Prince Didn’t Have a Will because he only trusted ‘beautiful, 20-something women’ advisors

Screen-Shot-2016-04-21-at-1_26_19-PM

It’s hard for most people to believe that Prince didn’t have a will, but for those closest to him it make perfect sense.

According to many of the people who worked with him, Prince’s finances were always in shambles. In the 5 years leading up to his death, it was impossible to get him to sign ANY legal document — because he felt “screwed over” by deals he signed in his younger years.

via TMZ:

Prince was so distrusting … he jumped from lawyer to lawyer almost every year, and sometimes more often. One professional who worked with the singer tells us, Prince called him out of the blue one day and said he wanted to hire him. The professional asked Prince for his business files, and the answer was, “I don’t know, they’re out there somewhere.” The professional never got the files. 

We’re told although Prince hired and fired a slew of professionals, his most trusted advisers were “beautiful, 20-something women, all models with no experience in anything.” It caused chaos in his life … especially in the financial department.

Well, Prince DID have a thing for beautiful women. Yesterday, his sister filed paperwork to become executor of his estate.

Former House speaker sentenced to more than a year in prison

Judge Thomas M. Durkin also ordered Hastert to undergo sex-offender treatment, spend two years on supervised release after 15 months behind bars and pay a $250,000 fine to a crime victims' fund.
Judge Thomas M. Durkin also ordered Hastert to undergo sex-offender treatment, spend two years on supervised release after 15 months behind bars and pay a $250,000 fine to a crime victims’ fund.

CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert, the Republican who for eight years presided over the House and was second in the line of succession to the presidency, was sentenced Wednesday to more than a year in prison in the hush-money case that included accusations he sexually abused teenagers while coaching high school wrestling.

Judge Thomas M. Durkin also ordered Hastert to undergo sex-offender treatment, spend two years on supervised release after 15 months behind bars and pay a $250,000 fine to a crime victims’ fund.

In explaining his punishment, the judge called Hastert a “serial child molester” and described as “unconscionable” his attempt to accuse one of the victims of extortion.

Hastert becomes one of the highest-ranking politicians in American history to be sentenced to prison. He pleaded guilty last fall to violating banking law as he sought to pay $3.5 million to someone referred to in court papers only as Individual A to keep the sex abuse secret.

Earlier in the hearing, a former athlete who said he was molested by Hastert decades ago told the courtroom that he was “devastated” by the abuse.

The man, now in his 50s, said Hastert abused him while they were alone in a locker room. He struggled to hold back tears as he described the incident in detail. In the years since, he said, he sought professional help and had trouble sleeping. He said the memory still causes him pain.

He said he trusted and looked up to Hastert.

In his own statement, Hastert admitted that he “mistreated” some of his athletes and said he was “deeply ashamed.”

“I am sorry to those I hurt and misled,” he said. “What I did was wrong and I regret it.”

When the judge asked whether he sexually abused one wrestler specifically, Hastert said yes.

Moments before the man took the stand, a woman who says her brother was sexually abused by Hastert told the courtroom that her sibling felt “betrayed, ashamed and embarrassed.”

Dennis Hastert was former Republican and Speaker of the House of Representatives. He  becomes one of the highest-ranking politicians in American history to be sentenced to prison.
Dennis Hastert was former Republican and Speaker of the House of Representatives. He becomes one of the highest-ranking politicians in American history to be sentenced to prison.

Jolene Burdge said Hastert abused her brother, Stephen Reinboldt, throughout his years at Yorkville High School, where Hastert was a history teacher and coach from 1965 to 1981.

Reinboldt died of AIDS in 1995.

His sister turned toward Hastert and said, “Don’t be a coward … tell the truth.”

She also said, “I hope I have been your worst nightmare.”

Authorities alleged that Hastert abused at least four students throughout his years at the school about 45 miles southwest of Chicago. He will report to prison at a later date.

The 74-year-old, who was in a wheelchair at the courthouse, agreed to a plea deal that suggested anything from probation to a maximum of six months behind bars.

But after prosecutors lifted a veil of secrecy from the case, the judge made comments suggesting he might impose a longer sentence, potentially putting Hastert behind bars for years, because of the abuse allegations.

Defense attorneys were seeking probation on the grounds that Hastert has already paid a high price in disgrace. They also cited his health, saying a blood infection nearly killed him in November and that a stroke has limited his mobility.

The lead prosecutor said he wishes Hastert could have been charged with the abuse he was trying to cover up.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Block called Hastert’s conduct “horrendous.” But because of the statute of limitations, he could only be charged with a financial crime related to the payments he was making to one of at least four victims of sexual abuse.

Block said the sentence should take into account that Hastert “continues to deny what should now be obvious to everyone,” that the payments were to conceal sexual abuse.

Defense attorney Thomas Green said he “acknowledges and respects” the pain of the man who described being molested. He urged the judge to take into consideration the “entire arc” of Hastert’s life, asserting that he reshaped his life as a public servant during his political career.

“Decades of not just political achievement but acts of goodness and charity have been erased, a lot of it even physically as his name has been removed from public places and his portrait at the Capitol put into storage,” Green said.

