Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Tuesday


Otto Warmbier has died, less than a week after coming home to the US from detention in North Korea. The heartbreaking loss of the 22-year-old college student evoked grief from his family and anger from the highest levels of the US government. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the North Koreans would be held "accountable" for unjustly detaining Warmbier; Sen. John McCain said the regime "murdered" him with treatment so harsh he was left with brain damage. Also now, the tour group that took Warmbier to North Korea in 2016 will end trips there for Americans.

Donald Trump isn't on the ballot, but his presence looms large today as the most expensive House race in history ends. Parties and super PACS have spent more than $50 million in the special election in Georgia's 6th congressional district, in Atlanta's northern suburbs. It pits Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel in a runoff that many see as a referendum on the popularity of the President. It may give us the first sign of whether Trump's sagging poll numbers could be a threat to the GOP's control of the House in the 2018 elections.

The high court will take up a Wisconsin gerrymandering case, the most important case of its kind in a decade. It involves district lines in Wisconsin that challengers say were drawn to help Republicans. How the Supremes rule on this one could impact how district lines are drawn nationwide. The court struck down two laws: one banning registered sex offenders from Facebook; and another blocking disparaging trademarks, a ruling sure to please the Washington Redskins. Meanwhile, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for a key part of President Trump's revised travel ban to go forward. The administration can now conduct internal reviews of other countries' vetting processes for visa applicants. The most controversial parts of the ban, however, remain blocked as the whole thing makes its way to the Supreme Court.

Terrorism: The suspect in the city's latest terror attack is Darren Osborne of Cardiff. Police say he was behind the wheel of the van that mowed down pedestrians near a mosque in north London. Osborne reportedly shouted, "I did my bit, you deserve it." Eleven people were injured, and one man, who was receiving first aid when the attack unfolded, was found dead at the scene. And that wasn't the day's only terror incident involving a vehicle in Europe. In Paris, along the famed Champs-Elysees, a car deliberately rammed into a police van. The driver, who was armed, was pulled out of the car by police before the car burst into flames. He later died; the car was packed with explosives.




Crazy rain here in the city and in many states across the nation.

Extreme heat canceled flights out of Phoenix

Stay cool and drink lots of water.




June 20, 2017

World Refugee Day

  World Refugee Day Google Videos

Refugees and immigration remain a primary focus throughout much of the world.

Hope is the quintessential human delusion simultaneously the
source of your greatest strength and your greatest weakness.




June 21, 2017


Summer Solstice -- Summer Solstice at Stonehenge -- Astronomical Observatories


Sun in Cancer

Happy Birthday to the Crystalinks readers born in Cancer.

Cancer is a cardinal water sign ruled by the Moon.

The Moon represents feminine goddess energies.

The flow of the collective unconsciousness in the alchemy of time