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CBS Pittsburg reports a man trying to thaw the pipes with a blow dryer and heater in his Beaver County home sparked a large fire Friday.

The single-story home, built on stilts because of its proximity to a nearby creek and the creek’s tendency to flood, was destroyed in the multiple-alarm fire.

The blaze broke out around 4 p.m. along Eckert Stop Lane in Marion Township.
Firefighters from companies in both Beaver and Butler counties battled the flames in frigid, single-degree temperatures.

“The house was so far gone, there was nothing we could do to save it when we got to the scene,” Assistant Fire Chief John Murtha told KDKA-TV’s Ralph Iannotti.
Homeowner Leonard Szulczewski, at times in tears, says he lost everything in the fire, including his treasured baseball memorabilia collection.

The fire started after Szulczewski used a hair dryer and a propane or kerosene heater to thaw out frozen pipes under the house.

More here

George Hemminger A.K.A. "G4T" has revealed the lies of the TRUTHER COMMUNITY.  It's nice to know now that the entire YOU TUBE COMMUNITY of TRUTHERS and PATRIOTS is just a bunch of STAGE ACTORS and PLAY ACTORS:
http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/search?q=G4T

http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/12/g4t-gives-truthers-bad-name.html

The Akron Beacon Journal reports two Akron brothers were arrested Friday in connection with the shooting death of a Barberton father and two teens.


Michael Hendon, 22, and Eric Hendon, 30, are being held on murder charges in the Summit County Jail. Police say the men targeted the home seeking drugs and cash.
Their arrest comes on the same day that John Kohler, 42, was pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m. An autopsy is set for Monday.

Autopsies this week showed that Kohler’s stepdaughter, Ashley Carpenter, 18, died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Her brother, David Kohler Carpenter, 14, died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. He also suffered defensive wounds to his arms, reports show.

Each was found in a back bedroom, reports show.
Kohler’s girlfriend, Ronda Blankenship, 38, is still hospitalized.

More here

WTVR reports close friends of Thomas Dale biology teacher Vinny Ferraiolo confirmed to CBS 6 that the teacher was found dead inside the exotic pet store he has owned for years.


The call came in from a neighboring business around 12:30 p.m. Friday and police discovered Ferraiolo dead inside his shop, Off the Ark.
Friends tell us that he is survived by his wife, and five children, one he recently adopted from Haiti.

Students will return to school on Monday. It quickly became clear on social media that Mr. Ferraiolo was very respected by his students. As the news spread, the Thomas Dale Knights were seen tweeting their condolences.

CBS DC reports the new year brought relief to some Illinois patients newly insured under the nation’s health care law. Others still weren’t sure whether they were covered, despite their best efforts to navigate the often-balky new system.


The major benefits of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul took effect Wednesday, the first day of 2014. By Thursday, the first business day of the new insurance system, it became clear that snags in the rollout of the Affordable Care Act still remained.

On the plus side, the law’s protections mean consumers can no longer be denied coverage if they’re in poor health. New limits on how much insured patients must pay for care will mean fewer bankruptcies after catastrophic illnesses. Insurance plans must offer a minimum level of essential benefits, and care such as flu shots and mammograms will be fully covered without cost to patients.

But early problems with the federal HealthCare.gov website led many people to wait until last week to sign up, and insurers are still processing enrollment forms.

Paperwork problems almost delayed suburban Chicago resident Sheri Zajcew’s scheduled surgery Thursday, but Dr. John Venetos decided to operate without a routine go-ahead from the insurance company. That was after Venetos’ office manager spent two hours on hold with the insurer Thursday, trying to get an answer about whether the patient needed prior authorization for the surgery. The office manager finally gave up.

More here

She lied on her first day on the job — and got caught.
U hours after being sworn in as the city’s public advocate, Letitia James went on TV to claim that she played a key role in helping expose “the face of poverty in the City of New York” on the ‘front page of The New York Times.


James, a former City Council member, said she had appointed a task force to examine conditions at the Auburn homeless shelter in her old Brooklyn district.
When those conditions didn’t improve, James said, she acted to publicize the plight of Dasani Coates, a 12-year-old homeless girl subsequently spotlighted in a lengthy Times series.

“I was aware of it and had a little bit something to do with it,” James insisted on NY1 Wednesday night, speaking of the Times exposé.

“And, in fact, I had established a task force on Auburn, and the conditions continued. And so we decided to work together to basically put on the front page of The New York Times the face of poverty in the City of New York.”

It wasn’t James’ first attempt to portray herself as a champion of the homeless — at the inauguration, she invited young Dasani to stand at her side for the swearing-in.

But the Times refuted James’ account, saying she had nothing to do with its articles.
“Andrea Elliott [the Times reporter] met Dasani in the course of interviewing residents outside the Auburn shelter, and exposed conditions there by following the family. Andrea never talked to Ms. James, nor was she source for the story,” Times assistant managing editor Matt Purdy said in a statement.

After being called out for her lie, James quickly backtracked and changed her story.
“I commend the New York Times for highlighting this important issue on their front page but, to be clear, I was not a source behind The New York Times’ feature on Dasani and did not intend to imply so,” James said in a statement.

James, 51, said she was “proud to be a leader in calling out the challenges of homelessness in general and the Auburn facility in particular,” and maintained that she had “participated in multiple demonstrations outside the facility, along with housing and community advocates.”