Some letters of support were withdrawn because the writers did not want to be identified, Green said, an example of Hastert’s deepening isolation.

The maximum sentence available was five years in prison.

Until recently, it was hard to gauge what Durkin might be thinking. But at a recent hearing, he let his dismay show for the first time.

He singled out how Hastert in a 2015 interview with federal agents sought to deflect blame by falsely accusing Individual A of extorting him with a bogus sex-abuse claim.

On Wednesday, the judge returned to that example, saying that Hastert was willing to send an innocent man to prison to avoid getting caught.

Because of Hastert’s false accusations, “the full weight of the federal government’s resources” was thrown at Individual A, the judge said.

Earlier this month, prosecutors went into graphic detail about the sex-abuse allegations for the first time, even describing how Hastert would sit in a recliner chair in the locker room with a direct view of the showers.

The victims, prosecutors said, were boys between 14 and 17. Hastert was in his 20s and 30s.

After leading in Black Lives Matter, DeRay Mckesson finds himself trailing in his bid to become Baltimore mayor

Activist DeRay McKesson is running for mayor in Baltimore.
Activist DeRay McKesson is running for mayor in Baltimore.

 

Hunter Walker, Hunter Walker/

BALTIMORE — There was one moment during protests in Ferguson, Mo., when DeRay Mckesson says he feared a casual gesture might cost him his life.

According to Mckesson, the incident occurred in the first few days of the demonstrations that engulfed the city following the Aug. 9, 2014, shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson cop. Mckesson said the protesters were suddenly rushed by one of the police forces who were aggressively cracking down on the nightly unrest. As the cops surged in, Mckesson said, the crowd dispersed — and his phone cord began to fall from his pocket as he ran.

In the weeks of protests that followed Brown’s death, the demonstrators frequently ran with their hands up. It was an effort to dramatize the gesture of surrender Brown allegedly made before he was shot. The posture was also a precaution for the protesters who didn’t want to join Brown and the other young black men who have died after being perceived as threats by police officers. With his phone cord slipping out of his shorts, Mckesson found himself making a crucial choice — should he lower his hands to secure the charger, or would moving toward his pocket get him shot?

Mckesson told Yahoo News he went for the cord because he “won’t live in fear.” He recounted the moment when he spoke to a room of students at University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Friday and explained why he decided to go from protesting against the system to trying to become part of it.

Mayoral candidate DeRay Mckesson, right, and campaign staffer Maria Griffin canvass in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore on March 26, 2016.
Mayoral candidate DeRay Mckesson, right, and campaign staffer Maria Griffin canvass in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore on March 26, 2016.

One of the most high-profile figures in the Black Lives Matter movement, Mckesson, a 30-year-old who was born in Baltimore, has for three months been running a long-shot campaign for mayor of his hometown. In his unlikely effort to bring the movement from the streets to City Hall, Mckesson, wearing his distinctive blue vest, has tried to turn the name he made for himself documenting the unrest in Ferguson into a springboard to leading a city facing similar strife.

Starting last April 18, riots rocked Baltimore after it was revealed Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American man, suffered severe spinal injuries while being taken into police custody. Gray eventually died as a result of his injuries, and the state’s attorney filed criminal charges against the six officers who were involved in his death. The case is still ongoing, but the initial reaction in the city led to a state of emergency, curfews, and the National Guard being called in. Mckesson, who had previously returned to the city, was on the streets during the upheaval.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a Democrat, faced intense criticism for her handling of the riots, and last December, she announced she would not seek reelection. Her decision set the stage for the crowded race featuring Mckesson and 12 other candidates in today’s Democratic mayoral primary. And in a city where the electorate is overwhelmingly registered in the party, the Democratic primary is tantamount to the general election.

At a town hall on Saturday, President Obama praised Black Lives Matter for being “really effective in bringing attention to problems” of racial injustice. But, he suggested, the group “can’t just keep on yelling.”

“The value of social movements and activism is to get you at the table, get you in the room,” Obama said.

Mckesson clearly is making an effort to bring Black Lives Matter out of the streets and into the halls of power. With a majority of African-American residents and clear concerns about law enforcement in the community, Baltimore seems like the ideal setting for that effort. However, Mckesson’s campaign has faced a unique set of obstacles due to his prominence in the movement, and his bid seems to have resonated more with rich Baltimoreans than residents of poor black neighborhoods, where many have abandoned electoral politics.

Speaking to the students at UMBC last week, Mckesson explained some of his rationale for running for office. He contrasted this perspective with that of others in the movement, whom he described as “addicted” to protesting rather than working within the system.

“We also need to be the people who are on the boards and commissions … in actual power. The status quo that we are resisting is super organized on the inside, and an outside-only strategy, I think, is not a strategy to win. I think it’s a strategy to fight forever and ever,” Mckesson explained. “Our goal is not to fight forever and ever, and I do worry that, in the movement space, that there are people more addicted to fighting than winning.”

