Christine Blasey Ford's former classmate has retracted her claim that the sexual misconduct Brett Kavanaugh is accused of "did happen."

This former classmate, Cristina King Miranda, in a Facebook post she later deleted, claimed on Tuesday that she knew Ford, Kavanaugh's accuser, in school and that everyone knew about the alleged incident. (Miranda's Twitter account has now been deleted.)

"Many of us heard about it in school and Christine's recollection should be more than enough for us to truly, deeply know that the accusation is true," she wrote. "The incident did happen."

There was just one problem with this: Miranda's recollection completely contradicted Ford. Over the weekend, Ford told the left-wing Washington Post she "told no one at the time what happened to her."


Furthermore, Ford did not even name Kavanaugh as her 17-year-old drunken high school attacker until after he was nominated for the Supreme Court. She did tell her therapist about the incident in 2012, but she did not name Kavanaugh, and the therapist's notes contradict Ford's current description of the 36-year-old alleged groping incident.

• In newly obtained emails, bureau officials noted there was not enough intelligence to support the January 2017 findings by the CIA
• New Strzok Texts: "I hope this upcoming presidency doesn't fill my years with regret wondering what we might have done differently."

The FBI had concerns with the intelligence community's (IC) January 2017 assessment that the Kremlin interfered in the presidential election with the specific intent of electing President Trump over Hillary Clinton.

In newly obtained emails, bureau officials noted there was not enough intelligence to support the January 2017 findings by the CIA which concluded Vladimir Putin meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump, according to a numerous documents and text messages obtained by SaraACarter.com.

However, while Strzok, Comey and others were disputing the findings of former CIA Director John Brennan and former DNI Director James Clapper behind closed doors, the public perception was that the FBI agreed with the intelligence community's assessment, as noted in news reports in late 2016 and early 2017.

Strzok, however, was a double-edged sword. Although he believed there wasn't sufficient evidence to prove Russia wanted Trump in office, text messages suggest he was still intent on proving that members of the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. And while Comey also disagreed with the conclusion of the intelligence assessment, he- like Strzok-believed the unverified dossier, compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, should have been part of the Intelligence Community Assessment titled "Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections." There is no dispute that the Kremlin meddled in the elections, but the suggestion that it did so to aid Trump set off a wave of controversy for the past several years.

Then, the FBI waged a full investigation against the Trump campaign over an unverified dossier that alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, but it was also assessing Russia's intent on meddling in the election.

In December 2016 Strzok appeared before the House Intelligence Committee, along with some lawmakers, and expressed concern about the CIA assessment. Shortly after, on Dec. 10, 2016, the FBI received an email inquiry from a reporter asking if it was true that the FBI was uncertain about the CIA's assessment that Russia was trying to help Trump win the election.
Strzok sent an email to the FBI press office stating, "We did not have information to differentiate what their ultimate goal was." He noted that Comey gave the Senate Intelligence Committee the same answer.

"In other words, the activity is one-sided and clear but we can't say the sole and primary purpose was specifically intended to help someone, hurt someone else or undermine the process. The reality is all three," he said in the email.

When the declassified version of the IC Russia report was made public Jan. 6, 2017, the FBI had already addressed members of Congress, but it wouldn't be until these emails and texts that the public would know the extent of the concerns.

Strzok's texts and emails from December 2016 through January 2017 also suggest the FBI was deeply concerned about information being shared with other intelligence agencies, as well as with White House officials.

On Jan. 3, 2017 Strzok sent Lisa Page, his then-paramour and a former FBI lawyer, a text referencing a conversation he had with then-Assistant Director William Priestap, who was head of the counterintelligence division at the bureau. It would only be three days until IC leaders briefed Trump on the dossier and in the same time frame released its findings suggesting that Russia interfered into the election to assist Trump. The text messages were exchanged after 6:30 am just before Strzok and Page attended their routine morning FBI briefing.

