Happy Leap Day

This post is a first for me.  Until today, I had never published a blog post on February 29th.  I first started blogging in August 2008 for AndRightlySo, six months after that year's Leap Day.  That blog was allowed to die in December 2011.  The site was later revived, but the pre-12/2011 content exists only in the memories of its founder, contributors and readers.  In May 2012, I started this blog, three months after that year's Leap Day.  But now in 2016, I finally get to make a Leap Day post.  With that, I'll pass on some things I've recently come across, but will use a format less specific than in my standard links posts.

Even if it's a BB gun, if a cop says "drop it", you drop it.

This time in Ohio, there's been another school shooting.

Marco Rubio (R-FL) gets an endorsement from a former senator.

Someone in Switzerland proposes "to pay people for being alive".

Holy cow, he speaks!

A conservative journalist reacts to Donald Trump's intention to "open up" our libel laws.

Under no circumstances whatsoever should anyone go to North Korea.

A Navy SEAL Senior Chief has been awarded the Medal of Honor.

Here's one judge who will probably not be considered for the current SCOTUS vacancy.

Where not to go in Alabama if you wish to avoid snobs.

Does Trump disavow support from the KKK and David Duke, or not?

And last but not least, while reading a Jonah Goldberg article, I found something that might replace waterboarding as a technique for "enhanced interrogation".

Sachs Covered Bridge

Sachs covered bridge is located about three miles from downtown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and about five miles from the Mason-Dixon line.  It's thus not all that far from some covered bridges I've seen in Maryland.  But I must make the caveat that the five-mile distance north of the PA-MD state line is "as the crow flies".  If you travel as the road winds, on the other hand, the drive from the state line to the bridge is somewhat longer.  Used by both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War, Sachs bridge is believed by some to be haunted.

The bridge spans a dammed section of Marsh Creek, and is oriented northeast to southwest.  Either end may be approached by road, but motor vehicles are blocked from entering.  In this shot of the southwest end and northwest side, you can see the wooden barriers which prevent cars from driving across, and two horizontally-extending series of openings on each side wall.

Looking through an opening on the northwest side, you can see part of the dammed-up creek and a modern bridge.

The southeast side is reflected by the dammed creek.

Adjacent the northeast end are a wheelchair ramp and more anti-car barriers.

The dam was just a short walk southeastward (and downstream) from the northeast end of the bridge.  There was a hiking trail near the southwest end, but it was too muddy to explore due to recent snow melt.

To find out more about Sachs covered bridge, go to Bridgehunter, Waymarking, ExplorePAhistory  and American Folklore.

Cease-Fire Starts In Syria

At this past midnight, Syrian time, as cease-fire went into effect and has reportedly for the most part taken hold.

Read more about the cease-fire at The Jerusalem Post, Yahoo News and The New York Times.

In related stories:

From The Times Of Israel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and American Secretary of State John Kerry "hail the cease-fire".

And from The Comment, the U.N. will announce a new round of talks.

Thursday Links

Some things going on out there:

From the New York Post, people in India trying to take selfies, are "literally killing themselves".

From The Washington Times, a watchdog group claims that the Massachusetts legislature's exemption from the state's open meeting laws is unconstitutional.

From ARRA News Service, the effort to develop electric cars has caused lithium prices to skyrocket.

From Constitution, liberals in Kentucky want to impeach Governor Matt Bevin (R) for keeping his campaign promises.  (via Liberty Unyielding)

From CNS News, Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-TX) says that he would pardon the man who exposed Planned Parenthood's harvesting of aborted baby parts.

From LifeNews, Planned Parenthood plans to spend over $1 million on "ads promoting Hillary Clinton".

From Fox News, Attorney General Loretta Lynch has indicated that career attorneys are working with FBI agents in the investigation of Hillary Clinton's email practices.

From Medical Xpress, research at the University of Helsinki indicates that the ability to compose and arrange music may have a genetic component.

From Frontpage Mag, we have a Muslim immigration problem.

From National Review, expressing his Christian views in a book cost Atlanta's fire chief his job.

