Update – April 9, 2025:

Former President Donald Trump has announced a new 125% tariff on all Chinese imports, effective immediately. This follows a previous 104% rate and represents a sharp escalation in the U.S.-China trade policy. Trump also authorized a 90-day pause with a reduced 10% reciprocal tariff during this window for other trading nations cooperating diplomatically.

This development answers the trending question: “What does 125% tariff mean?” and is likely to have an even greater impact on consumer prices, manufacturing, and global trade tensions.

If you’re asking “what does 125% tariff mean”, you’re not alone — it’s one of the most searched phrases right now. In short, it means that importers are now required to pay 125% of the product’s value in taxes when bringing goods from China into the U.S. A $100 product would now cost $225 before retail markup, placing significant pressure on small businesses and consumers.

Updated U.S. Tariff Rates on Chinese Imports – April 2025

What Does a 125% Tariff Mean for the U.S. Economy?

• Sharp Rise in Consumer Prices: Most imported products from China will more than double in price, affecting electronics, clothing, and appliances.
• More Strain on Small Businesses: Those dependent on Chinese suppliers may struggle with profit margins or need to raise prices drastically.
• Incentive for Domestic Manufacturing: U.S.-based production may become more attractive, though startup and equipment costs remain a barrier.
• Growth in Resale & Recycling Markets: As prices rise, consumers may look to buy used goods, resell, or delay replacing items — potentially reducing waste.

Tariff Basics: A Quick Overview

• What Are Tariffs? Government-imposed taxes on imports, usually to protect domestic industries or penalize unfair trade practices.
• How Do They Work? Importers pay the tariff when goods enter the country, often passing costs to consumers.
• Who Is Affected? Everyone in the supply chain — from manufacturers and retailers to end consumers — especially when tariffs spike like this.

The United States European Command has made public a video that captures the moments when a pair of Russian fighter planes approached a U.S. drone closely over the Black Sea, discharging fuel onto it, and ultimately, the Pentagon asserts, colliding with the drone. The footage seems to indicate that the U.S. aircraft sustained damage from the impact.

This video was released two days following the Pentagon’s statement that a Russian Su-27 fighter made contact with the propeller of an unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace, causing it to crash into the sea. The Kremlin, however, denies that its aircraft came into contact with the drone.

The recording offers short glimpses of the incident, which, according to U.S. officials, continued for at least 30 minutes. The Pentagon explains that the video portrays the events in chronological order, but has been edited for brevity.

US Air Force MQ 9 camera footage: Russian Su 27 Black Sea intercept

On Wednesday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev stated on state TV channel Rossiya 1 that Russia intends to recover the wreckage of the drone, which was downed over the Black Sea. He acknowledged that it might not be an easy task, but Russia is determined to do it. The US currently does not have any Navy ships in the Black Sea, making any attempted US recovery effort extremely challenging and time-consuming.

The incident occurred around 45 miles southwest of the Crimean peninsula, and the MQ-9 glided approximately 70 miles southwest of Crimea after the encounter. The Russian Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, denied the US’ account of the incident, stating that the MQ-9 “flew with its transponders off, violating the boundaries of the temporary airspace” and that Russian aircraft did not come into contact with it.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov defended Russia’s position, emphasizing that no weapons were used, and there was no physical contact. Peskov described the US-Russia relationship as deplorable and at its lowest point and confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the incident.

The US’s top general, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley, is expected to speak with his Russian counterpart, Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, on Wednesday. The two military leaders have not spoken since late December.

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, interpreted the incident as a signal of Putin’s willingness to expand the conflict zone with the involvement of other parties. He commented, “The all-in tactic is the constant raising of rates in conditions of a strategic loss and hoping that circumstances would change.”

Second stimulus check

Millions of Americans have lost their jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, while countless more are grappling with income insecurity.

Thankfully, the CARES Act has already provided relief in the form of $1,200 stimulus payments.

On the other hand, many Americans feel one stimulus check was not enough, and are waiting for a second stimulus check.

Unfortunately though, efforts to get that money into Americans’ hands have thus far been unsuccessful.

The Democrat-proposed HEROES Act, which calls for second stimulus check, is currently on the wait in the Senate.

Additionally, considering that Republican lawmakers have been vocal in their opposition to it, it is unlikely to get votes.

Of course, that is just one proposal that is out there. Moreover, it is still possible that Americans will see another relief package introduced in the coming weeks.

