Goal...

The House of Representatives voted to block the passage of a bill that would have ended U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The conflict pits the Yemeni government, powered by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, against rebels known as the Houthis, that are aligned with Iran. 

The conflict stretches nearly four years, killing at  least 16,200 civilians, and bringing 14 million people to the brink of famine.

The U.S. has provided military support for the Saudis and Emiratis since the Obama administration,  the Saudis announced that the U.S. will no longer provide midair refueling for their aircraft. The coalition has been accused of war crimes for indiscriminately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The Pentagon said it provides refueling for only 20 percent of coalition warplanes, and the U.S. continues to provide other support, such as intelligence, reconnaissance and arms sales.

So with all this bombing on a small group, what is the goal?

Jamal...

The Trump administration has sanctioned 17 Saudi officials for their alleged involvement in the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the first economic penalties from the U.S. over the brutal murder that has spawned a diplomatic crisis.

The 17 individuals, the U.S said, are the 15-man hit squad that traveled to Turkey to carry out the operation, the Saudi consul general in Istanbul, Turkey, where the killing took place, and a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

 The Saudi government at first denied, then called an accident, before labeling it a rogue operation. 

The Saudis have maintained that it was this small group of officials who are solely responsible for Khashoggi's murder, admitting that the killers drugged and killed the writer and critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inside the consulate, before dismembering his body and handing it over for disposal by an unidentified local collaborator. The body still has not been found.

Hoax...

A New Jersey couple has been hit with criminal charges stemming from a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $400,000 for homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt, who was also arrested in connection with the money-raising effort that now appears to be an elaborate scam, authorities said.

A criminal complaint obtained by NBC10 alleges the couple deliberately prevented donors to their GoFundMe campaign from gaining information "that would affect their judgment about solicited contribution to that fundraising effort." 

In August, Bobbitt, 35, filed a lawsuit accusing McClure and D'Amico of committing fraud by taking more than half of the money they raised for themselves.

McClure claimed she was driving to meet a friend in September 2017 when she ran out of gas around midnight on the I-95 exit ramp near Philadelphia and Bobbitt, who was sleeping under a nearby overpass, came to her rescue. She claimed Bobbitt spent his last $20 to buy her gas.

Slammed...

Democrats from Queens, N.Y., slammed Amazon's plan for offices in the area, setting up a potential political fight with one of the world's most powerful companies

Local Democrats swiftly criticized Amazon. They raised concerns about cost of living increases, a potential lack of benefit to local community members and state tax incentives going to a large corporation rather than local residents. 

The response sets up a political clash for Amazon a company that has had no shortage of battles with officials as it extends its reach across the country and globe.

Democratic Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,  called it "extremely concerning" that Amazon would get tax breaks "when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less." 

The Governor and the Mayor are concerned about congestion? Who is working for you? 

Trouble...

It turns out that for young children, initial concepts about gender are quite flexible. Children don’t begin to notice and adopt gender-stereotyped behaviors (e.g., preferring colors like pink or blue) until the age of two or three. 

A few years later, their concept of gender becomes quite rigid, and although it becomes more relaxed by middle childhood, even adults have trouble going back to thinking about gender as something that’s flexible.

Sale...

Selling...

Cuomo and de Blasio, who’ve feuded famously over the past five years, found something to agree on  with both hailing the plan as a boon to the city and the state. 

The mayor’s support of the broader deal contradicts previous statements he’s made about tax incentives.

“We will forgo big giveaways to a select few companies and instead pursue a city economic strategy that grows whole sectors of small businesses in emerging industries,” he said in his first State of the City address in 2014. “Our aim is that within eight years, the majority of skilled technology-related jobs in New York City are being filled by those educated in New York City schools.”

This is a betrayal of the hard working people who got a lousy MTA subway and transportation. Who is cashing in on the new congestion?

First...

Oversee...

Mediocrity...

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius.”

― Arthur Conan Doyle