The Jakarta Post interviews a visiting Egyptian grand imam.

From The Jerusalem Post, a Sudanese man who stabbed an Israeli soldier was influenced by the ideology of ISIS.

From Politico, Marco Rubio (R-FL) criticizes Donald Trump (R-NY) for his statements on Israel.

From Vox, according to a Quinnipiac poll, Trump leads Rubio in Florida.

From Bloomberg Politics, Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) lead in Texas, according to a Monmouth University poll.

From the Los Angeles Times, former California state Senator Leland Yee, who while advocating gun control for his fellow Americans tried to sell rocket launchers to foreigners, is going to jail.  (via Hot Air)  The LAT article is a day old, but still important enough to include, especially since it exemplifies the hypocrisy rampant among politicians.

From The Hill, Donald Trump posts a photo of himself signing a tax return.

The Daily Beast asks, "Does Obama want to carve up Syria?"

From The World Post, Turkey briefly detains a British politician sympathetic to the Kurds.

And from the Miami Herald, a few days old but still fun, pairing wine with Girl Scout cookies.

UPDATE:  Here's one more.  From AOL, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (R), called a "moderate Republican", has stated that he does not wish to be considered for the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Men In Klan Robes Show Up Near Caucus Location

Via The Jawa Report, from KSNV News3LV:

As people stood in line to participate in the Nevada Republican caucus, some were appalled to see men dressed in KKK clothing.

The people dressed in KKK attire were at Cimarron-Memorial High School off of Smoke Ranch and Tenaya Tuesday evening.

Viewers and state officials also took to social media stating that they were not happy with the site of the two men.

The men in klan robes were holding pro-Trump signs.  Read the full story, and if you take a good look at the pictures, you'll see that these guys are not your typical klansmen.

Court Dismisses Final Charge Against Rick Perry

The indictment of former Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) on two felony charges appears to have collapsed.  From AP's The Big Story:

Texas' highest criminal court tossed the second and final felony charge against former Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday, likely ending a case the Republican says helped sink his short-lived 2016 presidential bid.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the abuse-of-power charge, which was filed after Perry threatened - and then carried out - a veto of state funding for a group of public corruption prosecutors after the Democratic head of the unit refused to resign.

A lower appeals court dismissed the other charge, coercion by a public servant, in July.

Read the full story.

Building Collapses At U.K. Power Plant

At the Didcot Power Station in Oxfordshire, England, a boiler house scheduled to be demolished collapsed earlier today.  The collapse was initially reported to be the result of an explosion, but authorities later indicated that there was no blast.  One person has died and five others have been hospitalized, with three people still unaccounted for.

Read more at BBC News, The Guardian, the Independent, The Telegraph and Sky News.

Biden: No Election-Year SCOTUS Nominations

With the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia and the resulting Supreme Court vacancy, there's been quite a debate going on about whether the GOP-controlled Senate should confirm any nominee from President Obama, thus passing the appointment on to the next president.  Some have pointed out how Senator Schumer (D-NY) wanted to deny President Bush any such confirmations during 2007 and 2008, thus handing any SCOTUS appointments during those years over to the winner of the 2008 election.  Some research by C-SPAN has turned up another Democrat senator, who currently is our vice president, speaking out in an attempt to discourage any election-year SCOTUS nominations from President Bush - the first President Bush.

Read more and watch the C-SPAN video at Hot Air.

UPDATE:  This story has also been picked up by Breitbart's Big Government.

Sunday Links

Some things going on out there:

From AOL, six people were killed yesterday, reportedly at random, in a shooting spree in Michigan.

From The Daily Caller, despite his dispute with Pope Francis, Donald Trump carries the most Catholic county in South Carolina in the GOP primary.

From the Washington Examiner, Trump wins in spite of his gaffes.

From The Washington Times, Republicans in South Carolina had a record turnout.

From Bloomberg Politics, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) blames his loss to Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the Nevada Democratic primary on low voter turnout.

From Warrior, the Marine who raised the flag on Iwo Jima has died at age 94.

