promoearn: New reasons to think twice about that Mexico trip

Thursday, August 23, 2018

New reasons to think twice about that Mexico trip

More bad news for Mexico as U.S. State Department issues travel advisory

Going on vacation anytime soon? If you're heading to Mexico, the U.S. State Department has advice for you: Be careful. The State Department issued a travel advisory warning American citizens headed to Mexico to use caution in several states. "Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread," the travel advisory notes. The advisory comes during the same week that eight bodies were discovered in Cancun. While the travel warning does not include the tourist mecca of the Quintana Roo/Cancun area, many travelers already appear to be weary of traveling to Mexico. Some of the largest U.S. airlines say their bookings to resort areas of Mexico have fallen in recent months, with travel to that region being singled out as one of the few weak spots in an overall robust global air travel market. The decline in travel to the region comes on the heels of a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation, launched in July 2017, that identified the problems with alcohol-related blackouts at resorts in Mexico. In all, more than 170 travelers have described injuries, illnesses and deaths after drinking alcohol at resorts and in tourist towns in Mexico.

Does Jeff Sessions have control of the Justice Department?

Ask Trump? Nope. Ask Sessions? You bet. The already-strained bro-mance between President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions got a bit more heated Thursday after Trump publicly insulted his attorney general yet again. "(Sessions) took the job then he said 'I'm going to recuse myself,'" from the Mueller investigation, Trump said in an interview with Fox News. "I said 'What kind of a man is this?'" Trump piled on the jabs, adding that he only gave Sessions the job because of his loyalty to Trump's campaign and that Sessions "hasn't taken charge" of the DOJ. Queue Sessions' response : "I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the president's agenda."

'Urban Meyer State University'

Urban Meyer, Ohio State's national championship football coach, was suspended without pay for three games over how he handled allegations of domestic abuse involving one of his former assistant coaches. Now, the fallout begins. Shortly after Ohio State announced the suspension Wednesday night, the school released a 23-page report detailing what Meyer knew about when and how he reacted to assault accusations against and 'problematic' behavior by wide receivers coach Zach Smith. How's the college football world reacting to Meyer's three-game suspension? The headlines by USA TODAY Sports' columnists speak for themselves:

•	From Dan Wolken: Might as well go ahead and rename the place. It's Urban Meyer State University now
•	From Christine Brennan, who called it the "shock of all shocks": Urban Meyer stays as Ohio State football coach, but he is diminished after investigation
•	From George Schroeder: Arrogance and pride helped lead to suspension of Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer

Is Pence more divisive than Trump? Book calls VP a 'Christian supremacist'

Democrats may not like President Donald Trump, but do they want the alternative? Probably not, according to a new book about the vice president. In "The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence," Pence's background – congressman, Indiana governor, Trump VP – is cast in a harsh light. The authors argue that Pence is "the most successful Christian supremacist in American history" and already functioning as a "kind of replacement president" and is preparing to "fashion a nation more pleasing to his god and corporate sponsors." Here are six explosive takeaways from the new book.

Looking for a new cell phone, or catching up on Miss America? This is what were reading:

•	Another 46 Sears and Kmart stores bite the dust: Here's the list.
•	Sprint is going after AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon users ... again: Sprint's 'Kickstart' promo, offers unlimited data for $25 a month if you switch. Let us know how the service is!
•	Have you talked to a reporter? Security-clearance investigators are quizzing military officials on media contacts. The move is alarming some good-government activists, who see it as an attempt to intimidate government officials from speaking with reporters.
•	Miss America Cara Mund: It's 'possible' that Gretchen Carlson will fire me for TV appearance.