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Trump appears to promote violence against CNN with tweet

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President Trump speaks at the Celebrate Freedom rally in Washington on July 1, 2017. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — A day after defending his use of social media as befitting a “modern day” president, President Trump appeared to promote violence against CNN in a tweet.

Trump, who is on vacation at his Bedminster golf resort, posted on Twitter an old video clip of him performing in a WWE professional wrestling match, but with a CNN logo superimposed on the head of his opponent. In the clip, Trump is shown slamming the CNN avatar to the ground and pounding him with simulated punches and elbows to the head. Trump added the hastags #FraudNewsCNN and #FNN, for “fraud news network.”

The video clip apparently had been posted days earlier on Reddit, a popular social media message board. The president’s tweet was the latest escalation in his beef with CNN over its coverage of him and his administration.

A White House spokeswoman with the traveling press corps hotel here in Bridgewater, N.J., a few miles from Trump’s golf club, declined to immediately address questions about the tweet. Trump has no public events planned for Sunday; his schedule lists phone calls Sunday night with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He is scheduled to return to Washington on Monday evening and participate in an Independence Day event at the White House on Tuesday.

On ABC’s “This Week,” homeland security adviser Tom Bossert dismissed the idea that the tweet might be a threat, while he praised the president for “genuine” communication.

“No one would perceive that as a threat; I hope they don’t,” Bossert said, referring to the tweet.

In a statement tweeted out by CNN media reporter Brian Stelter, CNN called it « a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters. » The network cited Trump’s « juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his. »

The company’s communications department Twitter account responded to Trump’s tweet by quoting White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a briefing last week when she said: « The president in no way form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence. If anything, quite the contrary. »

In the statement, CNN said: « Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the President had never done so. »

Some Trump supporters noted on social media that the violence in professional wrestling is simulated and that the president was making a symbolic point about « fake news » coverage of him.

Trump’s ire at CNN has increased since CNN retracted a story last week that said the Senate was investigating connections between one of his transition aides and the head of a Russian bank; three reporters and editors resigned over the report, which the network said failed to go through the proper vetting, but the White House has continued to denounce the story.

On Saturday, Trump called CNN “fake news” and “garbage journalism.” He also implied that his critics are wrong to suggest that it is beneath the office of the presidency to attack rivals on Twitter. He said he was compelled to weaponize the medium to defeat “fake news” organizations.

Trump also spent a chunk of a speech at the Celebrate Freedom rally for veterans and religious freedom at the Kennedy Center on Saturday night denouncing and taunting the media.

“The fake media is trying to silence us, but we will not let them. The people know the truth,” Trump said. “The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I’m president and they’re not.”

He drew a standing ovation from the crowd, which waved miniature American flags.

The video clip appears to be from a WWE appearance in which the president body slammed WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as part of the “Battle of the Billionaires.”

Trump, a New York real estate developer and promoter, has had a long association with the WWE and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2013. At the ceremony, McMahon referred to Trump as « a Wrestlemania institution » and recalled this episode, which culminated with Trump participating in shaving McMahon’s head in the ring.

“I will challenge Vince next year to a fight, » Trump said in his acceptance speech, « and I will kick his ass, if he wants. I will kick his ass.”

Trump appointed McMahon’s wife, Linda, who donated $6 million to a pro-Trump SuperPAC, as the head of the federal Small Business Administration.

Bossert echoed a line of defense that other Trump surrogates have employed in recent days: that when Trump’s policies are attacked in the media, he has a right to counterpunch — in this case, physically.

“He’s beaten up, in a way, on the cable platforms — he has a right to respond,” Bossert said.

Bossert argued that the tweet might actually a good thing because “whatever the content of that tweet or any particular tweet, he’s generated a genuine ability to communicate directly” with the public.

“Importantly here, he’s a genuine president expressing himself genuinely,” Bossert said. He added that he was “pretty proud of the president for developing a Twitter and a social media platform where he can talk directly to the American people.”

When « This Week » host Martha Raddatz pressed him to weigh in on the appropriateness of the tweet, Bossert accused the media of harping on it instead of focusing on more substantive issues.

“It’s a good example of you or the media producers here deciding what we talk about and what we don’t talk about,” he said.

