IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON HURRICANE IRMA
We’re thinking about everyone who is being affected by Hurricane Irma. It looks like the federal government and all of the states that may be hit by Irma are prepared for the storm.
Florida Governor Rick Scott gave the latest update on Hurricane Irma preps as the forecast shows the Irma making its way to the state.
The governor urged Floridians to stay safe and make sure they are prepared for a possible hit.
“Every family needs to have a plan…Do not sit and wait. Prepare right now,” said Gov. Scott.
Scott said Hurricane Irma can still go anywhere and the entire state needs to be prepared.
“Get prepared. This is your responsibility. Know your evacuation zones,” said Gov. Scott.
Hurricane Irma, a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane, is heading toward the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispañola, the Bahamas and Cuba before posing a serious threat to Florida and parts of the Southeast beginning this weekend.
Irma first passed over Barbuda, an island of 1600 residents, with gusts of at least 155 mph overnight into Wednesday morning. Early Wednesday morning, the eye of Irma then moved over St. Martin, St. Barthelemy and near Anguilla, where sustained winds of 117 mph were measured.
Irma became the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, on record on Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Irma's maximum sustained winds are steady at 185 mph based on data from NOAA and Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft. Based on wind speed, Irma is the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Wilma in 2005 which also had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.
By this weekend, Irma will begin to turn north in the direction of a departing southward dip in the jet stream that will set up in the eastern United States. Where that northward turn occurs will be critical for what impacts Irma may bring to parts of the southeastern United States.
Here's a general overview of the timing for impacts from Irma into this weekend:
- Leeward Islands: through Wednesday
- Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands: Wednesday-early Thursday; tropical storm force winds will arrive during the early morning hours
- Dominican Republic/Haiti: late Wednesday-Thursday; tropical storm force winds will arrive Wednesday night or early Thursday
- Turks and Caicos: Late Thursday-Friday
- Bahamas: Friday-this weekend; tropical storm force winds may arrive as early as late Thursday
- Cuba: Friday-this weekend; tropical storm force winds will may arrive as early as Thursday night
- Southeast United States: This weekend into early next week, beginning in south Florida Saturday
While it is still too soon to narrow down specifics on the exact path of Irma's center and eyewall, there is an increasing chance of a major hurricane strike on at least part of South Florida, including the Florida Keys, this weekend.
As mentioned before, the vast majority of the forecast guidance indicates Irma will begin to turn more to the north sometime this weekend.
The strength and expansiveness of the Bermuda-Azores high over the Atlantic Ocean and the timing, depth and location of a southward dip in the jet stream near the eastern U.S. will dictate where and when that northward turn occurs.
NEW POLL: MAJORITY OPPOSE DEPORTING DREAMERS
According to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, placing President Donald Trump’s decision to wind down the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is at odds with public opinion.
A majority of voters, 58 percent, think these undocumented immigrants, also known as DREAMers, should be allowed to stay and become citizens if they meet certain requirements.
Another 18 percent think they should be allowed to stay and become legal residents, but not citizens.
Only 15 percent think they should be removed or deported from the country. That sounds a little more, I think it’s closer to 20%, but I think the majority want to give them a shot because it’s not their fault that their parents brought them here illegally.
Support for allowing these immigrants to remain in the U.S. spans across party lines: 84 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of independents and 69 percent of Republicans think they should stay.
“Given the deeply polarizing nature of immigration issues, the broad support for allowing Dreamers to stay in the United States is notable,” said Morning Consult co-founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. “Just 24 percent of Republicans, 12 percent of independents and 8 percent of Democrats say that Dreamers should be deported.”
I think there can be a stringent immigration plan to deal with both DREAMers and undocumented aliens. Anybody with a criminal record, whether it’s a DUI or anything has to leave the country. However, the good people who are working hard should be on a case by case basis. I do believe that President Trump will get some type of DREAMer bill by January or February which he’ll sign, so let’s do it the right way and stop this hysteria.
77% DEMAND END TO 'SANCTUARY CITIES' FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Voters in 11 battleground states are key to controlling the Senate in 2018 and presidency in 2020 overwhelming support the administration's effort to end so-called "sanctuary" policies for illegal immigrant criminals in over 300 cities, according to a new poll on the explosive issue.
More significantly, over 83 percent of Hispanics want the sanctuaries to obey federal demands to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and turn over illegals sought for deportation, according to the survey from the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
According to FAIR, over 77 percent of voters in the 11 states want the Senate to pass the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act which has already passed in the House.
The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act is described by the White House as a bill would ensure that American taxpayers are not subsidizing States and localities that work to affirmatively thwart Federal law enforcement efforts.
For States or localities determined to be in violation of Federal law, H.R. 3003 would restrict their eligibility to receive certain Department of Justice or Department of Homeland Security grants. Instead, under this bill, those grant funds would be reallocated to States and localities that comply with Federal law. Additionally, this bill would provide for more robust detention of criminal aliens. The Administration is committed to strengthening enforcement of our Nation’s immigration laws in order to improve national security and public safety. This legislation is critical to these efforts.
