Kitten Night Farts

• 2 different mosques were shot up shortly before 2pm in Christchurch
• In one mosque there was said to be around 500 people in the middle of prayer, including children
• The shooter LIVESTREAMED the whole thing. He told people to ‘subscribe to pewdiepie’ before walking in and opening fire with his semi-automatic rifle
• There are so many dead they can’t even confirm a number yet. It’s said to be over 30. maybe well over 30, including children.
• meanwhile there were a number of cars found to be rigged with explosives
• schools are all in lockdown. even at 6pm kids are still stuck in schools.
• So far 4 people have been arrested as suspects. There may be more conspirators

• a lot of the schools have come out of lockdown by now (about 7pm)
• the death count is now estimated at about 40-50 people
• the hospital nearest to the attacks has overflowed. the injured are being relocated to ICU in other hospitals

• Our Prime Minister has given a statement

• 40 people are confirmed dead, more are still critical
• this is officially being called an act of terrorism
• 3 of the 4 people in custody are confirmed to be connected

• there’s 48 people in christchurch hospital with bullet wounds
• NZ’s terror alert level is on high right now. most of us didn’t know we had a terror alert level

Illinois Senate passes measure calling for neo-Nazis to be classified as terror groups

thehill.com|Robin Eberhardt

The Illinois Senate on Sunday approved a resolution calling for police to categorize neo-Nazi groups as terrorist organizations, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The measure came as a response to Saturday’s violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., during which one person died and scores more were injured.

“It is vital that we stand in total opposition to the hatred, bigotry and violence displayed by the white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville this past weekend,” said state Sen. Don Harmon (D), who sponsored the measure.

Live Updates: One Person Has Died After A Terror Attack On Worshippers Near A London Mosque

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after driving a white van into a group of people near Finsbury Park Mosque.

bzfd.it|BuzzFeed News

• A man driving a white van drove into a group of worshippers who had just left Ramadan prayers at a mosque in north London. Ten people were wounded.
• One person died at the scene, but the Metropolitan police say he was being given first aid before the attack and it’s not clear whether he died as a result of it.
• Witnesses said the assailant yelled out that he wanted to “kill all Muslims”.
• When the van came to a stop after hitting a bollard, witnesses told BuzzFeed News the driver got out and was tackled by three men, who held him down until police arrived and arrested him.
• Theresa May, the prime minister, said the attack was a terrorist act “every bit as sickening” as other recent incidents.
• Videos from the scene show people sprawled on the pavement and being attended to by paramedics.
• A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The Met described the incident as a terror attack.
• London mayor Sadiq Khan called it a “horrific terrorist attack on innocent people”.
• The driver apparently targeted a group of people who had gathered around an older man who fell, perhaps because of heat exhaustion.

