Deal or No Deal, Eight Dead in Nursing Home

Dealmakers: President Trump denied via Twitter this morning that he had struck a deal with Democrats on protections for young illegal immigrants known as “Dreamers,” contradicting what Democratic leaders announced after dinner with the President last night. “No deal was made last night on DACA,” Trump said.

The deal the Democrats described would give Dreamers legal status while providing money to beef of border security. It does not include money for Trump’s border wall. With that and an agreement to keep the Dreamers, Trump would be abandoning big campaign promises. But despite his denial of a deal, he also tweeted, “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!…..”

Death and Hot Weather: A criminal investigation has already been opened into the deaths of eight elderly people yesterday in a sweltering Hollywood Hills nursing home north of Miami. The home did not have a generator to backup power for air conditioning.

The rest of the home’s 158 residents were evacuated, some of them to hospitals.

The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills is located right across the street from Memorial Regional Hospital, which never reported losing power during Hurricane Irma. No one from the home’s staff or executives sought help.

The home is owned by Dr. Jack Michel, who is also president of Larkin Community Hospital, which paid the Justice Department a $15.4 million fine to settle a civil fraud complaint. His nursing home is low rated and has had problems with regulators.

Running on Empty: In the wake of Hurricane Irma, a high percentage of gas stations in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are without fuel, according to the website Gasbuddy.Com. A sampling:

  • West Palm Beach: 36%
  • Miami/Fort Lauderdale: 43%
  • Gainesville: 41%
  • Tampa/St Pete: 36%
  • Orlando: 36%
  • Jacksonville: 32%
  • Tallahassee: 38%
  • Fort Myers-Naples: 42%:
  • Thomasville, GA: 27%
  • Savannah, GA: 26%
  • Augusta, GA: 18%

2nd Amendment News: One student was killed, three wounded, and one arrested in a shooting at a rural high school in Rockford, about 26 miles south of Spokane, WA, near the Idaho border.

The sophomore shooter had a rifle and a handgun.

Elisa Vigil, a 14-year-old freshman, Spokesman-Review newspaper, “He had his pistol. His face was completely passive. He shot someone in the head. I crouched down in the hall. I looked up and a girl screamed, ‘Help me, help me, help me.’”

By a Hair: Bail was revoked for the rather unpleasant character know as “Pharma Bro” after he posted what was taken as an online threat to former presidential candidate and First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Martin Shkreli, famous for hiking the price of a vital Aids drug by 5,000 percent, was found guilty of financial fraud in August. He posted a reward for anyone who could grab a lock of Clinton’s hair while she’s on her book tour, and now he’s going to jail.

Can’t See Love Coming: ABC News reports that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin asked for a military jet to take him and his new wife on their honeymoon to Scotland, France, and Italy earlier this summer at a cost of $25,000 per operating hour. The former Goldman Sachs banker is married to Louise Linton, a C-list Scottish actress.

The request was put in writing and later withdrawn, ABC reports. Mnuchin is already under scrutiny for taking his wife to see the gold at Fort Knox, KY, when their true destination was to see the solar eclipse and show off Linton’s expensive outfits on the internet.

But You Can See It Going: Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is otherwise not shy about exposing all, and his wife Huma Abedin asked their divorce judge to keep their proceedings anonymous to protest their young son. Judge Michael Katz said he’d take it under advisement but, “As a practical matter, despite your attempt keep this anonymous, it does not appear to be anonymous.”

The Sports Page: The Cleveland Indians last night won their 21st game in a row, breaking the American league record when they beat the Tigers 5-3. They’re looking unbeatable, but this too shall pass.

AR: It turns out that reality is not enough. The new Apple iPhones feature something called “augmented reality” that will fix reality’s shortcomings.

Augmented reality, or “AR” as it’s called, imposes information on an image of the real world the way the heads-up display works in a fighter jet. Point your iPhone at a rack of clothes and it may give you prices and names of makers. Maybe point it at the front of a restaurant and up pops the menu. The Ikea furniture chain has already developed an application with which you can point the phone at a catalogue picture of furniture and it will show you how the piece assembles, works, and what it might look like in your home.

Maybe if you point your iPhone at President Trump you’ll get the truth.

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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