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Monday, November 6

Sturm und Drang in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1.  Absolutely nobody outside the kingdom's inner circle has any idea of what's really going on Saudi Arabia beyond a lot of arrests of princes (their jail has been the ritzy Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh), travel bans, and freezing of assets.

2. Reuters is still trying to reassure readers that many Saudis support Crown Prince MbS and his alleged crackdown on his fellow princes -- as if any Saudis had a choice.

 3. A second Saudi prince has been killed resisting arrest  -- the first one in an alleged helicopter crash while fleeing, the second in an alleged shoot-out with Saudi security forces while resisting arrest.

 4. President Trump has expressed in a November 4 Tweet his desire to see the Saudi Aramco IPO made on the New York Stock Exchange.

 5. Oil price bulls are going bananas about reports of chaos in Saudi Arabia. It looks like a zoo at feeding time over there at oilprice.com

 6. The Saudi inner circle has been ticked off at Lebanon's Saudi-born Prime Minister Hariri because he's been more-or-less getting along with Hezbollah chief Nasrallah, which had brought some desperately needed stabilization to Lebanon. The result of the cooperation is that on Saturday Hariri resigned (under threat of assassination) and was 'recalled' to Saudi Arabia. (Update 11/7 - reportedly he's now 'visiting' in UAE.) 

7. Today Reuters reported that the Saudi regime has declared that Lebanon has declared war on the kingdom because of "aggression by Hezbollah." Lebanon's declaration of war on KSA is complete news to Hezbollah and everybody else except the Israeli defense establishment and the Saudi inner circle and their go-fers in Washington, DC.

 8. Thierry Meyssan has been chewing peyote again. Voltaire Network reported on October 31 that a trilateral agreement (which was actually signed in May 2016 not 2017 as VN reports) to transship Indian wheat to Afghanistan through an Iranian port is "proof of US support to President Rohani [sic] and their common struggle against China, Iran’s former partner."

 I think it would be news to China that Iran is a former partner given the trade relationship between the two countries, which is crucially important to Tehran.

 But it is fun to consider the coincidence that the most overt phase of the MbS crackdown in Saudi Arabia launched practically within hours of the first wheat transshipment, which was on October 29. And yet I've seen no indication that PM Modi signed the agreement under prodding from President Obama, although there's been plenty of speculation about the implications of the agreement, none of which mentions Saudi Arabia. 

 However, the Saudis would of course be very concerned about closer relations between Afghanistan, Iran, and India and the strategic implications of India having access to Chabahar Port -- especially because it's surprising that Modi didn't choose another Iranian port, Bandar Abbas, for the wheat shipments. See this November 6 report, Iran's Chabahar Port: India's foray into regional power politics, from a Pakistani analyst writing for the Asia Sentinel for details of the discussion.  

 As to what MbS would think of any backchannel discussions between the Trump administration and Tehran about China, I think he'd be positively livid, and so would Israel's war cabinet. Pass the peyote. 

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Sunday, November 5

U.S. Senator Rand Paul's injuries from assault much worse than first announced UPDATED

UPDATE
11/6 report from Fox News: "Motive mystery in Rand Paul attack: Neighbor's lawyer says it had 'nothing to do' with politics"
END UPDATE

Rand Paul recovering from 5 broken ribs after attack at his Kentucky home
Fox News with additional reporting from The Associated Press
9:45pm EDT

Rand Paul was recovering Sunday from five broken ribs, including three displaced fractures, after he was assaulted by a neighbor who tackled him from behind at the senator’s Kentucky home, officials said.

Senior Adviser Doug Stafford said it is unclear when the Republican senator will return to work since he is in “considerable pain” and has difficulty getting around, including flying. Stafford said this type of injury is marked by severe pain that can last for weeks to months.

“This type of injury is caused by high velocity severe force,” Stafford said a statement to Fox News.

The Bowling Green Daily News reported that an arrest warrant said Paul told police his neighbor came on his property and tackled him from behind Friday, forcing him to the ground, all while the senator had been mowing his lawn. He had trouble breathing because of the rib injury, the warrant said.

[...]

“Displaced rib fractures can lead to life-threatening injuries such as: hemopneumothorax, pneumothorax, pneumonia, internal bleeding, laceration of internal organs and lung contusions. Senator Paul does have lung contusions currently,” Stafford explained.

