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The search for victims of the deadly Camp Fire in Paradise, California is getting an assist from a new, high-tech tool. Rapid DNA identification technology, invented by a Harvard trained physician, is being deployed for the first time in a disaster.  For some families, the quick results are easing the agony of not knowing what happened to loved ones who went missing after the fire. Bill Whitaker reports from Paradise, a town virtually wiped out by flames, on the next edition of 60 Minutes, Sunday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m., ET/PT on CBS. In most mass casualty disasters, it can take months to identify remains using DNA. Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory Honea didn't want families to wait that long, so he decided to see if the new technology could accelerate the process.  "We've been very pleased with the technology, not only in terms of its ability to confirm the identities but the speed with which it's able to do that," Honea tells Whitaker. "...

  The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon to keep U.S. troops stationed at the southern border through the end of January. That would mean a 45-day extension of troops at the border, although it's unclear whether the same troops will stay or if there will be a rotation, CBS News correspondent David Martin notes.  The troops are stationed at the border to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials and other federal personnel. "Given the ongoing threat at our Southern border – today the Department of Homeland Security submitted a request for assistance to the Department of Defense to extend its support through January 31, 2019," DHS told reporters. "This request refines support to ensure it remains aligned with the current situation, the nature of the mission, and CBP operational requirements."  As of last week, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said more than 5,700 troops were stationed at the southern border. Presid...

  ANCHORAGE  -- Several strong aftershocks left many Alaskans on edge Saturday morning after powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck on Friday. It happened seven miles northwest of Anchorage, the state's largest city. The two earthquakes measured Magnitude 7 and 5.7 on the Richter scale -- easily  powerful enough to shake buildings,  collapsing roads and generate a brief tsunami warning. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reports that despite the damage, there were no fatalities reported. President Trump said the federal government "will spare no expense" on the recovery. Evans stood on Saturday morning next to a highway off-ramp in Anchorage that crumbled as the powerful earthquakes struck. There were cars on the road at the time, but everyone escaped.  On Saturday morning the clean-up and repair effort began. Alaska Governor Bill Walker told CBS News on Friday night that the state was just beginning to evaluate the extent of the damage. ...

Hurricane death toll climbs in Florida as officials get into most devastated areas After Hurricane Michael tore through the Florida Panhandle on its way north, officials in the state were left with the macabre task of figuring out the storm’s death toll — a question that could take some time to answer. In Bay County, Fla., where Michael  made landfall last week as a powerful Category 4 storm , the sheriff said Tuesday that 12 hurricane-related deaths had been confirmed there. That pushes the total deaths linked to the storm to at least 30 across four states, with other deaths in Florida under investigation and officials still exploring some of  the most ravaged areas . Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said the toll, while tragic, remains lower than what many had expected based on the sheer devastation the hurricane left behind. Some had anticipated a higher death toll in Mexico Beach, Fla. because nearly 300 people had told authorities they weren’t planning to evacuate...

Antifa vandals attack NYC GOP headquarters, say this is “only the beginning” Americans should believe them. The Democrat Party’s Antifa goons are not kidding. This violence is rarely (if ever) denounced by any of the leading Democrats or members of the mainstream media, who have become the propaganda machine for the hysterical and unhinged Democrat Party. It was just a little over a week ago that Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren co-hosted an anti-Kavanaugh rally in DC with the radical left-wing thug Linda Sarsour. This is the Democrat Party and their allies in the media. A Party that will resort to violence, intimidation, anarchy, and character assassination if you disagree with their political views. This conduct was on full display during Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, and it is now on full display against Kanye West for visiting President Trump. The violence will also continue, because prominent Democrat Party leaders like Maxine Waters, Hillary...

Germany releases 9/11 Terrorist Apparently, in Merkelistan, less than 15 years of prison dawah and jihad recruitment is sufficient punishment for the deadliest act of war on American soil in U.S. history. Motassadek has spent almost 15 years in prison for his part in the deaths of passengers aboard the highjacked airplanes used in the attacks. He has served almost his entire sentence and is being sent to Morocco. He has always denied being involved in the 9/11 plot but admitted to being friends with those who did. German authorities are transporting him under heavy guard. Photographs taken on Monday showed Motassadek wearing a blindfold and with his hands bound, being taken from prison by helicopter. Motassadek was the first person convicted in connection with the 11 September attacks against the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, in which nearly 3,000 people died. German website Der Spiegel reports that Morocco had insisted Motassadek fly on a regular comme...

