Saturday's dedication of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture brought together the president who signed into law the funding for the museum and the president who was in office during its completion.

But the gathering of the 43rd and 44th first couples also saw the reuniting of two unlikely friends.
Over the past eight years, former President George W. Bush and First Lady Michelle Obama have been seen becoming increasingly chummy. At public events, the two can often be found sitting next to each other, sharing a laugh or lending a hand to hold.
Saturday's ceremony was no exception. During the event, Obama reached over and grabbed Bush into a hug as their spouses clapped and looked on.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/24/politics/michelle-obama-george-w-bush-friendship/

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday that law enforcement will release limited transcripts Monday from the three phone calls that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen had with police.

"They will talk about what he told law enforcement on the ground as the events were unfolding," Lynch told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

The Justice Department says the FBI and Orlando authorities, in coordination with the U.S. Attorney's office, are expected on Monday to release a limited transcript of conversations Mateen had with authorities during the shooting as well as a timeline.

"He talked about his pledges of allegiance to a terrorist group. He talked about his motivations for why he was claiming at that time he was committing this horrific act. He talked about American policy in some ways," Lynch said. In one of the call he pledged allegiance to ISIS, authorities have said.
"The reason why we're going to limit these transcripts is to avoid re-victimizing those people that went through this horror. But it will contain the substance of his conversations," she said.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/19/politics/orlando-shooting-transcripts/

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Guess we will really know what happened or his motivation. Her reason for not releasing the complete transcript seems strange. Why wouldn't the victims want to know the whole story?

Source: Variety

A group of radical Islamists attacked a listening party in Istanbul where Radiohead was holding a listening party for fans in support of their new album.

The men reportedly stormed the record store, Velvet Indieground, in Istanbul, Turkey, and used pipes to violently beat fans running away from the venue for drinking alcohol during the holy month of Ramadan.

“Our hearts go out to those attacked tonight at Velvet IndieGround in Istanbul,” Radiohead said in a statement. “We hope that someday we will be able to look back on such acts of violent intolerance as things of the ancient past. For now, we can only offer our fans in Istanbul our love and support.”

It’s unknown how many people were injured in the uproar or the severity of their injuries.


Read more: http://variety.com/2016/music/news/radiohead-listening-party-in-istanbul-attacked-by-islamists-1201798367/

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As Democrats turn to the general election, "hundreds" of staffers from Hillary Clinton's campaign have begun to transition to the payroll at the Democratic National Committee, according to spokesman from the campaign and the Democratic committee.

The transition, which began in May, includes staffers who one Clinton aide said "are working in jobs that benefit the entire ticket, not just Hillary Clinton." The aide added that the change will impact "hundreds of people across the country," including staff at Clinton's headquarters in Brooklyn.

The move is yet another signal that the Clinton's primary campaign against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is officially over and that the former secretary of state is wholly turning her focus to the general election campaign and Donald Trump.

The Hill reported on Wednesday that "a majority" of Clinton's staff "has transitioned immediately to the payroll at the Democratic National Committee." A Clinton aide denies that report, arguing that the transition will not include a majority of staff and was not starting this week.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/15/politics/hillary-clinton-dnc/index.html

Source: AlJAZEERA

A cleric has left Australia after comments he made against homosexuality sparked a government review of his visa, officials said.

Farrokh Sekaleshfar, a British citizen, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation at Sydney Airport on Tuesday night that he had decided to leave after discussions with the Muslim community.

He said he had not been asked to leave by the Australian government.

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said on Wednesday that the cleric left before Dutton's department cancelled his visa on Tuesday night.


Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/farrokh-sekalesh-leaves-australia-visa-warning-160615041301485.html

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Interesting video at the link.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a Peruvian banker and former prime minister whose father was Jewish, was elected as Peru’s president.

Kuczynski won a bare majority of votes — 50.12 percent — over Keiko Fujimori, Peru’s national election office announced on its official Twitter page Thursday evening.

Kuczynski, 77, was born in Lima to a French Protestant mother and a German Jewish father who fled the Nazis. He is nicknamed “El Gringo” – the American – for his ties to the United States, where he has lived from 1969 onward.

“Thank you Peru, it is time to work together for the future of our new country,” Kuczynski announced on Twitter.

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Son-of-Jewish-refugee-wins-Peruvian-presidential-election-456496

Source: Independent UK

A refugee centre in Germany has been burnt down following a dispute among residents over Ramadan meals.

The blaze ripped through accommodation that was home to hundreds of asylum seekers on the site of Düsseldorf trade fair, causing around 130 people to be evacuated and leaving 24 suffering from smoke inhalation.

Footage showed flames rising hundreds of feet into the air, sending a huge column of black smoke into the sky. Authorities are now tearing down the burnt-out hall amid fears the structure was in danger of collapsing.

Ralf Herrenbrück, a senior public prosecutor in the city, said there had been disputes among Muslims living in the home over how to mark Ramadan before the fire broke out on Tuesday.



Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-shelter-burnt-down-in-germany-after-dispute-among-asylum-seekers-over-ramadan-meals-a7074831.html

Source: Times of Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed on Wednesday that he was not seeking to replace Washington as Israel’s closest ally, as he wrapped up his fourth visit to Moscow in a year, which had touted the increasingly warm ties between Israel and Russia.

“There is no alternative to the United States [and] I am not looking for one,” he told reporters as he boarded the plane after the two-day trip. “But my policy is to look for other partnerships with great powers such as China, India and Russia and other countries.”

He mentioned an upcoming trip to Africa as another example of this strategy. “Israel is opening up to the world,” he said.

While relations between Jerusalem and the White House have increasingly soured in recent years, and as echoes of Cold War tensions once again permeate Washington’s dialogue with Moscow, Netanyahu sought to present Israel’s ties with Russia as very positive.


Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/after-historic-russian-visit-netanyahu-says-us-remains-top-ally/

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The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, was slapping EU leaders, calling Hungarian PM 'dictator' in front of the press at the EU-Eastern Partnership summit in Latvia.