Yes, that would have not been a positive thing for the economy in the short-term, but we must start addressing our long-term priorities.  If we do not do something about this exploding national debt, it could potentially destroy our republic all by itself. Earlier today, I was absolutely horrified when I learned of a budget deal in the Senate that would increase federal spending by about 200 billion dollars in each of the next two years…

Our federal debt is going to hit 21 trillion dollars some time this year, and they want to throw hundreds of billions of dollars more spending on top of what we are already doing? This alone is why we need true conservatives all over the nation to run for Congress.  Our endless greed is literally destroying the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have.

As interest rates rise, it won’t be too long before we are paying more than a trillion dollars a year just in interest on the national debt.  And when America plunges into a debt nightmare, there won’t be anyone in the entire world big enough to bail us out. America cannot be great again if we are drowning in debt.  What is happening in Washington is utter madness, and it should greatly anger all of us that our irresponsible politicians are systematically destroying the greatest republic that the world has ever seen.

Now, one day later, we find that while Deutsche Bank may be spared for now - if not for long - billions in US real estate will not be, and in a scene right out of the Wall Street movie Margin Call, HNA has decided to be if not smartest, nor cheat, it will be the first, and has begun its firesale of US properties.

The company's total debt is nearly 600 billion yuan or just under US$100 billion. Which means that the HNA firesale is just beginning, and once the company sells the liquid real estate, it will move on to everything else, including its stake in all these companies, whose shares it has already pledged as collateral.

So keep a close eye on Deutsche Bank stock: while HNA may have promised John Cryan it won't sell any time soon, companies tend to quickly change their mind when bankruptcy court beckons. Finally, the far bigger question is whether the launch of HNA's firesale will present a tipping point in the US commercial (or residential) real estate market. After all, when what until recently was one of the biggest marginal buyers becomes a seller, it's usually time to get out and wait for the bottom.

Berlin is obviously seeking to delay the formulation of EU positions on the future relationship with the United Kingdom as long as possible, to prevent giving London tactical advantages in the negotiations. The 27 EU countries have, in fact, quite diverging interests in relationship to Great Britain. The German automobile industry is exerting massive pressure to keep the United Kingdom in the customs union.

German car companies expect annual losses of up to two billion euros, if new trade barriers are erected. On the other hand, the Eastern and Southeastern European countries attach great importance to freedom of circulation. For example, the money Polish residents in Great Britain send home amounts to 1.5 percent of the Polish Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Other countries receive three to six percent of their GDP this way.

Maajid Nawaz, who heads the counter-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, criticised the department for ‘supporting World Hijab Day and the institutional oppression of women through modesty culture, while brave Iranian women risk all to remove hijab tyranny’. Anti-hijab activist Masih Alinejad told Reuters: ‘We are fighting against the most visible symbol of oppression. These women are saying, “It is enough – it is the 21st century and we want to be our true selves.”’

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘I’d like to know whose bright idea this was. It is ridiculous, a complete waste of taxpayers’ money and not the business of a Government department. I can’t see the Foreign Office promoting Christianity or the handing out of crosses.’

The campaign is trying to recruit major Tory donors in an attempt to undermine Theresa May. It also plans to target MPs and convince them to vote against the final Brexit deal to trigger another referendum or general election, according to a strategy document leaked from a meeting of the group.

The document says the campaign, which will begin by the end of this month, must “wake the country up and assert that Brexit is not a done deal. That it’s not too late to stop Brexit”.

“Gender-based policies, rules, and practices can have the effect of marginalizing, stigmatizing, stereotyping and excluding students, whether or not they are transgender or gender nonconforming,” read the guidelines from the New York City Department of Education. “For these reasons, schools should review such policies, rules and practices, and should eliminate any that do not serve a clear pedagogical purpose.

“Examples may include such practices as gender-based graduation gowns, lines, and/or attire for yearbook pictures.” Instead, the dance has been postponed until March, when people of all gender identities will be able to attend, according to CBS New York.

“We have clear guidelines in place that require schools to maintain welcoming and supportive environments at all events,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Education told Staten Island Live, “and (the principal) worked closely with the PTA to ensure the event was in the best interest of the entire school community.”

The former European Union president suffered a disastrous election, but Mrs Merkel's poor results ensured he would be a key part of the coaltion, which was finally agreed today. Referencing the Chancellor and Horst Seehofer, leader of the Bavarian sister party of Mrs Merkel's conservatives, Mr Schulz said: "You'll forgive me for thanking Mrs Merkel and Mr Seehofer, especially regarding the European policy chapter of this deal, because what we wrote down in this coalition agreement about the European Union and its future will be a fundamental change of direction in Europe. With this coalition agreement, Germany will take an active and leading role in the European Union again."