On CBS’s « Face the Nation, » Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said “it’s not going to do any good” for himself or anyone else to talk about “things we might not like about his twitter behavior.” If they want to elevate discourse, Lee, said, lawmakers shouldo “make sure we do whatever we can to treat others kindly.”

On CNN’s « State of the Union, » Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said that he is concerned about Trump’s attacks on the media more broadly.

“There’s an important distinction to draw between bad stories or crappy coverage and the right that citizens have to argue about that and complain about that and trying to weaponize distrust, » Sasse said.

— Karoun Demirjian and John Wagner contributed to this report.

Senate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score

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Senate Republicans are working the referee as they try to salvage their shot at repealing and replacing ObamaCare.

They are specifically turning up the heat on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), hoping to get a more favorable analysis on the next version of their healthcare bill.

The CBO’s initial score of the GOP’s healthcare bill found that 22 million more people would be left without health insurance over the next decade compared to under present law.

It was a terrible number for GOP leaders, dealing a blow to their hopes of winning over centrist Republicans.

GOP senators wanted a better number than the House bill, which the CBO found would leave 23 million more people without insurance. What they got was a similar number, which underscored fears from Sen. Susan CollinsSusan CollinsSenate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score ObamaCare fight moves from Washington to local districts Dem rep to Trump: Media isn’t trying to get you to stop tweeting MORE (R-Maine) and others that the legislation would leave many vulnerable people without affordable health insurance.

Now Republicans revamping their bill are pressuring the CBO to use a different benchmark for its next score.

They say the CBO used data from March 2016 in coming up with the analysis that 22 million people would lose health insurance.

By using a more recent benchmark from this year, Sen. Ron JohnsonRon JohnsonSenate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score The party of Lincoln has no soul — the GOP and its toxic healthcare bill Tea Party chief on McConnellCare: Amend it or kill it MORE (R-Wis.) argues that number might come down by as much as 6 million.

He says that the individual insurance market is “in way worse shape today” than it was in March 2016 because many people have since dropped insurance because of rising premiums and insurance companies pulling out of markets.

“It’s completely unfair,” he said of the CBO baseline. “It’s completely penalizing the evaluation of what the Senate bill really does compared to current reality.”

CBO acknowledges that it is using the March 2016 data. But it says it is following standard procedure in doing so.

Republicans are moving their healthcare bill through the Senate under special budget reconciliation rules that prevent Democrats from filibustering the legislation. As part of that process, they passed a budget for fiscal year 2017 in January. That budget was based on CBO’s March 2016 baseline.

CBO traditionally uses the same baseline for bills passed under reconciliation as is used for the budget. This is why it used the March 2016 data as a baseline for its score on the Senate’s healthcare bill.

Senate aides agreed that the CBO used the older data based on instruction by House GOP leaders, who did not expect the process of passing the healthcare bill to drag on for so long. At a GOP retreat in Philadelphia in January, Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanSenate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score Kasich: Trump tweets ‘unacceptable’ Trump, GOP lawmakers struggle with messaging MORE (R-Wis.) outlined a 200-day agenda that anticipated repealing and replacing ObamaCare in April.

But as the Senate continues to struggle to pass its own healthcare bill, and as centrists worry over the CBO’s findings, that is looking like a costly error.

Republican senators grilled CBO Director Keith Hall over the issue when he spoke to the GOP conference on Tuesday, the day after it issued its damning report.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said the March 2016 data was a big part of the conversation.

“Why not use updated information?” Daines said.

Daines also criticized the CBO for not being more transparent about its methodologies.

“Let’s just say the CBO did not serve themselves very well when they were questioned by numerous Republicans including myself. It was frankly very disappointing.”

Hall, the CBO director, pushed back against GOP senators in the meeting, arguing that it could take weeks to build new models based on more recent data, setting up a contest of wills between Senate Republicans and Congress’s official scorekeeper.

“They say they haven’t done it and it will take them a while to do it. I think we’ll put a lot of heat on them to get it — at least, at least look at that,” Johnson said.

Republicans are also considering other changes to their bill to improve the insurance numbers, but the fight over the CBO baseline could be key to winning support from the conference. 

