmate at French-run Borgo Prison in Corsica attacks and stabs two guards while shouting "Allahu Akbar". On Jan. 19/20 (midnight) after Congress deadlocks over the Dreamers, the U.S. govt. shuts down (until ?), with each party blaming the other; it reopens on Jan. 23 after one business day. On Jan. 20 the Dow Jones Industrial Avg. reaches 19,827.25 (up 94.85), growing 31% in Pres. Trump's first year in office, highest since FDR in 1933. On Jan. 20 the 1st anniv. of the inauguration of Pres. Trump sees Women's March demonstrations across the U.S. in protest of his rhetoric and policies, which doesn't phase him, causing him to tweet about "the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months" and "Lowest female unemployment in 18 years". On Jan. 20 19-y.-o. Muslim ex-student Truza Jamal Hassan (1998-) is arrested for setting eight small fires around the campus of St. Catherine U. in Minneapolis, Minn. in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, telling police: "You guys are lucky that I don't know how to build a bomb", claiming that she "wanted the school to burn to the ground and that her intent was to hurt people." On Jan. 20 (9:00 p.m. local time) six Taliban militants begin a siege at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, which ends after 13 hours with 18 dead incl. 14 foreigners after 150 guests shimmying down bedsheets to escape. On Jan. 20 Turkey launches air strikes on Kurdish YPG fighters in Kurdish Afrin on the Turkish-Syrian border to eliminate the U.S.-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), causing civilians to organize a human shield to protect them on Mar. 10. On Jan. 22 U.S. vice-pres. Mike Pence addresses the Israeli Knesset, announcing U.S. plans to move their embassy to Jerusalem next year. On Jan. 22 a motorcycle bomb explodes in a pork stall in mostly Muslim Yala Province, S Thailand, killing three and injuring 22. On Jan. 22 a draft report by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security at the request of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner Kevin McAleenan calls for long-term surveillance of "at-risk" Sunni Muslim immigrants. On Jan. 23 a 15-y.-o. boy shoots up Marshall County H.S. in Benton, Ky., killing two students and injuring 18 before being arrested. On Jan. 24 (9:00 a.m. local time) a suicide car bomb on a Save the Children office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan followed by an RPG attack kills three and injuring 26; ISIS claims responsibility. On Jan. 24 two car bombs near a mosque in Benghazi, Libya kill 27 and injure 20-30. On Jan. 24 Pres. Trump meets with reporters and utters the soundbyte that he's flopping and supporting eventual citizenship for the Dreamers, with the soundbyte: "We're going to morph into it." On Jan. 25-6 the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is attended by Pres. Trump, who gives a speech on Jan. 26, saying "America is open for business", with the soundbytes: "Now is the perfect time to bring your business, your jobs, and your investments to the U.S.", "America is open for business and we are competitive once again", "As president of the United States, I will always put American first just as the leaders of other countries should put their countries first", causing misnamed U.N. human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein to utter the soundbyte: "It's the script of the 20th century. He urged all countries to pursue their own interest, almost without reference to the fact that if you do all of that, if each country is narrowly pursuing its agenda, it will clash with the agendas of others and we will take the world back to 1913 once again." On Jan. 25 2-day Last Hope Syria Peace Talks by the U.N. begin in Vienna. On Jan. 26 the Trump-hating New York Times claims that Pres. Trump ordered special counsel Robert Mueller fired last June, but backed down when his atty. Daniel McGahn threatened to quit; Trump calls it fake news - Trump back down? On Jan. 26 the 2018 Paris Flood starts after rains stop. On Jan. 26 House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) addresses the Conference on Mayors, letting the cat out of the bag with the soundbyte that the real goal of Pres. Trump's proposed immigration plan is "to make America white again"; new non-white immigrants however, "make America more American". On Jan. 27 a Taliban suicide bomber in an ambulance detonates at a police checkpoint in Kaboom, er, Kabul, Afghanistan, killing 103 and injuring 235. On Jan. 28 (Sun.) pres. elections in Finland give a landslide V to incumbent Sauli Niinisto, who wins 62.7% of the vote. On Jan. 28 a proposed Polish law to make it a crime to claim that Poland helped the Nazis in WWII pisses-off Israel. On Jan. 29 (7:30 a.m. local time) Am. Muslim Khalil Lawal (b. 1986) of Arlington, Va. in a black Honda plows into pedestrians in South Philadelphia, Penn., injuring one before being killed by an off-duty cop; terrorism is suspected, but the police don't release his name until Jan. 30, his Facebook page revealing that he is a member of Jannah Al-Firdaus, whose motto is "Jannah (Paradise) is my Goal". On Jan. 29 deputy FBI dir. Andrew McCabe abruptly resigns (really fired?). On Jan. 30 (9:00 p.m. EDT) Pres. Trump delivers his 80-min. 2018 State of the Union Speech, ignoring the hype that he would present a softer milder version of himself, calling his first year in office an "extraordinary success", calling for a "new American moment", and castigating Dems. repeatedly esp. on immigration, backing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers as long as chain migration is prevented, with the soundbyte: "Americans are dreamers too", using the word "America" 80+ times and getting 111 standing ovations; he calls for $1.5T in federal funds to revamp the U.S. infrastructure, with states providing support, says that U.S. foreign aid should "only go to friends of America", calls for the removal of "federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people", and says "One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs"; when he notes that black 6.8%) and Hispanic unemployment is now the lowest in history, Dem. blacks and Hispanics refuse to clap; he unexpectedly announces that he has revoked Pres. Obama's 2009 order to close Gitmo, saying that the may send more POWs there when necessary; too bad, Jan. employment statistics reveal that black unemployment has shot back up to 7.7%, highest since Trump took office in Jan. 2017. On Jan. 30 Pres. Trump signs the U.S. Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Va. Federal Recognition Act of 2017, granting federal recognition to six Native Am. tribes recognized by Va. On Jan. 30 Am. Muslim teenie girl Maarib Al Hishmawi (2001-) is reporting missing after leaving Taft H.S. in Bexar County, Tex.; in Mar. she is located, revealing that her parents beat her with broomsticks and poured hot cooking oil on her for refusing a $20K arranged marriage. On Jan. 31 (early a.m.) a super blue blood Moon. On Jan. 31 an Amtrak train carrying dozens of Repub. members of Congress and staff to a retreat at the Greenbrier in W. Va. crashes into a truck near Charlottesville, Va., killing truck driver Christopher Foley (b. 1989). On Jan. 31 Judicial Watch releases 42 pages of documents showing that the Obama admin. tried to undermine Pres. Trump's new admin. by releasing classified Russian intel. just before his inauguration to U.S. Sen. (D-Md.) Ben Cardin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In late Jan. the Inaugural U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue is followed on Feb. 1 by the launch of the Gulf Internat. Forum. In late Jan. an open letter signed by 200+ pro-global warming scientists incl. Michael E. Mann and Katharine Hayhoe calls on the Am. Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City to remove wealthy climate change denier and Pres. Trump supporter Rebekah "Bekah" Mercer (1973-) (backer of Breitbart) from its board, and to "end ties to anti-science propagandists and funders of climate science misinformation", causing a group of you know whats incl. Willie Soon, Will Happer, Richard Lindzen, Craig Idso, and Geoffrey Duffy to send AMNH an open letter begging them "not to cave in to this pressure", with the soundbyte: "The Earth has supported abundant life many times in the geological past when there were much higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is quite likely that future generations will benefit from the enrichment of Earth's atmosphere with more carbon dioxide. Make no mistake, the agitators are not defending science from quackery - quite the contrary!" In Jan. the Nutella Brawls in France begin when the Intermarche supermarket chain drops the price of a 950g jar from €4.50 to €1.41. In Jan. former U.S. secy. of state John Kerry meets with top PLO negotiator Hussein Agha in London, telling him to "be strong", "play for time", and "not yield to President Trump's demands", urging him to attack Trump personally, like he did a year earlier when he cursed Trump with the soundbyte "May your house be destroyed". In Jan. after all the shadow banning and deplatforming of non-PC people, Am. mathematical physicist Eric Ross Weinstein (1965-) coins the term "intellectual dark web" for the few remaining YouTube personalities who refuse to tow the orthodox PC line and actually think for themselves and debate unpopular issues. In Jan. Project Veritas reveals the Twitter practice of "shadow banning", secretly banning users for their conservative content by making sure their posts are not seen by other users; in combo with Google they are effectively skewing election results and opening the West to Muslim takeover? In Jan. U.S. unemployment is 4.1% for the 4th straight month, with 200K new jobs and a 2.9% increase in wages (vs. 2.7% in Dec.), largest year-over-year increase since June 2009. On Feb. 2 after tweeting the soundbyte "The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people!", Pres. Trump orders the release of a 4-page classified memo by Repub. House Intel Committee chmn. Devin Nunes revealing that FBI Dir. James Comey used a discredited 35-page anti-Trump dossier to obtain a FISA court warrant to engage in surveillance on volunteer Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page, pissing-off the Dems., who claim that Trump is using it to discredit the Robert Mueller Trump-Russia witchhunt, er, investigation. On Feb. 3 the 2-week-old (since Jan. 20) Turkish military attack on Syrian Kurdish militia-held Afrin, N Syria results in the killing of eight Turkish troops. On Feb. 4 (2:45 a.m. local time) an Amtrak Silver Star passenger train en route from New York City to Miami, Fla. slams into a parked freight train 10 mi. S of Columbia, S.C., killing two crew and injuring 100+. On Feb. 4 140K protest in Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece over allowing the Former Yugoslav Repub. of Macedonia to keep its name, calling it Skopje instead and pointing to the Greek province of Macedonia. On Feb. 4 an air raid by the Saudi-led coalition hits a police bldg. in Sana'a, Yemen, killing eight. On Feb. 4 Israeli PM Benjamin announces plans to legalize the isolated West Bank outpost of Havat Gilad in response to the murder of a father of six who lived there. On Feb. 5 (Wild Mon.) (day after Super Bowl Sun.) the Dow Jones Industrial Avg. plunges almost 1,600 points (6%) before ending the day down 1,179 points (4%), erasing gains for the year; the S&P Index falls 4%, losing $1T in market capitalization; on Feb. 6 the Dow recovers by 567 points. On Feb. 5 an Iraqi govt. spokesman announces to the AP that U.S. troops have started to draw down from Iraq after Baghdad's declaration of victory over ISIS last year. On Feb. 5 Washington, D.C.-born Jerome Hayden "Jay" Powell (1953-) becomes Federal Reserve chmn. #16 (until ?), going on to rub rhubarb with Pres. Trump, who calls him an "enemy equivalent or worse" than Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, criticizing him for not lowering federal interest rates and instituting quantitative easing until the 2020 Coronavirus forces him. On Feb. 5 anti-Trump U.S. Rep. (D-Calif.) (2013-) Eric Michael Swalwell Jr. (1980-) introduces the U.S. Journalist Protection Act, making it a federal crime for Pres. Trump, er, to intimidate journalists to protect them from the "toxic environment created by Trump. On Feb. 5-7 the Alliance of Virtue for the Common Good Conference in the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C., run by Mauritanian-born Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah hosts Sam Brownback and other U.S. officials. On Feb. 6 (night) a 6.4 earthquake hits Hualien, Taiwan, killing 7+. On Feb. 7 Am. Muslim Munther Omar Saleh (1995-) is sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after admitting to plotting a jihad massacre in New York City for ISIS. On Feb. 7 the 19-member U.N. NGO Committee of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meets in New York City, rejecting applications from TWO U.S.-based groups fighting for human rights in Iran and North Korea, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) (founded 2004) and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) (founded in 2001), which U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley calls "shameful". On Feb. 8 a Rasmussen poll gives Pres. Trump's job approval rating as 48%, vs. 44 for Pres Obama at the same point in his presidency. On Feb. 9 (a.m.) after the federal govt. shuts down overnight and 73 Dems. switch to offset 67 Repubs., giving a 71-28 Senate vote at 2:00 a.m., followed by a 240-186 House vote at 5:30 a.m., Pres. Trump signs budget law boosting spending by hundreds of billions of dollars incl. $300B for military programs, pissing-off Ky. Sen. Rand Paul, who held the vote up until the last minute, with the soundbyte: "How come you were against President Obama's deficits and then how come you're for Republican deficits?" On Feb. 9 Egypt launches Operation Sinai 2018 to purge the region of Islamist terrorists. On Feb. 9 a U.N. committee urges Spain to ban children under 18 from bullfights and bullfighting schools to prevent "harmful effects". On Feb. 9 shy introverted Muslim Bangladeshi scholarship student Momena Shoma (1993-) stabs her 56-y.-o. homestay host Roger Singaravelu in the neck in Melbourne, Australia after practicing on a mattress, later telling police she was "acting on behalf of the Caliphate" and that she had not come to Australia to study but to kill in the name of Allah, appearing in court in a niqab clamming to be an ISIS soldier, refusing to stand or enter a plea; on June 8, 2019 she is sentenced to max sentence of 42 years in jail, becoming the first in Australia to be convicted of violent jihad. On Feb. 9 a 250m 130-tonne Monster Fatberg found last year goes on display at the Museum of London, composed of sewer clog. On Feb. 10 after House Dem. Adam Schiff sends him a spin memo, Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "The Democrats sent a very political and long response memo which they knew, because of sources and methods (and more), would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency. Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!" On Feb. 10 (early a.m.) (one day before the 39th anniv. of the Iranian Islamic Rev.) an Iranian drone (UAV) enters Israeli airspace from Syria, causing the IAF to shoot it down and Syrian AA batteries to respond, hitting an Israeli F-16 that crashes in Israeli territory, critically injuring one pilot, after which the IAF raids Syria, hitting 12 targets, becoming their biggest attack against Syria since the 1982 Lebanon war, and Israel warns Iran over its continuing presence in Syria; on Feb. 12 the big rally in Tehran sees hundreds of thousands curse the U.S. as "enemy number one"; on Feb. 20 U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley gives a speech to the U.N. Security Council, with the soundbytes: "Israel, like any other country, has a right to defend itself and its borders. The Israeli people face the frightening escalation of Islamic terror acts through Israel. The Palestinian Authority refuses to take the most basic steps towards ensuring peace with Israel, and instead incites terrorism. Textbooks in Gaza and the West Bank teach children that Israel has no right to exist. They teach their children to hate Jews. The Hamas charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and the Jewish people"; "The West must stop embracing Islam-based hatred of Israel." On Feb. 10 a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone destroys a Russian-made T-72 battle tank in Syria after U.S. special ops come under attack by pro-Assad forces. On Feb. 10 (11:30 a.m.) police officers Anthony "Tony" Morelli (b. 1963) and Eric Joering (b. 1978) are shot and killed in Westerville, Ohio after responding to a 911 hangup call. On Feb. 11 U.S. secy. of state Rex Tillerson arrives in Cairo, Egypt to kick off a tour of five Middle Eastern countries; meanwhile Egypt launches an offensive against Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula. On Feb. 11 a street vendor's gas canister explodes at a carnival in Oruro, Bolivia, killing eight and injuring 40+. On Feb. 12 a Russian An-148 regional jet crashes shortly after takeoff from Domodedovo Airport in Orsk, Russia, killing all 65 passengers and six crew. On Feb. 13 a Turkish patrol boat rams a Greek coast guard boat off Imia Island, over which Turkey claims sovereignty. On Feb. 14 a truck carrying African migrants crashes S of Bani Walid, Libya, killing 19 and injuring 100+. On Feb. 13 Plano, Tex. city councilman Tom Harrison (Methodist) is attacked by local Muslim groups for calling for Islam to be banned from public schools in a Facebook post, with mayor Harry LaRosiliere calling on him to resign, after which he eats crow, with the soundbyte: "My intent on inputting this on my personal Facebook page was to emphasize that Christianity is not the only religion being targeted for exclusion in our public school"; part of a Muslim conspiracy to supplant Christianity in U.S. public schools? On Feb. 14 (2:21 p.m.) (Valentine's Day) 19-y.-o. expelled JROTC student Nikolas Jacob Cruz (1998-) shoots up 3.3K-student Marjory Stoneman Douglas H.S. in Parkland, Fla. 45 mi. N of Miami with an AR-15-style assault rifle after tossing in smoke grenades that set off fire alarms, then picks them off as they pour out, killing 17 and injuring 15 before being trying to melt in with the fleeing students and getting arrested, becoming the 18th U.S. school shooting of the year and highest kill count since Columbine H.S. in Colo. (13); on Feb. 14 (night) the board of Hanover School District 28 30 mi. SE of Colorado Springs, Colo. votes 3-2 to allow school employees to be armed on the job; it later emerges that four armed Broward County deputies hid outside the school while the shooting was going on, making public statements by Coral Springs police chief Tony Pustizzi blaming the NRA seem lame. On Feb. 14 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejects calls to step down after police recommend his indictment on corruption charges. On Feb. 14, 2018 (night) after a vote of no-confidence, "the Lying King" South African pres. Jacob Zuma resigns after nine years, and on Feb. 15 wealthy businessman (ANC pres. since Dec. 18, 2017) Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (1952-) (Nelsa Mandela's choice) becomes pres. #5 of South Africa (until ?), becoming the first from the Venda ethnic group, going on to commit the African Nat. Congress (ANC) to land expropriation from white farmers, with ANC chmn. uttering the soundbyte "You shouldn't own more than 24,000 acres of land" in early Aug., causing concerns that South Africa may be "Zimbabweficated". On Feb 14 a New York federal judge blocks Pres. Trump's Sept. 2017 executive order overturning Pres. Obama's order creating the DACA program. On Feb. 15 Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah brags that it will have 500K missiles aimed at Israel within a year - thanks to Obama? On Feb. 15 Russia admits that five Russian citizens were killed by U.S.-led coalition forces in a bombing of pro-govt. Syrian fighters, becoming their first admission of non-military casualties in Syria. On Feb. 16 U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller indicts 13 Russians and 3 Russian cos. for unsuccessfully attempting to disrupt the 2016 U.S. pres. election by assuming false U.S. identities, being careful to state that any Trump campaign people they contacted were unaware of their true identities, causing Pres. Trump to tweet "The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!" On Feb. 16 after being arrested in 2016, Muslim jihadist Tamim Khaja (1997-) is sentenced for planning a massacre in Sydney, Australia, saying he wanted to use "maximum fire". On Feb. 16 (night) three female Boko Haram suicide bombers detonate in a crowded fish market in Konduga (near Maiduguri), Borno, Nigeria, killing 18+ and injuring 22. On Feb. 18 ISIS militants ambush the pro-govt. Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) (PMF) in Hawija, Kirkuk, Iraq, killing 24+. On Feb. 18 (Sun.) Allah Akbar-screaming ISIS gunman Khalil al-Dagestani (Halilov Khalil Umarovich) opens fire with a hunting rifle on people leaving an Orthodox church service in Kizlyar Dagestan, Russia on the Chechen border, killing four woman and fatally injuring a 5th before police kill him, after two officers are injured; ISIS claims responsibility. On Feb. 18 Syrian warplanes begin bombing Eastern Ghouta (near Damascus), Syria, last rebel enclave in Syria, killing 335 and injuring 1.2K by Feb. 22, when the U.N. pleads for a truce. On Feb. 18 the 2018 Calif. Wildfires begin with the Pleasant Fire in Inyo County, burning 2,070 acres by the time it is contained on Apr. 19; on June 11 the Lions fire in Madera County burns 7.8K+ acres before it is contained on ?; on June 30 the multi-county Lake-Napa-Yolo County Fire burns 90,288 acres before being contained on July 14; on July 6 record high temps are set at UCLA (111), Burbank (114), Santa Ana (114), Van Nuys (117), and Chino (120); on July 13 the Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County burns 94K+ acres before being contained on ?; on July 23 the Carr Fire in Shasta burns 167K+ acres before being contained on ?; on July 26 Redding, Calif. hits 133F as the Carr fire races out of control and causes deaths; on July 27 the Mendocino Complex Fire in Mendocino-Lake-Colusa Counties burns 283K+ acres before being contained on?; in July Fresno, Calif. reaches 100F or higher for 26 straight days, and Palm Springs, Calif. has a record July avg. temp of 97.4F, while Scripps Pier in San Diego, Calif. reaches a record 78.8F surface water temp; on Aug. 4 a nat. disaster is declared in N Calif after 4,983 fires burn 610,266 acres (2,469.66 sq. km), becoming the largest in Calif. history; on Aug. 6 twin fires N of San Francisco, Calif.; the years with the warmest summertime min. Calif. temps are 2017 (top), 2015, 2014, 2006, 2016, and 2003; manmade global warming is not a major factor, with U.S. Geological Survey fire scientist Jon Keeley uttering the soundbyte: "What's changing is not the fires themselves but the fact that we have more and more people at risk", U.S. interior secy. Ryan Zinke uttering the soundbyte: "We have been held hostage by these environmentalist terrorist groups that have not allowed public access, that refuse to allow harvest of timber", and anti-environmentalist Paul Driessen (1948-) blaming environmentalists, with the soundbyte: "Eco-purists want no cutting, no thinning - no using fire retardants in 'sensitive' areas because the chemicals might get into streams that will be boiled away by conflagrations. They prevent homeowners from clearing brush around their homes, because it might provide cover or habitat for endangered species and other critters that will get incinerated or lose their forage, prey and habitats in the next blaze. They rarely alter their policies during drought years. The resulting fires are not the 'forest-rejuvenating' blazes of environmentalist lore. They are cauldron-hot conflagrations that exterminate wildlife habitats, roast bald eagle and spotted owl fledglings alive in their nests, boil away trout and trout streams, leave surviving animals to starve, and incinerate every living organism in already thin soils.. that then get washed away during future downpours and snow melts. Areas incinerated by such fires don't recover their arboreal biodiversity for decades." On Feb. 20 the Fla. State House of Reps passes HR 157, declaring porno a "public health risk". On Feb. 20 Palestinian Authority pres. (since Jan. 15, 2005) Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) (1935-) gives a speech to the U.N. Security Council, accusing the Trump admin. of abdicating its commitment to an independent Palestinian state, calling for an internat. peace conference under U.N. not U.S. sponsorship; when he abruptly exits stage left after his speech, U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley utters the soundbyte: "Our negotiators are sitting right behind me, ready to talk. We will not chase after you. The choice, Mr. President, is yours." On Feb. 20 after Pres. Trump tweets that he has been tougher on Russia then Pres. Obama, ex-CIA dir. John O. Brennan tweets the soundbyte: "It never ceases to amaze me how successful you have been making yourself so small, petty, and banal with your tweets. Your insecurity is well deserved, as is your concern over Russia investigation." On Feb. 21 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announces that Israel intel services have thwarted an ISIS plot to blow up a plane from Sydney, Australia using an IED inside a meat mincer. On Feb. 21 Canadian PM Justin Trudeau visits India, incl. the Golden Temple of Amritsar, wearing Indian garb. On Feb. 21 Iranian senior official Mohsen Rezai gives an interview on Al-Manar TV, containing the soundbyte: "If Israel takes even the smallest step [against Iran], we will annihilate Tel Aviv and raze it to the ground." On Feb. 21 Am. evangelist Billy Graham (b. 1918) dies in Montreat, N.C., and his son William Franklin Graham III (1952-), pres. since 1978 of Samaritan's Purse evangelical Christian charity takes over his org., taking over the endless fight against Satan incl. gay and Muslim candidates and legislation and the PC police. On Feb. 22 Muslim immigrant Munir Mohammed (1980-) of Derby, England is sentenced to life in prison (min. 14 years) for plotting a jihadist massacre; his pharmacist wife Rowaida El-Hassan is given 12 years. On Feb. 23-25 the Nation of Islam celebrate's Saviour's Day (birhday of founder Wallace Fard Muhammad) in Chicago, Ill.; leader Louis Farrakhan gives a speech, with the soundbytes: "White folks are going down. And Satan is going down. And Farrakhan, by God's grace, has pulled the cover off the eyes of that Satanic Jew, and I'm here to say your time is up, your world is through"; "Jews were responsible for all of this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out" and are "the children of the devil"; "When you want something in this world, the Jew holds the door." On Feb. 24 the Great Britain and Ireland Cold Wave (Beast from the East) begins (ends Mar. 19), caused by a large Arctic air mass with anticyclonic structure stretching from E Russia to the British Isles and centered on Scandinavia. On Feb. 24 Oakland, Calif. Dem. mayor Libby Schaaf issues a warning to illegals about an upcoming ICE sweep, causing calls for her prosecution. On Feb. 24 Aid to the Church in Need turns the Roman Colosseum red to commemorate the massacres of Christians in the Middle East by Muslims. On Feb. 25 Mafia whistleblower Jan Kuciak is found shot dead in his home along with fiancee Martina Kusnirovaafter pub. a report on the "Italian track" of figures with Mafia connections, causing Slovak police on Mar. 1 to arrest several Italian businessmen named in the report incl. Antonino Vadala, alleged to have links with the 'Ndrangeta crime syndicate. On Feb. 26 the 37th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council convenes, with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein complaining of "violations of human rights which should have served as a trigger for preventative action" (meaning alleged Israeli oppression of Palestinians, not his oppression of his people?), calling for a Code of Conduct to stop the U.S. and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council from making "pernicious use" of their veto against resolutions condemning Israel, like the U.S. has done 43x. On Feb. 26 the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rules that Title VII of the 1964 U.S. Civil Rights Act protects gays from being fired from their jobs by straining to find a loophole in the wording, making hay of its wording of "sex" instead of "gender", with the soundbyte: "Sexual orientation discrimination is a subset of sex discrimination because sexual orientation is defined by one's sex in relation to the sex of those to whom one is attracted, making it impossible for an employer to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation without taking sex into account"; too bad, the Act doesn't mention sexual orientation, and they legislated from the bench? - lonely days, lonely nights, where would I be without my woman? On Feb. 27 (night) Taliban fighters in S Afghanistan on the Kandahar-Uruzgan border kidnap 30 incl. 19 policemen, and kill six policemen in two separate attacks. On Feb. 27 Bernard Augustine (1996-) of Keyes (near Modesto), Calif. is arrested for trying to join ISIS after traveling to Tunisia in 2016. On Feb. 27 after a proposal by white-hating Marxist radical Julius Malema of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the parliament of South Africa by 241-83 votes to confiscate land owned by white farmers without paying compensation; on Aug. 23 Pres. Trump issues a tweet asking U.S. secy. of state Mike Pompeo to study land confiscation and "large scale killing of farmers" in South Africa, causing the rand to fall 1.3% and the African Nat. Congress to criticize Trump for "this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past." On Feb. 28 after a Congressional committee trips her up into admitting that she told "white lies" on Pres. Trump's behalf on Feb. 27, Hope Charlotte Hicks (1988-) announces her intention to resign as White House communications dir., becoming Trump's longest-serving political aide. On Feb. 28 Pres. Trump stuns Repubs. by embracing gun control on live TV at the White House, urging lawmakers to ressurect gun safety legislation they opposed for years; too bad, Congress does nothing as usual. In Feb. the Hungarian legislature introduces a Stop Soros Bill to "empower the interior minister to ban non-governmental organizations [NGOs] that support migration and pose a national security risk", causing Soros to relocate his Central European U. to Vienna. In Feb. U.S. unemployment is 4.1% for the 5th straight month, with 6.7M unemployed, adding 235K jobs, 200K+ in seven of the last 12 mos., incl. 31K manufacturing jobs, 263K since Dec. 2016. On Mar. 1 Russian pres. Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address, bragging about new "invincible" doomsday weapons incl. a nuclear-tipped torpedo. On Mar. 1 Pres. Trump announces a tariff of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imports, pissing-off Repubs., who call it a massive tax increase. On Mar. 1 the state of Calif. is ranked last among U.S. states in quality of life; Los Angeles County has 58K homeless people, up 46% in 2013-17. On Mar. 1 Winter (False Tropical) Storm Riley (Mar. 2018 Nor'Easter). On Mar. 2 the nat. army HQ and French embassy in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso are attacked by Allah-Akbar-shouting jihadists, killing seven plus six attackers; al-Qaida's Mali branch JNIM (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims) claims credit. On Mar. 2 a car bomb near an Australian embassy convoy in E Afghanistan kills one child and injures several. On Mar. 2 British police announce the conviction of three Muslims incl. ringleader Umar Ahmed Haque (1992-) of Barking, East London on terrorism charges for planning to recruit 55 children for attacks in London. On Mar. 2 former CIA dir. John Brennan utters the soundbyte that Pres. Trump is "unstable, inept, inexperienced, and also unethical". On Mar. 2 17-y.-o. Muslim convert Lloyd Gunton is jailed indefinitely (at least 11 years) for planning an "act of atrocity" in Cardiff, England during a Justin Bieber concert. On Mar. 2 21-y.-o. Tunisian Muslim immigrant Ismail Tommaso Hosni (1996-) is sentenced to seven years for a knife attack on two soldiers and a railway police officer in Milan, Italy in May; the judge reduces his 10-year sentence for mental illness. ON Mar. 30 Cameron Ross Burgess (b. 1991) of Maylene, Ala. shoots himself to death outside the White House. On Mar. 4 after the Houthi militia closes gasoline filling stations for a 6th straight day, protests in Sana'a, Yemen by tens of civilians in front of the secretariat bldg. On Mar. 4 after people tell the EU to stuff it with their desire for more immigration, gen. elections in Italy are a V for the center-right Matteo Salvini's League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement, with the center-left coalition led by former PM Matteo Renzi coming in 3rd, resulting in a hung parliament; Italy's Innovation and Economic Development Centre calls the result "the greatest affirmation of anti-establishment parties in the panorama of Western Europe since the post-war period." On Mar. 4 former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are found unconscious on a beach in S England, which is later determined to be from poisoning, causing a cabinet-level meeting to be held on Mar. 7 as London's Metropolitan Police counterterrorism unit takes over the investigation, which fingers Russian pres. Vladimir Putin; on Mar. 14 Britain expels 23 Russian diplomats, causing Russia to do ditto with 23 British diplomats, and the U.S. to ditto on Mar. 26 with 60 Russian diplomats, and Russia to do ditto on Mar. 29 with 60 U.S. diplomats. On Mar. 4 after being delayed for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the 90th (2018) Academy Awards, presented at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. are hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (first to repeat since Billy Crystal in 1997-8); "The Shape of Water" (13 nominations) wins four Oscars incl. best picture and best dir. for Guillermo del Toro; "Dunkirk" (8 nominations) wins three Oscars; rare retro white straight male Gary Oldman wins best actor for "Darkest Hour"; female Frances McDormand wins best actress for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (seven nominations), and Sam Rockwell wins best supporting actor; female Allison Janney wins best supporting actress for "I, Tonya"; black Jordan Peele wins best original screenplay for "Get Out", and gay James Ivory wins best adapted screenplay for "Call Me by Your Name"; "Coco" wins for best animated feature film; the most ridiculous and irrelevant best picture Oscar yet?; the new diversity members of the Academy wouldn't vote for a too-white film, allowing one with a Mexican dir. to come to the top by default no matter how silly his film?; no wonder that ratings dropped 19% from last year, continuing a multi-year slide. On Mar. 5 Iran claims that if the U.S. pulls out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it can produce 20% enriched uranium in only 48 hours. On Mar. 5 Hungary presents a 12-point "security first" proposal to the U.N. to counter its Global Compact for Migration, which Pres. Trump chucked in Dec., calling it a "no borders plan". On Mar. 6 a South Korean delegation returns a meeting with Kim Jong-un in North Korea, with the claim that North Korea is willing to hold denuclearization talks with the U.S. while suspending nuclear tests. On Mar. 6 the U.S. Justice Dept. sues the state of Calif. for passing laws hindering enforcement of federal immigration law and endangering federal agents, with U.S. atty. gen. Jeff Sessions uttering the soundbyte: "The Department of Justice and the Trump administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional policies that have been imposed on you." On Mar. 6 Gary Cohn, Pres. Trump's chief economic advisor (since Jan. 20, 2017) announces his resignation over disagreement about tariffs; on Mar. 15 Pres. Trump appoints Lawrence Alan "Larry" Kudlow (1947-) as his successor (until ?). On Mar. 6 Am. Muslim Ali Muhammad Brown (1984-) of Seattle, Wash. pleads guilty to murdering 19-y.-o. college student Brandon Tevlin in June 2014 at a traffic light in West Orange, N.J. after he told police that his all-male victims represented a "life for a life" to avenge U.S. mideast policy, and each was a "just kill" because they were unacommpanied; he awaits trial for three more murders in Wash. state in 2014. On Mar. 7 Denver for Psilocybin holds a rally on the steps of the City and County Bldg. of Denver, Colo. to legalize magic mushrooms. On Mar. 8 Internat. Women's Day sees the Communist Rev. Student Front (RSF) vandalize the Littlefield WWI memorial fountain on the campus of the U. of Tex. at Austin. On Mar. 9 (10:30 a.m.) ex-U.S. Army infantryman Albert Wong (b. 1981) attacks the Pathway Home at the Veterans Home of Calif. (largest in the U.S.) in Yountville, Calif., taking and killing three hostages before committing suicide. On Mar. 11 by 2959-2-3 the Nat. Peoples' Congress of China removes the 2-term limit on the presidency, saving new Fuehrer Xi Jinping from stepping down in 2023. On Mar. 11 Israel passes a law allowing the permanent residency of jihadist terrorists to be revoked, pissing-off the EU, who wants to protect sacred cow Palestinians. On Mar. 12 U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley gives a speech to the U.N. Security Council, covering the history of U.S. involvement in Syria and warning that military action is still on the table against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, with the soundbyte: “This is no cease-fire. This is the Assad regime, Iran and Russia continuing to wage war against their political opponents,” Haley charged. "If we can't save families that haven't seen the Sun for weeks because they have been hiding underground to escape barrel bombs,” she said, “then the Security Council is as impotent as its worst critics say it is. When the international community consistently fails to act, there are times when states are compelled to take their own action." On Mar. 12 the Repub.-dominated House Intel Committee releases its verdict that there was no collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump pres. campaign. On Mar. 12 (6:00 a.m.) after watching jihdadist videos and reading the Quran "to give him courage", Fla. teenie Muslim convert Corey Johnson (2000-) stabs 13-y.-o. Jovanni Sierra to death and attempts to murder Elaine Simon and her son Dane Bancroft at a birthday sleepover in Ballenisles Country Club in Palm Beach, Fla.; no surprise, the FBI was monitoring him. On Mar. 13 (a.m.) after he returns from a trip to Africa, going beyond the White House in blaming Russia for poisoning ex-spy Sergei Skripal, and declining to say whether his son-in-law Jared Kushner has spoiled U.S. diplomatic interests, Pres. Trump fires Rex Tillerson on Twitter, replacing him as U.S. secy. of state #70 with CIA dir. #6 (since Jan. 23, 2017) Michael Richard "Mike" Pompeo (1963-), and appointing Gina Cheri Haspel (nee Walker) (1956-) as acting CIA dir. #7 (first woman), taking office on Apr. 26; Pompeo is confirmed by the U.S. Senate by 57-42, taking office on Apr. 26 (until ?), and Haspel takes office on May 21 (until ?). On Mar. 13 Pres. Trump gives a speech at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station near San Diego, Calif., uttering the soundbyte: "My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea. We may even have a space force, develop another one: Space Force." On Mar. 13 U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel testifies before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, telling them that the Taliban is transitioning from an ideologically-inspired group to a narco-terror group. On Mar. 13 teacher Dennis Alexander accidentally discharges his firearm at the ceiling at Seaside H.S. in Seaside, Calif. during a public safety class, lightly injuring a 17-y.