President Trump indicated that he expects a generous stimulus bill to pass sometime in July. But whether that bill includes an actual stimulus payment is not sure.

Reasons for not getting a second check

Here are three reasons why a second stimulus check may not be a part of it.

The first reason is that unemployment fell.

In April, the US jobless rate hit 14,7%.

In May the numbers came to 13,3% and that data alone could drive lawmakers to oppose a second check. This is on the basis that things are improving and it therefore is not necessary.

Secondly, many states are reopening. Therefore, more and more jobs are likely to add as businesses come back to life.

Anyway, it is easy to make the argument that a second stimulus check is not necessary.

The third reason is that the relief money could be earmarked for other purposes.

There has been a lot of focus on second stimulus check ever since it became evident that the initial round was not enough.

However, some lawmakers feel that relief aid should instead center in encouraging out-of-work Americans to return to the labor force.

If people are not motivated to get back into the workforce, we will have an even more difficult time recovering from our current recession.

Furthermore, reuniting people with a steady paycheck could stimulate the economy in a very meaningful way.

Lifting of the NYC curfew and further reforms

The 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew is going to expire Monday morning.

However, the mayor tweeted Sunday that it would end, effective immediately, after several nights of mostly peaceful protests.

De Balasio tweeted that the NYC curfew was lifting and was effective immediately. They are taking the first step to restart. Additionally, he advised people to keep safe and to look out for each other.

5 days in row there were no significant damages and the protests were peaceful.

He thanked everyone who expressed their views peacefully and who worked for change in the city. Moreover, he stated that each day the situation was better with fewer arrests.

From Monday, it is the start of phase 1, the restart of the city and its economy.

After the lifting of the NYC curfew, people should be focused on battling the COVID-19 which still has not been eradicated.

He said that he would form a task force of city government leaders, task force on racial equity and inclusion. The next 18 months are crucial.  The New York city authorities have much in plan for reforms.

Protests and police brutality

Furthermore, massive protests against police brutality nationwide capped a week that began in chaos. However, it ended with largely peaceful gatherings that organizers hope will sustain their movement.

In New York City, thousands took to the streets and parks Saturday to protest the death of George Floyd and police brutality.

The NYPD took a more hands-off approach to the curfew, which had been a source of tension between officers and demonstrators since it was imposed on Monday.

They did not use more militarized tactics which do not have any place in New York City. De Balasio is pleased that the National Guard did not come to the streets.

In addition, thousands of people crossed the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan, where other groups numbering in the hundreds to thousands marched or gathered.

De Blasio is saying that only four arrests and 24 summonses are during the day.

Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25 has galvanized the expanding movement calling for racial equality and police reform.

President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the military across the country. In order to quell the riots and unrest in the wake of the George Floyd killing.

Fear is raising over the possibility of this law in the US if the situation continues.

Martial law

Trump stated that he wants to establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violance has been quelled.

There’s a chance that Insurrection Act of 1807 will invoke.

Namely, it is a federal law that governs the ability of the President of the United States to deploy military troops. However, only within the US to suppress civil disorder, insurrection and rebellion.

It can be declared in a situation where there is near-violent civil unrest or major natural disasters.

Main features involve curfews, the suspension of civil law, livil rights and habeas corpus, the application of military law or military justice to civilians.

Additionally, it involves civilians defying this law being subjected to military tribunes.

Although the legal effects are different depending on where it is, it usually involves the suspension of civil rights.

A state of martial law is usually temporary, but in theory could continue indefinitely.

Civil courts do not review the decisions of tribunals which are set up by military authorities.

Moreover,  there is little knowledge on what remedies there are against potential situations. Which are involving the military abusing their position of power.

History of the law

As history teaches us, there are some occasions where Martial Law made huge changes.

They have included placing New Orleans under this law during The War of 1812 an imposing it in parts of Illinois during the Illinois Mormon War in 1843.

Chicago also was under it following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

Other incidents have included after the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and in West Virginia during the Coal Wars of 1920-21.

Minneapolis was also under martial law in 1934 due to escalating violence during the city’s general strike.

Furthermore, the Territory of Hawaii was under it from 1941 to 1944 following the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Recently , martial law was declared in Alabama in 1961 as a result of the ‘freedom riders’, peaceful activists who were challenging racial segregation in the south.

In the light of current events regarding the murder of George Floyd and mass protests it had started, NFL players wanted to show support.

Drew Brees apologized on Instagram Thursday

New Orleans Saints quarterback said he is sorry for the pain he caused. Especially, in these difficult giddying times for the U.S.

