Fact-Checking Trumps Claim That He Has "Very Little Debt"

Explaining how he will avoid conflicts of interest as President, Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that he owes little money to anyone, and none to Russia. “As a real estate developer I have very, very little debt,” Trump said at his first press conference since winning the presidency in November. “I have assets that are — and now people have found out how big the company is, I have very low debt.”

But companies that Trump owns entirely or in part owe hundreds of millions of dollars to foreign banks, fringe lenders and mortgage companies, according to financial disclosures filed during the election and news reports based on public records.

According to his own most recent financial disclosure, filed in May with the Office of Government Ethics, companies and properties that Trump controls owe at least $315 million. Because the debts were listed in broad numerical ranges, the actual figure may be much higher.
The New York Times reported in August that companies owned by Trump owe at least $650 million. Much of that money is owed to foreign banks, including the Bank of China and Deutsche Bank, the Times reported.

Trump’s development company for his new hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. borrowed $170 million from Deutsche Bank, among Germany’s biggest lenders, to cover construction costs. To secure that loan, Trump put up a lease granted to him by a federal agency that he soon will oversee.

Police Officers Overwhelmingly Agree That Bad Cops Arent Held Accountable

WASHINGTON ― U.S. police officers largely believe high-profile deaths of black people at the hands of law enforcement officers have made their jobs more difficult, according to a new national survey. They’re also skeptical of the protests that have followed those tragic incidents.

But there’s one key issue where it turns out protesters and law enforcement officers overwhelmingly agree: Bad cops aren’t held accountable.

Seventy-two percent of U.S. police officers do not believe that officers who consistently do a poor job are held accountable, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted by the National Police Research Platform.

Asked whether they agreed with the idea that officers who consistently do a poor job are held accountable, 47 percent of officers disagreed and 25 percent strongly disagreed. Barely one-quarter of officers surveyed either agreed or strongly agreed that officers who do a poor job are held accountable (24 percent agreed, while just 3 percent strongly agreed).

The majority of officers, 53 percent, either disagreed or strongly disagreed that the disciplinary process at their agency is fair, while a combined 46 percent agreed or strongly agreed that it is fair.

The Pew Research Center’s survey was conducted last year and involved nearly 8,000 law enforcement officers. Many of the other results of the survey will not be terribly surprising to those paying close attention to the tensions between law enforcement and many of the communities they patrol. It found that most officers don’t believe the public understands the risks and challenges of being a police officer, for example. But the survey does reveal deep divisions within the law enforcement community.

The Justice Department’s forthcoming report on the Chicago Police Department is likely to focus on how many of the nation’s law enforcement agencies fail to hold officers accountable when they engage in misconduct.

Under Obama, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has taken a more aggressive approach to addressing systemic problems of police misconduct, and many of its reports on police departments have focused on problems in their internal affairs systems.

But Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who is all but certain to be confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general, indicated Tuesday that he’d be hesitant to pursue consent decrees with police departments where federal investigators have found patterns of unconstitutional conduct, in part because having DOJ say an agency is systematically failing would be bad for officer morale.

Report: Russia Has Trump Golden Showers Blackmail

Russian intelligence officers planned to blackmail Donald Trump with knowledge of his alleged "perverted sexual acts," a new report obtained by Buzzfeed alleges. The unverified report by a person claiming to be a former British intelligence official alleges that Russian officials intended to blackmail Trump with evidence of him allegedly hiring multiple sex workers to perform "golden showers" in front of him. The hotel where the acts allegedly occurred were said to be under Russian surveillance.

Trumps Approval Rating Plunges To Historic New Low Days Before Inauguration

America is not giving Donald Trump a warm welcome to the White House as a new poll found that Trump's job approval rating has dropped seven points to 37% over the past month.

Final Box Office: 'Hidden Figures' Beats 'Rogue One' With $22.8M

Sunday estimates had showed the two films tying for No. 1, but 'Hidden Figures' ended up winning the race. Elsewhere, 'Underworld: Blood Wars' underwhelms in its debut, while 'Rogue One' races past the $900 million mark globally.
Empowered women and outer space dominated the North American box office over the weekend as Theodore Melfi's biographical drama Hidden Figures orbited past Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to win the race with $22.8 million from 2,471 theaters as it expanded nationwide, versus $22.1 million for Rogue One in its fourth weekend from 4,157 locations.