If H.R. 3003 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.
"The poll shows that Americans want their state and local governments to cooperate with federal efforts to remove criminals from the United States. They demand accountability for these policies from the local governments that make them and they are also prepared to hold their federal officials accountable if they block this much needed legislation from becoming law," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR.
CULTURE WAR POLL
Divisions in America reach far beyond Washington into the nation’s culture, economy and social fabric, and the polarization began long before the rise of President Donald Trump, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey of social trends has found.
The wide gulf is visible in an array of issues and attitudes:
A supporter of the traditional definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman. Only 17% of registered Democrats agree with that. 42% of registered Republicans agree with that statement. The Republican number is down by a lot, it proves that more people on both sides of the political aisle approve of gay marriage.
34% of Republicans say they support the National Rifle Association, while just 4% of Democrats do.
28% of Democrats say that they support the Black Lives Matter movement- which makes me believe that there’s a big minority component in that number. 1% of Republicans support Black Lives Matter.
More than three-quarters of Democrats, but less than one-third of Republicans, said they felt comfortable with societal changes that have made the U.S. more diverse.
PENN LAW PROFESSOR, AMY WAX FACES CONTROVERSY OVER OP-ED
Yesterday, we mentioned that a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania wrote an op-ed encouraging young people to live by “bourgeois” values. These values include hard work, self-discipline and waiting until marriage to have children and now students have accused her of racism.
The column, headlined, "Paying the price for breakdown of the country's bourgeois culture," was co-authored by Larry Alexander, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law.
On social media, students and some faculty have erupted in outrage over Wax's op-ed and subsequent statements to The Daily Pennsylvanian, where she argued that white, Anglo-Protestant culture is superior and said, "Everyone wants to go to countries ruled by white Europeans."
The over arch on this story is that there’s no question that my success and probably your success was due to hard work and being honest as well as having a stable family and upbringing. This is the key to improving the minority precincts.
CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY COUNCIL VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO REMOVE ANOTHER CONFEDERATE STATUE
Officials in Charlottesville have backed removing a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson — marking another push to take down a Confederate landmark in the college town rocked by deadly clashes last month between white nationalists and counter protesters.
But the unanimous vote late Tuesday by the Charlottesville City Council faces an uncertain path, according to the Daily Progress newspaper. The removal depends on the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the council’s power to remove another statue depicting Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee — a focal point of the marchers and opponents last month.
At Tuesday’s Charlottesville city council meeting, some of those in attendance criticized leaders over the August rally that left three people dead, including a protester opposing neo-Nazis and others. Two Virginia State troopers also died in a helicopter crash.
A few of those in attendance at the two-hour council hearing held signs that called for taking down Confederate statues from parks, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Others asked for some council members to resign.
Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer told those in attendance: “I’m pledging that I’m going to try what I can to get this right.”
He was met with some jeers from the crowd. He went on to say, “You may not believe this — but, please, help me to get better.”
MINNEAPOLIS OFFICER’S MENTAL RECORDS PROBED IN JUSTINE DAMOND SHOOTING
Investigators have asked for medical and unredacted personnel files of a Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an Australian native in July.
A search warrant filed publicly Tuesday shows an investigator with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was seeking background records, including pre-employment psychological exams, of Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor.
Noor fatally shot 40-year-old Justine Damond on July 15 after she called police to report a possible sexual assault. She was shot as she approached the squad car that Noor and his partner were in.
The search warrant seeks similar information for Noor’s partner, Matthew Harrity.
Court documents show the city provided investigators with the information.
Once the investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to prosecutors, who will consider possible charges.
On Wednesday, a police spokesman said that he couldn’t comment because of the ongoing investigation. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said last month that he would decide by the end of the year whether to file charges in connection with the investigation.
Mail Time!
- Bill, what do you think about US Catholic bishops and DACA? I’m disappointed at their statement that the DREAMers inspire them. The Catholic Church is an institution of law and the bishops are inspired by DREAMers who are not here legally? Even if it is not of their own fault?
- While I have some empathy for the people under DACA, the bottom line is that it was always going to be found unconstitutional.
- As you stated last week, President Trump cannot get a tax reform bill passed. His presidency is finished! With all Democrats in a resist mode and if they realize that he would be finished why would they ever vote ‘yes’ on it.
- I read your assessment of how Hurricane Harvey was handled compared to the other two storms which was your column yesterday for The Hill, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s very sad for me to see the one-sided attacks on President Trump especially when so many people are hurting. Thanks for your honest opinions.
- Love the podcast! It’s very educational, it’s truly rare to find an unbiased voice in the news today.
- Huge thank you, Bill. I cut off my cable and feel better already! It’s been over a week and your daily news briefs have helped me stay in touch without getting caught up in the nonsense of opinion.
- Hey Bill, the podcast with Newt Gingrich and Bill Bennett exemplified what makes this format rock! No commercials and none of that rushed conversation alerting the viewer that the segment is just about to end. It’s just great continuous conversations with questions, answers and retorts.
- Killing England out Sept. 19th!
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