-o. student with a bullet fragment. On Mar. 14 Bundestag elections in Germany reelect German chancellor Angela Merkel by 364-315-9 (4 invalid); 355 were required, becoming her narrowest V since 2005, showing growing anger at her nutso Muslim immigration policies. On Mar. 14 the U.S. House votes 407-10 H.R. 4909 AKA the STOP School Violence Act aimed at preventing school shootings by funding training of students, teachers, school officials, and law enforcement on identifying early warning signs, and deployment of anon. reporting systems. On Mar. 15 a pedestrian bridge at Fla. Internat. Univ. in Miami, Fla. collapses, killing five. On Mar. 15 the Israeli supreme court suspends a controversial govt. plan to deport tens of thousands of African illegal aliens, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan. On Mar. 15 the Saudi daily newspaper Al Sharq Al-Awsat pub. an article announcing that a court in Riyadh has begun hearing the case of six Saudi ISIS members accused of planning to kill foreigners from Denmark, France, and U.S. On Mar. 15 a group of Irish MEPs pub. a report warning that Ireland is a "soft target" for terror and cyber attacks. On Mar. 15 Cuban man Raul Guttierez Sanchez (1972-) is ordered detained by a Colombian judge for planning an attack on a Bogota restaurant frequented by U.S. diplomats with ISIS militants; he tells reporters: "I fight against the New World Order, especially against Americans." On Mar. 16 the 2018 Facebook Scandal begins when it is revealed that Steve Bannon's Cambridge Analytica had obtained private data on 50M Facebook users back in 2015, and promised Facebook that it would be deleted after being banned from Facebook, and the British Parliament accuses Facebook of misleading them about it and demands that CEO Mark Zuckerberg testify, causing Facebook's stock to plummet amid a rash of lawsuits; Facebook later ups the figure to 87M, then almost all of its 2B accounts. On Mar. 16, 2018 (night) despite announcing his resignation on Jan. 29, two days before qualifying for his early pension, deputy FBI dir. Andrew George McCabe (1968-) is fired by U.S. atty. gen. Jeff Sessions for "lack of candor" (misleading investigators about his decision to allow FBI officials to give info. to the media about the Clinton Foundation) claiming a political frameup; Pres. Trump tweets "A great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy", causing Trump's archenemy John O. Brennan to tweet to Trump the soundbyte on Mar. 17: "When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but will not destroy America... America will triumph over you." On Mar. 17 (11:45 p.m.) after being kicked out for drunkenness, pissing him off, English Muslim Mohammed Abdul (1996-) of Deptford, South East London rams his 4x4 into Blake's Nightclub in Gravesend, Kent, driving onto the dance floor filled with 600, injuring 13; the police refuse to treat it as a jihadist attack. On Mar. 18 pres. elections in Russia give pres. Vladimir Putin a V with 77% of the vote, giving him another six years. On Mar. 18 a madass Muslim terrorist stabs a security guard near the Lion's Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem befoe being killed by security forces. On Mar. 18 20-y.-o. Syrian Muslim Yamen A is charged by German authorities with plotting a major ISIS jihadist attack in Hamburg which could have killed up to 200 before he was arrested last Oct. 31. On Mar. 18 (9:30 p.m. local time) Madowview, Sacramento police officers Terrance Mercadal (black) and Jared Robinet (white) shoot 20x and kill unarmed black man Stephon Clark (Alonzo-Clark) (b. 1995) in the backyard of his grandmother's home, claiming that he had a gun when he only had a cellphone, sparking nationwide protests, which escalate when prosecutors announce on Mar. 2, 2019 that they won't file charges. On Mar. 19 a Uber self-driving car kills a woman crossing the street in Tempe, Ariz., becoming robokill #1. The s in piss is Austin? On Mar. 19 a booby-trapped bomb goes off in Austin, Tex., injuring two, becoming the 4th in three weeks that killed two and injured three, all in black-Hispanic neighborhoods on the E side; on Mar. 21 (a.m.) the bomber Mark Anthony Conditt (b. 1994) blows himself up in his car after being cornered by police, leaving a 25-min recorded confession. On Mar. 19 Pres. Trump gives a speech in N.H., uttering the soundbyte: "If we don't get tough on the drug dealers, we are wasting our time. That toughness includes the death penalty. Unless you have really really powerful penalties, led by the death penalty, for the really bad pushers and abusers, we are going to get nowhere", adding: "Ninety percent of the heroin in America comes from our southern border, where eventually the Democrats will agree with us, and we'll build the wall to keep the damn drugs out." On Mar. 19 a Molotov cocktail attack on a mosque frequented by Turkish Muslims in Ulm, Germany does little damage; on Mar. 28 four Syians are arrested for attempted murder and arson. On Mar. 19 a court in Pisa, Italy orders the birth certificate of a baby born to a lesbian couple modified to carry the two mothers' names only. On Mar. 19 US-Bangla Airlines Flight BS211 crashes in Kathmandu, Nepal while landing from the wrong direction, killing 50+ of 71. On Mar. 19 a group of 100 French intellectuals pub. an article in Le Figaroon, denouncing the rise of Islamism and its totalitarianism and separatism. On Mar. 19 after bowing to Red Chinese pressure, Wikipedia demotes Taiwan from a country to a "state with limited international recognition". On Mar. 20 (a.m.) a male school shooter at Great Mills H.S. in St. Mary's County, Md. 60 mi. SE of Washington, D.C. is stopped by heroic sheriff Tim Cameron. On Mar. 20 the FBI arrests Tranh Cong Phan (1974-) in Everett, Wash. for sending suspicious packages to military and govt. facilities in the Washington, D.C. area. On Mar. 21 the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), brokered by the African Union (AU) is signed by 44 of 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda, becoming the largest free trade area on Earth. On Mar. 21 elections in Netherlands. On Mar. 21 Am. Muslim Hafiz Kazi crashes the main gate of Travis AFB in Calif. 55 mi. NE of San Francisco in his black SUV, then explodes propane tanks, burning to death. On Mar. 22 Pres. Trump orders trade restrictions against China to help reduce the large trade deficit and curb intellectual property rights violations in hopes of leveling the playing field. On Mar. 22 after a leak from his aides about ignoring warnings not to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his election V, Pres. Trump replaces nat. security adviser H.R. McMaster by former U.S. U.N. ambassador John Bolton (until ?). On Mar. 22 Pres. Trump responds to physical taunts by ex-vice. pres. Joe Biden, saying that he would "go down fast and hard, crying all the way" and calling him "crazy Joe Biden". On Mar. 22 Air India takes off from New Delhi, India and lands in Tel Aviv, Israel after becoming the first flight allowed to fly over Saudi Arabia. On Mar. 23 (Fri.) (11:15 a.m.) after killing one in a carjacking in Carcassone, Allah Akbar-shouting Moroccan-born suspected ISIS gunman Redouane Lakdim (b. 1992) takes 50 hostages at a Super U supermarket in Trebes, France, killing three and injuring 12 in a 4-hour standoff and demanding the release of 2015 Paris jihadist Salah Abdeslam before police kill him; French police lt. col. Arnaud Beltrame (b. 1973) allows himself to traded for a captive, and is stabbed and shot to death, becoming a hero. Ooh, don't you look back? On Mar. 23 as cool-dressing Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman makes a 3-week U.S. tour, the U.S. State Dept. approves a $1B arms sale to Saudi Arabia; on Apr. 11 bin Salman concludes a 3-day trip to France, where he inks 19 draft contracts worth $18; in New York City the prince meets with Am. Jewish orgs., slamming Palestinian Authorty pres. Mahmoud Abbas for "missing one opportunity after the other and rejecting all peace proposals it was given", adding: "It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining"; the prince gives an interview to CBS-TV's "60 Minutes", calling Iranian supreme assasholah Ali Khamenei "very much like Hitler"; he grants another interview to The Atlantic mag., saying that Israelis "have the right to their own land". On Mar. 23 despite tweeting that he might not do it because of lack of funding of his border wall, Pres. Trump signs a $1.3T compromise spending bill because it provides for "the largest pay increase" for U.S. troops in over a decade despite attempting to pull support for his border wall, continue funding of Planned Parenthood et al., bemoaning its unreadable length and saying "I will never sign a bill like this again", which doesn't satisfy Trump supporter Alex Jones, who utters the pissed-off soundbyte: "I'm off the Trump train"; actually, he signed an omnibus bill, not a budget, leaving him free to redirect funding in the interest of nat. security, allowing him to announce that border wall construction will begin on Mar. 26. On Mar. 23 Pres. Trump signs the U.S. Taylor Force Act, cutting $350M annual aid to the Palestinians until they end stipends to jihadists and their families. On Mar. 24 (Sat.) 850+ March for Our Lives marches are held around the U.S. to demand "No more" and "Never again" regarding school massacres, with 300K in Washington, D.C., mostly young adults listening to the survivors of the Douglas H.S. Massacre, calling for a ban on assault weapons and ammo, and online gun sales; sinister globalist billionaire George Soros allegedly pays protesters $300 each (really just offers jobs hawking mechandise?). On Mar. 24 a bomb explodes near convoy carrying the city's security chief Gen. Mostafa al-Nimr in the C Roshdi district of Alexandria, Egypt, killing two policeman and injuring four more, along with one civilian. On Mar. 24 seven suspected jihadist terrorists are arrested in Johor, Malaysia for planning attacks on non-Muslim places of worship and police. On Mar. 25 a fire in the Winter Cherry Shopping Center in Kemerovo, Siberia 2.2K mi. E of Moscow kills 64. On Mar. 25-7 after traveling on an armored train on a surprise visit, aviophobe Kim Jong-un meets in Beijing with Chinese pres. Xi Jinping. On Mar. 25 (Sun.) (eve.) Baton Rouge, La.-born porn star Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Gregory Clifford) (1979-) gives an interview to CBS-TV's "Sixty Minutes", violating her $130K hush money contract with Pres. Trump's atty. Michael Cohen with impunity and telling all, but disappointing with the claim that she only slept with him once after spanking him, after which White House deputy press secy. Raj Shah says that Trump has consistently denied everything, and that it is she who "has been inconsistent" in flopping about her claims over the years, causing her atty. Michael Avenatti to reply "When do we hear from the President?", after which on Mar. 26 she utters the soundbyte that the reason Trump never tweets about her is "Because it's true, 100 percent true." On Mar. 26-28 pres. elections in Egypt are a V for 1st-term incumbent pres. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with 92% of the vote, vs. 3% for runner-up Moussa Mostafa Moussa; 23M of Egypt's 60M voters turn out, plus 2M write-in ballots; stability tops voters' concerns; women and elderly men have high participation rates. On Mar. 27 former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens pub. an op-ed in the New York Times, calling for the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be repealed. On Mar. 27 (Tues.) the revised #1 sitcom (1988-97) Roseanne debuts on ABC-TV for ? episodes (until ?), never mentioning Pres. Trump but treating his views and white middle class supporters with respect, drawing 18M viewers, pleasing Pres. Trump, who personally calls Roseanne Barr to congratulate her. On Mar. 28 U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley announces to the U.N. Security Council that the U.S. "will not pay more than 25 percent of the [United Nations] peacekeeping budget", and that the U.S. is cutting aid to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from $125M/year to $65M/year unless Palestinian leaders return to negotiations with Israel (part of the $1.3T omnibus spending bill signed by Pres. Trump on Mar. 23), pissing-off the Palestinian Authority, whose spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah utters the soundbyte that this amounts to a declaration of war. On Mar. 28 despite a personal appeal by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Pope Francis refuses to apologize for the Roman Catholic Church role in the Canadian system that forced generations of indigenous children into boarding schools, which was called cultural genocide by a 2015 nat. Truth and Reconciliation Commission. On Mar. 28 a federal judge in San Francisco, Calif. holds the first-ever U.S. court hearing on the impact of climate change, with lawyers for San Francisco and Oakland along with five of the largest multinat. oil cos. (BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell) participating in a climate change tutorial preparatory to a lawsuit claiming that rising sea levels et al. are caused by climate change traceable to the cos.; on June 18 he dismisses all the lawsuits trying to hold big oil cos. liable for global climate change, saying that the U.S. pres. and Congress are best suited to address the issue. soundbyte: "Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state and local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!", causing Amazon stock to close down 4.4%. On Mar. 29 22-y.-o. Muslim Algerian immigrant Othman Jridi (1995-) crashes the cement barriers in front of the Basilica of Pompeii in Naples, saying that he did it "to feel closer to Allah". On Mar. 29 the Vatican releases a statement about a private meeting between Pope Francis and the founder of the La Repubblica newspaper in which he allegedly denied the existence of Hell, claiming the transcription is not faithful but failing to disavow the pope's alleged statement - it's where I'm gonna go when I die? On Mar. 30 the Great March of Return by tens of thousands of Palestinians begins, resulting in riots on the Israeli border of Gaza that kill 27 Palestinians; on Apr. 8 Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the Internat. Criminal Court express "grave concern" over the shootings of Palestinians by Israeli troops, who claim they were trying to breach the border fence, along with the actions of Hamas, who may have been using protests as a cover for military activities; on Apr. 7 the U.S. blocks a draft U.N. Security Council resolution submitted by Kuwait calling for an "independent and transparent investigation" of the clashes, and calling for restraint, expressing "grave concern at the situation at the border"; by Apr. 26 32 of the 40 of the Palestinians killed in the rioting are Hamas terrorists. On Mar. 30 Pres. Trump addresses a crowd in Ohio, uttering the soundbyte: "We'll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon." On Mar. 30 Pope Francis makes a prayer during the Good Friday Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, telling Christians that they should express shame for the actions of those who are leaving future generations a world "fractured by divisions and wars". On Mar. 30 Muslim Mohamed Elshinawy (1984-) of Edgewood, Md. pleads guilty to collecting cash payments from a foreign country to use weaponized drones in an ISIS attack on U.S. soil. On Mar. 31 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Governor Jerry 'Moonbeam' Brown pardoned 5 criminal illegal aliens whose crimes include (1) Kidnapping and Robbery (2) Badly beating wife and threatening a crime with intent to terrorize (3) Dealing drugs. Is this really what the great people of California want?", to which Brown replies that he makes "no apologies"; on Apr. 17 Brown agrees to provide Nat. Guard troops for Pres. Trump to protect the U.S. border, on the condition they don't arrest non-violent criminals. On Mar. 31 34-y.-o. ? drives his car into the audience at an electronic music festival on the campus of Doua U. in Villeurbanne, Lyon, France, telling police "I'm a terrorist"; the police blame alcohol intake. On Mar. 31 terrorism-related arrests in Britain reach a record 441 (vs. 378 in 2017), with a total of 4,182 since 9/11. In Mar. Keith Raniere, co-founder of the secretive sex cult NXIVM, who fled Ark. last Nov. after being charged with fraud is arrested by the FBI in Mexico, and held without bond to face charges of sex trafficking, with a min. 15 year prison sentence when convicted; cult members incl. Seagram heiresses Sara and Clare Bronfman donated a total of $29K to Hillary Clinton's pres. campaign. In Mar. a confidential memo is leaked, showing U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley proposing that U.S. foreign assistance should be withdrawn from dozens of poor countries that vote against it in the U.N. In Mar. Canadian Liberal feminist minister #26 of the environment and climate change (Environment Canada) (since Nov. 4, 2015) Catherine Mary McKenna (1971-) (AKA Climate Barbie by her critics) utters the soundbyte that citizens should "consider the gendered impacts of climate change on women, girls and children", applauding Canada for training "women negotiators" to battle manmade global warming. In Mar. the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson visits Da Nang, becoming the first U.S. aircraft carrier to dock in Vietnam since the Vietnam War. In Mar. the U.S. govt. apprends 50,308 people at the SW U.S. border, up from 16,588 in Mar. 2017. In Mar. Kenyan-born Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir (1972-2023) is arrested for killing elderly women in Dallas, Tex. to steal their jewelry; he is convicted of 12 murders, with up to 10 more suspected; he is killed by a fellow inmate in Tennessee Colony Prison, Anderson County, Tex. on Sept. 19, 2023. On Apr. 1 (Sun.) Easter falls on April Fool's Day for the first time in this cent. (next 2029). On Apr. 1 Pope Francis delivers his 2018 Easter Message, calling for an end to "the ongoing extermination in Syria, and for "reconciliation in the Holy Land". On Apr. 1 (a.m.) Pres. Trump issues tweets on the U.S.-Mexico border problem, saying "NO MORE DACA DEAL!" and threatening to dismantle NAFA (Mexico's "cash cow") if it doesn't reduce its flow of immigrants over the U.S. border. On Apr. 1 after promising to support gay marriage, former minister of labor (2016-7) Carlos Alvarado Quesada (1980-) is elected pres. of Costa Rica by 61%, defeating conservative Protestant religious TV journalist Alvarado Munoz (1974-), and is sworn-in on May 8 (until ?); Epsy Campbell becomes vice-pres., first African-Costa Rican. On Apr. 1 a 5.3 earthquake in Kermanshah Province, Iran injures 37. On Apr. 2 Afghan security forces bomb a religious seminary harboring senior Taliban forces in Kunduz Province, injuring 100+, admitting on Apr. 3 that civilians are among the casualties. On Apr. 2 Houthi rebels hit a Saudi tanker with a missile in Al Mukalla, Yemen in revenge for air strikes. On Apr. 2 a Rasmussen Poll gives Pres. Trump a 50% approval rating for the first time. On Apr. 2 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court refuse to consider reinstating a 2006 $655.5M jury award against the Palestinian Authority and PLO won by 11 Am. families over militant attacks in Israel under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act; the Trump admin. had sided with the Palestinians because the attacks occurred outside U.S. territory and there was no evidence that Americans were targeted. On Apr. 3 after protesting in vain YouTube's suppression of her videos, headscarf-wearing 30-something Iranian Azeri vegan animal rights activist Nasim Aghdam shoots up YouTube's HQ in San Bruno, Calif., killing an old flame and wounding three others before committing suicide. On Apr. 3 a viral anti-Muslim flyer in the U.K. declares this Punish a Muslim Day, causing U.S. authorities in New York City to mobilize for it; too bad, despite massive alarms from the PC police, it fails to materialize. On Apr. 4 a Summit on Syria is held in Ankara, Turkey by Turkey, Russia, and Iran, who issue a joint statement that they are committing to achieving a "lasting ceasefire". On Apr. 5 Pres. Trump orders U.S. trade rep Robert Lighthizer to consider placing an additional $100B in tariffs on Chinese goods; on Apr. 10 Chinese pres. Xi Jinping announces that China will "significantly lower" import tariffs for automobiles. On Apr. 5 at Russia's request, the U.N. Security Council meets to discuss the escalating diplomatic crisis between Russia and the West caused by the Mar. 4 Salisbury Incident, the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal on British soil, which caused a wave of expulsions of diplomats. On Apr. 5 U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at Duke U. in Durham, N.C., uttering the soundbyte: "I know John Bolton well. I've gotten advice from him. I've talked to him. I know his disdain for the U.N. I share it." On Apr. 6 Pres. Trump signs a memo ending the "catch and release" immigration policy of ex-Pres. Obama. On Apr. 7 the 2018 U.K. Winter reaches a death toll of 48K since Dec. 1, 20,275 more than avg., becoming the worst in 42 years; Mar. was the chilliest in 21 years. On Apr. 7 German Muslim Jens R (1969-) rams his van into people at an open-air restaurant in Muenster, Germany, killing two and injuring 20 before killing himself; police discount jihad and claim mental illness. On Apr. 8 after learning that "Animal" Assad has ordered a chemical attack near Damascus that killed dozens incl. children, Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!"; on Apr. 9 (early a.m.) Israeli launches an air strike against a Syrian miitary base; Assad did it because Trump announced that he was pulling U.S. troops out of Syria?; on Apr. 10 the U.N. Security holds an emergency meeting over the child-killing chemical attack in Syria; U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley utters the soundbyte that it must vote on Apr. 11 for a Mar. 1 draft resolution to establish an inquiry into who is to blame; "History will record this as the moment when the Security Council either discharged its duty or demonstrated its utter and complete failure to protect the people of Syria. Either way, the United States will respond", causing Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia to reply that the repercussions will be "grave"; too bad, on Apr. 11 the U.N. Security Council fails to pass a resolution. On Apr. 8 the Nigerian military announces the rescue of 54 women and 95 children from Boko Haram in NE Nigeria. On Apr. 9 Israel attacks the Iranian T-4 Base near Homs, Syria, killing seven Iranians incl. an IRGC col. commanding drone operations over Israeli airspace. On Apr. 9 Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak deletes his Facebook account, with the soundbyte: "[Facebook's] profits are all based on the user's info., but the users get none of the profits back... Apple makes money off of good products, not off of you." On Apr. 9 prominent Dutch Roman Catholics pub. a petition to their bishops to warn Pope Francis about his "serious errors" against the faith and his "destructive polities", incl. adulterous couples to receive Communion, support for female deacons, married priests, and contraception, praise for Martin Luther, and deals with the Red Chinese to recognize their atheist Catholic Patriotic Assoc. On Apr. 10 former U.S. ambassador to Iran (2001-5) Alexander Maryasov pub. an article on the Russian Valdai Discussion Club Web site, containing he soundbyte that Russia's current alliance with Iran is a tactical one to counter the U.S., not a strategic one. On Apr. 10 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress about selling users' private data for money no matter the damage it does, with the soundbyte: "It was my mistake and I'm sorry" - he doesn't offer his profits back? On Apr. 10 (eve.) an internat. team of weapons inspectors prepare to deploy to Douma, Syria. On Apr. 11 (8:00 a.m.) a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military plane carrying 257 Western Sahara refugees crashes near Algiers, Algeria, killing all aboard. On Apr. 11 Houthi rebels in Yemen fire a ballistic missile at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is intercepted by Saudi air defenses. On Apr. 11 after a bomb near the Gaza border explodes near Israeli troops, the Israelis strike several Hamas targets in Gaza. On Apr. 11 a letter from Pope Francis to the bishops of Chile is pub., apologizing for "grave errors" in the handling of sexual abuse cases there and inviting reps of the abuse victims to visit Rome so he can apologize. On Apr. 11 Pres. Trump lifts his 6-mo.-o. travel ban on Chad after it improves sharing of info. about suspected terrorists and takes steps to make passports more secure. On Apr. 11 Free Pride Glasgow in Scotland bans drag queens from its LGBT parade to allegedly prevent the oppression of transgenders. On Apr. 11 the city of San Francisco, Calif. begins their Great LED Giveaway of 100K free LED light bulbs in order to save $1M and 5.5M KWH of electricity a year. On Apr. 11 after passing the House by 388-25 and the senate by 97-2 (Ron Wyden and Rand Paul vote no), the U.S. Allow States and Victimes to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOST) (AKA SESTA - Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act) is signed by Pres. Trump; Facebook goes too far and stifles its users' free speech? On Apr. 12 Syrian rebels surrender their heavy weapons and vacate East Ghouta, Syria. On Apr. 12 Taliban insurgents overrun the govt. HQ in Khwaja, Umari District, SE Afghanistan, killing a district govt, the chief of security, and nine others incl. five police officers, injuring 10 other officers; in response the Fghan air force bombs Taliban positions, killing 30. On Apr. 12 UNICEF chief of health Stefan Peterson issues a statement announcing a major yellow fever vaccination campaign for Africa in conjunction with WHO, the GAVI global vaccine alliance, and 50 health partners, with the goal of eliminating it by 2026. On Apr. 12 Hawaii gov. David Ige signs HB2739, an assisted suicide law, becoming #8 after Calif., Colo., Mont., Ore., Vt., Wash., and Washington, D.C.; the Hawaii legislature has 25 senators, all Dems., and 51 House members, all except 5 Dems. On Apr. 12 two black men waiting in a Starbucks store in Philly for friends are ordered to pay for something to use the bathroom, then arrested, causing the PC police to come out bigtime, forcing Starbucks and the police to prostrate themselves, with Starbucks closing 8K locations for "racial bias" training for 175K employees - when you order it black at Starbucks, it's always to go? On Apr. 13 Pres. Trump pardons I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to U.S. vice-pres. Richard Cheney for his 2007 conviction, pissing-off the PC press who studiously ignore Pres. Clinton's shady pardons. On Apr. 13 after excerpts from fired FBI dir. James Comey's new book leak, Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst “botch jobs” of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!" On Apr. 13 Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov utters the soundbyte that the chemical attack in Syria was a fake attack as part of a "Russophobic campaign" cause by some unnamed country (U.K.?), causing the U.K., U.S., and France to reply that they have proof. On Apr. 13 a 27-y.-o. woman yells Allah Akbar and threatens to blow herself up at the Cannes Festival in France before being arrested and taken in for psychiatric evaluation; menwhile two more men are arrested for doing ditto in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany at a train station. On Apr. 13 (Fri.) (9:00 p.m. EST) the Apr. Friday the 13th Syria Attack sees Pres. Trump order a missile strike on Syria over the chemical attack on Douma, calling it "a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime", sending 106 missiles to three sites, adding: "The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread, and use of chemical weapons. I also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping, and financing the criminal Assad regime. To Iran, and to Russia, I ask: What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children?", tweeting "Mission Accomplished"; the U.K. and France assist the U.S. with air strikes; U.S. defense secy. Jim Matis calls it "a one-time shot". On Apr. 14 after waiting 10 years for a permit, and receiving a visit from the bldg. authority committee, pissing them off, the Church of the Holy Virgin in Beni Meinin, Beni Suef, Egypt is attacked by a Muslim mob, after which 11 Muslims and nine Copts are arrested, the latter for trying to put out the fires, ending in a railroad trial that acquits the Muslims and closes the church; on May 26 another Muslim mob attacks the Church of St. Mark in al-Shuqaf, Beheira, Egypt, injuring seven Copts, after which the police arrest 11 Muslims and nine Copts, and guess what happens. On Apr. 14 Batavia, N.Y.-born gay rights and environmental activist atty. David Stoh Buckel (b. 1957) immolates himself with gasoline in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y. to protest the use of fossil fuels - Stroh's is fire-brewed? On Apr. 14-15 Kauai, Hawaii receives 30 in. of rain, causing massive flooding, after which on Apr. 16 220 residents are airlifted to safety. On Apr. 15 hundreds of thousands of Catalan separatists rally in downtown Barcelona, Spain to demand the release of high-profile leaders. On Apr. 15 Muslim jihadists dressed as U.N. peacekeepers attack a U.N. MINUSMA military camp in Timbuktu, Mali, killing one peacekeeper and injuring seven French soldiers while losing 15 of their own; the French army calls the attack "particularly sophisticated and underhanded". On Apr. 15 U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley claims that the Trump admin. is preparing new sanctions for Russia over its support of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, causing an admin. official on Apr. 16 to clarify that it's delaying additional sanctions unless/until Russia engages in some new provocation inc. a new cyber attack so that Trump can work with them to combat Islamic extremism, etc. On Apr. 15 (5:00 p.m.) Muslims riot in Toulouse, France after police stop a woman wearing an illegal full-face veil and she calls for help, bringing 30 madass Muslims who throw projectiles at them, going on to torch 15 cars. On Apr. 16 the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) hands out leadership posts, giving a seat on the 41-member exec board of U.N. Women to Saudi Arabia for 2019-21 (which already seats Iran, Pakistan, and Yemen), and seats on the NGO accrediting committee to Bahrain, Burundi, China, Cuba, Libya, Russia, and Sudan; Iran is given seats on the U.N. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and the U.N. World Food Program; Cuba is also given posts on the CCPCJ and the Commission on the Status of Women. Saudi held seats on the board of U.N. Women in 2011-13 and 2014-6. On Apr. 16 Chinese social media Web site Weibo reverses its ban on gay content after an online protest. On Apr. 16 new U.S. Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch hires Chickasaw Nation of Midwest City, Okla. member Tobi Merritt Edwards as a clerk, becoming the first Native Am. Supreme Court clerk in history. On Apr. 17 after intel officials confirm that Iran has Shiite Muslim Hezbollah sleeper cells in the U.S. poised for attack, U.S. Rep. (R-N.Y.) Peter King calls it a "direct threat to the homeland". On Apr. 17 tenured U. of Calif. Fresno English prof. Randa Jarrar stinks herself up with a tweet that recently-deceased First Lady Barbara Bush "was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal", adding that she is "happy the witch is dead", taunting critics "I will never be fired". On Apr. 17 the U.S. (Roberts) Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Sessions v. Dimaya that the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act's "crime of violence" provision is unconstitutionally vague; new justice Neil Gorsuch sides with the majority (Kagan, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Breyer, mostly women, with all men in the minority, Roberts, Kennedy, Alito, and Thomas), pissing-off Pres. Trump and causing him to call on Congress to close the loopholes. On Apr. 18 Saudi Arabia opens its first movie theater in 35 years in Riyadh, showing Marvel's "Black Panther". On Apr. 18 Saudi king Salman meets with French cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, becoming the first visit by a senior Roman Catholic official. On Apr. 18 British Muslim convert Adam Wyatt (1969-) of Salford is sentenced to 45 mo. in prison for disseminating material calling for jihad. On Apr. 18 after 11 Jews are killed by Muslims because they were Jewish, 250 public figures in France pub. an appeal in Le Parisien lamenting the "new anti-Semitism" of Muslims, with the soundbyte: "Anti-Semitism is not the business of the Jews. It's the business of all of us. The French, who have demonstrated their democratic maturity after each Islamist attack, are living through a tragic paradox. Their country has become the arena for murderous anti-Semitism." On Apr. 19 air strikes by the Iraqi air force along the Iraqi border in Syria kill 36 ISIS militants incl. six leaders. On Apr. 19 the European Parliament overwhelmingly (524-30-92) passes a resolution denouncing Hamas as a terrorist group for using human shields, calling for Israel's destruction, and because they "seem to aim at escalating tensions" at the Gaza-Israel border, also probing Israel's use of live ammo on protesters and calling for restraint. On Apr. 19 Yemeni Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad is killed in Hudaida Province by a Saudi air strike. On Apr. 19 Kurdish forces in N Syria arrest Syrian-born German national Mohammed Haydar Zammar for alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks. On Apr. 19 the men's mag. GQ pub. the article 21 Books You Don't Have to Read (Before You Die), trashing 20 books incl. Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn", and the Bible, which it calls "repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish, and even at times ill-intentioned"; "The Holy Bible is rated very highly by all the people who supposedly live by it but who in actuality have not read it. Those who have read it know there are some good parts, but overall it is certainly not the finest thing that man has ever produced." On Apr. 20 funny-ears Prince Charles is finally approved as Elizabeth II' successor as head of the British Commonwealth. On Apr. 20 the Dem. Nat. Committee (DNC) sues Russia, the Trump campaign, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange for revealing how it rigged the Dem. primaries callit an "attack on our democracy", causing WikiLeaks to countersue, saying: "We've never lost a publishing case and discovery is going to be amazing fun"; on Apr. 23 Pres. Trump utters the soundbyte that the DNC is suing "Republicans for winning". On Apr. 20 the Hisbah Muslim Sharia police in Jigawa State, Nigeria storm beer parlors, seizing and destroying 244,151 bottles of beer. On Apr. 21 North Korea announces that it will suspend nuclear and missile tests effective immediately and abolish a nuclear test site in favor pursuing economic gains and peace. On Apr. 21-24 Britain goes three days without generating electricity from coal, the longest streak since the 1880s. pledging to phase it out by 2025. On Apr. 22 (Sun.) naked white gunman Travis Reinking (1988-) shoots up a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville, Tenn. with an AR-15 rifle, killing four before James Shaw Jr. takes his rifle away and he flees. On Apr. 22 (Sun.) Earth Day. On Apr. 22 an ISIS suicide bomber at a voter registration center for nat. ID cards in Kabul, Afghanistan kills 57 incl. 22 women and eight children and injures 119 incl. 52 women and 17 children. On Apr. 23 French pres. Emmanuel Macron visits Pres. Trump in the White House, becoming the first state visit of Trump's presidency, attempting to persuade him to preserve Obama's Iran nuke deal. On Apr. 23 the French nat. assembly votes 228-139-24 for a new tough immigration law introducing 1-year prison sentences for entering France illegally, while shortening asylum application deadlines. On Apr. 23 25-y.-o. Armenian-Canadian Alek Minassian (1992-) plows his Ryder rental van into pedestrians in the Yonge and Finch area of Toronto, Canada, killing 10 and injuring 15 (mostly women) before being arrested; his Facebook account references "Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger", who killed six people in 2014 after women wouldn't accept his advances. On Apr. 24 the jihadist cell Islamic Fraternity, Group for Preaching Jihad in Terrassa (30 km. from Barcelona), Spain is convicted of plotting a terrorist attack on Barcelona using intel from Operation Caronte (Greek ferryman of Hades). On Apr. 24 (5;30 a.m.) 30 Muslim Fulani herdsmen attack the St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Mbalom, Benue, Nigeria, killing 20 parishioners and two clergymen incl. Father Gor. On Apr. 25 District of Columbia federal judge John Bates rules that Pres. Trump's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program of Pres. Obama is "arbitrary" and "capricious" because his Justice Dept. didn't explain to him why the program is unlawful, causing White House press secy. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to utter the soundbyte that this is "good news for smugglers" and "creates an incentive for more illegal immigrant youth to come here". On Apr. 25 72-y.-o. former police officer Joseph James De Angelo (1945-) is arrested in Sacramento, Calif. after DNA evidence IDs him as the East Area Rapist AKA the Original Night Stalker, suspected in 45 rapes and 12 murders in the E San Francisco Bay area of Calif. in the 1970s and 1980s. On Apr. 25 Red China sends a threatening letter to dozens of internat. airlines warning them to identify Taiwan as part of China or face severe consequences, causing the Trump admin. to announce that it "will stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens", calling the threats "Orwellian nonsense". On Apr. 26 after being bombarded with scurrilous allegations of misconduct and mismanagement, Pres. Trump's personal physician Rear Adm. Ronny Lynn Jackson (1967-) withdraws his nomination as secy. of the Veterans Admin., and soon resigns as Trump's official physician. On Apr. 26 the U.S. House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on social media filtering and policing (censorship) practices, inquiring as to whether viewpoints have been silenced. On Apr. 26 as rallies take place across Germany supporting Jews after a spate of anti-Semitic assaults, Dr. Felix Klein, Germany's first special envoy to the Jewish community issues the soundbyte that Jewish fears over the influx of Muslims are legitimate. A big day for the #MeToo #TimesUp movement? On Apr. 26 after a half dozen women incl. Janice Dickinson, Lili Bernard, Janice Baker Kinney, and alleged victim Andrea Constand testified that he drugged and raped them, 80-y.-o. Hollywood superstar ("America's Dad") William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (1937-) is convicted of 3 counts of sexual assault by a jury of 7 men and 5 women (10 whites, 2 blacks) in Norristown, Penn., with a max sentence of 10 years and $25K fine for each count; the defendants' atty. Gloria Allred tells the press that this is a great day for herstory; her daughter Lisa Bloom is the defendants' other atty.; Cosby's first trial ended in a mistrial in June despite his testimony in a 2005 deposition that he gave a woman Quaaludes in order to shag her under the understanding that he wouldn't be prosecuted; Cosby's attys. appeal on the unfairness of a trial that creates a witch hunt atmosphere caused by witnesses to an alleged past pattern of behavior he wasn't charged with after the judge allows 5 of 14 in; on Sept. 25 Cosby is sentenced to 3-10 years in prison. On Apr. 26 the state of Okla. breaks the record for the longest tornado drought; the first one finally arrives on May 2. On Apr. 26 Muslim Guinea immigrants Mohamed Toure (1960-) and Denise Cros-Toure (1960-) of Southlake, Tex. are charged with forced labor after a 21-y.