Sunday, April 3, 2016

Donald Trump Calls for John Kasich to Drop Out

6:15:00 PM By

MILWAUKEE — Donald J. Trump called for Gov. John Kasich of Ohio to drop out of the Republican primary contest, saying that Mr. Kasich “should not be allowed to run.”
Mr. Trump said on Sunday that Mr. Kasich, who has so far finished first in just one primary — in his home state, Ohio — could ask to put his name under consideration for the nomination at the Republican convention in Cleveland in July. But he said Mr. Kasich was siphoning votes from him and called on the Republican National Committee to urge him to drop out.

“Kasich shouldn’t be allowed to continue, and the R.N.C. shouldn’t allow him to continue,” Mr. Trump told a small group of reporters at Miss Katie’s Diner here.
Mr. Trump, who is struggling to make up ground against Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in Wisconsin, which votes on Tuesday, argued that Mr. Kasich had no chance of winning the 1,237 delegates required to earn the party’s nomination and should therefore end his 2016 bid.

“Rand Paul could’ve stayed in and he had nothing, Marco Rubio could have stayed in, Jeb Bush could have stayed in,” Mr. Trump said, listing some of his previous Republican rivals who had since ended their campaigns. “They all could have stayed in. They could have just stayed in. That’s all he’s doing.”
Mr. Trump, who last week met with R.N.C. officials in Washington, said he had been mentioning his concerns to committee officials, including Reince Priebus, the party’s chairman.

“I said, ‘Why is a guy allowed to run?’” He said. “All he’s doing is just he goes from place to place, and loses, and he keeps on running.”
Mr. Trump added that he told the R.N.C. that the situation was “very unfair.”
“He doesn’t have to run and take my votes,” Mr. Trump said.
Chris Schrimpf, a spokesman for Mr. Kasich, said in a statement that both Mr. Cruz and Mr. Trump were unlikely to secure the necessary delegates to win the Republican nomination — and instead called for Mr. Trump to drop out.

“Ted Cruz also has no possibility of accumulating enough delegates and Trump also will not receive a majority of delegates before the convention,” Mr. Schrimpf said. “Since he thinks it’s such a good idea, we look forward to Trump dropping out before the convention. Trump living up to his own self-declared standard is best for the party since he will lose the White House by a historic margin to Hillary Clinton and also cause Republicans to lose control of the Senate.”

2 Dead in Amtrak Crash Near Philadelphia

6:08:00 PM By

Two people were killed when an Amtrak train partially derailed near Philadelphia today, officials said.
Amtrak said Train 89, traveling from New York to Savannah, Georgia, partially derailed after striking a backhoe that was on the tracks.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said the two fatalities were reportedly the backhoe operator and another track worker. Travis Thomas of the Chester Fire Department said the two people killed were not passengers. Amtrak did not immediately comment on the victims.
Thirty-five people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
PHOTO: An Amtrak train derailed in Chester, Pa., April 3, 2016 when it struck a backhoe that was on the tracks.WPVI
An Amtrak train derailed in Chester, Pa., April 3, 2016 when it struck a backhoe that was on the tracks.
The train struck the backhoe in Chester, Pennsylvania -- approximately 15 miles outside of Philadelphia -- and came to a stop in the neighboring town of Trainer, the fire department said.
The train had 341 passengers and seven crew members on board at the time of the crash.
PHOTO: An Amtrak train derailed in Chester, Pa., April 3, 2016.WPVI
An Amtrak train derailed in Chester, Pa., April 3, 2016.
Passenger Ari Ne’eman, who was sitting in the second car, told ABC News the train got "extremely bumpy" and at one point the window in the aisle across from him "started to break apart."
He said it appeared that many injuries were in the first car. Ne'eman said most passengers were fine and that they were being moved to a local church.
PHOTO: @alexsweet posted this photo to Instagram on April 3, 2016.@alexsweet/Instagram
@alexsweet posted this photo to Instagram on April 3, 2016.
PHOTO: Ari Neeman posted this photo to Facebook on April 3, 2016.Ari Neeman/Facebook
Ari Ne'eman posted this photo to Facebook on April 3, 2016.
Photos taken by a passenger on the train obtained by radio station WCHE showed the frightening damage to the train.
Federal Railroad Administration officials are at the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board was notified and planned to send a team.
Amtrak is working with the NTSB to investigate.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