From Russia Today, the European Union will not intervene in Libya against ISIS without permission from a legitimate government of that county.  (Is there any?)

From Al Arabiya, a map of the cultural destruction by ISIS.

From Alalam, ISIS uses the #JustinBieber hashtag to spread its propaganda.

From Malaymail Online, a Malaysian man denies that his rejection of marijuana legalization is an insult to God's creation.

From Yahoo News, a prominent Hindu priest is decapitated in Bangla Desh.

From Sputnik International, in refugee camps, Muslims harass Christians.

From The National Interest, since May 2014, Lebanon has been unable to choose a president.  (And we Americans thought Bush v. Gore in 2000 was a mess.)

From WUIS, trying to break the "North Korean information blockade".

From the Sunday Express, students in Guernsey (one of the British Channel Islands) were given a homework assignment where they had to explain why they had converted to Islam.

From The Washington Free Beacon, a review of Joanna Williams' book Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity.

From InformationWeek, a "roundup" of big data.

From Mashable, how to "get weird in Amsterdam without getting high".

From WGN, a lock of John Lennon's hair sells at auction for $35,000.

And from NTB, Hillary Clinton joins in Who Let The Dogs Out?

Jeb Bush Suspends His Campaign

Former Florida Governor John Ellis Bush, known as Jeb, has dropped out of the campaign for the Republican nomination for president, an office previously held by two members of his family.

Read more at Politico, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and CBS DFW.

On a personal note, Jeb's withdrawal means that I will not have to carry out a pledge I half-jokingly made to certain friends in the blogosphere, that I would write in Mickey Mouse if the nominees were Jeb and Hillary.

Impostor Dupes Officials In Ohio

In what I will call a case of alliterative attribution, this story comes via The Blaze from The Blade, which is based in Toledo, Ohio.  In Ohio, an 18-year-old man appears to have deceived quite a few people into thinking that he was a state senator.  As The Blade reports:

An 18-year-old who duped Mohawk Local Schools officials, the Wyandot County sheriff, and a car dealership’s general manager into thinking he was a newly appointed state senator said he did it to prove a point about school security.

“These country schools think it can’t happen to them,” said Izaha Akins of Marion. He said he planned to write a paper about it.

Mr. Akins rendered Wyandot County red-faced after he was allowed to speak to a high school American Government class while using his own name and claiming to have been appointed to replace state Sen. David Burke (R., Marysville), who, he told officials, had resigned because of illness.

Later on, the real still-incumbent senator showed up at the school.  Read the full story.

U.S. Warplanes Strike ISIS Camp In Libya

American warplanes struck an ISIS training camp in Sabratha, Libya, which on the Mediterranean coast, about 50 miles west of Tripoli.  At least 41 people are reported dead, possibly including senior operative Noureddine Chouchane, thought to be involved in two terror attacks in Tunisia last year.

Read more at CNN, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, Fox News and The Guardian.

Russian Authorities Arrest Suspected Passport Forgers

Russia's Federal Security Service, with help from the Interior Ministry, has arrested 14 people suspected of forging passports for Islamic extremists trying to travel to Syria.  The suspects were detained near to but outside of Moscow.

Read more at Russia Today, The Moscow Times and Sputnik International.

Music Break

This type of post has recently been preempted by tributes to musicians who have gone off to join the band in the sky, but I've still found a few songs worth presenting.  Since my attention has recently been turned toward Jefferson Airplane, due to the passing of two of their original members, my first offering comes from this group.  During their performance at Woodstock, lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen took a rare turn at lead vocals with Uncle Sam Blues, which does not appear on any of their studio albums.  The video also shows bassist Jack Casady, drummer Spencer Dryden, rhythm guitarist Paul Kantner, vocalist Marty Balin as he shakes some maracas, and vocalist Grace Slick as she stands next to a piano played by guest musician Nicky Hopkins.  Kaukonen wears a swastika on a necklace, not because of any neo-nazi leanings, but as a salute to his Finnish heritage, the symbol once being used by the Finnish air force.

