With almost 80,000 acres in Oklahoma burned by wildfires and hundreds of Oklahomans displaced from their homes, Governor Mary Fallin is urging those who wish to aid in relief efforts to make donations to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. 

Both organizations are active in disaster relief and are providing assistance to first responders and wildfire victims in Oklahoma.

“In the past few days, countless Oklahomans have reached out to my office to ask how they can help first responders and those who have lost their homes to wildfires,” Fallin said. “While there are many opportunities to offer assistance, two of the most reliable and effective aid groups continue to be the Salvation Army and the Red Cross.”

“As I’ve traveled across the state, I’ve seen their volunteers handing out water and food to firefighters and helping families in need. For those Oklahomans who want to offer their assistance but don’t know how, please consider donating to one of these great organizations.”

Red Cross Donations

The Red Cross is currently providing on the ground assistance (Gatorade, water, food, etc) to Oklahoma firefighters and first responders. They have shelters open for families displaced by wildfires at the following locations:
•    Sand Springs:  United Methodist Church at 101 2 8th Street
•    Cushing: Cushing Senior Center at 203 E Cherry
•    Noble: Slaughterville Baptist Church at 10101 60th Street.

The Red Cross is currently participating in a One Stop Center to provide assistance and information to individuals affected by the wildfire. The center is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Luther High School Auditorium located at 178th & Luther Road.  To make a donation, see the information below:

Online: Go to www.redcross.org and click the “make a donation” button
Mobile Phone: Text “Red Cross” to 90999 to make a $10 donation
Mail Donations To:
            Red Cross
            601 NE 6th Street
            Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Salvation Army Donations

The Salvation Army continues to work with VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) to serve the immediate needs of those affected by the fire. The Salvation Army is currently participating in a One Stop Center to provide assistance and information to individuals affected by the wildfire. The center is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Luther High School Auditorium located at 178th & Luther Road. The Salvation Army also continues to provide food and water to first responders and those affected and will continue to do so as long as needed. To make a donation, see the information below:  

Online: Go to www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org
Phone: Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY                
Mail Donations To:                 
            The Salvation Army
            Attn:  Oklahoma Wildfires
            PO Box 12600
            Oklahoma City, OK  73157 

Syrian TV has broadcast footage apparently showing President Bashar al-Assad meeting Iran’s security chief, the first time he has been seen on state television for several weeks.  His appearance came a day after Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected to the opposition.

Arriving in Damascus, Iran’s security chief Saeed Jalili said only a "Syrian solution" would end the crisis.

Iran is President Assad’s staunchest regional ally.

Tehran says it is planning an international meeting on Syria on Thursday.

It is also trying to secure the release of a group of Iranians abducted by rebels from a bus in Damascus on Saturday.

As well as Mr Jalili’s visit to Damascus, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is travelling to Turkey for talks in Ankara.

An unconfirmed report from the rebels has suggested that three of the 48 hostages they are holding have been killed by army shelling.

Mr Jalili, who heads Iran’s supreme national security council and is considered a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had travelled to Damascus from Lebanon.

He told reporters that "kidnapping innocent people is not acceptable anywhere", Iran’s official news agency Irna reported.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said it holds the US responsible for the hostages’ safety.

The rebels have claimed that the group are members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Tehran says they are pilgrims who had been heading for a Shia religious site.

Click here for more from BBC. 

Click here for the report from Joboord.com. 

Judicial Watch has been confident for some time that evidence shows political appointees at the Holder Department of Justice (DOJ) were involved in the decision to abandon the DOJ’s own voter intimidation lawsuit against the New Black Panther Party.

In a major victory for Judicial Watch, a federal court seems to agree with that analysis of continuing scandal.
 
The ruling came courtesy of Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in response to Judicial Watch’s effort to obtain attorney’s fees from the DOJ for stonewalling the release of documents pertaining to the Black Panther scandal. Here’s the key quote from Judge Walton’s ruling:

     The documents reveal that political appointees within DOJ were conferring about the status and resolution of the New Black Panther Party case in the days preceding the DOJ’s dismissal of claims in that case, which would appear to contradict Assistant Attorney General Perez’s testimony that political leadership was not involved in that decision. Surely the public has an interest in documents that cast doubt on the accuracy of government officials’ representations regarding the possible politicization of agency decision-making.
 
     In sum, the Court concludes that three of the four fee entitlement factors weigh in favor of awarding fees to Judicial Watch. Therefore, Judicial Watch is both eligible and entitled to fees and costs, and the Court must now consider the reasonableness of Judicial Watch’s requested award.
 
So, in short, this ruling is further confirmation that political appointees at the DOJ did interfere in the Black Panther case. Assistant AG Perez’s testimony was false. And the American people have a right to documents related to the scandal. That’s pretty much a clear-cut victory.

By way of review, this all started on Election Day 2008, when members of the New Black Panther Party stood guard at a polling station in Philadelphia, PA, brandishing weapons and threatening voters. A video of the incident was widely distributed on the Internet – click here to view the video on YouTube. The DOJ filed a civil lawsuit against the Black Panthers, but ultimately overruled members of its own staff and dismissed the majority of the charges.

Click here for more from Breitbart.com. 

J. Christian Adams a former United States Department of Justice official who has accused the DOJ of racial bias in its handling of this voter intimidation case and other racialist activity is the author of the recent book, "Injustice: Exposing the Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department," click here to reach Amazon.com for more information. 

Tulsa Today includes Adams’ work as a part of our current affairs library and encourages careful consideration.  In addition, the refusal of Eric Holder to comply with Congressional requests for information and President Obama’s extension of Executive Privilege over DOJ activity in the “Fast and Furious” scandal is, in total, compelling evidence that the Obama Administration does not consider itself bound by the Rule of Law thus becoming, in itself, a threat to America.