Author Archives: Janine Cruz

LBN – Special Report – Friday, July 14th, 2017

*Jamie Dimon Blows Up at DC’s Dysfunction, Says He’s Tired of ‘Listening to the Stupid S—‘:
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon expressed frustration at the U.S. federal government during the company’s earnings conference call Friday.  “It’s almost an embarrassment being an American citizen traveling around the world and listening to the stupid s— we have to deal with in this country,” Dimon said in response to an analyst question.  “Since the Great Recession, which is now 8 years old, we’ve been growing at 1.5 to 2 percent in spite of stupidity and political gridlock, because the American business sector is powerful and strong,” he said. “What I’m saying is it would be much stronger growth had we made intelligent decisions and were there not gridlock.” The executive of the U.S. banking giant cited travels to countries such as France, Argentina, Israel and Ireland. The U.S. has become “one of the most bureaucratic, confusing, litigious societies on the planet” and “it’s hurting the average American that we don’t have these right policies,” he said.

*Trump on Why He Stopped Questioning Putin: ‘What Do You Do? End Up in a Fistfight?’

President Trump has provided a detailed account of his confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit over alleged Russian election interference. The White House on Thursday released comments Trump made a day earlier to reporters on Air Force One after the president reportedly asked why his remarks had not been published. Trump said he was direct with Putin when they met in Hamburg last week, but after twice asking the Russian president if he was involved in election interference and getting the same answer, he simply couldn’t push the subject any further. “What do you do? End up in a fistfight?” he said. “He said, ‘Absolutely not. I was not involved.’ He was very strong on it. I then said to him, in a totally different way, ‘Were you involved with the meddling?’ He said, ‘I was not—absolutely not.’” Putin then changed the topic to Syria, Trump said.

*WHO READS LBN? Best-selling author Srini Pillay:

*Senate Republicans Unveil New Health Bill, but Divisions Remain: 

Senate Republican leaders on Thursday unveiled a fresh proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, revising their bill to help hold down insurance costs for consumers while allowing insurers to sell new low-cost, stripped down policies. Those changes and others, including a decision to keep a pair of taxes on high-income people and to expand the use of tax-favored health savings accounts, were intended to bridge a vast gap between the Senate’s most conservative Republicans, who want less regulation of health insurance, and moderate Republicans concerned about people who would be left uninsured. But Republican leaders will have to battle for votes ahead of a final showdown they hope will come next week. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, a conservative, said they were not swayed — even on a procedural motion to take up the bill for debate.

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*‘Walking Dead’ Stuntman Dies After Balcony Fall During Filming

Stuntman John Bernecker has died after falling from a 25-foot balcony onto a concrete floor Wednesday on the set of The Walking Dead. The 33-year-old was airlifted to an Atlanta hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator that was later turned off. Bernecker has done stunt work in several films, including the upcoming Marvel blockbuster Black Panther, and Rampage, which just wrapped.

*Producer’s Guild of America Welcomes B.D. Gunnell as New Member

In June of 2017, producer B.D. Gunnell(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4042157/?ref_=nv_sr_1) was accepted into the Producer’s Guild of America (PGA), which is based in Beverly Hills. B.D., whose short film “Rated” premiered recently at the Ojai Film Festival to rave reviews, had this to say about her recent admission into the Guild: “[my membership] is important because it’s a great networking opportunity for producers. As producers, we are lone wolves. We run on our own, and don’t meet a lot of our kind unless we are networking. At the guild, I sat in a room with 200 other producers, vetted by my peers, ready to network.” Her admittance additionally works as a representation of the PGA’s willingness to adjust its gender ratio. The Guild’s percentage of female members, as of today, is 45% – a number that has increased by 2% since 2015. “Joining the PGA makes me feel validated in what I do, and gives me that next level of credibility,” says Gunnell. “It was an absolute honor to become a member, and all it does is take me to that next step in my career.”

*DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that 14 members of the staff of the “Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame” read LBN daily?

