The Blue Ridge Times

​ House Majority Whip Steve Scalise underwent surgery for the management of infection on Thursday and remains in serious condition after being readmitted to the intensive care unit at MedStar Washington Hospital on Wednesday, according to the hospital. "He tolerated the procedure well," the hospital said in an update on behalf of the Scalise family Thursday evening. "He remains in serious condition. We will provide updates as appropriate." Update from  @MedStarWHC  on the condition of Majority Whip Steve Scalise:  pic.twitter.com/kWO3jERd4H — Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise)  July 6, 2017 Scalise, who arrived at the hospital in critical condition after a gunshot wound to the hip at a  congressional baseball practice  in June, had been transferred out of the ICU on June 22 and downgraded to fair condition. Serious is the condition in between critical -- the worst state -- and fair, in medical terms. Scalise, two members of the U.S. Capitol Police, a current GOP s...

Russian spies are ramping up their intelligence-gathering efforts in the US, according to current and former US intelligence officials who say they have noticed an increase since the election. The officials say they believe one of the biggest US adversaries feels emboldened by the lack of a significant retaliatory response from both the Trump and Obama administrations. "Russians have maintained an aggressive collection posture in the US, and their success in election meddling has not deterred them," said a former senior intelligence official familiar with Trump administration efforts. Russians could also be seeking more information on Trump's administration, which is new and still unpredictable to Moscow, according to Steve Hall, retired CIA chief of operations. "Whenever there is a deterioration of relations between countries — the espionage and intelligence collection part becomes that much more importa...

Seventy-six police officers have been injured in clashes with protesters in Germany's city of Hamburg, where a G20 summit starts shortly. Three officers were taken to hospital, police said. There were also reports of injuries among protesters. The clashes began when police charged at masked protesters at a "Welcome to hell" march attended by 12,000 people. World leaders - including US President Donald Trump - will discuss climate change, trade and other major issues. Police fired water cannon and pepper spray at masked protesters, who hurled bottles, stones and flares. Decoding Trump's off-script remarks Organisers cancelled the march where the first clashes took place, but protesters remained on the streets and police said violence spread to other areas of the city. Protesters built makeshift barricades, set vehicles alight, damaged businesses and repeatedly shone a laser at a police helicopter to dazzle its pilot, police said. Medics were seen treating several peopl...

Pakistan on Alert After Islamic State Attack At least 80 were killed in the attack Thursday and more than 200 injured. SEHWAN SHARIF, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces killed dozens of suspected militants on Friday, a day after Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing that killed more than 70 worshippers at a Sufi shrine in the latest of a series of bloody attacks across the country. The bombing at the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in southern Sindh province was Pakistan's deadliest attack in two years, killing at least 77 people and underlining the threat of militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State. With authorities facing angry criticism for failing to tighten security before the bomber struck, analysts warned that the wave of violence pointed to a major escalation in Islamist militants' attempts to destabilize the ...

Kraft Heinz to pursue merger despite Unilever rejection U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co ( KHC.O ) has proposed a merger with Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ), but the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company has declined, Kraft said on Friday. "Kraft confirms that it has made a comprehensive proposal to Unilever about combining the two groups to create a leading consumer goods company with a mission of long-term growth and sustainable living," Kraft said in a statement. "While Unilever has declined the proposal, we look forward to working to reach agreement on the terms of a transaction." Unilever spokeswomen did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Kraft said a further statement would be made as appropriate. Unilever shares jumped as much as 14 percent to a record high. They were up 11 percent at 37.37 pounds at 1220 GMT, valuing the company at over 100 billion pounds ($124 billion). ...

Donald Trump: 28 Days Later So far, Trump has signed at least 23 executive actions, signed five bills into law, seen 12 members of his Cabinet confirmed and sent 168 (undeleted) tweets. Donald Trump will hit the four-week-mark Friday on a presidency that has begun like no other — full of big promises, constant controversy, the ever-present encroaching of major scandal, and zero regard for the previous norms of American politics. Beneath the noise, however, there has been a march, however halting and disorganized, toward Trump's promised radical remaking of American policy, foreign and domestic. The border wall his critics said he'd never build has been ordered, his promised rollback of regulations is in full swing, his Supreme Court pick that will likely sit on the bench for decades, and even the "Muslim ban" he promised during the Republican primary was put in place, however briefly, in altered form. The ...

EU-Canada Trade Agreement Wins European Parliament Green Light The European Parliament approved a landmark free-trade agreement with Canada, shoring up Europe's market-opening clout in the face of a populist surge across the continent and U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist tilt. The European Union assembly's endorsement of the first EU commercial deal with a fellow member of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations paves the way for it to take provisional effect once the Canadian Senate gives its green light, expected within weeks. EU governments and Canada's House of Commons have already given their approval. The EU Parliament backed the pact by a vote of 408 to 254 on Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, fending off a veto drive by far-left and far-right European parties that have echoed Trump's criticism of globalization. "This is Europe's answer to Trump's trade policy," said Manfred Weber, German head of the C...

Russian Aircraft Buzzed a U.S. Destroyer in Black Sea: Pentagon Four Russian aircraft flew in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner near a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Black Sea, according to the Pentagon. A defense official told NBC News that a Russian Su-24 flew within 200 yards of the USS Porter last week, flying at an altitude of just 300 feet and a speed in excess of 500 knots. The jet was armed. The Fyodor Zolotukhin is an upgraded Il-38N maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft Marina Lystseva / TASS via Getty Images ...

Intelligence officials: Trump aides spoke with Russian officials during campaign The FBI and NSA intercepted calls between high-ranking members of President Donald Trump's campaign staff and Russian intelligence agents starting early in the summer. Feb. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials say advisers to President Donald Trump were in contact with known Russian intelligence agents during his presidential campaign. Four U.S. government officials told The New York Times several high-ranking aides to Trump were in regular contact with senior Russian intelligence officials before the presidential election in November, based on conversations intercepted and analyzed by U.S. intelligence agencies. Several law enforcement, intelligence and administration officials told CNN that frequent communication during summer 2016 got the attention of agencies while they were collecting routine intelligence on Russian officials and nationals. The officials say the comm...

Media helped force out Flynn, but leakers' real target is Donald Trump leakers' real target is Donald Trump Now Playing Kurtz: Why Flynn had to go It was close to midnight when I had to kill a column I'd already filed for Fox News and write about the Michael Flynn resignation. The inescapable irony: The spiked column said that some positive stories for President Trump, such as his meetings with the leaders of Canada and Japan, were being drowned out by the controversies surrounding the White House—some self-inflicted, some overblown by the media. ...