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#LetLizSpeak: Supporters React to GOP Silencing Elizabeth Warren - TIME

https://apple.news/AYkTOPDIlSTO91gicnB1Z4g

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Immigration Executive Order Fight Goes to Appeals Court - NBC News

https://apple.news/A6RXCflNGMzCrtMUBUj1Weg

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Does President Trump wear a bathrobe in the White House? Does he even own a bathrobe? Do you even care? Should you care? Why ask?

Well, the ongoing Trump-New York Times fake news feud stirred the brew anew on Monday after the Gray Lady published this on Sunday:

"Usually around 6:30 p.m., or sometimes later, Mr. Trump retires upstairs to the residence to recharge, vent and intermittently use Twitter. With his wife, Melania, and young son, Barron, staying in New York, he is almost always by himself, sometimes in the protective presence of his imposing longtime aide and former security chief, Keith Schiller. When Mr. Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home."

Leave it to White House press secretary Sean Spicer to respond and take issue with the bathrobe thing.

"I don't think the president owns a bathrobe," Mr. Spicer told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. "He definitely doesn't wear one."

Quelle horreur?

Not really.

There are alternatives when Mr. Trump lumbers about the executive mansion.

He could wear his "street clothes."

He could simply move about in his underwear (leaving interested parties to ask "boxers or briefs?").

He could wear pj's. (Saks has a couture Derek Rose cotton flannel set, Arctic Striped, for $275.)

He could move about in his birthday suit (but hope he doesn't).

And here's another: The Donald J. Trump Collection could add a men's lounge wear collection, including bathrobes, pj's and slippers.

Such nighty-night attire would probably do well at, say, Mr. Trump 's MacLeod House in Scotland. Even if your guy doesn't hit the links there, he'll need something to ward off the, ahem, cold nights.

The Washington Times Comment Policy

The Washington Times welcomes your comments on Spot.im, our third-party provider. Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.

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Does President Trump wear a bathrobe in the White House? Does he even own a bathrobe? Do you even care? Should you care? Why ask? Well, the ongoing Trump-New York Times fake news feud stirred the brew anew on Monday after the Gray Lady published this on Sunday: "Usually around 6:30 p.m., or sometimes later, Mr. Trump retires upstairs to the residence to recharge, vent and intermittently use Twitter.

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Louisiana residents were picking through the wreckage Wednesday after at least seven tornadoes tore through New Orleans and its vicinity - prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency and send out the National Guard.

No deaths were reported in the wake of Tuesday's devastation, but at least 25 people were treated for mostly minor injuries in area hospitals, including a woman eight months pregnant whose home caved in on her and her two children, officials said. She was listed as stable, and her kids were unharmed.

Meanwhile, Gov. John Bel Edwards dispatched the Guard to help state and local police patrol the hardest-hit areas and prevent looting.

Eastern New Orleans suffered the heaviest damage as a tornado ran along the ground for about two miles while covering about a half-mile wide area, said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. The neighborhood is located in the Ninth Ward, which was pummeled by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
PHOTOS: Tornadoes Devastate New Orleans Neighborhoods Hit By Katrina
"I am heartbroken to once again see Louisiana families suffering in the wake of devastating tornadoes today," Edwards said in a statement. "We are working tirelessly to ensure that every citizen affected by this storm receives the resources they need as quickly as possible."

Two of the twisters struck in Orleans Parish, two more hit Livingston Parish, and one apiece touched down in Tangipahoa, Ascension and St. James parishes, Edwards said.

President Donald Trump in an early Wednesday tweet said his thoughts and prayers are with the people of Louisiana.

Emergency crews continued to search homes and clear roads in neighborhoods where roofs were ripped from homes and battered by ping pong ball-size hail.

Many residents emerged from their hiding places to find their world literally turned upside down - flipped-over cars, smashed businesses, foundations where homes once stood.

"It's bad," eastern New Orleans resident James Thomas told The Associated Press. "I've never seen it this bad."

More than 12,000 customers were without electricity in Orleans, Ascension and Jefferson parishes, including about 10,000 in metropolitan New Orleans.

Videos posted to social media, meanwhile, captured a furious twister funneling through a gray sky.

The tornado watch in southeastern Louisiana was lifted around 2 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) Tuesday after the storms blew through. But Mississippi remained under a tornado watch that covered the southern half of the state, including Biloxi, Jackson and Hattiesburg.

So did Mobile, Alabama, and much of the Florida Panhandle as the wicked weather moved eastward.

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Tornadoes touch down near New Orleans, damaging homes

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Louisiana residents were picking through the wreckage Wednesday after at least seven tornadoes tore through New Orleans and its vicinity - prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency and send out the National Guard.

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Will we soon be able to buy Frank and Claire Underwood action figures?

Orange jumpsuits from Litchfield Correctional Facility?

Daredevil's batons?

"Stranger Things"-branded Eggo waffles?

Netflix , which has found critical and business success with original shows such as " House of Cards" and " Orange Is the New Black," wants to sell licensed merchandise and toys.

The company has posted a job opening for a "senior manager, licensing, merchandising and promotion" and signaled it wants to plunge into fan swag. It said it is looking to sell books, comics, gaming toys, collectibles, soundtracks and apparel tied to its shows.

"We are pursuing consumer products and associated promotion because we believe it will drive meaningful show awareness/buzz," said the posting. "We want licensed merchandise to help promote our titles so they become part of the zeitgeist for longer periods of time."

Related: Netflix at an all-time high? Stranger Things have happened

The idea is not new, of course. Disney started a chain of stores to sell stuffed animals and other character merchandise, for example. Netflix doesn't have such a child-targeted lineup, but it does have a loyal fan base that has helped it grow to more than 93 million subscribers.