*LBN-VIDEO LINK: The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans | Daniel Amen —

*California Supreme Court Moves to Make Bar Exam Easier to Pass: 

California has long had a reputation for having one of the most difficult bar exams in the country. Now, with passage rates sagging, the state will make it easier to pass the test, which is required to be licensed as a practicing lawyer. The California Supreme Court, the ultimate authority over the bar exam, has decided to change the way the certification score is set. The court has not yet decided where the threshold will be set, but the changes will take effect in January. The move follows a sometimes furious debate in California legal circles over whether the state’s passing score, or “cut score” — 144 — was unrealistic. Each state offers its own bar exam, but many are moving toward more uniform exams, especially in the multiple-choice portion. What differentiates states is where they set the line for passage. For years, California had set the threshold for passing the exam higher than any other state but Delaware. Last year, just 62 percent of first-time test takers passed the California bar exam, compared with 83 percent in New York.

*LBN-VIDEO LINK: “Without Notes” with M. Zuhdi JasserM.D. – Episode 3: Getting Political —— 

*LBN-The Magic of Not Giving a F*** | Sarah Knight —- The bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck and Get Your Sh*t Together, Sarah Knight, outlines her “Not Sorry”  —— 

*LBN-COMMENTARY by David Brooks: Donald Trump’sgrandfather Friedrich emigrated to the United States when he was 16, in 1885. He ventured west to seek his riches and finally settled in Seattle, where he opened a restaurant that, according to family historian Gwenda Blair, likely included a section for a bordello. Gold fever hit the Pacific Northwest, and Grandfather Trump moved up to Bennett, British Columbia. It was a fast, raucous, money-grabbing atmosphere and Trump opened the Arctic Hotel, which had a bar, a restaurant and, according to an advertisement in the Dec. 9, 1899, edition of The Bennett Sun newspaper, “private boxes for ladies and parties.” Each box apparently came equipped with a bed and a scale to weigh the gold dust that was used to pay for the services offered in it. Friedrich returned to Germany, married and was sent back to the U.S. by German authorities (he hadn’t fulfilled his military service requirement) and amassed a modest fortune.Frederick, Donald’s father, began building middle-class housing. Profiles describe an intense, success-obsessed man who worked seven days a week and encouraged those around him to be killers in their field. “He didn’t like wimps,” his nephew told Philip Weiss of The Times. “He thought competition made you sharper.”

*LBN-COMMENTARY by Timothy Egan: Patriotism is supposed to be the last refuge of scoundrels, but religion surely is a close second. So there was President Trump this week with evangelical leaders laying hands on him, and granting a rare non-Fox interview to the doddering founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network. That interview was with the televangelistPat Robertson, who is to news professionalism what Chris Christie is to constituent diplomacy. Robertson, you may recall, felt that feminists and gays were among the guilty parties in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. These days, he says that Trump’s critics are going against “God’s plan” and may be influenced by — who else — Satan. One assumes that God’s plan includes the biblical admonition to treat the bedraggled, the poor, the hungry — “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine” — as you would treat him. Did I miss something when Trump said he was salivating at the chance to take health care away from 22 million Americans and the 87-year-old Robertson merely responded with his trademark chucklehead chuckle? We’ve got an iceberg the size of Delaware breaking off in Antarctica, a free world that can’t trust the nominal leader of that realm, and Trump offers his interlocutor this gem: “It was a great G-20. We had 20 countries.”

*LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:…

*LBN-OVERHEARD:   ***Lindsey Vonn still holds a special place in her heart for Tiger Woods. The Olympic skiing champion revealed she contacted her golf-superstar ex following his DUI arrest in Jupiter, Fla., last month to offer her support. “I reached out and I hope he’s doing well,” Vonn told “Extra” at this week’s ESPY awards as she walked the red carpet with boyfriend and Rams assistant coach Kenan Smith. Vonn, 32, and Woods, 41, ended their relationship in May 2015, citing their “hectic lives” as the reason for the split.   ***Charlie Sheen is consuming a different type of plant these days. The “Two and a Half Men” alum is a vegan now. The 51-year-old actor, who revealed he was HIV-positive in 2015 in an interview with Matt Lauer, is living a healthier lifestyle with girlfriend Julia Stambler. In addition to following the meat and dairy-free diet, Sheen is also reportedly waking up to work out, turning to yoga and swimming to keep in shape. In addition to following the meat and dairy-free diet, Sheen is also reportedly waking up to work out, turning to yoga and swimming to keep in shape.

