Trump Says Paris Attack Will Have ‘Big Effect’ on French Election:
President Trump inserted himself into the tumult of French politics on Friday, declaring that the fatal shooting of a police officer in central Paris would have “a big effect” when voters go to the polls on Sunday to choose among 11 presidential candidates. Mr. Trump did not mention any candidates by name. But his statement on Twitter — “The people of France will not take much more of this. Will have a big effect on presidential election!” — came at the tail end of a tight, fragmented race, with at least four contenders running neck and neck. One of them, Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate, has issued grim warnings that a declining France is losing its identity, echoing Mr. Trump’s themes during the American presidential race last year.
Paris Attack Halts French Campaigning Hours Before Election
The terror attack that shook Paris just three days before the French presidential election has halted campaigning across the country. A police officer was murdered and two others were injured on the Champs-Elysees
on Thursday, and ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. Republican
Francois Fillon, the National Front’s Marine Le Pen, centrist
Emmanuel Macron, and Socialist
Benoit Hamon have canceled all events they had planned for Friday. The only exception was Communist-backed
Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has said he refused to cede to “panic” and will instead continue with his previously scheduled plans for the day. Most of the candidates, in lieu of appearances, released televised statements detailing how they plan to combat terrorism once in office.
Saturday, the day before the election, is considered a “quiet day” and is traditionally used as a respite from the chaos of the campaigns.
Sessions: Arresting Julian Assange Is Now a Priority for U.S.
Months after then-presidential candidate
Donald Trumpdeclared “I love WikiLeaks” at a campaign rally, Attorney General
Jeff Sessions told reporters the arrest of the rogue website’s founder,
Julian Assange, has become a top priority for U.S. prosecutors. “We are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks,” Sessions told a press conference in El Paso, Texas,
on Thursday. “This is a matter that’s gone beyond anything I’m aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious.” He added: “So yes, it is a priority. We’ve already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail.”The comments came as CNN reported U.S. authorities are preparing charges to seek Assange’s arrest, according to officials who spoke about the matter. The Justice Department investigation of Assange and WikiLeaks goes back to at least 2010, when the website became known for posting thousands of documents stolen by former U.S. Army intelligence analyst
Chelsea Manning.
Netanyahu Praises ‘Great Change’ in US Foreign Policy Under Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday welcomed the more aggressive foreign policy stance taken by President Trump, and said that change from President Obama’s position is greatly “appreciated” by Israel. “We sense a great change in the direction of American policy,” Netanyahu said in a joint press appearance with Defense Secretary James Mattis. “We noted the very clear and forthright words, Mr. Secretary, that you had to say about Iran,” Netanyahu said. “This follows very strong and forthright words on the part of President Trump, and very forthright deeds against the use of chemical weapons by Iran’s proxy, Syria.
Volkswagen Ordered to Pay $2.8 Billion in Emissions Scandal
Volkswagen will pay out a $2.8 billion criminal penalty for cheating on diesel emissions tests in the U.S., according to a sentence ordered on Friday. Six weeks earlier, the company admitted guilt on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. The German automaker has acknowledged that it programmed 600,000 diesel cars in the U.S. to turn on pollution controls during testing but off while driving on the road. An attorney for the company, Jason Weinstein, called the criminal fine an “appropriate and serious sanction.”
U.S. Charity Worker Freed From Egyptian Detention
An Egyptian-American charity worker who had been imprisoned in Cairo for three years has returned to the U.S. Trump aides have reportedly been working for weeks to free 30-year-oldAya Hijazi, a native of Falls Church, Virginia, and her husband,Mohamed Hassanein. They were back in the U.S. on Thursday. Hijazi was in Cairo working with the Belady Foundation when she was incarcerated in May 2014 on farcical charges. Human-rights groups have said the couple was abused during their detention. Trump reportedly sent a U.S. government aircraft to Cairo to bring Hijazi’s family back to Washington. The Obama administration made many unsuccessful attempts to secure the couple’s release, but Trump’s embrace of President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi at the White House this month, during which he publicly hailed the autocrat, made the difference, according to some sources.
Old-School Journalists ‘Pissed’ about Gayle King’s Vacation with Obamas:
Gayle King’s serious CBS colleagues had a lot to say about her recent yacht jaunt with former first couple Barack andMichelle Obama in Tahiti, and it wasn’t positive. “The ‘Capital J’ journalists are pissed and raving mad that she was on a yacht with the Obamas over the weekend. The old-school people were talking about it. She shouldn’t be doing that. She’s an anchor of a news program that covers the White House. You’re held to a different standard. It’s one thing to be friendly. It’s another thing to go vacationing on a yacht,” a source told us of the backlash at CBS. King and the Obamas were on billionaire David Geffen’s yacht in Tahiti with Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen and King’s bestie Oprah Winfrey. King’s “CBS This Morning” co-anchor Charlie Rose also wasn’t happy about the jaunt. “Charlie wasn’t pleased. I thought he and Gayle got along, but when things like this happen, it makes the show look bad,” the source said.
WHO READS LBN? Writer – Director Adam Leon:
California Teen Sues High School Ex-Girlfriend for ‘Fabricating Rape Allegations’ to Prevent Him from Attending the Same College:
A California teen is suing his ex-girlfriend from high school for allegedly fabricating rape allegations against him in order to deter him from attending the same college, it was reported on Monday. Ari Grossman, a freshman at Manhattan’s Pace University, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court charging his classmate, Kalya Torrey, with making up charges that resulted in him being arrested, shackled, and detained in a cell for 12 hours. Grossman says that Torrey has been engaged in a smear campaign to punish him after he ignored her warnings not to attend Pace. The two teens from Malibu, California, who dated in high school but split up amicably at age 15, are both enrolled at the college.