President Obama speaks at a meeting with civil rights leaders — including Mckesson, right — at the White House on Feb. 18, 2016.  (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)
President Obama speaks at a meeting with civil rights leaders — including Mckesson, right — at the White House on Feb. 18, 2016. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Mckesson described this dichotomy as “a split around reform and revolution that happens in the movement” with revolutionaries fighting for “100-year goals,” such as establishing new political parties, in lieu of bringing “change today and tomorrow.”

Mckesson, who regularly describes his mayoral campaign platform as being focused on “concrete change,” has no problem being identified as a reformer rather than a revolutionary. He believes long-term political goals should be pursued in conjunction with realistic programs for criminal justice reform, education, and affordable housing, he told the UMBC students.

“If getting more people out of jail makes me a reformer, then like, I’m all about it. Right? And if ending cash bail tomorrow is like, ‘I’m a reformer,’ then fine, right?” he said.

Mckesson burst onto the national scene by documenting the Ferguson protests on social media and in a newsletter. When Brown died, Mckesson was living in Minneapolis, Minn., where he worked as the director of human capital with the city’s public school system. Mckesson says he decided to drive to Ferguson in an attempt to square the different narratives he was seeing on Twitter and television, and said that being hit with tear gas inspired him to join the protests. He basically never left.

During the first half of last year, Mckesson traveled around the country to cities where young African-Americans died at the hands of the police, and other locations where protests erupted — such as Charleston, S.C., where a white supremacist killed nine people at a black church, and Missouri, where racial issues led to mass demonstrations at the state’s flagship public university. Along with participating in protests, Mckesson helped found a group that crafted a Black Lives Matter policy agenda. Though he was not part of the organization that originally coined the phrase, Mckesson’s relentless tweets and trademark blue Patagonia vest eventually made him one of the most recognizable faces of the movement, and drew in more than 340,000 Twitter followers.

Mckesson’s past as a high-profile protester has given him unusual resources for a first-time candidate. But at the same time, his visibility within Black Lives Matter movement has generated a harsh spotlight, including backlash from other activists. And while Mckesson’s unique brand of political celebrity has brought him donations from all 50 states, high-powered allies and intense national press coverage, his position at the bottom of the polls indicates it hasn’t translated into the support necessary to win the race.

Black Lives Matter hasn’t been the central element of his pitch to voters.

He spends much more of his time talking about his background as a teacher with high-level administrative roles at large public education agencies. In addition to his position with the school system in Minneapolis, Mckesson worked in human capital for Baltimore City Public Schools from August 2011 until the end of 2013. He also helped lead an afterschool program in Baltimore a few years after his 2007 graduation from Bowdoin College.

And police reform is only a small portion of his platform, which is largely focused on a series of what he describes as “tangible things that we can do that might not be the most sexy.”

Among other things, Mckesson wants to get mayoral control over city schools and, in the meantime, establish adult and childhood literacy programs. He wants to employ strategies to fill Baltimore’s blighted blocks of vacant homes that are tailored to specific neighborhoods and coupled with a plan to address urban food deserts. He is calling for creating cultural opportunities for the city’s young people like movie theaters, arts programs, and dirt bike parks. And yes, Mckesson also talks about plans for crime and policing, including establishing needle exchanges, mandating drug tests for officers involved in shootings and banning chokeholds.

Mckesson was the last high-profile Democratic candidate to officially enter the race. He filed his candidacy on the evening of Feb. 3, minutes before the deadline on the final day to register. On the campaign trail, Mckesson has attributed his late entry to the time he spent putting together his platform and the difficulty of finding an election lawyer who was not already tied to one of the other candidates.

“I spent a lot of time on the policy platform because I didn’t want to be a personality candidate,” Mckesson said to a crowd at a campaign event last Thursday night, adding, “Logistically, you know, there’s so many people running for office in this city that it actually took some time to find an election lawyer who was not conflicted.“

This delay meant Mckesson had just 83 days to campaign, when many of his rivals had been running for months. The time crunch was exacerbated by the fact many Baltimoreans participated in early voting. And this wasn’t the last time Mckesson’s status as a political newcomer cost him.

In his campaign appearances, Mckesson sounds something like a local version of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. He calls himself “an outsider to the establishment” and “an insider to the city,” and touts the fact he has raised more than $200,000, largely from small donors. In fact, Mckesson uses the same firm that helped rope in the online donations that have fueled Sanders’ insurgency in the presidential race. However, the money Mckesson has raised is still far less than the funds raised by his top rivals, some of whom have seven-figure war chests. And his team, which includes just three paid staffers, is much smaller than his opponents’ operations.

While Mckesson’s activist career earned him meetings with President Obama, Sanders, and a slew of celebrities and Silicon Valley luminaries, he doesn’t have the endorsement of a single local elected official. His campaign manager, Sharhonda Bossier, told Yahoo News Mckesson hasn’t sought “political favors from politicians.”

“Our work has been rooted in connecting with as many voters as possible,” Bossier said.

And Mckesson has a lot of work to do on that front. The most recent Baltimore Sun poll showed he had the support of less than one percent of voters.