Republicans need to win 50 votes from their own conference to clear their legislation through the Senate, but face defections from the left and the right. Collins and Sens. Lisa MurkowskiLisa MurkowskiSenate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score ObamaCare fight moves from Washington to local districts The party of Lincoln has no soul — the GOP and its toxic healthcare bill MORE (Alaska), Dean HellerDean HellerSenate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score ObamaCare fight moves from Washington to local districts Democrats go in for the kill on ObamaCare repeal MORE (Nev.), Rob PortmanRob PortmanSenate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score ObamaCare fight moves from Washington to local districts The party of Lincoln has no soul — the GOP and its toxic healthcare bill MORE (Ohio) and Shelley Moore CapitoShelley Moore CapitoSenate GOP pressures budget refs for better ObamaCare score ObamaCare fight moves from Washington to local districts The party of Lincoln has no soul — the GOP and its toxic healthcare bill MORE (W.Va.) are among the Republicans worried their bill would leave too many people with unaffordable paths to insurance.

The GOP can only afford to lose two votes, and also faces pressure from conservatives, who have other demands about the healthcare bill.

Deborah Kilroe, the associate director for communications at CBO, said the agency typically uses the same baseline as the congressional budget resolution when scoring a bill that is protected by the reconciliation instructions. 

Kilroe noted that when Congress passed its budget resolution shortly after New Year’s Day, CBO had not yet issued the January 2017 benchmark that Johnson is now using in his updated analysis. 

She said agencies “have not had time to undertake a follow-on analysis” of the GOP legislation using the more recent baseline.

Kilgore explained that CBO’s January projections of the total number of people who will be uninsured in future years under ObamaCare are “similar” to the estimate based on the data from March of last year.

She conceded, however, that the number of people who were projected in January to buy subsidized health insurance through government-regulated marketplaces in future years was smaller compared to the March of 2016 estimate.

If CBO uses a more recent baseline to evaluate the legislation, “it is unclear how different categories of insurance would be affected and whether the budgetary effects would differ noticeably,” Kilroe said. 

Daines says the stakes are too high to let the healthcare debate be decided by what he sees as an errant score.

“It’s like these guys are reffing a football game and we’re playing basketball. I just want to have the right referee,” he said.

Tom Holland Strikes Back At Chris Hemsworth’s Avengers Video

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Homecoming star has caused a lot of grief for the Marvel marketing machine and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, who keep a famously tight lid on plot secrets and details to build up anticipation for their growing slate of movies.

With his own collection of figures, Holland knocks out Thor with a smaller version of Mjolnir, egging Hemsworth playfully with a “What I know is that I can also wield the hammer”. It’s gotten so bad that Marvel is not allowing Holland near the Avengers: Infinity War script for fear of him ruining their 10 years of work and 16 films building up to the climactic crossover movie.

Benedict Cumberbatch has officially begun filming for Avengers: Infinity War. I know who the villain is, but that’s it.

He added: “They don’t let me read anything because I’m so bad at keeping secrets”. Now, global treasure Tom Holland has attempted to one-up him during a hangout with Entertainment Weekly to promote the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming. All I’m saying is, she’s probably a much better mentor for you than Scott Lang is and you should reconsider your A-team just a little bit.

As adorable as it is to watch Holland delighting in a bit of make-believe, I’ve got to ask: what’s the problem with Black Widow, my dude?

Marvel Studios decides who directs a film based on a character’s genre and type of story they’re in, so we’re similarly thinking the same way of who would be flawless for a Spider-Man or an Avengers game experience.

Disney XD has debuted a new TV spot for their upcoming animated series Marvel’s Spider-Man, set to premiere later this summer.

“All Holland will say on the subject is, “‘Infinity War’ needs no teasing… Spider-Man: Homecoming will soon be released on July 7.

Macho men – a marketing stunt too far?

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Viet Nam News

Bảo Hoa

If you were a small business owner, would you rather be known for the quality of your service or some flash in the pan marketing stunt?

There are millions of ways to promote a product or service – that’s how advertisements and discount coupons came about – but the really creative promotions relate to the nature of the product or service, and elevate it in such a subtle way that makes consumers fall for it without being aware they are doing so.

That’s my opinion on advertising, marketing, and PR – all that promotional stuff. And that’s why a recent, ‘shocking’ marketing stunt – repeated shamelessly at three service businesses in the capital city – distresses me greatly.