-o. woman escapes from their home and tells how she was kept as a slave from age 5, denying her education. On Apr. 27 peace is finally declared between North and South Korea after 65 years in a summit in Goyang, South Korea, with South Korean pres. Moon Jae-in and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (who steps over the Demarcation Line in the DMZ, becoming the first North Korean leader since the end of the war in 1953) agreeing to denuclearize the peninsula, with Moon uttering the soundbyte: "We will totally end the war on the Korean peninsula and will establish a sound and solid peace on the Korean peninsula", causing U.S. Sen. (R-S.C.) Lindsey Graham to utter the soundbyte: What happened? Donald Trump convinced North Korea and China he was serious about bringing about change. We're not there yet, but if this happens, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize", after which 18 Repub. House members nominate him. On Apr. 27 German chancellor Angela Merkel visits Pres. Trump in the White House, joining Emmanuel Macron of France in working him over on the Iran deal. On Apr. 27 the House Selective Committee on Intelligence, chaired since Jan. 3, 2015 by U.S. Rep. (R-Calif.) (since Jan. 3, 2003) Devin Gerald Nunes (1973-) pub. its Final Report on Russian Election Meddling, finding no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016, causing Trump foe John O. Brennan to tweet: "A highly partisan, incomplete, and deeply flawed report by a broken House Committee means nothing. The Special Counsel's work is being carried out by professional investigators - not political staffers. SC's findings will be comprehensive & authoritative. Stay tuned, Mr. Trump...."; the report also claims that nat. intel dir. James Clapper leaked the Christopher Steele dossier to CNN after Pres. Obama made him present the material to Donald Trump in Trump Tower on Jan. 6, 2017, after which CNN ran a story on Jan. 10 about the briefing, incl. the allegation of hos in Trump's Moscow hotel room; Clapper denies it; on Apr. 27 John O. Brennan issues a tweet with the soundbyte: "Mr. Trump: Your hypocrisy knows no bounds. Jim Clapper is a man of integrity, honesty, ethics, & morality. You are not. Jim Clapper served his country for over a half century, including in Vietnam. You did not. By your words & behavior, you diminish the Office of the Presidency"; on Aug. 17 Senate Intelligence Committee chmn. (since Jan. 3, 2015) (R-N.C.) Sen. (since Jan. 3, 2005) Richard Mauze Burr (1955-) publicly rebukes Brennan for his sour grapes statement that "there is no doubt" that Pres. Trump colluded with the Kremlin and that he is being blackmailed by Vladimir Putin, despite his nonpartisan committee spending over a year investigating the issue, asking why he didn't present any evidence in his hours of testimony before both the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, with the soundbyte: "If Director Brennan's statement is based on intelligence he received while still leading the CIA, why didn't he include it in the Intelligence Community Assessment released in 2017? If his statement is based on intelligence he has seen since leaving office, it constitutes an intelligence breach. If he has some other personal knowledge of or evidence of collusion, it should be disclosed to the Special Counsel, not The New York Times." On Apr. 27 retired top CIA, FBI, DOJ, and NSA officials incl. Kevin Shipp hold a press conference to demand that U.S. atty. Jeff Sessions prosecute top Obama admin. officials for attempting "an ongoing coup to remove a duly elected president", adding: "This is, at worst, treason with senior officials in the shadow government or Deep State... We have not seen anything like this since the presidency of John F. Kennedy." On Apr. 28 the last remaining village in India gains access to electricity, a total of 600K villages, although 200M people still lack access. On Apr. 29 a bus carrying 32 Chinese and North Korean officials on a "red tour" commemorating the Chinese Communist Party's Korean War role crashes in in North Korea. On Apr. 30 a series of suicide bombs in Kaboom, er, Kabul, Afghanistan kill 31 incl. nine journalists. On Apr. 30 Nigerian pres. Muhammadu Buhari visits Pres. Trump in the White House, discussing terrorism and the genocide of Christians in Nigeria; Trump's "shithole country" remarks never come up. On Apr. 30 after Amber Rudd resigns on Apr. 29 over the Windrush Scandal, aggressive measures to deport children of the African-Caribbean Windrush Gen. who arrived before 1973, 2nd gen. Pakistani Conservative (pro-Israel Sunni Muslim) Sajid Javid (1969-) becomes British home secy. (until ?). On Apr. 30 (12 days before Pres. Trump's May 12 deadline for deciding on the Iran nuclear deal) Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyau gives a speech detailing facts about Iran's Project Amad to build nukes found on 55K pages of documents and 55K files on 183 CDs ("half a ton") the Israelis stole from a secret storage facility in Shorabad, Tehran, proving that "Iran lied bigtime after signing the nuclear deal in 2015... Iran is brazenly lying when it says it never had a nuclear weapons program"; the Trump admin. confirms the authenticity of the documents; too bad, the documents are from their nuke project that they shut down in 2003, which is why they were kept in a neglected bldg. with no lock on the door? On Apr. 30 Palestinian Authority pres. Mahmoud Abbas gives a speech in Ramallah at a meeting of the Palestine Nat. Council, claiming that the Holocaust wasn't caused by anti-Semitism but by the Jews' "social behavior, charging interest, and financial matters, and that Adolf Hitler facilitated the building of the Jewish state of Israel; on May 2 the New York Times pub. an editorial calling the speech "reprehensible anti-Semitic myths and conspiracy theories", with the soundbyte: "Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, shed all credibility as a trustworthy partner if the Palestinians and Israelis ever again have the nerve to try negotiations", adding: "Palestinians need a leader with energy, integrity and vision, one who might have a better chance of achieving Palestinian independence and enabling both peoples to live in peace"; "Let Abbas's vile words be his last as Palestinian leader." On Apr. 30 (10:30 p.m.) a missile attack on an arms depot in N Syria triggers explosions so powerful they register as a 2.6 earthquake. On Apr. 30 a Taliban suicide bomber detonates near a rival mosque in Daman, S Afghanistan, killing 11 children and injuring 16 others incl. police and soldiers. In Apr. protests in Masaya, Nicaragua against the regime of pres. Daniel Ortega. In Apr. U.S. unemployment increases 24K, with 24K new manufacturing jobs (304K since Dec. 2016); a record 95,745,000 Americans are not participating in the labor force. In Apr. avg. temps of 38.3F are the coldest since 1874 (37.6F); some major U.S. cities have their coldest Apr. in recorded history. On May 1 after mass protests force PM Serzh Sargsyan out, Armenian opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan warns the ruling elite in parliament that it could face a "tsunami" of anger from the people it it keeps blocking his bid to become PM. On May 1 a police station in Mosul, Iraq is attacked; on May 2 a terrorist shooting N of Baghdad kills and injures several civilians. On May 1 1.2K anti-capitalist Black Block protesters in Paris, France torch cars and attack a fast-food restaurant, causing French authorities to arrest 109 and tighten security. On May 1 militant Seleka Islamists attack the Notre Dame of Fatima Church in Bangui, C.A.R., killing 24 incl. Father Alert Toungoumale-Babe and injuring 170. On May 1 the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat releases its first annual report, calling climate change "the single biggest threat to life, security and prosperity on Earth", according to exec secy. Patricia Espinosa, and rolling out its Gender Action Plan to mobilize women to fight global warming. On May 1 ex-NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman gives an interview to TMZ, uttering the soundbyte that his buddy dictator Kim Jong-un of North Korea had a "change of heart" about his nuclear program after reading Pres. Trump's 1987 book "The Art of the Deal", which he gave him in June 2017 on a trip to Pyongyang. On May 1 former Seattle, Wash. resident (Muslim) Ali Muhammad Brown is sentenced in Newark, N.J. to life in prison without parole for shooting 19-y.-o. college student Brendan Tevlin at a traffic light in 2014, saying that he was on a jihad to avenge U.S. policy in the Middle East; he faces more trials for murdering three men in Wash. state. On May 2 a suicide attack in Tripoli, Libya kills 14 and injures seven. On May 2 to intimidate Yemenis greeting Yemeni PM Ahmed bin Daghr, the UAE deploys four military aircraft with 100+ troops to the Yemeni island of Socotra, sparking angry protests. On May 2 Liu Xia, widow of Chinese dissident Liu Xiabo pub. an open letter giving details of diplomatic efforts to secure his release, saying she is "ready to die at home" in protest. On May 2-3 Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meets in Pyongyang with his North Korean counterpart Ring Yong-ho, cementing friendship ties. On May 3 (4:30 p.m.) after a 5.0 earthquake, Mt. Kilauea ("Madame Pele") in Hawaii erupts, causing mass evacuations from 1.5K homes; on May 4 (12:33 p.m.) a 6.9 earthquake centered near Kilauea's S flank causes more damage; on May 11 another 6.9 earthquake (biggest since 1975) threatens the Puna Geothermal Venture geothermal power plant; meanwhile on May 3 Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory announces that atmospheric CO2 has reached a record 410 ppm for Apr. On May 3 powerful dust storms in N India kill 100+ and injure 140. On May 3 the U.S. accuses Red China of using lasers to harass U.S. pilots flying over Djibouti, and warns of consequences if they deploy missiles on artificial islands in the South China Sea. On May 3 37-y.-o. Muslim male Ahmed ? is arrested for barging into St. Vincent's Cathedral in Chalon-sur-Saone, France and threatening to blow it up with a hand grenade while carrying a bottle of alcohol and shouting "It is the Quran that must be read!" On May 4 U.S. district judge T.S. Ellis III scolds special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of "lying" and really trying to target Pres. Trump, with the soundbyte: "I don't see what relation this indictment has to do with what the special counsel is authorized to investigate. You don't really care about Mr. Manafort. You really care about what information Mr. Manafort can give you to lead you to Mr. Trump and an impeachment, or whatever." On May 4 Muslim woman Brietta Brown slashes two passengers and the driver of a Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus in Hadley, Mass., later apologizing and asking Allah for forgiveness. On May 4-5 Spanish sailors rescue 476 migrants from Africa on 15 small boats attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea; meanwhile on May 6 the Spanish nonprofit group Proactiva Open Arms rescues 105 migrants near Libya. On May 5 (3:30 p.m.) an Allah-Akbar-shouting Muslim stabs several people in The Hague, Netherlands before being shot in the leg and arrested. On May 6 (Sun.) Japanese defense minister Itsunori Onoderi visits Estonia, meeting with devense minister Juri Luik in Tallinn, a first. On May 7 after weekend protests that result in 1.6K arrests incl. opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin is sworn in for his 4th term as pres. of Russia (until 2024). On May 7 parliamentary elections in Lebanon (first since 2009) are a V for Hezbollah, who gain over half the seats. On May 7 after an article in The New Yorker reports on four progressive Dem. women accusing him of physical and sexual abuse, N.Y. atty. gen. Eric Schneiderman resigns; in Feb. he filed a civil rights suit against Hollywood lecher Harvey Weinstein. On May 7 Media Research Center releases a report claiming that the leftist PC media produce 90% negative coverage of Pres. Trump. On May 7-8 Muslim Advocacy Day is held on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.; veiled Islamists trying to influence legislators to subvert the U.S. Constitution? On May 8 (2:00 p.m. local time) Pres. Trump announces that the U.S. is withdrawing from Obama's "horrible" Iran nuke deal (JCPOA) and reimposing "the most extreme" sanctions, calling it “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into", causing co-signers U.K., France, and Germany to lament his decision and reaffirm support for the deal, and Obama to tweet that the decision is "a serious mistake". On May 8 the French newspaper Le Monde pub. the Manifesto Against the New Anti-Semitism signed by 300 French public figures incl. Nicolas Sarkozy, in which they "ask that the verses of the Qu'ran calling for the killing and punishment of Jews, Christians and unbelievers be obsoleted by theological authorities; on May 10 Abbas Shuman, deputy chief El Azhar U. in Cairo, Egypt responds with the soundbyte: "No to freezing one letter from the Koran, and those calling for it can go to Hell!" On May 8 (night) Iran launches 20 rockets at Israeli army positions in the Golan Heights, causing no industry, but becoming a new escalation in Iran's war against the Little Satan; of course, Israel retaliates. On May 9 the Calif. Energy Commission approves the Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan that has the goal of zero net energy usage by 2030, effective Jan. 1, making Calif. the first U.S. state to require solar panels on new residental construction. On May 10 (3:00 a.m.) U.S. secy. of state Mike Pompeo arrives from a meeting with Kim Jong-un in Korea at Andrews AFB with three Am. prisoners released for goodwill ahead of the upcoming summit. On May 10-Oct. 8 the Met Gala 2018 is titled "Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, featuring garments borrowed from the Vatican, worn provocatively, pissing-off Roman Catholics, who call it blasphemous. On May 12 the deadline for Pres. Trump to decide what to do about Obama's 2015 Iran nuke deal. On May 12 parliamentary elections in Iraq. On May 12 armed attackers from DRC attack a village in Cibitoke Province, NW Burundi, killing 26 in an attempt to disrupt the coming May 17 elections. On May 12 (night) Allah-Akbar-shouting Chechnya-born French Muslim Khmzat Azimov (1997-) pulls out a knife in the opera district of Paris, France, killing one and slashing four before being killed by police; ISIS claims him as one of its soldiers, releasing a video bragging on him. On May 13 (Sun.) (Mother's Day) U.S. secy. of state Mike Pompeo utters the soundbyte that if North Korea completely dismantles its nuke program, the U.S. will lift sanctions, paving the way for private investment to create economic prosperity in the country that's currently poorer than Afghanistan. On May 13 (a.m.) three churches (Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian) in Surabaya, Indonesia are bombed, killing 11+ and injuring 40; the perps are six members of the same family incl. the father, mother, two teenage sons, and daughters aged 9 and 12, who all die in the blasts; they recently returned from Syria via Turkey, which deported them; ISIS claims responsibility; police also suspect Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD); Yusuf Al-Othaimeen, secy.-gen. of the Org. of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) utters the soundbyte that the OIC "reaffirms its principled position that violence and terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization, or ethnic group." On May 14 the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Israel officially opens amid violent Palestinian protests at the Gaza border that kill 62 Palestinians, incl. three armed terrorists trying to plant a bomb near the border fence, after which on May 15 the Palestinians stage a big funeral to gain internat. sympathy, with Hamas claiming that "50 Hamas martyrs during the Million Man March of Return on May 14", causing Turkey to call for an emergency meeting of the OIC as Israel and Turkey expel each other's ambassadors; on May 14 Trump critic John O. Brennan tweets the soundbyte: "Deaths in Gaza result of utter disregard of Messers Trump & Netanyahu for Palestinian rights & homeland. By moving Embassy to Jerusalem, Trump played politics, destroyed US peacemaker role. New generation of Israelis/Palestinians need to isolate extremists to find path to peace"; on May 15 U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley utters the soundbyte at the U.N. Security Council before walking out on the Palestinian rep: "Hamas has attacked the Kerem Shalom crossing, the biggest entry point in Gaza for fuel, food, and medical supplies. This is how determined they are to make the lives of the Palestinian people miserable. They light Molotov cocktails attached to kites on fire and attempt to fly them into Israel to cause as much destruction as possible. W hen asked yesterday why he put a swastika on his burning kite, the terrorist responded, 'The Jews go crazy when you mention Hitler.' This is what is endangering the people of Gaza. Make no mistake: Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday. I ask my colleagues here in the Security Council, who among us would accept this type of activity on your border? No one would. No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has"; Israel is officially regathered for 70 years in fulfillment of the Biblical book of Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy? On May 14 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) court rules 6-3 in Murphy vs. National College Athletic Assoc. to overturn the 1992 U.S. Prof. and Amateur Sports Protection Act as a case of federal commandeering, allowing state-sponsored sports betting. On May 15 the Wealth-X Billionaire Census is pub., revealing that billionaire wealth surged 24% to a record level in 2017, and the billionaire pop. surged 15% fo 2,754 (vs. 2,473 in 2015); San Francisco, Calif. leads the other cities, with one billionaire for every 11,612 inhabitants, vs. 81,311 for New York City, 84,007 for Dubai, 84,962 for Hong Kong, 101,957 for Los Angeles, Calif., and 135,198 for London. On May 16 FBI dir. Christopher Wray speaks to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, uttering the soundbyte about Islamic radical groups inside the U.S.: "We have about 1,000 investigations into exactly the kind of people you're describing, covering all 50 states as I'm sitting here right now. And that's not even counting, you know, the al-Qaeda investigations, the traditional ISIS investigations, the domestic terrorism investigations, but just the group you're talking about." On May 16-17 deadly protests in Kazerun, Iran result after a decision to split the city of 150K into two towns. On May 17 after being confirmed by the Senate 54-44, 33-year CIA veteran and acting CIA dir. (since Apr. 26) Gina Cheri Haspel (nee Walker) (1956-) becomes CIA dir. #7 (until ?), succeeding new secy. of state Mike Pompeo. On May 17 Israel announces that it will begin using Shoko (Heb. "bag") Drones to drop bags of skunk water on Gaza rioters as an alternative to deadly force. On May 17 after an email scandal involving male officials, the Miss America Org. and Miss America Foundation announce an all-women top leadership team; Regina (Blakely) Hopper becomes pres. and CEO of the Miss Am. Org., and Marjorie-Vincent Tripp becomes the first chair of the Miss Am. Foundation, becoming the first time women lead both orgs. On May 17 Pres. Obama's science adviser (2009-17) John Paul Holdren (1944-) gives a speech at the Am. Academy of Political and Social Science in Washington, D.C., calling Obama "the most science-savvy president since Thomas Jefferson" and claiming that Pres. Trump "has appointed or nominated fact-averse idealogues" to key executive branch science and technology positions, esp. EPA head Scott Pruitt and interior secy. Ryan Zinke, taking a swipe at Trump for promising to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Change Accord, another at him for "his ignorant, bigoted, bullying, prevaricating, America-alone stance [that] has demeaned his office, has damaged our democracy, and has diminished U.S. standing in the world", and another at Trump's failure to appoint his replacement. On May 18 U.N. human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein claims that Israel used "wholy disproportionate" force against the Palestinian Gaza border protesters at a meeting in Geneva, causing the Israeli ambassador to respond that the militant Islamist leaders deliberately put people in harm's way to gain internat. sympathy and delegitimize Israel. On May 18 (7:40 a.m.) 17-y.-o. student Dimitrios Pagourtzis (2001-) shoots up Santa Fe H.S. in Santa Fe (20 mi. from Galveston), Tex., killing eight students and two teachers in an arts class and injuring 13 incl. two officers in a 25-min. gun battle before being arrested, becoming the 3rd U.S. school shooting in eight days, and the 22nd of the year. On May 18 a Rasmussen Poll shows Pres. Trump's approval rating rising to 50%, with over 50% supporting his decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. On May 19 (12:00 noon local time) Prince Harry (1984-) and half-black half-white Am. actress Meghan Markle (1981-) wed in Windsor Castle, becoming duke and duchess of Sussex. On May 19 four jihadists armed with Molotov cocktails storm the Church of Michael the Archangel in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia, killing a churchgoer and two police officers before being killed by police. On May 20 (Sun.) elections in Venezuela reelect pres. #63 (since Mar. 5, 2013) Nicolas Maduro by 45.99% for a 2nd 6-year term; the results are rejected by the OAS, EU, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Lima Group, along with the U.S. and Australia; bad guys Red China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Turkey support the result. On May 20 (Sun.) U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman pub. an op-ed. on the Fox News Web site, with the soundbyte that the liberal media has been "glorifying" Hamas terrorists in its coverage of the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and Gaza riots in order to delegitimize Pres. Trump, and has "blood on its hands" for giving Hamas front page coverage so they could showboat. On May 20 (eve.) the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on NBC-TV, hosted by Kelly Clarkson see Ed Sheeran and Kendrick Lamar receive six awards each; they and Bruno Mars got 15 nominations each; Janet Jackson and Rhythm Nation rock the house with "Nasty", "If", and "Throb", and gives a speech for her Icon Award (first black woman), with the soundbyte: "I'm deeply humbled and grateful for this award. I believe that for all the challenges, for all our challenges, we live at a glorious moment in history. It's a moment when, at long last, women have made it clear that we will no longer be controlled, manipulated, or abused. I stand with those women, and with those men equally outraged by discrimination, who support us in heart and mind." On May 21 (a.m.) heavy explosions are heard at an Iranian electronic warfare base S of Damascus, Syria. On May 21 U.S. treasury secy. Steve Mnuchin gives an interview to Fox News, and announces that China and the U.S. "right now have agreed to put the tariffs on hold"; meanwhile Xinhua quotes Chinese vice-PM Liu He as saying "the two sides reached a consensus, will not fight a trade war, and will stop increasing tariffs on each other." On May 21 (3:00 p.m.) Pres. Trump calls deputy atty. gen. Rod Rosenstein and FBI dir. Christopher Wray to the White House to answer allegations that a federal informant was planted in his campaign. On May 21 U.S. secy. of state Mike Pompeo delivers a Speech on Iran at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., demanding that Iran halt all uranium enrichment and ballistic missile production and open its sites to nuclear inspectors, announcing a severe sanctions program which he says will "crush" it, calling it the biggest in history to defang it, also calling Iran out for sheltering al-Qaida leaders, calling it "the world's largest sponsor of terror", with the soundbyte: "Is this what you want your country to be known for? For being a co-conspirator with Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al-Qaida?", causing Iranian pres. Hassan Rouhani to reply "Who are you to make decisions about Iran?" On May 21 the Miss USA 2018 (67th) Pageant in Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, La., hosted by Vanessa and Nick Lachey is won by Miss Neb. Sarah Rose Summers (1994-) (first winner from Neb.). On May 22 Turkey sentences 104 ex-military officers to "aggravated life sentences" in prison for their involvement in the 2016 coup. On May 22 (Internat. Day Against Homophobia) Belarus slams its U.K. embassy for flying a rainbow flag, calling LGBT relationships "fake". On May 22 Israel uses the U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter in its first combat action over Beirut. On May 22 Russia launches four Bulava ICBMs from nuclear sub Yuri Dolgoruky in the White Sea in a simulated massive nuclear strike against the U.S. On May 22 Adelaide archishop Philip Wilson is convicted of concealing child sexual abuse in the 1970s, becoming the most senior Roman Catholic in the world to be convicted. On May 22-23 Pres. Trump announces his Spygate conspiracy theory on Twitter, claiming that the Obama admin. planted a paid spy inside his 2016 pres. campaign to assist his rival Hillary Clinton to win the election, and that starting in Dec. 2015 there was a counter-intel operation inside his campaign; top congressmen of both major parties pooh-pooh his claims, clearing the FBI of misconduct, although they acknowledge that an FBI informant approached three Trump campaign advisors in 2016 in a covert effort to investigate Russian interference in the election. On May 23 a suicide bomber at a crowded park in a Shiite district in Shoala, Baghdad, Iraq kills seven and injures 16. On May 24 Pres. Trump cancels the planned North Korea summit scheduled for June 12 (6-12-18 = 6+6+6) in Singapore, with the soundbyte: "Based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting"; the next day he reinstates it. On May 24 Pres. Trump pardons heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson (1878-1946) while flanked by "Rocky" actor Sylvester Stallone, former heavyweight boxing champ Lennox Lewis, and heavyweight boxing champ Deontay Wilder. On May 24 U.S. secy. of state of Mike Pompeo addresses the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, uttering the soundbyte that U.S. diplomats are being "treated badly" in Pakistan, and that it will continue to receive diminishing U.S. aid. On May 24 (10:30 p.m. local time) an IED set by two men explodes during two birthday parties at the Bombay Bhel Restaurant in Mississauga (near Toronto), Ont., Canada, injuring 15. On May 25 the Gen. Data Protection Regulation (DPR) (adopted on Apr. 14, 2016) comes into effect in the EU, protecting personal data of all EU citizens. On May 25 Hollyweird casting couch mogul Harvey Weinstein surrenders himself to New York City authorities to face sexual abuse charges. On May 25 a referendum in the Repub. of Ireland overturns its longtime ban on abortion by 66.4%-33.6%, approving the 36th Amendment to the Constitution, which repeals the 8th Amendment; the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act of 2018 is signed into law on Dec. 20, coming into force on Jan. 1. Islam and its Sharia are taking over Britain? Free speech is dead? On May 25 working class anti-Sharia leader Tommy Robinson is arrested outside Leeds Crown Court in English for reporting on a Muslim pedophile grooming gang trail, then railroaded into a 13-mo. prison sentence sans a lawyer for allegedly violating terms of a suspended sentence, causing a public outcry, with mass protests and 600K+ signing a petition urging PM Theresa May to free him; on Aug. 1 he is freed by a smart judge in the court of appeal, who takes the original judge off the case; he claims to have been abused in prison, losing 40 lbs. in 2 mo. On May 27 illegal Malian immigrant ("Le Spiderman") Mamoudou Gassama (1995- scales an apt. bldg. in Paris to save the life of a 4-y.-o. infant, causing Pres. Emmanuel Macron to meet with him on May 29 to thank him and give him French citizenship. On May 28-June 24 the 2018 U.N. Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, run by the Conference on Disarmament (founded 1979), known for drafting the 1997 U.N. Chemical Weapons Convention is chaired by er, the Syrian Arab Republic of Animal Assad over U.S. objections. On May 29 an Allah-Akbar-shooting ex-con in Liege, Belgium takes a female janitor hostage at a school and shoots and kills two female police officers and a civilian before being killed by police. On May 29 a Muslim Fulani herder attack on the Catholic Secret Heart Minor Seminary in Jalingo, Taraba, Nigeria badly wounds Father Koba in the leg; meanwhile another Boko Haram attack in Konduga, Borno kills four and injures seven. n May 29 despite stellar ratings, Bob Iger of Disney and her talent agency ICM Partners drop star Roseanne bar for a tweet about Pres. Obama's Iranian advisor Valerie Jarrett "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby", causing the PC police to come out, calling it racist when the Muslim Brotherhood and Islam itself are political movements not races, and the movie Planet of the Apes isn't about blacks, it's about intelligent apes who attack all humans, white and black. On May 29 a Hamas mortar and rocket attack from Gaza Strip hits a Jewish kindergarten before the children arrive. On May 29 news breaks that Russian anti-Kremlin journalist Arady Babchenko was murdered outside in apt. in Kiev; on May 31 he appears alive and well at a press conference, admitting it was a sting by the Ukrainian security services to catch a killer paid by Russia. On May 30 ISIS militants attack the Afghan interior ministry bldg. in N Kabul, Afghanistan, killing one police officer and wounding five; 10 ISIS militants are killed. On May 30 a 26-y.-o. Muslim immigrant from Syria is shot dead by police in Rotterdam, Netherlands after stabbing two people and waving an axe at police, fatally stabbing a police dog. On May 30 (p.m.) Canadian leftist anti-Trump comedian Samantha Bee calls Ivanka Trump a "feckless cunt" on her "Full Frontal" show, causing a public outcry that ends in Bee issuing an apology. On May 31 U.S. commerce secy. Wilbur Ross announces new tariffs on steel and aluminum for Canada, the EU, and Mexico after deals were not reached. On May 31 Pres. Trump signs a law rolling back some of the regs of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Law, allowing community banks to go back in biz. On May 31 Pres. Trump announces that he will pardon conservative anti-Obama filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza. In May ?, the first female to join the British infantry quits after two weeks because it was too hard; in 2016 Conservative PM David Cameron lifted the ban on women in British combat units. In May elections in Iraq. In May Extinction Rebellion (XR) is founded in the U.K. by approx. 100 academics, who sign a call to action; on Oct. 31 it is officially launched by British environmental activists Julian Roger Hallam (1966-) and Gail Marie Bradbook (1972-) from the activist group Rising Up!, going on blockade or occupy prominent sites in London; its logo is a circled hourglass known as the extinction symbol; on Aug. 15, 2019 Hallam gives an interview to BBC's "Hard Talk", claiming on the basis of "hard science" that six billion people will die as a result of global climate change by 2100. In May several employees of Google resign to protest a contract with the U.S. govt. to make military drone software; meanwhile Google drops the motto "Don't be evil" from its docs. In May Pres. Trump cuts the U.S. federal payroll by 3K jobs, making a total of 24K since he took office. In May U.S. unemployment is 3.8%, lowest since 1969, with 223K new jobs. On June 1 after a corruption scandal, Spanish PM (since Dec. 21, 2011) Mariano Rajoy is ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament, becoming the first in modern Spanish history. On June 1 U.S. secy. of state Mike Pompeo releases a statement expressing support for LGBTI people throughout the world, posting it on Web sites of U.S. embassies in every country except Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Libya. On June 1 ex-CIA dir. John O. Brennan pub. an op-ed in The Washington Post slamming "Mr. Trump" (he refuses to call him president) as a "snake-oil salesman" who has shown "mean-spirited, malicious, and highly abnormal behavior" who "lies routinely to the American people without compunction" while "intentionally fueling divisions", claiming that Trump's election "dealt a serious blow" to "the esteem with which I held the presidency", adding "Almost immediately, I began to see a startling aberration from the remarkable, though human, presidents I had served. Mr. Trump's lifelong preoccupation with aggrandizing himself seemed to intensify in office, and he quickly leveraged his 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. address and his Twitter handle to burnish his brand and misrepresent reality"; not only that, but Trump "charts his every move according to a calculus of how it will personally help or hurt him. His strategy is to undercut real, potential and perceived opponents; his focus is to win at all costs, irrespective of truth, ethics, decency and - many would argue - the law", comparing him to "deamagogues" who "routinely relied on lies, deceit, and suppression of political opposition to cast themselves as populist heroes and to mask self-serving priorities"; "By gaining control of intelligence and security services, stifling the independence of the judiciary and discrediting a free press, these authoritarian rulers followed a time-tested recipe for how to inhibit democracy's development, retard individual freedoms and liberties, and reserve the spoils of corrupt governance for themselves and their ilk", concluding: "I will speak out until integrity returns to the White House"; on June 2 Pres. Trump tweets back, quoting conservative commentator Dan Bongino, who appeared on "Fox & Friends" earlier that day: "John Brennan, no single figure in American history has done more to discredit the intelligence community than this liar. Not only is he a liar, he's a liar about being a liar." On June 2 (7:00 a.m. local time) a roadside bomb attack in Binni Hasar, Kabul, Afghanistan kills an Afghan archeologist and injures three. On June 2 Pope Francis holds a conference in the Vatican with the heads of Exxon, Mobil, Eni, and BP, telling them to quit pumping and shift to clean energy. On June 2 Italian foreign minister Matteo Salvini speaks at a rally in Vicenza, uttering the soundbyte about economic refugees from North Africa: "The party is over for illegal immigrants. They will have to pack their bags, in a polite and calm manner, but they will have to go. Refugees escaping from war are welcome, but all others must leave." On June 2 Israeli defense forces destroy a Hamas underwater terror tunnel located 3km from the Israeli border. On June 2 the FBI arrests former U.S. Defense Intel Agency (DIA) employee >Ron Rockwell Hanson for spying for China. On June 2 200-ft.-deep Green Lake, largest freshwater lake on Hawaii Island evaporates in less than 2 hours because of lava. On June 4 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court rules 7-2 in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colo. Civil Rights Commission that a Denver, Colo. bakery owned by conservative Christians was within its rights in refusing to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, but doesn't rule on the larger issue of whether all business may hide behind the First Amendment to discriminate against gays, limiting their decision to language used by the commissioners that showed hostility toward religion rather than neutrality; "Whatever the confluence of speech and free exercise principles might be in some cases, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's consideration of this case was inconsistent with the State's obligation of religious neutrality"; Ginsburg and Sotomayor dissent on the grounds that the gays were discriminated against for what they were, not for any offensive message on the cake - having to show one butt-fucking the other on the icing shouldn't matter? On June 4 Howard Schultz announces that he's resigning as exec chmn. of Starbucks after growing it from 11 stores in 1987 to 28K stores in 77 countries. On June 4 teenie British Muslim Safaa Boular (1990-) is found guilty of plotting a terror attack in the British Museum in London along with her all-female ISIS cell. On June 4 a Bay Area Council Poll finds that 46% of residents plan to move out of the San Francisco Bay area, vs. 34% in 2016 and 40% in 2017. On June 4 the Fuego Volcano in Guatemala erupts, killing 75 incl. three children, and injuring 300, with 192 missing. On June 5 the Napa County Ballot Question, sponsored by the Watershed Protection Committee seeks to restrict the number of trees that can be cut to make way for vineyards. On June 5 the U.S. State Dept. issues a Report on North Korean Detention Camps, saying that 120K are being held "under horrific conditions", and some are being held for religious reasons incl. Bible reading, praying, and singing hymns. On June 5 (a.m.) Miss America Org. chmn. Gretchen Carlson gives an interview on "Good Morning America", announcing the end of the swimsuit competition, with the soundbyte: "We are no longer a pageant. We are a competition. We wil no longer judge candidates on their outward physical appearance. That's huge." On June 5 the U.S. approves the refugee status application of Iraqi Muslim Omar Ameen (1973-), who then travels to Iraq and kills an Iraqi police officer in Rawah on behalf of ISIS on June 22, then returns to the U.S. and is arrested by the FBI in Sacramento, Calif. on Aug. 15. On June 6 (p.m.) Pres. Trump hosts in iftar dinner for ambassadors from Muslim-majority nations, describing it as "a sacred tradition of one of the world's great religion"; meanwhile anti-Trump Muslims demonstrate nearby, shouting "No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all"; Trump refused to hold the dinner in 2017. On June 7 Felipe V of Spain swears in a new pro-EU Spanish govt., with women holding most of the ministerial posts, 11 out of a cabinet of 17 under Socialist PM Pedro Sanchez, whose party holds only 84 out of 350 seats in congress. On June 7 after pressure by Palestinians, the Argentine nat. soccer team cancels a planned trip to Jerusalem for a friendly match with Israel to celebrate Israel's 70th birthday. On June 8 the 193-member U.N. Gen. Assembly votes for two nations to fill non-permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council; Israel makes its bid while 56 Arab nations oppose them. On June 8 Russian pres. Vladimir Putin meets in Beijing with Red Chinese (PRC) pres. Xi Jinping, who calls Putin "my best most intimate friend". On June 8 Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz announces a crackdown on hardcore Islamists, expelling 60 Turkish-funded imams and shutting down seven mosques along with the Arab Religious Community that runs six of them. On June 8-9 the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada sees cock of the rock Pres. Trump call for Russia to join and make it the G8, then blast Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (known for his babyish face with fake eyebrows) as "meek and mild" after refusing to sign the leftist G7 Communique (promising action on progressive taxation, global warming, women's equality et al.) and getting a parting shot from him, after which on June 10 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, 'US Tariffs were kind of insulting' and he 'will not be pushed around.' Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!", to which his enemy John O. Brennan tweets the reply: "Your wrong-headed protectionist policies & antics are damaging our global standing as well as our national interests. Your worldview does not represent American ideals. To allies & friends: Be patient, Mr. Trump is a temporary aberration. The America you once knew will return." On June 10 new Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini orders Italian ports closed to the ship Aquarius carrying 629 migrants, pissing-off French pres. Emmanuel Macron, causing Italy to threaten to cancel a planned summit with France; Spain takes the migrants in, docking the ship in Valencia, then forcing numerous students to vacate their paid accomodations to make room for them; on June 2 Salvini orders another ship carrying 224 North African immigrants turned back. On June 10 (Sun.) the 2018 (72nd) Tony Awards at Radio City Musical Hall in New York City, hosted by Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban gives 10 awards incl. best musical to "The Band's Visit"; "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" wins six awards incl. best play; "Angels in America" wins three awards; Robert De Niro utters the crowd-pleasing soundbyte: "It's no longer just down with Trump. It's fuck Trump", causing Rob Reiner to utter the soundbyte: "You're helping Trump by saying 'Fuck Trump',, because he can say 'Look at these people, these elitists." On June 10 (Sun.) Clint Eastwood attends the Cannes Film Festival for the 25th anniv. of his 1982 film "Unforgiven", issuing the announcement: "Hollywood is the place of traitors and pedophilians. This morning I've decided to leave this awful place and fight against traitors with real American patriots with President Trump." On June 12 the off-again-on-again Trump-Jong Un (U.S.