The Latest: Mormon leads calls for embrace of all children

7:40:00 PM By

A Mormon leader is telling members to be more thoughtful and sensitive toward children of all backgrounds, many of whom don't come from "picture perfect" families.
Neil L. Anderson said Saturday at a church conference in Salt Lake City that the religion has hundreds of thousands of children who live with only one parent or whose parents aren't Mormon.
Anderson, a high-ranking leader with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the religion will continue to advocate for families led by married men and women who belong to the faith. But he said the religion should embrace other children too.
Anderson didn't mention children of gay parents. The church came under fire last November when it announced new rules banning baptisms for children living with a gay or lesbian parent.
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2:55 p.m.
Five of 11 new people chosen to serve on the Mormon church's second-tier leadership council are from countries outside the United States in a reflection of the religion's international footprint.
The men come from Guatemala, Argentina, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. More than half of the religion's 15 million members live outside the United States.
Church leaders announced the new selections for the faith's Quorum of the Seventy on Saturday at a twice-a-year conference in Salt Lake City. The council serves under the church president and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also announced new leaders for a women's council that oversees religious education for children in the faith. All three women are from the United States.
More than 100,000 Mormons are expected to attend five conference sessions over two days.
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12 p.m.
A Mormon leader is calling on church members to be tolerant of others even if they practice another religion or hold a different political affiliation.
Kevin R. Duncan said during a church conference in Salt Lake City that God doesn't view people based on "color of the jersey or the political party." Duncan urged members to be graceful no matter if they win or lose in the competitions of life.
Duncan is a member of a second-tier leadership council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
His guidance comes during a presidential campaign marked by explosive rhetoric and bickering.
Church leaders don't endorse candidates or parties but sometimes weigh in on what they consider crucial moral issues.
More than 100,000 Mormons are expected to attend five conference sessions over two days, with millions more watching live broadcasts.
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11:25 a.m.
A top Mormon leader kicked off a church conference in Salt Lake City by telling members that the religion is the "only true church" and that its top leaders speak for the Lord.
Henry B. Eyring on Saturday urged church members to listen carefully to speeches from Mormon leaders during the two-day conference so they can feel closer to the Lord. Eyring is a member of a top church leadership council called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Thomas S. Monson, the 88-year-old president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is in attendance but hasn't talked yet. He is considered a prophet.
More than 100,000 Mormons are expected to attend five conference sessions over two days, with millions more watching live broadcasts from their homes.
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1 a.m.
Mormon leaders are set to deliver guidance to their worldwide membership in a series of speeches this weekend during the religion's semiannual conference in Salt Lake City.
Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aren't expected to mention presidential candidates by name, but they may reiterate their push for more public civility and compassion amid a campaign marked by explosive rhetoric and bickering.
The conference kicks off Saturday morning at the faith's 21,000-seat conference center. More than 100,000 Mormons will attend the five sessions over two days, with millions more watching live broadcasts of the speeches.
The church doesn't back one party or endorse candidates, but Mormon leaders sometimes weigh in on what they consider crucial moral issues.

'It was a mistake': Trump regrets retweet of Cruz wife

7:35:00 PM By

New York (AFP) - Donald Trump says he regrets retweeting an unflattering picture of the wife of arch-rival Ted Cruz, in a rare act of contrition from the Republican presidential frontrunner.
 
Trump is in pole position to seize the Republican nomination but is doing poorly nationwide among women voters, polls show, and faced stern criticism from all sides in recent days after saying women who have illegal abortions should be "punished," before he backtracked.
The billionaire real-estate mogul has been engaged in an increasingly personal war of words with Cruz, his nearest challenger in the Republican race for the White House, that even drew in their wives.
An anti-Trump political group unveiled a controversial campaign ad ahead of votes in Arizona and Utah last month that used a GQ magazine photograph of Trump's wife Melania lying naked and handcuffed to a briefcase.
Cruz denied being behind the ad, which was accompanied by the words: "Meet Melania Trump, your next first lady."
Trump then retweeted a photo compilation of an unflattering photo of Cruz's wife Heidi next to Melania, a Slovenian-American jewelry designer and former model.
"Yeah, it was a mistake," Trump said of the retweet, talking to The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, in a column published Saturday.
"If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have sent it."