"We're looking to establish a licensing and merchandising approach to help amplify fervor around key titles by developing new channels for consumers and communities to interact with Netflix," the posting said.

Can replicas of Queen Elizabeth II's crown be far behind?

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 8, 2017: 8:47 AM ET

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Netflix wants to get into the toy business

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Orange jumpsuits from Litchfield Correctional Facility? Daredevil's batons? "Stranger Things"-branded Eggo waffles? Netflix , which has found critical and business success with original shows such as " House of Cards" and " Orange Is the New Black," wants to sell licensed merchandise and toys.

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Scientists who study the risk of nuclear war recently moved the hands of the symbolic Doomsday Clock to 2½ minutes before midnight - meaning they believe that the world is closer to nuclear catastrophe than it has been since 1953 after the United States and Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which created the clock in 1947, says that President Trump is the main reason for this worrisome development.

Mr. Trump came to office with little knowledge of the vast nuclear arsenal and the missiles, bombers and submarines it contains. He has spoken, alarmingly, about deploying this weaponry against terrorists and about expanding America's nuclear capabilities. He has said he values unpredictability, meaning presumably that he wants to keep other nations on edge about whether he will use nuclear weapons.

"Let it be an arms race," he told a television interviewer in December. During a debate three months earlier he contradicted himself, saying that "I would certainly not do first strike," then adding, "I can't take anything off the table." What's worrisome about all this is that it is the opposite of what Republican and Democratic presidents have long sought, which is to ensure that these weapons are not used precipitously if at all.

It is the fear of such precipitous action that has led Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Ted Lieu of California, both Democrats, to propose legislation to prohibit any president from launching a first-strike nuclear weapon without a declaration of war from Congress.

The bill would not undercut Mr. Trump's ability to respond on his own authority to a nuclear attack, an authority all presidents have had and should have. It has support from leading arms control advocates, including former Defense Secretary William Perry. And while it won't go anywhere in this Republican-led Congress, it sends a clear message to Mr. Trump that he should not be the first since World War II to use nuclear weapons. Mr. Trump could more usefully deploy his energies engaging with Russia to further reduce both countries' nuclear arsenals, maintaining the Iran nuclear deal and finding new ways to curb North Korea's nuclear program.

A Pentagon advisory board recently proposed that the United States consider building more lower-yield nuclear weapons to provide an option for "limited use" in a regional conflict. The only legitimate role for nuclear weapons is deterrence. The absurd notion of a "limited" nuclear war, which could make it easier for a president to use lower-yield weapons, needs to be rejected. The country has enough advanced conventional weapons to defend against most threats.

Mr. Trump commands about 4,000 weapons that he alone is empowered to launch. Any decision responding to an attack would have to be made quickly. That kind of life-or-death choice would test any leader, even those well-schooled in arcane nuclear doctrine, the intricacies of power politics and the importance of not letting tensions get to the point where a nuclear exchange becomes likely. But none of Mr. Trump's closest advisers are known to be nuclear experts, the president has yet to put together a nuclear strategy and, as the Bulletin's Science and Security Board warned last month, Mr. Trump "has shown a troubling propensity to discount or outright reject expert advice."

With Mr. Trump, sound decision-making may be an even greater challenge, given his disruptive, impulsive style. There is also the fact that he has assumed office at a particularly unstable time, with the Middle East in turmoil and Russia and China acting more aggressively. This is a time for restraint and careful deliberation, and for leaders who clearly understand that nuclear weapons are too dangerous to be brandished as a cudgel.

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Opinion | The Finger on the Nuclear Button

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Scientists who study the risk of nuclear war recently moved the hands of the symbolic Doomsday Clock to 2½ minutes before midnight - meaning they believe that the world is closer to nuclear catastrophe than it has been since 1953 after the United States and Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs.

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46th out of 58 elections

47th in the last 49 elections

Mr. Trump won 30 states, gathering 306 of 538 electoral votes. There have been 45 presidential elections in which the winning candidate won a larger share of the electoral vote.

Percent of electoral vote won

Mr. Trump trails in the popular vote by over 2.5 million votes as states continue to report final results. His deficit gives him the third-worst vote margin among winning candidates since 1824.

Popular vote margin

Reflecting Mr. Trump's loss in the popular vote, only 29 percent of Americans say that Mr. Trump has a mandate for the agenda he offered during his campaign, according to a Washington Post-Schar School of Policy and Government poll.

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Trump's Electoral College Victory Ranks 46th in 58 Elections

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46th out of 58 elections 47th in the last 49 elections Mr. Trump won 30 states, gathering 306 of 538 electoral votes. There have been 45 presidential elections in which the winning candidate won a larger share of the electoral vote.

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Sep 13, 2016

Nick WagonerESPN Staff Writer

Close

Covered Rams for nine years for stlouisrams.com

Previously covered University of Missouri football

Member of Pro Football Writers of America

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's protest of racial oppression and inequality in the United States continued before Monday night's 28-0 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Broncos LB Brandon Marshall, who has now lost two endorsement deals for kneeling in protest during the national anthem, will meet with Denver's police chief to discuss social awareness issues.

Dolphins running back Arian Foster says he plans to keep kneeling during the playing of the national anthem.

For the second game in a row, Kaepernick and safety Eric Reid knelt during the song while teammates Antoine Bethea and Eli Harold stood and held up their right fists.

"I think it's become so blatantly obvious that athletes and people in general have to react," Kaepernick said. "It's not something that, with social media, there's so many instances where it's instantly to you and you see these things every day, day after day and that's hard.

"For me, it was something that I couldn't see another 'hashtag Sandra Bland, hashtag Tamir Rice, hashtag Walter Scott, hashtag Eric Garner,' the list goes on and on and on," Kaepernick said. "At what point do we do something about it? At what point do we take a stand and as a people say this isn't right? You have a badge, yes. You're supposed to be protecting us, not murdering us, and that's what the issue really is and we need to change that."

