A Tennessee man accused of planning to attack a Muslim community in New York has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Chattanooga’s U.S. District Court convicted Christian minister Robert Doggart, a 65-year-old former engineer at the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The FBI began investigating Doggart in February 2015, when agents became aware of a threatening Facebook post by Doggart in which he wrote that Islamberg needed to be “utterly destroyed.” After an investigation that included wiretaps Doggart was arrested on April 10 by federal marshals and charged with solicitation, intentionally defacing, damaging or destroying religious property and interstate communication of threats, court documents show.
FBI agents discovered Doggart was stockpiling weapons and plotting to travel to upstate New York to kill Muslims using explosives, an M-4 assault rifle and a machete. According to a federal investigation, Doggart saw himself as a religious “warrior” and wanted to kill Muslims to show his commitment to his Christian god.
The investigation showed that he spoke with numerous individuals across the country to plan an attack. Doggart also traveled to South Carolina, where he met with individuals from an unidentified militia group.
Prosecutors said Doggart made threats against Islamberg near Hancock, N.Y., in phone conversations with supporters in South Carolina and Texas. Jurors listened to many phone calls in which Doggart talked about burning down Islamberg’s mosque with explosives and shooting anyone who opposed his team with assault rifles.
Defense attorneys countered that Doggart exaggerated a number of facts, never had a consistent plan in place, was goaded by a confidential informant into carrying out the attack and only wanted to conduct peaceful recon on Islamberg. Defense attorney Jonathan Turner told jurors in his closing arguments that Doggart was convinced Islamberg’s residents wanted to carry out a terror attack on New York City, in part because of Fox News broadcasts.
Since his arrest in April 2015, Doggart has spent most of the time out on bond until his recent conviction. After that verdict, Doggart’s defense attorneys had asked Judge Collier to let him stay on house arrest before his May 31 sentencing hearing, citing medical problems. Collier denied the request saying Doggart appeared obsessed with the community of Islamberg and should stay in custody until sentencing.
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Suddenly uninsured? If you think you’re eligible for a special enrollment period (SEP) for health insurance, be ready to prove it. New regulations effective June 23, 2017, require 100 percent of consumers seeking an SEP in states served by the federal website platform to provide pre-enrollment verification.[1] Previously, about half of consumers requesting an SEP were required to do so.
The crackdown, which stems from a final rule issued April 18, 2017, aims to curb “misuse and abuse of special enrollment periods” by those who decided to enroll in coverage after they find out they need healthcare.[2]
Don’t Qualify for Special Enrollment?
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Need Coverage for 90+days?
Consider this Long-Term Solution[3]
To help you understand how health insurance special enrollment periods will be handled from now on, here are five key things to know:[4]
1. You must have a “qualifying life event” to become eligible for special enrollment. Click here for an in-depth look at qualifying life events from CMS
2. Documentation will be required. If you have a qualifying life event, you will need to submit documentation that confirms it as requested by the exchange through which you enroll.
3. A deadline will apply. You will have 30 days to provide the requested information.
4. Roll-out of pre-enrollment verification will happen in two phases. The first phase starts June 23, 2017, and the second begins sometime in August.
On June 23, 2017, pre-enrollment verification begins for those who experience the following qualifying life events:
a.) Loss of qualifying health coverage (i.e., minimum essential coverage)
- Job-based coverage – yours or someone else’s
- Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage including pregnancy-related coverage and medically needy coverage
- Some student health plans – check with the school to verify that the plan counts as qualifying health coverage
- Individual or group health plan coverage that ends during the year
- Dependent coverage through a parent’s plan
b.) A permanent move
- Gained access to new health insurance plans due to a change in primary residence and
- Had qualifying coverage for at least one of the 60 days preceding the date of the move or
- Lived in a foreign country or in a U.S. territory for at least one of the 60 days preceding the date of the move
In August 2017, pre-enrollment verification will be added for those who experience the following qualifying life events (more details will follow later this summer):
a.) Marriage
b.) Gaining or becoming a dependent through adoption, placement for adoption, placement in foster care, or a child support or other court order
c.) Medicaid/CHIP denial
5. If you can’t prove you qualify for an SEP, you could remain uninsured. And, if you are not exempt from having minimum essential coverage, that means you could owe a tax penalty.
