TRUMP SIGNS LEGISLATION FOR VETS

TRUMP  SIGNS LEGISLATION  THAT EXPANDS  VETERANS  ACCESS  TO  HEALTHCARE   ALLOWS THEM TO  BYPASS  VA

DK 

April 19, 2017

 

Any president who campaigns on making America great again would be well-advised to make sure the care and well-being of U.S. veterans are top priorities on the list of requirements to achieve that transformation.

And today, President Donald Trump did just that.

According to the Washington Examiner:

President Trump signed legislation Wednesday that will dramatically expand a program at the Department of Veterans Affairs that lets patients seek care from private doctors if they want to bypass the troubled VA system.

 

The Veterans Choice Improvement Act removes barriers that Congress placed around the original “choice” initiative and eliminates an expiration date that would have shuttered the program in August. 

The “troubled VA system” has long been a painful wound in the side of veterans seeking healthcare. It was a problem that came to light in 2014 during the so-called “VA scandal.”

As CNN.com reported at the time

More than 1,000 veterans may have died in the last decade because of malpractice or lack of care from Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers, a new report … finds. 

The report aggregates government investigations and media reports to trace a history of fraudulent scheduling practices, budget mismanagement, insufficient oversight and lack of accountability that have led to the current controversy plaguing the VA.

 

The VA has admitted that 23 patients have died because of delayed care in recent years., but the report… shows many more patient deaths have been linked to systemic issues affecting VA hospitals and clinics…

 

The Washington Examiner adds: 

Lawmakers created the choice program in 2014 after a massive scandal involving wait time cover-ups at more than 100 VA facilities around the country. It was initially structured as a two-year pilot program that limited when and where veterans could choose to see private doctors. Patients could only use the choice program if they lived more than 40 miles from the nearest VA hospital or if they could not get an appointment from their local VA facility within 30 days.

Dan Caldwell, policy director at Concerned Veterans for America, says

Extending the Choice Program is the right thing to do, but only as a stopgap measure until better solutions are developed and implemented. 

Reauthorizing the Choice Act buys Congress some time to work with Secretary [David] Shulkin on broader choice reforms that will truly empower veterans with the ability to seek care outside the VA when they want to.”

The issue of the healthcare delivered by the VA also became an important issue in the last campaign, with both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton only begrudgingly admitting the agency needing reform and repeatedly warning that Trump wanted to privatize veteran’s health care.

Trump in response claims that he didn’t want to privatize their health care but did want to give veterans more choices for health care, including the ability to see private doctors.

http://www.youngcons.com/trump-signs-legislation-that-expands-veterans-access-to-healthcare-allows-them-to-bypass-va/
 

PARIS TERROR RAMPAGE Paris shooting leaves one policeman dead and three injured as ‘ISIS terrorist who was jailed for 20 years for gun attack on cops’ opens fire with an AK47 on the Champs-Élysées

A POLICEMAN was killed and three people injured after an AK47-wielding gunman opened fire in central Paris.

A 39-year-old attacker – identified as Karim C. – was shot dead by police following the “terror attack” at the central boulevard of the Champs-Élysées, which ISIS have claimed responsibility for.

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Three policemen have been shot – one dead – in Paris

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A man raises his arms in front of police officers close to the scene in Paris

Dramatic footage of the Paris shooting which left one police officer dead and two others seriously injured

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Forensics search a car thought to have been driven by the attacker

EPA

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Emergency services guard the Arc De Triomphe

The attack comes just three days before the start of the French presidential election, and sparked calls for voting to be suspended.

Two police officers were 'seriously injured' in the attack and officials confirmed a 'female foreign tourist' was also wounded.

Last night, police were searching the suspect's house in Chelles - an eastern Paris suburb - despite his ISIS nickname The Belgian leaking on their Amaq news agency.

It was also reported he was previously jailed for 20 years for shooting at cops in 2003, after being caught driving a stolen car - but was released early.

He is also thought to have been known to security services for "extremist links" and is believed to have been questioned recently in Meaux, outside Paris, after “informants” told cops he was “seeking to obtain weapons to kill policemen."