"He, like us, is concerned with oversharing," said Strzok. "Doesn't want Clapper giving CR cuts to WH (White House). All political just show our hand and potentially makes enemies." It is not certain what Strzok means by 'CR' in this portion of the text.

"Yeah, but keep in mind we were going to put that in the doc on Friday, with potentially larger distribution than just the dni," said Page in response.

Strzok responded, "the question is should we particularly to the entirety of the lame duck usic with partisan axes to grind." USIC is in reference to the United States Intelligence Community. In previous text messages recovered by Congress, Strzok refers to a 'sister' agency and accused them of leaking to the press. Sister agency more than likely refers to the CIA, according to numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials. However, a slew of recently released text messages also suggest Strzok and Page were in communication with the press as well.

A former senior U.S. intelligence official told SaraACarter.com that Strzok, who was also "playing partisan politics was then worried that sharing information with the other agencies would be used by the Obama administration for political purposes is the real height of hypocrisy and his boss Comey was just the same. What needs to happen is an investigation outside the DOJ into this whole mess."

The disagreement between the FBI and the Intelligence Community Assessment didn't stop the FBI from wanting to attach the unverified dossier to the report. And that was disputed by James R. Clapper, then director of national intelligence, and then CIA Director John O. Brennan, who both objected stating that the dossier was unconfirmed information from a former British spy and not vetted U.S. intelligence.

Brennan has stated on the record that he did not see the dossier until December 2016. A spokesman for Brennan told this reporter in an interview earlier this year that "former FBI Director Comey has said publicly that he wanted to make sure President Obama and Trump knew about the dossier. Comey decided to attach it to the IC Assessment. There was even talk of including it as part of the IC Assessment but Brennan (and Clapper) in fact were the ones who didn't allow the dossier to be part of it, and they didn't allow that because they said the information wasn't verified intelligence and that wasn't what the IC Assessment was about."

In early December 2016, Strzok and Page texted that there were some conflicts between classified intelligence and the information that was already in the hands of White House officials. And they were both concerned that information would leak.

"Man, our intel submission is going to be a BOMB," said Strzok in a text on Dec. 18, 2016.

"Oh god, why do you say that?" said Page. "Was planning to try to go in early to reach it before our mtg with Jim," referencing the FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki.

"Oh it's fine. You've heard it all. I'm just saying the C (classified) portion is absolutely different from the bulk of the stuff in the community. And the community and especially the WH will jump all over it since it's what they WANT to say and they can attribute it to us, not themselves," Strzok texted back. "All the benefit, none of the political risk. We get all of that."

On December 19, 2016, Strzok and Page boast about the number of stories they had a hand in shaping. Page sends a text at 20:17 saying "And this. It will make your head spin to realize how many stories we played a personal role in. Sheesh, this has been quite a year... NYTimes: The most-read stories of 2016 (with a link)."

Strzok responds "Jesus, I want to take people out for a drink. I want to take YOU out for a drink. I hope this upcoming presidency doesn't fill my years with regret wondering what we might have done differently."

Then page responds to Strzok with a "sad" emoji face.

Sources close to the US Congress Intelligence Committee revealed that hundreds of Western mercenaries financed by UAE participated in the attack on the Yemeni province of Al-Hudaydah after they received intensive combat exercises in Israel.

The informed sources told Al-Khaleej Online that: "hundreds of mercenaries of various nationalities are taking part in the attack on Al-Hudaydah, with the aim of taking control over it from the Houthis who have shown fierce resistance."

The Saudi-UAE coalition launched an attack on the Yemeni province of Al-Hudaydah last June but failed to achieve its goals after the attacking forces were unable to make progress inside the city, and Saudi-UAE air strikes killed dozens of civilians.