[...]

A Warren County official did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for a copy of the arrest warrant.

Police arrested 59-year-old Rene Boucher on Saturday and charged him with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault with a minor injury. 

Boucher lives next door to Paul and his wife, according to Warren County property records.

Boucher was released from jail Saturday on a $7,500 bond. He has a court date scheduled for Thursday. Boucher did not return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

Sunday’s disclosures come a day after Paul’s office said the senator was fine and characterized his injuries as minor.

[...]
The attack was a shock for the community in Bowling Green, where a neighbor says he would often see Paul and Boucher out walking their dogs on the normally quiet streets. Jim Skaggs, a member of the state Republican Party executive committee, lives in the neighborhood and has known both men for years. He said they disagreed politically, but was shocked to hear of the incident.
“They were as far left and right as you can be,” Skaggs said. “We had heard of no friction whatsoever other than they just were difference of political opinion. Both of them walked their little dogs at about a mile and a half circle, a nice little dog trot. I’d see them out walking, maybe they might stop and speak with each other.”

[END REPORT]

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At least 27 dead 30 injured in massacre at Texas Baptist church; shooter killed by police UPDATED 5:25pm, 11:35pm ET; 11/6 - 8:15pm ET

Update Nov 6 - 8:15pm EDT
Here's the latest headlines at Drudge Report on the massacre. The shocker is that the Air Force didn't notify the FBI about the perp's record -- supposedly the omission was because of a filing  error. 

END UPDATE

Update 11:35pm EDT
Gunman in Sutherland Springs church shooting ID'd as Devin Patrick Kelley, authorities say
26 killed, 20 wounded in mass shooting - KSAT-12 ABC report

CBS News report - 10:56pm EDT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the attack the deadliest mass shooting in his state's history. Officials said 23 people were found dead inside the church, two outside, one died after being taken to a hospital.

The shooting suspect has been identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, federal law enforcement sources told CBS News.

On Sunday night, authorities only identified the suspect as a young white male. They said he was seen dressed in all black and tactical gear -- including a "ballistic vest" -- at a local gas station at 11:20 a.m. He then exited his vehicle, crossed the street and began firing an AR-15 style weapon at the church, officials said. The suspect entered the church and continued to fire.

As he exited the church, a local resident grabbed his gun and pursued the suspect, who dropped his weapon and fled the scene.

The suspect was later found dead inside his vehicle. Officials are unsure if he was shot by a resident or suffered a self inflicted gunshot wound, said Freeman Martin, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Kevin Jordan, a resident who lives near the church, told CBS affiliate KENS-TV he witnessed the deadly shooting and saw a resident pursue the gunman. "If it wasn't for him, the guy wouldn't have stopped," he said.

Jordan described the resident who confronted the suspect as someone who would do anything for anyone. He said he watched the resident shoot at the suspect while taking cover behind a vehicle.

Video from KENS-TV showed first responders at the scene, located about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Video from KENS-TV showed first responders at the scene, located about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said in a statement that Kelley is a former U.S. Air Force member who served from 2010 to 2014. Records confirm Kelley previously served in logistics readiness in New Mexico until his discharge in 2014, Stefanek said.

Kelley was court-martialed in 2012 for two counts of assault on his spouse and assault on their child, Stefanek said. He received a bad conduct discharge and confinement for 12 months.

Officials have not released the names of the 26 people killed, but said they ranged from 5 to 72 years old.

[...]
END UPDATE 
Update 5:25pm EDT
The church 

 Headline links from Drudge Report

From the Daily Mail report: shooter wore full combat gear.

 END UPDATE

 Updated 3:03 PM
ABC News KSAT-12 local news station

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas - At least 27 people have been killed and 30 people have been injured in a mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

A witness reported seeing a man walk into First Baptist Church and began shooting around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

The shooter was killed by police, officials at the scene said.

Some survivors were taken to Brooke Army Medical Center via medical helicopter. Their conditions are not known.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers, as well as agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, have secured the area around the church and are investigating.

The church is located in the 500 block of 4th Street in the small, south Texas town about 40 miles east of San Antonio.

[END REPORT] 
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This was reported in 1945. So it was always possible to say no.