Rams defensive end Robert Quinn and receiver Kenny Britt also held up fists. Britt also was one of five Rams players to raise hands before a game after unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

"Just standing up for my rights," Quinn said. "Everyone knows the whole situation. Long story short, Fisher asked us to stand. So I respect him enough to do that. But at least to show awareness, raise my fist, show support out there that you have support throughout the league. I didn't want to try to distract the team; just want to have my right of freedom."

Niners defensive lineman Quinton Dial helped hold a large flag during the anthem.

Harold, the San Francisco linebacker, said the issue was "bigger than football" and that he took exception to fans' reaction when Kaepernick came in.

"What really pissed me off was when Kap was getting snaps at the end of the game and the crowd was booing," Harold said. "I'm not throwing shots at our fans. It's not about that. Liberty and justice for all. Just because this man is standing up for something he believes in doesn't give you the right to boo him. I just don't understand it, man. I really don't."

Harold also took issue with ESPN NFL analyst Trent Dilfer's critical comments on Kaepernick from Sunday.

"This is our profession, but if a guy wants to stand up and believe in something, you shouldn't shoot him down and talk down on him and say he put himself above the team when that wasn't the issue," Harold said.

Kaepernick said earlier this week that he would continue to kneel during the national anthem and reaffirmed that plan to ESPN's Lindsay Czarniak on Monday night.

"I know there's conversations that players are having in the locker rooms," Kaepernick said. "We've had them in our locker room as well. People are really feeling their humanity and really feeling like, you know what, this might not be something I experience on a daily basis, but it's not right that these other people are going through this. And that's ultimately what it comes down to."

Last week, Jed York, the 49ers' chief executive officer, pledged $1 million from the team's charitable foundation to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation, organizations with goals to assist in some of the same areas Kaepernick is attempting to help.

Kaepernick previously pledged the first $1 million he makes this season to help communities in need and has said he will do the same with proceeds from his jersey sales.

On Monday night, York said he and Kaepernick have had conversations over the past few weeks and again offered support to Kaepernick's efforts.

"I'd just say that human rights is a philosophy that everybody should hold dear," York said. "It's not easy to make a stand and to do something that's not popular -- that's everybody -- and I think that's what Colin has done, but I think he's done it in a respectful way. He's trying to bring a voice to people that he doesn't feel have one, and I think we want to do the same thing and try to help."

York added that he has no problems with his players figuring out which actions they want to take and then following through.

"I'm not going to tell the guys what to do," York said. "I'm not going to get into that. That's not my place. The locker room will take care of itself. I think even with this, when everybody wants to talk about is this a distraction, what's going on, it's been something that I think has been an issue that most people haven't discussed openly in locker rooms and quite honestly most places. And I think our locker room is one of the places where guys can ... they find a way to actually have a conversation about it as opposed to looking and having a preconceived notion of what does this mean and then kind of going their own separate ways."

While Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall has lost endorsements over his decision to kneel before Thursday's game against the Carolina Panthers, York said the 49ers have received no blowback from sponsors.

"They've all been really good," York said.

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Kaepernick continues anthem protest; others join

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Sep 13, 2016 Nick WagonerESPN Staff Writer Close Covered Rams for nine years for stlouisrams.com Previously covered University of Missouri football Member of Pro Football Writers of America SANTA CLARA, Calif.

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Blac Chyna was spotted getting close to another man on Super Bowl Sunday, an eyewitness tells Us Weekly - and it wasn't her fiancé, Rob Kardashian. According to the insider, the makeup artist, 28, was cozying up to a man at Estrella's MA Theater in Los Angeles during the big game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, February 5.

PHOTOS: Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's Cutest Moments

The source tells Us that Chyna and the mystery man, who was wearing a Patriots beanie, were sitting so close together that they looked like a couple. Chyna was overheard by the insider telling a friend that she's "still with Rob" but that they aren't living together.

PHOTOS: Unlikely Celebrity Couples

The Rob & Chyna stars' relationship has been on and off since Chyna accepted Kardashian's proposal back in April 2016 after just months of dating. In December, the parents of daughter Dream, 2 months, got into an explosive fight only to reunite 48 hours later. As previously reported, Chyna's Instagram was allegedly hacked, and Kardashian shocked fans by announcing via Snapchat that she had broken up with him, moved out of their shared home and taken their newborn daughter with her. At the time, a source explained to Us that Chyna was indeed fed up with the Arthur George sock designer, who has been battling depression for years.

"She walked out when she couldn't take it anymore, but it was the heat of the moment," the Chyna insider told Us of their brief split.

Quickest Celebrity Engagements Ever

While the pair have seemingly patched things up, Chyna hinted via Snapchat on Monday, February 6, that she's again fed up with the formerly reclusive reality star. "It's funny when people say they wanna be great but sleep until 3 p.m. etc," the Lashed owner wrote on Snapchat, seemingly referring to her fiancé.

Us has reached out to Chyna's rep for comment.

Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!

Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now!

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Blac Chyna Spotted Getting Close to Another Man

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Blac Chyna was spotted getting close to another man on Super Bowl Sunday, an eyewitness tells Us Weekly - and it wasn't her fiancé, Rob Kardashian. According to the insider, the makeup artist, 28, was cozying up to a man at Estrella's MA Theater in Los Angeles during the big game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, February 5.

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A former NFL wide receiver on the importance of America making good on its promise of equality for all

Fifteen years ago, I stood where Colin Kaepernick stands now.

I was a 23-year-old rookie, an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, about to play my very first game in the NFL. I looked around Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and felt like my entire life had been building to this moment. Not only was I playing, but injuries meant that I also would be starting in our first preseason opener against the Chargers.