In that light, he admitted he is sensitive to the American flag and National Anthem. Since they are symbols of unity and respect.

However, he realized he made some comments which lacked empathy and were insensitive towards what “we are facing right now as a country.”

Besides, other professional football players, with the lead of Colin Kaepernick, also took a knee during the anthem, 2016.

Anyhow, Drew Brees received criticism from many people, among which LeBron and Stephen Jackson, former NBA player.

Furthermore, Jackson who knew Floyd, said that Drew Brees is a smart guy that made wrong and naïve comments at the time.

Meanwhile, Brees added in his apology that he had different intentions and that he “is sick” with the way people perceived his comments.

Even more, Drew Brees shared he will commit his time and days to fight for what is right, now that he is aware.

Brees apology went on a blast

Many black voices are angry and baffled with how Drew Brees said showed disrespect, and only an apology won’t do much.

Therefore, many suspect Drew’s honesty and call his supposed apology a “PR move” and insufficient enough.

In that light, Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers forward, wrote to Brees to “take his ass” on camera and apologize.

Nonetheless, Harris continued by urging Brees to take the action forward and show through actual deeds he’s sorry and serious.

Moreover, many black football players believe this will be a hell of a season for Drew Brees. Meaning that, regarding his career, other players and fans.

Finally, there were some good words for Brees as a man, coming from Lamar Louis. Who is his teammate for a brief time in 2016.

Further, Drew and Lamar had a long intellectual talk. Where Lamar said Brees is “a smart man”. However, he showed ignorance and lack of care to fight for what’s right.

Altogether, New Orleans quarterback needs to man up and stand behind his apology the right way.

Therefore, Brees should roll his sleeves up and start working towards justice. 

Wuhan coronavirus situation

Wuhan is now reporting 3 869 deaths. Number of total cases rose to 50 333.

Chinese state media claimed that the reason for the sudden leap is in health system. Meaning that medical facilities were overwhelmed during the peak of the outbreak.

Additionally, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that a few medical institutions failed to connect. Allowing the disease prevention and control system on time. Hospitals were overloaded and medics are overwhelming with patients.

A comparison of data made from Wuhan’s epidemic prevention and control big data system. This shows that the city funeral service system, the municipal hospital authority’s information system, and the nucleic acid test system.

For more than a week, seven large funeral homes that serve Wuhan reportedly handing out the cremated remains of about 500 people to their families every day.

A Wuhan resident stated that it was unbelievable that so few people have died. Resulting in the incinerators have been working all day.

Unreliable data

David Hui, the head of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that Wuhan’s coronavirus numbers are strange.

Researchers recently estimated that China likely had 232,000 confirmed cases by late February.

Moreover, Wuhan residents have been saying for weeks that the numbers coming out of the city did not add up.

In late March, Beijing is showing that there are 2,500 deaths in Wuhan which was untrue.

There have also been claims of city officials paying off families in exchange for their silence.

Furthermore, there have been a lot of funerals in the past few days. Authorities have been handing out 3,000 yuan as silence money to families who get their loved ones remains laid to rest ahead of Qing Ming.

It is to stop them grieving since nobody is liking to grief after the Qing Ming festival.

In early April, three U.S. intelligence officials also called China’s calculations into question.

In a classified report sent to the White House, the officials had said that China’s public record of COVID-19 infections was deceptive and incomplete.

However, China denied those accusations.

Lu Shaye, Chinese ambassador to France, is talking about the real numbers meaning that they are not fake.

Downing Street is saying that Boris Jonson is out of intensive care but remains in the hospital.

Boris Jonson in recovery

Mr. Jonson has been receiving treatment for coronavirus at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Additionally, there he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery.

Anyhow, on Sunday, 10 days after testing positive on the coronavirus, he started his path to hospital. On Monday he needed to go to the intensive care.

Boris Jonson needs standard oxygen treatment in intensive care. However, he didn’t need ventilator to survive.

He is in an extremely good mood. He continues to improve after a good night and he also thanked NHS for the brilliant care he has received.

Furthermore, many politicians from all over the world expressed their relief for Jonson’s release from intensive care.

United States President Donald Trump tweeted that it is good news Boris was released.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that it is excellent news. So, the prime minister was out of intensive care and on the road to recovery. The NHS is there for everyone and stated that there is no doubt that he was given world-class care.