H/T James Rhodes

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Is your doctor not killing you fast enough with kindness? Sue the bum!

"We’ve turned pain into a religion; worse, into a kind of physical victimization in which the victim of the pain is always right." 

The quote is from a diatribe by a hospital emergency room physician who's watched helplessly as the American obsession with relieving pain has translated into patients bringing complaints against physicians for as much not killing them fast enough with kindness. Which is to say victimology has taken over medical treatment in the United States.   

Not since Ivan Illich roared, "What's wrong with a little suffering?" at the American horror of physical pain have I come across such a clear statement of a situation that by this era is edging Americans close to mass suicide. 

 Here is the diatribe in its entirety; read it as if your life depended on it because that could turn out to be the literal case. 

 See Wikipedia for more detail on the diagnostic pain scale.   

How the pain scale and patient satisfaction leads to death
By EDWIN LEAP, MD 
October 9, 2017
Med Page Today/KevinMD 
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’re well aware that the United States is in the grip of a really big epidemic of opioid abuse. The epicenter of much of this has been my beloved Appalachia. My hometown Huntington, WV, might as well be re-named “Oxycontin,” or maybe “Heroinville.” It’s ugly.

 Enormous amounts of ink have been spilled on this topic, and I don’t intend to explain the genesis of it in detail. In short, however, about 20 years ago some doctors thought we weren’t being kind enough in our treatment of pain. Some articles were published to draw attention to this theory. We started using the pain scale.  0 = no pain, 10 = the worst pain ever.

 Around the same time, administrators discovered the customer/patient satisfaction score. Taken together, physicians and nurses were pressured by 1) academic peers and medical directors as well as 2) administrators, to give more pain medication.
So, to recap mathematically:
Pain scale x Satisfaction score = Better reimbursement + Death
Recently, smart people have discovered that a lot of what we were told to do in clinical practice was probably (to put it delicately) utterly stupid and ultimately deadly. Having said that, not all of the drug abuse in the country is because doctors gave out too many pills (although pill-mills are obviously a problem).
Some of it, in particular, the heroin and fentanyl nightmare, has to do with bad decisions, experimentation and the high marketability of those drugs. Enormous amounts of those drugs are manufactured in other countries and shipped here (obviously illegally). Money talks, as it were.
The problem is, research suggests that patients of doctors with very high satisfaction scores often do poorly.  Think of your kids. How do they turn out if you give them whatever they ask?  Not usually very well. Often quite badly. Ditto for patient care. Nobody should get a CT scan or antibiotic just because they want it. Nor should they get narcotics just because they scream ‘it’s a ten!’ Or because they ask to talk to the patient advocate or administrator.
The further problem is that administrators (and government) seem to be lagging behind science. (Not that doctors don’t also; can’t throw too many stones in the glass house.)  But they get all worried when people complain that their pain wasn’t treated. And indeed, in many insurance payment schemes, pain management is really important. Don’t treat pain? Don’t get reimbursed well.
Ultimately, however, this national obsession with pain relief has landed squarely in the emergency departments of the land. I work in a mid-volume emergency department in a community hospital. And I’ll recap a few pain complaints that I have seen which illustrate the problem:
“I had dental surgery, and my oral surgeon said if my pain was worse I should go to the ER. My pain? It’s about a 9/10.”
“I had a car wreck a month ago and broke some ribs. I missed my follow-up appointment, but I need more pain medicine. My pain is a 10/10.”
“I fell down and hurt my knee yesterday. (X-rays negative, mild swelling.) Tylenol and Motrin are like taking candy. I need something stronger.”
The list is exhaustive. Ask your nurse and doctor friends; especially those who work in emergency medicine. Ask them about the pain scale and watch them roll their eyes.
We’ve turned pain into a religion; worse, into a kind of physical victimization in which the victim of the pain is always right.  And is always entitled. In the process, we have allowed people to forget that pain is important and normal. That it is necessary for our safety. That it probably helps healing; a body that doesn’t know there’s a problem doesn’t heal as well.
And we’ve created far too many people whose entire lives are predicated on a drowsy euphoria spent sitting on the couch or in the bed, while other people provide for them and care for them.
In addition, the constant requests for pain meds can distract us from those in genuine pain, and who really, truly need the ‘good stuff.’ The fractures, cancers, sickle-cell, and other patients who need urgent relief.
This is immoral. It’s bad, bad, bad for our patients. But it’s also terrible for our hospitals; in particular, my beloved emergency department.  Because it means that around the clock, even as we try to make decisions that will hopefully save lives and prevent permanent harm, we are tasked with responding to every whim of the pain-scale.
All day, and in particular all night, our societal pain obsession has been shifted onto the backs of physicians and nurses in the ER. There is seldom a break from this. And because federal law prohibits financial screening in the ER, many of our more nefarious and manipulative “customers” know that if the pain clinic expects cash, at least the ER doesn’t. If the surgeon wants money to see you in follow-up, you can hoof it to the nearest ER and get pain meds (if you’re annoying enough) and maybe a sandwich or a ride home. 
And with all due respect, our Medicaid population knows the same thing. So a 3 a.m. visit for a minor complaint (with pain thrown in as a side) might get some narcotics and doesn’t cost anything personally.
This leaves staff members exhausted, bitter and burned out. More so when administrators habitually take the side of the “customer” against the already overwhelmed staff.
The bottom line is we’re hurting people. Patients and professionals alike.
And it turns out this is so pervasive that even the dogs have pain scales. My wife and I cracked up when we saw this in the vet’s office. I mean, pain relief is fine for dogs (it’s mostly NSAIDs). But a visual analog pain scale for dogs?