-North Korea) Summit in the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore proceeds quickly and amicably, with handshaking back-slapping Trump claiming he now has a "special bond" with the evil mass-murdering dictator, promising to stop military exercises in the Korean peninsula, and Kim reiterating his commitment to denuclearization, ending with both signing a communique and Trump inviting Kim to the White House. On June 12 super-leftist Berkeley, Calif. passes a resolution declaring a climate emergency and calling for a WWII-style mobilization effort incl. pop. control, urging other Calif. cities to march in line. On June 12 the Calif. secy. of state confirms that the Cal-3 initiative to divide Calif. into three states (Calif., Northern Calif., Southern Calif.), sponsored by Silicon Valley billionaire Tim Draper has received enough verified signatures to be placed on the Nov. ballot; 600K signatures were submitted; "California govenment has rotted. We need to empower our population to improve their government." (Draper) On June 13 Tunisian Muslim immigrant Sief Allah H. (1989-) is arrested in Chorweiler, Cologne, Germany for a plot to use the deadly toxin ricin in a jihadist attack in Germany using online instructions posted by ISIS. On June 14 U.S. Dept. of Justice Inspector Gen. Michael E. Horowitz releases a 500-page report on the mishandling of the Hillary Clinton email server scandal, slapping FBI dir. James Comey and atty. gen. Loretta Lynch on the wrist, despite revealing that Comey topped Hillary by using his personal Gmail account for official biz; on June 16 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "The IG Report totally destroys James Comey and all of his minions including the great lovers, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who started the graceful Witch Hunt against so many innocent people. It will go down as a dark and dangerous period in American History!" On June 14 Pres. Trump announces his intention of slapping $50B of tariffs on Chinese goods, causing the Chinese to do ditto. On June 16 after Pres. Trump boasts about his poll numbers and his supporters in a tweet, Trump-hater John O. Brennan tweets the soundbyte: "All Americans - not just your supporters - deserve a President who is honest, ethical, selfless, & substantive. Our country faces daunting domestic & international challenges. If there is a scintilla of decency left in you, you would focus on your responsibilities, not on yourself." On June 18 Pres. Trump announces his plan to create an independent "separate but equal" Space Force as a 6th branch of the U.S. militarey, ordering Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford to carry it out pronto, with the soundbytes: "It is not enough to have an American presence in space, we must have an American dominance in space", and "General, got it?"; Trump also tweets the soundbyte about German chancellor Angela Merkel's migrant policy: "Crime in Germany is way up. Bit mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people who have so strongly and violently change their culture!" On June 19 after it passes the House of Commons in Nov., the Canadian Senate votes 52-29 to pass Bill C-45 (the Cannabis Act), legalizing marijuana, becoming the 2nd country after Uruguay in Dec. 2013. On June 19 the U.S. Justice Dept. announces the arrest of 412 Muslims in Mich. for welfare fraud, calling it "the largest scam in United States history". On June 19 as it begins a 3-day meeting in Geneva, U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and U.S. secy. of state Mike Pompeo announce that the U.S. has pulled out of the U.N. Human Rights Council, calling it "not worthy of its name" and a "protector of human rights abusers and cesspool of political bias", accusing it of "politicizing and scapegoating countries with positive human rights records". On June 19 ICE launches Operation Limelight at Newark Internat. Airport in N.J. to inform passengers traveling to countries that have a high risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) of the laws and penalties. On June 19 (eve.) U.S. Homeland Security secy. Kirstjen Nielsen is chased out of a Mexican restaurant by anti-Trump activists over the children separation issue, shouting "You're a villain locking up immigrant children"; on June 25 White House press secy. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is asked to leave the Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington, Va., causing Trump to respond that the "dirty" restaurant "badly needs a paint job", while leftist Calif. Dem. rep. Maxine Waters calls for more such actions, with the soundbyte: "If you see anybody from that (Trump) Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. You push back on them. Tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere!", forcing Nancy Pelosi to condemn her, after which she backtracks and denies calling for anybody to be harmed. On June 20 after a bipartisan uproar about tearing illegal immigrant children away from their families, topped by Hollyweird actor Peter Fonda uttering the soundbyte: "Let's rip Barron Trump from his mother's arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles", Pres. Trump signs an executive order keeping families together at the border. On June 21 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court rules 5-4 in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc. to overturn their unanimous decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (1992) and permit states to collect sales tax from out-of-state online retailers, with Justice Anthony Kennedy calling the previous decision "unsound and incorrect", pleasing Pres. Trump, who has long blasted Amazon.com and its founder Jeff Bezos, owner of the anti-Trump Washington Post; the majority incl. Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Ruther Bader Ginsburg; dissenters incl. John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. On June 21 First Lady Melania Trump visits some children's shelters at the U.S.-Mexico border in Tex. along with HHS secy. Alex Azar, paving the way for accelerated reunification with their families; she wears a jacket reading "I really don't care. Do U?" on the back, pissing-off the PC police. On June 21 the 2018 U.S. Summer begins, going on to have the smallest number of daily record temperatures and smallest number of all-time record max temperatures; on Sept. 6 NOAA releases a report claiming it is the 4th hottest summer on record for the U.S., tying with 1934; it's moose hockey because the 1930s were way hotter? On June 21-24 a jihadi attack by Muslim Fulani herdsmen on Christians in a number of villages in Plateau State of C Nigeria kills 200+ and injures hundreds, burning 50 homes; the PC press tries to cover it up, calling it "ethnic tensions", "a battle for land and resources", and "climate change"; on July 1 Roman Catholic arcbishop of Lagos Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie pub. an open letter to Nigerian pres. Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of culpable inaction to protect Christians from slaughter by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in C Nigeria. On June 22 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte that the only way to get immigration legislation passed is for Repubs. to give up in immigration reform until a Red Wave of Repubs. is elected to Congress in Nov., which Repub. leaders immediately ignore. On June 22 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court rules 5-4 in Carpenter v. U.S. that police need warrants to gather phone location data as evidence for trials. On June 23 the Tham Luang Cave Rescue sees 12 boys ages 11-16 from a local soccer team become stranded with their 25-y.-o. asst. coach Tham Luang Nang Non in a cave in Chiang Rai Province and get trapped by heavy rains, causing a massive rescue operation by 1K incl. Thai Navy SEALs, one of whom dies while delivering air supplies on July 5; they are rescued on ? On June 23 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: ".@FoxNews Poll numbers plummet on the Democrat inspired and paid for Russian Witch Hunt. With all of the bias, lying and hate by the investigators, people want the investigators investigated. Much more will come out. A total scam and excuse for the Dems losing the Election!", causing Trump enemy John O. Brennan to tweet the reply "Your fear of exposure is palpable. Your desperation even more so. When will those of conscience among your Cabinet, inner circle, and Republican leadership realize that your unprincipled and unethical behavior as well as your incompetence are seriously damaging our Nation." On June 25 the U.N.'s WHO announces that for purposes of the 11th ed. of its Internat. Classification of Diseases (ICD), transgender individuals will no longer be classified as mentally ill. On June 25 the Assoc. for Library Service to Children removes Laura Ingalls Wilder's name from their legacy award for being too white, er, "expressions of stereotypical attitudes inconsistent with ALSC's core values", renaming it the Children's Lit. Legacy Award. On June 26 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court rules 5-4 in ? v. ? to uphold Pres. Trump's Muslim country travel ban, confirming that it is "squarely within the scope of presidential authority, with his anti-Muslim campaign statements being irrelevant, but seemingly only because the ban only affects 8% of the world's Muslims, the whole decision pissing-off leftists incl. ACLU deputy legal dir. Cecilia Wang, who calls the decision "a dreadful day", vowing to "fight on to express the will of the people to uphold equality and freedom" and flood the U.S. with Muslims who will destroy its Constitutional repub. to please the ACLU and other Commies?; Pres. Trump calls it a "tremendous victory for the American people"; dissenter justice Sonia Sotomayor writes the soundbyte: "History will not look kindly on the court's misguided decision today, nor should it"; no blanket statement that Islam may be used as a criteria to ban people from entering the U.S. if it is deemed a threat to the Constitution, no castigation of the lower courts for bowing to leftists and usurping the president's and Congress' authority in a separation of powers power grab attempt? On June 26 thousands of Iranians protest in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran over the govt.'s spending of money on adventurism abroad, shouting "Death to Palestine". On June 26 avowed Socialist Dem. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989-) defeats longtime rep. Joe Crowley in the Dem. primary in New York's 14th congressional district, promising universal free Medicare and college tuition, and an end to ICE. On June 27 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court rules 5-4 in Janus v. AFSCME that unions may not force non-members to pay union dues, citing the political activities of public sector unions and free speech rights. On June 28 (2:34 p.m. local time) a shooter at the Capital Gazette Newspaper Bldg. in Annapolis, Md. kills five incl. four journalists and a salesperson and injures several others; suspect Jarrod Warren Ramos (1979-) surrenders and is arrested. On June 28 hundreds of chanting women protest inside the U.S. Senate Office Bldg. in Washington, D.C. against Donald Trump's treatment of migrant families; police arrest nearly 600. On June 28 the Calif. Supreme Court upholds a gun control law that is impossible to implement, requiring semiautomatic guns sold in the state to have a unique micro-stamped marker on their firing pins. On June 28 the 2018 North Am. Heat Wave (ends Oct. 4); on July 27 Michael Mann of Penn. State U., Jennifer Francis of Rutgers U., and Noah Diffenbaugh of Stanford U. blame it on increased atmospheric CO2 and the jet stream; meanwhile Britain suffers an unusually wet and cold summer, and Siberia suffers record cold, with a record low of -1C in Salekhard on Aug. 2; in June-Aug. the Summer 2018 U.S. Midwest has one of its coolest summers in modern times, with only eight measurements over 100F, vs. 17,772 since 1895 and 2,624 in 1936; meanwhile in Aug. satellite data from climatereanalyzer.org show global temps falling to 0.19C, giving a YTD avg. of 0.23C, about the same as in 2002. On June 29 West Point Academy announces the appointment of Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams as its first-ever black suptd. (#60). On June 30 after 561 refugees from Yemen arrive in Jeju Province, South Korea, and 552 apply for asylum, a protest is held against them in Seoul. In June former "Flowers in Your Hair" city San Francisco, Calif. is declared one of the filthiest slums on Earth. In June Uzbekistan refugee Jamshid Muhtorov is found guilty of conspiring to support a terrorist group, and given an 11-year prison sentence with six years off for time served in Colo. In June Austria announces that it is going to shut down seven mosques and expel 60 imams with ties to Turkey or Salafis. In June David de Rothschild (1942-) hands control of the Rothschild banking empire to his son Alexandre de Rothschild (1980-). On July 1 elections in Mexico. On July 1 Costa Rica becomes the first country to ban fossil fuels. In July the city of San Francisco, Calif. opens two safe injection sites (monitored by train medical staff) for users of heroin, fentanyl, and other hard drugs, becoming the first in the U.S. - shut up and take my money? On July 1 Am. Muslim convert (al-Qaida supporter) Abdur Raheem Rafeeq (formerly Nathaniel Pitts) is arrested by the FBI for plotting a July 4 terror attack in Cleveland, Ohio. On July 1 France enthrones abortion champion (health minister in 1975) Simone Veil in the Pantheon, with pres. Emmanuel Macron declaring "France loves Simone Veil". On July 3 the city of Quriyat, Oman sets a record of 108.7F (42.6C) for the highest 24-hour min. temperature on Earth, breaking the previous record of 107.4F (41.9C) set in Oman on June 27, 2011; the temp actually remains above 107.4F (41.9C) for 51 straight hours, with an afternoon high temp of 121.6F (49.8C); on July 6 Ouargla, Algeria reaches 124F (51C), setting a record for Africa, causing global warming proponents to claim it as proof; actually the heat dome phenomenon happens every few summers, and there have been far hotter summers in the past, esp. the 1930s? On July 6 amid a swarm of 14 federal investigations, EPA head (since Feb. 17, 2017) Scott Pruit resigns; U.S. Sen. (D-Mass.) Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren utters the soundbyte that his successor should be a believer in climate change; on July 9 Hamilton, Ohio-born coal lobbyist Andrew R. Wheeler (1964-) (former aide to climate skeptic U.S. Sen. James Inhofe) succeeds Scott Pruitt as acting admin. of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (until ?). On July 6 the U.S. and China hit each other with punishing tariffs, becoming the start of a trade war. On July 7-8 (weekend) heavy rains in SW Japan trigger floods and landslides that kill 57 and force 2M to flee their homes. On July 9 Pope Francis hosts a conference at the Vatican with oil co. execs, urging them to get with it and follow his 2015 climate change encyclical "Laudato Si" despite it not being obligatory. On July 9 (7:00 p.m. EDT) after the Dems. go wild at the prospect of Roe v. Wade being overturned, and key Senate Dems. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), and Joe Manchin (W. Va.) refuse invitations, Pres. Trump nominates conservative Roman Catholic D.C. Appeals Court judge (since 2006) Brett Michael Kavanaugh (1965-) to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy of retiring justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom he once clerked, pissing-off Dems, causing Hillary Clinton to utter the soundbyte to the Am. Federation of Teachers on July 13 that Repubs. want to turn the black, er, clock back to the 1850s. On July 11 Pres. Trump meets in Brussels with leaders of NATO, whipping them in line to increase defense spending, uttering the soundbyte: "I told them today that the EU better be careful because immigration is taking over Europe and I said that loud and clear." On July 11 the U.N. Security Council holds its first session focusing on climate change in seven years, to consider "the cycle of conflict and climate disaster", calling for internat. coordination. On July 11 Argentina freezes the assets of 14 people belong to the Barakat clan in South Am., becoming their first action against Hezbollah; on Sept. 21 Brazilian federal police arrest the clan leader Assad Ahmad Barakat in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil in the tri-border area of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. On July 12 Pres. Trump arrives in Britain to a royal welcome by PM Theresa May, followed by another at Windsor Castle by Elizabeth II on July 13, amid large anti-Trump street demonstrations, incl. a giant Baby Trump Blimp, causing Trump to say that he doesn't feel welcome there, telling The Sun newspaper that unless Euros "act very quickly, it's never going to be what it was, and I don't mean that in a positive way", adding "I think you are losing your culture. Look around. You go through certain areas that didn't exist 10 or 15 years ago", later telling a press conference: "I made a point today. I said, you've got to stop. You're ruining your - you're going to have a lot of problems. You see what's going on throughout the world with immigration"; on July 14 he visits Scotland, facing more protests; Prince William and Prince Charles snub Trump, who makes a mild etiquette boo-boo by turning his back to the diminutive queen. On July 12 Repubs. on the House Oversight Committee and House Judiciary Committee grill FBI agent Peter Strzok for nine hours while Dems. turn it into a circus trying to cover for him with procedural objections; Strzok acts defiant, calling the hearing a "victory notch in Putin's belt" while acknowledging texts saying "Stop Trump", but claiming that there is "simply no evidence of bias in my professional actions" (other than sending the damning texts on FBI equipment), claiming he was kicked off the Russia probe over an "appearance" issue not because of "bias", adding that he didn't appreciate Repub. Rep. Trey Gowdy (who accuses him of "textbook bias" with his anti-Trump texts) to say otherwise, causing Gowdy to reply: "I don't give a damn what you appreciate, Agent Strzok. I don't appreciate an FBI agent with an unprecedented level of animus working on two major investigations in 2016" - try using a racial slur and see how that argument works? On July 12 Turkish Mahdist sect leader Adnan Oktar (AKA Harun Yahya) is arrested as part of a crackdown on his cult after the Turkish govt. claims it found arms caches in their HQ on the Asian side of the Bosporus. On July 13 (Fri.) a grand jury indicts 12 Russian intel officers for hacking computers of Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Dem. Nat. Committee, but no Americanskies, causing Pres. Trump to tweet the soundbyte: "The stories you heard about the 12 Russians yesterday took place during the Obama Administration, not the Trump Administration. Why didn't they do something about it, especially when it was reported that President Obama was informed by the FBI in September, before the Election?" On July 13 a suicide attack at an election rally in Mastung, SW Pakistan kills 129 incl. Balochistan Awami Party leader Siraj Raisani. On July 15 (4:30 p.m. local time) a suicide attack at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in Kabul, Afghanistan kills seven and injures 15+; meanwhile the U.N. pub. a report giving the number of Afghan civilians killed in the first half of the year as 1.7K, highest in 10 years. On July 16 the Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki, Finland, hosted by Finnish pres. (since Mar. 1, 2012) Sauli Niinisto sees Trump side with Putin on the Ritz against his own Obama-Hillary-infiltrated intel agencies, uttering the soundbyte that he didn't say any reason why it would be Russia that interfered with the 2016 U.S. election, pissing-off traitors in the U.S. govt., who expose themselves by calling him a traitor, incl. John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and John Brennan, who calls Trump's comments "imbecilic" and explicitly uses the T-word, while overlooking the fact that he voted for Communist Party USA candidate Gus Hall for U.S. pres. in 1976; McCain calls it "One of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory", adding "No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant"; Trump calls Brennan a "total lowlife"; most of these same critics called Pres. George W. Bush a traitor for believing his intel services when they claimed that Iraq had WMD; Trump later corrects himself, saying that he meant to say he didn't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia. On July 16 the EU and Japan sign a massive trade deal covering nearly one-third of world GDP and 600M people, allowing the EU to get back at Pres. Trump for calling it "foe" of the U.S. on July 15. On July 16 a volcanic lava bomb showers a tour boat off the coat of the Big Island of Hawaii, injuring 22 before it can return to Hilo. On July 17 after DNA is used to track him down, John D. Miller is charged with the 1988 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 8-y.-o. April Tinsley in Ind. On July 18 the EU fines Google 4.3B Euros for anti-competitive abuse with its Android mobile software, and another 2.4B Euro fine for its search monopoly for "denying rivals a chance to innovate", causing Pres. Trump to tweet the soundbyte: "I told you so! They truly have taken advantage of the U.S., but not for long!" On July 18 a U.S. grand jury indicts Russian activist Maria Butina, founder of the pro-gun Russian advocacy group Right to Bear Ams as an unregistered foreign agent. On July 19 several thousand pro-regime residents of FUaa and Kafraya in N Syria evacuate after one of the longest sieges in the 7-year civil war. On July 21 after five people incl. an Israeli soldier are killed on July 21, a ceasefire is agreed to by Hamas and Israel. On July 22 a suicide attack near the main airport in Kabul, Afghanistan targeting vice-pres. Rashid Dostum kills 23 and injures 100+; Dostum left the country last year and recently returned. On July 22 after Iranian nutcase Hassan Rouhani tweets that the U.S. should be aware that "war with Iran is the mother of all wars", Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE", causing Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif to tweet the soundbyte: "COLOR US UNIMPRESSED... BE CAUTIOUS!" On July 22 (night) Pakistan-born Canadian Muslim Faisal Hussain shoots up a restaurant row on Danforth Ave. in Greektown, Toronto, Canada, killing 18-y.-o. Reese Fallon and 10-y.-o. Julianna Kozis and injuring 13; the govt. attempts a coverup, refusing to call it a jihad. On July 23 a 5.8 earthquake in SE Iran injures 25+, one day after another earthquake in W Irean injures 290, becoming Iran's fourth earthquake in two days. On July 23 as Russian-backed Syrian govt. forces route rebels in SW Syria, bringing them close to the Golan Heights, Israel launches its newest air defenses system, the David's Sling interceptor missile at rockets which it claims fell inside Syrian territory as part of the internal fighting, causing Moscow to send foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to meet with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. On July 23 after the Carter Page FISA docs are released, Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "So we now find out that it was indeed the unverified and Fake Dirty Dossier, that was paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC, that was knowingly & falsely submitted to FISA and which was responsible for starting the totally conflicted and discredited Mueller Witch Hunt!" On July 24 (1:42 p.m. local time) Israel shoots down a Syrian Sukhoi warplane 2 km. inside the Israeli border using two patriot missiles. On July 24 a Gallup Poll finds that Pres. Trump's approval rating has risen to 41.9%. On July 25 an ISIS assault in the Druze city of Sweida, S Syria kills 220+. On July 25 gen. elections in Pakistan are a V for the PTI Party of Imran Khan, while the opposition PMLN Party alleges massive fraud. On July 25 Pres. Trump meets in the White House with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, and agree on a trade plan that gives Trump nearly everything he wants. On July 26 thousands of African migrants begin storming the fences between Morocco and Ceuta, Spain; on Aug. 22 seven policemen are burned by acid and quicklime thrown by the pesky migrants. On July 26 after a disastrous quarterly report, Facebook posts the largest 1-day market value loss in U.S. stock market history, down $119B to $510B (19%); founder Mark Zuckerberg loses $17B; Facebook shareholders propose ousting him as chmn. On July 26 Iranian gen. Qasem Soleimani gives a speech in Hameden, Iran, with the soundbyte that Pres. "Trump the Gambler"'s speech is "that of a bartender or a casino manager", warning him that "We are near you in places that you can't even imagine. We are a nation of martyrdom." On July 26 Land O'Lakes of Minn. names COO Beth Ford as its CEO, becoming the first openly gay woman to head a Fortune 500 co. On July 27 Pres. Trump announces a 2nd quarter GDP growth of 4.1%, uttering the soundbyte: "Once again we are the economic envy of the entire world. When I meet the leaders of countries, the first thing they say invariably is Mr. President, so nice to meet you, congratulations on your economy, you're leading the entire world." On July 27 Jordanian immigrant Muslim Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan is convicted by a jury in Houston, Tex. of the honor killing of his daughter Nesreen Irsan's Am. husband Coty Beavers and Iranian women's rights activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh to prevent the daughter who ran away from home from marrying a Christian and converting to Christianity; Irsan's wife Shmou Alrawabdeh testifies against him after a plea bargain; Irsan's son Nasim Irsan is being held in jail on murder charges. On July 27 (3rd Fri. the 13th of July) a blood moon signals the End of the World? On July 28 the 81K-acre Carr Fire in Northern Calif. kills two firefighters while destroying hundreds of bldgs. and homes, causing 38K residents of Redding, Calif. to flee their homes; meanwhile 89 large wildfires are burning in 14 U.S. states, mainly in the west. On July 28 three Islamist gunmen attack a midwife training facility in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, engaging security forces for several hours before being killed after four civilians are killed. On July 28 Jordian-born Mexican Muslim Moyad Heider Mohammad Aldairi (1987-) is arrested for allegedly conspiring to smuggle six Yemeni nations across the Tex. border into the U.S. for a fee. On July 29 (Sun.) pres. elections in Mali are a push, causing a 2nd election on Aug. 12 between incumbent pres. Ibrahiim Boubacar Keita and Soumaila Cisse (Cissé); Keita wins with 67% of the vote. On July 29 elections in Cambodia. On July 29 a shallow 6.9 earthquake in Lombok Island, Indonesia kills 347 and injures 160+, damaging 1K+ houses; it is felt as far as Bali. On July 29 17-y.-o. Palestinian Ahed Tamimi (2001-) is released from jail after serving an 8-mo. sentence for slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers outside her home on Dec. 15 then filming it and livestreaming it on Facebook. On July 29 the corpse of Bishop Epiphanius is found in the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. Macarius the Great Monastery near Wadi el-Natrun, Egypt under mysterious circumstances. On July 29 the Iranian rial hits a new low of 100K to $1 U.S. as Iran braces for Aug. 7, the day the U.S. reimposes economic sanctions. On July 29 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, 'Enemy of the People.' Sad!"; on Aug. 2 after his daughter Ivanka appears to contradict him, Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. She correctly said now. It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people"; on Aug. 5 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it's TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!" On July 30 Pres. Trump holds a conference with Italian PM (since June 1) Giuseppe Conte, uttering the soundbyte that he'd "certainly meet" with Iranian pres. Hassan Rouhani sans preconditions, adding "I'll meet with anybody. There's nothing wrong with meeting." On July 30 elections in Zimbabwe are the first without Robert Mugabe on the ballot. On July 30 (1:40 a.m.) Fakrol Islam (1992-) tries to set a gas station in Bulls Head, Staten Island, N.Y. on fire; on Aug. 22 he is indicted in his hospital bed in Staten Island U. Hospital, pleading not guilty. On July 31 U.S. homeland security secy. Kirstjen Nielsen announces the creation of the Nat. Risk Management Center to help banks, energy and other critical infrastructure industries thwart foreign cyberattacks. On July 31 after meeting with two dozen-plus Repub. Senators, Judge Brett Kavanaugh meets with U.S. Sen. (D-W. Va.) Joe Manchin, who becomes the first Senate Dem. to meet him, and ends up voting to confirm him. On July 31 Facebook announces the removal of 32 face accounts from its site and Instagran for engaging in "coordinated inauthentic behavior" to disrupt the U.S. midterm elections; too bad, this incl. the feminist activist group Resisters, which was advertising an anti-racism rally in Washington, D.C. set for Aug. 12 on the 1st anniv. of the Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville, Va. On July 31 NBA star LeBron James gives an interview to CNN, claiming that he believes Pres. Trump "is kind of trying to divide us", causing Trump on Aug. 3 to tweet the soundbyte: "Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!", causing Lemon on Aug. 4 to tweet the soundbyte: "Who's the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?" (forgetting that Pres. Obama did it too?) In July U.S. unemployment is 3.9%, adding 157K jobs (vs. 248K in June), with a record 15,965,000 employed; the unemployment rate for Hispanics hits a record low of 4.5%. On Aug. 1 the Trump admin. announces that it is raising planned tariffs on $200B of goods imported from China from 10% to 25%, upping the pressure, causing China to retaliate with their own tariffs. On Aug. 1 after a week of threats, Pres. Trump blacklists Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu and justice minister Abdulhamit Gul to pressure Turkey to release N.C. Christian missionary Andrew Brunson, pissing-off Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on Aug. 4 threatens sanctions on two members of Pres. Trump's cabinet to retaliate. On Aug. 2 Pres. Trump tweets a thank you to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for returning the remains of U.S. servicemen. On Aug. 3 after the senate rejects it, the French house passes a controversial asylum and migration bill, preserving the right of asylum. On Aug. 3 a suicide bomber detonates at the Shiite Khawaja Hassan Mosque in Gardez, Paktia, E Afghanistan, killing 25 and injuring 40. On Aug. 3 a Saudi air raid near the main public hospital in Hodeidah, Yemen on the Red Sea kills 55 and injures 124. On Aug. 3 Am. extremist Muslim Siraj Ibn Wahhaj (Wahhaj Jr.) (1979-), son of Brooklyn, N.Y. imam Siraj Wahhaj (suspected conspirator in the 1993 WTC bombing) is arrested in his compound in Amalia, N.M., where 11 malnourished children and four adults (Wahhaj, Lucas Morten, Subhanah Wahhaj, Hujrah Wahhaj, Jany Leville) are found living in filthy conditions, with the children allegedly being taught to use assault rifles to commit school shootings; remains of a 12th child are found; too bad, a N.J. judge dismisses child abuse charges against all five defendants after state prosecutors miss a 10-day deadline for a preliminary hearing. On Aug. 3 after the news breaks that the office of wealthy ($45M) pro-China U.S. Sen. (D-Calif.) Dianne Feinstein employed a Chinese spy as driver for 20 years, getting Chinese human rights activists who appealed to her for help kidnapped and executed by the Red Chinese govt., Donald Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Dianne is the person leading our Nation on 'Collusion' with Russia (only done by Dems.) Will she now investigate herself?"; the PC press ignores the story to continue her/their war on Trump. On Aug. 4 (afternoon) several drones explode near Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro while giving a speech, injuring seven, causing him to fish around for somebody to blame, starting with the U.S.? On Aug. 4-5 a surge of shootings in Chicago, Ill. kills 36 (incl. 16 teenagers), incl. 25 in a 2.5-hour period on Aug. 5, causing former Chicago Heights police chief Gary "Gus" Trower to utter the soundbyte: "Instead of setting up a task force combining the resources of the FBI, DEA, ATF, Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police and others to fight against the gangs and criminals that all too often cut-short the lives of young blacks, the Democrats are more interested in trying to bring down a duly elected POTUS"; so far this year there has been a total of 1.7K shootings and 318 homicides in Rahm Emanuelville. On Aug. 6 in a coordinated coup after viewer-losing fake news CNN puts them up to it, Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify (but not Twitter) remove "The Alex Jones Show" and its InfoWars content in a quantum leap in leftist censorship of non-leftists, causing Media Research Center pres. Brent Bozell to write the soundbyte: "It's not just a slippery slope, it's a dangerous cliff that these social media companies are jumping off to satisfy CNN and other liberal outlets"; on Sept. 6 Twitter finally pulls Jones' account after an incident when he harassed CNN reporter Oliver Darcy outside a run in Congress where Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was being questioned; meanwhile Hungarian-born anti-American leftist billionaire puppetmaster George Soros (1930-) and his octopus call for Facebook to remove "climate deniers", and YouTube resists the pressure, but in July starts adding info. panels to all climate videos pro and con linked to Wikipedia's super-biased article on climate change that pushes the PC global warming moose hockey and denigrates climate denialists, landmining the pages so that every stray click goes to it; they also do it with Flat Earth and NASA Moon Landing hoax videos, encouraging guilt by association? On Aug. 6 (eve.) 11-y.-o. 4'11" 90 lb. African-Am. girl Donesha Gowdy (2007-) is tased by police officer Kevin Brown (1963-) in Spring Grove, Cincinnati, Ohio after shoplifting $50 worth of groceries from a Kroger store, causing a public outcry, which is increased when the police dept. claims a 50K-volt taser can be used on anybody aged 7-70; too bad, the officer utters the non-PC soundbyte "You know, sweetheart, this is why there's no grocery stores in the black community", letting the PC police loose on him, after which Brown doubles down on his statement, saying it is supported by statistics, and the police dept. says the statement constitutes prejudice, he didn't turn on his body camera before tasering her, did not warn her first, and was unnecessary since the incident wasn't serious enough. On Aug. 7 U.S. sanctions on Iran come into effect. On Aug. 7 Nigerian security forces block lawmakers from entering parliament to intimidate opposition leaders, causing the acting pres. to fire the head of the security agency. On Aug. 7 Ivan Duque Marquez (Iván Duque Márquez) (1976-) of the Dem. Centre Party becomes pres. #33 of Columbia (until ?). On Aug. 7 16-y.-o. Maxim Neverov (2002-) from Blysk is fined 50K rubles for pub. pro-gay photos on social network site Vkontakte, becoming the first minor prosecuted under Russian anti-gay propaganda laws. On Aug. 8 the Trump admin. announces new sanctions on Russia over a Novichok chemical weapons attack on former Russian intel officer Sergei V. Skripal in Mar. in Salisbury, England. On Aug. 8 Ford rolls its 10 millionth Mustang off an assembly line in its Detroit, Mich. plant. On Aug. 8-9 Israeli aircraft strike 150+ targets in Gaza, while Palestinian Hamas militants fire scores of rockets deep into Israel, first long-range attack since 2014. On Aug. 10 the Taliban launches a brazen attack on the strategic city of Ghazni, Afghanistan S of Kabul, killing 16 and injuring 40 AFghan security forces. On Aug. 10 Socialist former pres. (2006-10, 2012-14) of Chile Michelle Bachelet is elected U.N. high commissioner for human rights despite reluctance to criticize fellow Latin Am. leftists in Cuba, Venezuela et al. On Aug. 10 English Muslim convert Ali Hussain (1992-) ' AKA Lewis Ludlow of Rochester, Kent pleads guilty to plotting a terror attack on Oxford St. in London and raising money for terrorism. On Aug. 11 (Sat.) Glacier Nat. Park in Mont. reaches 100F, hottest temp in its recorded history; the number of glaciers in the park is down to 26 from 150 in 1850; meanwhile Missoula, Mont. goes 40 days without rain, another record. On Aug. 11 (4:00 p.m.) Ross Dress for Less employee Mohamed Mahmoud (1981-) shoots up his workplace after a customer leaves a shopping cart at the front door and he gets in an argument with his female mgr., then shoots at police officers until being shot in the hip from 50 yards. On Aug. 11 (Sat.) pampered women's lib poster child Chelsea Clinton utters the soundbyte at a Rise Up for Roe event: "Whether you fundamentally care about reproductive rights and access right, because these are not the same thing, if you care about social justice or economic justice, agency – you have to care about this. It is not a disconnected fact – to address this t-shirt of 1973 – that American women entering the labor force from 1973 to 2009 added three and a half trillion dollars to our economy, right? The net, new entrance of women – that is not disconnected from the fact that Roe became the law of the land in January of 1973" - the dead babies have no rights? On Aug. 13 (early a.m.) Christopher Lee "Chris" Watts (1985-) murders his pregnant wife Shananann and two young daughters Bella and Celeste in their Frederick, Colo. home and buries them on the property of his employer Anadarko Petroleum, then calls the police and puts on an innocent act until they break him down and get him to confess and plead guilty, receiving five life sentences; watch video. On Aug. 13 after learning they did it on Aug. 10, Pres. Trump crows his approval of the firing of FBI agent Peter Strzok, tweeting the soundbyte: "Agent Peter Strzok was just fired from the FBI — finally. The list of bad players in the FBI & DOJ gets longer & longer. Based on the fact that Strzok was in charge of the Witch Hunt, will it be dropped? It is a total Hoax. No Collusion, No Obstruction — I just fight back!"; "Just fired Agent Strzok, formerly of the FBI, was in charge of the Crooked Hillary Clinton sham investigation. It was a total fraud on the American public and should be properly redone!" On Aug. 13 Pres. Trump signs a defense policy bill that blocks the transfer of 100 F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, adding to the impact of his decision a week ago to double down on tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel and stealing Turkey's dream of having the 3rd largest F-35 fleet on Earth by the 2020s. On Aug. 13, as five major fires rage across the state, and the air over Seattle is filled with ash and smoke, Trump-hating Dem. Wash. Gov. #23 (since Jan. 16, 2013) Jay Robert Inslee (1951-) declares a state of emergency; meanwhile on Aug. 16 British Columbia declares a state of emergency as 566 fires burn across the province, causing the evacuation of 3K and blanketing Vancouver with smoke; in Dec. Inslee announces new legislation aimed at reducing the state's carbon emissions over a period of 20 years, requiring state utilities to effectively end the use of fossil fuels altogether by 2050 and forcing the state to adopt a clean fuel standard, promote electric and low-emission vehicles, and provide incentives to renovate existing buildings to reduce emissions; he also announces that a climate candidate like himself can beat Trump in 2020, with the soundbyte: "No nation has followed Donald Trump off the cliff with climate change. Not a single one. We want to keep it that way." On Aug. 14 (06:37 GMT) 29-y.-o. Sudanese Muslim Salih Khater (1989-) from Birmingham drives his silver Ford Fiesta through a group of cyclists into security barriers outside Parliament in London, England, injuring three before being arrested on suspicion of terrorism, causing Pres. Trump to tweet the soundbyte: "Another terrorist attack in London. These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!"; Khater's friends call it an accident; Muslim London Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for cars to be banned from Parliament Square. On Aug. 14 a bomb explodes in a crowded market in the heavily Shiite Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, killing two and injuring six. On Aug. 14 the 50-y.