When the national anthem began to play, I thought about how amazing it was that I was even there. I was a kid from a small town in Idaho, wearing the uniform of my dad's favorite team, standing tall, holding my hand over my heart, thankful that I lived in a country where I could actually do this for a living. I wish I could say that I sang every word and reflected on the men and women who fought every day for my safety, freedom and ability to do what I love, but I didn't. I was too nervous to focus on anything but the game.

Every time the national anthem played over the six seasons of my NFL career, it felt special. So my heart sank when I first heard Kaepernick chose to sit, not stand, during the national anthem of a 49ers preseason game.

I wasn't appalled because he didn't stand. I was dismayed because I knew, immediately, his decision would subject him to a wave of hate, cynicism and ridiculous scrutiny from the American public. The anthem has always been special to me, but I've also come to understand - just by reading and talking and listening to people who grew up differently than I did - that American history is far more complicated than we like to acknowledge. It doesn't belong to any one group of people. Ideals, not symbols, are the fabric of our nation.

Kaepernick has been called unpatriotic. He has been asked, not politely, to leave the country. He was told to shut up and play. He has been called an ungrateful punk. Fans and pundits questioned his sincerity, and insisted he be cut immediately. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, even absurdly suggested that Kaepernick's protest was sympathetic to the Islamic State terrorist group.

The comments have been disgusting and disappointing. Mostly because it was clear people didn't even take the time to understand the substance of Kaepernick's message. They lacked the courage to ask a difficult question: What if Kaepernick is right? What if America isn't holding up its end of the bargain for some of its citizens? Having that conversation is important, even if we ultimately disagree on the conclusions.

Instead, most people cast him as ungrateful or disingenuous. They saw and heard a black man with a $114 million, six-year contract taking a stand for other people of color who are being oppressed in a country that has given him everything, a guy who is protected by local police speaking out against police brutality. In their eyes, a man who is supposed to be a role model was setting the worst possible example for kids.

The people who think Kaepernick is arguing he has been oppressed haven't even bothered to listen to his position. They'd rather attempt to undermine his credibility - or pretend he's insulting the military - than hear him out. He has said that he doesn't feel oppressed. Rather, he is taking a stand for the millions of black and brown people in this country who are under attack and who don't have a voice or a platform to be heard. I applaud him and respect him for having the courage to speak out on their behalf.

A San Francisco 49ers fan holds a "Thank you Kaepernick" sign during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium. (Photo: Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports)

Who cares how much money he makes? He has earned it. Kaepernick has worked hard to achieve the success that he has - something we typically celebrate in a capitalistic society. It's discouraging that our society's expectation is if you're rich, you should enjoy your wealth and not care if people who look like you are being denied their constitutional rights. The most un-American element in this entire controversy is the idea that Kaepernick should keep his grievances to himself, lest they force us to have a difficult conversation about the state of the nation.

Kaepernick has never said that he does not respect police officers or the difficult job they do. He simply wants the tiny percentage of bad cops to be held accountable. Isn't that something we should all want? Not all cops are bad. No one is pretending as much. But there are cops right there in the Bay Area who are abusing their badges. Police brutality and use of excessive force is a real problem, and it has led to an extreme mistrust of the police in many urban areas. Yes, the good, honest, caring officers who take pride in their job are being unfairly grouped with the reckless and careless cops. But the good officers need to speak up and call out the bad ones. If that happened, perhaps some of the trust for police that has been lost in the black community could be restored.

Many people seem to believe that not standing for our national anthem shows a lack of character or patriotism. They assume the person who doesn't stand is spitting in the face of every man or woman who has fought for our freedoms. But this is the important difference between nationalism and patriotism. The U.S. military doesn't fight for us so people will rigidly stand during the national anthem. They fight so we'll always have the choice. Having choice is the most American act of all.

As Americans, how many of us are familiar with the anthem's complicated history? Because of Kaepernick's quiet protest, many of us are learning that it was written by a slave owner who, in the third verse, celebrated the death of slaves who were trying to fight for their freedom. America is a wonderful story, but it's also a messy story, and it won't unravel just because we acknowledge our sins. Those who want to erase them because they make them feel uncomfortable lack character.

Kaepernick and other pro athletes are role models. I wouldn't even hesitate to use Kaepernick as an example to my children that it is right to stand up. If you see injustice in the world, don't hide from it. Don't cloak yourself in symbols. Speak. Strive to build a more perfect union. With bullying at near epidemic levels in our schools, we need more kids who have courage.

People have tried to silence and discredit him, but Kaepernick is winning this debate. In a way, he has already won. Even if he's out of the NFL next year, we're talking about these issues on a national stage. That's progress. The 49ers have pledged $1 million to organizations in the Bay Area that promote racial and economic equality. Many 49ers - and players across the league - have been supportive. They are standing with a guy who is risking his career, his livelihood and his reputation.

In America, we applaud courage like that. We celebrate our freedoms and the people who have the strength to exercise them, especially when they are speaking up for those without a voice. When Muhammad Ali stood up in 1967 to refuse to be drafted, he was called a coward and an ungrateful traitor. He sacrificed the prime of his career for his convictions. Over time, people grew to admire his courage. When Ali died this year, it was interesting to see how many people lamented: Remember when athletes weren't afraid to speak out, to stand for something?

Kaepernick should continue to kneel until we make real progress toward acknowledging that, despite our best intentions, America is falling short on one of our founding principles of liberty and justice for all people.

As a fellow football player, I would have been proud to call Colin Kaepernick a teammate. Now I'm equally proud to call him a fellow American.
Jimmy Farris is a six-year NFL veteran who began his career with the San Francisco 49ers, a Super Bowl champion and a 2012 candidate for U.S. Congress in Idaho.
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Why Kaepernick must keep kneeling: Voices

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A former NFL wide receiver on the importance of America making good on its promise of equality for all Fifteen years ago, I stood where Colin Kaepernick stands now. I was a 23-year-old rookie, an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, about to play my very first game in the NFL.