LBN – Late Breaking News, July 13th, 2017

*BURNING MONEY! Monthly Federal Spending Tops $400 Billion for First Time:
Real monthly federal spending topped $400 billion for the first time in June, when the Treasury spent a record $428,894,000,000, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today.
Prior to June, the record for federal spending in a single month was held by March 2017, when the Treasury spent approximately $392,816,000,000.
In August 2012, the Treasury spent $392,408,410,000 in constant 2017 dollars.
As the Treasury was spending a record $428,894,000,000 in June it was taking in approximately $338,660,000,000 in taxes—thus, running a deficit for the month of $90,233,000,000.

LBN – Special Report – Thursday, July 13th, 2017

*Kim Jong Un’s Ex-Moneyman: Sanctions Never Stopped Me From Getting Cash Into North Korea

A top North Korean moneyman who defected three years ago says the Hermit Kingdom has been easily evading U.S. and international sanctions for years and had no trouble finding ways to reroute millions of dollars through China. Before defecting in 2014 and later moving to Virginia, Ri Jong Ho was a top money maker for three decades for the Kim regime’s secretive Office 39 Worker’s Party financial operation. He said he sent millions of dollars a year to Pyongyang by giving cash to a ship captains sailing to North Korea from China, where he was based, or by giving it to someone to take on a train across the border. “My partners in China also want to make a profit, so they don’t care much about sanctions,” Ri told The Washington Post. “When the Chinese government orders them to stop, they stop for a few days and then start up again.” Ri, who fled after his powerful uncle was executed by the Kim regime, said Beijing prioritizes North Korean stability foremost. “Unless China, Russia and the United States cooperate fully to sanction North Korea, it will be impossible to hurt them.”

*New Stock Market High – Market Up 17% Since Election

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its 23rd all-time high of 2017 yesterday closing at 21,532.  There have been a total of 120 days where the markets have closed since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20th.  The ‘DOW’ has closed at all-time highs 23 of those days for nearly 20% or one-fifth of the days the market has been open.  The market is up 9% since the inauguration.  Since the election on November 8th the DOW has closed at record highs an amazing 40 times.   Nearly one-fourth or 24% of the 168 days the markets have closed have been record highs since the November 8th election.  The market is up 17% since the election.

*Harvard Panel Calls for Ending Exclusive Clubs

A committee of Harvard faculty, staff, and students this week called for the end to the university’s exclusive organizations, including fraternities, sororities, and the secretive elite “final clubs.” The latter, in particular, has been lambasted as “products of their time,” the committee’s report said. “Due to their resistance to change over the decades, they have lapsed into products behind their time.” The school does not officially recognize Greek organizations or the final clubs, and so the panel suggested eliminating them by simply punishing students who participate in them. “Time after time, the social organizations have demonstrated behavior inconsistent with an inclusive campus culture,” the report said, “a disregard for the personhood and safety of fellow students, and an unwillingness to change—even as new students join them over generations.”

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*LBN-INVESTIGATES: If a small part of you died when you found out that sex doesn’t actually count as exercise, this news should revive you: Sex may deliver the even better benefit of prolonging your life, according to the results of a small study first published online in the medical journal, Psychoneuroendocrinology in March that’s just making the rounds. In the study, researchers compared the length of DNA strand protectors called telomeres among 129 mothers in committed relationships. Telomeres are a reliable measure of health since they shorten as you age, and the shorter your telomeres, the more likely you are to develop a degenerative disease and premature death, according to lead researcherTomás Cabeza de Baca of the University of California, San Francisco, who spoke to PsyPost.org.