Gone were the days when a hotdog business hired someone to wear a funny hotdog costume, standing in front of the store and inviting customers to come in. In an attempt to get more exposure to customers, a hair salon, a restaurant and a nail salon in Hà Nội recently hired some buff male staff to, well, expose themselves to customers by strutting around topless, save for a tie.  

On June 6, a video of bare-chested male staff in a Cầu Giấy hair salon went viral. Wearing nothing on their torsos except a black tie, and with the salon’s name written on their chests, the staff were filmed greeting customers and doing simple tasks like washing and drying hair.

Two days after it appeared, the video attracted 27,000 ‘likes’, 26,000 comments and was shared 129,000 times. The video itself was liked 140,000 times and received some 2 million views.

Most female viewers appeared to appreciate the marketing move. A number of social media users from Thailand, China, South Korea and Laos also watched and shared the post.

Photos and videos of two similar stunts were posted on social media on May 30 and 31.

One took place at a restaurant on Thái Hà Street, in which a group of male staff with the words “These are ribs” written on their naked torsos brought trays of grilled ribs to customer, and another at a nail salon where three well-built Vietnamese and foreign men – wearing nothing but briefs – painted the nails of female customers.  

Seriously – what in God’s name is this?

I mean, is there the slightest resemblance between half-naked men and hair, food or nails?

Clearly, they need to create some impressive, explosive stunts to “wow” customers and pull them into the stores – I get it – but to me it’s just weird and gross. The stunt says nothing about the expertise of the business owners, and to be honest, it even feels a bit unhygienic around food.  

But did it work? Probably.

The photos and videos not only turned into virtual sensations but actually attracted customers to visit the hair salon. Kim Anh, a marketing executive at a company in Thanh Trì District decided to call the salon and book a hair appointment by one of the male staff despite the distance between her workplace and the salon.

“I called them up and asked about their charges, but they said those male staff will not be serving again anytime soon,” she told Vietnamnet online newspaper.

Trần Thái Linh, a twenty-something from Đống Đa District, actually came to the rib restaurant to experience service by the half-naked male staff after seeing videos of them online. To her disappointment, she was told they only appeared on that particular day to present their restaurant’s latest dish.

“The restaurant seems to have hit the bull’s eye, because, what woman does not love beauty?” Linh said.

“Most of those who share photos and videos of the male staff online are women. They even asked each other to go to the restaurant together,” she told Vietnamnet.

The owner of the hair salon in Cầu Giấy District said the staff are only allowed to show their bodies like that on a number of special occasions. On regular days they appear in decent clothes like pants and white shirts.

“We threw the event just to create a fun, relaxing atmosphere for customers. It wasn’t a promotional trick,” he told the Zing online newspaper.

Nguyễn Minh Hoàng, in charge of marketing for the restaurant on Thái Hà Street, said it was a private event held to introduce new dishes for 120 young customers aged 18-35. However, he did not anticipate them giving tickets to family and friends, which resulted in children and elderly people showing up at the event, he said.

“We couldn’t ask them to leave, so the show must go on,” he told the Vietnamnet. “This promotional idea has been implemented in several countries, and we also intended to make it a private event, but we couldn’t foresee everything.”

I don’t know what psychological effects these marketers aimed to have on customers, and I don’t know whether they would last in the long run.

But I will remember the unnerving sensation upon seeing photos of those naked torsos flying around the internet.

And I would probably cover my eyes if I happened to arrive at that hair salon on the days those half-naked men were there.

Creativity and cutting-edge ideas are important to society. So is common decency. — VNS

 

Police: Club shooting that injured 28 may be gang-related

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Clubgoers screamed and scrambled for cover as dozens of gunshots rang out during a rap concert in downtown Little Rock early Saturday, leaving 28 people injured from an 11-second melee that police said may be gang-related.

Police Chief Kenton Buckner said investigators believe multiple people fired shots and that the shooting could be connected other violence in the city in recent days. All of the victims were expected to survive the shooting at the Power Ultra Lounge, and Buckner credited the work of first responders for that.

Twenty-five people between the ages of 16 and 35 suffered gunshot wounds, and three others had unrelated injuries. Two people were in critical condition Saturday afternoon, Buckner said.

Courtney Swanigan, 23, told The Associated Press that when the gunfire rang out, « I just closed my eyes, got down on the ground and put my hands on my head. »

Mayor Mark Stodola said the city would shut down the club under a « criminal abatement » program. State regulators suspended the club’s liquor license earlier Saturday and Stodola said the property’s manager was delivering an eviction notice.