Read the CMS Overview
What if I’m denied special enrollment?
It is possible to file an appeal. However, you could find yourself without health insurance coverage and, as mentioned above, may owe a tax penalty if you are not exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.
Find Temporary Coverage
You may need to consider short term coverage, a hospital indemnity plan or another type of health benefits to help pay for healthcare until you have minimum essential coverage.
How do I begin the special enrollment process?
Visit www.HI4E.Org to get started. You will then be able to “Request-A-Free-Quote” or request extra guidance and assistance with finding coverage until your new Obamacare plan begins January 2018. We can also help you shop and price-out the available plans that may be left within your state.
Find A More AFFORDABLE Health Plan That Is Still Being Offered Within Your State, When You Shop At: www.hi4e.org HealthInsurance4Everyone & Health & Life Solutions LLC – Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers & We’re Growing Daily!!
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Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is taking an indefinite leave of absence amid a scandal over sexual harassment. Billionaire David Bonderman also resigned from Uber’s board, after making disparaging comments about women at a board meeting intended to address sexual harassment in the workplace. Uber has fired more than 20 employees as part of its own internal probe into what multiple sources have described as a culture of sexism.
The fallout continues four months after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler came forward with allegations that Uber’s human-resources team systematically ignored her reports of sexual harassment during the year she worked for the company. Fowler detailed her year working for Uber in a February 2017 blog post which went viral and kicked off an internal investigation into her claims of sexual harassment.
Fowler claimed that just days after completing her training, she was clearly propositioned for sex by her new manager over a string of messages over company chat. She immediately took screenshots of the messages and sent them to Human Resources. She was told by the HR Team that the manager in question would receive only a verbal reprimand since it was his first offense. She was then given the option of leaving the team which would give her no contact with the manager in question or stay on the team knowing that he could give her a poor performance review. She was told a negative review would not be considered retaliation because she had the option to leave.
Fowler left the team and while working with other female engineers within the company, learned that the manager had been reported for inappropriate behavior by multiple women prior to her interaction with him. She claims that despite having a perfect performance score, a request for transfer was blocked and the reasoning was “undocumented performance problems”. Her blog post also revealed instances of blatant sexism, the dwindling number of female engineers still with the company and chaotic political games within upper management as well.
CEO Travis Kalanick sent a company-wide email the day after the blog post which addressed the allegations published the day before. The company launched two internal investigations, hiring the law firm Perkins Coie to investigate Fowler’s claims – which resulted in the firing of 20 people after investigating 215 reported claims of discrimination and harassment, among other issues. The company then brought on former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran, both partners at law firm Covington & Burling, to conduct a separate investigation into Uber’s overall culture.
At the end of May, Uber received Eric Holder’s recommendations for change. The board met for more than six hours Holder presented the findings of his firm’s report. A representative for Uber’s board said it voted unanimously in favor of adopting all of Holder’s recommendations.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, June 25th, 2017 was:
SARAH HARRISON
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
6/19/17
Allyson Becker
Pamela White Brearley
Samantha Brwn
Jennifer Mapes
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Trish Musgrave
Juanita Williams-Jones
Kathi Taylor
Melissa D’Ornellas Curtis
Christine McKinnon
Emily Rice Bowersock
Nitasha Shank
Shameka Barnes
Sarah Harrison
Jade Good
Crystal Dotson
Brooke Scott
Kelly Jo Francisco
Alisa Jones
Beth Epley Minton
Ashley Agner
Valerie Kuehn
6/20/17
