MCHENRY, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A community is mourning the loss of an 18-year-old man from Grace City, North Dakota, as investigators look into what led up to a deadly crash. Foster County Deputies were called to a hit-and-run that happened in an alleyway near Johnston Street and Jones Avenue in McHenry, ND.
Court documents say at 2:35 Sunday morning, 41-year-old Shannon Brandt called 911 to report that he had hit a pedestrian because he was threatening him. Brandt told State Radio that the pedestrian was part of a Republican extremist group and that he was afraid they were “coming to get him.” The pedestrian has been identified in a GoFundMe page as 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson.
After visiting the scene where the incident happened, deputies went to Brandt’s house in Glenfield, ND, which is about 12 minutes from the crash scene. Brandt admitted to consuming alcohol before the incident, and stated he hit Ellingson with his car because he had a political argument with him. Brandt also admitted to deputies that he initially left the crash scene, then returned to call 911, but left again before deputies could arrive.
Court documents say just before the crash, Ellingson called his mom and asked if they knew who Brandt was. She said yes, and told her son she was on her way to pick him up. A short time later, court documents say Ellingson called his mom again to say that “he” or “they” were chasing him. It was after the second call that Ellingson could not be reached again.
Ellingson was pronounced dead at a Carrington Hospital. Brandt has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide and DUI. Court records show a judge set bail at $50,000.
Here are the media outlets covering this, according to Memeorandum:
Fox News is reporting as well. But, others? Crickets. 🙄 Normally, when the right cries “media bias!” I roll my eyes. Not this time, it’s obvious that the progressive media is not touching this, at all.
Michigan Democrat John Dingell Jr., the longest-serving member of Congress in American history who helped write most of the nation’s major environmental and energy laws, died Thursday, his wife said. He was 92.
The Dearborn statesman was a champion of the auto industry and was credited with increasing access to health care, among other accomplishments.
He died peacefully at his home in Dearborn, surrounded by his wife, U.S. Rep. Deborah Dingell, her office said in a statement.
“He was a lion of the United States Congress and a loving son, father, husband, grandfather, and friend,” the statement said.
“He will be remembered for his decades of public service to the people of Southeast Michigan, his razor-sharp wit and a lifetime of dedication to improving the lives of all who walk this earth.”
A year ago, John Dingell was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had metastasized and which the former congressman chose not to treat, according to his family. He also had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized in Detroit last year.
News of his death prompted an outpouring online from lawmakers, former colleagues and others — many of whom regularly enjoyed Dingell’s tweets
.Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered U.S. and Michigan flags within the State Capitol Complex and on all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff Friday in Dingell’s honor.
“Today, the great state of Michigan said farewell to one of our greatest leaders,” Whitmer said. “We are a stronger, safer, healthier nation because of Congressman Dingell’s 59 years of service, and his work will continue to improve the lives of Michiganders for generations to come.” Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, said Dingell understood the connection Michiganians have to manufacturing, agriculture, to the land and the Great Lakes.
“Congressman John Dingell — the Dean of the House and my dear friend — was not merely a witness to history. He was a maker of it,” Stabenow said.
“His original family name, translated into Polish, meant ‘blacksmith.’ Nothing could be more fitting for a man who hammered out our nation’s laws, forging a stronger union that could weather the challenges of the future. John Dingell loved Michigan.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, called Dingell “a beloved pillar of the Congress and one of the greatest legislators in American history.”
“John Dingell leaves a towering legacy of unshakable strength, boundless energy and transformative leadership,” Pelosi said.
“Chairman Dingell was our distinguished Dean and Chairman, our legendary colleague and a beloved friend. His memory will stand as an inspiration to all who worked with him or had the pleasure of knowing him. His leadership will endure in the lives of the millions of American families he touched.”
Detroit News Publisher and Editor Jon Wolman said Dingell “was public service personified, a giant personality whose political ingenuity lasted until his final breath, or should I say his final tweet.”
“I never knew a better legislator or a stronger voice,” added Wolman, who knew Dingell from their time together in Washington and Detroit.
I think if there were more democrats like Dingell, I’d be tempted to vote for them. Sadly, those days are gone for good. 🙁
George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president and his one term as commander in chief from 1989 to 1993.
The last veteran of World War II to serve as president, he was a consummate public servant and a statesman who helped guide the nation and the world out of a four-decade Cold War that had carried the threat of nuclear annihilation.
His death, at 94 on Nov. 30, also marked the passing of an era.
President George Herbert Walker Bush June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018 Rest in Peace
He was a Republican through and through, but towards the end of his life lived to see his party evolve away from his politics. Bush embodied, almost to the point of caricature, the older tradition of upper-class New England Republicanism. He came to this tradition by pedigree. He was born in Connecticut in 1924, the son of a Wall Street banker turned senator.
Almost everything in Bush’s impressive resume bespoke an allegiance to the country club establishment that once governed the Republican Party: Andover Prep School, distinguished naval service, Yale, membership of the elite Skull and Bones secret society, ambassadorship to the United Nations, a term as envoy to China, a brief stint as head of the CIA. This is the career trajectory of an internationalist Republican, one committed to maintaining America’s role as the cornerstone of the global order.
Bush tried to navigate, often uneasily, between the moderate Republican tradition he was reared in and the rising conservative wing of the party. He was, in truth, no liberal. His supposed moderation was mainly a question of style. But that style counted for something. Unlike Ronald Reagan, Bush didn’t speak the lingo of movement conservatism, even when he advocated for conservative politics.
As The Washington Post notes, “During the 1980 primaries, Mr. Bush positioned himself as a moderate, pragmatic alternative to Reagan, and he derided as ‘voodoo economics’ the former California governor’s vow to simultaneously cut taxes, boost defense spending and balance the budget.”