Newly elected Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also welcomed the good news. Also, he said in his tweet that he hopes it is the beginning of a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, applause rang across the United Kingdom in the third ‘’Clap for Carers’’ event. People showed their appreciation for the NHS staff and other workers on the front line of the pandemic.

Situation in the government

BBC political correspondent Jessica Parker said it was expected that Foreign Secretary Domini Raab would continue to deputise for the prime minister.

Speaking at the government’s daily briefing earlier, M. Raab is saying that public needs to stay indoors even if there’s a long weekend coming up.

In three days, COVID-19 cases more than doubled, and further rose to over 6000 on 17 March with death cases over 100. Now, U.S. are dealing with more than 250.000 confirmed cases and more than 2900 deaths.

Therefore, the biggest problems, for now, are delayed testing and a community spread, because not enough test kits are available across states.

Furthermore, the first coronavirus case in the US was reported on 21 January but the cases soared from the second half of February.

In that light, new and more radical measures are up to tackle the virus, like the above mentioned domestic travel ban, among other necessary measures.

Domestic travel ban restrictions came from CDC’s advisory on travel inside the United States

The notion of domestic travel ban came on Wednesday as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory regarding travel within the U.S. The advisory was announced on CDC’s website with the headline saying: “Should I travel within the United States?”

Furthermore, it is stated that usually, CDC isn’t issuing advisories or restrictions for travel within the States.

In that light, CDC advises that places like airports or travel settings that are crowded should be avoided as being there increases chances for infection.

Moreover, CDC suggests things to consider before traveling like to check is COVID-19 spreading in the area where a passenger is going.

Therefore, questions like “who will be your travel companion and in which age group does he/she fit” or “do you have a what-to-do plan in case you are told to stay in quarantine”, should be asked before the travel.

Given the circumstances, President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence announced that the government is considering a domestic travel ban to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Furthermore, the domestic travel ban will help prevent crowds and for infected people to transmit the virus to healthy people.

The United Kingdom and Ireland – Restricted once agian

The United Kingdom and Ireland are added to the Europe travel restrictions, as the number of cases in those countries soared immensely in the last few days.

These restrictions imply that residents of the U.K. and Ireland are excluded from traveling to the U.S. for 30 days, from Monday.

Also, since other countries are under lockdown as well, it’s certainly recommended not to travel.

Nevertheless, airlines are most likely going to sharply cut flights between the U.S. and London and Ireland.

Furthermore, Delta and American Airlines banned all flights between the States and the 26 European countries.

Justifiably, President Trump said that he would recommend against traveling and that in America’s best interest is the prevention of new people getting infected.

Therefore, the domestic travel ban is probably the most efficient measure with the effect to instantly slow down the spread of COVID-19, among other measures considered.

However, domestic travel ban with the extension of domestic flight restriction would additionally disable an already struggling U.S. airline industry and cause more cuts in flights.

Moreover, Southwest Airlines, America’s largest domestic carrier, is probably going to face extreme hit in flights as they already have had a “9/11-like” drop in bookings.

As we all see, the government is considering and assembling many methods to stop the virus. For now, the best thing that can be done is to slack the spread, at least until the vaccines for COVID-19 come to light.

Anyhow, the domestic travel ban is, for now, probably the best measure to suppress the virus and not just in the U.S. but in many other countries.

Taken measures

People could leave their homes to buy food, go to work if they cannot work remotely, seek health care, or to assist the elderly and others in need.

All schools, restaurants, bars and non-essential stores should be closed.

The authorities urged people to remain calm and maintain a one-meter distance in supermarket lines.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described new measures as drastic and that Spain has the capacity to overcome adversity. Therefore, some important rights must be limited if the virus is to be beaten.

The government would take steps to oversee and maintain the nationwide supply of food, energy and other basic services during the 15-day lockdown, which is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Even as the Spanish government has been stepping up its efforts to fight the coronavirus, its fractious politics and territorial tensions threatened to complicate its response.

On Saturday the Madrid region was already feeling the effects of the restricted movement since its 3.5 million residents started to follow the advice of the authorities to stay at home.

Travel in Spain

The train stations and main avenues were almost deserted. Long-distance trains and buses across the country will have less frequent service. Only stores providing basic services were allowed to stay open. Museums and other public venues also closed.

Quim Torra, Catalonia’s leader, announced that its 7.5 million residents are in lockdown. Moreover, all restaurants, bars and stores were ordered to close. He asked the central government in Madrid to help suspend travel to and from the region by closing airports and train stations.