“Lassie! Bark once for each pain scale level! What’s that? 20 barks? What are you, a pure-bred Lab? It only goes to ten. You’re a drug seeker, and you have a problem … Wait, is that my prescription pad? Go home; you’re stoned …”
America: Not all pain is to be suppressed, and most pain doesn’t require an ER visit. Many people do need pain relief, but this frantic desire to treat every little ache and discomfort makes it harder for physicians to treat the ones really hurting.
[END]
Edwin Leap is an emergency physician who blogs at edwinleap.com and is the author of the Practice Test and Life in Emergistan.  
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Saturday, November 4

Vast homeless camps in major Southern California cities keep getting vaster

Los Angeles and San Diego became ground zero for every city administration in the US that's wanted to ship its homeless population somewhere else -- homeless to include drug addicts and the barking mad, many of whom refuse to be placed in perfectly respectable homeless shelters. No, they feel safer living under the sky or in tents. But now, however, there are so many homeless in these southern California cities there aren't enough shelters to hold them all.  

 The jawdropper is that even chi-chi Orange County became a magnet for the homeless.

 The conditions in these vast camps, and conditions generated by the homeless in their surrounds, are now at crisis levels. The crisis is joined by a housing shortage in SoCal that's so severe it's causing large numbers of low- and middle-income wage earners to flee the state.  

 SoCal resident Jeff Bliss has been reporting for John Batchelor's show on both crises; his latest "Pacific Watch" report, from last night, is almost unbelievable, the situation in SoCal is so bad.  

 Here's the podcast. That'll shut up any Americans snickering at conditions in the 'developing' world. Granted, the homeless encampments aren't as bad as the slums of Rio de Janeiro -- but this is the United States, not Brazil. 

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Killer Smog in India's Capital City. Delhi residents advised to stay indoors. UPDATED 11/5 - 4:20pm EDT

UPDATE
Stop the Presses
The same killer smog has also invaded Pakistan's Punjab region, and from reports today it looks as if the underlying condition in both affected regions is sandstorms in the Middle East, particularly from deserts in Syria, Iraq and Iran. The sand mixes with the annual winter fog that settles in the affected south Asian regions and with a host of air pollutants in those regions to create the toxic smog that is currently wreaking havoc in Pakistan's Punjab and India's capital city.

But is this actually smog, which is generally thought of as fuel-emissions based?  It seems to have more in common with China's notorious Yellow Dust sandstorms -- fine sand mixed with dust -- that annually blow from the Gobi Desert, mix with China's air pollutants (vehicle, factory, etc.) then drifts into several other nearby countries (Japan, South Korea, etc.) and eventually, in more dispersed form, across the Pacific Ocean to land in America's Pacific Northwest.

More on this issue later.  