Pompeo arrives in Riyadh as Saudis claim they killed Khashoggi in “interrogation gone wrong” The media is portraying Khashoggi as a saint and martyr, as well as (of course) a victim of President Trump. In reality, he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and a friend of Osama bin Laden. In  The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright (thanks to  Daniel Greenfield ), there is this: “‘We were hoping to establish an Islamic state anywhere,’ said Jamal Khashoggi, a friend of bin Laden’s who joined the Brotherhood at about the same time. ‘We believed that the first one would lead to another, and that would have a domino effect which could reverse the history of mankind.'” Nonetheless, Khashoggi was an opponent of the Saudi regime, and now the Saudis have shown us yet again why they are no real friend or ally of the United States. There needs to be a reconfiguration of our international alliances based on the realities of the global jihad. US Secretary of State Mike Pompe...

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR MINNESOTA HOUSE SEAT PUNCHED IN THE FACE BENTON COUNTY, Minn. (KMSP)  – A Republican candidate running for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives was punched in the face at a restaurant in St. George Township, Minnesota, according to the Benton County sheriff’s office. Shane Mekeland is running for Minnesota Representative of District 15B, which was vacated by Republican Jim Newberger, who is running against Senator Amy Klobuchar. According to officials, Mekeland was at a bar Friday evening from about 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. During that time, he had a conversation with a man about politics. The discussion started as “amicable,” but the man appeared to take offense when Mekeland made a comment about the “middle class.” The man allegedly punched Mekeland in the face without warning. In a post on his campaign Facebook page, Mekeland said he suffered a concussion and felt the man’s actions were “politically motivated.” ...

The Physicist and Philosopher - The Expanding Earth 10/15/18

Keith Ellison's lead vanishing amid domestic abuse allegations Embattled Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison’s lead in the Minnesota Attorney General election appears to be vanishing amid allegations of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend. The congressman’s bid to become the top law enforcement official in the blue state was supposed to be an easy task for a popular Democrat who holds one of the top positions within the Democratic National Committee (DNC). But Ellison’s lead has taken a dramatic cut since Karen Monahan  came forward  with her story in August detailing the physical and emotional abuse she suffered allegedly at the hands of Ellison. Ellison has denied all the allegations and allowed the party to review Monahan’s allegations. The state Democratic Party hired Democratic Party-affiliated lawyer Susan Ellingstad whose draft report cleared him of wrongdoing. “An allegation standing alone is not necessarily sufficient to conclude that conduct ...

Jamal Khashoggi's family is 'traumatized,' wants 'independent' and 'international' probe The family of missing activist Jamal Khashoggi said Monday they're following the news of the writer, who disappeared in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 2. "We are sadly and anxiously following the conflicting news regarding the fate of our father after losing contact with him two weeks ago when he disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul," Khashoggi's family said in a statement published by  The Washington Post . "Our family is traumatized, and yearns to be together during this painful time." SAUDI ARABIA CONSIDERS SAYING ACTIVIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI WAS KILLED BY MISTAKE, REPORTS SAY "The strong moral and legal responsibility which our father instilled in us obliges us to call for the establishment of an independent and impartial international commission to inquire into the circumstances of his death," the family sa...

Elizabeth Warren's DNA reveal backfires, angers Democrats Developing now, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018 Democrats are not thrilled that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has released DNA tests to prove her Native American ancestry and fear the controversy throws the party off-message before the midterm elections The family of a missing Saudi activist has called for an international, independent commission to investigate his presumed death as the Saudi government reportedly mulls issuing a statement saying Jamal Khashoggi was mistakenly killed. Secretary of State Pompeo landed in Saudi Arabia early Tuesday for talks with the Saudi king. Porn star Stormy Daniels' defamation suit against President Trump was tossed by a federal judge on Monday; her lawyer Michael Avenatti has vowed to appeal Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of the firm behind the infamous anti-Trump dossier, will invoke the Fifth Amendment not to testify when he appears on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, his lawyer says. Two other...

Saudi missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi: Explanation expected from Saudi Arabia as Mike Pompeo arrives Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived Tuesday morning in Saudi Arabia amid expectations that the oil-rich, ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom was  about to present its version of events  surrounding the disappearance and alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Pompeo was dispatched on Monday, immediately after President Donald Trump had a phone call with the Saudi king, whom he said denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's fate. Speaking to journalists after that phone call, Mr. Trump offered a possible explanation to counter Turkish officials' assertion that a team of 15 Saudi operatives arrived at their consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and killed and dismembered the Saudi writer. It could have been  "rogue killers," Mr. Trump suggested . But after two weeks of flat denials from the Saudi regime of any role in Khashoggi's disappearance -- continuin...