Mckesson chats with bicyclists as he canvasses in Charles Village, Baltimore, on March 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Mckesson chats with bicyclists as he canvasses in Charles Village, Baltimore, on March 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Mckesson and his team argue that the polls have understated his following. They cite the unusually high turnout in early voting and the fact the mayoral race is coinciding with a presidential primary as reasons the electorate will be fundamentally different than it has been in the past. Still, his loss Tuesday now seems a foregone conclusion.

Dr. Mileah Kromer, who directs the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Baltimore’s Goucher College, which conducts polling in Maryland, said she doesn’t believe there are enough unique factors in this year’s race for Mckesson to come from so far behind and pass the two frontrunners: former Mayor Sheila Dixon and Maryland State Senate Majority Leader Catherine Pugh.

“While I do think there’s a real possibility for him to outperform the one percent which he’s polling at, I don’t think it will make up for the thirty-point gap,” Kromer told Yahoo News.

Given his trailing position in polls, Mckesson has drawn few attacks from the top candidates. Neither the Pugh nor the Dixon campaign responded to requests from Yahoo News to comment about Mckesson. He has polled too low to even enter several debates, and Dixon, when initially asked about Mckesson’s candidacy, said she had never heard of him.

While his actual opponents are ignoring him, Mckesson has been under relentless attack online. He is constantly on his phone, fielding an exhausting stream of Twitter messages, including vicious insults from conservatives.

Along with online sparring, Mckesson believes he’s taking unfair hits in the press. His mayoral bid has generated substantial coverage, but much of it has focused on his poor poll numbers and background as a protester rather than his platform.

Late last month, Mckesson began an effort to reach out to 30,000 voters in the final 30 days of his campaign. He says he has far exceeded that goal with mailers, phone calls, events, and by knocking on nearly 2,000 doors per day with a combination of his staff, volunteers and paid canvassers. However, Mckesson doesn’t believe he’s being credited for this ground work and the impact it could have.

Mckesson lamented the public perceptions surrounding his campaign when he spoke to the class at UMBC last week, saying people don’t believe he’s out meeting voters unless he documents it.

“The social media presence is a good thing and a bad thing sometimes. It does a lot to amplify the message in a way that is powerful. The hard part is that if I don’t put it on Twitter, people like literally act like it doesn’t exist,” Mckesson said, adding, “No other candidate has to prove every single thing they do.”

Some local activists have been reluctant to embrace him, and view him as insufficiently tied to the community. This opposition has also drawn substantial attention in the press.

Dr. Lawrence Brown, a local activist and professor at Baltimore’s historically black Morgan State University, attributed the critiques Mckesson has faced from other activists to the city’s “insular” nature.

“Home grown — you know, born, raised, and what people call ’doing the work’ here, you know — it like really, really means a lot. And he was born and raised here, but people haven’t necessarily seen him doing the work … in terms of maybe activism or protesting, you know — being visible in that regard,” Brown told Yahoo News. “So I think like he’s being penalized for Baltimore’s very unique sense of insularity … not really wanting outsiders to get a lot of credit or to hog the limelight.”

As a result of the bad press, Mckesson is guarded. When Yahoo News asked him about the benefits and disadvantages of his high-profile association with Black Lives Matter, he barely answered the question.

“The movement is made up of many people doing incredible work all across the country,” Mckesson said. “I’m proud to stand with them and I’m proud to be a part of this community. That’s my whole comment on the record.”

In his defensive posture, Mckesson prefers to let his platform and campaign work speak for itself. He sticks to the details of his platform in almost all conversations. The data points tumble out of him in a rapid-fire patter. His eagerness for people to hear the policies seems apparent. Mckesson also wants the world to know he’s out pounding the pavement looking for votes — and to see the reaction he’s getting in his travels around the city.

Last Thursday and Friday, Yahoo News tagged along as Mckesson spoke to the UMBC college class, a group at a local senior citizens center, and a forum for young local leaders. Mckesson generally generated an enthusiastic response. On Friday evening, he visited the Federal Hill neighborhood and spent a few hours walking a stretch of more than half a mile that is densely populated with quaint brick homes, and he and his team knocked on hundreds of doors. Several people he encountered were familiar with his activism.

“You’re a big deal! Thanks for stopping by!” said one man who seemed shocked to find Mckesson on his doorstep. “I admire your Twitter awesomeness actually. I really like your platform, and I’m a fan.”

During the evening, one person shut the door on Mckesson, though they only did so after offering a terse, “Thanks!”

A Johns Hopkins science professor ran into the street to meet Mckesson after hearing from his wife that the candidate was in the neighborhood.

“She said you were out here, so I figured I’d come out and meet the celebrity,” the professor said.

Like several other enthusiastic supporters, the professor alluded to the poll numbers and expressed hope that Mckesson would remain in the city and stay involved even if he loses the election.

“You’re not going to disappear, right?” he asked.

Though Mckesson said he had no “plans to move,” he noted he wanted to be “transparent” and said he desired an impactful position in local government, and was concerned he might not be able to attain one if he’s defeated by certain unnamed rivals.

