Letters To California Mosques Praise Donald Trump, Promise Genocide

Religious leaders in California are calling for a police investigation after identical letters were sent to local mosques hailing President-elect Donald Trump and calling for death to Muslims.

The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a statement asking for increased protection after the hate-filled letters were discovered at the Islamic centers of Long Beach and Claremont as well as a mosque in San Jose.

The handwritten and photocopied letters, received over the course of the week, were signed by “Americans for a Better Way.” They call Muslims “a vile and filthy people” who “worship the devil” and evoke Trump.

“There's a new sheriff in town - President Donald Trump. He's going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he's going to start with you Muslims,” the letters read. “He's going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews.”

CAIR leaders in San Francisco and Los Angeles didn't initially want to bring the letters into the public spotlight to avoid copycats, but they acknowledged the need for police intervention once the diatribe was sent to a number of jurisdictions across the state, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“We urge local law enforcement authorities to work with Muslim community leaders to ensure the safety of all houses of worship,” CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said in a statement. “Our state's political and religious leaders need to speak out against the mainstreaming of Islamophobia that we are witnessing in California and nationwide.”

Though Trump has said he isn't aware of campaigns across the country to intimidate and hurt Muslims since his victory, the problem is rampant.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked more than 700 acts of this kind of bias intimidation and harassment targeting Muslims, blacks, Latinos, immigrants and LGBTQ people since Election Day, though not every incident has been independently verified. The Huffington Post's Christopher Mathias has identified at least 13 incidents in which Muslims have been attacked, harassed or threatened in Trump's name.

San Jose police are reportedly investigating the letters. It wasn't immediately clear whether police departments across the state would ramp up security in response to CAIR's statement.

CAIR urges Muslim community members to report any incidents to police and to the organization's civil rights department by calling 202-742-6420 or by filing a report online.

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Introducing Compliments

Sometimes, 5 stars just isn't enough.

That's why riders often leave notes in the app letting their driver know what he or she did to make their journey that much more enjoyable. Sometimes the small thingsㄧlike playing the perfect song at the right time or lending a hand with a heavy piece of luggageㄧcan make a big difference. We want to make sure that message gets through.

Starting this week, we're making it easier for riders to thank drivers for the things they doㄧbig and smallㄧto make the ride memorable. When a rider leaves a complimentㄧsay for expertly navigating winding city streets or striking up a conversation that brightened their moodㄧa notification will show up on the driver's home screen letting them know what they did to make a rider's day.

It is Thanksgiving week after all-a time to be, well, thankful. We want to give riders the opportunity to thank and recognize drivers for the things they do to make the experience more memorable and fun. It's a small step we're taking to make saying thank you easier for riders and to celebrate drivers like Vickie, Alejandro and Habtamu who go the extra mile in their own special ways.

Because sometimes the little things make all the difference, and 5 stars doesn't quite cut it. We get that, and while we know there's always more we can do to improve the driving experience, we figured what better time than now to make it easier to say “thank you” to the drivers who help us get from A to B every day.

Featured Tonight: Family History for Family Holidays

Thursday, November 17, 2016

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

Working Family History At Your Family Gatherings

Kim von Aspern-Parker

The holiday season is upon us! Dinners, parties, special gatherings will likely feature one constant: these are all events which will include family members. What a perfect opportunity to encourage interest in your family history research.

This month, we are pleased to  welcome Kim von Aspern-Parker back to Stockton as our guest speaker. A Sacramento area genealogist, Kim is a graduate of University of Nevada at Reno with a bachelor in journalism and public relations. Kim  speaks, teaches, coaches, and blogs about genealogy-and has done so for more than twenty five years, providing private genealogical investigation services out of her Sacramento office. In addition to this month's topic, Kim specializes in research in both California and Louisiana, where she often conducts  research trips.

Join us in welcoming Kim von Aspern-Parker back to Stockton at our meeting tonight, Thursday, November 17, at the Margaret Troke Library in north Stockton. As always, plan on coming early to enjoy some refreshments and a social time with fellow Society members. Also, feel free to invite a friend to attend the meeting with you-the more, the merrier!

Manhunt Ends For Suspect In 'Execution' Of California Deputy

A search for a man suspected of killing a California deputy at close range Sunday morning has ended after an hourslong manhunt, authorities announced.

David Machado, 36, was taken into custody in Tulare County, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office announced on social media around 1 p.m. local time.

We have confirmed David Machado is in custody. We will advise the media when we will hold a press conference here at the Sheriff's Office.

- Stanislaus Sheriff (@StanSheriff) November 13, 2016

Stanislaus Deputy Dennis Wallace, 53, was responding to a call about a suspicious car and person around 8:30 a.m. when he was shot twice in the head, Sheriff Adam Christianson had said at an earlier press conference.

The 20-year veteran of the sheriff's department had just enough time to request backup after finding the suspect's stolen vehicle before he was killed, Christianson said.

“Within seconds he was murdered, he was executed,” the sheriff said of the brazen attack in Hughson's Fox Grove Park, about 95 miles northeast of San Jose. “We know for a fact that the gun used was in direct contact with his head when the trigger was pulled, twice. This was an execution.”

Christianson described Machado as a known criminal. After fleeing the scene, Machado carjacked someone in the community of Keyes, making off with a white 2009 Kia Rio.

“He was wanted for a felony warrant for felony-related criminal activity and of course he was in a stolen vehicle,” the sheriff said.

Wallace was known for his work in the DARE drug and violence prevention program, and leaves behind a wife and family, Christianson said.