« We know we’ve got to use a hammer, we’ve got to use a big hammer on the people who would do violence with guns and hurt people, » the mayor said at an afternoon news conference.

He said the city must do more to « keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people » and suggested that people refuse to patronize clubs that seem to promote violence. Material advertising the concert by Tennessee rapper Finese 2Tymes showed a man pointing a gun at a camera.

« A promotional video with a gun on the front cover inviting people to a concert … should also be totally unacceptable in our community, » Stodola said.

The shooting capped a violent week in Arkansas‘ largest city. Police had responded to a dozen drive-by shootings over the previous nine days.

« This does appear to be a continuation of disputes from some of our local groups, » Buckner said. « You’ve seen some of the things playing out in our streets that has resulted in drive-by shootings. »

The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. to the club about 1 mile (1.61 kilometers) east of the state Capitol building. Top state officials offered to aid the city respond to an increasing number of incidents.

« Little Rock’s crime problem appears to be intensifying, » Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement. « Every few days it seems a high-profile shooting dominates the news, culminating with this morning’s event. I have spoken this morning with Mayor (Mark) Stodola and I have offered both my heart felt concern over this senseless violent tragedy and state assets as needed to address the continued threat of violence in our community. »

A Facebook video posted from inside the club included audio of at least 24 rounds fired in about 11 seconds. Darryl Rankin, who posted the video, said a friend of his who attended the Finese 2Tymes concert with him had a bullet « stuck in his spine. »

Calls to a number listed for Finese 2Tymes’ booking agent wasn’t returned Saturday, but a message was posted on the artist’s Facebook page offering thoughts and prayers for those injured: « THE VIOLENCE IS NOT FOR THE CLUB PEOPLE. WE ALL COME WITH 1 MOTIVE AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND THATS TO HAVE FUN. »

Police cordoned off the area as technicians collected evidence from the scene, which is near a Roman Catholic cathedral and a First United Methodist Church center. A number of worshippers gathered for a funeral at St. Andrew’s while police continued their work.

Glass from the Power Ultra Lounge’s second story windows littered the ground, along with empty drink cups. In the parking lot, a silver Toyota had what appeared to be a streak of blood on the front passenger-side door.

« I’m sick of all the killing and I’m tired of all the shooting. The kids getting hurt, » said Raida Bunche, who was waiting outside the club after hearing from a friend that her son had been inside. She found out later that he had run from the club when the shooting started and was not hurt.

Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control officials suspended the club’s alcohol license and set a hearing for July 10 on three potential charges: disorderly conduct, allowing possession of weapons on the premises and « failure to be a good neighbor. »

The club’s license has been suspended 11 times for failing to pay taxes, and it has been cited seven times for 14 various violations including unknowingly furnishing alcohol to minors and allowing alcohol to leave the premises since 2012, ABC Director of Enforcement Boyce Hamlet said.

In May, one person was killed and six people were hurt in a mass shooting at a downtown concert in Jonesboro, Arkansas, about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock. In that case, two men were charged with first-degree murder and six counts of first-degree battery.

Arkansas lawmakers earlier this year approved a measure expanding where concealed handguns can be carried, including bars if allowed by owners, for licensees who undergo additional training. The law takes effect in September, but the training likely won’t be available until early next year.

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Follow Andrew DeMillo and Tafi Mukunyadzi on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo and www.twitter.com/tafimukunyadzi

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This story has been updated to correct the name of the nightclub to Power Ultra Lounge instead of Power Lounge and to correct spelling of mother’s name who waited outside club to Raida Bunche.

Doctors Work Furiously in Bid to Save Victims of Hospital Rampage

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With gunfire thundering through the hospital, doctors dragged their colleagues and patients out of harm’s way and put them on elevators.

Police officers responding to the reports of an active shooter at the hospital on Friday.


Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“Wherever the doctors found them, they grabbed them, took them out,” Dr. Sridhar Chilimuri, Bronx-Lebanon’s physician in chief, said on Saturday. “The active shooting was still happening while we had them in the operating room. It’s pretty remarkable how well everybody functioned.”

Had doctors and nurses not treated the victims where they fell, those who were shot might not have lived.

