WASHINGTON — The civil war for the soul of the Republican Party is only going to grow more bitter if Donald Trump loses to Hillary Clinton.

The Tea Party-establishment battle has wreaked havoc on the party for a half-decade. And the explosion of Trumpism — nationalist, populist, at times racist — further scatters any chances of party unification following the most toxic presidential campaign in modern history. “It’s not going away, it’s going to have major implications, and it is a giant cry in the dark,” said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), a hardline conservative who doesn’t like Trump but has promised to back the nominee.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

A gunman fatally shot a Georgia deputy and critically wounded another after threatening to kill his neighbors on Sunday, authorities said.

Suspected shooter Ralph Stanley Elrod opened fire and struck two Peach County deputies walking toward his home around 5:30 p.m. near Byron, according to Peach County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies Patrick Sondron, 41, and Daryl Smallwood were just 15 yards from their cruiser, revealed Georgia Bureau of Investigations Special Agent J.T. Ricketson at a press conference. “They both went down right there,” Ricketson said, describing the gun attack.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago-  Exposure to toxic chemicals found in household cleaning products, processed foods and even clothing can severely damage a person’s health.  Dr. Ahmad Khan, Director, Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean) stated that some pesticides, cleaning agents and industrial chemicals contain hazardous properties, which can cause cancer, developmental delays, dysfunction of the reproductive organs and reduce immunity.

Dr Khan explained that one particular group of these toxic chemicals is referred to as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS).  He added that exposure to POPS can be through direct contact with the chemicals, consumption of contaminated foods or environmental exposure (by air, water and soil).  In light of this, Dr Khan emphasized the need for the Caribbean region to make the management of toxic chemicals to protect human health and the environment a priority.

Recognizing the importance of this issue, the BCRC-Caribbean, in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), prepared a project document outlining the work required to strengthen the capacity of Caribbean countries to  manage POPS.  They also approached the Global Environment Facility  (GEF) and were successful in acquiring approximately US$8 million dollars to support the project. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) will implement the necessary activities to assist eight (8) Caribbean territories update their National Implementation Plans (NIPs) for POPS management, which includes the conduct of in-country POPs inventories and related capacity development.

Dr. Khan said “The BCRC-Caribbean is committed to deliver services to our member Parties under the four ‘chemicals’ Conventions (Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Minamata) that govern the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and chemicals. Through the successful implementation of this regional project, we will be able to establish the extent of new POPs in our countries and more importantly develop Action Plans to target the elimination and/or reduction in the use of these particularly harmful chemicals.”

CARPHA Executive Director, Dr. C. James Hospedales, also pledged his commitment to reducing the Region’s risk.  He said “The execution of this project will help strengthen the capacities of Member States to better manage hazardous chemicals with a view to implementing environmentally sound mechanisms for the storage, abandonment of use, identification of alternatives to use and final disposal/destruction of these types of chemicals.” In addition, the BCRC-Caribbean will host a Regional Workshop from November 8-10, 2016 in Trinidad and Tobago to initiate an update of the participating countries’ NIPs, POPs inventories and related capacity development.  During the workshop, conducted by CARPHA, country representatives will present an update on the status of implementation of their NIP Action Plans.  The regional representatives will receive training on the assessment of ‘new’ POPs. CARPHA experts will follow up the workshop by assisting investigations in each participating country to update the NIPs. Countries benefitting from this project are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.(carpha)…[+]

A Marine Corps recruit died after he was found unconscious in bed at the Parris Island, S.C., training depot, according to reports.

An emergency crew rushed the as-yet-unidentified recruit to a hospital after he was discovered unresponsive around 8 p.m. Friday, Capt. Gregory Carroll told the Marine Corps Times.

Medical staff at Beaufort Memorial Hospital pronounced him dead at 9:32 p.m., and officials said an investigation was underway. The death, which happened the week after another recruit suffered severe injuries in a fall, marked the second death of the year at Parris Island. “The Marine Corps has notified the family and are ensuring they are supported during this difficult time,” Carroll said in a statement.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

FBI Director James Comey on Sunday once again cleared Hillary Clinton for her email use — ending the agency’s surprise second probe as suddenly as it began.

Comey wrote in a letter to members of Congress that he still will not recommend charges for Clinton’s practices.  “Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton,” Comey wrote in a letter to members of Congress. “I am very grateful to the professionals at the FBI for doing an extraordinary amount of high-quality work in a short period of time,” he wrote. Comey in July said he did not recommend charging Clinton for what he called her “extremely careless” use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Donald Trump’s campaign manager claimed with no evidence Sunday that the man who disrupted a Nevada rally was a Democrat plant — and she refused to condemn her camp for implying he was an assassin, too.

“This is a Democratic plant or operative trying to disrupt our rally,” Kellyanne Conway told CNN’s “State of the Union” the night after the campaign commotion. “And I think people saw a nimble and resilient Donald Trump who I think would be nimble and resilient as well as president.”Secret Services agents rushed Trump off stage in the middle of his Saturday night rally after a disturbance broke out in the crowd. The Secret Service later said someone in the crowd yelled “gun,” triggering chaos. But agents found no weapon on the man they apprehended — Austyn Crites, a 33-year-old Reno native.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Mayor de Blasio learned several days ago that New York was among the reported targets for a potential Election Day eve terrorist attack. The mayor, speaking Friday on his weekly radio show, said law enforcement officials were trying to determine whether the supposed Al Qaeda terror threat was legitimate. “We are still very much assessing the credibility,” said de Blasio. “It is not at all clear how credible this is. We are watching carefully.” According to a CBS News report, New York was on a short list with Virginia and Texas for possible attacks before the nation votes Tuesday for a new President.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

A 44-year-old man killed his wife and wounded his daughter at their Long Island home early Friday before leading cops on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed into a Brooklyn gas station and his car burst into flames, cops and witnesses said.

The terror began just before 1 a.m. when the alleged killer, identified by sources as Robert Crumb, stabbed his 41-year-old wife to death and wounded his 16-year-old daughter at their Bethpage home. Crumb’s 12-year-old son phoned 911 after his father fled their house, located in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Crumb’s daughter was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening wounds.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Two former allies of Chris Christie were found guilty of all charges Friday for their roles in the Bridgegate scheme that decimated the New Jersey governor’s White House bid. Former Christie top aide Bridget Anne Kelly and ex-Port Authority executive Bill Baroni face up to 20 years for the most serious charge of wire fraud. The 12-person jury took five days to convict the Christie cronies on all nine counts. Kelly, 44, began weeping immediately after the verdict was announced. Baroni, also 44, showed no emotion.(nydaily.com)…[+]

Lawyers for the Bridgegate defendants demanded a mistrial Thursday as jury deliberations in the bitterly-contested trial entered a fourth day.

The four-page filing on behalf of former Christie insider Bridget Anne Kelly and ex-Port Authority executive Bill Baroni was heavily redacted when made public and provided no details. But the mistrial bid followed a day-long Wednesday battle behind closed doors over whether jurors in the politically charged case received incorrect instructions from the judge. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Wigenton infuriated the defense by telling jurors they could find the defendants guilty without considering the politically-motivated plot behind the case.(nydailynews.com)…[+]