She assigns little to no blame to the president (even though Democrats privately say that’s laughable) and instead portrays him as saintly, above reproach and the victim of jealousy or something worse. LINK

ome Depot Inc is shifting medical coverage for part-time workers to new public marketplace exchanges ahead of new benefits requirements under the U.S. Affordable Care Act, a spokesman said on Thursday. The world’s largest home improvement retail chain announced its move shortly after a similar announcement from Trader Joe’s Co, LINK

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake has hit the Japanese prefecture that is home to the nuclear power plant crippled in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck early Friday at a depth of about 13 miles (22 kilometers) under Fukushima Prefecture and about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo. LINK

Russian leaders finally picked apart the Kerry-Lavrov understanding for Syria’s chemical disarmament – less than a week after it was unveiled in Geneva last Saturday. Thursday, Sept. 19, they slapped down a string of  coordinated obstructions. One knockout blow came from President Vladimir Putin, LINK

City of San Leandro cannot mention “Christmas,” but councilors wanted to celebrate communism. The Mayor of San Leandro has halted a council-approved plan to fly a Communist Chinese flag over city hall on October 1st after the proposal sparked widespread public outrage. LINK

One of the first teams of heavily armed police to respond to Monday’s shooting in Washington DC was ordered to stand down by superiors, the BBC can reveal. A tactical response team of the Capitol Police, a force that guards the US Capitol complex, was told to leave the scene by a supervisor instead of aiding municipal officers. LINK

Though the government would like us to believe there is rarely looting or panic in the aftermath of a disaster, the fact of the matter is that within 72 hours of any serious crisis people will lose it. Case in point: Acapulco, Mexico. This week flood waters and landslides ravaged the resort town of Acapulco and stranded a reported 40,000 tourists,LINK

AFP – Super Typhoon Usagi — one of the strongest storms of the year — barrelled towards Hong Kong and southern China on Friday, prompting warnings of fierce winds and torrential rains. Packing gusts of up to 205 kilometres (127 miles) per hour, the storm is projected to roar between the Philippines and Taiwan LINK

MALAGA, N.J., (CBS) – Members of St. Mary’s Malaga are in disbelief after vandals smashed the heads off of statues of Virgin Mary and Jesus. In all, nine statues were damaged including three statues that are about five-feet-tall – Sacred Heart of Jesus, Virgin Mary, and Our Lady of Fatima. LINK

Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara’s teammates didn’t know that he wears a chastity belt underneath his jockstrap — and they’re all supporting him. “When I first heard it, I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” cornerback Jayron Hosley told The Post Thursday of the 24-year-old’s vow to stay a virgin until marriage. LINK

In the course of the last three years, there has been a surge in Afghan opium production.  The Vienna based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals that poppy cultivation in 2012 extends over an area of  more than  154,000 hectares, an increase of 18% over 2011.  LINK

News for Pope says Church cannot be obsessed … LINK

1. Pope Bluntly Faults Church’s Focus on Gays and Abortion

   New York Times ‎”We have to find a new balance,” Pope Francis said in the first …Church had grown “obsessed” with preaching about abortion, gaymarriage and contraception, and that … The church’s pastoral ministrycannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude 5.8 struck Fukushima Prefecture early Friday morning but no tsunami warning has been issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, the Kyodo news service reported. LINK

A North Carolina police officer was charged with voluntary manslaughter on Saturday after police say he fatally shot an unarmed man who had apparently just survived a car crash in Charlotte and was looking for help. LINK