Apple Ordered To Help Hack Terrorist's iPhone

This story was put out by the Associated Press, to which every article I can find refers.  As reproduced by Fox News:

A U.S. magistrate ordered Apple Inc. on Tuesday to help the Obama administration hack into an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the December attack in San Bernardino, California, in a first-of-its-kind ruling that pits digital privacy against national security interests.

The ruling by Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym, a former federal prosecutor, requires Apple to supply highly specialized software the FBI can load onto the county-owned work iPhone to bypass a self-destruct feature, which erases the phone's data after too many unsuccessful attempts to unlock it. The FBI wants to be able to try different combinations until it finds the right one.

Read the full story.

UPDATE:  From USA Today, Apple's CEO says that the company will oppose the court order.

Links For Presidents Day

As many Americans take a day off and some of us in the northeast are getting snowed on once again, here are some things going on in the world:

From California Political Review, "why the middle class can't afford a house".

From WQAD, the debate heats up over when a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia should be nominated.

From the Washington Examiner, one senator has said that Supreme Court appointments from lame duck president, "except in extraordinary circumstances", should not be approved.

From MySA, the owner of the ranch where Scalia was staying recalls the judge's last hours.

From National Review, presidential candidate Donald Trump (R-NY) is not a revolutionary, but a Democrat.

From Breitbart's National Security, a human trafficker who gets $580 a head says that he's "doing God's work".

From Fox News, the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood has cut ties with the parent group, based in Egypt, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert goes to prison.

From CNN, here are nine things to do in China's Yunnan province.

From News With Views, today is the anniversary of America POWs coming home from North Vietnam.  (H/T luchadora for putting this on Twitter)

From Frontpage Mag, things are running out in Venezuela.

From The Straits Times, Indonesian police have arrested dozens of people allegedly plotting terror attacks.

From The Washington Post, the man who "sweats the small stuff" for President Obama.

From AOL, according Green Party members of the European Parliament, IKEA avoided paying about a billion Euros in taxes from 2009-2014.

From Sports Illustrated, former Auburn football player Kodi Burns returns to coach running backs.

From ZDNet, hackers have been scamming Netflix users.

From Stoke Newington Chambers, yes, it is illegal to throw a blow-up doll around the stands at a soccer game in the U.K.

From the Chicago Tribune, Zimbabwe has impounded an American cargo plane, on board which are a dead body and millions of South African rand.

From The Telegraph, a hospital in Syria run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) has been destroyed by Russian strikes.

From the Daily Surge, there's a special place in you-know-where for Hillary (D-NY) voters.

From BBC News, a Virgin Atlantic flight returns to Heathrow Airport after being hit by a laser.  (via The Blaze)

And from JG-TC, a picture of a horse race on Lake St. Moritz, Switzerland.  (Yours truly recently visited the adjacent city during a warmer part of the year.)

Antonin Scalia 1936-2016

Antonin Scalia, the longest-serving Justice on the Supreme Court, was found dead today while on a hunting vacation at a ranch in western Texas.  Reports indicate that he appears to have died of natural causes.

Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey, to a father who had immigrated from Italy and a mother whose parents had also come from Italy.  He was an only child.  When he was 6, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York.  He would attend Xavier High School in Manhattan, Georgetown University, and Harvard Law School.  During his professional career, Scalia worked for a law firm in Cleveland and taught law at the University of Virginia, before entering government service.  He served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel and as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, before being nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Scalia is survived by his widow Maureen and their nine children.

Read more at MySA, The Hill, The New York Times, CBS News and Politico.

In Islamic Writings, Muhammad Was White

Because Arabs and other Muslims often have darker skin than Europeans, opposition to the spread of Islam and negative opinions about Islam are often called "racism", even though Islam is an ideology and a religion, not a race.  Its adherents, like those of Christianity, come in all colors.  And as James Wood points out, in Islamic sources such as the ahadith, the founder of Islam is called "white".  (In Arabic, hadith is singular and ahadith is plural.)

According to other ahadith, Muhammad also owned and traded slaves, including black slaves, and preached from a pulpit built by a slave.