END UPDATE

Morning smog in New Delhi DURING two-week experiment to reduce auto traffic 

Tsering Topgyal/The Associated Press

From the photo obviously motor vehicles aren't the only source of what has become a deadly level of pollution in India's capital, despite the city's notoriously congested roads. The Sputnik report below cites stubble burning and residue from burning construction materials as culprits in addition to high emissions from the city's vehicle-choked streets. 

 Delhi's government needs to act YESTERDAY to halt corruption in the building trades and whatever else is the worst offender in the toxic air pollution. YESTERDAY, hear? 

 That means IMMEDIATELY. 

 From my recollections of Indian cities I'm wondering if another factor is the large number of dung-fuel fires that are burned outside on city outskirts during the predawn hours; this isn't necessarily 'homeless' people doing the burning; it's just the ways things have been done since anyone can remember. A lot of living is done outdoors in India -- the village life, which was then transferred to city outskirts.

 I loved the smell of the dung fires; to this day I associate it, along with the smell of jasmine flowers, with India. But as the cities and their vehicular traffic grew, and as huge numbers of Indians migrated to the cities from villages, and with everything else including the burning of construction materials, these dung fires might be a significant contribution to Delhi's air pollution, at least in the winter months. But that's when people most need the warmth from morning campfires  -- and how else are they going to boil water for their morning tea? 

 So, depending on how much this way of life has continued, it could be a big and perhaps insoluble problem, at least for the near term. But something has to be done, right away, to reduce the air pollution in Delhi. No question.  

 People Advised to Stay Indoors as Pollution Levels Skyrocket in Indian Capital
Sputnik
The air quality Index of Delhi is currently 311, indicating that people are inhaling dangerously toxic air. The onset of winter has worsened the situation as forecasters warn of foggy pollution-filled mornings over the next several days, prompting doctors to issue a rare health warning.

[Pundita note: the warning is probably "rare" only because of political pressure on India's medical profession not to harp on the level of city air pollution, which was high even before the current crisis in Delhi.] 
New Delhi (Sputnik) — With the approaching foggy weather accompanying the arrival of winter in India, the nation's capital of Delhi is bracing itself for pollution-filled mornings with doctors appealing to people to stay inside their homes.
According to a statement issued by the Indian meteorological department (IMD), shallow fog and mist will engulf Delhi almost every morning over the next few weeks and commuters will be subjected to long traffic snarls due to low visibility.

 “While high moisture content increases the air’s capacity to hold on to pollutants, the low wind speed is failing to disperse the pollutants that are trapped in the city’s air," D Saha, head of the air quality laboratory at Central Pollution Control Board, said in a news release.

 Several factors such as a drop in night temperatures, high moisture content in the air and low wind speed are helping in the formation of fog and mist almost every morning, according to the IMD.
SAFAR, which maintains data by the union ministry of earth sciences, has forecast levels of PM2.5 and PM10 – the primary pollutants in Delhi air over the next few days.
Organizers of the prestigious ‘Delhi Half Marathon’ annually held at this time of the year, have been asked by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) — the apex medical body of the country — to consider postponing it. The marathon is scheduled for November 19.
Meanwhile, an association of doctors with top hospitals in Delhi have issued an advisory suggesting people, especially elders to avoid morning walks.
"Exercising is vital for health but not when we are breathing poison," said the health advisory issued as part of a 'my right to breathe' campaign initiated by doctors.

Various factors that contribute to the ever-deteriorating air quality in Delhi include vehicular emissions, stubble burning, and the residue derived from burning construction materials, according to Skymet Weather, a private weather agency.

 READ MORE: Domestic Pollution Problems Force China to Stay Strong on Climate Change

[END REPORT]

 See also: Air Pollution Cuts Solar Power Generation By 25% in India, China; June 30, 2107, Sputnik

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Friday, November 3

Didn't He wake you this morning? So what are you complaining about?

A great paradox is that the African slave trade brought to America a singing tradition that slaves and their descendents made into the spiritual backbone of the United States. Given the prevalence of slavery throughout the old world it's a mystery to me why only the United States was so richly blessed, beyond calling it an alchemy of African roots, a welter of Protestant Christian sects, and the American veneration for improvisation.