By Saturday, two victims — those with the brain and liver injuries — remained in critical condition, while the rest had been stabilized. The victim with the liver wound was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan for specialized surgery. The victim with the head wound was expected to remain at Bronx-Lebanon.

Dr. Tam, 32, who the police said lived in Jamaica, Queens, appeared from online records to also have worked at a family medical center on Fulton Avenue in the Bronx.

Some hospital workers, still working furiously to aid the wounded, had hardly slept since the shooting. Dr. Chilimuri allowed himself a two-hour break, during which he lay down and thought about all that had happened. Calls poured into the hospital from overseas, with families wanting to make sure that doctors and nurses — many of them immigrants — were safe.

The shooting had torn through a close-knit staff on a routine afternoon. On the third floor, where Ana Nuñez had been waiting to undergo a surgical procedure, some patients were under anesthesia and unconscious. They stayed that way through the attack.


“There were people under anesthesia that are still asleep in there,” Ms. Nuñez, 49, said in Spanish, as she left the hospital on Friday with her husband. She recalled an alarm sounding and nurses closing the door to her room and saying, “Don’t open it! Don’t open it!” When she was finally allowed to leave, all that was on her feet were hospital-issued socks.

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Workers hid in closets, called the police and ordered patients and their relatives to hide under beds. Some described especially scary moments. Alex Peñalosa, one of many hospital employees streaming out of the hospital and ducking under police tape on Friday, said he worked in the obstetrics and gynecology unit.

“Someone tried to open the door and get in,” he said, making shaking motions with his arms, “and we locked it.” He added: “Someone was trying to get in.”

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By Friday night, as journalists lingered outside, workers sat in silence in the hospital chapel. A woman in green scrubs stared off in silence. A colleague in blue scrubs leaned against a wall and covered her face with a hand. They worked on the 16th floor, where part of the rampage had happened. Around them in the chapel were stained-glass windows, water jugs, empty cups and a bare altar.

Leslie Lind, Bronx-Lebanon’s director of social work and mental health administration, told the women that they would have to wait longer before they could go upstairs to get their things.

“It’s still a crime scene,” Ms. Lind said. The women sat motionless.

By Saturday morning, investigators had cleared the 16th floor and were letting hospital workers begin the long process of cleaning up. Blood was splattered on the floor and computers showed damage caused by a fire set by the suspect, Dr. Henry Bello, as he tried to kill himself. The hospital’s 17th floor remained an active crime scene, and part of the 15th floor had also been closed off.

People waited outside the building after it was evacuated.


Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

The 11th floor was designated for victims’ families to wait and grieve.

By late Saturday morning, after doctors had stabilized three of their colleagues in the coronary care unit, physicians from the family medicine department huddled together. The hospital’s website said Dr. Bello had worked in that unit.

Some embraced, their hands wrapped around their colleagues’ scrubs. A few whispered with one another about whom they had known, and for how long. At some point since 3 p.m. Friday, each had taken a two-hour break. Few of them, though, had slept.

“It’s still sinking in today,” said Dr. Chilimuri. “Many have not called home.”

Downstairs, at the hospital’s cafe, Marsela Caushaj, a technician who works on the ninth floor, waited in line for coffee. A neon light spelling out Grand Cafe threw off a red glow above a beige counter. A Winnie the Pooh balloon with wishes for a quick recovery bobbed at the entrance. Another woman in green scrubs, tears in her eyes, leaned across the counter and whispered to a worker.

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Dr. Chilimuri said the hospital had been prepared, with two hand surgeons ready to operate and a brain surgeon in the building to treat the head injury. Five operating rooms were up and running within minutes.

Even those victims who had been stabilized by Saturday faced long recoveries. Still, there were some hopeful signs. One man, a gastrointestinal fellow, underwent surgery for a severe gunshot wound to the hand and needs two more surgeries. He had woken up and was at Bronx-Lebanon with his wife, a medical resident at the hospital.

Another man, a medical student shot in the abdomen, had been removed from a ventilator and was awake and talking with his family, including his wife, who is also a medical student.

A fifth victim, a medical resident shot in the neck, had woken up and was talking with her family, Dr. Chilimuri said.


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Trump says states are ‘trying to hide’ things from his voter fraud commission. Here’s what they actually say.

