The critical area of the rubble pile from the collapsed Surfside condominium building can now be reached.  The original collapse happened at 1:30am when most were sleeping and the 12-floors of stacked master bedroom suites was unfortunately located next to the unstable elements of the building that did not collapse.

At 10:30pm last evening the remaining building was brought down with a controlled demolition.  Now the most important area of the original collapse, the areas containing the rubble of those master suites, will be able to be excavated.  As recovery workers began work at 1:00am this morning the focus is on that area.  They anticipate a much faster recovery of missing persons.

During a press conference today an additional two bodies were pulled from the area.  The death toll now stands at 27 with 115 people still unaccounted. The recovery workers face a grueling task in the next 36 hours; however, fortunately Tropical Storm Elsa has taken a more westerly track and the recovery work looks like it will continue unimpeded on the East coast of Florida.  Update from Florida Governor Ron Desantis:

Video of the successful demolition below:

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Florida officials held an extensive briefing today to update on the planned demolition of the unstable elements of the Surfside condominium building so that rescue and recovery work on the collapsed building can begin again.  Compounding the issues is the looming arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa; however, fortunately the storm appears to have taken a slightly more westward track and should be minimal for the Surfside, Florida, region.

According to local officials the demolition of the remaining structure will likely take place later today.  In the interim the search and recovery work has been paused as explosive experts prepare to bring down the unstable remnant of the 12-story building.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at the beginning of the press conference emphasizing the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa should be watched carefully.  Elsa now appears to be a west coast of Florida issue and will likely skirt up the western coastal area along the Gulf of Mexico.  The entire South-West coast of Florida will likely see varying effects from a very strong tropical storm Tuesday and Wednesday.

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There are numerous laser guided measuring devices located in and around the remaining structure of the collapsed condominiums in Surfside, Florida.  Overnight those devices detected significant movement in the remaining building as well as large cracks developing in the underground garage area.

As a result rescue and recovery workers were pulled from the building as engineers contemplate how to move forward.

(Herald) […] Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky confirmed the development during a press briefing on Thursday morning. The agonizing decision, he said, was made just after 2 a.m. Cominsky described the threat of a large concrete column hanging over a subterranean parking area, which has moved six to 12 inches. He added that crews were also alerted to widening cracks and “slight movement” in a concrete slab on the southern side of the building.

High-tech monitors aimed at the tenuous pile of debris were responsible for making rescue workers aware of the dangerous shifts. Moments later, they were forced to lower cranes and pull back crews under the darkness of the early morning. (link)

Before the efforts were suspended the recovery workers had pulled more bodies from the rubble. 18 bodies have now been recovered and 145 people remain missing. These unfortunate developments occur as the installed occupant of the White House arrived to thank first-responders and rescue workers for their efforts.

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Five days ago an American was kidnapped in Niger and taken to the neighboring country of Nigeria. Today U.S. special forces carried out a daring operation and successfully rescued him. Philip Walton, 27, was recovered by SEAL Team Six.

According to the Pentagon, the mission was undertaken by the elite commandos as part of a rescue operation before his abductors could get far after taking him captive in Niger on Oct. 26.

(Pentagon) Statement by Jonathan Hoffman, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs:

“U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men. This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation.

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There’s a whole lot of headlines about this story, but the one that really deserves to be written is how Team USA and President Trump rescued thousands of passengers and crew members from aboard cruise ships the rest of the world refused. [LINK]

[…] This ends a voyage that began March 5 in Chile and was supposed to finish March 19 in Argentina, but it ran on for days as countries declined to welcome passengers ashore during the coronavirus pandemic. (more)

You are darn right we rescued those international passengers; now ask yourself: why wouldn’t anyone else help them?

You see, this is again another example of how The United States of America is the greatest force for good the world has ever seen.

Despite an entire planet of global elites constantly putting down Team USA while hypocritically holding themselves up as moral arbiters; and despite every ridiculous democrat cocktail party attendee swooning over other nations while putting their own country down; when push comes to shove it’s Team America that comes through.

Every time.

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Earlier today President Trump traveled to Norfolk, Virginia, to thank support personnel and military crews who resupplied, refitted & launched U.S. hospital ship USNS Comfort.  Comfort is heading to New York harbor to support local medical personnel overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Mark. And you’re doing a fantastic job, and our country appreciates it very much.

And thank you, everybody, for being here. Today, I’m deeply honored to be at Naval Station Norfolk — the largest naval base anywhere in the world, and the home to the most powerful fleet that has ever sailed the seas. I just passed some of the most beautiful and, frankly, the most highly lethal ships that I have ever seen in my life, and there are a lot of them. And they’re in better shape now than they have been for many, many decades, with what we’re doing.

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Earlier today President Trump traveled to Tennessee to tour some of the devastated areas severely impacted by recent tornadoes.  The president met with local and state officials along with FEMA response teams while surveying the devastation prior to meeting with the residents of Cookeville, Tennessee, and Nashville suburbs.
Video and Transcript Added:

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. This is Governor Bill Lee, and he’s done a fantastic job of working with FEMA and the federal government and state government and everybody, Bill. And this is real devastation like you’ll never seen, hopefully, again. This was about as big a tornado as you can have. It was 50 miles long, which is extraordinarily long, and a very wide one. And you see what’s happened. We saw it from the helicopter very well. You did too.
I just want to thank you very much for the great job you’re doing.
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All those corrupt local Puerto Rico officials who have used U.S. disaster response aid to enrich themselves had better watch out.  President Trump has just assigned Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter J. Brown to take charge of all U.S. efforts on the island.
Rear Admiral Brown is an excellent man with a servants heart, but he is also a very deliberate and serious man.  And this man knows the island; we have crossed paths….

[White House] President Donald J. Trump has named U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter J. Brown of Florida as his Special Representative for Puerto Rico’s Disaster Recovery. In this capacity, Admiral Brown will coordinate United States Government efforts to build the infrastructure and resiliency of Puerto Rico.

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First, the explanation from former CIA Director, current U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo:

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Does this “escalation” have a familiar feel about it?
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To honor the memory of those lost on September 11th/12th 2012:

The Benghazi Brief

The “Benghazi Brief” remains the most controversial research report we have ever produced. The brief contains over two years of research and hundreds of very specific factual citations supporting it. Five years after it was originally written, and not a single aspect outlined within the brief has ever been identified as inaccurate.
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