“Dennis had a very special relationship with young people, and a special place in our hearts at the sheriff's office,” he said.

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Chelsea Handler Destroys Trump's Racism Defense In One Sobering Tweet

Here's a fun game!

If Donald Trump is the least racist person you've ever met, then you've: A) Learned to live in complete solitude since birth. B) Infiltrated an undercover white supremacist group à la Daniel Radcliffe. C) Recently awoken from a “Sleeping Beauty”-like slumber and missed this entire 2016 election campaign. D) Delete your account immediately. 

The Republican presidential nominee has pledged to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. and frequently used racially charged language about immigrants and inner-city residents.

Yet Trump told a reporter in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday that he's “the least racist person you've ever met,” without the slightest hint of irony. 

Thankfully, comedian Chelsea Handler is here to break down Trump's claim for all those who need some clarification about what his statement really means. 

“If Donald Trump is the “least racist person you've ever met,” then I'm the most sober person you've ever met,” the author of Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea tweeted. 

If Donald Trump is the “least racist person you've ever met,” then I'm the most sober person you've ever met.

- Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) October 22, 2016

There's only 16 days until this election is finally over. Cheers!

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the title of Handler's book. 

Editor's note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an e

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Court extends Florida voter registration in the wake of Hurricane Matthew

A voter walks to a polling precinct on primary day in Florida for the U.S. presidential election in Boca Raton, Florida. Photo by REUTERS/Joe Skipper

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A federal judge has given Democrats a partial victory in the presidential battleground of Florida, extending of the state's voter registration deadline one day and agreeing to consider a longer extension in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

The initial deadline was Tuesday, but Florida Democrats, with the support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, argued that would-be voters deserved more time. Republican Gov. Rick Scott last week urged 1.5 million residents to evacuate as the storm approached the southeastern United States.

District Judge Mark Walker issued a temporary order Monday afternoon extending the deadline through the close of business Wednesday. He set a hearing Wednesday at 10 a.m. for arguments for a longer extension. Judges grant temporary restraining orders in cases where a petitioner demonstrates irreparable harm would occur if the court took no action. The orders often portend victory once a judge considers the merits of the case.

Clinton had called on Scott, before the suit was filed, to extend the deadline himself using his emergency authority. The governor declined, saying Floridians “had enough time to register” before the Oct. 6 evacuation orders.

Though the case involves the highest stakes in a perennial presidential battleground, the judge called it “poppycock” to claim that “the issue of extending the voter registration deadline is about politics.” The case, he wrote, “is about the right of aspiring eligible voters to register to have their votes counted.”

The case comes as the two presidential campaigns try to resume their full activities in Florida and North Carolina, the two battlegrounds where Matthew left fatalities and wracked widespread damage.

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence was in western North Carolina on Monday, while Clinton was planning to visit south Florida on Tuesday alongside former Vice President Al Gore. GOP hopeful Donald Trump was also to campaign in Florida the next two days with stops in three cities that are usually GOP strongholds. And former President Bill Clinton has his own Florida schedule Tuesday on his wife's behalf.

The voter registration dispute is key since both campaigns acknowledge that the storm's interruptions could yield even marginal effects on voter turnout efforts. North Carolina and Florida remain close, even as Clinton appears to be taking a commanding national lead. Going days without door-knocking and phone-banking around Fayetteville, North Carolina, or registering voters around Jacksonville, Florida, is enough to make Republican and Democratic aides nervous.

“The time for politics will come back, and it will just have to take care of itself,” said Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, which together with the Republican National Committee leads voter turnout efforts for Trump and the rest of the GOP slate.

Woodhouse said GOP campaign offices remained closed in Fayetteville, Greenville and Wilmington.

In his first public campaign appearance since Sunday's second presidential debate, Pence told a Charlotte crowd that eastern North Carolinians are “inspiring” for their handling of the hurricane. Pence also praised Trump for apologizing after the Friday disclosure of a 2005 NBC video that captured the real estate billionaire making predatory comments about women.

Florida's voter registration deadline applies to both in-person registration and postmarks for mailed forms.

The initial petition argued that Matthew constituted a “daunting” and “life-threatening obstacle” to registration. Scott's office said earlier Monday that the governor's legal advisers were reviewing the suit.

In 2004, then-Gov. Jeb Bush used emergency authority to allow several Florida counties to delay the start of early voting after Hurricane Charley.

Clinton aides declined comment on the suit earlier Monday, but maintain that under normal circumstances, they would have registered tens of thousands of Florida residents in the final five days of registration. President Barack Obama won the state in 2012 by fewer than 75,000 votes out of more than 8.4 million cast. Both Republicans and Democrats have intensified their voter registration efforts since.

Democrats note that South Carolina, another GOP-controlled state, extended its original Oct. 7 deadline to accept registration forms postmarked no later than Tuesday.

Hurricane Matthew drifted farther north than projected when Scott ordered evacuations, leaving south Florida's heavily Democratic counties - Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach - relatively unscathed. Campaign activities there have resumed, with Clinton aides saying only a handful of their 65 offices around the state remained closed Monday, all of them in more Republican north Florida.

North Carolina's voter registration deadline is Friday, but the state also has same-day registration on Election Day.

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

The post Court extends Florida voter registration in the wake of Hurricane Matthew appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

Wells Fargo Created Fake Accounts for Nearly 10,000 Small Businesses

More information is being discovered in relation to Wells Fargo's recent scandal, showing that nearly 10,000 small businesses were also victims of the banking giant's illegal and corrupt up-selling practices. Despite CEO John Stumpf claiming ignorance as to whether...