This stance made Bush widely distrusted by conservatives even when Reagan picked him to be the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate in 1980. To overcome his reputation for being squishy (the infamous “wimp factor”), Bush went overboard in the 1988 election, running rancid racist ads featuring Willie Horton and making demagogic appeals to issues like flag burning. This won him the election, but it was a hollow victory. Conservatives deserted him after he broke his promise of “no new taxes” while liberals never learned to trust him. After the severe 1991 recession, he became deeply unpopular, an emblem of an out-of-touch chief executive. His failure to win re-election was inevitable.
His lasting legacy as a president will be in foreign policy. His calmness in responding to the collapse of communism, first in Eastern Europe and finally in the Soviet Union, insured an orderly end to the Cold War. In answering Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait with an international coalition, Bush created, for better or worse, the model for continued American interventionism in the post-Cold War era. Bush’s decision not to overthrow Saddam Hussein also set the preconditions for future conflict. In a very real sense, we’re still living in the aftermath of Bush’s actions, which created a tangled inheritance for his son George W. Bush and subsequent presidents.
The pardons Bush granted in the Iran-Contra case (notably to Casper Weinberger and Robert McFarlane) were disgraceful. They helped cement a tradition of elite impunity which undermines the rule of law. Donald Trump’s habit of granting deeply partisan pardons (Joe Arpaio, Scooter Libby, Dinesh D’Souza) fall in that tradition. If there is a constitutional crisis in the Trump era, the roots can be traced back to Bush’s presidency.
Bush’s politics were a constant effort to find a balance between the demands of right-wing Republicans and the larger world. He died at a moment when his style of politics was completely out of fashion in his own party. President Donald Trump — boorish, anti-intellectual, ignorant of policy, contemptuous of alliances, stridently partisan — is in many ways the antithesis of George H.W. Bush.
Because of the moment of his death, Bush’s passing seems like more than the demise of one man. It truly is the end of a political tradition.
Amen. May the man rest in peace, he has earned it.
John S. McCain, the proud naval aviator who climbed from depths of despair as a prisoner of war in Vietnam to pinnacles of power as a Republican congressman and senator from Arizona and a two-time contender for the presidency, died on Saturday at his home in Arizona. He was 81.
According to a statement from his office, Mr. McCain died at 4:28 p.m. local time. He had suffered from a malignant brain tumor, called a glioblastoma, for which he had been treated periodically with radiation and chemotherapy since its discovery in 2017.
I’ve disagreed with him at times; But, I did respect the man. God-speed John.
I have been uncharacteristically silent these past ten months. I had thought that silence would soon be coming to an end, but I’m afraid I must tell you now that fate has decided on a different course for me.
In August of last year, I underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in my abdomen. That operation was thought to have been a success, but it caused a cascade of secondary complications — which I have been fighting in hospital ever since. It was a long and hard fight with many setbacks, but I was steadily, if slowly, overcoming each obstacle along the way and gradually making my way back to health.
However, recent tests have revealed that the cancer has returned. There was no sign of it as recently as a month ago, which means it is aggressive and spreading rapidly. My doctors tell me their best estimate is that I have only a few weeks left to live. This is the final verdict. My fight is over.
I wish to thank my doctors and caregivers, whose efforts have been magnificent. My dear friends, who have given me a lifetime of memories and whose support has sustained me through these difficult months. And all of my partners at The Washington Post, Fox News, and Crown Publishing.
Lastly, I thank my colleagues, my readers, and my viewers, who have made my career possible and given consequence to my life’s work. I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.
I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.
I’ve disagreed with the man at times. But, this? Damn.
New York (CNN) Anthony Bourdain, the gifted chef, storyteller and writer who took TV viewers around the world to explore culture, cuisine and the human condition for nearly two decades, has died. He was 61.
CNN confirmed Bourdain’s death on Friday and said the cause of death was suicide.
Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series, “Parts Unknown.” His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning.
I think that everyone, regardless of politics, should say a prayer for the families of both of these people.
The Carver County Sheriff Office tells TMZ they are now investigating the circumstances of Prince’s death. At this time, there are no signs of foul play.update_grey_gray_barThe artist known as Prince has died … TMZ has learned. He was 57.
Prince’s body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday morning.
Multiple sources connected to the singer confirmed he had passed. We’ve obtained the emergency dispatch call for a “male down, not breathing.”
Here’s the police audio:
More on Prince’s death:
Prince’s body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday morning.
Multiple sources connected to the singer confirmed he had passed. We’ve obtained the emergency dispatch call for a “male down, not breathing.”
The singer — full name Prince Rogers Nelson — had a medical emergency on April 15th that forced his private jet to make an emergency landing in Illinois. But he appeared at a concert the next day to assure his fans he was okay. His people told TMZ he was battling the flu.
At the show, Prince prophetically told the crowd, “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers.”
I do know that Prince was a Jehovah’s Witness and he knew the Lord. (Some might dispute that…. but, this ain’t the time for that at all.) Flu can trigger a heart attack, if there’s lots of fluid the lungs. I’ve heard of that happening before.
Either way, this is a huge loss for the music world. RIP Mr. Rogers. You will be missed. 🙁
Merle Haggard, one of the most successful singers in the history of country music, a contrarian populist whose songs about his scuffling early life and his time in prison made him the closest thing that the genre had to a real-life outlaw hero, died at his home in Redding, Calif., on Wednesday, his 79th birthday.
His death was confirmed by his agent, Lance Roberts.
New York (CNN) Anthony Bourdain, the gifted chef, storyteller and writer who took TV viewers around the world to explore culture, cuisine and the human condition for nearly two decades, has died. He was 61.