It was necessary to “restrict entrances and departures” from Catalonia, but such a demand could also fuel the debate over the territorial sharing of power in Spain.

The northern Basque region declared its own state of emergency taking full control over health care.

Seville canceled its Easter celebrations.

In the region of Murcia 400,000 residents were put under lockdown. Visitors were warned to stop heading for the seaside.

Some tourists rebooked their flights in order to leave Spain earlier, in fear of the airports closing.

Namely, Europeans were not psychologically prepared for the coronavirus because they had not faced such crisis in a while and don’t know how to react.

The shocking decision of UEFA resulted in anger and fury for the Manchester City fans.

However, in all honesty, this ban might not be that much unexpected at all.

Sources report that not only did Manchester City break the rules of financial fair-play that UEFA has established, but also tried to cover the evidence by manipulating the books for increasing the money earned by sponsors.

It seems that this is what triggered such a measure from UEFA as we will wait for the result of the conversation between the two sides.

Recent Market Activities of Manchester City

As we all know, it isn’t so unusual of Manchester City to make a multi-million deal with the player since from 2008 and purchase of the club by Sheikh Mansour, there were numerous cases of such trades.

Manchester City has started the tradition of buying extremely expensive players for the team, which was still ongoing during the last few transfer windows.

Namely, it is known that Sheikh’s investment in the club made huge expenses to the Sheikh, although the value of Manchester City as a club has significantly grown.

Overall, the rule set by UEFA to minimize the difference between regular football clubs, and those with wealthy owners requires each club that is competing in UEFA-supported competitions to respect it and follow the rule.

In the eyes of the UEFA, Manchester City has failed to accomplish that goal.

Will the Suspension Persist?

We can only guess how this situation will resolve since Manchester City’s general director has already stated that the club will not stand still while UEFA is doing its best to suspend it form European Competitions.

Thy club will use the first possible opportunity to ask for a foreign body inspection of the papers, while the club officials state that there was no such a thing as accounts and reports manipulation and breaking of the financial fair-play.

Not participating in the Champions League for two years would certainly bring more expenses than profit, so it is reasonable to think that the club will react. One thing is for sure, the club has mobilized its legal team to strike back and fight its way out from the suspension.

The Trump Tower lobby was evacuated on Tuesday afternoon after reports of an unknown package came streaming in.  New York Police Department spokesman J. Peter Donald tweeted that the department’s bomb squad was responding to the report “out of an abundance of caution.” The spokesman soon tweeted an “all clear.”

Further reports indicate the bag was just filled with children’s toys.

With the President Elect Donald Trump’s security on the line, it’s great they acted so quickly.

A Gallup poll taken in November found 76 percent of Americans favor a national minimum wage hike to $9 per hour. House Speaker John Boehner told MSNBC that the president probably has the executive authority to raise federal wages, but Republicans will be watching closely for any abuses of power.

The White House also endorsed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) last March. The bill would gradually raise the minimum wage for all workers until it reaches $10.10 an hour. It would also increase the minimum wage for tipped workers for the first time since the early 1990s, and give cost-of-living increases based on the Consumer Price Index.

The bill has little chance of getting through the House of Representatives. A minimum wage increase would put some needed extra cash in the pockets of millions of workers, but may disrupt gains in other areas.

The Economics

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent in December, the lowest reading since late 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the gains stemmed more from workers dropping out of the labor force than from more people becoming employed. Companies added a mere 74,000 jobs total in December, the lowest one-month reading in three years, according to Time magazine.

Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics, an economic forecasting and bank stress testing firm, told AZ Star Net last year that a hike in minimum wage nationally would increase the price of labor, and discourage companies from hiring more workers. But the Chicago Federal Reserve believes the move would stimulate the economy by putting more money into the pockets of people who spend as opposed to save.

State and Municipal-Level Minimum Wage Hikes

Several states are following the president’s lead, refusing to wait for Congress to act on a minimum wage increase. California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill in September that will increase the state’s minimum wage in increments until it reaches $10 an hour in 2016.

Washington state has the highest minimum wage in the country, raising it from $9.19 in 2013 to $9.32 this year due to inflation. The minimum wage in New Jersey increased by $1 to $8.25 on January 1 due to a voter initiative that also calls for annual cost-of-living increases.

The White House said that 2014 will be an action-packed year, with the President putting the wealth gap and wage inequality at the forefront of his agenda. Carney told reporters that the administration will continue to explore options to get things done within the power it has.

