1. WashPost – On Friday, the Marine Corps identified the names of the 15 Marines and one Navy sailor killed when their aircraft crashed earlier this week in the worst aviation accident for the branch in more than a decade. The announcement comes two days after a Marine general told the public that early indications in the crash investigation point to some type of massive mechanical failure while the four-engine cargo aircraft was at cruising altitude. Eyewitness said they saw the plane break apart midair before crashing in a field in western Mississippi.
2. Reuters – Russia said on Friday that too many American spies operated in Moscow under diplomatic cover and said it might expel some of them to retaliate against the United States over Washington’s expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats last year. The warning, delivered by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, reflects rising frustration in Moscow over the Trump administration’s refusal to hand back two Russian diplomatic compounds which were seized at the same time as some of Russia’s diplomats were sent home last year.
3. AP – A Russian-American lobbyist says he attended a June 2016 meeting with President Donald Trump’s son, marking another shift in the account of a discussion that was billed as part of a Russian government effort to help the Republican’s White House campaign. Rinat Akhmetshin confirmed his participation to The Associated Press on Friday. The meeting heightened questions about whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Russian government during the election, which is the focus of federal and congressional investigations.
4. WashPost – Two former staff members have been charged in the circulation of nude images and video of an elected representative to Congress and her husband, federal prosecutors and the U.S. Capitol Police announced Thursday in Washington. Juan R. McCullum, 35, of Washington, was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of cyberstalking, and a co-worker, Dorene Browne-Louis, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Md., was indicted on two counts of obstruction of justice, said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Channing D. Phillips and Capitol Police Chief Matthew R. Verderosa in a statement.
5. LC – The House of Representatives voted 209 to 214 yesterday to defeat the amendment that would have put an end to the use of military funding for “sex change” surgeries. There are 24 Republicans who voted on the side of the LGBT lobby to defeat the amendment. Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler’s amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act would have represented a unique opportunity, in a united Congress, to put an end to this abuse of our military and of American taxpayer dollars, by putting an end to the use of defense funding to pay for genital-mutilating “sex reassignment surgeries.” The new amendment would have made it so “funds available to the Department of Defense may not be used to provide medical treatment (other than mental health treatment) related to gender transition to a person entitled to medical care.” This heinous abuse of presidential power was saved from repeal only by the efforts of 24 Republican members of congress who went against their clear duty to protect the readiness, safety and privacy of military men and women.
6. WashPost – A 36-story residential tower in Honolulu caught fire on Friday afternoon, killing three people and injuring at least a dozen as flames spread across three floors. The Marco Polo tower overlooks the beachfront tourist district of Waikiki and was built in the 1970s, before sprinkler systems were required, Mayor Kirk Caldwell told reporters. So there was nothing to contain the blaze when it started on the 26th floor, about 2:30 p.m., according to Hawaii News Now.
7. USA Today – An appellate court in Brazil has dismissed a criminal case against U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte, concluding that Lochte did not break the law in exaggerating the details of an incident at a gas station during the Rio Olympics in August. Lochte had been charged with falsely communicating a crime to authorities after he gave an interview to NBC in which he said he and three other members of the U.S. swim team had been stopped and robbed at gunpoint as the cab they were in tried to pull away from the service station.
As you go throughout this day, keep this word in mind: Proverbs 13:20 says, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
Booker T. Washington said, “Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.”
God loves you. He always has and He always will. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you don’t know Jesus as your Saviour, today is a good day to get to know Him. Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead for you. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Thanks so much for listening and may God bless your day!
BCNN1 WP 