Wisconsin started its presidential election recount on Thursday, soon to be followed by Pennsylvania and Michigan. President-elect Donald Trump won all three states, sealing victory in the Electoral College, after pre-election polls indicated they would go to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Wisconsin's recount will be the first candidate-requested review of presidential ballots in 16 years, but it was Green Party candidate Jill Stein, not Clinton, who demanded it and offered to foot part of the bill. Trump won by less than a percentage point — about 22,000 votes — in Wisconsin, but almost nobody expects the recounts to give Clinton victory over Trump.
Source: The Associated Press The death toll from eastern Tennessee's wildfires rose to 11 on Thursday, as emergency crews shifted from a rescue operation to recovery. Wildfires in and near Smoky Mountain National Park have scorched about 17,000 acres, including roughly half of the tourist town of Gatlinburg. About 700 homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed, about 300 in Gatlinburg and 400 in nearby Pigeon Force. Some of the dead were found in burned rental cabins and motels. About 70 people were missing as of late Thursday. Officials say the fire was "likely to be human-caused."
Source: USA Today President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that he had chosen retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to be his secretary of defense. Mattis, known as "Mad Dog," has a reputation for strong, aggressive thinking, and shares Trump's hardline stance against potential enemies abroad, especially Iran. Mattis, 66, only left the military four years ago, so before he can be confirmed in the job, Congress will need to pass legislation to bypass a law requiring defense secretaries to have been out of uniform for at least seven years. Trump's transition team and Mattis declined to comment. An official announcement could come as soon as next week.
Source: CNN, The Washington Post Jim Delligatti, inventor of the McDonald's Big Mac, has died at his home in a Pittsburgh suburb. He was 98. Delligatti first served the now-iconic sandwich — two beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a three-layer sesame-seed bun — at his Uniontown, Pennsylvania, McDonald's outlet in 1967. The chain started serving it nationwide the following year. Delligatti said he was just improvising his own version of double-decker sandwiches served elsewhere. "I would never have dreamed that my creation would turn into a piece of Americana," he once said, according to McDonald's.
Source: CNN A car bomb near a police station in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killed 11 people and wounded 16 more on Saturday, local officials said. "The whole market is ruined and people perished. The death toll is sure to rise," said police Colonel Abdikadir Farah. Though no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, this sort of violence is typical of al Shabaab, an Islamic extremist group that seeks to overthrow the Somali government. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud recently visited a university in the neighborhood where the bomb exploded.
Source: Associated Press, Yahoo News Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell died Sunday at his Nashville home, his wife said in a statement posted on his website. He was 74. A skilled songwriter whose work defied the limitations of genre, Russell collaborated with a wide range of musicians over his long career, from B.B. King to Willie Nelson to Elton John. "He was my biggest influence as a piano player, a singer, and a songwriter," John said. A native of Oklahoma, Russell suffered a heart attack in July and had recently undergone heart surgery. He passed away in his sleep.
Source: Reuters The Internet, because its nothing if not predictable, chose a new candidate: Dead-gorilla turned confusing-meme, Harambe.That’s right, the gorilla who was shot dead after a child fell into his pen at the zoo received 11,000 votes in last night’s election.
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About This BlogCertain numerology has a strong connection with occultism. Various numbers from time-to-time appear in news articles, and one has to wonder if there isn't some occult significance behind this story. Archives
May 2021
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