Among the trending news of the moment on the internet is the selfie taken by the president Obama at Mandela’s Memorial service, together with Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameroon. The photo was posted on the Twitter account of the newspaper New York Post and it shows President Obama taking the shot with a Smartphone.

President Obama has declared in the past that because of security reasons he doesn’t have an iPhone. It is unclear who the owner of the Smartphone was. Probably it belongs to the Denmark’s Prime Minister Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt who can be seen holding the Smartphone. Maybe President Obama was just lending a helping hand.

The fact that Obama takes selfie at Mandela’s service is somehow awkward. The selfie is the symbol of everything wrong with our society, our internet, and our teens. For a funeral service, the selfie is a tragic irony reminding us of our connected age.

The photo was added to the Tumblr “Selfies at Funerals’’ that is a collection of images from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram showing oblivious teens, posing for their iPhones at funeral services. In the recent years the act of taking selfies has become increasingly popular. A selfie is defined as self-photo, a photograph taken of oneself with a webcam or a Smartphone and uploaded to a social media network.

In a way, the selfie taken by President Obama is not as awkward as some critics would like us to believe. First, it is not clear that the President was the one who was taking the selfie and it appears more credible that it was the mobile phone of the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Second, it wasn’t technically a funeral service but a memorial service for the former President Nelson Mandela. Besides gossip, from a political point of view, more intriguing is the photo of President Obama shaking hands with Raul Castro, the brother of Cuba’s President Fidel Castro who has been an enemy of the US for long.

While according to the Mayor, the profits will be used to fill the city’s replacement fund for vehicles, according to the deputy mayor, capitalizing the goodwill and fame of Palin is an unfortunate decision made by the city since it would not require a five-fold profit to replenish its coffers. Sullivan-Leonard had initially proposed to use a part of the profit for Food Pantry of Wasilla, but this died down soon after receiving a tie on the decision from the city council. However as per Rupright, this is purely done as a business strategy since there are many fans interested in buying old stuffs that their idols use and the same thing applies for Palin’s fans as well.

This is not the end since the deputy mayor quipped whether the mayor will start selling the chairs and table used by Palin as well to which the Mayor replied that he himself is using a chair that had been used by Palin during her tenure. So if the same chair that will cost $10 because it is a second hand chair and $200 because Palin sat on it, then there is nothing wrong with that. As for the auction winner, it is reported that she has her own small car collection and is yet to take the possession.

Obama’s uncle first came to the United States in 1963 on a student visa. He became an illegal immigrant when his visa expired in 1970. In 1992, a deportatation order was issued against him, but he ignored said order and continued to stay in the country. His illegal status remained undetected until his arrest in 2011 for drunk driving in Framingham, Massachusetts where he allegedly bragged about his White House connection. He denied saying this to the arresting officers.

During the hearing, his lawyer, Margaret Wong asked him whether he had relatives living in the United States. He replied that he had a nephew, two nieces and a sister. Probed further, he revealed that the nephew he referred to is President Barack Obama himself. But, Wong maintains that his powerful connections did not help his cause. In fact, it placed his applications under a microscope and delayed the case further. The 69-year old Onyango works as a manager of a liquor store.

According to another immigration lawyer, President Obama’s was given permanent resident status mainly because he qualified under the law and not because of his connections. Onyango only had to prove was that he has been in the country since 1972 or earlier and that he has behaved himself since then. This was confirmed by the judge who said that Obama was a gentleman and a good taxpayer, and thus his petition was granted.

Three years earlier, the same judge also granted an asylum to Obama’s aunt, Zeutuni Onyango, who was also staying in the country illegally.

The innovative design considerations are aimed to be met by 2020. Boeing claims 12% improvement in fuel consumption if suggested design considerations are incorporated. The airplane is given the name 777x. The new design will be based on the large 777 Boeing airliner with GE9X engine from GE aviation. This engine is more powerful than the existing one and hence will play a great role in minimizing the fuel consumption.

Another design consideration for fuel efficiency is size of wings. It is a well known fact that larger wings for airplanes improve their efficiency considerably. However, large wings also create some problems. The airplane will face dilemma in negotiating airports which don’t have sufficient space to accommodate such large size wings. It is suggested that the airplane will have to fold its wings as it reaches airport to reduce the area covered and hence can be placed easily. The wings can also be shaped vertically that provide virtually the same effect as horizontal wings and will require lesser area for landing on airports. These are just preliminary assumptions at the moment and only time will tell how this airplane shapes up.