The Russian Foreign Ministry is closely working with the United States on withdrawal of refugees from the Syrian Rukban camp to the territory controlled by the Syrian government, Nikolai Burtsev, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The US side proposes to resolve the problem of Rukban through the evacuation of refugees in the territory controlled by the Syrian government. Details of the possible operation have not been coordinated yet. We will continue to work closely with the United States to resolve this issue," Nikolai Burtsev, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said at a meeting of interdepartmental headquarters of Russia and Syria on the return of refugees.

According to Burtsev, preparations are also underway for providing access to UN humanitarian convoys from the territory controlled by the Syrian government, which informed the Russian embassy in Damascus about the agreement to authorize the convoy's passage.

The new state law banning smoking at New Jersey beaches and parks won't take effect until January, but some lawmakers are already pushing for the concept to go farther to more outdoor public places.

It took 12 years from the time New Jersey banned smoking in restaurants and bars to extend that prohibition to beaches. But just two months later, a push is on to include the boardwalks and many other recreational spots.

"We know that the leading cause of preventable disease and death in our state as well as our nation is cigarette smoking. And that can be prevented," said state Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer.

Turner has introduced S2908. A companion measure, A4423, has been proposed by Assemblywoman Carol Murphy, D-Burlington.

Despite President Trump's Monday order for the "immediate declassification" of sensitive materials related to the Russia investigation, "without redaction," the agencies involved are planning to do so anyway, according to Bloomberg, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence are going through a methodical review and can't offer a timeline for finishing, said the people, who weren't authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive matter. -Bloomberg

Trump ordered the DOJ to release the text messages of former FBI Director James Comey, his deputy Andrew McCabe, now-fired special agent Peter Strzok, former FBI attorney Lisa Page and twice-demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr.

Also ordered released are specific pages from the FBI's FISA surveillance warrant application on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, as well as interviews with Ohr.

In what has become yet another shameless display of desperation on the part of U.K. businessman Bill Browder, those behind The Magnitsky Act: Behind the Scenes, a film about Browder's narrative surrounding the death of Russian accountant Sergei Magnitsky and a $230 million tax theft, are once again fighting Browder's attempts to censor the movie. After it was posted on Vimeo last month, attorneys from Carter-Ruck (for more on Carter-Ruck and toxic dumping along the Ivory Coast see WikiLeaks) and Hermitage Capital sent letters to the online video hosting service demanding that they pull the film; Vimeo, in turn, asked Piraya Film to remove the movie. According to Browder, a capitalist who made most of his money in Russia during the early post-Soviet days and then renounced his U.S. citizenship to avoid paying taxes on his new-found wealth, the film contains false and defamatory statements about himself and Magnitsky.

China's government is reportedly planning to curb the average tariff rates on imports from most of its trading partners as soon as October in an attempt to bring down consumer costs amid growing trade tensions with the US.

The ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies has intensified over recent weeks after Washington introduced a new wave of tariffs, targeting $200 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing responded with fresh tariffs on $60 billion worth of US products exported to China. The measure comes into effect next week.

Cutting export duties for China's other trading partners is aimed at boosting domestic consumption, which is expected to bolster the slowing economy, according to people familiar with the issue, as quoted by Bloomberg. The move comes months after China reduced tariffs on a wide range of consumer goods.

Upon the memory and truthfulness of Christine Blasey Ford hangs the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, his reputation and possibly his career on the nation's second-highest court.

And much more. If Kavanaugh is voted down or forced to withdraw, the Republican Party and conservative movement could lose their last best hope for recapturing the high court for constitutionalism.

No new nominee could be vetted and approved in six weeks. And the November election could bring in a Democratic Senate, an insuperable obstacle to the elevation of a new strict constructionist like Kavanaugh.

The stakes are thus historic and huge.

French politician Marine Le Pen said a court ordered her to undergo psychiatric evaluation over a series of images she posted on Twitter showing Islamic State executions. She slammed the order as a "mind-blowing."

The president of France's National Rally (formerly Front National) has released an order saying it comes from the magistrates in Nanterre near Paris, calling on her to "undergo a psychiatric examination."