*BACKING OFF — Democratic Lawmaker Regrets Threatening ‘P*ssy’ Trump

Maine State Rep. Scott Hamann, a Democrat from South Portland, said he regrets a Facebook post in which he seems to threaten President Trump with physical violence. “Trump is a half-term president, at most, especially if I ever get within 10 feet of that pussy,” Hamann wrote this week in a now-deleted Facebook post. Claiming the president was “installed by the Russians,” Hamann directed anger at Trump fans, telling them, “You’re a fucking pussy. And you people are destroying America. 100% of intelligent Americans agree that Trump is a complete loser.” In a statement, Hamann expressed regret for the comments, calling them “aggressively sarcastic,” “inappropriate,” and simply “a Facebook exchange with a childhood friend.” He added: “This is not language I typically use, it does not reflect my personal values and, while misguided, it was intended to make a visceral point about the devolving political discourse in America.”

*Study of How We Look at Faces May Offer Insight Into Autism: 
How we look at other people’s faces is strongly influenced by our genes, scientists have found in new research that may be especially important for understanding autism because it suggests that people are born with neurological differences that affect how they develop socially. The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, adds new pieces to the nature-versus-nurture puzzle, suggesting that genetics underlie how children seek out formative social experiences like making eye contact or observing facial expressions. Experts said the study may also provide a road map for scientists searching for genes linked to autism. “These are very convincing findings, novel findings,” said Charles A. Nelson III, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, who was not involved in the research. “They seem to suggest that there’s a genetic underpinning that leads to different patterns of brain development, that leads some kids to develop autism.”
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*LBN-SPOTLIGHT: Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. —— 

*LBN-HEALTH WATCH:   ***A Food and Drug Administration panel opened a new era in medicine on Wednesday, unanimously recommending that the agency approve the first-ever treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own cells to fight cancer, transforming them into what scientists call “a living drug” that powerfully bolsters the immune system to shut down the disease. If the F.D.A. accepts the recommendation, which is likely, the treatment will be the first gene therapy ever to reach the market. Others are expected: Researchers and drug companies have been engaged in intense competition for decades to reach this milestone. Novartis is now poised to be the first. Its treatment is for a type of leukemia, and it is working on similar types of treatments in hundreds of patients for another form of the disease, as well as multiple myeloma and an aggressive brain tumor. To use the technique, a separate treatment must be created for each patient — their cells removed at an approved medical center, frozen, shipped to a Novartis plant for thawing and processing, frozen again and shipped back to the treatment center.

*LBN-VIDEO LINK: My story | Elizabeth Smart  —- The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. In this riveting talk she discusses her abduction and encourages you that when you are faced with a trial, don’t give up, don’t surrender, move forward, because you never know the lives you will be able to touch.  —-


*LBN-NOTICED:   ****Lana Del Rey, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Billy Corgan, Fergie and Mark Ronson at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

*LBN-VIDEO LINK: The Boy Crisis: A Sobering look at the State of our Boys | Warren Farrell Ph.D. – What is causing a worldwide Boy Crisis and how do we resolve it. A sobering look at the current state of Boys in our society and what we must understand before we can help them. —– 

*LBN-SPOTLIGHT:  —- Acclaimed security expert Mr. Kent Moyer is the founder and owner of The World Protection Group.

*LBN-COMMENTARY by Thomas B. Edsall: The election of President Trump has coincided with a reaction among Republican voters against open-mindedness, open borders and an open society in general — not to mention a growing hostility to cognitive elites. Take a recent survey showing a fundamental shift in the attitude of Republicans toward the value of higher education. Between 2010 and 2017, the Pew Research Center asked voters whether colleges and universities have a positive or negative effect “on the way things are going in the country.” From 2010 to 2015, solid majorities of Republicans and Democrats agreed that institutions of higher learning had a positive effect on America. In 2010, Republicans were 58-32 positive and Democrats 65-22. For Democrats, this pattern grew stronger over time, reaching 72-19 in the most recent polling in June. That was not the case for Republicans, who flipped from positive to negative on college education.

*LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:…

*LBN-OVERHEARD:  ***Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are planning a spring wedding. Scarborough, 54, spilled some details on their nuptials at a Harvard Institute of Politics event in Washington on Wednesday. “[We’re getting married] in Nantucket in the spring,” the “Morning Joe” host said, according to Politico. “But we don’t know because we gotta make sure that our kids are OK with it.”