 And something else, hard to put into words. While African descendents of slaves in America made personal testimonies of woe into the Blues art form, they also made gratitude the centerpiece of Gospel singing.

So the Gospel outlook runs counter to the Social Justice one that now dominates American Protestantism -- social justice is based on helping victims, but where are victims among God's children?

 The Dixie Hummingbirds - "I've Got So Much to Shout About" at Newport Folk Festival 1966

Posted to YouTube by DasPackenvonBand, December 2013. (2 minutes 13 seconds.)

The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclectic pop-tinged songs of today. The Hummingbirds inspired a number of imitators, such as Jackie Wilson and James Brown, who adapted the shouting style and enthusiastic showmanship of hard gospel to secular themes to help create soul music in the 1960s. ...[Wikipedia]
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Thursday, November 2

All Souls Day

I'll bet there's nothing like the racket made by church bells to get the Departed thinking about moving along from Purgatory. One doesn't have an eternity to sit on the fence, you know.   






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Wednesday, November 1

All Saints Day


1. Litaniae in honorem Beatae Mariae Virginae Procession 3:05 2. Jesu dulcis memoriae Motet T.L. Victoria 3:59 Première louange: Saint Robert de Molesme 3. Dives in cunctis Hymn 2:00 4. Beatus Robertus Abbas Antienne et Psaume 109 3:11 5.Super Exordium Lecture 2:18 6. O Beati viri Roberti Grand répons 2:27 7. Maria virgo virginum Codex Las Huelgas 3:12 8. Alma redemptoris mater Antienne 1:32 Deuxième louange Saint Alberic 9.Pulsante cithara Hymn 2:14 10. Viduata Suo pastore Roberto Antienne et Psaume 110 3:47 11. Super Exordium Lecture 1:20 12. Propter testatmentum Grand répons 3:52 13. Ex illustri Codex Las Huelgas 2:29 14. Ave Regina coelorum Antienne 1:32 Troisième louange Saint Etienne Harding 15. Sublimis aula caelitum Hymn 1:32 16. Venerabilis Pater Stephanus Antienne at Psaume 112 3:08 17. Super Cartam Caritatis Lecture 1:23 18. Domine praevenisti eum Grand répons 3:52 19. Salva porta regis glorie Codex Las Huelgas 2:03 20. Salve Regina Antienne 2:37 21. Laetare Felix Cisterciem Antienne et Magnificat T.L. Vittoria 8.47 1098 Chant Cistercien à l'Abbaye de Flaran Ensemble Antiphon director Rolandas Muleika et la Maîtrise du Conservatoire de Toulouse

 [posted to YouTube October 10, 2013 by John Pryck]

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Most dead in Manhattan terror attack were foreign tourists

A German tourist and three Belgians in addition to the deceased were also injured in the attack.

Tourists from Argentina, Belgium among dead in Manhattan terrorist truck attack
BY NICOLE HENSLEY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Wednesday, November 1, 2017, 2:20 AM

 [see Daily News website for photographs of the Argentine friends who were killed]

Five of those [eight] killed after a terrorist plowed a truck through a Manhattan bike path were Argentine high school pals celebrating three decades of friendship.

The Argentine government identified the slain victims as Hernán Mendoza, Diego Angelini, Alejandro Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruchi.

[...]

A sixth Argentine with the group, Martin Marro, suffered critical injuries to his neck during the attack and is recovering at a lower Manhattan hospital, according to consulate and police sources.

The South American pals knew each other from a Rosario grade school about 200 miles northwest of Bueno Aires, according to Argentina’s Foreign Ministry.

[...]

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders said one person from the European nation had died and three more were hurt in the attack.

The attack claimed eight victims, with about a dozen more injured.

The suspect ended his rampage after ramming a school bus.

The crash sent the driver and at least one special needs student to a nearby hospital, according to police sources. Both have since been released from Bellevue Hospital.

Sources said four teens and a German tourist were also among the injured. 

Additional reporting ROCVO PARASCANDOLA, DALE W. EISINGER

[END REPORT]

 See also my original post with updates yesterday night for details on the terror attack.   

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Texas Trick or Treat: HOW many more tax billions for Harvey recovery??!!