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More than two dozen states have refused to fully comply with a sweeping and unprecedented White House request to turn over voter registration data, including sensitive information like partial Social Security numbers, party affiliation and military status.

Overall, the states that have said they will not be complying at all with the Kobach commission’s request represent over 30 percent of the nation’s population. That could complicate any efforts to build a truly national voter file, although it remains unclear what the commission’s ultimate goal is in collecting the data.

Those states found themselves the targets of the President Trump’s ire on Twitter on Saturday morning: “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?”

[Trump challenges states on voter fraud]

As it turns out, the bipartisan group of state officials withholding information from the commission have been very forthcoming about their reasons for not complying. Here’s what a number of them have said.

“I will not provide sensitive voter information to a commission that has already inaccurately passed judgment that millions of Californians voted illegally,” said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat.

“California’s participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud made by the President, the Vice President, and Mr. Kobach,” he added. « [Kobach’s] role as vice chair is proof that the ultimate goal of the commission is to enact policies that will result in the disenfranchisement of American citizens.”

[Kris Kobach: The conservative gladiator from Kansas behind restrictive voting laws]

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, another Democrat, struck a similar note.

“The president created his election commission based on the false notion that ‘voter fraud’ is a widespread issue — it is not,” Grimes said. “Kentucky will not aid a commission that is at best a waste of taxpayer money and at worst an attempt to legitimize voter suppression efforts across the country.”

A number of states said they would only provide limited, publicly available information, as required by state law.

Vermont Secretary of State James Condos (D) said “I am bound by law to provide our publicly available voter file, but will provide no more information than is available to any individual requesting the file.”

North Carolina will comply with the request by handing over “publicly available data as already required under state law,” said Kim Westbrook Strach, the executive director of the bipartisan North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics enforcement.

Mississippi rejected the request on privacy and states’ rights grounds. “They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, said on Friday. “Mississippi residents should celebrate Independence Day and our State’s right to protect the privacy of our citizens by conducting our own electoral process. »

In Alabama, another GOP stronghold, Secretary of State John Merrill told the Montgomery Advertiser he will not comply with the request until he learns more about how the Kobach commission will keep the data secure. “We’re going to get answers to our questions before we move on this,” Merrill said.

Perhaps most strikingly, at least two of the holdouts were members of the commission, including commission co-chairman Kris Kobach himself, who said that state law prevented them from fully complying with the request.

The Kansas secretary of state, a Republican, told the Kansas City Star on Friday that he would not be providing any parts of Kansas voters’ Social Security numbers because that data is not publicly available under state law. “In Kansas, the Social Security number is not publicly available,” he said. “Every state receives the same letter, but we’re not asking for it if it’s not publicly available.”

Similarly, Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said in a statement that “Indiana law doesn’t permit the Secretary of State to provide the personal information requested by Secretary Kobach.” Lawson, another Republican, is also a member of the commission.

Trump’s tweet suggests the commission’s work remains a top priority for him. That’s going to cause concern for elections experts and voting rights activists, many of whom are concerned that Kobach will use the state voter registration data to manufacture “evidence” of widespread voter fraud.

“We’re concerned about unlawful voter purging, which has been something that Kris Kobach has been leading the charge,” said Vanita Gupta of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and former head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, in an interview Friday.

Gupta and others argue that Kobach doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being honest about his work on voter fraud. Just a week ago, a federal judge fined Kobach $1,000 for “presenting misleading arguments in a voting-related lawsuit.”

We Really Need to Get Our Hands on One of These Blackhead Suction Tools

Video Marketing,

Honestly — who doesn’t love a good beauty hack!

9GAG shared this video of a woman who purchased a « Blackhead Pore Vacuuming Sucker » from China — and many were amazed to see how incredibly it worked.

MORE: We Guarantee You’ve Never Seen This Much Earwax

The girl takes us through the suction phase — where she warns viewers to be careful to not leave « hickey marks » on your face — to cleaning out the dead skin cells and more. she warned the tool hurts most when used around the eyes and does NOT work on your lips as a means to make them appear fuller.

MORE: This Man’s Wife Popped His 4-Year-Old Pimple and We Can’t Look Away

She cleaned up only half of her face so we would be able to see what a difference the product really makes and honestly, we are so impressed — however the gross part comes at the end when you take a close look at what REALLY came out!