Cops have said they are hunting a second suspect who may have been involved in the attack.

Local police advised people to avoid the area after shots were fired at around 9pm local time.

Witnesses said the attacker pulled up beside a stationery police car and fired through the window.

"He parked just behind the van and he got out with a Kalashnikov and I heard six gunshots," a witness named Chelloug said.

"I thought they were firecrackers, because we all looked around the road and there was no one.

"In fact, he was hidden behind the van and shooting at the police.

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The officers were gunned down at around 9pm local time

Reuters

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A police van at the scene in Paris, where a policeman has been shot

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The suspect's car was seen being towed away last night after an inspection by forensic police

Eyewitness of the Paris shooting says he heard six gun shots between police and the gunman

 

Two French police officers killed by gunman in Paris 'terror' attack

"I think he hit a policeman. As soon as the policeman opened the door of the van, he fell, I think.

"As soon as we saw that, we all ran back inside (a building). We hid and I went up to the first floor and we saw them (the policeman) shoot him (the perpetrator)."

He added: " I was afraid. I have a two year-old girl and I thought I was going to die... He shot straight at the police officer."

President Francois Hollande said officials were "convinced" the incident is a terror attack, even before ISIS claimed responsibility.
Paris Prosecutor's anti-terror office has opened an inquiry.

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The shooting took place at the iconic Champs-Elysées boulevard

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The policeman was shot dead on the central boulevard of the Champs-Elysées

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Police on high alert after three officers were shot in Paris

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Women raise their arms as they head towards armed police

ISIS claims it was behind Paris police shooting

Yvan Assioma of the police union Alliance said: “The exact circumstances are still unclear but I can confirm the tragic death of one of our colleagues. Our thoughts are very much with the family.

“One or several attackers have been shot dead by the police. Some officers were hit but the bullets were stopped by their bulletproof vests, but two were hit.
“Nothing is being ruled out for the time being, terrorism or a criminal act."

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The Eiffel Tower is seen behind police cars as cops hunt the area

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As police car at the scene in Paris, where a police officer has reportedly been killed

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A soldier stands guard in front of the illuminated Arc De Triomphe

Champs-Elysees in Paris evacuated after two police officers shot dead

French police closes traffic on Champs Elysees after shooting

A Government spokesperson said: "An automatic weapon was used against police, a weapon of war.

"The shooting started shortly after 9pm, when a car stopped alongside a stationary police car.

"A man immediately got out and opened fire on the police car, fatally wounding a police officer. He also wounded a second one, it would seem very seriously."
The shooting happened near the Métro station Franklin D Roosevelt and the Marks and Spencer store on the Champs-Elysées.

It is one of the most famous streets in the world and a busy tourist hub.
Armed police and emergency services have been spotted at the scene.

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Passersby raise their arms as they pass the scene

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An armed policeman stands guard with the Arc de Triomphe in the background

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Emergency services at the scene of a fatal shooting in Paris

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Members of the public have been advised to steer clear of the area

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A police cordon is in place around the scene

Armed officers tak e position behind a kiosk on the Champs Elysées

France's President Francois Hollande has scheduled an emergency meeting following the shootings.

French Presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Francois Fillon have cancelled their trips tomorrow.

The attack comes just days after police arrested two men in southern Marseille with weapons and explosives who were suspected of preparing an attack to disrupt the first-round of the presidential election on Sunday.

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A soldier guides people away from the scene in Paris

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A police officer close to the Arc De Triomphe in Paris

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Armed police at the scene in Paris

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Emergency services rushed to the scene in Paris

Policeman shot dead and ‘two seriously injured’ on Champs-Élysé, Paris

Police officers evacuate people off the Champs-Elysees after 'terror attack'

France is in a state of emergency and at its highest possible level of alert since a string of terror attacks that began in 2015, which have killed over 230 people.
The UK Foreign Office said: "The British Embassy is in contact with local authorities and urgently seeking further information following reports of a shooting incident on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

"You should remain vigilant and follow the advice of the local security authorities and/or your tour operator.

"If you're in the area and it is safe to do so, contact your friends and family to tell them you are safe."