• Today the White House blocked a number of media outlets in a briefing with press secretary Sean Spicer. Only a select group of outlets such as Breitbart, One America News Network, Fox News, etc. were allowed in, while reporters from the New York Times, CNN, Politico, BBC, the Los Angeles Times, etc. were barred. This was a major break in protocol and most of the outlets chosen to participate were ones who have a more friendly, positive reporting of Trump. (source)
• A leaked draft was exposed today that showed a republican replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act.The draft is dated from two weeks ago so we will likely see some changes in the future but it’s a good guide to what we’re looking at regarding this repeal and replace plan. The plan has already been blasted for being obviously bad for lower-income and/or sick people and better from those who are higher-income and/or healthy. It would also let insurers charge sick people more if they did not maintain “continuous coverage.” (Full 106-page draft here)
• Authorities cleared out the last of those who remained at Standing Rock, however 100 of protester still remain in the general area. It’s estimated that the Dakota Access pipeline could be up and running as early as 2 weeks. Energy Transfer Partners has finished drilling under Lake Oahe and will soon be laying pipe under the last stretch of the pipeline, the Missouri River reservoir. Over 30 tribes and several Native American rights groups are filing requests for the decision be overturned. (source)
• Trump signed an executive order today to slash regulations in what he says will help businesses. The measure directs federal agencies to create “regulatory reform” task forces which will evaluate federal rules and recommend whether to keep, repeal or change them. Trump signed the order with several CEOs of major U.S. corporations standing behind him. (source)
• Trump is expected to sign two more executive orders within the next week that deal with environmental and climate regulations. One order reportedly featured criticism of the global climate deal until Ivanka and Jared Kushner pushed to exclude the criticism. (source)
• The head of the Montana Republican Party, Jeff Essmann, wrote an emergency plea in an attempt to stop allowing residents to cast mail-in ballots. Essmann wants to stop mail-in ballots because he believes it hurts republicans and makes it more difficult for the GOP to maintain control of state politics. Essmann complained that “Vote-by-mail is designed to increase participation rates of lower propensity voters.” (source)
• Trump bragged at his recent Florida rally that after a negotiating for only an hour he managed to shave a billion dollars off the price of a new Air Force One. However, Air Force spokesman, Colonel Pat Ryder, told reporters yesterday that he has no idea what Trump is talking about. “To my knowledge I have not been told that we have that information,” he said. (source)
• The Republican-led Arizona state Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would permit the government to seize protesters’ assets and prosecute them under a racketeering law designed to target organized crime. The bill seeks to limit political demonstrations by expanding the definition of a “riot” to include actions that damage property, and making rioting an offense that can be prosecuted under racketeering statutes - putting protesting on par with terrorism in the state. (source)
• Breitbart News CEO Larry Solov confirmed that the Mercer family are partial owners of the news site. The Mercer family was also a key backer of Trump’s campaign and are GOP mega-donors. This is a problem because Breitbart is currently in the process of applying for congressional press credentials through the Standing Committee of Correspondents. In order to secure official Capitol Hill credentials, they must prove that their editorial teams are independent and not directed by corporate or political entities, which obviously they are. They currently have access under temporary press passes. (source)
• Analysts at the Homeland Security Department found that there is insufficient evidence to back up Trump’s claims that the citizens of the seven Muslim-majority counties in the travel ban pose a terror threat to the U.S. Trump cited terrorism concerns as being the primary reason for the ban, but the draft document concluded that few people from these countries have carried out attacks or been involved in terrorism-related activities. (Draft can be read here)
• Last night Mike Pence spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) and addressed several issues in his 22 minute speech. He talked about Ronald Reagan, Israel, the media, taxes, Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch, and healthcare. He assured the crowd that “America’s ObamaCare nightmare is about to end.” (source)
• CPAC continues today and Trump took the stage, the following bullet points will address the topics that were discussed. All the following are cited from the transcript found here and the fact checking notes can be found here and here.
• As usual Trump blasted the media for being “dishonest” in their reporting on him, and went on and on about how they’re “fake.” He mentioned that he doesn’t think reporters should be allowed to keep unnamed sources unnamed, despite him doing the exact same thing in the past. Funnily enough, Trump also cited the reports and firing of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn as fake news - but if it was fake then why did Trump fire him? 
• Trump told the audience that the military has been vastly weakened and “very depleted, very, very depleted.” This is false, while the number of warships and the size of the army has reduced in recent years the U.S. still spends the most on the military by far.
• He touted his approval ratings and his “massive landslide victory in the electoral college,” calling it a “victory like nobody has seen before.” He often states that his win was the biggest win in recent history and as usual he’s incorrect. Trump’s win ranks between the lowest one-fourth and the lowest one-fifth of all Electoral College victories in history.
• Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage also spoke at CPAC where he told the audience that the UK’s real friends “speak English.” He went on to praise Trump and finished his speech with a call for Western nationalism. “We’re not against anybody based on religion or ethnicity. We’re not against anybody, but we’re for ourselves, we’re for our country, we’re for our communities, we’re for making our people safe and with less risk from global terror! That is what we’re for! And we’re for our country and we’re for our people and we are winning!” (source)
• And now your daily reminder that: Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water. Standing Rock still needs your support. The American infrastructure report card still averages poorly with the rating of a “D+” And I would also suggest looking into donating to help the Chesed Shel Emeth Society repair and replace the broken monuments that were recently desecrated in an act of anti-Semitic vandalism. 

• Numerous Jewish community centers on the east coast received anonymous bomb threats via phone Monday, forcing evacuations and police responses.
• Some of the calls were prerecorded while others were live, and likely came from the same telephone number. 
• NBC reported threats were made to facilities as far apart as New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee and South Carolina. In a statement, the Anti-Defamation League said threats were also received in Delaware.
• Facilities across the county were evacuated, though authorities did not discover any explosive devices. 
• Jewish schools in London also received bomb threats, though it was not clear whether the incidents are connected. Read more

• Numerous Jewish community centers on the east coast received anonymous bomb threats via phone Monday, forcing evacuations and police responses.
• Some of the calls were prerecorded while others were live, and likely came from the same telephone number. 
• NBC reported threats were made to facilities as far apart as New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee and South Carolina. In a statement, the Anti-Defamation League said threats were also received in Delaware.
• Facilities across the county were evacuated, though authorities did not discover any explosive devices. 
• Jewish schools in London also received bomb threats, though it was not clear whether the incidents are connected. Read more