Kelly Jo Francisco
Trish Musgrave
Susanne Killion
Lori Capobianco
Dawn Raasch
Rebecca Fauteux
Amy Chavis
Heather Jacques
Amber Hawkins
Sarah Bellestri Shih
D Shanel Collins
Eleazar Ruiz
Nancy Scharnhorst
Kristina Rosson
Brittany Michelle
Dean Bruss
Marcy Coull
Melissa D’Ornellas Curtis
Sheila Carvell
Chelcie Malow
Vickie Gipson
6/21/17
Sandra Sue Blanton
Christina Domingue
Bea Patrick
Diane Hamric
Kelly Jo Francisco
Lotorya Patrick
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Trish Musgrave
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Deidre LeDoux
Misty Shallcross
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Kim Floyd
Michelle Webb
Nikki Wooton
Jenny Merritt
Kaitlyn Rutherford
Angela Hendricks
Nitasha Shank
Tiffane Sloan
Tracy Shafer
6/22/17
Annette French
Deidre LeDoux
Kelly Jo Francisco
Tina Mimick
Eleazar Ruiz
Sarah Harrison
Nancy Scharnhorst
Traci Anderson
Brandy Williams
Kendra George
Jessica Miller
Brandi K Chaney
Mary Mcmenamy
Penny Fisher
Amanda Rosario
Alexis Maureen
Alisa Jones
Michelle Bartley
Sheila Carvell
Christina Domingue
6/23/17
Deborah Farris
Sarah Harrison
Shannon R Garrett
Lori Capobianco
Kelly Jo Francisco
Amanda Rosario
Brittany Whitley
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Brandy Williams
Crystal Young
Paula Rousseau
Beth Cleveland
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Nitasha Shank
Beth Epley Minton
Emily Rice Bowersock
Annette French
Belinda Haas
Becca Neuenschwander Long
Trish Musgrave
6/24/17
Jennifer Mason
Jade Good
Mary Achio
Tera Wardrip
Sheila Carvell
Darlene Whyte
Tracy Shafer
Jenny Meyers
Brandy Williams
Geri Rus
Michelle Cervantes
Abby Cox
Kelly Jo Francisco
Shameka Barnes
Amanda Rosario
Jessica Miller
Nelle Bailey
Jane Peterson
Monica Stewart
Michelle Hughes
Dale Fish
Amy Marie Wilkinson
6/25/17
Suzie Mize Lockhart
Trish Musgrave
Kelly Jo Francisco
Eleazar Ruiz
Alicia Smith
Amanda Saltsman
Dawn Raasch
Samantha Brwn
Anna Nichols
Beth Epley Minton
Nancy Scharnhorst
Valerie Kuehn
Brandy Williams
Jennifer Marie
Lora Heltne
Althea Thomas
Jenifer Garza
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Rebecca Hueller Crum
Sheila Carvell
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on…. 
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX & HI4Eshop Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
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Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
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Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial has ended in a mistrial after jurors remained deadlocked on all counts after 52 hours of deliberation. Cosby faced three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Andrea Constand has accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his home in 2004. Constand is the former director of operations for the women’s basketball team at Temple University where Cosby was a trustee.
Constand is one of about 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assaults dating back decades. It’s the only criminal case stemming from dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct — all of which the comedian/actor denies. She says she was “paralyzed” by pills he gave her while he claimed it was just Benadryl and that the encounter was consensual.
Cosby did not take the stand, but his lawyers have maintained the physical contact was mutual and raised questions as to why Constand kept in phone contact with Cosby after the alleged incident. They also questioned why she did not report it for a year. Prosecutors declined to charge Cosby in 2004 but reopened the case after the scandal erupted two and
a half years ago.
The jurors were chosen in the Pittsburgh area and bussed in to Philadelphia for the trial. After six days of testimony, the jury of seven men and five women began deliberations. They were soon deadlocked but continued to deliberate, reviewing reams of testimony. After 52 hours of deliberations, Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill accepted a defense motion for a mistrial.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele immediately announced that he plans to retry the case and ordered that Cosby can remain free on $1 million bail he posted when he was first charged. Steele later told reporters that there “was no pause or hesitation” in deciding to retry the case and that “we had a significant amount of evidence … now we have to prove (the case) beyond a reasonable doubt.” Prosecutors will retry him on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, a charge that carries 10 years in prison.