Although the current designs are reliable but they are expensive considering the fuel efficiency. Aircraft designers are working hard to make proper modifications to reduce the fuel consumption by 50% as compared to current standards. The most important part in this regard is engine. The design of engine should be improved to provide enhanced fuel efficiency. Another idea is to augment the engine with batteries. These batteries will play role of backup and improve the fuel efficiency. Again these design considerations are just theoretical assumptions. Practical and real life aspects must be incorporated before testing on real airplanes. Tests will be carried out to verify the performance of airplanes and observing its fuel efficiency. If fuel efficiency is successfully improved then it will reduce the cost incurred by airplane travel and facilitate the passengers to great extent. However, it is early to say anything at the moment and we should wait for 2020 to come.

As if users of the Obamacare website aren’t frustrated enough, the Obamacare website will be going down for maintenance.  Hopefully they can get the website fixed so it works at least halfway decent.  The website was by no means ready for the traffic it received, leaving user’s furious because they were let hanging while signing up for healthcare plans.  On top of that many are angry about misquotes, prices that are not even close to what they were given as an estimate.  One issue was that the website didn’t ask for an age when dishing out quotes, which obviously made huge leeway for a price fluctuation.

Are you having issues with the Obamacare website or have you tried using it yet?

These are some of the reasons why:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the “tent city jail” to save Arizona from spending tens of millions of dollars on another expensive prison complex.Inmates sleep in tents!

He has jail meals down to 20 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He banned smoking and pornographic magazines in the jails, and took away their weightlifting equipment and cut off all but “G” movies. He says: “They’re in jail to pay a debt to society not to build muscles so they can assault innocent people when they leave.”

He started chain gangs to use the inmates to do free work on county and city projects and save taxpayer’s money. Men work in Pink “Clean and Sober” Shirts. Their underwear is also Pink!

Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn’t get sued for discrimination.

He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but only allows the Disney channel and the weather channel.

When asked why the weather channel, he replied: “So these morons will know how hot it’s gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.”

He cut off coffee because it has zero nutritional value and is therefore a waste of taxpayer money. When the inmates complained, he told them, “This isn’t the Ritz/Carlton. If you don’t like it, don’t come back.”

He also bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on US history that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series that actually tells the truth for a change would be welcome and that it might even explain why 95% of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record for June 2nd 2009), the Associated Press reported: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed wire surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.

On the Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing pink boxer shorts were overheard chatting in the tents, where temperatures reached 128 degrees.”This is hell. It feels like we live in a furnace,” said Ernesto Gonzales, an inmate for 2 years with 10 more to go. “It’s inhumane.”

Joe Arpaio, who makes his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. “Criminals should be punished for their crimes – not live in luxury until it’s time for parole, only to go out and commit more crimes so they can come back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things many taxpayers can’t afford to have for themselves.”

The same day he told all the inmates who were complaining of the heat in the tents: “It’s between 120 to 130 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents there too, and they have to walk all day in that sun, wearing full battle gear and getting shot at, and THEY have not committed any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!”

Sheriff Joe was just re-elected for the fourteenth time as Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.

No one knows exactly which websites, or how many, are participating in the event, though more than 100,000 people and websites have pledged to join the cause, according to Causes.com. The event is also spreading across Twitter with the hashtag #momentforSandyHook.

Ron Conway, a high-profile Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is one of the core individuals pushing the campaign, which is actually part of a larger debate about federal gun control legislation. Conway is leading the Causes.com pledge, joined by other such celebrities as Ryan Seacrest, Jack Dorsey, Britney Spears, MC Hammer, Suze Orman, and Tyler Florence.

Causes.com is a startup company using social media to spread awareness about charities and causes, and Conway is one of the major investors in the company.

Any site can participate in the moment of silence, regardless of whether they signed the pledge. The site merely has to go offline for a bit, or the site can embed a bit of official code from the campaign to cause their site to go dark. Go to webmomentofsilence.org to sign up for a bit of JavaScript that makes it easier to go dark for the Sandy Hook moment of silence.

Again, websites going dark for a Sandy Hook moment of silence is part of a nationwide debate over federal gun control legislation. Earlier this week Conway and some other notable celebrities and tech geeks placed an ad about gun control in the New York Times.

Major websites going dark is not a new occurrence. The most recent nationwide call to go dark happened during the successful online protest against Stop Online Privacy Act.