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A US pet food company says traces of a drug used to euthanise animals have been found in some of its products, leading to a large recall.

Evanger's Dog & Cat Food issued the recall after detecting traces of pentobarbital, a sedative normally used to euthanise dogs, cats, and horses.

The voluntary recall affects five dog food products which had been sold in 16 states, according to officials.

One pug named Talula died after being fed the canned food on New Year's Eve.

Three others in the same Washington state household all began acting strangely after being fed the food, Evanger's Hunk of Beef with au jus, owner Nikki Mael told US media.

Mrs Mael told KATU: "I fed them one can and within 15 minutes, they were acting drunk, walking around, they couldn't ... they were falling over".

Talula, who had eaten most of the food, died, but the other pugs - Tito, Tinkerbell and Tank survived after being rushed to the veterinarian's office.

Evanger's Dog Food paid for Mrs Mael dogs' medical bills, as well as two others', and donated to an animal shelter in Talula's honor.

The drug, pentobarbital, was discovered following a post-mortem examination at Oregon State University.

In addition to being used on animals, pentobarbital has been used in a cocktail of drugs to execute prisoners in at least 14 states, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

In a statement the company said: "We feel that we have been let down by our supplier, and in reference to the possible presence of pentobarbital, we have let down our customers."

Evanger's, who say they use only US Department of Agriculture-approved beef, added that "something like this seemed impossible".

After forty years they have" terminated" their relationship with their meat supplier, which also supplies to other pet food companies.

The source of the contamination is still unknown, and the company says they will continue with their investigation.

According to their website, Evanger's is the "the only family-owned and operated pet food cannery in the United States".

This is the Illinois-based company's first recall in its 82 years.

The company estimates that about one million cans of Hunk of Beef, its most popular dog food, are sold in the US each year.

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A US pet food company says traces of a drug used to euthanise animals have been found in some of its products, leading to a large recall. Evanger's Dog & Cat Food issued the recall after detecting traces of pentobarbital, a sedative normally used to euthanise dogs, cats, and horses.

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A 63-year-old man was fatally struck by an SUV Wednesday while trying to help his son, whose car had become stuck on an icy road in Needham.

Police said the SUV slid into Joseph Flynn of Needham after hitting a patch of black ice around 7 a.m. Flynn was pinned between the two vehicles, authorities said.

The crash occurred as much of Greater Boston was struggling with black ice on interstate highways and local streets, causing numerous crashes - many of them involving multiple vehicles.

Flynn's wife, Sheila, said during a brief, emotional phone interview that her husband was "the kindest, sweetest, gentlest man."

"He loved his family," she said through tears. "He was all about always taking care of everyone else, and that's what he was doing today when it happened."

The Flynns have three adult children, Jessica, Stephanie, and Joseph Jr.

"Anything he could do for anybody, he did," Sheila Flynn said. "He just always took care of us."

Flynn was an executive vice president at the Needham-based NorthStar Insurance Services Inc.

"He was someone everybody could count on," said Edward Pierce, the company founder, who said he worked with Flynn for more than two decades. "He was always there for everybody, and he was always there for his kids, first and foremost. . . . And he was always a lot of fun."

In Needham, Police Chief John Schlittler said the driver of the SUV lost control as he neared the intersection of Brookline Street and Greendale Avenue.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family, their friends and relatives," Schlittler said. "It just seems to really be a horrific accident.''

Jim Collins, whose son and daughter-in-law live on Brookline Street, said his daughter-in-law, a nurse, rushed outside to help after seeing the crash. Collins said she told him the driver of the first car had called his father after sliding off the icy road into a post. After Flynn arrived, another car came over the hill and hit him, Collins said.

Richard Merson, Needham's director of public works, said the freeze was sudden and unpredicted, and workers were just salting the streets at 7 a.m., when Flynn was killed.

Except for the Needham fatality, authorities said no serious injuries were reported in any of the crashes, including one in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Wakefield between exits 39 and 40 that involved 55 vehicles and shut down the highway for about two hours. Eight people were taken to the hospital and treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, officials said.

Governor Charlie Baker defended the state's handling of treacherous road conditions after an early morning turn in the weather led to multiple accidents during the morning commute.

"Places that were just wet became sheets of ice," he said.

The problem with icy roads persisted into mid-morning. MassDOT reported nearly 300 salt and sanding crews were on the roads around 10 a.m.

In a statement, Boston Public Schools officials said nine buses were involved in ice-related accidents Wednesday morning. In just one incident, seven students were taken to area hospitals as a precaution, but no serious injuries were reported.

In Melrose, two or three students were taken to the hospital for minor injuries after a school bus skidded on ice, Melrose police said.

Highway administrator Thomas Tinlin said that while overnight forecasts from the National Weather Service had warned about icy road conditions in Western Massachusetts, warnings about Eastern Massachusetts did not start coming in until 4:30 a.m.

Travis Andersen and John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Maddie Kilgannon can be reached at Follow her on Twitter Follow her on Twitter maddie.kilgannon @globe.com. @MaddieKilgannon. Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. @evanmallen.

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55 vehicles involved in single Wakefield crash as drivers face icy roads - The Boston Globe

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A 63-year-old man was fatally struck by an SUV Wednesday while trying to help his son, whose car had become stuck on an icy road in Needham. Police said the SUV slid into Joseph Flynn of Needham after hitting a patch of black ice around 7 a.m.

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A prominent separatist commander has been killed in eastern Ukraine, four days after another pro-Russian military leader was blown up by a car bomb.

Mikhail Tolstykh, known as Givi, was killed when a rocket was fired into his office in what rebel authorities in Donetsk are calling a terrorist attack.