-o. Morandi Motorway Bridge in Genoa, Italy collapses in heavy rain, killing 39. On Aug. 14 the Taliban overrun Camp Shinaya army base in N Afghanistan, killing 17 soldiers; meanwhile the Ghazni battle rages for the 5th straight day. ON Aug. 15 PKK Kurdistan Workers' Party) leader Ismail Ozden is killed by the Turkish air force after the U.S. military shares intel. On Aug. 15 Pres. Trump revokes the security clearance of Trump-hating pro-Muslim ex-CIA dir. John O. Brennan, whom U.S. Sen. Rand Paul called "the most biased, bigoted, over-the-top, hyperbolic sort of unhinged director of the CIA we've ever had", with Trump saying that he "has recently leveraged his status... to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on the Internet and on television about this admin.", causing U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) to tell CNN that Brennan is a "butthead" who has given the intel community "a bad name", and Rand Paul to issue a new soundbyte: "I think John Brennan's actually a national security risk to the country and we are safer because his security clearance is gone. And the reason I say that is because, in 2012, he actually released information to other ex-CIA agents who went on TV and said, 'We have a double agent in Yemen'. Well, at the time, there was a double agent in Yemen at his life, his or her, I don't know who it was, but their life was put in risk because John Brennan's releasing information that he shouldn't. John Brennan also was involved with illegally looking at Democrats computers who were investigating CIA torture, and then, lying about it before the committee"; on Aug. 15 Brennan tweets the soundbyte: "This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent"; on Aug. 16 retired 4-star adm. William McRaven (known for overseeing the Osama bin Laden raid) pub. an op-ed in The Washington Post on Aug. 16 protesting Trump's actions, with the soundbyte that he stands with Brennan, and that "I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency"; meanwhile 13 former CIA dirs. and deputy dirs. incl. William Webster, Porter Goss, Gen. Michael Hayden, John McLaughlin, Leon Panetta, Gen. David Petraeus, Gen. James Clapper, Michael Morrell, Avril Haines, David Cohen, George Tenet, Stephen Kappes, and Robert Gates release a statement denouncing Trump's actions, with the soundbyte that they had "nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances - and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech", adding: "We have never before seen the approval or removal of security clearances used as a political tool, as was done in this case. This action is quite clearly a signal to other former and current officials" to stay silent, stressing that decisions on security clearances "should be based on national security concerns and not political views." On Aug. 15 a grand jury in Penn. releases an 887-page report revealing that 300 "predator priests" have been sexually abusing 1K+ child victims back to 1947 while the Vatican did nothing; on Aug. 16 the Vatican breaks its silence, calling the accused acts "criminally and morally reprehensible." On Aug. 15 Dem. N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo utters the soundbyte that America "was never that great", citing long-lasting inequalities with women et al., pissing-off Trump supporters and causing Pres. Trump on Aug. 17 to tweet the soundbyte: "How does a politician, Cuomo, known for pushing people and businesses out of his state, not to mention having the highest taxes in the U.S., survive making the statement, WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, IT WAS NEVER THAT GREAT? Which section of the sentence is worse?" On Aug. 16 after a campaign by 350 newspapers led by the Boston Globe, the U.S. Senate unanimously votes to condemn Pres. Trump's attacks on the press without naming him, affirming that "the press is not the enemy of the people". On Aug. 16 pissed-off anti-Trump Obama-Hillary shill John O. Brennan pub. an op-ed in The New York Times, attempting to connect his security clearance revocation to the Robert Muller investigation and the Omarosa revelations, calling Pres. Trump's denial of Russian collusion "hogwash", with the soundbyte: "Mr. Trump clearly has become more desperate to protect himself and those close to him, which is why he made the politically motivated decision to revoke my security clearance in an attempt to scare into silence others who might dare to challenge him"; meanwhile U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata gives an interview to "Fox & Friends", calling former CIA dir. John O. Brennan a "clear and present danger" to the U.S. who wants to "overthrow" Pres. Trump, adding: "I've made my feelings known about Mr. Brennan. I think most Americans look at our national intelligence experts as being above politics. Mr. Brennan has demonstrated that that's not the case. He's been totally political. I think I called him a butthead and I meant it. I think he's given the national intelligence community a bad name"; on Aug. 17 former U.S. Army Ranger Kris "Tanto" Paronto, hero of the 9/11/12 Battle of Benghazi gives an interview to Fox News, blasting John O. Brennan for calling Pres. Trump treasonous, saying that if anybody's been treasonous in the federal govt. it's him, citing his support for Communists and Islam; on Aug. 16 he responds to Brennan's tweet about his principles being worth far more than clearances with the soundbyte: "Benghazi remains a dark stain on Brennan, Hillary and Obama's time in government"; on Aug. 17 Pres. Trump utters the soundbyte to reporters about Brennan's complaints of being silenced: "There's no silence. If anything, I'm giving them a bigger voice. Many people don't even know who he is, and now he has a bigger voice, and that's okay with me, because I like taking on voices like that. I've never respected him", pointing to the statements of Repub. N.C. Sen. Richard Burr, chmn. of the Senate Intelligence Committee, with the soundbyte: "Senator Burr said it best: If you knew anything, why didn't you report it when you were before all of these committees, including their committee. So he had a chance to report. He never did"; on Aug. 18 Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Has anyone looked at the mistakes that John Brennan made while serving as CIA Director? He will go down as easily the WORST in history & since getting out, he has become nothing less than a loudmouth, partisan, political hack who cannot be trusted with the secrets to our country!" On Aug. 19 U.S. Senate Homeland Security Chmn. (since Jan. 3, 2015) Sen. (R-Wisc.) (since Jan. 3, 2011) Ronald Harold "Ron" Johnson (1955-) gives an interview to Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, saying that he has "no problem" with Pres. Trump pulling John O. Brennan's security clearance, with the soundbyte: "I do believe that former CIA Director John Brennan abused his privilege. When you're an ex-CIA director and you are going on all the cable news shows and acting as partisan as he is and accusing the president of the United States of treasonous behavior, high crimes and misdemeanors- last time I checked, treason was punishable by death - you just crossed a line. And you know, there is a difference between being eligible for receiving classified information and gaining access to it. Let's face it, nobody was going to be consulting with John Brennan. He didn't need access to any classified information, not during this administration. So, I have no problem that the president pulled his clearance", going on to add that he doesn't want the pulling of security clearances to become "routine" or "politicized". On Aug. 20 (Sun.) Iranian Assahollah Ali Khamenei rallies Muslim pilgrims on their way to hajj in Mecca with the soundbyte: "Ask Allah to cut the hands of the U.S. and other arrogant powers" - sorry, Allah wants you to do it yourself On Aug. 20 the U.S. deports accused Nazi labor camp guard Jakiw Palij (1923-) of Queens, N.Y. to Dusseldorf after a decade-long dispute with Berlin after longtime Queens resident Pres. Trump instructs his ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to give it high priority; Trump-hating comedian Kathy Griffin tweets the soundbyte: "If ICE is in the business of removing despicable Nazis, can they please head over to the White House?" On Aug. 20 after hearing rumors that he's going to sue him, Pres. Tweet tweets the soundbyte: "I hope John Brennan, the worst CIA Director in our country's history, brings a lawsuit. It will then be very easy to get all of his records, texts, emails and documents to show not only the poor job he did, but how he was involved with the Mueller Rigged Wiatch Hunt. He won't sue!" "Everybody wants to keep their Security Clearance, it's worth great prestige and big dollars, even board seats, and that is why certain people are coming forward to protect Brennan. It certainly isn't because of the good job he did! He is a political 'hack'"; on Aug. 20 he follows with the tweet: "Everybody wants to keep their Security Clearance, it's worth great prestige and big dollars, even board seats, and that is why certain people are coming forward to protect Brennan. It certainly isn't because of the good job he did! He is a political 'hack'." On Aug. 21 rockets are fired towards the pres. palace in Kabul, Afghanistan as pres. Ashraf Ghani delivers a message of peace for Eid al-Adha celebrations; ISIL claims responsibility. On Aug. 21 officials announce a series of coordinated attacks in Chechnya carried out by children as young as 11; ISIS claims responsibility. On Aug. 21 24-y.-o. illegal immigrant Christhian Rivera (1994-) confesses to the murder of 20-y.-o. white college student Mollie Tibbetts (1998-) in Brooklyn, Iowa in July after stalking her in his car and dumping her body in a cornfield, claiming to black out and not remember details, causing Pres. Trump to utter the soundbytes: "The immigration laws are such a disgrace. We're getting them changed, but we have to get more Republicans" and "The Democrats want to turn America into one big, fat sanctuary city for criminal aliens, and honestly, honestly, they're more protective of aliens, the criminal aliens, than they are of the people"; Rivera passed an E-Verify test to obtain employment at Yarrabee Pig Farms using a stolen ID; on Aug. 21 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbytes: A Blue Wave means Crime and Open Borders. A Red Wave means Safety and Strength!", followed by: "I am sorry to have to reiterate that there are serious and unpleasant consequences to crossing the Border into the United States ILLEGALLY! If there were no serious consequences, our country would be overrun with people trying to get in, and our system could not handle it!" On Aug. 21 Pres. Trump's atty. Michael Cohen strikes a plea bargain, admitting that he arranged payoffs to silence two women, porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal at Trump's direction, possibly violating campaign laws (but probably not?), causing Trump's enemy Chuck Schumer to demand that the Senate postpone hearings on Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh; on Aug. 22 Trump gives an interview to Fox News, acknowledging that he learned of the payments "later on", but "They didn't come out of the campaign, they came from me", admitting that if they did it "that could be a little dicey", followed by a tweet with the soundbyte: "If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" On Aug. 21 Pres. Trump's campaign chmn. Paul Manafort is convicted on 8 of 18 charges incl. bank fraud and tax fraud (after one juror holds out) while expression disappointment at not being acquitted then bring up the possibility of a late plea bargain since Muller has been out to get Trump all along and anything goes if there's a Dem. majority elected to Congress in Nov.?; on Aug. 22 Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and it was easily settled!"; one juror claims that Robert Muller's team kept trying to make the trial about collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and one was seen catnapping during the trial. On Aug. 21 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Even James Clapper has admonished John Brennan for having gone totally off the rails. Maybe Clapper is being nice to me so he doesn't lose his Security Clearance for lying to Congress!" On Aug. 22 the worst floods in a cent. in Kerala, India kill 400 and cause 1M to be displaced and be housed in camps. On Aug. 22 a 6.3 earthquake off the coast of Ore. 188 mi. from Bandon spark fears of "the Big One" (Cascadia) soon hitting Calif.; in the past 48 hours the Ring of Fire was rocked by 70 earthquakes. On Aug. 22 Chuck Todd of NBC's "Today Show" utters the soundbyte: "The Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives would begin to look to see if there's enough evidence to start investigating and drawing up articles of impeachment, but this is not a functional Congress. This is a Congress controlled by Republicans. They would have to do this on their own president. But I have to tell you, I think there is going to be increased political heat, and you're going to have a divided Republican party: those who are fearing Trump as a drag and those that know that his base is there till the end." On Aug. 22 a jihadist plows his car filled with gas canisters into the town hall of Bremmel, Netherlands 60 mi. S of Amsterdam, killing the driver. On Aug. 22 Am. Muslim convert Samantha El Hassi, who traveled to ISIS with her family in 2015 and who was charged with lying to the FBI in July is charged with conspirity to provide material support to ISIS. On Aug. 23 a new audio message from reclusive ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is released, quelling rumors of his death. On Aug. 23 NBC News reports that Pres. Trump's close friend David Pecker, chmn. of Am. Media Inc., publisher of The National Enquirer was granted immunity by federal prosecutors for giving info. about Pres. Trump's payments to Michael Cohen. On Aug. 23 the European Commission calls an emergency meeting after Italian foreign minister Matteo Salvini threatens to resign if 177 African migrants are allowed to disembark from a coast guard ship docked in Sicily. On Aug. 23 Air France and British Airways announce that they're ending flights to Tehran, Iran next month. On Aug. 23 Israel announces that Palestinian gunman Hani Majdalawi killed on the Gaza Strip border on Aug. 20 was a nurse working for Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), asking for an explanation. On Aug. 24 Liberal PM #29 (since Sept. 15, 2015) Malcolm Turnbull is ousted, and compromise candidate, Liberal Party leader (treasurer) Scott John Morrison (1968-) becomes Australian PM #30 (until ?). On Aug. 24 the U.S. State Dept. announces that it's cutting $200M in aid to the Palestinian Authority over Hamas control of the Gaza Strip. On Aug. 24 (a.m.) a group of students, scientists, and filmmakers from the U. of R.I. Inner Space Center (ISC) aboard the Russian ship Akademik Ioffe on the Nat. Science Foundation-funded Northwest Passage Project to raise awareness of global warming become stranded in ice in the Canadian Arctic in the Gulf of Boothia, causing the passengers to need to be evacuated to Yellowknife on Aug. 25. On Aug. 26 (12:30 p.m. EDT) 24-y.-o. disgruntled prof. gamer David Katz (b. 1994) from Baltimore, Md. shoots up a Madden NFL 19 video game tournament being streamed online from the GLHF (Good Luck Have Fun) Game Bar in Jacksonville Landing, Fla., killing two and injuring 10 before killing himself. On Aug. 26 35-y.-o. Daniel is stabbed by a Muslim migrant during a downtown street festival in Chemnitz, Germany, after which on Aug. 28 the soccer hooligan group Kaotic organizes a demonstration by 1K+, pissing-off German chancellor Angela Merkel, who instinctively backs the migrants; German interior minister Horst Seehofer utters the soundbyte that he took "would have taken to the streets" if he weren't a minister, and that "the migration issue is the mother of all political problems in this country." tensions run high until ?, turning the city into a symbol of divided Germany. On Aug. 27 Pres. Trump hails his "realy good" new trade deal with Mexico, ditching the 1994 NAFTA agreement; NAFTA talks with Canada are set to begin, but fall through on Aug. 31. On Aug. 27 Pres. Trump holds a secret meeting with evangelical leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House, pleading for help in the upcoming elections, with the soundbyte: "This November 6 election is very much a referendum on not only me, it's a referendum on your religion, it's a referendum on free speech and the First Amendment. It's a referendum on so much." On Aug. 28 Calif. passes a historic 100% Carbon-Free Electricity Bill, requiring the state to reach 60% renewable energy by 2030, and zero carbon emissions from electricity by 2045. On Aug. 28 Justice Dept. official Bruce Ohr testifies for eight hours behind closed doors at the U.S. House of Reps, who want to know how the govt. decided to investigate Pres. Trump's campaign, and the role of Fusion GPS and its cofounder Glenn Simpson along with former FBI atty. Lisa Page; "Either Bruce Ohr's lying or Glenn Simpson's lying" (Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.). On Aug. 28 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Google search results for 'Trump News' shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!", after which White economic advisor Larry Kudlow utters the soundbyte that the Trump admin. is "taking a look" at imposing regulations on Google. On Aug. 29 Pres. Trump blocks an automatic 2.1% pay raise for 1.5 federal workers, and asks Congress not to pass a pay raise next year. On Aug. 31 after being arrested in Kensington, Sydney, Australia, Sri Lankan ISIS member Mohamed Nizamdeen (1993-) is charged with possessing a blueprint targeting several "symbolic" Sydnay locations for terror attacks, incl. landmarks and people in Harbour City, and former PM Malcolm Turnbull and MP Julie Bishop. On Aug. 31 the Trump admin. announces an immediate end to all U.S. funding of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA); last year it contributed $364M, about one-third of its budget; it also announces a decision to cancel $300M of aid to Pakistan over its failure to take decisive action against jihadists; Germany announces in increase in UNRWA funding to make up for the U.S. On Aug. 31 an ABC/Washington Post Poll reveals a record 53% disapproval of Pres. Trump's job performance, along with a record low 36% approval. On Aug. 31 Hurricane Florence forms in colder than normal waters near Cape Verde, ramping up to Category 4 then back down to Category 1 after reaching warmer waters before making landfall at 7:15 EDT on Sept. 14 near Wrightsville Beach, N.C. with 90mph max winds, bringing disastrous rainfall and flooding before dissipating on Sept. 19, killing 30 and causing $45B damage; on Sept. 10 Pres. Trump tweets about it, giving The Washington Post the chance to call him complicit in extreme weather in a Sept. 11 editorial; there's really been no change in intensity or frequency of hurricane strikes in Fla. in the last 118 years? On Aug. 31 Amanda Kelley becomes the first englisted U.S. Army Ranger, following 15 female officers. In Aug. C England has its 5th warmest summer on record since 1659, beating 1976 by half a degree, followed by 1826; the highest temperature is 35.6C on July 27 at Felsham, Suffolk. In Aug. 15-y.-o schoolgirl Greta Thunberg (2003-) begins holding protests outside Sweden's parliament in Stockholm to protest their failure to act on the so-called climate crisis, spreading to 270 towns and cities worldwide and 70K schoolchildren by 2019, incl. a school walkout in 30+ towns and cities in England on Feb. 15, 2019; "I am doing this because you adults are shitting on my future." (Thunberg) In Aug. Hillary Clinton's security clearance expires. In Aug. the U.S. surpasses Russia in monthly crude oil production after surpassing Saudi Arabia in Feb., making it #1. In Aug. U.S. unemployment is 3.9% (vs. 3.9% in July), creating 201K new jobs, with hourly earnings increasing 2.9%. On Sept. 1 John McCain's funeral at Washington Nat. Cathedral in Washington, D.C. is attended by ex-presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and features a speech by McCain's daughter Meghan McCain, who delivers rebukes of Trump; meanwhile, Pres. Trump, who wasn't invited, plays golf at Trump Nat. Golf Club in Sterling, Va. On Sept. 3 a pro-ISIS Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter bomb at an Internet cafe in Isulan, S Philippines injures 15, becoming the 2nd in days. On Sept. 3 U.S. service member ? is killed in an insider green-on-blue attack in Afghanistan, the 2nd in 2 mo. On Sept. 3 (1:00 a.m.) Muslim Libyan migrant ? stabs two German tourists on the Playa de Palma beach in Palma, Mallorca, telling police "If I had a Kalashnikov, there would have been more death than in Paris or Barcelona". On Sept. 3 (U.S. Labor Day) a Rasmussen Poll shows that 47% of likely U.S. voters approve of Pres. Trump's job performance, while 51% disapprove; 35% strongly approve, and 42% strongly disapprove; Pres. Obama's 2010 Labor Day figures were 45% approved, 54% disapproved. On Sept. 4 authorities in Libya announce a death toll of 50+ incl. civilians from more than a week of fighting between armed groups in Tripoli incl. the Seventh Brigade from Tarhouna, the Tripoli Revolutionaries' Brigades, and the Nawasi Brigade; on Sept. 4 the U.N. annonces that a ceasefire has been signed. On Sept. 4 24-y.-o. Abdullah Ayman Abdel-Samie (b. 1994) attempts to bomb the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, but his plastic bottle containing flammable chemicals explodes prematurely in his backpack. On Sept. 4 excerpts are released from Watergate hero journalist's new book "Fear", to be published by CBS-owned Simon & Simon, going low and quoting anon. admin. officials that there is a "nervous breakdown" inside Pres. Trump's admin., quoting defense secy. Jim Mattis as claiming that Trump has the IQ of "a fifth- or sixth-grader", and chief os staff John Kelly as calling Trump an "idiot", which Mattis and Kelly deny. On Sept. 4-5 a jihadist attack on mainly Christian women selling farm products in Bria, Central African Repub. kills 12-42, most hacked to death with machetes. On Sept. 5 the U.S. Congress holds hearings on "foreign influence operations' use of social media platforms", calling Facebook, Twitter, and Google on the carpet; Google doesn't show up, leaving the others to vow to "fight back" against foreign interference; meanwhile the elephant in the room of social media censorship of non-leftist speech is barely addressed. On Sept. 5 two bombs explode in the heavily Shiite Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood of Kaboom, er, Kabul, Afghanistan, killing 20 and injuring 70, incl. medics and journalists; ISIS claims responsibility. On Sept. 5 The New York Times pub. an anon. op-ed by a "senior official in the Trump administration" titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration", claiming to be part of a secret Repub. White House "resistance" to control (not oust) "erratic" and "amoral" Pres. Trump, who have turned Trump's presidency "two-track", ignoring his orders and doing what they want instead, citing Trump's "preference for autocrats and dictators", calling Trump's leadership style "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective", with the soundbyte: "Americans should be aware that there are adults in the room", claiming that early in Trump's administration they quietly discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him for being unable to perform his duties, but claiming "This isn't the work of the so-called deep state. It's the work of the steady state", adding" To be clear; ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous", causing pissed-off Trump to tweet "TREASON?", followed by: "Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!", and White House press secy. Sarah Sanders to call the article "pathetic, reckless and selfish", with the soundbyte: "Nearly 62 million people voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2016. None of them voted for a gutless anonymous source to the failing New York Times", and "Are the investigative 'journalists' of the New York Times going to investigate themselves - who is the anonymous letter writer?" On Sept. 5 Pakistan-born Miss Huddersfield Sara Iftekhar (1998-) from West Yorkshire becomes the first Miss England contestant to wear a a hijab in the finals; the winner is Alisha Cowie. On Sept. 5 romance novelist Nancy Crmpton Brophy (1950-) of Portland, Ore., known for writing about spousal murder in "How to Murder Your Husband" et al. is arrested for murdering her chef hubby Daniel Brophy. On Sept. 6 India's supreme court strikes down a colonial-era law banning gay sex, causing celebrations across India. On Sept. 6 an Afghan policeman in Takhar Province, NE Afghanistan shoots and kills 8+ fellow officers, burns their bodies and takes their weapons to his Taliban buddies, becoming the 2nd American killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan this year. On Sept. 6, 2018 (night) off-duty white Dallas, Tex. cop Amber Guyger (1988-) mistakenly enters the apt. of 26-y.-o. black accountant Botham Shem Jean (b. 1992) one floor above her apt., believes him to be a burglar, and fatally shoots him in the chest; on Oct. 2, 2019 after raising the sacred cop defense of fearing for her safety, she is found guilty of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. On Sept. 7 ex-U.S.pres. Obama gives a speech at the U. of Ill. in Urbana-Champaign, breaking with tradition to blast Pres. Trump; Trump, ragging about how people who "pray differently" (Muslims) shouldn't be criticized, and trying to take credit for Trump's economic recovery, saying that it began during his admin., knocking Trump for his slow response to Nazi demonstrators, and dissing Trump for denying climate change, with the soundbyte: "We know that climate change isn't just coming, it is here", which Hillary Clinton backs via a tweet: "We're not fighting for the planet in some abstract sense here. We're fighting for our continued ability to live on it", taking a swing at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, with the soundbyte: "Replacing Kennedy with Kavanaugh would swing the Court to a new, hard-right majority that would rule against curbing greenhouse gases for years - maybe decades - that we can't afford to waste on inaction"; meanwhile on the campaign trail in Fargo, N.D., Trump responds that "I found he's very good for sleeping". "Advise and Consent" meets "Rashomon" in the U.S. Senate after a fleeting tribute to "Spartacus"? On Sept. 6 after announcing his intention "to expose emails that are being withheld from the public" that he believes will damage Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Sen. (D-N.J.) (2013-) Cory Anthony Booker (1969-) (first African-Am. U.S. sen. from N.J.) utters the soundbyte: "This is about the closest I'll ever have an an I Am Spartacus moment", adding "I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate"; too bad, the emails had been cleared for release hours before, turning him into a party joke; too bad, on Sept. 16 after the proceedings are closed and Dianne Feinstein deliberately waits to submit her allegation to gum-up the vote, Christine Margaret Blasey Ford (1966-) begins accusing Kavanaugh of an attempted sexual assault way back in 1982, while the Dems. snub Karen Monahan, accuser of Dem. Party bigwig Keith Ellison, showing how desperate they are?; on Sept. 21 after she refuses to testify on Mon. Sept. 24 to permit a vote to proceed, demanding an FBI investigation first while admitting she can't remember the place or date of the alleged attack, finally adding preconditions incl. testifying backwards after Kavanaugh, with attys. excluded, Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!", pissing-off Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who utters the soundbyte that she was "appalled", and that it was "completely inappropriate and wrong". On Sept. 6 off-duty white police officer Amber Renee Guyer shoots and kills black man Botham Shem Jean (b. 1992) in his own 4th floor apt. in Dallas, Tex. after mistaking it for her own on the 3rd floor, causing a public outcry resulting in her arrest on Sept. 9 for manslaughter and a grand jury to decide if she should be charged with murder after her story is seen to be full of holes. On Sept. 8 an Egyptian court sentences 75 defendants (out of 739) incl. top Muslim Brotherhood leaders for a 2013 protest in which security forces killed 600+; 47 incl. Muslim Brotherhood head Mohammed Badie are sentenced to life in prison; famed photojournalist Mahmoud Zbu Zaid AKA Shawkan is sentenced to five years, receiving credit for time served. On Sept. 9 U.N. Paris Agreement climate talks in Bangkok, Thailand founder after the EU, U.K., and Australia fall in line with the U.S. and close their checkbooks to endless $100B/year wealth transfers to poor nations starting in 2020. On Sept. 9 (11:00 p.m. local time) a 31-y.-o. Muslim migrant armed with a knife and iron bar attacks people on the Canal de l'Ourcq in Paris, France, wounding seven incl. two British tourists; he posed as an Afghan child to gain entry to France; the sick scared police refuse to call it terrorism. On Sept. 9 the Miss America 2019 (98th) Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., billed as Miss America 2.0 because contestants will no longer be judged based on their physical appearance and the swimsuit competition is cancelled is aired by ABC-TV; the winner is Nia Imani Franklin of N.H.; on Sept. 6 Miss W. Va. Virginia Madeline Collins tells the judges during her onstage interview: "Donald Trump is the biggest issue our country faces. Unfortunately, he has caused a lot of division in our country"; in June Miss America Org. chmn. Gretchen Carlson utters the soundbyte on "Good Morning America": "We are no longer a pageant. We are a competition"; in Aug. 19 former winners request that Carlson and pres.-CEO Regina Hopper step down along with the entire board of trustees after titleholder Cara Mund accuses Carlson and Hopper of bullying, manipulation and intimidation. On Sept. 9 an Allah-Akbar-shouting Muslim jihadist at Lyon-Bryon Airport in France drives through the terminal attempting to ram pedestrians before being stopped by police, then heads to the Saint-Exupery Airport under fire and crashing two glass doors before being stopped. On Sept. 10 after citing the refusal of Palestinian leaders to enter into peace talks with Israel, the Trump admin. orders the closure of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C. On Sept. 10 U.N. secy.-gen. Antonio Guterres warns that the world is facing "a direct existential threat" from global warming, and must rapidly shift from dependence on fossil fuels by 2020 to prevent "runaway climate change", with the soundbytes: "Climate change is moving faster than we are. We need to put the brake on deadly greehouse gas emissions and drive climate action"; "We need to rapidly shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels. We need to replace them with clean energy from water, wind and sun. We must halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and change the way we farm"; "According to a UN study, the commitments made so far by parties to the Paris agreement represent just one-third of what is needed"; he announces a climate summit for world leaders in Sept. 2019 "to bring climate action to the top of the international agenda." On Sept. 11 a suicide bomber at a protest gathering in Nangarhar Province, E Afghanistan kills 68 and injures 165. On Sept. 11 (9/11) al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri releases a new message titled "How to Confront America", calling the U.S. the #1 enemy of world Muslims, with the soundbyte: "We must wage war - in any part of the Islamic World - as if it is a single war with different fronts against a united enemy." On Sept. 12 the EU parliament votes 448-197 to punish the govt. of Hungarian PM Viktor Orban over its "breaches of core values", namely, wanting a stop to mass Muslim immigration, On Sept. 12 the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea reopens after 20 years of border war. On Sept. 12 Pres. Trump signs an executive order allowing sanctions to be levied on foreigners caught interfering in U.S. elections. On Sept. 12 the EU parliament by 438-226-39 passes a new copyright law that forces Web sites to enforce copyrights, filter content from users, and pay news orgs. for the use of their content. On Sept. 12-14 the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, Calif., hosted by Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown is held to solicit climate change pledges from cities and states despite do-nothing Pres. Trump; it opens with a song by Kanyon Sayers-Roods, rep of the Indian Canyon Muraun Band of Costanoan Ohlone People; on Sept. 14 Hollyweird "Indiana Jones" actor Harrison Ford blasts Pres. Trump without naming him, along with "people who don't believe in science, or, worse than that, pretend they don't believe in science", claiming that we are "shit out of time" to save Earth from global warming and that "The future of humanity is at stake"; on Sept. 14 Brown makes the announcement: "With science still under attack, we're going to launch our own satellite, our own damn satellite, to figure out where the pollution is"; the summit goes on to pub. Exponential Climate Action Roadmap. On Sept. 14 (early a.m.) Allah-Akbar-shouting 32-y.-o. Muslim ? rams his vehicle into anti-terror barriers protecting a crowded bar in Nimes, France, injuring two. On Sept. 17 Pres. Trump orders the Justice Dept. and FBI to immediately declassify key documents related to their investigation of Russian actors during the 2016 U.S. pres. election; on Sept. 21 after concerns that they "may have a perceived negative impact on the Russia probe. Also, key Allies' called to ask not to release", Trump backs down a little, asking the Inspector Gen. to "review these documents on an expedited basis". On Sept. 17 ex-Beatle Paul McCartney gives an interview to BBC News to promote his new album Egypt Station (Sept. 7) and its track Despite Repeated Warnings, which knocks climate change deniers, uttering the soundbyte: "People who deny climate change... I jus think it's the most stupid thing ever. So I just wanted to make a song that would talk about that and basically say, 'Occasionally we've got a mad captain sailing this boat we're all on and he is just going to take us to the iceberg [despite] being warned it's not a cool idea", later admitting that the captain is Pres. Trump, with the soundbyte: "Well, I mean obviously it's Trump but there's plenty of them about. He's not the only one." On Sept. 18 the Trump admin. rescinds an Obama-era rule requiring energy cos. to capture methane, only requiring them to reduce gas pollution, pissing-off the attys.-gen. of Calif. and N.M., who file a federal lawsuit. On Sept. 19 India bans the Muslim practice of triple talaq or instant divorce as a violation of the rights of Muslim women. On Sept. 19 attys. for Danske Bank announce that 200B euros was illegally laundered through its Estonian branch over a 9-year period. On Sept. 19 Pres. Trump utters the soundbyte: "I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad. I'm not happy at the border. I'm not happy with numerous things, not just this." On Sept. 20 the MV Nyerere ferry capsizes in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, killing 44+. On Sept. 20 Indian engineer Vishnudev Radhakrishnan of Kerala is sentenced to five years in prison and a 300K rupee fine for criticizing Muhammad on Twittter, becoming the first Indian to get a taste of Islamic superiority and intolerance. On Sept. 20 disgruntled employee (black woman) Snochia Moseley (b. 1992) opens fire at the Rite Aid warehouse in Baltimore, Md., killing three employees before committing suicide. On Sept. 21 the New York Times reports U.S. deputy atty. gen. Rod Rosenstein offered to wear a wire to record private conversations with Pres. Trump in a plot with cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment, causing U.S. Sen. (R-S.C.) Lindsey Graham to call it a "bureaucratic coup". On Sept. 22 Ahvaz, Iran is attacked by separatists, killing 25 and injuring 70, pissing-off Iranian pres. Hassan Rouhani, who accuses U.S.-backed Arab Gulf states of providing financial and military aid to them. On Sept. 23 De Bilt, Netherlands records a max temp of 10.9C, becoming the coldest Sept. 23 ever measured in the Netherlands; ditto for Mar. 17; ditto for Germany. On Sept. 23 De Bilt, Netherlands records a max temp of 10.9C, becoming the coldest Sept. 23 ever measured in the Netherlands; ditto for Mar. 17; ditto for Germany; Sept. goes on to become the coolest in the last 10 years. On Sept. 23-Oct. 15 Category 1 (90 mph) Hurricane Leslie arises in the N Atlantic Ocean, merging with a frontal system on Sept. 25 and intensifying over the N Atlantic, becoming the strongest cyclone to hit the Iberian Peninsula since 1842, killing 1 in Portugal and 13 in France. On Sept. 24 after a new sexual assault allegation by old Yale U. classmate Deborah Ramirez, Pres. Trump gives an interview at the U.N. in New York City, uttering the soundbyte that the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh "Could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything", adding: "For people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago, never mentioned it, all of a sudden it happens. In my opinion, it's totally political", concluding: "Judge Kavanaugh is an outstanding person and I am with him all the way"; meanwhile on Sept. 24 Kavanaugh defends himself, not only denying all allegations but revealing that he remained a virgin throughout his college years. On Sept. 25 Pres. Trump delivers an address to the 73rd Session of the U.N. Gen. Assembly, blasting "international interference" in policy-making, esp. the 2015 Vienna Accord, pissing-off French pres. Emmanuel Macron, who follows with his own address, calling for "dialogue and multilateralism", with the soundbyte: "What will bring a real solution to the situation in IRan and what has already stabilised it? The law of the strongest? Pressure from only one side? No! We know that Iran was on a nuclear military path but what stopped it? The 2015 Vienna Accord"; Trump's opening remarks "In less than two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country, so true" are met with laughter, causing Trump to respond: "I didn't expect that reaction but that's okay"; critics bring up his Aug. 9, 2014 tweet about Pres. Obama: "We need a president who isn't a laughing stock to the entire World", after which calls it fake news, saying "They were laughing with me". On Sept. 27 Palo Alto U. psychology prof. Christine Margaret Blasey Ford testifies before the U.S. Senate, accusing 17-y.-o. beer-swigging Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her then backing down and letting her go, without remembering the location of how she got there when she was 15-y.-o. and too young to drive, becoming the low point in Senate advise-and-consent history as the Dems. attempt to delay Kavanaugh's nomination vote to wait for an FBI investigation, knowing that before it is complete the Nov. election may give them a majority and allow them to reject his nomination no matter the result?; when asked what her strongest memory of the attack is, she replies "Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter"; Kavanaugh follows with tear-filled testimony denying her allegations and backing himself up with a detailed calendar-diary, which later is used against him when the entry for July 1 mentions a "(brew)ski" party and some of the alleged attendees; Ford set the women's lib movement back 50 years with her little girl act, showing that women can never become U.S. pres.?; on Sept. 27 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!"; on Sept. 28 as the vote to recommend him to the full Senate is about to be taken, Rhino Ariz. Repub. Sen. Jeff Flake flops after being accosted by screaming women Ana Maria Archila and Maria Gallagher in an elevator, requiring a 1-week FBI investigation limited to "current allegations already there" as a condition, causing Pres. Trump to fold and order it. On Sept. 28 authorities in The Hague, Netherlands announce the arrest of seven men in Arnhem for plotting a major Islamist attack somewhere in the Netherlands, finding large quantities of raw materials for making explosives in their homes. On Sept. 28 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the U.S. Gen. Assembly accusing Iran of harboring a secret atomic warehouse and vowing that Israel will never let Iran develop nukes. On Sept. 28 Romania's highest court in Bucharest approves same-sex marriage; a nat. referendum is set for Oct. 6-7. On Sept. 28 (15:00 local time) the 7.5 2018 Sulawesi earthquake-tsunami kills 2,256, injures 10,679, and leaves 1,075 missing after 70,821 are evacuated, with 206,524 turning into refugees by Oct. 28; on Dec. 23 (night) another tsunami caused by a volcano strikes without warning, killing 373+ incl. many Christmas revelers at the beaches. On Sept. 30 the U.S., Canada, and Mexico reach a deal to revamp the North Am. Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), becoming a big V for Pres. Trump and earning praise from Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). In Sept. Carlsberg announces that it will begin sticking its beer cans together with glue, becoming the first manufacturer to abandon plastic rings. In Sept. world pop. reaches 7.6B. In Sept. U.S. unemployment is 3.7% (vs. 3.9% in Aug.), lowest since 1969, adding 134K jobs. On Oct. 2 after criticizing the Saudi govt., Saudi-Am. journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears, and is later believed to have been killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, causing a multi-govt. investigation resulting in 18 Saudis being arrested by the Turkish govt.; on Oct. 23 after the Saudi govt. vehemently denies responsibility, esp. any by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and comes out with the story that Khashoggi died during a fight but the body is nowhere to be found, Obi Wan, er, Erodgan gives a speech in Ankara, insisting that the Saudis planned his murder; on dec. 4 after the CIA tries to tell Pres. Trump that MBS did it in vain, his rival U.S. Sen. (R-S.C.) Lindsey Graham utters the soundbyte: "There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw", calling Trump "willfully blind". On Oct. 2 Pres. Trump gives a speech in Southaven, Miss., chucking his over-kind treatment of Christine Blasey Ford and blasting her testimony as ridiculous, with the soundbyte: "How did you get home? I don't remember. How did you get there? I don't remember. Where is the place? I don't remember. How many years ago was it? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know", turning the losing Kavanaugh nomination around, because Trump always wins? On Oct. 2 loser Hillary Clinton speaks at the Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C., uttering the soundbyte that Pres. Trump "has been racist, he's been sexist, he's been Islamophobic, he's been anti-LQBTQ. He has a view of America that's terribly constricted, and he talks to that America, he talks to them all the time. And it's by no means a majority, as we know. But it is a very hard core who are responding to him and supporting him for a variety of reasons." On Oct. 3 a man opens fire from his home in Florence, S.C., killing one and injuring six before being arrested after a standoff. On Oct. 3 the U.N. Internat. Court of Justice (ICI) issues an order to the U.S. to drop certain "humanitarian sanctions" against Iran immediately, citing a 1955 Treaty of Amity, causing U.S. secy. of state Mike Pompeo to announces that the U.S. will pull out of it. On Oct. 3 U.S. vice-pres. Mike Pence gives a speech at the Hudson Inst., criticizing China for stealing U.S. technology and calling on Google to stop development of Project Dragonfly, a Chinese search engine that censors and tracks users; meanwhile on Oct. 4 Bloomberg Businessweek pub. a report claiming that the Chinese military implanted tiny chips in circuit boards used by dozens of U.S. cos. and govt. contractors to give them back door access to their systems. On Oct. 5 Trump admin. spokesman John Bolton announces a new "robust" counterterrorism strategy focusing on "terrorist ideology". On Oct. 5 the Washington Post pub. an editorial urging the Senate to reject Brett Kavanaugh, becoming their first editorial opposing a nominee in over 30 years. On Oct. 5 the sheriff's office of Ventura County, Calif. settles a lawsuit by Muslim woman Jennifer Hyatt who was forced to remove her headscarf while in jail in Jan. 2017, agreeing to to pay $75K and change their policies. On Oct. 5 Banksy's painting Girl with a Balloon brings £953.8K ($1,25M) at a Sotheby's auction; too bad, after the gavel comes down it has a paper shredder built into the bottom frame, which is set off while the employees can't stop it. On Oct. 6 after the FBI finishes its background investigation of Brett Kavanaugh and delivers them a sealed report clearing him on Oct. 2, not satisfying the Dems., who would never vote for him anyway, U.S. Senate confirms him by 50-48 at 4:01 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.-born Repub. U.S. D.C. Court of Appeals judge (since May 30, 2006) Brett Michael Kavanaugh (1965-) is sworn-in as U.S. Supreme Court justice #114 (until ?), becoming the first U.S. Supreme Court justice with all-female law clerks, incl. Kim Jackson, Shannon Grammel, Megan Lacy, and Sara Nommensen. On Oct. 6 after exposing EU funds fraud cases, TV journalist Victoria Marinova (b. 1988) is found raped and murdered near the Danube River in Ruse, N Bulgaria. On Oct. 7 conservative Jair Messias Bosonaro (1955-) of the Social Liberty Party (PSL) comes in first in the Brazilian pres. election, along with Fernando Haddad of the Workers' Party (PT), who will face a runoff on Oct. 28; Bosonaro wants to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement and abolish the Brazilian environmental ministry, pissing-off the global warming crowd because of the big role of the Amazon forests. On Oct. 9 U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley announces her resignation by the end of the year after two years "to take some time off", surprising everybody; a good time to show how the Trump admin. gives high power positions to women? On Oct. 10 the U.K.'s supreme court rules that a bakery in Belfast, Northern Ireland run by evangelical Christians can't be forced to make a cake with slogans supporting gay marriage, pissing-off gay activists - it's really about kowtowing to Muslim bakers? On Oct. 11 the U.S. Senate confirms 15 of Pres. Trump's judicial nominations, incl. three court of appeals judges and 12 district court judges (about one-third of the backlog) before closing up through election day. On Oct. 12 Pres. Trump announces the release of Christian pastor Andrew Brunson after two years of captivity in Turkey, denying that any deal was made. On Oct. 12 Pres. Trump signs a bipartisan bill to clean up the oceans from 8M tons of garbage being dumped into the oceans by foreign countries each year. On Oct. 14 (Sun.) Hillary Clinton appears on CBS-TV's Sunday Morning, claiming that her hubby Bill was right to refuse to step down in 1999 after the House impeached him for perjury and obstruction of justice, because there was no abuse of power because White House intern Monica Lewinsky was an adult. On Oct. 14 (Sun.) (eve.) Pres. Trump appears on CBS-TV's 60 Minutes, admitting that climate change isn't a hoax but doubting its sources, saying that scientists "have a very big political agenda", with the soundbyte: "But I don't know that it's manmade. I will say this: I don't want to give trillions and trillions of dollars. I don't want to lose millions and millions of jobs. I don't want to be put at a disadvantage", suggesting that temperatures "could very well go back", going on to say that his admin. would be "very upset and angry" if the Saudi govt. was proved responsible for the disappearance of Jamal Khasoggi, with the soundbyte: "We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment", causing the Saudi to threaten retaliation, then backs down a little, thanking the U.S. from not jumping to quick conclusions. On Oct. 15 (12:50 a.m.) 13-y.-o. Jayme Closs (2005-) is kidnapped from her home in Barron, Wisc. by Jake Thomas Patterson (1997-), who kills her father and mother and takes her to a cabin 70 mi. away in Gordon, Wisc., holding her for 88 days until she escapes and runs for help. On Oct. 15 the Taliban attack checkpoints in Samangan Province, N Afghanistan, killing seven Afghan security forces incl. a deputy provincial police chief. On Oct. 16 Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed appoints Aisha Mohammed as defense minister, becoming the first woman in a cabinet that is already half-women. On Oct. 18 the Taliban attacks a meeting between Afghan officials and the top U.S. military cmdr. in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, killing three Afghan officials and wounding some Americans; U.S. spokesman Col. David Butler calls it an "Afghan on Afghan incident" - proof that the Afghanistan War is over and the U.S. lost? On Oct. 19 Iraqi-born Muslim Ashraf Al Safoo (1984-) is arrested at his home in Chicago, Ill. by the FBI and charged with using ISIS social media platforms to recruit violent jihadists. On Oct. 20 (Sat.) 2018 Afghan parliamentary elections see a suicide bomber detonate at a polling station in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing 13+, while poll-related violence kills or wounds 130+ across Afghanistan. On Oct. 22-Nov. 1 an anon. person mails packages containing pipe bombs to prominent Dems. incl. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, George Soros, Eric Holder, John Brennan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maxine Waters, and Robert De Niro; Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr. pleads guilty to 65 felony counts on Mar. 21, 2019, and is sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. On Oct. 23 Fayette County, Ky.-born businesswoman Kelly Knight Craft (nee Kelly Dawn Guilfoil) (1962-) becomes the first woman U.S. ambassador to Canada (until ?), going on to claim that when it comes to climate change she believes "both sides of the science", and that the U.S. can still fight climate change even though Pres. Trump has left the Paris Climate Accord. On Oct. 23 a car bomb in a crowded area of Qayyara, N Iraq kills four and wounds 15. On Oct. 23 Human Rights Watch announces that the Palestinian Authority and its rival Hamas routinely arrest and torture critics and opponents to stifle dissent. On Oct. 25 career diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde (1950-) becomes pres. #4 of Ethiopia (first woman) (until ?). On Oct. 25 Pres. Trump announces that he's going to "bring out the military" to protect the U.S.-Mexic border from the Central Am. migrant caravan and any more that follow. On Oct. 27 the Tree of Life Synatogue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Penn. is attacked by 46-y.-o. white anti-Semite Robert Gregory Bowers (1972-), who kills 11 and injures seven, becoming the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history (until ?); he is later charged with 29 federal crimes and 36 state crimes. On Oct. 27 (Nat. Am. Beer Day) Planters introduces Mr. IPA-Nut beer, at $10 for four 16-oz. cans, delivering a "citrus aroma and a hint of honey-roasted peanuts, all followed by a slightly salty finish that makes every sip worth savoring." On Oct. 29 after election setbacks, German chancellor (since 2005) Angela Merkel announces that she will step down at the end of her 4th term in 2021. On Oct. 29 (2:00 p.m.) a 30-y.-o. female suicide bomber targeting police detonates in Tunis, Tunisia, wounding 20 incl. 10 police officers, and only killing herself. In Oct. U.S. unemployment is 3.7% (vs. 3.7% in Sept.), with a record 156,562,000 Americans employed, and 250K jobs added. On Nov. 2 Muslim gunmen ambush three buses carrying Christian Coptic pilgrims en route to a remote desert monastery S of Cairo, Egypt, killing seven and wounding 19; ISIS claims responsibility. On Nov. 3 an insider attack in Kabul, Afghanistan kills North Ogden, Utah mayor Maj. Brent Taylor (1979-). On Nov. 5 (early a.m.) 79 students and three others incl. the principal are kidnapped in Bamenda, Cameroon by English-speaking separatists. On Nov. 6 (Tues.) amid bitter and deep polarization, the 2018 U.S. midterm election give the Dems. control of the House, while the Repubs. gain seats in the Senate; a total of $5.2B is spent on the campaigns, breaking the 2016 record of $4.4B; the Dems. win 40 House seats, and the Repubs. three Senate seats; Repubs. lose seven House seats in Calif.; 13,837,000 U.S. govt. employees vote in the midterms, leading all classes of workers with a 67% turnout; Repub. Ted Cruz defeats Dem. Beto O'Rourke in Tex. despite a record $120M campaign after supporting universal Medicare, abolishing ICE, and kneeling for the nat. anthem; 17 of the new lawmakers are former service members, adding to the 60 already there; too bad, several Repub. candidates lead on election night and later after counting absentee ballots, only to lose when "provisional" ballots are counted, causing outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan to utter the soundbyte: "When you have candidates who win the absentee ballot vote and then lose three weeks later because of provisionals, that's really bizarre. I just think that's a very, very strange outcome"; eyepatch-wearing Repub. Afghanistan veteran (Navy SEAL) Daniel "Dan" Crenshaw (1984-) wins a House seat in Tex., getting in a pissing match with Sat. Night Live comedian Peter Michael "Pete" Davidson (1993-), who mocks his appearance and later apologizes; Joe Donnelly of Ind., Claire McCaskill of Mo., Bill Nelson of Fla., and Heidi Heitkamp of N.D., who all voted against Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court lose their seats; Joe Manchin of W.V. voted for Kavanaugh wins; Dem. Debra A. "Deb" Haaland (1960-) of the Laguna Pueblo wins a House seat in N.M., and Dem. Sharice Davids (1980-) of the Ho-Chunk Nation wins a House seat in Kan., becoming the first two Native Am. women elected to the House; Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar becoming the first Muslim women elected to Congress; Omar becomes the first headscarf-wearing member of Congress, causing the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to ask the question: "What kind of culture waits 229 years to elect a hijab-wearing woman?" (the Muslim World until recently didn't allow women to run for office); the first Congress with 100+ women; U.S. Rep. (D-Minn.) Keith Ellison is elected atty. gen. of Minn., becoming the first Muslim atty. gen. in the U.S. despite condemnation by the Minn. Police Union; Boulder, Colo.-born wealthy U.S. rep. (since Jan. 3, 2009) Jared Schutz Polis (1975-) becomes Dem. Colo. gov. #43 (until ?), becoming the first openly gay elected U.S. gov. in U.S. history, introducing his First Man Marlon Reis. On Nov. 6 (eve.) Trump-hating horror film producer Jason Blum speaks at the Israel Film Festival at the Saban Theater Steve Tisch Cinema Center in Beverly Hills, Calif., mouthing off against Trump until the crowd begins chanting "We like Trump!", causing him to be shepherded off the stage as he utters the soundbyte: "As you can see from this auditorium, it's the end of civil discourse. Thanks to our president, anti-Semitism is on the rise." On Nov. 7 (a.m.) while polls are closing, Pres. Trump requests and obtains the resignation of U.S. atty. gen. (since Feb. 9, 2017) Jeff Sessions, who is immediately succeeded as acting U.S. atty. gen. by his Repub. chief of staff Matthew George "Matt" Whitaker (1969-) (until Feb. 14, 2019); meanwhile Trump holds a 1.5-hour press conference congratulating himself for the election results, and getting in a pissing war with CNN's Abilio James "Jim" Acosta (1971-), who refuses to yield the microphone, is called a "rude terrible person" by Trump, and later has his White House press pass revoked, pissing-off CNN, who accuse Trump of attacking the freedom of the press, causing White House press secy. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to utter the soundbyte: "Only they would attack the president for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters over the course of 1.5 hours including several from the reporter in question. The fact that CNN is proud of the way their employee behaved is not only disgusting, it's an example of their outrageous disregard for everyone, including young women, who work in this administration. As a result of today's incident, the White House is suspending the press pass of the reporter involved until further notice", after which CNN sues Trump, and on Nov. 16 a judge orders the White House to restore Acosta's press pass, but opens the door by allowing the White House to set up a system of rules and due process, which it releases on Nov. 19. On Nov. 7 (p.m.) USMC veteran Ian David Long (1990-) shoots up the Borderline Western bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif. with a Glock 21 .45 pistol, killing 12 incl. sheriff's deputy Sgt. Ron Helus and injuring 15 before being killed. On Nov. 8 the Nobody Is Above the Law Protest is held nationwide incl. Washington, D.C. to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, organized by MoveOn. On Nov. 8 the Camp Fire (named after Camp Creek Road) in Butte County, Northern Calif. starts (ends ?), going on to burn 130K acres, destroy 8,817 structures, injure three firefighters, and kill 76 civilians, with 1.2K+ missing, becoming the most destructive fire in Calif. history (until ?); on Nov. 8 the Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles County and Ventura County, Calif. incl. Malibu starts (ends ?), going on to burn 96K acres, destroy 435 structures, and kill two civilians, causing 265K to be evacuated; on Nov. 10 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!"; Trump is right?; on Nov. 10 Calif. gov. Jerry Brown responds, blaming climate change and climate change deniers incl. Trump for the Calif. fires, which he calls "the new abnormal", with the soundbyte: "This new abnormal will continue, certainly in the next 10, 15, 20 years. Unfortunately, the best science is telling us that dryness, warmth, drought, all those things, they're going to intensify" and "Scientists and the engineers and the firefighters all tell us forest management is one element to control them, but warned governments must address a whole range of actions to address a problem he said may cost 'billions' of dollars to tackle"; "Managing all the forests everywhere we can does not stop climate change, and those who deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedies we're now witnessing and will continue to witness in the coming years"; "The chickens are coming home to roost. This is real here", advising govt. officals that they need to be "pulling together in these tragic circumstances and thinking wisely" while being "collaborative"; on Nov. 17 Pres. Trump visits Calif. to inspect the burned areas, suggesting that raking can help avoid more forest fires in the future, with the soundbyte: "We've got to take care of the floors, you know, the floors of the forests, very important. If you look at other countries where they do it differently and it;s a whole different story. "I was with the president of Finland and he said, 'We have a much different, we're a forest nation', he called it a forest nation. And they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things and they don't have any problem. And when it is, it's a very small problem. So, I know everybody's looking at that to that end and it's gonna work out. It's going to work out well"; Brown is wrong because the number of fires in Calif. has been declining yearly over the last 30 years, while the area burned has slightly increased, because they have more fuel? On Nov. 9 Pres. Trump visits France, meeting with French pres. Emmanuel Macron while tweeting that it is "very insulting" that he suggested that Europe should have its own army to protect itself from the U.S., China, and Russia. On Nov. 9 after gas cylinders in his 4-wheel drive vehicle fail to explode, knife-wielding jihadist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali (1988-) stages a knife attack on Bourke St. in Melbourne, Australia, stabbing three, of which one dies; on Nov. 10 Australian PM Scott Morrison calls for Muslim leaders to take "special responsibility" for stamping out radicalism in their communities and "call this out for what it is", daring to mention the term Islamist extremism. On Nov. 9 new acting U.S. atty. gen. Matthew Whitaker and Homeland Security Dept. secy. Kirstjen Nielson announce an Interim Final Rule making aliens who don't respect an official entry port ineligible for asylum; no surprise, the Obama-packed 9th U.S. Circuit Court issues a temporary restraining order, forcing the Trump admin. to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court again like with the Muslim ban. On Nov. 11 the 100th anniv. of the WWI Armistice sees French pres. Emmanuel Macron give a speech at a gathering of 70 world leaders on the Champs-Elysees incl. Pres. Trump (who said in Sept. that he is a "nationalist" who rejects globalism), with the soundbyte: "Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism; nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism"; too bad, Trump drops a trip to Vimy Ridge, citing rainy weather, giving his critics mucho fuel. On Nov. 12 Hamas launches a 24-hour attack on Israel, launching 200 rockets, of which 60 are intercepted, killing one Palestinian and injuring 70 Israeli civilians; on Nov. 13 the ceasefire is restored, causing hawkish Israeli defense Avigdor Lieberman to resign amid widespread protests against the Israeli govt. and to call for new elections after leaving the ruling party with only 61 out of 120 seats. On Nov. 15 2K Central Am. migrants from the caravan begin arriving in Tijuana, Mexico, knowing they are not welcome in the U.S.; meanwhile on Nov. 16 a 2nd caravan with 1.2K sets out from Mexico City, a 3rd caravan is waiting, and a total of 10K are expected; on Nov. 19 the Mexican natives stage a protest against the "invasion", demanding them to return home. On Nov. 15 Costa Rica's supreme court legalizes same-sex marriage starting next year. On Nov. 16 Pres. Trump signs the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act, turning the Nat. Protection and Programs Directorate at the Dept. of Homeland Security into the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), with the aim of bolstering U.S. defenses against the critical infrastructure from cyberthreats. On Nov. 16-18 the Mid-Nov. 2018 U.S. Blizzard (Snovember) drops almost 4 ft. of snow in the NE U.S. from Va. to Maine, causing 400K power outages and breaking early snowfall records. On Nov. 17 282K take part in 2K+ Yellow Vest (Gilets Jaunes) Demonstrations across France to protest French pres. Emmanual Macron for using climate change as an excuse for high diesel fuel prices via the Contribution Climat Energie (CCE) carbon tax; police use tear gas on crowds storming Macron's Elysee Palace in Paris; one is killed and 106 are injured in accidents; meanwhile a climate protest in London, England sees thousands of protesters organized by Extinction Rebellion (XR) block five bridges over the Thames River, resulting in 85 arrests, becoming one of the biggest peaceful civil disobedience events in the U.K. in decades; on Nov. 30 there are more yellow vest riots in Brussels, Belgium, caused by resentment at mass Muslim immigration; on Dec. 4 after four are killed, 260+ injured, and hundreds arrested, and his approval rating falls to 23%, Macron announces a 6-mo. moratorium, with the soundbyte: "No tax is worth putting the nation's unity in danger"; after (11 straight Sats.) of demonstrations, which grow increasingly violent, the Red Scarves Demonstrations begin by former Yellow Vests who oppose violence or vandalism. On Nov. 17 after illegally landing in a canoe carrying a Bible, Mo.-based 26-y.-o. Am. missionary John Allen Chau (b. 1992) is killed by primitive naked black Sentinelese natives on the off-limits North Sentinel Island in the Andamans Islands in the Bay of Bengal, who are rumored to like to eat missionaries. On Nov. 17-18 the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference in Papua, New Guinea sees disagreements over China cause the 21 APEC leaders to end the summit sans an agreement for the first time in its 25-year history. On Nov. 19 Airbnb announces that it is removing listings in West Bank settlements of Jewish apts., causing Israeli tourism minister Yariv Levin et al. to call for a boycott of Airbnb. On Nov. 19 former U.S. pres. Barack Obama gives a speech at the Second Obama Foundation Summit, uttering the soundbyte: "Climate change, we're going to have to come up with some new technologies. We could reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent, and it's not like we would all have to go back to caves and live off fire... The reason we don't do it is because we are still confused, blind, shrouded with hate, anger, racism, [and] mommy issues." On Nov. 20 after news of disappointing earnings by Target and TJ Maxx, along with expected rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, combined with worries about the trade war with China and Brexit, the 2018 Stock Market Crash sees the Dow Jones drop 551 points (2.2%), the S&P 500 drop 1.8%, and the Nasdaq drop 1.7%, erasing their 2018 gains; on Nov. 26 after a great Cyber Monday the market rebounds. On Nov. 21 amid record cold temperatures in the NE U.S., Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?", pissing-off the global warming scientist crowd, incl. NASA global warming honcho Michael E. Mann, who calls Trump "a dangerous clown". On Nov. 22 (Thanksgiving Day) Pres. Trump utters the soundbyte that he will close the U.S.-Mexico border if he determines that Mexico has lost control, announcing that he has given U.S. troops on the border authorization to use lethal force on border crashers "if they have to", also hinting at a partial govt. shutdown in early Dec. if Congress refuses to allocate billions of dollars for his border wall; too bad, on Nov. 25 (Sun.) hundreds of migrants storm the border in Tijuana after passing through a Mexican police line, causing them to fire tear gas across the border; 42 are arrested, and ? escape to the U.S. On Nov. 22 Boko Haram jihadist gunmen attack a French drilling camp in Toumour, Niger in the Diffa region near the Nigerian border and the Lake Chad basin, killing eight. On Nov. 23 jihadist gunmen storm the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing two police officers, two civilians, and three attackers after a 1-hour shootout; meanwhile a suicide bomber goes off an an army base in Ismail Khel District, Khost Province, E Afghanistan, killing 26 and wounding 50; no one claims responsibility (Taliban?). On Nov. 23 a bomb hidden in a carton of vegetables explodes in a crowded marketplace in Shiite-dominated Kalaya in Pakistan's NW tribal region, killing 31+ and injuring 50. On Nov. 23 suspected ISIS jihadists kill nine, wound 10, and kidnap several others in Tazerbo, S Libya. On Nov. 25 the EU signs a Brexit deal Mar. 29, 2019, which British PM Theresa May still has to sell to her divided Parliament. On Nov. 25 (Sun.) NBC-TV's Meet the Press, hosted by Chuck Todd hosts Melbourne, Australia-born climate skeptic Danielle Pletka (1963-) of the Am. Enterprise Inst., who gives a speech that pisses-off the global warmist elite with the soundbyte: "The problem is again, there is a perception among those for whom Donald Trump speaks... They perceive this as an agenda that is much more about corporate and much more about law and much more about the kind of governance that America has, and much less about climate. So from the standpoint of those who have doubts about this, and I don't think we can have any doubt that there is climate change, whether it's anthropogenic I don't know, I'm not a scientist I'm a citizen... We need to also recognize we had two of the coldest years, biggest drop in global temperatures that we have had since the 1980s, the biggest in the last 100 years. We don't talk about that because it's not part of the agenda"; on Nov. 30 English astrophysicist David Robert Whitehouse (BBC's science correspondent in 1988-2006) pub. the article Global Temperature Drops by 0.4 deg C in Three Years, contradicting the World Meteorological Org., the BBC., and The Guardian using HadCRUT4 data from the U.K. Met Office to prove her right. On Nov. 25 (night) a 6.3 earthquake strikes near Sarpol-e Zahab, Kermanshah Province, W Iran near the Iraq border, injuring 500. On Nov. 26 Gen. Motors (GM) announces that it is planning on cutting 15% of its salaried workforce and stopping production five plants in the U.S. and Canada to cut costs. On Nov. 27 after the U.S. committed itself to "building up the Somali capacity to defend itself" from Islamist terrorism by supplying African Union (AU) peacekeepers, USMC Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, cmdr. of the U.S. Africa Command visits Somalia and meets with Pres. Farmajo, claiming that they "have made measurable progress, and it's clear they are dedicated to reaching the goal of a safe, stable and prosperous Somalia"; too bad, it's the world's most corrupt country, and Farmajo ends up coddling and endorsing Islamist terrorism. On Nov. 28 a car bomb outside British security group G4S's compound in Kabul, Afghanistan detonates as pres. Ashraf Ghanioutlines peace plans, after which armed gunmen enter and start a gunfight. On Nov. 30 (8:30 a.m. local time) a 7.0 earthquake strikes 10 mi. NE of Anchorage, Alaska, with no fatalities or serious injuries reported. On Nov. 30 the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is signed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, based on the 1994 North Am. Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) gives U.S. dairy farmers greater access to the Canadian market, helps the three nations manufacture more automobiles, and sets exchange rates; it expires after 16 years. On Nov. 30 the U.S. submits a draft resolution to the U.N. condemning violence by Hamas and other armed Muslim factions in Gaza, calling Hamas a terrorist org.; on Dec. 6 it is stonewalled by Arab states, who insist on a two-thirds vote for adoption and get it with a 75-62-26 votes, and it fails by 87-57-33, causing Nikki Haley to ask the Arabs, "Is the hatred that strong?" In Nov. the Watson Inst. for Internat. and Public Affairs at Brown U. pub. Costs of War, claiming that since 9/11 the U.S. has spent $5.9T on foreign wars that killed 370K directly from violence plus 250K civilians, and displaced 10.1M. In Nov. North Am. has the most extensive Nov. snow cover in at least 50 years. In Nov. a weird seismic event off Mayotte Island between Madagascar and Mozambique is traced to a new underwater volcano, the largest ever recorded. In Nov. Twitter bans users who "misgender" and "deadname" transgender people, incl. feminist Meghan Murphy for saying "Women aren't men", and "How are transwomen not men? What is the difference between a man and a transwoman?" In Nov. U.S. unemployment is 3.7% for the 3rd mo. straight, with the economy adding 150K jobs, and a record 156,795K Americans employed. On Dec. 4 Pres. Trump tweets the soundbyte: "I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN", causing Dow-Jones to drops by 500 points, and the S&P to drop 2.5%, a new low for 2018. On Dec. 5 USA Gymnastics files for bankruptcy under the weight of lawsuits by hundreds of women over ex-nat. team doctor Larry Nasser. On Dec. 5 the Global Carbon Project (GCP) releases its 2018 CO2 Emissions Report, claiming a 2.7% global CO2 emissions rise this year (vs. 1.6% in 2017), caused by a 3% rise in coal use by China and a 4.7% rise in emissions. On Dec. 6 a rare suicide car bombing at a police HQ in Chabahar, Iran kills two and wounds several. On Dec. 6 after discovering terror tunnels stretching from S Lebanon into N Israel, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu calls for an internat. response incl. the U.N. Security Council. On Dec. 6 the U.S. Dept. of the Interior announces that the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations in W. Tex. and E N.M. hold the largest potential gas and oil resources yet discovered, 46.3B barrels of oil, 281T cu. ft. of natural gas, and 20B barrels of natural gas liquids. On Dec. 7 former FBI dir. James Comey testifies before Congress in a closed session; later that day a transcript is released, causing Pres. Trump on Dec. 9 to tweet the soundbyte: "On 245 occasions, former FBI Director James Comey told House investigators he didn't know, didn't recall, or couldn't remember things when asked. Opened investigations on 4 Americans (not 2) - didn't know who signed off and didn't know Christopher Steele! All lies! Leakin' James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful! This whole deal is a Rigged Fraud headed up by dishonest people who would so anything, so that I could not become President. They are now exposed!"; on Dec. 10 Trump tweets the soundbyte: "Democrats can't find a Smocking gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey's testimony. No Smocking Gun..No Collusion." On Dec. 8 the 2018 Miss World Pageant in Sanya, China is won by 5'9" Siliva Vanessa Ponce de Leon Sanchez (1992-) of Mexico (first Mexican winner). On Dec. 9 Houston, Tex. mayor Sylvester Turner proclaims CAIR-Tex., Houston Day, despite CAIR (Council on Am.-Islamic Relations) having connections with Hamas terror. On Dec. 9 (3:00 p.m.) a jihadist knife attack at a train station in Mulhouse, France injures three women in the hand, back, and neck. On Dec. 9 Palestinian jihadis open fire on Israeli civilians in Ofra, wounding seven incl. a pregnant woman. On Dec. 10 the the FBI arrests Elizxabeth Lecron (1995-) for plotting a terror attack at a Toledo, Ohio bar, along with Damon Joseph (1997-) for pledging support for ISIS and plotting attacks on two synagogues in Toledo. On Dec. 10-11 EU heads of state sign the non-binding U.N. Global Compact for Migration, a plan to flood the EU with 59M migrants by 2025; the compact is formally endorsed by the U.N. Gen. Assembly on Dec. 19; it contains a section on "eliminating all forms of discrimination", and a stated aim is to "shape perceptions of migration", stirring fears of suppression of freedom of speech; after denouncing the compact as amounting to a bid "to advance global governance at the expense of the sovereign right of States to manage their immigration systems in accordance with their national laws, policies and interests", with a U.S. envoy warning that it could translate into a "long-term means of building customary international law or so-called 'soft law' in the area of migration" adding that term 'compact' is an amorphous word in internat. law that "implies legal obligation", the U.S. refuses to sign, as does several other nations incl. Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Repub., Australia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Latvia; 100K in Britain sign a petition opposing the compact; Belgian PM Charles Michel signs it despite the right wing Flemish N-VA Party departing from his 4-party coalition, leaving him with a minority govt.; on Dec. 4 French Gen. Antoine Martinez sends a letter signed by several other top military brass and former French defense minister Charles Millon accusing pres. Emmanuel Macron of Treason for signing it; on Dec. 16 5K protest the migration pact in Brussels, Belgium, with shouts of "No jihad in our country" and "We are tired, close the borders"; on Dec. 13 13 countries vote against the pact, incl. the Vesegrad Four (Czech. Repub., Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), Austria, Bulgaria, Latvia, Israel, the U.S., Dominica, and Brazil; they also reject the sister Global Compact on Refugees, which mentions "replacement" of existing Euro pops. with migrants. On Dec. 11 Pres. Trump meets with Dem. leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who refuse to give him $5B to build a border wall, causing him to reiterate his threats to shut down the govt. while he has the military build it, with the soundbyte: "I am proud to shut down the government for border security." On Dec. 11 (p.m.) 29-y.o. Allah-Akbar-shouting career criminal jihadist Cherif Chekatt (1989-) fired on a crowd at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, killing three and wounding 13 before fleeing in a taxi and getting killed resisting arrest. On Dec. 11 Pres. Trump signs the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018, designed to aid religious (Christian) minorities persecuted by ISIS in Syria and Iraq. On Dec. 11 the 2018 Public Report on Terrorism Threat to Canada is released, adding Sikh (Khalistani) extremism to Sunni and Shia extremism, pissing-off the Sikhs. On Dec. 12 Pres. Trump signs an executive order establishing the $100B White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, with Pres. Trump uttering the soundbyte: "With the creation of today's council, the resources of the whole federal government will be leveraged to rebuild low-income and impoverished neighborhoods that have been ignored by Washington in years past"; too bad, the Trump-hating PC media blacks out news, or calls it a scheme to help the rich. On Dec. 12 (p.m.) British PM Theresa May survives a confidence vote of fellow Tory MPs by 200-117. On Dec. 12 (p.m.) 21 mostly ISIS prisoners break out of Sosa Jail near Sulaimaniya, Iraq; 15 are recaptured. On Dec. 14 Pres. George W. Bush-appointed U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor of Tex. issues an order to strike down Obamacare as unconstitutional, freak-out progressives. On Dec. 14 Johnson & Johnson's shares plunge 10% after a Reuters report claims that it knew since 1971 thats its baby powder contains carcinogenic asbestos. On Dec. 14 Pope Francis delivers a speech at a Vatican Christmas concert, saying that migrants are trying to "escape wars, miseries caused by social injustices and climate change." On Dec. 16 the 2018 (67th) Miss Universe Pageant at IMPACT Arena in Muang Thong Thani, Thailand, hosted by Steve Harvey and Ashley Graham features the first-ever transgender contestant 6'0" Angela Maria (Angel Mario) Ponce Camacho (1991-) of Spain; the winner is 5'10" Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray (1994-) of Philippines. On Dec. 17 the beheaded bodies of 28-y.-o. Maren Ueland of Norway and 24-y.-o. Dane Louisa Verager Jespersen of Denmark are found in the Atlas Mts. of Morocco, causing 18 members of an ISIS cell to be arrested; on July 19, 2019 three of them are sentenced to death. On Dec. 19 Pres. Trump announces his decision to withdraw all 2K U.S. troops from Syria since "we have won against ISIS", pissing-off Dem. and Repub. critics, who call it a Christmas gift for ISIS, Iran, and ISIS, causing him to clarify that they will stay close to the area if needed, with the soundbyte: "Does the USA want to be the policeman of the Middle East?", later letting himself be talked into slowing down the pullout; meanwhile French pres. Emmanuel Macron issues the soundbyte that he "very deeply regrets" Trump's decision, adding "To be allies is to fight shoulder to shoulder... An ally should be dependable"; meanwhile after he wasn't consulted, top U.S. anti-ISIS diplomat Brett McGurk resigns in protest, causing the U.S. State Dept. to remark "The conflict in Syria has been ongoing for six years. Good job, Brett." On Dec. 20 after he gets pissed-off at the decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, Pres. Trump announces the resignation of U.S. defense secy. Jim "Mad Dog" Mattis, effective at the end of Feb., with Mattis writing the soundbyte that Trump deserves a defense secy. closer in alignment with his views. On Dec. 22 (midnight) after failure to compromise on Pres. Trump's border wall, a partial U.S. govt. shutdown begins (ends ?), causing 420K federal employees to work without pay while Trump fights it out with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). On Dec. 25 Pres. Trump talks to 7-y.-o. Collman Lloyd on the phone, asking her if she is "still a believer in Santa, because at 7, it's marginal, right?", pissing-off the anti-Trumpers, causing Mike Huckabee to defend Trump, asking if this makes him Glenn Close in the film "Fatal Attraction", who boiled Michael Douglas' daughter's pet rabbit in a pot after he scorns her. On Dec. 26 during the partial U.S. govt. shutdown, Pres. Trump makes an unnanounced visit to Iraq along with First Lady Melania Trump, who becomes the first First Lady to visit Iraq since the start of the Iraq War in 2003; no surprise, the Trump-hating New York Times and CNN bash Pres. Trump for signing soldiers' MAGA hats, claiming he was holding a political rally. On Dec. 28 (6:15 p.m. local time) a roadside IED explodes near a bus near the pyramids in Mariotiyah, Egypt near the Giza Pyramids, killing a tour guide and three Vietnamese tourists, and injuring the Egyptian driver and 10 Vietnamese tourists, causing a massive manhunt for Muslim terrorists that kills 40 on Dec. 29. On Dec. 30 (Sun.) NBC-TV's Meet the Press hosted by Chuck Odd, er, Todd devotes their whole hour to climate alarmists incl. Michael Bloomberg, Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown, and U.S. Rep. (R-Fla.) Carlos Curbelo, who want to pass a U.S. carbon tax to save the world from Armageddon, with Todd uttering the soundbyte that his show is "not going to give time to climate deniers. The science is settled even if political opinion is not", apologizing for a Nov. episode hosting climate skeptic Danielle Pletka with the soundbyte that this time his show won't "confuse weather with climate", then proceeding to just that thing using summer instead of winter like she did?; Brown utters the soundbytes: "Instead of worrying about tariffs, I'd like to see the president and the Congress invest tens of billions in renewable energy, in more-efficient batteries, to get us off fossil fuel as quickly as we can"; "I would point to the fact that it took [late President Franklin D. Roosevelt] many, many years to get America willing to go into World War II and fight the Nazis. Well, we have an enemy, though different, but perhaps, very much devastating in a similar way. And we've got to fight climate change. And the president's got to lead on that." On Dec. 30 elections in the Dem. Repub. of Congo (DRC) to succeed pres. Joseph Kabila become their first transfer of power through peaceful elections since independence in 1960. On Dec. 30 reps of the Taliban meet with Iranian officials in Tehran to advance peace talks with the Afghan govt. On Dec. 31 (New Year's Eve) Muslim immigrants in France continue their tradition of hatred of infidel society by burning 1K+ cars. On Dec. 31 the U.S. and Israel officially quit UNESCO, with U.S. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley uttering the soundbyte: "Today the U.S. withdrawal from this cesspool became official." On Dec. 31 migrats storm the U.S.-Mexico barrier near San Diego, Calif., throwing rocks and attempting to push their children over the barbed wire. In Dec. U.S. unemployment is 3.9% (vs. 3.7% in Nov.), adding 312K jobs. This year virtually every new TV ad in the U.S. features a black actor, with biracial couples becoming increasingly common; actors of other races don't object to being shut out of jobs so that the U.S. can be portrayed as 50% black and increasingly biracial, even though blacks are only 12% of the pop. and biracial couples 15%? Montclair State U. prof. Jeffrey Alan Miller discovers the earliest draft of the King James Bible, covering the apocryphal books of Esdras and Wisdom, showing that translators worked entirely on their own not as a team. Architecture: On Mar. 26 the stainless steel Cloud Column sculpture by British sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor (1954-) is unveiled in Houston, Tex., pissing-off rival Chicago, Ill., which hosts Kapoor's 2006 Cloud Gate (AKA The Bean), which lies on its side and doesn't stand upright like Houston's; meanwhile Houston gained 94,417 residents in 2017, while Chicago lost 13,286, putting Houston track to pass Chicago as the 3rd largest U.S. city in 10 years. On Apr. 26 the Nat. Memorial for Peace and Justice (Nat. Lynching Memorial) in Montgomery, Ala. opens, commemorating 4K victims of lynching in the U.S., with 805 hanging coffin-shaped steel rectangles, each representing a county. In June the Golden Bridge (Cau Vang) in the Ba Na Hills of Vietnam opens, designed to represent the "giant hands of god spulling a stirp of gold out of the land". In June the Morpheus Hotel in Macau, China opens, designed by Zaha Hadid. In Sept. the $11.2B Beijing Daxing Internat. Airport (begun Dec. 26, 2014) 29 mi. S of Beijing along the Hebei Province border is finished,; it covers 6.6K acres, and features five limbs spreading out from the central core; designed by Zaha Hadid Architect. On Oct. 23 the $20B 34 mi. (55 km) Hong Kong-Zuhai Bridge (begun 2009) connecting Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai opens, becoming the world's longest sea-crossing bridge. The $2.5M Casa Brutale near Beirut, Lebanon is built, becoming a perfect lair for 007 James Bond. Sports: On Jan. 8 the 2018 College Football Nat. Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. sees the Ala. Crimson Tide start out flat, seeing Bulldogs QB Jake Fromm shut them out in the first half 13-0 until coach Nick Saban pulls out veteran QB Jalen Hurts and substitutes green freshman Tua Tagovailoa, who leads a comeback, winning 26-23 in OT; Alabama kicker Andy Pappanastos misses two key field goals, incl. one that would have won the game in the final seconds, while eyeglasses-wearing Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship is perfect; Pres. Trump attends the game, standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. On Feb. 4 after the Cleveland Browns go 0-16 and the Denver Broncos go 5-11, and Eagles QB Carson Wentz gets injured in Dec., Super Bowl LII (52) at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., first SB in Minneapolis since 1992 sees the 13-3 Philadelphia Eagles (coach Doug Pederson) defeat the 13-3 New England Patriots (coach Bill Belichick) (record 10th SB appearance) by 41-33 to win their first SB (first NFL title since 1960) and deny the Patriots a record-tying 6th SB win, tying the Denver Broncos with the most SB losses (5); former backup Eagles QB (#9) Nicholas Edward "Saint Nick" Foles (1989-) catches a 1-yard TD pass from Trey Burton with 34 sec. to play in the first half to make the score 22-12; Patriots QB Tom Brady connects with Rob Gronkowski for a 4-yard TD with 9:22 remaining to make the score 32-33, after which on a 4th and 1 from their own 45 Zach Ertz of the Phillies catches a 2-yard pass, then scores a 11-yard TD on 3rd and 7 that puts the Eagles up 38-33; with 2:09 remaining Patriots QB Tom Brady (oldest SB QB at 40 years 185 days) is sacked while coming in for the winning TD by Eagles Brandon Graham and fumbles into the hands of Eagles Derek Barnett, leaving 1:05 on the clock, then winning the game after Brady's hail mary is knocked down in the end zone; Brady loses despite a record 505 passing yards, and 613 total yards for his team; a record 1,151 combined yards (Patriots 613, Eagles 583) (vs. 929 in 1988) and 74 points; the Eagles have a record 3 missed PAT conversions; the Eagles become the first team since SB XLV to win a SB while wearing their midnight green home jerseys; Pink sings the nat. anthem, and nobody kneeled in protest; the halftime show features Justin Timberlake; MVP is Nick Foles; on June 4 (p.m.) after several players refuse to attend over his support for standing for the playing of the nat. anthem at games, Pres. Trump uninvites the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to the White House, and holds a Celebration of America event on the South Lawn of the White House instead. On Feb. 5 Syrian air strikes in Ghouta, Syria kill 29+; more are killed with gas in Idlib. On Feb. 9-25 the 2018 (XXIII) (23rd) Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea (first in Seoul since the 1988 Summer Games) sees 2,952 athletes from 92 nations participate in 102 events in 7 sports and 15 disciplines, broadcast by NBC-TV; China moved 300K troops closer to the North Korean border prior to the start of the games; on Feb. 9 the opening ceremony sees NBC-TV analyst Joshua Cooper Ramo (1968-) praise the presence of Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, with the soundbyte: "Every Korean will tell you that Japan is a cultural, technological, and economic example that has been so important to their own transformation", pissing-off Korea, causing him to be benched; Norway wins 39 medals incl. 14 gold, Germany wins 31 (14 gold), Canada wins 29 (11 gold), the U.S. wins 23 (9 gold), Netherland wins 20 (8 gold), Sweden wins 14 (7 gold), and South Korea wins 17 (5 gold); on Feb. 11 the first U.S. gold medal is won in Men's Slopestyle Snowboarding by Redmond "Red" Gerard (2000-) of Silverthorne, Colo., causing the town to rename itself Goldthorne; on Feb. 12 Chloe Kim (2000-) of the U.S. wins gold in women's halfpipe with a score of 98.25; Shaun Roger "Flying Tomato" White (1986-) of the U.S. wins his 3rd gold (100th Winter Olympic gold for the U.S.) in men's halfpipe in a dramatic performance, with a score of 97.75 (first threepeat in the same event in the Olympics), becoming the Crying Tomato; on Feb. 23 18-y.-o. super-emotional Tatar descent Russian figure skater favorite Evgenia (Yevegenia) Armanovna Medvedeva (1999-) is edged out 239.57 to 238.26 by 15-y.-o. super-cool Armenian descent Russian figure skater Alina Ilnazovna Zagitova (2002-); the U.S. wins its first-ever gold in curling, and women's cross-country; the U.S. women's hockey team wins its first gold since Nagano in 1998, becoming the 4th of 5th Winter Olympics facing Canada for the gold in "the world's fiercest Winter Olympics rivalry". On Apr. 26-28 the 2018 NFL Draft sees the last-place Cleveland Browns select 6'1" 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Reagan Mayfield (1995-) from Oklahoma U., who becomes their 30th starting QB since 1999; in his first NFL appearance on Sept. 20, he leads Cleveland to their first win in 19 games, 21-17 over the New York Jets, ending a 635-day winless streak. On May 23 the NFL bans on-field kneeling during the playing of the U.S. Nat. Anthem; too bad, some players do it anyway; on Aug. 22 after ESPN announces that it will discontinue the Nat. Anthem before each Monday Night Football, Pres. Trump sends out an email to supporters calling for a boycott, calling it a "spineless surrender to the politically correct liberal mob". On May 28-June 7 the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals sees the Washington Capitals (2nd appearance) defeat the Vegas Golden Knights (1st appearance) 4-1; MVP is Washington captain Alexander Ovechkin. On May 31-June 6 the 2018 NBA Finals sees the 58-24 Golden State Warriors sweep the 50-32 Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 for their 2nd straight title and 3rd in four years; MVP is Kevin Durant of the Warriors (2nd straight time); the first finals sweep since 2007; the first time in any North Am. major prof. sports championship that the same two teams meet for four years in a row; the first time since 2012 that the finals don't feature a top seed; in Game 2 Stephen Currey of the Warrios makes a record 9 3-pointers; in Game 3 Kevin Durant of the Warriors scores a playoff career-high 43 points incl. a 3-pointer late in the game that ices the victory; in Game 4 Golden State surges ahead 102-77 with 4:03 remaining after LeBron James of the Cavaliers leaves the game, then finishes 108-85; the official sponsor is YouTube TV. On June 9 (4:00 p.m. EDT) the 2018 Belmont Stakes sees 4-5 favorite Justify lead wire-to-wire with a time of 2:28.18, becoming Am. Triple Crown winner #13. On June 14-17 the 2018 U.S. Golf Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Course in N.Y. is won by Brooks Koepka (1990-) (2nd in a row, first to defend since Curtis Strange in 1989 and Ben Hogan in 1951), who finishes one stroke ahead of Tommy Fleetwood of the U.K. On June 14-July 15 the 2018 (21st) FIFA World Cup is held Russia, becoming the first time in Eastern Europe; it is won by France, which defeats Croatia 4-2; Croatia comes in 2nd, Belgium 3rd, and England 4th; the most expensive World Cup ($14.2B) (until 2022). On July 2-15 the 2018 (132nd) Wimbledon Championships sees Novak Djokovic of Serbia win the gentleman's singles title, and Angelique Kerber (1988-) of Germany win the ladies' singles title. On Aug. 19 the NL Colorado Rockies play their 46th straight game against a team with a .500+ record, defeating the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta 5-3 to go 30-16, tying the 1926 Phillies (15-31) and the 2012 Braves (22-24). On Aug. 26 Am. golfer Tiger Woods is grilled by reporters at the Northern Trust Tournament, refusing to diss Pres. Trump and instead uttering the soundbyte: "He's the president of the United States. You have to respect the office", causing ESPN commentators Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith to say that Tiger is "not really black". On Sept. 5 (night) Colo. Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (1992-) hits homers on his first three at-bats in Denver, helping the Rockies to a 5-3 win and a sweep of the San Francisco Giants; Story's 2nd homer set a Coors Field record at 505 ft., and the three homers combined for 1,380 ft. On Sept. 16 Eliud Kipchoge (1984-) sets a world record in the marthon at the 2018 Berlin Marathon of 2:01:39, breaking the previous record by 1 min. 18 sec.; on Oct. 12, 2019 Kipchoge runs the marathon in 1:59:40 in Vienna, Austria (4 min. 34 sec./mi.), breaking the 2-hour barrier, but it's not considered official; meanwhile on Oct. 13 Brigid Jepscheschir Kosgei (1994-) of Kenya runs the marathon in 2:14:04 at the Chicago, Ill. Marthon, beating the 16-y.-o. record of Paula Radcliffe of Britain (2:15:25) by 81 sec. On Sept. 20 20-y.-o. Naomi Osaka (1998-) defeats Serena Williams to win the U.S. Open singles title, becoming the first Japanese player; too bad, the crowd boos her while the officials all express shock, causing her to cry and cover her face with her black visor during the awards ceremony. On Oct. 23-28 the 2018 (114th) World Series sees the 108-54 Boston Red Sox (mgr. Alex Cora) defeat the 92-71 Los Angeles Dogers (mgr. Dave Roberts) 4-1; Game 3 in Los Angeles goes a record 18 innings and 7 hours 20 min., and is the only one won by the Dodgers (3-2); MVP is Red Sox 1B player Steven Wayne "Steve" Pearce (1983-). On Nov. 18 former Dallas Cowboys linebacker #50 (1982-9) Jeffrey Charles "Jeff" Rohrer (1958-) comes out and marries his partner Joshua Ross, becoming the first NFL player in a same-sex marriage. On Nov. 19 (Mon.) the 9-1 Los Angeles Rams (NFC), led by QB (#16) Jared Thomas Goff (1994-) defeat the 9-1 Kansas City Chiefs (AFC), led by QB (#15) Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (1995-) by 54-51, becoming the highest scoring game in Monday Night Football history, and first NFL game where each player scores 50+ points, plus the first NFL game where the loser gets 50+ points. On Nov. 23 after Phil Mickelson's big V in 2004, Tiger Woods' big V in 2004, and Mickelson's comeback V in 2005, they engage in a head-to-head competition for a $9M purse, which is won by Mickelson by one putt on the 22nd hole. On Dec. 8 Patricio Manuel defeats Mexican super-featherweight boxer Hugo Aguilar at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif., becoming the first transgender male boxer in U.S. history. Nobel Prizes: Peace: Nadia Murad Basee Taha (1993-) (Iraq) and Denis Mukwege (1955-) (Congo) [efforts to end use of sexual violence as a weapon of war]; Lit.: None (postponed); Physics: Arthur Ashkin (1922-) (U.S.) [optical tweezers], Gerard (Gérard) Albert Mourou (1944-) (France), and Donna Theo Strickland (1959-) (Canada); Chem.: Frances Hamilton Arnold (1956-) [U.S.) [directed evolution to engineer enzymes], George Pearson Smith (1941-) [U.S.] (phage display), and Sir Gregory Paul Winter (1951-) (U.K.) [therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies using phage display]; Med.: James Patrick Allison (1948-) (U.S.) [tumor immunotherapy], and Tasuku Honjo (1942-) (Japan) [class switch recombination]; Econ.: William Dawbney Nordhaus (1941-) (U.S.) [integration of climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis], and Paul Michael Romer (1955-) (U.S.) [integration of technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis]. Inventions: On Jan. 3 Intel announces a security vulnerability in its PC chips that was discovered by Google in Oct. allowing hackers to observe passwords and other personal data, causing its stock to fall 3%. On Jan. 19 Ruby chocolate is first marketed in a new flavor of Kit-Kat bar. On Feb. 6 the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is successfully launched, containing a 5-D Arch optical quartz storage system containing Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. On Mar. 5 the $60K Flippy AI-driven burger-flipping robot begins working at the CaliBurger fast food restaurant in Pasadena, Calif.; 50 more restaurants are planned worldwide by late 2019. In Mar. Egypt Face is launched in Egypt as the Egyptian version of Facebook. On Apr. 16 SpaceX launches the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) on its 230-ft. Falcon 9 rocket, which will examine 200K stars searching for rocky Earth-size planets. On Apr. 19 a U.S. FDA advisory panel unanimously recommends the approval of an epilepsy medication caled Epidiolex by GW Pharmaceutics of Britain made with an ingredient found in marijuana, becoming the first cannabis-derived prescription medicine in the U.S. On Apr. 19 Daniel Yamins and his student Alexander Kell of MIT pub. an article in Neuron describing the first deep neural network that can replicate human performance on auditory tasks incl. identifying a musical genre. On Apr. 22 34-y.-o. Simon Kindleysides of Britain becomes the first paraplegic to complete the London Marathon using the ReWalk exoskeleton from Israel. On May 5 NASA's InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport robot scientific explorer is launched to probe beneath the surface of Mars, landing on Elysium Planitia on Nov. 26 after a 300M mi. journey; it immediately lays a German flag beach towel on Mars' surface to claim it for Germany for donating equipment to test Mars' temp 5m below the surface :) On June 30 SpaceX launches a recycled Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral (12th successful flight this year) carrying the Dragon spacecraft and 6K lbs. of cargo to the ISS incl. the CIMON floating basketball-sized AI robot. On Aug. 12 (3:31 a.m. EDT) the NASA Parker Solar Probe launches, with the mission of flying within 4M mi. of the surface of the Sun, closest so far, carrying the FIELDS instruments to attempt to measure the corona and solar wind. On Aug. 21 Iran unveils its first domestically-produced fighter jet, the Kowsar, with Iranian pres. Hassan Rouhani sitting in the cockpit. On Aug. 22 the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission Aeolus (ADM Aeolus Earth observation satellite is launched by Airbus Defence and Space of the European Space Agency, becoming the first satellite capable of global wind-component-profile observation using laser doppler to improve weather forecasting, with a range from the surface of Earth into the stratosphere (30km). In Aug. aerospace engineers at the U. of Central Lancashire unveil the world's first graphene-skinned airplane called Juno, a 3.5m (11.5 ft.) unmanned plane. On Sept. 2 the Perlan 2 glider reaches a world record 76,100 ft. over the El Calafate region of S Argentina. On Sept. 9 NASA's ICESat-2 ice-monitoring satellite is launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, becoming its last flight after 155 successful and one unsuccessful mission since 1989. On Sept. 18 Facebook announces its new Rosetta hate speech detection AI system. On Oct. 11 weeks after its first successful combat sortie, the Pentagon grounds the $100 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth figher jet after its first crash last month during a training flight in S.C. On Oct. 29 (00:43 GMT) the first joint French-Chinese satellite is launched in the NW Gobi Desert of China to study ocean surface winds and waves to better understand climate change and predict cyclones. In Nov. the 200 petaFLOP Summit (OLCF-4) at Oak Ridge Nat. Lab becomes the world's fastest computer (until June 2020), becoming the first to reach 1 exaFLOP (quintillion operations/sec.) and ramping up to 3.3 exaFLOPs. On Dec. 13 Edward Boyden et al. of MIT announce their invention of "implosion fabrication", a way to shrink objects to nanoscale sizes. On Dec. 17 Eduardo A. Groisman et al. of Yale U. pub. a study in Proceedings of the Nat. Academy of Sciences announcing that sugar can silence a key protein required for colonization by a gut bacterium associated with lean and healthy individuals. Am. billionaire engineer Dennis Anthony Tito (1940-) puts his Feb. 2013 plan to send two civilians to Mars by this year on hold for lack of funding from NASA. Lightweight solar sail craft leave the solar system? Russia sends its first manned space flight from it soil? Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Qualcomm launch the $1.5B-$2B OneWeb high-speed space-based Internet with 700 330 lb. satellites, with 200 kept on the ground for backup. Skynet betrays the humans who built it and takes control, starting a nuclear war and attempting to extinguish humanity - The Terminator movie series. Science: On Jan. 1 the journal Nature Climate Change pub. an article claiming that if the Paris Climate Change Accord is not honored and global temp rises by 2 deg. C by 2050, a large percentage of the Earth could become desert, and 25% of world pop. will live in perpetual drought. No hockey stick in Sweden? On Jan. 9 Swedish geologists Irina Polovodora Steman, Helena L. Filipsson, and Kjell Nordberg of the U. of Lund pub. the paper Tracing winter temperatures over the last two millennia using a NE Atlantic coastal record, describing a 2.5K-year winter temp record reconstructed using sediment cores from the Gullmar Fjord, concluding: "The most recent warming of the 20th century does not stand out, but appears to be comparable to both the Roman Warm Period and the MCA (Medieval Climate Anomaly)." On Jan. 26 Science mag. pub. an article reporting a Homo sapiens jaw has been unearthed in Misliya Cave on Mt. Carmel in Israel, dated 194K to 177K B.C.E., 60K years earlier than the fossils discovered in the Skhul and Qafzeh Caves in Israel, dated 120K to 90K B.C.E. On Feb. 17 independent researcher Aftab Alam Khan pub. the paper Why would sea-level rise for global warming and polar ice-melt?, disputing the U.N. IPCC's theory that global warming causes thermal expansion of the ocean, claiming that global warming and polar ice-melt do not contribute to sea level rise because melted ice occupies the same volume as the displaced water, and the floating sea ice around the polar region cools the oceans, preventing thermal expansion, plus melt water cannot move from the polar to the equatorial region because of the equatorial bulge and polar flattening; meanwhile the gravitational attraction of the Earth plays a dominant role in sea level rise, with the crust in the polar region rebounding elastically after the ice melts to achieve isostatic balancing through uplift, causing the sea level to drop. On Mar. 19 a team of physicists from Harvard U., MIT, and Lawrence Berkeley Nat. Lab pub. a paper announcing the production of kagome metal, with a Japanese basketweaving pattern that exhibits exotic electronic properties. On Mar. 21 an article is pub. in Nature Communications reporting that biologists at UCB have used CRISPR-Cas9 to give yeast cells the ability to make flavor components of hops, promising a large water savings in beer-making. In Mar. NASA'a Curiosity Rover discovers evidence of thiophenes, a type of organic material, causing speculation that they're the product of an ancient Martian bacteria. On Apr. 2 famous climate change denier S. Fred Singer pub. the article Does the Greenhouse Gas CO2 Cool the Climate? in American Thinker, which concludes: "A greenhouse gas produces cooling of the climate when its molecular transitions are in a region of positive lapse rate. One example is CO2 and the stratosphere, where temperature increases with altitude. Another example is temperature over the winter poles. While the climate cooling is not obvious, it counters [conventional] GH warming. This at-least-partial cancellation might explain the puzzling absence of CO2-based GH warming in the 20th century. It could also help explain the cause of the [hotly] contested climate 'pause'. Much further work awaits!" On Apr. 23 an article is pub. in Nature Chemistry describing the intercalatif motif (i-motif), with the structure of a twisted knot, becoming the first discovery of a non-double helix DNA component within living cells. On Apr. 27 Arjen Luijendijk et al. of the Netherlands pub. the paper The State of the World's Beaches, revealing that satellite data indicates the 48% of the world's sandy beaches are stable, 28% are accreting, and 24% are eroding at rates exceeding 0.5m/yr, incl. a majority of sandy shorelines in marine protected areas in Australia and Africa, which are the only continents with net erosion; over the last 30 years, the world's beaches have accreted an avg. of 0.33 m/yr, for a total gain of 3,663 sq. km. On May 24 Marshall Burke, W. Matthew Davis, and Noah S. Diffenbaugh pub. the article Large potential reduction in economic damages under UN mitigation targets in Nature, which claims that limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial temps would save more than $20T compared to 2C, while costing $300B more, giving a cost-benefit ratio of 70-1. On June 18 a federal judge in San Francisco, Calif. dismisses lawsuits trying to hold big oil cos. liable for global climate change, saying that the U.S. pres. and Congress are best suited to address the issue. On June 23 the 30th Anniv. of NASA Climate Scientist James Hansen's Congressional Testimony sees the establishment hailing him as a prophet despite getting virtually every prediction wrong?; or was he spot on, and the evil Koch brothers paid critics to misrepresent his three scenarios, only recognizing his first one, which assumes business as usual and no emissions cuts?; or was he just lucky? On June 27 Tim Schmidt of the U. of New South Wales et al. pub a study claiming that the space between stars is full of electromagnetic radiation and gloopy aliphatic carbons that can stick to spaceship windshields. On July 12 MIT scientists pub. an article in Science announcing that 9.5 years of observations of neutrinos by the IceCube detector in Antarctica has detected a blazar 3.7B l.y. away, confirming it as the source of cosmic rays, becoming the first use of a neutron detector to locate an object in space; on July 16 they pub. an article in Nature Physics announcing that there is no Lorentz violation in neutrinos. On July 25 an article is pub. in Science announcing the discovery of the first "stable body of liquid water" on Mars by the Mars Express spacecraft, a 12.-5 mi. underground lake below the S polar ice cap. On Aug. 6 Robert O'Malley et al. of Ore. State U. pub. an article in Scientific Reports revealing that a big earthquake can cause large new earthquakes on the opposite side of the Earth. On Aug. 14 a survey of 63K U.S. govt. scientists in 16 agencies is pub. by the Union of Concerned Scientists, with 35% of EPA employees and 47% of Nat. Parks Service employees claiming they have been asked to omit the phrase "climate change" from their work; 79% claim workforce reductions, with 87% claiming that the reductions make it harder to "fulfill their science-based missions". On Aug. 19 MIT physicists David Kaiser, Alan Guth et al. pub. an article in Physical Review Letters reporting correlations among 30K+ pairs of entagled photons from two distant quasars 7.8B and 12.2B y.o., helping confirm quantum entanglement. On Aug. 21 researchers at the U. of Kan. pub. an article that laziness might be a fruitful strategy for survival of individuals, studying the period from 5M B.C.E. to present and finding that higher metabolic rates predict extinction likelihood. On Aug. 22 scientists at Oxford U. pub. an article in Nature announcing the 2012 discovery of 13-y.-o. Denisova 11 in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mts. of Siberia, whose DNA is half-Neanderthal and half-Denisovan, becoming the first direct evidence of interbreeding. On Aug. 22 the South China Morning Post pub. an article reporting that Changsheng Biotechnology has produced almost 500K substandard vaccine doses for children, doubling the initial estimate. On Aug. 22 scientists at Harvard Medical School pub. an article reporting the discovery that a protein calleed TCM1 forms a sound-and-motion-activated pore that converts sound and head movement into nerve signsl that travels to the brain, enabling hearing and balance. On Sept. 4 Arcadi Navarro et al. of Pompeu Fabra U. pub. a study in Molecular Biology Evolution that identified 25 parallel mutations in human genes that were strongly conserved millions of years ago and influence human lifespans. On Sept. 7 Yan Li, Eugenia Kalnay, Safa Motesharrei et al. pub. the article Climate model shows large-scale wind and solar farms in the Sahara increase rain and vegetation in Science, pushing the green technology as a cure to global warming. On Sept. 12 the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering pub. the report Greenhouse gas removal could make the UK carbon neutral by 2050, but immediate action is required, describing an ambitious plan for the U.K. to lead the way in greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, incl. planting a new forest the size of Nottingham Forest in order to increase forestation to 5%; meanwhile eight scientists from the U.S. and Europe pub. a paper in Nature Communications, complaining that the EU's proposed new renewable energy directive treats wood as a low-carbon fuel, which can lead to vast forest cutting to supply 5% of Europe's energy, which will likely result in a 5%-10% increase in emissions by 2050 despite the directive's mandate of a 5% decrease via solar and wind energy; the scientists claim that any CO2 released into the atmosphere stays there for decades to cents., which is moose hockey? On Sept. 24 Daniel Koll and Tim Cronin of MIT pub. an article in Proceedings of the Nat. Academy of Sciences claiming that it's not CO2 but H20 vapor that traps heat in the atmosphere, preventing it from escaping to space, but luckily it balances out so that there is a linear relationship between surface temperature and outgoing heat until about 80F (300K), when the balance breaks down, leading to a runaway effect when temps reach 152F (340K), speculating that Venus once had such thick water vapor in its atmosphere that it pumped up the greenhouse effect to the point that oceans evaporated, leading to their current high temps; of course they lamely bow to the CO2 warming crowd and claims that CO2 can warm the atmosphere on its own, increasing the amount of water vapor somehow, as if there is no precipitation. On Sept. 28 Italian U. of Pisa physicist Alessandro Strumia (1969-) gives a speech at First Workshop on High Energy Theory and Gender at CERN, claiming that thanks to women's lib men are now reverse-discriminated against in physics, going on to argue that women are genetically inferior when it comes to the ability to have productive careers in the sciences, pissing-off the you know who, causing 18 women physicists to denounce him. On Oct. 8 the 2018 Report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is pub. in South Korea, containing the soundbyte: "If emissions continue at their present rate, human-induced warming will exceed 1.5°C by around 2040", calling for global expenditures of $2.4T/year; its Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) is watered-down to minimize the dangers of climate change of only 1.5C? On Oct. 10 Stephen Hawking posth. pub. his final paper, claiming that info. can be stored in "soft hair" around a black hole, keeping it from being lost forever - he never got enough black poontang when he was young? On Oct. 11 a Soyuz rocket headed to the ISS suffers a catastrophic failure as the 2nd stage begins to separate from the 1st stage, causing NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin to parachute back to Kazakhstan. Chalmers Inst. of Tech. in Sweden founds the leftist-socialist-globalist Center for the Study of Climate Change Denialism, financed by the Swedish Energy Agency and led by Martin Hultman, who utters the soundbyte: "Climate change is an existential question for all society. We have these insights, but we come into conflict with them. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanisms behind different forms of climate change denial, and how this influences the debate and political decisions." In Oct. twin Chinese girls Lulu and Nana are born, becoming the world's first germline genetically-edited babies; after a worldwide outcry, Chinese scientist He Jiankui is sentenced in late Dec. 2019 to three years in prison and 3M yuan fine. On Nov. 5 the U.N.-backed report Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2018 is pub., claiming recovery of 1%-3% since 2000, with the Northern Hemisphere and mid-lat. ozone scheduled to heal completely in the 2030s, the Southern Hemisphere in the 2050s, and polar regions by 2060. On Nov. 23 the Trump admin. (loaded with lurking Obama appointees?) releases the 1,656-page Fourth Nat. Climate Assessment, Vol. II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States by the 13-federal-agency U.S. Global Change Research Program (GCRP) (G-crap?) and a total of "1,000 people, including 300 leading scientists, roughly half from outside the government", an alarmist fantasy fest about dire CO2-choked futures that claims to be "an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change" in the U.S., sans policy recommendations, warning that climate change will disrupt the economies of every region in the U.S. and cost hundreds of billions of dollars yearly by 2050 and strip away 10% of U.S. economic growth by 2100, with the soundbytes: "Because several [greehouse gases], in particular carbon dioxide, reside in the atmosphere for decades or longer, many climate-influenced effects are projected to continue changing through 2050, even if GHG emissions were to stop immediately", and "While mitigation and adaptation efforts have expanded substantially in the last four years, they do not yet approach the scale considered necessary to avoid substantial damages to the economy, environment, and human health over the coming decades"; after being accused of trying to burying it by releasing it the day after Thanksgiving, the White House responds that the assessment is "largely based on the most extreme scenario, which contradicts long-established trends by assuming that, despite strong economic growth that would increase greenhouse gas emissions, there would be limited technology and innovation, and a rapidly expanding population", and that the next report in 2022 will "provide for a more transparent and data-driven process", which the authors deny; meanwhile Pres. Trump utters the soundbyte that he doesn't believe the report, causing John Avlon of CNN to reply "You can't spin your way out of science, folks"; the report catalogs 467 alleged climate scares, incl. a plague of voles, bed wetting, and mental illness?; it's got major problems?; the research is tied to rich Dem. donors Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg, as well as George Soros, with former Obama admin. official Andrew Light 1966-) (formerly of the Soros-funded Center for Am. Progress) serving as review ed. for the final chapter which promotes the 10% by 2100 figure, causing U. of Colo. prof. Roger Pielke Jr. to call the 10% figure (based on a projected 15F temp increase) "silly season", with the soundbytes: "Imagine if research funded by Exxon was the sole basis for claims", and "Shouldn't such an outlandish, outlier conclusion been caught in the review process"; the predictions for the U.S. Midwest are moose hockey?; on Nov. 25 report co-author, Canadian-Am. Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe gives an interview to CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, which is later cut in favor of Repub. Penn. politician (known for calling anthropogenic global warming "junk science") Richard John "Rick" Santorum (1958-), who gives the Trump line, with the soundbytes: "If we didn't have climate change, we would have a lot of scientists looking for work. To say that scientists have a consensus - the reality is that there's lots of disagreement out there about what is causing this"; on Nov. 29 Washington, D.C.-born conservative columnist John Calvin "Cal" Thomas (1942-) pub. the article A Political Report Masquerading as Science: The Truth About the New Climate Report in The Daily Signal. On Dec. 10 Jamie Nagle et al. of the U. of Colo. pub. an article in Nature Physics reporting the generation of droplets of quark gluon plasms at the Brookhaven Nat. Lab. collider, supposedly recreating the matter of the U. for the first few microsec. after the Big Bang. On Dec. 17 Max Rollwage, Raymond J. Dolan, and Stephen M. Fleming pub. the paper Megacognitive Failure as a Feature of Holding Radical Beliefs in Current Biology, revealing that people with radical beliefs they can't change have less metacognitive sensitivity, the ability to reflect on their cognitive processes. Development begins on the Pulsed All-Sky Near-Infrared Optical SETI (PANOSETI), two telescopes at Lick Observatory that are planned on growing to hundreds to scan the entire sky for alien laser signals. Art: John Peralta, Singer is Sewing Made Easy II (sculpture). Movies: Vikram Bhatt's 1921 (Jan. 12) (LoneRanger Productions) (Reliance Entertainment) stars Karan Kudra as Ayush, who takes care of the haunted Wadia Manor in York, and Zareen Khan as Rose, who has second sight and helps him investigate; does 22.74 crore rupees on a 15 crore rupees budget. Nicolai Fuglsig's 21 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers (Jan. 19) (Alcon Entertainment) (Warner Bros. Pictures), based on the book by Doug Stanton about U.S. Special Forces and CIA soldiers in Afghanstan right after 9/11 stars Chris Hemsworth as Capt. Mitch Nelson (inspired by Mark Nutsch), Michael Shannon as CWO Call Spencer, Michael Pena as SFC Sam Diller, and Navid Negahban as Afghan Alliance leader Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum. Alex Garland's Annihilation (Feb. 13) (Skydance Media) (Paramount Pictures), based on the 2014 novel by Jeff VanderMeer is a sci-fi horror film about eerie aliens called the Shimmer who crash underneath a lighthouse in Area X and create an environmental disaster zone with mutating landscapes and animals, starring Natalie Portman as Lena the Biologist, Jennifer Jason Leigh as the Psychologist, Gina Rodriguez as the Anthropologist Anya Thorenson, Tessa Thompson as the Surveyor, Tuva Novotny as the Linguist, and Oscar Isaac as Lena's husband; does $43.1M box office on a $55M budget. Gareth Evans' Apostle (Sept. 21) (XYZ Films) (Netflix) is about a remote Welsh island run by a mysterious cult, starring Dan Stevens as Thomas Richardson, Michael Sheen as Malcolm Howe, Lucy Boynton as his daughter Andrea Howe, Paul Higgins as Frank, Bill Milner as Frank's son Jeremy, Kristine Froset as Quinn's daughter Ffion, and Sharon Morgan as Her, the cult's goddess. James Wan's Aquaman (Nov. 26) (Warner Bros. Pictures) stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry AKA Aquaman, Amber Heard as his babe Mera, Willem Dafoe as his mentor Nuidis Vulko, Patrick Wilson as his half-brother Orm/Ocean Master, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen III as David Kane/Black Manta, and Nicole Kidman as Aquaman's mother Atlanna, Queen of Atlantis; does $488.2M box office on a $200M budget. Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born (Aug. 31) (MGM) (Warner Bros.), a remake of the 1937 film, 1954 musical, and 1976 musical (Cooper's dir. debut) stars Cooper as Jackson "Jack" Maine, and Lady Gaga as Ally Campano Maine; features the hit song Shallow; does $436.2M box office on a $36M budget. Anthony Russo's and Joe Russo's Avengers: Infinity War (May 4) (Marvel Studios) (Walt Disney Studios), sequel to "The Avengers" (2012) and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2915) (Marvel Cinematic Universe film #19). Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale (Sept. 22) (20th Cent. Fox) stars Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Fanning, Jon Hamm, Callee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, and Chris Hemsworth as six strangers who get into a complicated plot centered in a hotel located along the Calif.-Nev. border; does $17.8M U.S. and $31.9M worldwide box office on a $32M budget. Susanne Bier's Bird Box (Nov. 12) (Bluegrass Films) (Chris Morgan Productions) (Netflix), based on the 2014 Josh Malerman novel stars Sandra Bullock as Malorie Hayes, who must lead her children Boy and Girl (Julian Edwards and Vivian Lyra Blair) blindfolded through a forest and river while being chased by supernatural beings that take the appearance of their victims' worst fears, causing them to go insane and commit suicide; Malorie adopts some pet birds who can detect crazies and warn them; does ? box office on a $19.8M budget. Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (May 14) (Blumhouse Productions) (Focus Features), based on the 2014 memoir by Ron Stallworth stars John David Washington as Det. Ron Stallworth, first black police oficer in Colo. Springs, Colo., who pretends to be white and joins the KKK; does $89.1M box office on a $15M budget. Ryan Coogler's Black Panther (Jan. 29) (Walt Disney Studios), #18 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, who gains super powers from vibranium to become the Black Panther, uniting four African tribes into the nation of Wakanda, which pretends to be a Third World Country to disguise their advanced technology; Angela Basset plays T'Challa's mother Ramonda; Andy Serkis plays South African bad guy Ulysses Klaue; does $419.6M box office on a $200M budget, starting with $242M in its 4-day opening weekend. Carlos Lopez Estrada's Blindspotting (Jan. 18) (Summit Entertainment) (Codeblack Films) (Lionsgate) stars Daveed Diggs as felon Collin Hoskins, who has three days left of probation, and witnesses a police shooting that threatens to ruin his lifelong friendship with Miles (Rafael Casal), leading to a moment of racial lucidity with white police officer Molina (Ethan Embry); does $4.8M box office; a favorite of Pres. Barack Obama. Bryan Singer's and Dexter Fletcher's Bohemian Rhapsody (Oct. 23) (20th Cent. Fox) (New Regency) (GK Films) stars Rami Malek as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury after Sacha Baron Cohen is fired; does $743.7M box office on a $55M budget. Clay Kaytis' The Christmas Chronicles (Nov. 22) (Netflix) (1492 Pictures) stars Kurt Russell as Santa Claus, who makes a true believer out of teenie boy Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis). Jaume Collet-Serra's The Commuter (Jan. 8) (StudioCanal) (Lionsgate) stars Liam Neeson as insurance salesman Michael McCauley, who is offered $100K by a mysterious stranger to identify a hidden passenger on a train before the last stop; does $119.9M box office on a $40M budget. Jon M. Chu's Crazy Rich Asians ()Aug. 7) (Warner Bros. Pictures), based on the 2013 bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan stars Constance Wu as Chinese-Am. economics prof. Rachel Chu, who goes to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding) for his best friend's wedding, discovering that her beau is from a very wealthy family with a dark past, and every woman desires his bod; first major Hollywood film since "The Joy Luck Club" (1993) with Asian-Americans in the leading roles; does $227.3M box office on a $30M budget. Peter Sullivan's Cucuy: The Boogeyman (Oct. 13), based on the Mexican legend stars Marisol Nichols, Brian Krause, and Jearnest Corchado. Eighth Grade (Jan. 19) (A24) (Sony Pictures) stars Elsie Fisher as an 8th grader in her last week of classes before graduating to h.s., producing video blogs to reduce her social anxiety; a favorite of Pres. Barack Obama; does $13.5M box office on a $2M budget. Karyn Kusama's Destroyer (Aug. 31) (30West) (Automatik Entertainment) (Annapurna Pictures) stars Nicole Kidman as Erin Bell, an undercover LAPD officer whose case is blown, making her take out the members of a gang years later; does ? box office on a $9M budget. Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite (Aug. 30) (Element Pictures) (Film4 Productions) (Fox Searchlight Pictures), set during the reign of British Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) co-stars Emma Stone as Abigail Hill and Rachel Weisz as Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, who vie for the queen's favor, sexual and otherwise; does $26.8M box office on a $15M budget. Damien Chazelle's First Man (Aug. 29) (Universal Pictures), based on the 2005 book "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong" by James R. Hansen stars miscast whimpy Ryan Gosling as First Man on the Moon Neil Armstrong, Claire Foy as his wife Janet, Jason Clark as First American to Walk in Space Ed White, Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton, and Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin; Clint Eastwood announced himself as dir. in 2003 before dropping out;/ does $105.7M box office on a $70M budget. Kevin Connolly's Gotti (May 15) (Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films), starring John Travolta as revolting mob boss John Gotti, and Kelly Preston as his wife Victoria is a box office flop, doing $1.7M box office on a $10M budget, receiving a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes; "I'd rather wake up next to a severed horse head." (Johnny Oleksinski, The New York Post); "He showed the world who's boss." Dinesh D'Souza's Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time? (Aug. 3) compares Pres. Trump positively to Abraham Lincoln, and blasts the Dem. Party for championing slavery and giving ideas to the Nazis, pissing-off guess-who. Scott Mosier's and Yarrow Cheney's The Grinch (Oct. 22) (Universal Pictures), based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss children's book stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the Grinch, and Angela Lansbury as the voice of Mayor McGerkle; does $375.6M box office on a $75M budget. David Gordon Green's Halloween (Sept. 8) (Miramax) (Universal Pictures) (Miramax) (Blumhouse Productions), Halloween Series #11, a sequel to the 1978 film set 40 years later features Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) facing Michael Myers (Nick Castle) in a final confrontation; does $91.8M box office on a $15M budget. Ari Aster's Hereditary (Jan. 21) (A24) (PalmStar Media), about the demon Paimon haunting a family consisting of Steve and Annie Graham (Gabriel Byrne and Toni Collette) and their teenie children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro); does $79.3M box office on a $10M budget. Donovan Marsh's Hunter Killer (Oct. 26) (Original Film) (Millennium Films) (Summit Entertainment), based on the 2012 novel "Firing Point" by Don Keith and George Wallace stars Gerard Butler as Cmdr. Joe Glass of the the submarine USS Ottawa, who must transport a group of U.S. Navy SEALS to rescue the kidnapped Russian pres.; also stars Gary Oldman as Adm. Charles Donnegan, Common as Rear Adm. John Fisk, Michael Nyqvist as Russian sub capt. Sergei Andropov, Caroline Goodall as U.S. Pres. Dover, and Zane Holtz as U.S. Navy SEAL Martinelli. The Erwin Brothers' I Can Only Imagine (Mar. 16) (Mission Pictures Internat.) (Lionsgate) (Roadside Attractions) is about the best-selling Christian single of all time (until ?), starring J. Michael Finley as MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard, Dennis Quad as his father Arthur Millard, Cloris Leachman as his grandmother Meemaw, and Trace Adkins as MercyMe mgr. Scott Brickell; does $85.4M worldwide box office on a $7M budget. Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk (Sept. 9) (Plan B Entertainment) (Annapurna Pictures), based on the 1974 James Baldwin novel sees black man Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (Stephan James) falsely accused of rape while his wife Clementine "Tish" Rivers (KiKi Layne) seeks to clear his name before their child is born; Regina King plays Tish's mother Sharon Rivers; a favorite of Pres. Barack Obama; does $1M box office on a $12M budget. Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs (Mar. 23) (Fox Searchlight Pictures) is a stop-action animated film starring the voices of Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, and Bob Balaban. J.A. Bayona's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (June 22) (Universal Pictures), Jurassic Park #5, filmed in Hawaii and England stars Chris Pratt as dino trainer Owen Grady, Bryce Dallas Howard as former park mgr. Claire Dearing, and B.D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu. Wes Ball's Maze Runner: The Death Cure (Jan. 26) (Gotham Group) (20th Cent. Fox), based on the James Dashner book stars Dylan O'Brien as Gladers leader Thomas, who break into the WCKD-controlled Last City and finds that it's the deadliest maze of all. Bing Liu's Minding the Gap (Jna. 21) (ITVS) (Kartemquin Films) (Hulu) (Magnolia Pictures) is a documentary film about three young men in Rockford Ill. who love skateboarding; Liu's dir. debut; a favorite of Pres. Barack Obama. Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible 6: Fallout (July 12) (Skydance Media) (Alibaba Pictures) (Bad Robot Productions) (Paramount Pictures) (first in 3D) stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Michelle Monaghan as Julia Meade-Hunt, Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, Ving Rhames as Luther Stickel, Simon Pegg as Benjamin "Benji" Dunn,Angela Bassett as CIA dir. Erika Sloane, and Alec Baldwin as former CIA dir. Alan Hunley; good name since Cruise mainly falls out of high places, turning into a virtual comic book superhero by the end?; does $791M box office on a $178M budget. Christian Rivers' Mortal Engines (Nov. 27), based on the 2001 Philip Reeve novel, about a world controlled by Municipal Darwinism after the Sixty-Minute War, where Traction Cities on wheels hunt and eat smaller cities, starring Stephen Lang, last undead Stalker soldier, who raises fugitive assassin Hester Dhaw (Hera Hilmar), who is out to get Guild of Historians head Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving); does ? box office on a $100M budget. Corin Hardy's The Nun (Sept. 4) (New Line Cinema) (Warner Bros. Pictures), a spinoff of "The Conjuring 2" (2016) (Conjuring Franchise #5), based on a story by Gary Dauberman and James Wan set in Carta Abbey in 1952 Romania stars Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene, Demian Bichir as Father Burke, and Bonnie Aarons as Valak the Nun, a demon who possesses them; does $359.8M box office on a $22M budget. Julius Avery's Overlord (Sept. 22) (Paramount Pictures) (Bad Robot Productions) is about Yankee paratroopers on D-Day caught behind enemy lines in Normandy, encountering a haunted Nazi-filled fort. Steven S. DeKnight's Pacific Rim: Uprising (Mar. 23) (Universal Pictures), sequel to the 2013 film stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, and Rinko Kikuchi. Diederik Van Rooijen's The Possession of Hannah Grace (Nov. 30) (Cadaver) (Screen Gems) (Sony Pictures Releasing), a ripoff of "The Exorcist" stars Kirby Johnson as possessed resurrected Hannah Grace, who is encountered in a morgue by former policeman Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell); Stana Katic plays Megan's nurse friend Lisa Roberts, and Grey Damon plays Megan's ex-boyfriend Andrew Kurtz; does $36.6M box office on a $9.5M budget. Shane Black's The Predator (Aug. 3) (20th Cent. Fox), #4 in the Predator film series stars Boyd Holbrook (after James Franco and Benicio del Toro turn itd down) as Special Forces commando Quinn McKenna. John Krasinski's A Quiet Place (Mar. 9) (Paramount Pictures), set in Apocalyptic 2020 Earth stars Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Cade Woodward as the Abbott family (Lee, Evelyn, Regan, Marcus, and Beau), who run from sightless ETs with super-hearing, forcing them to use Am. Sign Language; does $334.5M box office on a $21M budget. Francis Lawrence's Red Sparrow (Feb. 15) (20th Cent. Fox), based on the 2013 novel by Jason Matthews stars Jennifer Lawrence as Russian spy Dominika Egorova AKA DIVA, who falls for CIA officer Nathaniel "Nate" Nash (Joel Edgerton) and becomes a double agent; no chemistry?; after its release JenLaw announces that she's taking the next year off to work for Represent.Us to help young people get involved in politics and fight corruption to "fix our democracy". Jeffrey Nachmanoff's Replicas (Nov. 24) (Di Bonaventura Pictures) (Entertainment Studios) stars Keanu Reeves as neuroscientist William Foster, who loses his family in a car accident and violates the law to bring them back to life. Alfonso Cuaron's Roma (Participant Media) (Esperanto Filmoj) (Netflix) stars Yalitza Aparicio as Cleodegaria "Cleo" Gutierrez, a maid in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City; a favorite of Pres. Barack Obama; does $1.9M box office on a $15M budget; Bruce Macdonald's Samson (Feb. 16), based on the Biblical story stars Taylor James. Sylvain White's Slender Man (Aug. 10) (Screen Gems) (Sony Pictures), filmed in Ayer, Mass. is about friends Wren (Joey King), Hallie (Julia Goldani Telles), Chloe (Jaz Sinclair), and Katie (Annalise Basso), who summon the Slender Man (Javier Botet); does $50.4M box office on a $10M budget. Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters (May 13) (Aoi-Pro Inc.) (GAGA Pictures) is about a group of poor people in Tokyo who love to shoplift; does $55.2M box office; a favorite of Pres. Barack Obama. Bob Persichetti's, Peter Ramsey's, and Rodney Rothman's computer animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Dec. 1) (Columbia Pictures) (Sony Pictures), based on the Marvel Comics char. stars Shameik Moore as the voice of Miles Morales AKA Spider-Man, who is a half Puerto Rican half African-American kid from Brooklyn; does $275.4M box office on a $90M budget. Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born (Aug. 31) (Warner Bros.) (MGM) stars Cooper (dir. debut) as alcoholic country musician Jackson "Jack" Maine, who mentors nightclub singer Ally Campana (Lady Gaga); the 4th remake of the original 1937 film (1954, 1976, 2013); does $390.1M box office on a $40M budget. Adam McKay's Vice (Dec. 25) (Plan B Entertainment) (Gary Sanchez Productions) (Annapurna Pictures) is a cartoonish leftist hate-fest starring Christian Bale (who gained 40 lbs. for the role) as Dick Cheney, Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, and Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush; "An awesome Christmas gift to Dick Cheney haters everywhere" (McKay); McKay gives an interview to Eliza Berman of Time mag., containing the soundbyte: "What intrigued me was that he wasn't a sociopathic monster in the beginning... Yet somehow that ambition, that American Dream, became something much darker"; does $30M box office on a $60M budget. Robert Zemeckis' Welcome to Marwen (Dec. 21) (Universal Pictures), inspired by Jeff Malberg's 20120 documentary "Marwencol" stars Stee Carell as PTSD sufferer Mark Hogancamp, who is assaulted so brutally he gets amnesia, and creates a fictional village for therapy; Merritt Wever plays hobby shop worker Roberta; Diane Kruger plays Deja Thoris the Belgan Witch; Falk Hentschel plays Deja's hencman Hauptsturmfuhrer Ludwig Topf; too bad, it bombs, doing $3M box office on a $50M budget plus $60M for promotion. Yann Demange's White Boy Rick (Aug. 31) (Columbia Pictures) (Sony Pictures) based on a true story stars Richie Merritt as 14-y.-o. 1980s Detroit teenie Rick Wershe Jr., who became the youngest FBI informant to date before ending up sentenced to life in prison for drug dealing; Matthew McConaughey plays his father Richard Wershe Sr.; does $24.1M box office on a $29M budget. Michael Spierig's and Peter Spierig's Winchester: The House that Ghosts Built (Feb. 2) (Lionsgate) (CBS Films) stars Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester, widow of gunmaker William Wirth Winchester, who uses her inheritance to begin endless improvements to her mansion in San Jose, Calif. to atone for those killed by Winchester firearms, sealing rooms spiritually with 13 nails, causing it to be named the Winchester Mystery house, causing the Winchester Co. to hire Dr. Eric Price (Jason Clarke) to assess her mentally, only to encounter ghosts after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake demolishes the house; does $41.3M box office on a $3.5M budget. Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time (Feb. 27) (Walt Disney Pictures), based on the 1962 Madeleine L'Engle novel stars Storm Reid as Meg Murry, who goes on quest for her astrophysicist father Alex (Chris Pine) deep in the Universe, accompanied by her genius younger brother Charles Wallace Murry (Deric McCabe), fellow student Calvin O'Keee (Levi Miller), Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling); does ? box office on a $103M budget (making DuVernay the first African-Am. omen to direct a live-action film with a $100M budget). Art: On Feb. 12 Amy Sherald (1973-) debuts her painting Official Portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama at the Smithsonian Inst.; dress designed by Milly; anti-Obama activists circulate Judith and Holofernes (2012) by Kehinde Wiley, depicting a black woman holding a white woman's head, palming it off as Sherald's; at the same time Kehinde Wiley (1977-) debuts his painting Official Portrait of Pres. Barack Obama; they become the first official portraits of a U.S. pres. by African-Am. artists. In Aug. Unmoored debuts in Times Square in New York City, a "mixed reality experience" which "imagines a future in which New York is underwater, as projected by climate scientists." Music: Dierks Bentley (1975-), The Mountain (album #9) (June 8); incl. Woman, Amen (#67 in the U.S.) (#3 country). Florida Georgia Line, Rearview Town (album #8) (Apr. 13) (#1 in the U.S.) (#1 country); incl. You Make It Easy (featuring Jason Aldean) (#28 in the U.S.) (#1 country); Simple (June 1) (#5 country). Marshmello (1992-), Happier (w/Bastille) (Aug. 16). Paul McCartney (1942-), Egypt Station (album #18) (Sept. 7) (#1 in the U.S.); first since 2005's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"; cover is his painting "Egypt Station"; incl. Dominoes, Hand in Hand, Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link, Despite Repeating Warnings, slamming climate deniers esp. Pres. Trump. David Lee Murphy (1959-), Album #5 (Apr. 6, 2018) No Zip Code (album #5) (Apr. 6) (#35 country); co-produced by Kenny Chesney and Buddy Cannon; incl. Everything's Gonna Be Alright (#95 in the U.S.) (#10 country). Sugarland, Bigger (album #6) (June 8) (Big Machine); first album since 2010; incl. Babe (w/Taylor Swift) (#72 in the U.S.) (#8 country), Still the Same (#35 country). Morgan Wallen (1993-), If I Know Me (album) (debut) (#51 in the U.S.) (#4 country); incl. Whiskey Glasses (July 30) (#1 country) (#25 in the U.S.); written by Ben Burgess and Kevin Kadish. Novels: Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha) (Mar. 6) (first novel); NYT bestseller. Melissa Albert, The Hazel Wood: A Novel (Jan. 30); NYT bestseller; a reclusive author of dark fairy tales dies, and her 17-y.-o. roadie granddaughter Alice moves in. Chloe Benjamin (1990-), The Immortalists (Jan. 9); NYT bestseller about four teenie siblings who get a fortuneteller to reveal their death dates. Holly Black, The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air) (Jan. 2); Jude. Dhonielle Clayton, The Belles (Feb. 6); Camellia Beauregard of opulent Orleans. A.J. Finn, The Woman in the Window: A Novel (Jan. 2); New York City recluse Anna Fox spies into the Russell house and sees something she shouldn't. Denis Johnson, The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories (short stories) (Jan. 16). Tayari Jones, An American Marriage: A Novel (Feb. 6); a black couple in Atlanta get blacktopped by the corrupt criminal justice system. Mira T. Lee, Everything Here Is Beautiful (Jan. 16) (first novel); sisters Miranda and Lucia. C.J. Tudor, The Chalk Man: A Novel (Jan. 9); "None of us ever agreed on the exact beginning. Was it when the chalk men appeared? Or when they found the first body?" Plays: On Mar. 1, 2018 after a small run in 2014 catches the eye of Australian climate change skeptic Andrew Bolt, giving it free publicity, David Finnigan debuts his play Kill Climate Deniers at the Griffin Theatre in Sydney (ends Apr. 7); "As a classic rock band take the stage in Parliament House's main hall, 96 armed eco-terrorists storm the building and take the entire government hostage, threatening to execute everyone unless Australia ends global warming." Poetry: Louise Gluck (1943-) and Max Ritvo (1990-2016), The Final Voicemails: Poems (Sept. 11). Juan Felipe Herrera (1948-), Jabberwalking (Mar. 13). Philip Levine (1928-2015), The Last Shift: Poems (Apr. 3). Alice Walker (1944-), Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart (Oct. 2). David Whyte (1955-), The Bell and the Blackbird (Apr. 19). Nonfiction: Ryan T. Anderson, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment (Feb. 20); claims that the push to give sex-change operations is driven by ideology rather than sound medical advice, and that sex reassignment therapy doesn't work; banned by Amazon.com in Feb. 2021. Joe Bastardi (1955-), The Climate Chronicles: Inconvenient Revelations You Won't Hear From Al Gore - And Others (Jan. 2); weather expert debunks climate alarmists, claiming that global temps were warmer in the 1930s than today, and that the human contribution to atmospheric CO2 is too small to have an effect on global warming, which is caused by sunspots and warmer oceans; since 2011 global temps have been falling, and by 2030 will return to 1970s levels due to the "triple crown of cooling" incl. oceanic temperature cycles, solar radiation cycles, and vocanic activity; "In the entire geological history of the planet, there has been no known linkage between CO2 and temperatures"; "CO2 cannot cause global warming. I'll tell you why. It doesn't mix well with the atmosphere, for one. For two, its specific gravity is 1 1/2 times that of the rest of the atmosphere. It heats and cools much quicker. Its radiative processes are much different. So it cannot - it literally cannot cause global warming"; "A colder planet would lead to untold misery given the current policies geared toward the opposite." Sven Beckert, Empire of Cotton: A Global History; claims that modern U.S. capitalism is descended from slave plantations. Keisha N. Blain, Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom. Dan Bongino, D.C. McAllister, and Matt Palumbo, Spygate: The Attempted Sabotage of Donald J. Trump (Oct. 9). Nina Brochmann, The Wonder Down Under: The Insider's Guide to the Anatomy, Biology, and Reality of the Vagina (Mar. 6). Kate Andersen Brower, First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents and the Pursuit of Power (June 5); A Family Conspiracy: Honor Killing. Tucker Carlson (1969-), Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution (Oct. 2) (NYT #1 bestseller); explains "Trump Appeal", and how the left is destroying itself over him. John Carreyrou, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (May 21); the story of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes; a favorite of Bill Gates. Jason Chaffetz (1967-), The Deep State: How an Army of Bureaucrats Protected Barack Obama and Is Working to Destroy the Trump Agenda (Sept. 18). Phyllis Chesler (1940-), A Family Conspiracy: Honor Killing (Apr. 24); A Politically Incorrect Feminist: Creating a Movement with Bitches, Lunatics, Dykes, Prodigies, Warriors, and Wonder Women (Aug. 28). Marcantonio Colonna, The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy (Apr. 23); Pope Francis has been creating a climate of fear in the Vatican? James Comey (1960-), A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership (Apr. 17). Ann Coulter (1961-), Resistance Is Futile!: How the Trump-Hating Left Lost Its Collective Mind (Aug. 21); how Pres. Trump's election victory made leftists go nuts and turn the the tactics they used to accuse Repubs. of, also exposing social class hate (big city people on coasts vs. working class people in the heartland); "For Democracy to Live, We Must Kill the Media". Rupert Darwall, Green Tyranny: Exposing the Totalitarian Roots of the Climate Industrial Complex; the Nazi Blood and Soil movement and support of wind power in the 1930s morphed into the Green Party? Warren Dockter and Richard Troye, Who Commanded History? Sir John Colville, Churchillian Networks, and the "Castlerosse Affair" (Mar. 2); Winston's Churchill's secy. John Colville, founder of the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge leaves a tape claiming had an affair with Doris, Lady Castleross (-1942). Daniel J. Flynn, Cult City: Jim Jones, Harvey Milk, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco (Oct. 8). Charles D. Freilich, Israeli National Security: A New Strategy for an Era of Change (Apr. 5); why Israel does not have a formal nat. security strategy. Newt Gingrich (1943-), Trump's America: The Truth about Our Nation's Great Comeback (June 5); by the man who helped Pres. Reagan make America great again in 1980. Jamie Glazov (1966-), Jihadist Psychopath: How He Is Charming, Seducing, and Devouring Us (Dec. 18). Eliza Griswold, Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America (June 12) (Pulitzer Prize). Yuval Noah Harari (1976-), 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Sept. 4) (NYT #1 bestseller); a favorite of Bill Gates; "Are we still capable of understanding the world we have created?" Gen. Michael Vincent Hayden (1945-), The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies. Raymond Ibrahim 1973-), Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West (Aug. 28). Gregg Jarrett (1955-), The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump (July 24). Martha S. Jones, Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America; despite the Dred Scott decision, blacks had some rights as citizens, and the 14th Amendment constitutionalized the citizen birthright principle? Dan Kovalik, The Plot to Control the World: How the US Spent Billions to Change the Outcome of Elections Around the World (Nov. 6). Philip Levine (1928-2015), My Lost Poets: A Life in Poetry (Apr. 3). Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die (Jan. 16); anti-Trump Harvard profs. fret over a gradual slide into authoritarianism. Eric Lichtblau, The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler's Men (Oct. 28); how they recruited and harbored former Nazis to use against the Russians, incl. a possible invasion of the Soviet Union, and covered it up into the 1990s. Clare M. Lopez, Harold Rhode, Christopher C. Hull, Daniel Pipes, David P. Goldman, Burak Bekdil, Uzay Bulut, and Deborah Weiss, Ally No More: Erdogan's New Turkish Caliphate and the Rising Jihadist Threat to the West (essays) (Apr. 15). Trevor Loudon, Burn This Book: What Keith Ellison Doesn't Want You to Know: A Radical Marxist-Islamist, His Associations and Agenda (Sept. 10); Ellison's July 17, 2018 demand that Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezos censor all of the co.'s products, calling for them to be destroyed. Omarosa Manigault Newman (1974-), Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House (Aug. 14); calls Pres. Trump a racist who likes to use the N word, calling him "in decline" mentally, causing White House press secy. Sarah Sanders to call it "false attacks", telling her to stop "trying to profit" and pointing out her own statements that Trump isn't a racist - she's trying to turn loyalty into royalties? Chris Miller, Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia. Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, 50 Shades of Politics. Michelle Obama (1964-), Becoming (autobo.) (Nov. 13); part of a $65M book deal for his-her memoirs, causing the Obamas to be called a "billion dollar brand". Jordan Peterson (1962-), 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (Jan. 16); Amazon bestseller. David Pietrusza (1949-), TR's Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy (Sept. 1). Steven Pinker (1954-), Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress (Feb. 13); despite appearances that the world is coming apart, people are living longer, healthier, freer, happier lives; "My new favorite book of all time." (Bill Gates) Jeanine Pirro (1951-), Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy (July 17). William R. Polk, Crusade and Jihad: The Thousand-Year War between the Muslim World and the Global North (Jan.). Anne Rice (1941-2021), Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat (Oct. 2); Vampire Chronicles #13 (last) (1976). Rick Richman, Racing Against History: The 1940 Campaign for a Jewish Army to Fight Hitler. Hans Rosling (1948-2017), Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think (Apr. 3) (posth.); internat. bestseller; test subjects reveal that they think the world is poorer, less healthy, and more dangerous than it is, making a fan of billionaire Bill Gates. Fr. James V. Schall, On Islam (essays). Paul Scharre, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War (Apr. 24); an examination of all their little problems like being hacked by the enemy; a favorite of Bill Gates. Peter Schweizer (1964-), Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends (Mar. 20). Nicolai Sennels, Holy Wrath: Among Criminal Muslims (Feb. 18); concludes that hardcore Muslims can't be absorbed by any Western society. Amy Siskind (1965-), The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year (Mar. 27); her daily freak-outs at Trump's Twitter rants, speeches, etc., which she claims are authoritarian and a threat to marginalized communities esp. women. Luiz Sergio Solimeo, Islam and the Suicide of the West: The Origin, Doctrine, and Goals of Islam; attempts to wake up the Catholic Church about the true danger of resurgent Islam and its lies about being no threat to everything the West stands for; "Koran and Islamic traditions vilify and blaspheme Our Lord Jesus Christ the Word Incarnate and our Redeemer. There is nothing in common between what our Faith teaches us about Him and His grotesque and sacrilegious caricature as presented by Islam"; "Will the West follow the example of the Prodigal Son and choose to return to the Father's House, to a Christian civilization inspired by the “philosophy of the Gospel,” or will it submit to an Islamic totalitarianism that highly resembles communist ideology?" Robert Spencer (1962-), The History of Jihad from Muhammad to ISIS; "There has always been, with virtually no interruption, jihad." Sean Spicer (1971-), The Briefing: Politics, The Press, and The President (July 23). Jack Tanner, The Science Conspiracy: How Autistics Took Over the World (Dec. 7); "Science is a shallow, banal subject mired in materialism, atheism, skepticism and nihilism. It is a ferociously anti-life ideology. Lifeless matter is, after all, the essence of non-life"; "The central thesis of this book is that science is a worldview born from autism, from people who struggle with communication, empathy, free will, consciousness and all things mental. Scientists prefer to see themselves as machines or as products of random chance. Their lack of a strong psyche translates into an affinity for matter, the opposite of mind. They feel at home with theories that exclude mind, that require no mental components whatsoever. That's because they themselves are enormously deficient in mind." Stephan Templ, Austria's Living Ghost (Jan. 27); claims that Austria's system for restoring property looted from Jews by the Nazis is run by former Nazis. Craig Unger, House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia (Aug. 14); claims that Pres. Trump is Russia's asset in the White House, having been bought way back in the late 1980s by the Russian mafia, who used him for money laundering via his real estate empire, causing him to seek a govt. position with placement in Moscow in 1986, and take a call from Senate minority leader Bob Dole in 1987, meaning he had political aspirations. Tara Westover, Educated: A Memoir (Feb. 20); her Idaho survivalist religious fanatic father keeps her out of school until age 17, which doesn't stop her from earning a doctorate at Cambridge U.; a favorite of Barack Obama and Bill Gates. Michael Wolff (1953-), Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (Jan. 5) (bestseller); disses Pres. Trump as a candidate unprepared to win the White House, whose aids question his fitness for office; he really didn't want to win, only emerge with new branding opportunities?; Pres. Trump calls it a "phony book... Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don't exist"; in an interview, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon calls a 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. et al. and a Russian operative "treasonous", causing Pres. Trump to reply: "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind", calling him "Sloppy Steve", after which Bannon apologizes, calling Trump Jr. a patriot and clarifying that his anger was directed at Paul Manafort and this support for Trump is "unwavering". Shoshana Zuboff (1951-), The Age of Surveillance Capitalism; [Surveillance Capitalism] "unilaterally claims human experience as free raw material for translation into behavioural data [which] are declared as a proprietary behavioural surplus, fed into advanced manufacturing processes known as 'machine intelligence', and fabricated into prediction products that anticipate what you will do now, soon, and later; these new capitalist products "are traded in a new kind of marketplace that I call behavioural futures markets"; a favorite of Pres. Obama. Births: Deaths: Canadian physician Jacques Genest (b. 1919) on Jan. 5. Irish "The Cranberries" singer Dolores O'Riordan (b. 1971) on Jan. 15 in London, England. Am. actor Bradford Dillman (b. 1930) on Jan. 16 in Santa Barbara, Calif. (OD from pneumonia). Am. The Weather Channel co-founder John Coleman (b. 1934) on Jan. 20 in Las Vegas, Nev. Am. "Earthsea" novelist Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929) on Jan. 22 in Portland, Ore. Swedish IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad (b. 1926) on Jan. 27 in Smaland. Am. singer Vic Damone (b. 1928) on Feb. 11 in Miami Beach, Fla.; "The best set of pipes in the business." (Frank Sinatra). Pakistani human rights activist-atty. Asma Jahangir (b. 1952) on Feb. 11 in Lahore. Reverse sex discrimination? Danish prince (since Feb. 14, 1972) Henrik (b. 1934) on Feb. 13 in Fredensborg Palace (respiratory illness); retired from royal duties on Jan. 1, 2016; diagnosed with dementia on Sept. 6, 2017; has his remains cremated instead of buried next to the queen in protest to being made the first male prince consort to a female Danish monarch and have to beg her for his allowance, breaking a tradition dating back to 1559; he is cremated on Feb. 20, and half of his ashes were scattered across Danish seas, and the other half placed in the gardens of Fredensborg Palace. Am. historian Lerone Bennett Jr. (b. 1928) on Feb. 14 in Chicago, Ill. (vascular dementia): "Image Sees, Image Feels, Image Acts." Dutch PM (1982-94) Ruud Lubbers (b. 1939) on Feb. 14 in Rotterdam. Zimbabwean PM (2009-13) Morgan Tsvangirai (b. 1952) on Feb. 14 in Johannesburg, South Africa (colorectal cancer). German-Am. molecular biology poioneer Gunter Blobel (b. 1936) on Feb. 18 in Manhattan, N.Y. (cancer). Am. Christian evangelist Billy Graham (b. 1918) on Feb. 21 in Montreat, N.C.: "A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone." English #1 physicist Stephen Hawking (b. 1942) on Mar. 4 in Cambridge: "The boundary condition of the universe... is that it has no boundary." Am. glaciologist Terry Hughes (b. 1938) on Mar. 10 in Pierre, S.D. Am. New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson (b. 1927) on Mar. 15 in Jefferson, La.; worth $2.8B. South African leader Winnie Mandela (b. 1936) on Apr. 2 in Johannesburg: "With our boxes of matches and our necklaces we shall liberate this country" (Apr. 13, 1985). German physicist Peter Gruenberg (b. 1939) on Apr. 7 in Julich; 2007 Nobel Physics Prize. Am. broadcaster Art Bell (b. 1945) on Apr. 13 in Pahrump, Nev. (pneumonia). Am. gay rights and environmental activist atty. David Stroh Buckel (b. 1957) on Apr. 14 in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y.; self-immolated to protest the use of fossil fuels; leaves a suicide note reading: "Most humans on the planet now breathe air made unhealthy by fossil fuels, and many die early deaths as a result - my early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves." Am. actress Pamela Gidley (b. 1965) on Apr. 16 in Seabrook, N.H. Am. Repub. First Lady #41 (1989-93) Barbara Bush (b. 1925) on Apr. 17 in Houston, Tex. (COPD). Italian-born Am. prof. wrestler Bruno Sammartino (b. 1935) on Apr. 18 in Pittsburgh, Penn. (heart failure). Am. microbiologist-geneticist Allan M. Campbell (b. 1929) on Apr. 19. Swedish "Wake Me Up" musician Avicii (b. 1989) on Apr. 20 in Muscat, Oman (pancreatitis). Am. prof. wrestler Big Bully Busick (b. 1954) on May 8 in Weirton, W. Va. (esophageal cancer and brain cancer). Canadian-Am. "Lois Lane in Superman" actress Margot Kidder (b. 1948) on May 13 in Livingston, Mont. Am. "The Bonfire of the Vanities", "The Right Stuff" writer-journalist Tom Wolfe (b. 1930) on May 14 in New York City (infection). Am. historian Richard Pipes (b. 1923) on May 17 in Boston, Mass. British-Am. historian Bernard Lewis (b. 1916) on May 19 in Vorhees Township, N.J. Am. "Portnoy's Complaint" novelist Philip Roth (b. 1933) on May 22 in Manhattan, N.Y. (congestive heart faiure). Am. fashion designer Kate Spade (b. 1962) on June 5 in New York City (suicide by hanging). Am. hall-of-fame baseball mgr. Red Schoendienst (b. 1923) on June 6 in Town and Country, Mo. Am. "Parts Unknown" TV chef Anthony Bourdain (b. 1956) on June 8 in Strasbourg, France (suicide). English-born Kiwi chemist Vincent Richard Gray (b. 1922) on June 14 in Petone, Wellington. Am. prof. wrestler Paul Jones (b. 1942) on Apr. 18 near Atlanta, Ga. Austrian-born Canadian engineer Josef Kates (b. 1921) on June 16 in Toronto. Am. prof. wrestler Big Van Vader (b. 1955) on June 18 in Denver, Colo. (heart failure). Am. rapper XXXTentacion (b. 1998) on June 18 in Deerfield, Beach (murdered during a robbery for his Louis Vuitton bag containing $50K in cash). Am. conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer (b. 1950) on June 21 (cancer). Am. prof. wrestler Matt Cappotelli (b. 1979) on June 29 in Louisville, Ky. (brain cancer). Japanese world's oldest person Chiyo Miyako (b. 1901) (117 years, 81 days) on July 2 in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa. Am. "None Dare Call It Treason" writer John A. Stormer (b. 1928) on July 10 in Troy, Mo. Japanese prof. wrestler Masa Saito (b. 1942) on July 14 (Parkinson's). U.S. adm. (first female) Alene Bertha Duerk (b. 1920) on July 21 in Lake Mary, Fla.: "It was a nice distinction to have, and to be recognized as the first, but I wanted to make certain that I used that notoriety to do as much positive as I could." Am. prof. wrestler Brickhouse Brown (b. 1960) on July 29 in Jackson, Miss. (prostate cancer). Trinidadian-British writer Sir V.S. Naipaul (b. 1932) on Aug. 17 in London, England; 2001 Nobel Lit. Prize; "I was born there [Trinidad], yes, I thought it was a great mistake." U.S. Sen. (R-Nev.) (1974-78) Paul Laxalt (b. 1922) on Aug. 6 in McLean, Va.; "Ronald Reagan's best friend in politics." Am. prof. wrestler Jim the Anvil Neidhart (b. 1955) on Aug. 13 in Wesley Chapel, Fla. (brain injury from fall after a seizure). Am. "Queen of Soul" singer Aretha Franklin (b. 1942) on Aug. 16 in Detroit, Mich. (pancreatic cancer); does on the same day as "the King" Elvis Presley in 1977; her funeral is held on Aug. 31 in Detroit, Mich., at which ex-pres. Bill Clinton speaks, praising her with the soundbyte: "She lived with courage. Not without fear, but overcoming her fears. She lived with faith. Not without failure, but overcoming her failures. She lived with power. Not without weakness, but overcoming her weaknesses. I just loved her"; Clinton sits next to Obama-loving Jesse Jackson, race-baiting Al Sharpton, and white-hating anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Indian PM #10 (1998-2004) Atal Bihari Vajpayee (b. 1924) on Aug. 16 in New Delhi (kidney infection). Ghanaian U.N. secy.-gen. #7 (1997-2006) Kofi Annan (b. 1938) on Aug. 18 in Bern, Switzerland. Israeli peace activist Uri Avneri (b. 1923) on Aug. 20 in Tel Aviv. U.S. Sen. (R-Ariz.) (1987-2018) John McCain (b. 1936) on Aug. 25 in Phoenix, Ariz. (brain cancer); becomes 13th U.S. sen. to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Am. "Barefoot in the Park", "The Odd Couple" playwright Neil Simon (b. 1927) on Aug. 26 in Manhattan, N.Y. (Alzheimer's and renal failure). Dutch WWII resistance fighter Freddie Oversteegen (b. 1925) on Sept. 5. Am. "Lewis Medlock in Deliverance" "Bon Darville in Smokey and the Bandit" actor-dir.-producer Burt Reynolds (b. 1936) on Sept. 6 in Jupiter, Fla. (cardiac arrest). Am. Chicago police cmdr. Jon Burge (b. 1947) on Sept. 19 in Apollo Beach, Fla.; released from federal prison in Oct. 2014 after a 4-1/2-year sentence for obstructure of justice regarding police torture. Am. astronomer William Roger Ward (b. 1944) on Sept. 20 in Prescott, Ariz. (brain tumor). French singer Charles Aznavour (b. 1924) on Oct. 1 in Mouries. Am. "The God Particle" physicist Leon Max Lederman (b. 1922) on Oct. 3 in Rexburg, Idaho; 1988 Nobel Physics Prize. Am. sportswriter Dave Anderson (b. 1929) on Oct. 4 in Cresskill, N.J. Am. billionaire ($20B) Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (b. 1953) on Oct. 15 in Seattle, Wash. (cancer). British-born French historian Robert Faurisson (b. 1929) on Oct. 21 in Vichy, France. Am. gangster Whitey Bulger (b. 1929) on Oct. 30 near Bruceton Mills, Va.; murdered in Hazelton Federal Penitentiary. Am. jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove (b. 1969) on Nov. 2 in New York City. Am. actress Sondra Locke (b. 1944) on Nov. 3 in Los Angeles, Calif. (breast cancer). Am. conservative writer Herbert London (b. 1939) on Nov. 10 in Manhattan, N.Y. (heart failure). Am. Marvel Comics mogul Stan Lee (b. 1922) on Nov. 12 in Los Angeles, Calif. Am. theologian Thomas J.J. Altizer (b. 1927) on Nov. 28 in Stony Brook, N.Y. U.S. Repub. pres. (1989-93) George H.W. Bush (b. 1924) on Nov. 30 in Houston, Tex. (Parkinson's); longest-lived U.S. pres. after Gerald Ford, and first to reach age 94 on June 12. English prof. wrestler Dynamite Kid (b. 1958) on Dec. 5 in Ince, Cheshire; dies after losing his ability to walk due to wrestling injuries. Am. computer programmer Evelyn Berezin (b. 1925) on Dec. 8; designer of first word processor (1969). Am. "Laverne in Laverne & Shirley" actress-dir.-producer Penny Marshall (b. 1943) on Dec. 17 in Los Angeles, Calif. (diabetes). Am. "The Girl from Ipanema" lyricist Norman Gimbel (b. 1927) on Dec. 28 in Santa Barbara, Calif.



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