Whaddya mean gov'ner, $60+ billion isn't an unusual request for federal funds? This isn't about aid in the wake of the hurricane and flood recovery. No; Abbott wants the feds to finance the complete overhaul of Houston to make it flood proof in future. 

 The entire situation connected with federal funds for disaster relief has gotten completely out of control in the USA.  

October 31, 2017 - updated 7:30 pm
The Dallas Morning News 

WASHINGTON -- [Texas] Gov. Greg Abbott pitched his proposal for more than $60 billion in Hurricane Harvey aid in Washington on Tuesday, money he says will help Texas rebuild and prepare for future deadly storms.
Handing out thick three-ring binders detailing his plan, Abbott met with the White House budget officials, as well as Senate and House leaders, in a bid to secure funds that he says are critical not just to the Lone Star State’s recovery, but the U.S. economy and national security.
His request is nearly double that of a $36.5 billion emergency spending measure that Congress approved in recent weeks, a bill that bypassed his recent bid for nearly $19 billion in Harvey-related aid.
And it comes as Washington lawmakers wrestle with other high-dollar aid requests after a spate of hurricanes devastated coastal states and territories and wildfires ravaged California.
Still, Abbott expressed hope that his message resonated with Washington leaders.
“We’re making clear that what we’re asking for is not unusual when you consider the size and scope and population impacted by this storm,” Abbott said, adding that Harvey eclipsed hurricanes Katrina and Sandy in scale.
“We’re not asking for any handout or anything unusual, but asking for funding that will flood-proof our region,” he said.
Meanwhile, Texas Sen. John Cornyn -- who is holding up the confirmation vote of a key White House budget official until Texas sees new Harvey aid -- expressed worry a new disaster relief request won’t be taken up in November, despite earlier assurances from the Office of Management and Budget.
“We’re just trying to close all those holes and eliminate as many excuses we think they can come up with to delay the funding,” he said.
Topping the behemoth Hurricane Harvey recovery proposal is $37 billion for Army Corps of Engineers flood control and navigation projects and $15 billion for community development block grants, according to the Associated Press. Part of the money would be used to buy out or flood-proof thousands of properties in low-lying areas.
Abbott told reporters the plan includes projects listed in the $18.7 billion request he and the Texas delegation made in early October.

Moving forward

The governor’s trip to Washington comes just weeks after he accused House lawmakers of “lacking a stiff spine” in negotiations over the $36.5 billion disaster relief package -- a dispute that led to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican leaders phoning the governor.
At the time, a few Texas Republicans shot back that in order for them to sell the request to fellow House members, Abbott should make a detailed case in Washington.
That tension wasn’t on display Tuesday, as several House members, both Republican and Democrat, emerged from a late meeting with Abbott.
Lubbock Rep. Jodey Arrington -- a Republican who said he worked on projects to help the Gulf Coast rebuild after Katrina for the George W. Bush administration -- said it means a great deal to House members for Abbott to provide them with a detailed proposal.
The Texas delegation needs “the information to back up what we’re asking our colleagues to support,” he said. “We would ask them for the same if it was California and it was an earthquake.”

Competing requests

It’s unclear whether Texas will see the more than $60 billion Abbott wants amid competing requests and initiatives, such as the GOP’s bid to rewrite the nation’s tax code.
Cornyn, the majority whip, said lawmakers are still "working on a number” but are “certainly not giving up, by any means.”
He said he’s working on additional spending requests with lawmakers who represent other storm-ravaged states and territories, such as Florida and Puerto Rico, "to make sure we're united" and "make sure we don't get forgotten in this process."
Earlier this month, Cornyn said he received assurances from the White House that a Harvey measure could come up as soon as November. But he's worried that a relief measure could be rolled into a politically fraught omnibus appropriations bill in December, instead of a standalone measure. That, he said, imperils its chances.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also said “procedural wrangling” could mean the request is rolled into the December omnibus.
“My hope is we should take it up as a supplemental, directed as disaster relief, and that’s certainly what I’m urging our leadership,” he said.
Abbott, for his part, said Texas “may or may not” get all of it in the first round of funding “but as the president has made clear, he is proud of the way Texas has responded, he wants Texas to continue to respond very effectively.”
In September, Congress approved a $15.3 billion disaster aid bill. It later approved a series of tax relief measures as part of a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization.
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