“It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view for us to focus on recreational drug users in a state that has already said that under state law that’s legal,” Obama told ABC News during an interview.

“At this point [in] Washington and Colorado, you’ve seen the voters speak on this issue. And, as it is, the federal government has a lot to do when it comes to criminal prosecutions.”

Still, the Department of Justice remains vigilante in informing the public that marijuana remains a controlled substance by the federal government, and when asked if Drug Enforcement Administration agents were arresting people in possession of pot, spokeswoman Dawn Dearden stated that the “DEA’s focus has always been to disrupt and dismantle large-scale drug trafficking organization – not to arrest individual users.”

Obama expanded upon legalized marijuana in Washington and Colorado by saying it’s “a tough problem, because Congress has not yet changed the law.” He went on to say that lawmakers and Congress must have a conversation about how to mesh the aforementioned states’ laws with the current federal ones.

Obama asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to examine the issue. Earlier this week Holder said, “I think we will come up with a policy that will be respective of federal law buy also will make sure we are effective in our fight against crime that truly has an impact on the American people.”

While Obama’s comments on legalized marijuana give Washington and Colorado pot users something to be happy about, the rest of the country continues pondering how this strange legal situation will play out, and if other states will legalize pot, too.

After meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Hillary Clinton said, “Our concerns are that an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons, or might lose control of them to one of the many groups that are now operating within Syria.”

She continues, “We have sent an unmistakable message that this would cross a red line and those responsible would be held to account.”

However, numerous Syrian activists have criticized Clinton’s fear over the possible use of Syrian chemical weapons, claiming it’s a distraction.

“I don’t think the regime will use chemical weapons – it’s just a media game for the purpose of prolonging the revolution, so the Syrian people become more divided and the regime has more time,” said Walat Ahmae, a member of the Syrian National Council based in Antakya, Turkey. “We have known that there are chemical weapons from the start, so this isn’t a new or more worrying threat.”

A report by NBC News on Thursday states Pentagon officials confirm that Assad has been arming Syrian chemical weapons with nerve gas. Other US officials told the Associated Press that Assad’s military has been moving chemical stockpiles.

This information seems to clash with the official statements flowing from Syria’s crumbling government infrastructure, as Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, came forward to say, “I repeat for the hundredth time that even if such weapons exist in Syria, they will not be used against the Syrian people.” He added, “We would not commit suicide.”

In fact, Mekdad has gone so far as to claim that Western governments are the ones creating Syrian chemical weapons, with the intent of handing them to rebels and then blaming the Assad regime for their existence.

Whether there are or are not chemical weapons, though, it’s clear that the topic is beginning to divide parties onto separate sides, and only time will reveal how this situation develops.

<img class=”size-medium wp-image-28800″ title=”Hillary Clinton at a Nato meeting in Brussels” src=”https://socialmediaseo.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/clinton-syria-chemical-weapons-300×180.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”180″ /> Clinton speaking on the existence and use of Syrian chemical weapons.

Patrick Curran from Boston University posted a tweet that went viral during the presidential foreign policy debate.  We’ll call his tweet, the “Cha Cha Romney Slide”.  Anyway, he had around 124 retweets and tweeted he had become a celebrity.  A little while later he had 15,000 tweets and said, “I think I just became famous”.

Here’s the Cha Cha Slide Tweet:

Mitt Romneys five point plan 1. To the left 2. Take it back now y’all 3. Right foot let’s stomp 4. Left foot let’s stomp 5. Cha Cha now yall

Obama’s Navy Comment:

“You mention the Navy, for example, and the fact that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets,” Obama said during the final presidential debate. “We have these things called aircraft carriers and planes land on them. We have ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.”

source: buzzfeed

Obama’s being analyzed for a comment he made regarding the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans dead.  Obama said, “when four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal.” The critics — including, quite prominently, the Drudge Report — are saying that Obama was slighting the significance of the attack on the U.S.

After discussing conflicting accounts given by administration, Stewart said, “even you would admit, it was not the optimal response.”

What do you think about the “Obama Optimal Comment“?

“We took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet,” Romney said. “I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”

Binders Full of Women Images Trending Around the Internet

By the evening of March 4, 2012, numerous sponsors had announced they were discontinuing their advertising campaigns with Rush Limbaugh and his associated Clear Channel.

Rush Limbaugh Birth Control Audio

Here is Rush Limbaugh’s Apology Audio Transcript

US Budget Cut For Dummies

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