Signe Anderson 1947-2016

Signe Anderson was an original member of Jefferson Airplane, appearing only on their debut album Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, before leaving and being replaced by Grace Slick.  She died in Beaverton, Oregon on January 28, the same day as her former bandmate Paul Kantner.

Signe Toly was born in Seattle, Washington and raised in Portland, Oregon.  After traveling to San Francisco, she joined Jefferson Airplane in 1965 and soon married Jerry Anderson, a member of the Merry Pranksters, a group of people who lived communally and had taken a road trip across the United States in 1964.  She became pregnant, and after giving birth, decided to leave the band and return to Oregon.  She would later divorce Anderson, survive a battle with cancer, sing with the band Carl Smith and the Natural Gas Company, remarry, and occasionally perform as a guest with some later incarnations of Kantner's band Jefferson Starship.

Read more at the Independent, Rolling Stone, the San Jose Mercury News and Ultimate Classic Rock.

Physicists Detect Gravitational Waves

Scientists using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) have detected gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity.  The source of the waves was a pair of black holes that collided about 1.3 billion years ago.  The waves formed distortions in space that are extremely small when they passed the earth about five months ago.

Read more at Space(dot)com, Science, CNN, Science Alert and The Telegraph.

I had previous run across the subject of gravitational waves in another Space(dot)com article, which reported the discovery of "B-node" polarizations in the cosmic background radiation, which are believed to have been in turn caused by gravitational waves generated during the inflation period of the Big Bang.  However, that discovery did not detect the waves themselves.

Primary Politics And Other Stories

Some news about yesterday's New Hampshire primary, and some other stories, political or not:

From Herald & Review, a tracker of delegate totals.

From the Daily News, Donald Trump (R-NY) wins the GOP NH primary.

From USA Today, Carly Fiorina (R-CA) suspends her presidential campaign.

From CBS News, Chris Christie (R-NJ) suspends his presidential campaign.

From Politico, according to White House press secretary Jay Carney, President Obama supports Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for their party's nomination.

From The Washington Free Beacon, Democrats who care about honesty support Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

From WGN, a voting place in Pelham, New Hampshire got hogged.

From ABC7, Obama addresses the Illinois General Assembly.

From France24, two female suicide bombers kill over 60 people at a refugee camp in Nigeria.  (via The Blaze)

From The Daily Beast, Boko Haram uses cluster bombs.

From Yahoo News, Jordan rejects an extradition request from France, for two suspects who allegedly carried out an attack in 1982.

From Reuters, Poland will join the fight against ISIS.

From NBC News, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticizes the United States for supporting the Syrian Kurds.

From The Times Of Israel, the U.S. tries to "stitch together" a cease-fire in Syria.

From Albawaba, Iranian state TV releases a picture allegedly showing a captured American sailor crying.

From the Express, a Qatari military officer and his wife living in San Antonio have been ordered expelled from the United States for treating "two women as slaves".

From Breitbart London, a German museum charges an entry fee for dogs, but not for migrants.

From the New York Post, Burger King will soon be selling hot dogs.

From Fox News, San Francisco faces complaints and a suit over an open-air urinal.

And from The Roanoke Times, former Virginia Tech football player Logan Thomas visits his high school alma mater, which retires his number - in basketball.

Some Response To Obama's Mosque Speech

On February 3, President Obama gave a speech at a mosque in Baltimore, in which he stated that Islam has "always been part of America".  Three websites have presented opinions on the speech.

In Frontpage Mag, Joseph Klein responds to some of Obama's points, in the process pointing out that the first mosque in America was built in 1929.

In National Review, Dennis Prager says:

If you seek to understand Barack Obama and his views, the best place to go is his speeches. But you have to read them in their entirety, not rely on hearing them or on the media’s summary of them. When you do, you come to realize how often what Obama says is morally and intellectually confused and even untrue.

And in Investor's Business Daily, Paul Sperry says that:

In the course of a 48-minute speech, Barack Hussein Obama whitewashed Islam’s dark history, sugarcoated its violent texts and rewrote America’s founding as one embracing Islam - all to mainstream Islam and pander to Muslim voters ahead of the presidential election.