James’ embarrassing about-face immediately made her the butt of jokes on Twitter, with salvos exchanged under the hashtag “#ThingsTishTakesCreditFor.”

Among the entries: Cronuts, FDR’s Bible going missing after Mayor de Blasio’s swearing-in, breaking the Watergate story, the p.r. strategy for Beyoncé’s new album, and the wheel.

One veteran political operative who has known James for years wasn’t surprised at her trying to take credit for something she didn’t do.

“She has a habit of overindulgence and taking things a step too far when she speaks,” that source said.

“I think she felt a sense of guilt — the fact that she had been in office and this was in her district.

“She was overcompensating.”

Several people in politics said they thought James went too far in trotting the homeless girl around as a prop at the inauguration.

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Obama To Bring The Hammer Down On Israel?
Obama/Kerry To Strong Arm Israel
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
********************

Now that Obama's amateurish foreign policy efforts have managed to repel most any friend we had left in the Middle East, the one friend America has had, since at least 1948, is in his cross hairs.  Israel.

Obama is in deep trouble at home.  Indications are that he has led his Democratic Party into a political abattoir as they are looking at a political massacre in November at the polls.   Around the world he is seen, more and more, as an amateur, a light weight, a -- dare I say it-- a flake (as in "an oddball").  He is considered wonderfully gifted as an orator -- and not much else. As a campaigner he's great.  As a governor, not so much.

It's called "misdirection."  It's what magicians do with their left hand while their right hand is actually performing the mechanics of the the illusion, or trick.  Politicians use misdirection all the time.

Presidents have been known to misdirect the voters gaze to a fabricated crisis, preferably thousands of miles away, when they find themselves in hot water here at home.   Their hope is that the press will latch onto the seeming  "big story/crisis" and allow them some time -- and some wiggle room -- to extricate themselves from the aforementioned hot water.

In my opinion, we are about to see misdirection played out right before our eyes once again by the Obama administration. Misdirection is time honored.  It was referred to as "bread and circuses" by the ancient Romans.

So, what's up?

Israel.

See, Israel is just not doing as it is told by Obama.   Benjamin Netanyahu is no fool.  He is also no lackey.  He's his own man and he insists on remaining that way.

Sometime in January, Obama will present a framework agreement to the Israelis and the so-called Palestinians.  Middle East experts are of the opinion Obama intends to ratchet up the pressure on Netanyahu already under considerable pressure from the world community due to his disagreement with the "deal" the US is endeavoring to make with Iran to bar the Persians from creating their own nuclear arsenal.

Secretary of State, John F. Kerry said recently:  "If we do not resolve the issues between Palestinians and Israelis, if we do not find a way to find peace, there will be an increasing isolation of Israel, there will be an increasing campaign of delegitimization of Israel that’s been taking place on an international basis.” -- SOURCE: http://www.timesofisrael.com/its-going-to-get-bad-fast-between-israel-and-the-us/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Already, the threats. Could this be Obama taking the Chicago method of practicing politics international, explicitly to pummel Israel into submitting to the Obama Regime's demands?  Sure seems like it.

Obama does not JUST desire a deal between the Israelis and the so-called Palestinians, he desperately NEEDS it.  He COVETS a win to crow about.  Something to polish away some of the tarnish applied by his own lies and inability to govern.

“He’s so wounded,” said influential Saudi Prince Alaweed bin Talal, referring to Obama. “It’s very scary. Look, the 2014 elections are going to begin. Within two months they’re going to start campaigning. Thirty-nine members of his own party in the House have already moved away from him on Obamacare. That’s scary for him.” -- SOURCE:  http://www.timesofisrael.com/its-going-to-get-bad-fast-between-israel-and-the-us/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

So -- why all the fuss?  Because the lefties in the mainstream media, as good little lapdogs of the Obama Regime, feel they must circle their wagons around Obama and pull out all the stops to make him look good (AGAIN!) -- especially now that it is clear the public has rejected his presidency and will toss his political party out on its ear in a few short months.  (And the media wonders why people don’t read their newspapers and magazines, anymore -- and don’t watch their TV news channels, anymore!  Geez!  How DUMB is that?)

Netanyahu has already stated, flat out, that whether or not any talks have a chance at success depends upon the Palestinians accepting that Israel has a right to actually exist.  The Palestinians want to discuss which state would get Jerusalem, the removal of Israeli settlements from land the Palestinians already claim as theirs, and the “right of return” of so-called Palestinian refugees.

 Consider this:  If the Palestinians are granted “right of return” for those so-called refugees, there will be a tsunami of those so-called Palestinian refugees diluting the Israeli population to the point that the Israelis will be choked off, smothered, and neutralized, losing control of their country by losing control of their government at the ballot box as a result of the sheer weight of the numbers of Palestinians who would gain the positions of power within the Israeli government.

Our amateurish President is playing with fire, once again. He has managed to alienate practically all the Middle Eastern nations even those who grudgingly agreed to work with the US in diplomacy over the past forty or fifty years.

So when the question arises in the future as to who lost the Middle East for America, the resounding answer will be Obama.
Strong arming Israel, as a form of misdirection, will not work for Obama.  Entirely too many Americans support Israel for that method to have any chance, at all. Using Israel in a wag-the-dog scenario is a nonstarter.

But they'll continue to throw themselves at a problem that is unsolvable by man.   It s pure vanity. As the Preacher of the Old Testament stated ages ago:  "... and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind."  (Ecclesiastes 1: 14)

J. D. Longstreet