Outside the courthouse, lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents some of the women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, said that “round two may be just around the corner, and this time, justice may prevail.” She commended her client Kelly Johnson, the only other accuser allowed to testify at the trial, and thanked all the accusers who have spoken out. Several of Cosby’s accusers have been attending the trial.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, June 18th, 2017 was:
CHRISTY HAWKES
Tremonton, UT
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
6/12/17
Brittany Marie Thompson
Hollie Jahnke
Becky VanGinkel
Lotorya Patrick
Melissa Barnes Walker
Anggie Marie
LaKishia Wagers
Taschia Miller
Sarah Harrison
Brandi Kerr
Janice Cash
Kayla Clemons
Anna Nichols
Isis Sample
Tera Wardrip
Brittany Witley
Karen Bondehagen
Chris Maxwell
Brittany Michelle
Tina Marie
Jamie Suttle
6/13/17
Kelly Jo Francisco
Eleazar Ruiz
Heather Marocco
Carla S-Paige Williams
Priscilla Shimp
D Shanel Collins
Kathleen Hickman
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Lisa David Carr
Rebecca Fauteux
Cheryl Hall
Sheila Carvell
Penny Fisher
Joanie Waterman
Kathi Taylor
Heather Jacques
Michelle Hughes
Tabitha Sinks
Jade Good
Andrea Timms
6/14/17
Missyn Haselby
Kelly Jo Francisco
Tera Wardrip
Alicia Smith
Jenifer Garza
Crystal Young
Samantha Brwn
Christina Montes
Amber McGrath
Morgan Alexandra
Melissa D’Ornellas Curtis
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Brittany Michelle
Kendra George
Wendi Black
Kristen Raia Bowman
Stephanie Beckwith
Kathi Taylor
Allyson Becker
Myranda Medlin
Carole Jacobs
Valerie Kuehn
Vickie Gipson
6/15/17
Brittany Whitley
Misty Shallcross
Hollie Jahnke
Lotorya Patrick
Christy Hawkes
Sheila Carvell
Krissy Brislin
Jennifer Leffler
Cheryl Hall
Sammi Palacios
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Wendi Black
Angela N Dustin Turner
Trish Musgrave
Sandra Sue Blanton
Kim Avery
Dena Baji
Christina Radcliff
Michelle Abbott
Barbie Sundy
Michelle Hughes
Karyn Koehler
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Belinda Haas
Michelle Cervantes
6/16/17
Christy Hawkes
Jodi Stevens
Deborah Farris
Sammi Palacios
Juanita Williams-Jones
Lotorya Patrick
Sandy Nevels
Valerie Kuehn
D Shanel Collins
Kim Floyd
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Nelle Bailey
Brooke Scott
Paula Rousseau
Tina Mimick
Bea Patrick
Jade Good
Eleazar Ruiz
Nitasha Shank
Megan Rhyne
Marcia Hutcherson
6/17/17
Valerie Kuehn
Sheila Carvell
Kristina Rosson
Brian K Henson
Sammi Palacios
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Michelle R. Carlino
Chris Maxwell
Sarah Harrison
D Shanel Collins
Cassandra Berholtz
Amber Chandler
Samantha Maxwell
Susanne Killion
Kristina Harris
Tiffany Banks
Brandi K Chaney
Kimberly Snyder
Vickie Gipson
Christina Domingue
6/18/17
Melissa Turner Baker
Joanie Waterman
Ashley Agner
Judy Custer
Shelly Ann Peoples
Jade Good
Jacqlyn Gummert
Kelly Jo Francisco
Michelle R. Carlino
Deborah Farris
Althea Thomas
Lisa Puckett
Diane Hamric
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Sara Biason
Tracy Shafer
Jennifer Ramlet
Kayte CookWatts
Jodi Stevens
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX & HI4Eshop Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!
Company Blogs
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.
LegalShield
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In Montana, tech millionaire Greg Gianforte won a special election for the state’s sole congressional seat just one day after he was charged with assaulting a reporter. Gianforte body-slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the floor and repeatedly punched him, after Jacobs tried to ask about the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the House health care bill.
More than $6 million was spent by outside groups in Montana’s special election with 90% of the money favoring Gianforte. He won just over 50 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Rob Quist, who received 44 percent. Gianforte addressed the incident during his victory speech “Last night, I made a mistake, and I took an action that I can’t take back. And I’m not proud of what happened. I should not have responded in the way that I did. And for that, I’m sorry.”
Immediately after the violent altercation, the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs, quickly relayed the incident on social media. “Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacobs tweeted. Jacobs went to a local hospital for an X-ray on his elbow and Gianforte left the event.