Eastern Ukraine has seen its bloodiest period of clashes since 2015, with at least 35 deaths in little over a week.

Rebels have blamed Ukraine's security services for both bomb attacks.

Oleg Anashschenko, who was de facto defence minister of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LNR), had been driving in Luhansk when his car blew up on Saturday.

Why have so many rebel commanders been killed?

Rebel commander Anashschenko killed in Ukraine blast

Ukraine rebel fury at Motorola murder

New, bloody chapter in eastern Ukraine

The two military figures blown up in the past few days are the latest in a series of rebel commanders killed in eastern Ukraine. The conflict between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists erupted after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula in March 2014.

Ukrainians in Kiev have put the most recent killings down to infighting among rebels. Military commentator and MP Dmytro Tymchuk suggested that Givi had begun ignoring orders, particularly during the escalation of fighting at Avdiivka last week, just outside Donetsk.

Givi led the so-called Somali battalion during the rebels' successful campaign to seize control of Donetsk airport.

He was one of the best-known faces among the separatists, along with Arseny Pavlov, widely known as Motorola, who was blown up in a lift at a block of flats in Donetsk last October.

Pavlov, a Russian military veteran, was high on Kiev's wanted list, having told reporters that he had killed 15 Ukrainian prisoners.

Mysterious deaths

Ever since the conflict in the east began, there have been numerous incidents involving separatist leaders and rarely have the attackers been caught.

January 2015: Oleksandr Bednov, head of Luhansk rapid reaction force, shot dead with bodyguards

May 2015: Oleksiy Mozhovyy, killed with entourage in ambush

August 2016: Ihor Plotnitskiy, head of the self-styled Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), survives an attack on his car; both his parents died in Russia the following month, reportedly of mushroom poisoning

September 2016: Ex-Plotnitskiy adviser hangs himself while in detention for allegedly plotting a coup

January 2017: Ex-LPR leader Valeriy Bolotov dies suddenly in Moscow, weeks after accusing Plotnitskiy of illegally seizing power. His family says he was poisoned

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Rocket kills another Ukraine rebel leader

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A prominent separatist commander has been killed in eastern Ukraine, four days after another pro-Russian military leader was blown up by a car bomb. Mikhail Tolstykh, known as Givi, was killed when a rocket was fired into his office in what rebel authorities in Donetsk are calling a terrorist attack.

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46th out of 58 elections

47th in the last 49 elections

Mr. Trump won 30 states, gathering 306 of 538 electoral votes. There have been 45 presidential elections in which the winning candidate won a larger share of the electoral vote.

Percent of electoral vote won

Mr. Trump trails in the popular vote by over 2.5 million votes as states continue to report final results. His deficit gives him the third-worst vote margin among winning candidates since 1824.

Popular vote margin

Reflecting Mr. Trump's loss in the popular vote, only 29 percent of Americans say that Mr. Trump has a mandate for the agenda he offered during his campaign, according to a Washington Post-Schar School of Policy and Government poll.

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Trump's Electoral College Victory Ranks 46th in 58 Elections

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46th out of 58 elections 47th in the last 49 elections Mr. Trump won 30 states, gathering 306 of 538 electoral votes. There have been 45 presidential elections in which the winning candidate won a larger share of the electoral vote.

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"I see more of murder the further along they get. Although inside me I know it's murder from the beginning."

"A fetus isn't a baby." "A woman has a right to choose." These are often the most common statements a pro-lifer hears when discussing abortion with pro-choice people. "It isn't a baby until it's born." "Abortion isn't killing." The rank-and-file of the pro-choice movement usually deny that an unborn baby is a human being with a right to life.

Occasionally you will find someone who argues that the fetus is a baby, but the woman has a right to abort him or her anyway - but usually you'll hear pro-choice people denying the humanity of the unborn. One word that's always avoided is pro-choice publications is "baby." "Fetus" or "product of conception" or "tissue" is how the aborted baby is described. It isn't a life, they say.

But the people who know the most about abortion are the clinic workers and doctors who perform them. And many of them have come out saying things that would make even the most hardcore pro-choicers cringe.

In one article in the American Medical News that was probably never meant for pro-life eyes, abortion providers from around the country discussed the emotional difficulties of performing abortions. One doctor said:

I have angry feelings at myself for feeling good about grasping the calvaria [head], for feeling good about doing a technically good procedure that destroys a fetus, kills a baby. (1)

Baby? Perhaps this doctor didn't get the memo. Pro-choice activists know never to refer to the "fetus" as a baby. You won't hear NARAL Pro-Choice America or the National Organization for Women using the term "baby" to describe a child being aborted.

Another abortion doctor uses honest terms to describe his job:

A late termination is actually not very nice and there is no way of getting away from it, I don't feel I am doing it for any other reason than for the best of both the mother and the baby. (2)

Again the word "baby." Could it be that these abortionists are fully aware that the "fetuses" they are aborting are in fact living babies?

If there is any doubt that at least some abortion providers know that abortion is killing a baby, it is put to rest by British abortionist Judith Arcana:

It is morally and ethically wrong to do abortions without acknowledging what it means to do them. I performed abortions, I have had an abortion and I am in favor of women having abortions when we choose to do so. But we should never disregard the fact that being pregnant means there is a baby growing inside of a woman, a baby whose life is ended. We ought not to pretend this is not happening. (3)

This straightforward admission must have caused some consternation to pro-choice activists who read Arcana's article. Few are willing to admit to the reality of abortion.

One unnamed abortionist said the following in a book that profiled doctors from different fields:

Nobody wants to perform abortions after ten weeks because by then you see the features of the baby, hands, feet. It's really barbaric. Abortions are very draining, exhausting, and heartrending. There are a lot of tears. ... I do them because I take the attitude that women are going to terminate babies and deserve the same kind of treatment as women who carry babies ... I've done a couple thousand, and it turned into a significant financial boon, but I also feel I've provided an important service. The only way I can do an abortion is to consider only the woman as my patient and block out the baby[.] (4)

In this short paragraph, the doctor mentions the word "baby" four times.