“This is why I’m running for mayor, right? It’s like the one position that actually allows for you to have maximum impact,” Mckesson explained. “I think that … there are some people that, if they win, I won’t have a place.”

The neighborhood where he made the rounds on Friday evening is a relatively well-off, mostly white section of the city. In her conversation with Yahoo News, Bossier, his campaign manager, acknowledged that wealthier Baltimoreans are a key part of Mckesson’s base.

“The places where we didn’t have to do as much education around who he was … predominately white, middle-income communities. … People who watch MSNBC or are on Twitter and so know him from that and, like, read the New Yorker and so kind of know who he is from that kind of work,” Bossier said. She added, “And then middle-income and upper-income black folks know who he is — again, probably mostly because of his social media presence and activism.”

In general, poor and minority voters tend to vote less, and Baltimore has had a recent history of especially low turnout that experts have attributed to pessimism and apathy among residents.

On Saturday, Yahoo News visited the Gilmor Homes, the public housing project where Freddie Gray lived before his fatal arrest. The development is located in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, a place where the streets are dotted with vacant homes and the statistics are grim. Last year, the poverty rate in Sandtown-Winchester was over 30 percent, almost a quarter of people were out of work, and the murder rate was almost twice the average for the rest of Baltimore even as the number of homicides in the city hit record highs.

The Gilmor Homes are a series of three-story apartments that open on to common areas. Some of the units are empty and boarded up. On Saturday, music blasted in the courtyard and people sat outside on stoops chatting with each other. Many of the residents we attempted to talk to declined to speak with us. None of the people we spoke to said they were aware of Mckesson, and almost all of them didn’t plan to vote.

One man, who declined to give his last name or spell out his first, complained about the condition of his home and a lack of support from the housing authority.

“I’m about to move out of here because they ain’t treating these people around here right, man. … Every time the mayor ask to shake your hand, they want to get voted. … They get voted in office … and you don’t see them no more,” the man said, adding, “There ain’t going to be no change … I’m going to change and get away from here.”

Shawnrice Kelly sat nearby with her sister. She echoed the man’s sentiments.

“I did vote. I did before, it ain’t interesting how it used to be when I was young, when I first started to vote. … I’m still going to be f***** at the end, whatever who wins,” Kelly said. “Everything’s still going to be the same. They say they’re going to help. Of course you’re going to say what you say to get your votes, but nobody cares. You got to make it out of this jungle on your own.”

Mckesson said he understands the “sense of disinvestment” among some voters in Baltimore’s poorer neighborhoods.

“For so many people, the government has not proven itself to be a productive force,” Mckesson said. “In so many ways, the government needs … to prove itself to people so they can be invested again. And I’m ready to do that as mayor. I know that that work isn’t necessarily quick work. It’s the right work, and it doesn’t happen overnight.”

Another man who spoke to Yahoo News in the Gilmor Houses and declined to give his name had no comment about the mayoral election. However, he did offer an observation on the national political scene.

“I just came home from prison. I’m going to be honest: If the president of the United States becomes Donald Trump, it’s going to be hell out here,” the man said. “It’s already hell, but it’s going to transform into the real version.”

If the man’s prediction comes true and “hell” breaks out in Baltimore this November, it’s safe to say we’ll see Mckesson there in the streets. For now, it seems far more likely he’ll be there as a protester rather than a politician.

Trump’s ‘very good’ night: ‘I consider myself the presumptive nominee’

“I consider myself the presumptive nominee,” Trump said. “If you look honestly, Sen. Cruz and Gov. Kasich should really get out the race… They should get out of the race, and we should heal the Republican Party.”
“I consider myself the presumptive nominee,” Trump said. “If you look honestly, Sen. Cruz and Gov. Kasich should really get out the race… They should get out of the race, and we should heal the Republican Party.”

NEW YORK — Donald Trump took another step toward clinching the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday, easily sweeping Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut in the latest round of GOP primaries.

But Trump’s victories, while commanding, did not bring an end to the Republican contest. Though the real estate mogul and former reality television star was expected to take home the majority of the 172 delegates at stake in Tuesday’s voting, adding to his already sizable lead, Pennsylvania’s delegate rules stopped Trump from making a clean sweep.

While Trump won Pennsylvania’s statewide vote, clinching 17 of the state’s 71 delegates, another 54 were officially “unbound,” meaning they can make their own decision about which candidate to support at the party’s convention in July in Cleveland. That technicality gave a glimmer of hope to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who are trying to stop Trump from getting the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination before the convention.

Still, Trump characterized his wins Tuesday as proof of his unstoppable momentum. Speaking to reporters at his election night event at Trump Tower, the GOP frontrunner said he considered the race “effectively over” because Cruz and Kasich “cannot win.”

“I consider myself the presumptive nominee,” Trump said. “If you look honestly, Sen. Cruz and Gov. Kasich should really get out the race… They should get out of the race, and we should heal the Republican Party.”

Although Trump now leads Cruz by more than 300 delegates, neither the Texas senator nor Kasich seem interested in ending their quest for the White House. The contest now shifts to Indiana, a state that could make or break the #NeverTrump movement.