 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3376910/paris-shooting-terror-attack-champs-elysees/

We thought for sure this was our last day

Miracle?  This  time  the  lions  save  the Christians!

 'Losing all hope, we thought for sure this was our last day'

 

 

Bob Unruh

April 18 2017

 

 

The chief of a Christian ministry that works underground because of its outreach into Muslim-dominant communities in the Middle East is reporting a startling claim – his rescue from Islamic “militants” by a pride of lions.

Pastor Paul Ciniraj is the director of Bibles for Mideast, which delivers Bibles, preaches the Gospel and plants house churches in the strife-torn region. He says, while Islam remains dominant, “thousands upon thousands of people now secretly believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.”

House churches the group establishes are under the banner of the nondenominational Assembly of Loving God Church. A convert from Islam, pastor Paul founded the work some four decades ago and has survived a battle with leukemia. A nine member board of directors governs the ministry.

Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert and Nina Shea have collaborated to create “Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians,” which confirms that groups like Pew Research, Newsweek and The Economist also identify Christians as “the world’s most widely
persecuted religious group.”

In a new report he delivered this week to WND, he says he was recovering from injuries he received in an attack by Islamic jihadists when the rescue occurred.

It was Easter Sunday, and he was recovering in the home of friends in a forested area near where his group has been working.

“Suddenly, a group of militants reached the house, armed with steel bars and other weapons,” he reported to WND.

In the home with him were others, including a woman aged 80, several children under the age of 4 and a woman seven months pregnant.

“Losing all hope, we thought for sure this was our last day,” he said.

But while the group was praying, he reported a strange occurrence.

“Completely unexpectedly, a lion ran from the forest, leapt toward the militants, and seized one by the neck. When other combatants tried to attack the lion, two other lions bounded toward them. The terrified militants fled the site, and the lions left us completely alone,” he said.

“Equally astonishing, records show no lions are supposed to live in that forest,” he said.

He reported he had been approaching the closing of a 21-day period of fasting and prayer.

“As that drew to a close, more than 3,000 former Muslims were baptized in many of our churches in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The Lord enabled me to baptize many people during this time,” he said.

But while he was at one of the church locations, “militants began stoning me and our group."

“My head was severely injured and bloodied, and a number of others sustained injuries as well,” he said.

He was hospitalized, but he feared for his health and life there, so he went to the forest home of a local pastor, he said.

WND reported in February on another unusual development the Christians in the ministry reported.

Bibles for Mideast at that time said Muslims who carried out forced female genital mutilation on a Christian teen in Northern Africa were reporting being tormented by visions of blood after the near-fatal attack.

WND reported a 14-year-old girl in the undisclosed country had been left in a coma after being attacked and mutilated by Muslims upset with her conversion to Christianity.

After at least two physicians had declared her dead, she stunned doctors and hospital workers by getting up from her bed and going home.

Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert and Nina Shea have collaborated to create “Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians,” which confirms that groups like Pew Research, Newsweek and The Economist also identify Christians as “the world’s most widely persecuted religious group.”

After local physicians had given up and declared her dead, she suddenly sat up.

The girl said her soul “left my body and I was dead.”

“Angels came to receive me to heaven. But Jesus appeared before me and said, ‘I cannot turn back from the prayers of my children. My eyes are upon my children and ears are open to their prayer. So I give you your life back, for the issues of death belong to me. You go, and be my witness.’ Then he put his face right against and right into mine. He breathed into my nostrils, and my soul went in. Then he moved his nail-scarred hands over my body and healed me completely!”

The ministry reported Muslims who carried out the attack were frantic.

The ministry learned of the circumstances when the attackers visited Lydia and her father, pleading for help.

“The visitors explained that for the last three days and nights, all of the women who had been involved in the procedure seemed to have gone mad. Some shrieked that they saw blood every where, even when sitting alone. Attempting to prepare meals, they would scream, again seeing blood, and throw the food out. Given water, they would do the same. Knives in hand, some were approaching children, explaining the youngsters’ need for circumcision, and promising to do it carefully this time,” the ministry reported.

 

http://www.wnd.com/2017/04/miracle-this-time-the-lions-saved-the-christians/