Jacobs’ account of the incident was corroborated by Fox News Alicia Acuna, who was in the room to interview Gianforte at the time of the violent attack. Acuna stated that after Jacobs asked Gianforte a question, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck and slammed him to the ground before punching him repeatedly. “To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff’s deputies,” Acuna wrote in her account of the attack.
The sheriff’s office released a statement saying it was investigating allegations of assault involving Greg Gianforte but held press conference hours later as news of the assault spread. Gianforte spokesperson Shane Scanlon released a statement that conflicted with witness accounts “Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office,” Scanlon said in the statement, “the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg’s wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It’s unfortunate that aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”
In audio released of the incident, Jacobs asks Gianforte a question about the latest CBO scoring of the Affordable Health Care Act. “I’m sick and tired of you guys,” Gianforte said. A struggle can be heard on the recording as Gianforte continues “ The last guy who came here did the same thing. Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of here. The last guy did the same thing. Are you with the Guardian?” “Yes! You just broke my glasses, you just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacobs can be heard saying as Gianforte repeatedly yells at him to “Get the hell out of here.”
Earlier on the day of the assault, Jacobs had published a story in the Guardian about financial ties between Gianforte and Russian companies under U.S. sanctions. There is no word on whether his report in the Guardian was a motive in the assault.
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Members of the Trump administration and Pentagon officials are pushing for the deployment 3,000 to 5,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. There are currently about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Officials are also looking for the relaxation of restrictions on launching airstrikes. The recommendation comes after the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, warned the war has reached a stalemate. Trump is expected to decide whether to approve the deployment of additional troops later this month.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited Kabul to speak with Nicholson just days after an attack by a Taliban-affiliated militants killed 140 Afghan troops, most of whom were unarmed in a mosque praying at their base. The Pentagon’s proposal is aimed at countering the resilient Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan by adding thousands more troops closer to combat and bombarding the Taliban with airstrikes. Army General John Nicholson told the Senate the security situation had deteriorated. If approved, the decision would allow U.S. troops to partner with Afghan forces closer to the fight rather than just playing an advisory role.
The Pentagon had been focused on ending its presence in Afghanistan since 2001 but after the September 11th attacks, U.S. forces, with 100,000 troops deployed-helped topple the Taliban government that had given shelter to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
With the end of the combat mission “Enduring Freedom” and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the United States had pulled out most its troops in late 2014. The Obama administration decided to leave a force of about 13,000 troops in place after responding to pleas from U.S. Commanders. The 13,000 includes all active duty service personnel from all branches (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force), National Guard and Reserve as well as civilian employees of the Department of Defense and civilian contractors (APF) – which make up the smallest group.
There have been restrictions in place regarding how close Americans could accompany Afghan forces in combat and on bombing Taliban targets. Those rules were eased last year, and the Pentagon’s recent proposal would grant added authority for air strikes. The current NATO-led operation in Afghanistan is called “Resolute Support” and aims to train and advise the Afghan security forces. Sporadic combat operations are left to Special Forces. The U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan is America’s longest war and the Pentagon’s proposal means it won’t be ending any time soon.
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At least 140 Afghan soldiers were killed after Taliban militants disguised as soldiers, drove onto a military base and opened fire on soldiers leaving Friday prayers. Around 130 of the victims were young recruits who had just graduated from military school. A national day of mourning followed as the calculated Taliban attack was the deadliest on an Afghan military base in the last 16 years.
Camp Shaheen, in northern Afghanistan, was considered one of the nation’s most secure bases in the now relatively peaceful city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Though the April 21st death toll was high, it could have been much higher. It began when two pickup trucks with at least eight Taliban fighters disguised as ANA soldiers passed through multiple checkpoints undetected with fake military identification cards used to obtain access.
An intelligence officer who survived the attack said the attackers were clean-shaven and had what they claimed to be a bloody and bandaged, wounded soldier in the backseat. The “soldier” acted like he was in pain and the disguised attackers claimed it was a medical emergency, insisting that they needed to be let into the base immediately to save the soldier.