There, Trump narrowly leads Cruz in a state that is viewed as friendly territory for the Texas senator. And on Tuesday night, Cruz took his campaign to the New Castle Fieldhouse, the legendary home of the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team, where he cast himself as an underdog unwilling to give up the fight.

“Tonight, this campaign moves back toward favorable terrain,” Cruz declared. “There is nothing Hoosiers cannot do.”

When Trump heads to Indiana on Wednesday, he will attempt to one-up Cruz in terms of basketball pandering. He plans to campaign with former Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight, a beloved sports figure in the state who endorsed Trump several months ago.

But Trump will first make a stop in Washington, D.C., where he’s scheduled to deliver a foreign policy speech — the first of several policy speeches he has promised to make as he attempts to transition from a primary to a general election candidate.

The candidate declined to go into specifics of what exactly he would talk about Wednesday. But he did reject the idea that he will tone down his rhetoric — pushing back on his convention manager Paul Manafort’s comments to members of the Republican National Committee last week that suggested Trump is merely playing “a part” and would embrace a more “presidential” tone in the coming weeks.

“I am me. I am not playing a part,” Trump said Tuesday night, adding that he had received dozens of messages from supporters saying, “Please don’t change, please don’t change.” “If you have a football team, and you are winning… Why would I change?” he said.

Trump hits 50 percent in national GOP poll for the first time

polls gop

While Republican frontrunner Donald Trump still needs more than 300 delegates to reach 1,237 — the magic number needed to secure the GOP presidential nomination — he has finally reached a key milestone in his bid for the White House: support from half of the country’s likely Republican voters.

According to a new NBC News/SurveyMonkey national tracking poll released Tuesday, 50 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they support the real estate mogul’s candidacy, compared to the 26 percent who support Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and the 17 percent who are backing Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Trump’s double-digit lead over his GOP rivals is one reason Cruz and Kasich banded together this week in an effort to block the brash billionaire from winning the GOP nomination.

Excluding independents, Trump now enjoys 49 percent support among Republican voters, up six points from last week, when the same poll was conducted prior to his resounding primary victory in New York.

Trump nearly reached 50 percent in a CNN/ORC poll conducted in February, when he led Florida Sen. Marco Rubio by 33 points (49 percent to 16 percent) among Republican and Republican-leaning voters.

Crossing the 50 percent threshold is important for Trump, who has hovered in mid-to-high-40 percent range in recent weeks — leading some to speculate that the White House hopeful had hit his ceiling with GOP voters.

In a statement blasting the Cruz-Kasich pact Monday, Trump complained that he “would be receiving in excess of 60% of the vote except for the fact that there were so many candidates” running against him.

On the Democratic side, frontrunner Hillary Clinton is ahead of Bernie Sanders nationally, but her lead has narrowed to just 2 points, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday shows.

polls dem

According to the survey, the former secretary of state has the support of 50 percent of likely Democratic primary voters, while Sanders has the support of 48 percent. In the same poll conducted last month, Clinton held a 9-point lead over the Vermont senator.

Heading into Tuesday’s primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, recent polls show Trump and Clinton leading in all five states — where wins would put each candidate closer to clinching their respective party’s nomination.

What We Know About the New Ted Cruz-John Kasich Alliance Against Trump

Cruz, Kasich: Kasich's team was the first of the duo to confirm their plan, with chief strategist John Weaver explaining the goal in a Sunday news release.
Cruz, Kasich: Kasich’s team was the first of the duo to confirm their plan, with chief strategist John Weaver explaining the goal in a Sunday news release.

MEGHAN KENEALLY, Good Morning America/

The new public alliance between Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. John Kasich has added yet another surprising element to the ever-evolving presidential race.

The two Republican candidates have confirmed that they are being strategic about upcoming races and organizing their efforts to try to avoid competing against one another in certain states, focusing on putting their strongest foot forward against Donald Trump instead.

Kasich’s campaign manager confirmed that they’re going to target New Mexico, which holds its primary on June 7, while Cruz said today his attention is all on Indiana, which has its primary next Tuesday.

Such an approach is undeniably unique, especially given the public nature of their partnership. But whether it will work is an open question.

Strategic Planning

Kasich’s team was the first of the duo to confirm their plan, with chief strategist John Weaver explaining the goal in a Sunday news release.

“Our goal is to have an open convention in Cleveland, where we are confident a candidate capable of uniting the party and winning in November will emerge as the nominee,” Weaver said in the statement.

He went on to detail how the winner-take-all nature of Indiana affected their decision to “give the Cruz campaign a clear path” in that state.

“In turn, we will focus our time and resources in New Mexico and Oregon, both areas that are structurally similar to the Northeast politically, where Gov. Kasich is performing well,” Weaver said.

A Cruz campaign source then confirmed to ABC News that they coordinated with Kasich’s team on Weaver’s release and the strategy behind it.

Kasich made it clear today, however, that he isn’t completely throwing in the towel in Indiana. He said he would still want his supporters in Indiana to vote for him and not Cruz.

“I’ve never told them not to vote for me,” Kasich told reporters at a Philadelphia diner today when asked about his Indiana supporters. “They should vote for me.”