Senate Report: ObamaCare Subsidies Went To Illegal Aliens

According to a report released by Republican members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, more than 500,000 people who are either illegal aliens or whose status is unclear received about $750 million in tax credits.  From Fox News:

Illegal immigrants and individuals with unclear legal status wrongly benefited from up to $750 million in ObamaCare subsidies and the government is struggling to recoup the money, according to a new Senate report obtained by Fox News.

The report, produced by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, examined Affordable Care Act tax credits meant to defray the cost of insurance premiums. It found that as of June 2015, "the Administration awarded approximately $750 million in tax credits on behalf of individuals who were later determined to be ineligible because they failed to verify their citizenship, status as a national, or legal presence."

Read the full story.  The problem of ObamaCare enrollees having unclear status was reported by Breitbart's Big Government back in 2014, which I learned via Right Side News.  In one of the recent Democratic presidential debates, Hillary Clinton (NY) said that she would allow illegal aliens to buy health insurance on the ObamaCare exchanges, but not to receive subsidies, while Martin O'Malley (MD) would extend the subsidies to illegal aliens.  (I'm pretty sure that Clinton and O'Malley did not actually use the term "illegal alien".  Among the linked articles, only RSN uses that term.  But as far as I'm concerned it's the factually and legally correct term for someone illegally present in the country, so I will use it regardless of whether any else does.)

Bill Clinton: Bernie Sanders's View Is A "Hermetically Sealed Box"

Former President Bill Clinton recently had something to say about the man competing against Mrs. C. for the Democratic nomination to succeed him.  From the Huffington Post:

Former President Bill Clinton took the gloves off and laid into Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sunday, launching some of his most pointed attacks on his wife's Democratic presidential rival thus far. 

"Hillary's opponent has a different view," Clinton said, declining to mention Sanders by name. "It's a hermetically sealed box. It's very effective. The system is rigged against you by the big banks, and both parties are in the thrall of the big banks. Anybody who takes money from Goldman Sachs couldn't possibly be president."

Read the full story.  When a rightwing nutjob such as myself cites the HuffPo, you know it's gotta be interesting.

Phyllis Schlafly Comes Out Against Marco Rubio

Via Gateway Pundit:

Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the Eagle Forum and longtime conservative icon, has released a long and detailed memorandum against Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), detailing the differences between his positions during his Senate candidacy and his legislative record.  From GP:

Phyllis Schlafly was the first major conservative to endorse Marco Rubio for US Senator over Governor Charlie Crist.

Yesterday Phyllis Shlafly said freshman Senator Marco Rubio should be disqualified from the presidential race for lying to conservatives in English and saying something entirely different on Spanish language television.

Schlafly released a 15 page “Rubio Betrayal Memo“ Friday to denounce Rubio’s actions as US Senator. Check Eagle Forum for updates.

The above-mentioned endorsement was given during the 2010 campaign.  The bold emphasis has been reproduced from the original.  Read the entire memorandum here, and click above for the GP post.

And while I'm at it, let me point out that according to Breitbart, Rubio recently gained the support of a billionaire who desires open borders.

Friday Links

Here are some things going on, as the weekend approaches:

From Real Clear Politics, President Obama gives a speech about the economy.

From American Thinker, an opinion on Obama's proposed $10/barrel tax on oil.

From Crain's Chicago Business, the Chicago Stock Exchange will be sold to a Chinese investor group.  (Interesting how a country that's supposed to be communist allows some of its people to participate in American capitalism.)

From The Baltimore Sun, a federal appeals court overturns a lower court ruling that had upheld Maryland's ban on "assault weapons".  (via Truth Revolt)

From Reuters, the German government acknowledges that ISIS is sending fighters disguised as refugees.

From The Blaze, an AP fact-check on the latest debate between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton (NY) and Bernie Sanders (VT).

From Reason, supporters of Clinton and Sanders in their own words.

From the New York Post, due to reports alleging that Johnny Manziel abused his girlfriend, he gets dumped - by his agent.