LBN-SEE IT: Leila Janah, founder and chief executive of Samasource and LXMI, urges entrepreneurs to stop taking things personally.
LBN-INVESTIGATES: Richard Simmons is estimated to have a net worth of at least $15 million. He is reported to have helped people lose over 10 million pounds collectively over the years. That’s about $1.5 per pound lost.
LBN-NOTICED: ***Ted Nugent, Kid Rock and Sarah Palin had a fete to remember at the White House for several hours Wednesday night, as President Trump treated the high-profile supporters to a white-china private dinner, a room-by-room tour and free-range policy chat. **In New York City, Shari Redstone held court at Carbone. ***Steve Tisch stopped by The Flower Shop in NYC. Alexander Wang and director Jeff Tremaine were also there. ***Katy Tur sat with Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein at Dirty French in NYC. ***Meryl Streep and her family enjoyed Italienne in NYC. ***Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez brunched at Lure Fishbar in NYC. ***Demi Moore and Jenny McCarthy were at Oceana in NYC, separately. ***Lenny Kravitz dined at Sessanta in NYC. ***Filmmaker Elizabeth Wood popped by Cafe Clover in NYC. Writer Andy Bellin was there, separately.
LBN-HOLLYWOOD INSIDER: ***CAA’s Micah Green, the agency’s top independent film agent, is exiting for a new venture with billionaire Dan Friedkin. The yet-to-be named operation will focus on media and entertainment business investment.
LBN-VIDEO LINK:
“Without Notes” with M. Zuhdi Jasser M.D. – Episode 1: The Early Years — A revealing interview with M. Zuhdi Jasser M.D., one of America’s most prominent commentators. Born of Syrian refuge parents, Jasser discusses what it truly means to be an American. A fascinating discussion with a unique and brilliant voice.
“The following is a list of 100 milestone documents, compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration, and drawn primarily from its nationwide holdings. The documents chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.”
LBN-SPOTLIGHT: Are You A Brand? —-
LBN-R.I.P.: ***Cuba Gooding Jr.’s father was found dead Thursday of a possible overdose, a report says. olice sources told TMZ that Cuba Gooding Sr., 72, was discovered at his California home, slumped over inside his silver Jaguar. Authorities reportedly responded to the Woodland Hills residence at around 12:58 p.m. local time and attempted to revive the Bronx native, to no avail. Police believe the Oscar winner’s dad died from an overdose of some sort, though it’s unclear what he may have took. ***Sandy Gallin, the agent and talent manager who shaped the careers of Richard Pryor, Cher, Joan Rivers and Whoopi Goldberg, partnered withDolly Parton in a production company and produced the Father of the Bride films and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died. He was 76. Gallin, more recently a designer of luxury homes for the Hollywood elite, died Friday after a long battle with multiple myeloma.
LBN-COMMENTARY by David Brooks: Between 1935 and 1975, Will and Ariel Durant published a series of volumes that together were known as “The Story of Civilization.” They basically told human history (mostly Western history) as an accumulation of great ideas and innovations, from the Egyptians, through Athens, Magna Carta, the Age of Faith, the Renaissance and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The series was phenomenally successful, selling over two million copies. That series encapsulated the Western civilization narrative that people, at least in Europe and North America, used for most of the past few centuries to explain their place in the world and in time. This narrative was confidently progressive. There were certain great figures, like Socrates, Erasmus, Montesquieu and Rousseau, who helped fitfully propel the nations to higher reaches of the humanistic ideal. This Western civ narrative came with certain values — about the importance of reasoned discourse, the importance of property rights, the need for a public square that was religiously informed but not theoretically dominated. It set a standard for what great statesmanship looked like. It gave diverse people a sense of shared mission and a common vocabulary, set a framework within which political argument could happen and most important provided a set of common goals. Starting decades ago, many people, especially in the universities, lost faith in the Western civilization narrative. They stopped teaching it, and the great cultural transmission belt broke. Now many students, if they encounter it, are taught that Western civilization is a history of oppression.
LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:…
LBN-OVERHEARD: ***It seems motherhood has put a damper on Anne Hathaway’s marijuana habit. “There was a rumor in 2013 that a photo exists and was circulating of you with a massive blunt,” host Andy Cohen told the Oscar winner on Thursday’s “Watch What Happens Live.” “On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a stoner is Anne Hathaway?” “I’m not a little one,” the “Colossal” star, who welcomed son Jonathan in March 2016, replied with a faint giggle. “But here’s the thing — here’s the thing though: I’m a parent and I don’t feel like getting arrested, so I’m gonna say zero.” ***Ronda Rousey is getting married. The former UFC bantamweight champion announced on Thursday that she is engaged to UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, who she has been dating since 2015. Brown popped the question a week ago, according to the couple, when they were vacationing in New Zealand. “It just felt like the right place to do it,” he said. ***Legends Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Barry Manilow took the stage to perform following a screening of Clive Davis’ doc “The Soundtrack of Our Lives,” on Wednesday at Radio City, but Carly Simon’s act stood out. Simon did a wincing rendition of “Coming Around Again,” mixed with “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” while flanked by a group of small children doing the nursery rhyme hand gesture. “Why is this happening?” wailed one attendee, while another joked, “This sounded a lot better when we were high in the ’70s.” Another source said, “It felt weird, people were wincing.”
LBN E-Lert Edited By Dan Gaylord
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