“I mean, this is a matter of resources, and we’re running a national campaign, and we want to have our resources where we think they could be used most effectively,” Kasich added

But the Texas senator this morning told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham that he thinks it is “very important” for Kasich to move out of the Indiana race “because the object has always been to nominate the strongest Republican to defeat Hillary Clinton in November.”

Cruz Ksh  Tp

Support From Trump’s Other Enemies

Outside groups that have made it their mission to keep Trump out of the White House have roundly supported the move, and are calling for their supporters to do the same.

The #NeverTrump movement put out a statement Sunday saying organizers were “happy” to see the alliance and stressed the importance of getting to a second ballot at the Republican National Convention in July. That will only happen if one of the candidates does not accumulate 1,237 delegates beforehand or does not get that many delegates on the first ballot.

“We’ve seen from victories in places like Ohio and Wisconsin that when #NeverTrump forces unite behind the one alternative that’s better suited to that state that we can beat Trump decisively,” the group’s statement said.

Gov. Kasich won in his home state of Ohio and Cruz won in Wisconsin.

Tim Miller, an adviser to the Our Principles PAC, which is also working against Trump, also expressed optimism about the plan.

“Voters will have to make decisions for themselves but we’d encourage those who don’t want a standard-bearer that is not conservative, doesn’t respect the Constitution, and has no chance against Hillary Clinton to support the candidate best able to beat him in their state,” Miller told ABC News.

Dealing With the Delegates

While the plan could keep Kasich from winning any delegates directly in the Indiana primary, he could be looking for a win from Hoosiers further down the line.

The state’s Republican Party has already selected the 57 people who will go to the national convention as delegates, and no matter the outcome of the May 3 vote, those are the 57 people going to the convention.

They will only be bound for the first ballot, which could be a source of hope for Kasich.

When those names were revealed this weekend, the Kasich campaign was happily boasting about how many among them were supporters who would fall in line for him on any nomination ballots beyond the first.

If the announced plan with Cruz works and the convention is contested, Kasich can hope that he was right and that many, if not most, of the Indiana delegates would support him on later ballots.

Trump..."It is sad that two grown politicians have to collude against one person who has only been a politician for ten months in order to try and stop that person from getting the Republican nomination,"
Trump…”It is sad that two grown politicians have to collude against one person who has only been a politician for ten months in order to try and stop that person from getting the Republican nomination,”

Trump’s Response

Unsurprisingly, Trump was not thrilled about the Cruz-Kasich alliance.

“It is sad that two grown politicians have to collude against one person who has only been a politician for ten months in order to try and stop that person from getting the Republican nomination,” Trump said in a response issued by his campaign.

“Collusion is often illegal in many other industries and yet these two Washington insiders have had to revert to collusion in order to stay alive,” he said, going on to reiterate his earlier assertions that the Republican Party process is rigged and corrupt.

He made similar statements on Twitter as well, but with more exclamation points.

ABC News’ Jessica Hopper, Candace Smith, Ben Gittleson and Jim Hill contributed to this report.

The US has deployed 2 F-22 fighter jets to Russia’s backyard

f-15_and_f-22_1

The US has deployed two of its most advanced fighter jets to Romania in order to better keep an eye on Russian activity in the Black Sea, the Air Force Times reports.

The two F-22 Raptors are part of a supporting US force that has been deployed to NATO member Romania. The aircraft are there as part of a mission intended to “bolster the security of NATO allies and partners in Europe,” according to a US Air Force press release.

The F-22, the first truly operational fifth-generation fighter in the world, will be used to further increase interoperability between the US and fellow NATO nations as well as signal to Russia that the US will stand with NATO against any Russian aggression.

“These aircraft have the ability to project air dominance quickly, at great distances, to defeat any possible threat,” US Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray said of the F-22 deployment in Romania at a press conference.

The deployment comes soon after Russian military aircraft repeatedly buzzed a US naval ship that was in international waters in the Baltic Sea.

In response to that incident, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the ship would have been justified in shooting down the Russian aircraft.

The US decision to place the F-22s in Europe also comes on the heels of dire predictions concerning NATO readiness to defend the Baltics in the event of a Russian invasion of the NATO member states.

In February, the think tank RAND published a report estimating that, at current defense levels, Russia would be able to occupy the Baltics in just two days.

The F-22 deployment is not the only indication of US concern over a Russian drive to become a global power. In response to concerns that Russia has increased its submarine activity to Cold War levels, the US is will reopen a submarine-hunting base in Iceland because of Russia’s increase naval activity in the North Atlantic.

 

The Obamas’ U.K. visit in photos

President Barack Obama and first lady spent Friday in London, United Kingdom, meeting with Queen Elizabeth and dining at with the royal family. It’s Day 2 of a four-day stay in the U.K., where Obama has made his case for the U.S. and U.K. to maintain their “special relationship,” and against British withdrawal from the European Union.