Sunday morning estimates had showed the two films all but tying for the No. 1 spot with roughly $22 million each, but Hidden Figures did more business than expected throughout the day. (Most rival studios showed Hidden Figures narrowly beating Rogue One all along. The stand-alone Star Wars story is hardly a slouch, though, having stayed atop the chart for three consecutive weekends.)

Nabbing a coveted A+ CinemaScore, Hidden Figures stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae as the real-life African-American mathematicians who helped NASA put the first men into space even while having to endure a segregated workplace. Their story, however, had been obscured for decades.

Obama fans in line as early as 4:30 a.m. for speech tickets

For many who scored a ticket to President Barack Obama’s farewell address at McCormick Place next week, waking up hours before the Saturday sunrise to brave the frigid cold and winds off Lake Michigan was well worth it.

“I’m so excited. This is a historical moment,” said Tanika Sykes, the first person to receive a ticket to the speech. “I’m just so grateful to be able to witness it.”

Asked what she wanted to hear at Tuesday’s speech, she said: “Hope. I’m ready for the Obama Hope speech to encourage us, to let us know that it’s OK. We’re going to survive, we always do. And it’s going to be a great America.”

Sykes, of south suburban Homewood, said she got in line at 4:30 a.m., though she had to stand outside in the zero-degree weather for about 45 minutes.

Etta McChristian, who proudly said she, like the president, was from the South Side, was also among the first in line.

She and some friends reserved a room at the nearby Hyatt Regency Hotel the night before so they could get in line as soon as possible.

“Whoever the president is, you have some big shoes to fill because, at the end of the day, Barack did a great job,” McChristian said.

The line for tickets snaked through the east building of McCormick Place, out into the frigid cold and back into the convention center’s western building.

By 9 a.m., McCormick Place officials were telling those still waiting in line outside that it was unlikely they’d get a ticket. Despite the warning, hundreds remained outside. An hour later, those already inside were still receiving tickets, according to McCormick Place spokeswoman Cynthia McCafferty.

Foot and vehicle traffic was dense throughout much of the South Loop and Bronzeville throughout the morning as many late arrivers searched for a place to park or get in line.

Well before 7 a.m., Chicago Police were warning people away from McCormick Place, saying the lines were too long, and that the tickets already spoken for.

CPD on its Facebook page wrote: “Anyone hoping to receive a ticket this morning to President Obama’s farewell address at McCormick Place who is NOT already on property will not be receiving a ticket. Save yourself from the frigid temperatures as a large crowd is already in line.”

Genevieve Perry, who also lives in the city, felt good about her chances of getting a ticket, but said the line didn’t look as long as it actually was, which allowed some nerves to set in.

“I’m getting nervous as I look in and see how much farther the line is,” Perry said. “You think it’s going to be done, you take and look and you’re like ‘Wait, it winds again.’”

Perry brought her headphones and a book to pass the more than three hours she spent in line.

“It’s just been trying to not think about what happens if we don’t get a ticket,” Perry said.

Michelle Obama delivers emotional final speech as first lady of the United States

Sally Field And More Stars Rally To Urge Congress To Vigorously Oppose Trump

More :HuffPo

Sally Field, Jeffrey Wright, Lea DeLaria and more stars have rallied together to urge Congress to challenge Donald Trump.

In a new video released by Humanity for Progress, the stars, along with a number of faith leaders and activists, ask Congress to oppose any racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, anti-union and/or anti-environmental policies the president-elect might try to pursue while in office.

In fact, they demand Congress “vigorously oppose him” and “block nominees who threaten the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, people of color, immigrants and the poor.”

As the cast, which also includes Steve Buscemi and Rookie founder Tavi Gevinson, notes at the beginning of the video, “The majority of Americans, regardless of whom they voted for, did not vote for racism, for sexism or xenophobia.”

The video, which was directed by Liz Garbus, ends with a call to action, encouraging viewers to share the video and use the hashtags #OBSTRUCT and #StandUpForUs. Viewers can also sign this petition.