As I was saying...

DAKAR, Senegal — The Nigerian Army, part of a military criticized for rampant human rights abuses, on Friday used the words of President Trump to justify its fatal shootings of rock-throwing protesters.

Soldiers opened fire this past Monday on a march of about 1,000 Islamic Shia activists who had been blocking traffic in the capital, Abuja. Videos circulated on social media showed several protesters hurling rocks at the heavily armed soldiers who then shot fleeing protesters in the back.

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The Army’s official Twitter account posted a video, “Please Watch and Make Your Deductions,” showing Mr. Trump’s anti-migrant speech on Thursday in which he said rocks would be considered firearms if thrown toward the American military at the nation’s borders.

IBM announced this afternoon that it will acquire open-source software company Red Hat for $34 billion. The deal will help IBM expand its reach as an enterprise cloud computing provider.

Somehow, conservatives think that the words to popular songs can instantly corrupt the innocent minds of children, but Trump's words never influence anyone. Except that they also think his tough talk about other countries is responsible for all kinds of wonderful things. But his talk about hurting journalists and how Democrats are 'crazy' is nothing to be concerned about. Yet when he talks about Making America Great Again it's inspirational and motivating. But when he says maybe the 2nd amendment people could have solved a potential Hillary Clinton problem, that's just bluster. And when he says "Merry Christmas" and "God bless America" he's showing moral leadership. But when he says he's entitled to grab women by their pussies, it's just harmless locker room talk.

I'd say they can't have it both ways. But I'd be wrong.

This is almost exactly what I do. Except I don't do it sitting up with the light on because I find it's better to just let myself fall asleep than to fuck around with a lamp.

Morrisville, N.C. — Three people accused of conducting a drug deal at Raleigh-Durham International Airport will still face charges even after it turned out all they were selling was bars of soap.

An RDU spokesperson said Tarvares Hargrave, 43, Jason Anderson, 40, and Luz Orgega, 44, were arrested on drug trafficking charges on Oct. 5 after police believed Anderson and Ortega sold three pounds of cocaine to Hargrave.

The results of a laboratory test on Tuesday showed that what authorities believed to be cocaine was actually 10 bars of Ivory soap that had been wrapped in thick plastic.

Authorities said the trio will still face charges because it is illegal to take part in an exchange that a buyer or seller believes to be a drug deal.

Ortega and Anderson were charged with felony possession with intent to sell and deliver a counterfeit controlled substance and Hargrave was charged with attempted trafficking in cocaine.

It is not clear if Anderson and Ortega knew the packages contained soap instead of drugs.

Thanks to a FOIA request, we now know the truth about President Trump’s wild claim that he “could give you 100 pictures of [Mueller] and Comey hugging and kissing each other.”

Irish singer Sinead O'Connor has announced she has converted to Islam and said she has changed her name to Shuhada' Davitt. The 51-year-old has been posting selfies of herself wearing hijabs on Twitter in recent days, as well as a video in which she sang the Azan, or call to prayer.

She tweeted on Oct. 19: "This is to announce that I am proud to have become a Muslim. This is the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian's journey. All scripture study leads to Islam. Which makes all other scriptures redundant."

In January 2018, a surprising clothing item popped up on the South Korean fashion scene: boxy oversize T-shirts with the logo of Jesse Jackson’s 1988 US presidential campaign. As the weather got warmer, the shirt became a staple for trendy women across the country. Some of the shirts read “JESSE JACKSON ’88 — FOR PRESIDENT,” while others said “JESSE JACKSON ’88 — BLESS YOU.” There was even a misspelled “JESS JACKSON ’88” line of tank tops for men.

The shirt was popular with celebrities and college students alike: Rapper Moonbyul, for example, wore the shirt in the music video for her May release, “In My Room.” After the Jackson shirts’ initial appearance in South Korea, they quickly spread to stylish women across Asia, sold in cheap shopping markets and on e-tailers from provincial China to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Is the popularity of this shirt a sign of a broader Korean interest in Jesse Jackson’s historic run for the Democratic nomination for president in 1988? No, says Seoul-based social media influencer and beauty blogger Han Yoo Ra: “I think it’s just about the design. People may be aware of the English but they don’t know the deeper meaning or that it’s meant to be political. The word ‘Jesse’ is just cute. It’s nothing more serious than that.”

The stereotype is that poor people eat more fast food than rich people, who virtuously eat only organic salads and cows with names.

One problem with this assumption: It isn’t true. According to a new report about American fast food consumption from the Centers for Disease Control, people actually eat more fast food as their income levels go up.

BARTOW, Fla. — Two middle school girls in central Florida brought knives to school in a foiled plot to kill classmates, cut them up and drink their blood before killing themselves, police officials said Wednesday.

The two girls, ages 11 and 12, were armed with knives Tuesday at Bartow Middle School before they were caught, according to according to arrest affidavits released by the Bartow Police Department. No one was hurt.