Princess Kate Middleton talks with first lady Michelle Obama in Kensington Palace, London, prior to a private dinner hosted by Prince William and Kate on April 22.
Princess talks with first lady Michelle Obama in Kensington Palace, London, prior to a private dinner hosted by Prince William and Kate on April 22.
President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One at Stansted Airport in London on April 21.
President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One at Stansted Airport in London on April 21.
President Obama shakes hands with British Prime Minister David Cameron at the conclusion of a joint news conference at 10 Downing Street in London on April 22.
shakes hands with British Prime Minister at the conclusion of a joint news conference at 10 in London on April 22.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle on April 22.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle on April 22.
Members of the royal family welcome the Obamas to Kensington Palace on April 22.
Members of the royal family welcome the Obamas to Kensington Palace on April 22.
Britain's Prince William talks with President Obama as Kate Middleton and Michelle Obama talk while Prince Harry looks on at Kensington Palace in London on April 22.
Britain’s Prince William talks with President Obama as Kate Middleton and Michelle Obama talk while Prince Harry looks on at Kensington Palace in London on April 22.
President Barack Obama, Prince William and First Lady Michelle Obama play with Prince George at Kensington Palace in London on April 22.
President Barack Obama, Prince William and First Lady Michelle Obama play with Prince George at Kensington Palace in London on April 22.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama walk from Downing Street to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on April 22.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama walk from Downing Street to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on April 22.
Royal Guardsman look out from the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle on April 22.
Royal Guardsman look out from the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle on April 22.
The president's convoy sits outside Windsor Castle on April 22.
The president’s convoy sits outside Windsor Castle on April 22.

President Obama Adding US Troops in Syria to Keep Up ‘Momentum’ Against ISIS

usarmyGuardian

President Obama says he is expanding the U.S. military presence in Syria in order to keep up the “momentum” in the campaign against ISIS.

“I’ve decided to increase U.S. support for local forces fighting ISIL in Syria,” the president said today in a speech in Hanover, Germany, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State. “They’re not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces that continue to drive ISIL back.”

The president will deploy an additional 250 Special Operations Forces to Syria to assist local forces in their fight against ISIS. This adds to the 50 personnel aiding fighters in Syria, bringing the total number of US troops in the country to 300.
Obama to Send 250 Additional Military Personnel to Syria, Official Says

Obama encouraged his NATO counterparts to step up their counter-ISIS efforts, including increasing the air campaign in Syria and Iraq, providing trainers to help build up local forces in Iraq and providing greater economic assistance to Iraq.

“These terrorists are doing everything in their power to strike our cities and kill our citizens so we need to do everything in our power to stop them,” he said.

Before the speech, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes stressed that while the troops will be in “harm’s way,” they are not being tasked with a combat mission.

“Obviously, any special forces troops that we deploy into Iraq or Syria are going to be combat-equipped troops. They may be in circumstances where they find themselves in harm’s way because these are dangerous places,” Rhodes told reporters today. “They’re not being sent there on a combat mission. They’re being sent there on a mission to be advising and assisting and supporting the forces that are fighting against ISIL on the ground.”

The United States is also ramping up its military presence in neighboring Iraq. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced last week the deployment of an additional 217 troops to serve as advisers in Iraq, raising the total number of authorized military forces to 4,087.

The president’s decision comes before a security-focused meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Hollande, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Rhodes said the president will encourage his European counterparts, both publicly and privately, to expand their commitment to fight ISIS.

“Everybody is in this fight,” Rhodes said. “We will do our part, but this will only succeed if we are working together as a coalition and as a global community to stamp out the threat of ISIL.”

The leaders will also discuss other global security concerns, including the refugee crisis, assisting a new government in Libya, and maintaining pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been at odds with Western leaders over aggression in Ukraine and support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

President Obama will urge European leaders to expand intelligence sharing as ISIS continues to pose a threat to their countries in the wake of the attacks in Paris and Brussels.

Prince Has Been Cremated In A Secret Ceremony

The funeral comes just one day after Prince’s body was released to his family following an autopsy, with it still being inconclusive as to how the singing legend died.
The funeral comes just one day after Prince’s body was released to his family following an autopsy, with it still being inconclusive as to how the singing legend died.

It has been confirmed that Prince’s body was cremated in a secret memorial service yesterday. The event took place at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, where he was tragically found dead in an elevator on Thursday.

Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, was spotted taking the star’s ashes from the First Memorial Waterston chapel in south Minneapolis with her son Prez, with the chapel priding themselves on providing “professional funeral services for all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds”. Prince was a member of the Christian denomination of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is why his funeral took place so quickly as the faith dictates it should always be within one week of death. However, Prince’s cremation doesn’t follow the Jehovah Witness ritual of being laid to rest in a grave.

The Mirror report that Prince had already told his family of the type of service he wished to have following his death, insisting that there should be “no drama”. The funeral comes just one day after Prince’s body was released to his family following an autopsy, with it still being inconclusive as to how the singing legend died. However, Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson did rule out suicide, saying in a press conference: “We have no reason to believe at this point that it’s a suicide, but it’s early on in the investigation. “Prince is a very private person and I don’t think it would be unusual for him to be there by himself.”

x Close

Like Us On Facebook