It is clear that many abortion providers know that they are ending life. They see the babies kicking and moving on the ultrasound screen and then see them later, in pieces, in the back room of the clinic.

Clinic counselor Tim Shuck, who worked at the Lovejoy abortion clinic until his death from AIDS, said the following to a writer who was chronicling the daily workings of the clinic:

I have never denied that human life begins at conception. If I have a complaint about our society, it's that we don't deal with death and dying. Do we believe human beings have a right to make decisions about death and dying? Yes we do, and those decisions are made every day in every hospital. (5)

The author who quoted Shuck never revealed whether or not Shuck told the women he counseled that life begins at conception.
Another clinic worker said the following:

I see more of murder the further along they get. Although inside me I know it's murder from the beginning... (6)

In an article in the Dallas Morning News, abortion clinic administrator Charlotte Taft made the following statement:

We were hiding ... some pieces of the truth about abortion that were threatening. [Abortion] is a kind of killing, and most women seeking abortion know that. (7)

This was a little too much honesty for Planned Parenthood - after Taft came out with this statement, they stopped referring patients to her clinic. Eventually, she resigned.

Reporter Leonard Stern spoke to Joan Wright, the owner of a clinic in Ottawa. She explained how she and her fellow workers were fighting to force pro-lifers to take down a banner that announced, "Abortion Stops a Beating Heart" and gave a phone number for women considering abortion to call for help. Stern confronted her with pro-lifers' allegations that her clinic gave deceptive counseling to women. From the article:

She said. "Good grief! They accuse us of pretending we're not doing what we're doing? I'm in the business of death!" (8)

This is probably the most honest and frank admission by an abortion provider that you are likely to hear.

In his essay "Why I Am an Abortion Provider," Dr. William F. Harrison says the following: "No one, neither the patient receiving the abortion, nor the person doing the abortion, is ever, at any time, unaware that they are ending a life."

In reality, the fact that abortion ends a life is often hidden from women. The baby is described as "products of conception" or "tissue." The abortion "empties out the uterus." The facts of fetal development are glossed over or outright distorted. The woman is facing a life-changing, irrevocable decision at a vulnerable time in her life, and she is susceptible to being deceived.

Look at the way one abortion clinic (Summit Medical Center) describes an abortion on its website.

You will first lay [sic] on an exam table like you would've for regular gynecological exam. Most patients will then receive IV sedation/twilight anesthesia... Patients opting for twilight anesthesia are mildly awake, but should feel no more than slight (if any) discomfort, and usually have little or no memory of the procedure afterwards.... Just as with a Pap smear, the doctor will use a speculum to hold the vaginal walls open, and then begin the procedure of using a series of dilation instruments to open the cervix. The contents of the uterus are then removed with a gentle vacuum aspirator.

Here are more examples of abortionists and clinic workers who acknowledge that abortion is killing:

The owner of one abortion clinic, identified only as "Michelle" in a book by James D. Slack, said the following:

I've thought through this issue, to do it as long as I have, and I have to sleep well at night... Is it life? Clearly it's life. Does it deserve protection? My answer is "no." The bottom line, you have two competing interests: the mother and the baby (or the embryo or the fertilized egg). And sometime during that nine month gestation, a woman's rights are going to digress. At that point, I guess, rights can be ascribed to the fetus. (9)

This clinic owner has no problem calling an embryo a baby. She merely considers the baby's life unimportant. There is no doubt that she knows exactly what is happening at her clinic.

Abortionist Don Sloan, explaining the morality of abortion to his teenage niece in an essay that appeared in an anthology on abortion, said the following:

Is abortion murder? All killing isn't murder. A cop shoots a teenager who appeared to be going for a gun, and we call it justifiable homicide - a tragedy for all concerned, but not murder. And then there's war... (10)

In this case, the abortionist (Sloan has been practicing for over thirty years and has done over 20,000 abortions) admits that abortion is killing but claims that it is not murder. He equates abortion with self-defense and war. But is the unborn baby sleeping in her mother's womb really an aggressor? Except in very rare cases, a woman's life is not endangered by a pregnancy. And unless the pregnancy is a result of rape (which is a factor in only 1% of all abortions) the woman's own actions (along with those of the baby's father) resulted in the baby developing where he or she is.

The baby may be unwanted, but she is not truly an intruder if the woman's own actions are responsible for her presence in the womb. An unborn baby is not a teenager with a gun or an enemy soldier on a battlefield; she is an innocent and helpless member of the human race.

Abortionist Dr. Neville Sender said the following in a newspaper article:

We know that it is killing, but the states permit killing under certain circumstances. (11)

The clinic where Sender worked later came under scrutiny for throwing the bodies of aborted babies in the trash.

Abortionist Dr. Curtis Boyd, who performs abortions up to 24 weeks: "Am I killing? Yes, I am. I know that." You can see a video of him saying it here.

Another abortionist, who remained anonymous, said:

It [the fetus] is a form of life[.] ... This has to be killing[.] ... The question then becomes, 'Is this kind of killing justifiable?' In my own mind, it is justifiable, but only with the informed consent of the mother. (12)

Another abortionist admits that abortion is killing but also tries to justify it by saying the babies he kills would have difficult lives if they were allowed to be born:

I have the utmost respect for life; I appreciate that life starts early in the womb, but also believe that I'm ending it for good reasons.