From MarketWatch, a teenage girl who found a gold bar while swimming in a German lake gets to keep it.  (via the New York Post)

From AL.com, the crime spree of a modern "Bonnie & Clyde" ends with a hail of police gunfire.  He's dead, she's wounded.

From the Express, a new version of the Barbie wears a hijab.

From the Mirror, a gang of six thugs in Britain are sentenced for torturing a Muslim man, including taunting him with beer and KFC.

From the Daily Mail, a Belgian man and five Iraqi migrants are investigated for allegedly raping a drunk unconscious girl at a party.

From Fox News, the death of a British writer in Romanian has been classified as suspicious, and a Spanish man is suspected of killing a fellow Spaniard in Thailand.

From BBC News, German police have recorded 22 sexual assaults on the first night of Carnival.  (via The Washington Times)

From CBS Chicago, six people killed in a house in Gage Park were members of the same family.

From Wired, after several quiet months, Mount Sakurajima erupts.

And from Inside The Magic, "Weird Al" Yankovic will voice the title character of Disney's Milo Murphy's Law.

Two Suspensions And A Possible Lawsuit

The fallout from the Iowa caucus continues.

From CNN, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is "dropping out" (if you believe the headline) from the race for this party's nomination, or "is suspending" his campaign (if you believe the text of the article).

From The Washington Times, former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is suspending his campaign.

And from BuzzFeed, Donald Trump (R-NY) says that he'll "probably" sue Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) over the results in Iowa, accusing him of voter fraud.

Stories From The Iowa Caucus

Some stories relating to yesterday's caucus in Iowa:

From AOL, Hillary Clinton (D-NY) won six precincts by coin tosses.

From The Daily Caller, just before the Iowa caucus, a Super-PAC supporting Clinton received $6 million from George Soros.

From The Hill, NY tabloids mock Donald Trump (R-NY) after his loss.

From American Thinker, why Trump "got schlonged in Iowa".

From Fox News, Ben Carson (R-MD) accuses the campaign of Ted Cruz (R-TX) of "spreading false rumors".

From National Review, Marco Rubio (R-FL) makes a comeback.

From Yahoo News, the strong performance by Rubio is a win for the GOP establishment.

From Frontpage Mag, the Iowa results are good for Republicans and bad for the left.

From The Weekly Standard, Trump lost (if you define "losing" as coming in second) because evangelicals leaned toward Cruz.

And from the Washington Examiner, after his second-place showing, Trump had some things to say about voters and the media.

Machine Gun Bacon

In a YouTube video posted by Independent Journal Review, here's how Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) cooks bacon:

I'm not even sure that the gun he's using is automatic and thus a true machine gun.  Perhaps "assault weapon bacon" might be a better title, since the gun at least looks scary.  But either way, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME.

Clinton And Cruz Win The Iowa Caucus

The 2016 Presidential Primary/Caucus season is now upon us, with the results coming in for the Iowa Caucus.  According to NBC News, on the Democratic side, former First Lady/Senator/Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (NY) has edged Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) 50%-49%, and on the Republican side, Senator Ted Cruz (TX) took 28% of the vote, with Donald Trump (NY) getting 24%, just ahead of Senator Marco Rubio (FL) at 23%.

Former Governors Martin O'Malley (D-MD) and Mike Huckabee (R-AR) have suspended their respective campaigns.

Some "Small Perks" Returning To Airline Travel

It looks like some of the old amenities of airline travel, which largely disappeared after 9/11, have been surely but slowly coming back.  From the Chicago Tribune:

After 15 years of near austerity, U.S. airlines are restoring some small perks for passengers crammed into coach.

Don't expect ample legroom or free checked bags. But fliers will find improved snacks, a larger selection of free movies and — on a few select routes — the return of free meals.

Monday, American Airlines became the latest carrier to add something back. It announced the return of free snacks in the economy section and more free entertainment options on some aircraft.

American, which recently merged with US Airways, hasn't offered free snacks since 2003. US Airways stripped passengers of snacks in 2008.

As someone who has spent some time "crammed into coach", I can appreciate the small improvement.  Read the full story.