The coalition deadlock prompted speculation the 63-year-old Chancellor could be forced to step down but, after long negotiations and a series of “painful comprises”, it now appears Mrs Merkel will continue as the German leader for another term. However, any deal still needs to be approved by by the SPD's 464,000 members, who could yet vote against another grand coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Mr Schulz yesterday called the coalition deal “a new dawn for Europe” and an “end to the diktat of austerity”.

Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the biggest opposition party, tweeted: "Things could not get worse for Germany," calling the coalition deal "insane" as it did not contain an upper limit for migration. Speaking in December, Mr Schulz called on EU member states to sign up to a “United States of Europe” by 2025 or risk being kicked out of the bloc.

Peter Altmaier, Merkel’s chancellery chief, admitted he was surprised by Schulz’s proposal and instead believes it would be more effective to tackle specific issues, such as unemployment and immigration. He told the Rheinische Post newspaper: "The discussion about whether Europe should be a federal state, confederation or a united states is one for academics and journalists - not for German foreign policy. A United States of Europe would transfer member states' sovereignty to Brussels and there would not be a majority for that in many EU states.”

However, any deal still needs to be approved by the SPD's 464,000 members, who could yet vote against another grand coalition with Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. According to German media, Mrs Merkel’s conservatives have been forced to cede major government positions to their coalition partners, with the SPD due to take the foreign, finance and labour ministries in a new government.

The SPD will also get the justice, family and environment ministries as part of the coalition deal, according to reports. The CDU will get the economy and defence portfolios and, in a move designed to stop more voters turning to the rightwing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Mrs Merkel's Bavarian ally Horst Seehofer - who takes a tough line on immigration - would become interior minister.

The Saudi government had banned flights headed to Israel from using its airspace for 70 years. While it is no secret that private jets can fly from Saudi and other Gulf airports to Israel, they could not use the direct route and had to make a stop-over in Amman airport first.

The move is seen as a nod to India's Prime Minister Nardendra Modi's influence in the region, who is expected to land in the occupied West Bank on February 10. Last year he became the first Indian premier to go to Israel on an official state visit. But the decision also signifies warmer ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, who have been linked to having increasingly covert relations over the last year.

This has been credited to the shakeup of Saudi domestic and foreign policy, spearheaded by the young and ambitious Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "The political changes in Saudi Arabia and the desire to consolidate power is the main reason why these relations with Israel were opened," Mahjoob Zweiri, an associate professor with the Gulf Studies Program department at Qatar University, previously told Al Jazeera.

“We have a moral responsibility to them,” Carper said about the roughly 690,000 ‘dreamer’ illegals, not about Americans. Carper added, “doing a deal with the dreamers is as much about —  as I said earlier — is about making sure we have the folks who can go to work tomorrow.” Carper continued:

“Today, when folks want to work in this country, there is still 2 to 3 million jobs unfilled. Unfilled! Nobody is there to do the jobs, they don’t have the education, the work skills, the work ethic, they can’t pass a drug test … are we going to send 700-800,000 [illegal immigrants] people back home to the countries where they were born? They are perfectly capable of doing these jobs, they can pass a drug test, why would we do that?”

Carper’s moment of frankness came three minutes into a February 5 MSNBC interview when he was asked about the Democrats’ effort to win an amnesty for the DACA illegals, whose population ranges up to 3.25 million. The left-wing host did not object to Carper’s suggestion that millions of Americans be discarded for the benefit of illegal immigrants and Wall Street investors.

The study, published in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal, describes the detection of hundreds of millions of viruses and bacteria raining down from the sky on a daily basis. “Every day, more than 800 million viruses are deposited per square metre above the planetary boundary layer – that’s 25 viruses for each person in Canada,” study co-author and University of British Columbia virologist Curtis Suttle said in a statement.

Bacteria and viruses are swept up into the atmosphere in small particles from soil-dust and sea spray. The pathogens can be carried thousands of kilometers overhead before being dropped back onto the Earth’s surface. The phenomenon helps explain how the same virus ends up in notably different environments.

Statins do more harm than good. Fungi make statins, as a “secondary metabolite,” to kill predatory microbes. They also kill human cells. Many practicing physicians have a healthy understanding of the current level of corruption and collusion among big pharmaceutical companies, governmental agencies such as the NIH and FDA, and major medical associations [and non-profits] such as the American Heart Association, but the reader of this book will come away with the disturbing conclusion that it is even worse than imagined.

Statins may be the perfect and most insidious human toxin in that adverse effects are often delayed by years and come about gradually. Further, statins frequently impair mental function to such a degree that by the time patients are in real trouble, they may lack the mental faculties to recognize the cause.

This toxin targets brain cells and skeletal muscle. A broad spectrum of adverse cognitive reactions occur from taking statins. They include confusion, forgetfulness, disorientation, memory impairment, transient global amnesia, and dementia. It is becoming increasingly clear that the cholesterol-heart hypothesis is a fallacy of modern medicine. In the future, medical historians may liken the prescribing of statins to lower blood cholesterol with the old medical practice of bloodletting.