Often I'm saving the woman or I'm improving the lives of other children in the family. I also believe that women have a life they have to consider. If a woman is working full-time, has one child already and is barely getting by, having another child that would financially push her to go on public assistance yes is going to lessen the quality of her life. And it's also an issue for the child, if it would not have had a good life. Life is hard enough when you're wanted and everything's prepared. So yes, I end life, but even when it's hard, it's for a good reason. (13)

Are these good reasons to kill a child?

Another abortionist puts it more plainly:

Abortion is killing the fetus. ... Human life, in and of itself, is not sacred. Human life, per se, is not inviolate. (14)

This doctor has foregone excuses and accepted the belief that human life is not sacred or worthy of protection. He has no need for justifications. He knows he is killing - and he doesn't care.

After talking extensively to one abortionist, author Nancy Dey writes:

Dr. Ed Jones (pseudonym) says it's always in the back of his mind that he is terminating a life. (15)

Another abortionist, Dr. Harrison, simply said, "I am destroying a life" (16). This doctor has performed over 20,000 abortions.

Dr. William Rashbaum performed thousands of abortions before his death in 2005. He revealed to an interviewer that he was haunted by a recurring nightmare of an unborn baby hanging on to the uterine wall with its tiny fingernails, fighting to stay inside. When asked how he dealt with this dream, he said, "Learned to live with it. Like people in concentration camps."

The interviewer then asked if he really meant that metaphor:

I think it's apt - destruction of life. Look! I'm a person, I'm entitled to my feelings. And my feelings are who gave me or anybody the right to terminate a pregnancy? I'm entitled to that feeling, but I also have no right communicating it to the patient who desperately wants that abortion. I don't get paid for my feelings. I get paid for my skills... I'll be frank. I began to do abortions in large numbers at the time of my divorce when I needed money. But I also believe in the woman's right to control their biological destiny. I spent a lot of years learning to deliver babies. Sure, it sometimes hurts to end life instead of bringing it into the world. (17)

Rashbaum knew that abortion takes a life, but he never mentioned this to the women who were coming in for abortions. One can only wonder about the psychological strain of equating oneself with a Nazi, with knowing that you end babies' lives for a living.

Pro-choice writer Miriam Claire interviewed several abortion providers for a book she wrote. One of them, Dr. Bertram Wainer, said the following:

My whole professional training was to prolong life, to nurture and protect it. Abortion is clearly at odds with that ethos ... [yet] I have never refused to perform an abortion because of any personal conflict[.] (18)

There are other examples of abortionists and clinic workers who admitted that abortion ends lives. Magda Denes, a pro-choice author, interviewed a number of doctors and clinic workers in her book In Necessity and Sorrow: Life and Death Inside an Abortion Hospital. Every doctor she interviewed, and many of the clinic workers, admitted at some point during the interviews that they regarded abortion as murder. One doctor said:

It [abortion] goes against all things which are natural. It's a termination of a life, however you look at it. (18)

There are similar quotes throughout the book.

There is no way to know for whether or not these doctors and clinic administrators are representative of all abortion providers. But it is clear that many, if not most, abortion providers know that they kill. It is also clear that the average pro-choice person, who argues in support of allowing these men and women to continue practicing, has no awareness of the truth that so many abortion providers know - that abortion kills babies.

1. Diane M. Gianelli, "Abortion Providers Share Inner Conflicts," American Medical News, July 12, 1993

2. ABC.net: Religion and Ethics: 12-28-2005. Quoted by Life Dynamics

3. Judith Arcana "Feminist Politics and Abortion in the US" Pro-Choice
Forum (Psychology and Reproductive Choice) Sponsored by The Society for the Psychology of Women.
http://www.prochoiceforum.org.uk/psy_al8.php

4. John Pekkanen. M.D.: Doctors Talk About Themselves (Delcorte Press: New York, 1988) 90-91

5. Peter Korn. Lovejoy: A Year in the Life of an Abortion Clinic (The Atlantic Monthly Press: New York, 1996) p 94

6. James Tunstead Burtechaell, C.S.C. Rachel Weeping: the Case against
Abortion (San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row Publishers, 1982) 135 - 136

7. "Abortion rights activist resigns as clinic director; Taft cites differences with Routh Street owner" Dallas Morning News 2/2/1995

8. Leonard Stern "Abortion Wars" The Ottawa Citizen Sun 28 May 2000

9. James D Slack Abortion, Execution, and the Consequences of Taking Life (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2009) 49

10. Tamara L. Roleff. Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven Press: San Diego 1997) 25

11. John Powell, S.J. Abortion: The Silent Holocaust (Argus Communications: Allen, Tx) 1981, p 66

12. Democrat & Chronicle 7/5/92

13. Cheryl Alkon "Confessions of an Abortion Doctor" Boston Magazine December 2004

14. Abortionist "Dr. Smith" (Pseudonym) . Leo Wang "The Abortionist"
Berkeley Medical Journal Spring 1995

15. Nancy Dey Abortion: Debating the Issue (Enslow Publishers: Springfield, IL 1995) 49

16. Nat Hentoff "An Abortionist's World: How to Rationalize
Inhumanity" The Washington Times Febuary 6, 2006. Citing Stephanie Simon "Offering Abortion, Rebirth" Los Angeles Times November 29, 2005

17. Norma Rosen "Between Guilt and Gratification: Abortion Doctors
Reveal Their Feelings," New York Times Magazine April 17, 1977 p 73, 74, 78

18. Miriam Claire The Abortion Dilemma: Personal Views on a Public Issue. (Insight Books: New York) 1995, p 30

19. Magda Denes, PhD. In Necessity and Sorrow: Life and Death Inside an Abortion Hospital (Basic Books, Inc.: New York 1976)147

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"I see more of murder the further along they get. Although inside me I know it's murder from the beginning." "A fetus isn't a baby." "A woman has a right to choose." These are often the most common statements a pro-lifer hears when discussing abortion with pro-choice people.