As the trucks made it to the final checkpoint which was manned by three guards and no barricade-the guards radioed headquarters to find out if the army hospital was expecting the urgent case. The guards were instructed to let them through but to inform them that they must leave their cache of weapons at the gate. The insurgents refused to leave their weapons and a fierce fire fight with the guards ensued. The Taliban attackers shot all three guards, killing two while the third remains in a critical condition.
After the altercation at the last checkpoint, the attackers made their way into the mosque just as prayers had ended and people were making their way outside. Armed with a machine gun installed on the roof of one of their trucks, the attackers sprayed bullets into the crowd.
As explosions went off, terrified recruits began running for safety. Nearby, an attacker in disguise was calmly directing terrified recruits “to safety” by ushering them inside the dining hall. Trusting the familiar uniform, many young recruits poured in, minutes later, he blew himself up — killing more than 20.
Many recruits ran back into the mosque for safety but the attackers followed them in, mercilessly killing them. A survivor inside the mosque said that as he “played dead” among bodies of fallen recruits he heard a voice call out that “it was over” and “survivors stand up.” Slowly, several survivors rose only to be shot dead.
As deadly as this calculated was, if it wasn’t for the altercation at the final checkpoint, it is likely the casualties would have been far higher. It is believed that the intention of the attackers was to breach the mosque and open fire during final prayers — where 1,500 unarmed personnel would have been easy prey in one enclosed space.
Following the ongoing investigation and amid speculation of inside assistance in the attack, 8 ANA personnel have been arrested while more remain under investigation. Afghanistan’s defense minister and Army chief have also resigned.
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On April 19th, disgraced NFL player Aaron Hernandez killed himself in his prison cell, officials said. Hernandez, 27, was found hanging in his cell by corrections officers around 3:05 a.m. and pronounced dead an hour later at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population housing unit and hanged himself with a bed sheet attached to his cell window. Officials said Hernandez had given no indication he might try to take his own life and that he had tried blocking his door from the inside with various items.
Just days before, on April 14th, Hernandez was found not guilty in the 2012 double murders of Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu and Safiro Teixeira Furtado. Hernandez was already convicted of first-degree murder in the death of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd in 2015 and was serving a sentence of life in prison without a possibility of parole.
Hernandez played three seasons with the New England Patriots and in 2012 he signed a $40 million five year contract extension that included a $12.5 million signing bonus. The Patriots released Hernandez from the team about 90 minutes after his June 2013 arrest in the murder of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez’s lawyers say they are skeptical of his death being a suicide while many speculate that his suicide was in part-financially motivated.
Hernandez’s arrest and termination led to enormous financial troubles as CytoSport and Puma canceled their endorsement deals and his release from the team automatically forfeited his 2015–18 salaries, totaling $19.3 million. The Patriots voided all remaining guarantees, including his 2013 and 2014 salaries, on the grounds that those guarantees were for skill, injury, or salary cap room, and did not include being cut for “conduct detrimental to the best interests of professional football.” The Patriots also planned to withhold $3.25 million of Hernandez’s 2012 signing bonus that was due to be paid in 2014 and to recoup the portion of the signing bonus already paid in an effort to recover some of the millions they lost when cutting him from the team.
Under Massachusetts law, it is possible for Hernandez lawyers to request to have his murder conviction vacated due to his death due to the legal principle of abatement ab initio. The principle asserts that when a defendant dies but has not exhausted all legal appeals, the case reverts to its status “at the beginning”; technically, the conviction is vacated and the defendant is rendered “innocent”.
At the time of his death, Hernandez was in the process of filing an appeal for his 2015 first degree murder conviction. On April 25, 2017, lawyers for Hernandez filed a motion at Massachusetts Superior Court in Fall River to vacate his murder conviction. State prosecutors reserve the right to object to Hernandez’s request. The family of Odin Lloyd may also petition the court not to vacate the conviction and to keep the appeal alive.
If the request is granted, a number of things can benefit Hernandez’s family and estate. First, he would not have been in violation of his Patriots contract. That may mean that the Patriots would have to pay the remaining $15 million of his contract to his estate. If his murder conviction is vacated, it would also protect his estate from any civil suits from Odin Lloyd’s family because they would not be able to use evidence from the criminal trial in a lawsuit against the Hernandez estate for civil damages.
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