Check out the 14-minute video!

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Building brand value to stay at forefront

Video Marketing,

HOW important is branding and marketing for a company that usually handles these two aspects for other companies?

Forefront International chief executive officer Darien Mah will tell you that it is just as vital, if not more so.

“Naturally, the goal of an advertising agency is to help clients market their brands and products effectively.

“The danger of doing so is that they may neglect themselves along the way. Some agencies do not market themselves enough, despite the fact that they are offering marketing services to clients,” Mah noted.

What Mah’s digital and creative advertising agency does is walk the talk.

“A good agency shouldn’t just say that it’s important, but we should practise what we preach – that in itself is a form of branding and marketing,” he said.

 

The company, which was established by four partners, had a simple start within the four walls of Mah’s old condominium unit.

From a web design-based firm, Forefront gradually progressed into a full-fledged agency with a strong workforce of 90 people; it also has offshore offices in London, Hong Kong, and soon, Jakarta as well.

Mah explained that building their own brand and a strong clientele base is an ongoing and interweaving process.

“We started by knocking on doors. We then managed client relations by providing good services from which we were able to tell better brand stories for ourselves.”

At first, Forefront started with just two clients – the Royal Mint of Malaysia and AW.

“They were very important clients for a small startup like ours.

 

“Eventually, we developed more skills and learnt how to have a better grasp of the ins and outs of advertising.”

The agency does quite a bit of advertising work for property developers.

“Our penchant for property design and investment plays a part in how the company moved into this direction,” said Mah.

It started with web designing for property clients before going into other aspects.

Today, Forefront handles bigger projects, having done work for some of the property industry’s biggest names, including Eco World, S P Setia, Gamuda Land and Capitaland.

To work effectively with clients, Mah said it’s important to put themselves in their shoes, but at the same time, we need to think like a consumer too.

“As a property purchaser, I feel I can help my clients with better decisions in terms of their marketing and advertising strategies.

 

“By understanding their values and needs, we create a range of services which complement what they need to best communicate their products.”

The company provides end-to-end creative solutions such as advertising, digital and interactive technology, CGI and architecture visualisation and animation, video production, holistic branding and strategic communication counsel.

By offering a comprehensive range of services, it has been able to build successful mutual relationships with clients.

“We understand that we have a symbiotic relationship with our clients – if they grow, we grow too,” said Mah.

However, what sets Forefront apart is the way it sets the groundwork for its projects.

“We won’t tell you what’s important or useful without gauging the validity or feasibility of the service or feature.

 

“For example, if we learn of the latest tech trends, we’d build the relevant tool or write an app to test it out for ourselves first as well as for our clients.”

The result, Mah said, is a cascading positive effect.

“By doing a good job for clients, they do better, and when our clients do better, we build a stronger brand for ourselves.

“We also leverage on clients to strengthen our brand, and from there, we can grow our clientele.

Mah stresses on the significance of small to medium enterprises to work on their branding and marketing, without which it would be difficult for the business to be recognised.

“You want people to know about you and you want them to get in touch with you,” he said.

 

That is why all the work they do, he added, has “branding-worth”.

“Our corporate identity, name cards, websites, apps, newsletter materials, down to the smallest details, they all reflect who we are,” said Mah.

He said the company also tirelessly participates in award programmes to benchmark themselves against some of the best businesses in the industry and fortify their company image.

Forefront received the silver title for Best in Marketing (under RM25mil) at The Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2016.

On top of that, Forefront also makes time to work on its own projects, including video productions.

“We create short films, viral videos and work on social media experiments as well; this is an avenue where we can express ourselves with far less restrictions.”

 

Aside from helping to build the company’s brand, the company’s own projects are also great morale boosters for its employees as well.

“Sure, we can sell these ideas too, but we also want to be able to speak for ourselves through the passion and engagement poured into these ideas by our own team.”

After all, Mah said the company’s brand and identity is put together by the hands of the talents working in it.

Moving forward, Mah said Forefront will continue to grow its brand in London, Hong Kong and Jakarta.

“Our branches are also property-based, largely serving local clients with projects in the overseas locale.

“We also hire talents there to build local insights there; it’s not just another Malaysian agency setting up in that city.

“We want to be a local firm with a Malaysian brand,” he concluded.