Former President Donald J. Trump told a suffering Western North Carolina, “We will never forget about you,” as he pledged that the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene would be met by efforts to make the region “greater and more beautiful than it was before.”Standing with a huge pile of storm debris in the distance behind him, Trump sought to buoy the spirits of suffering residents, community leaders, and first responders — whose task has turned from search and rescue to recovery of the dead.“We’re praying for you, and we will not forget about you,” Trump said at a press conference in Swannanoa, North Carolina. “We will never forget about you. We’re going to be working with you for a long time to come to get it back together.”In his first of three scheduled North Carolina stops on Oct. 21, Trump said he was amazed by the storm devastation as his motorcade made its way from the Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina.'What an amazing act of citizenship and service.'“That’s quite a scene driving up. You see that kind of destruction, actually incredible to see,” Trump said. “That is incredible. It’s the power of nature. Nothing you can do about it, but you’ve got to get a little bit better crew in to do a better job than has been done by the White House.”Trump cited the rescue and humanitarian work of Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, which turned a local Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership into an air and ground hub to distribute storm relief and coordinate searches. Savage Freedoms was featured by Blaze News on Oct. 16.“Nothing is more inspiring than to see the American spirit triumph over adversity with the most selfless acts of generosity and love,” Trump said. Former President Donald J. Trump greets Adam Smith of Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, a group that turned a motorcycle dealership into a helipad and storm relief center, during a visit to Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Oct. 21, 2024.Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images“One of the patrons who stepped forward to help was Adam Smith, a former Green Beret. Adam transformed the parking lot of a Harley-Davidson dealership into a makeshift airbase to help distribute supplies,” Trump said. “Did an incredible job. Adam, what an amazing act of citizenship and service.”Smith organized the relief center with the help of hundreds of volunteers, including many other special ops veterans. An adjacent field was converted into a helipad for flying supplies and even farm feed to remote mountain areas cut off from civilization by devastating rains and mudslides in late September.The relief center drew a visit from an impressed Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps based at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. The next day, the 101st Airborne Division sent 100 troops to help the center’s operations.Smith thanked Trump, saying his presence will keep the area “on the map” as it rebuilds. Trump’s decision to delay his visit gave rescue crews “space to operate and function and gave us space to provide relief where it needed to go,” Smith said. Adam Smith of Savage Freedoms Relief Operations addresses volunteers at a makeshift supply depot at the Harley-Davidson dealership in Swannanoa, North Carolina, Oct. 15, 2024. Photo by Steve Baker/Blaze News “The biggest fear that Western North Carolina is sitting on right now, at least from the communities we’ve talked to, is being forgotten,” Smith told the 45th president. “And to have you here and have an opportunity to have this conversation at a national level will keep Western North Carolina on the map and not leave the communities holding the bag on the back end of this.”Trump was sharply critical of the Hurricane Helene response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the agency’s use of hundreds of millions of dollars for settling of illegal aliens across the country.“Their rescue effort was almost nonexistent,” Trump said.Trump said he was in favor of calling Congress into special session to approve more federal aid to the states impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, but he said FEMA should have more money on hand than it does.“So they don't have any money for the people that live here that got hit by one of the worst storms, possibly the worst storm ever, but one of the worst storms in the history of our country,” Trump said. “And it’s a shame because they should have the money. They spent money that I don't believe they’re supposed to be spending for that, as you know.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A new wave of lawsuits have been initiated against Sean “Diddy” Combs, which include accusations that the hip-hop producer raped a 13-year-old girl with a fellow celebrity as a female star watched the alleged sex crime. On Sunday, Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee filed five new civil lawsuits against Combs in New York federal court under the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. Buzbee had already filed six previous jury-seeking suits against the music mogul for alleged sex crimes. The lawsuit claims that after the purported sexual assault, the alleged victim 'fell into a deep depression which continues to affect every facet of her life.'Buzbee told NBC News, "We will let the allegations in the filed complaints speak for themselves and will work to see that justice is done. We expect to be filing cases weekly naming Mr. Combs and others as defendants as we continue to gather evidence and prepare the filings."Buzbee said he is representing more than 120 individuals in civil lawsuits accusing Combs of sex crimes over the course of more than two decades. Buzzbee said the youngest alleged victim was only 9 years old when Diddy reportedly sexually assaulted him. According to the latest lawsuit against Diddy, an alleged child sex crime occurred at an afterparty following the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000. The alleged victim, now 37, claimed she was raped at the afterparty when she was only 13 years old. The alleged victim — identified as Jane Doe — claimed to have felt “woozy and lightheaded” after one drink at the party.“Looking for a place to rest, plaintiff entered what she believed to be an empty bedroom so she could lie down for a moment,” the 19-page lawsuit stated, according to Deadline. “Soon after, Combs, along with a male and female celebrity, entered the room,” the 19-page action says. “Combs aggressively approached plaintiff with a crazed look in his eyes, grabbed her, and said, ‘You are ready to party!'”“Combs then threw plaintiff toward another male celebrity, Celebrity A, who removed plaintiff’s clothes as she grew more and more disoriented,” the lawsuit contends. “Plaintiff was held down by Celebrity A who vaginally raped her while Combs and Celebrity B, a female, watched.""After the male celebrity finished, Combs then vaginally raped plaintiff while the Celebrity A and Celebrity B watched," the suit alleges. "Combs attempted to force plaintiff to perform oral sex on him, but she resisted by hitting Combs in the neck; he stopped.”The lawsuit does not name the male and female celebrities. The alleged victim said she left “the large white house with a gated U-shaped driveway” after the claimed sexual assault, and her father picked her up.The lawsuit claims that after the purported sexual assault, the alleged victim "fell into a deep depression which continues to affect every facet of her life.”Rolling Stone reported that another victim said he was 17 years old when Combs sexually abused him. The alleged victim — an aspiring singer identified as John Doe — said he went to a penthouse hotel party in Manhattan in 2022. The alleged victim claimed Diddy offered him a drink and “assured Doe that he could make him a star."The alleged victim claimed he began to feel dizzy and confused. He claims to have stumbled into a room where people were having group sex. The lawsuit claims Combs grabbed the alleged victim and "led him to the bed, forcing him to lie down on the bed against his will.”"Combs grabbed Doe’s penis and genitals with his hand," the lawsuit alleges. "Combs manipulated Does’ genitals for an extended period of time, trying to get him aroused."Another alleged victim claimed he was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to attend a party at Combs’ Holmby Hills mansion following the 2022 BET Awards. The alleged victim claimed he was handed a cocktail and soon felt “disoriented, dizzy and weak.” The lawsuit states that the alleged victim reportedly was escorted into a small room where nearly a dozen people were engaging in group sex. After “realizing his significant impairment,” Combs allegedly approached him and “removed his pants, and began performing non-consensual oral sex onto him,” the suit claims.Rolling Stone reported that Diddy's criminal defense team filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Sunday night, asking for a gag order that would prohibit “further extrajudicial statements from prospective witnesses and their lawyers that substantially interfere with Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial.”According to Page Six, Combs' legal team said: "The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded today’s barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity. Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”As Blaze News reported last month, Combs was arrested in New York City after the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and interstate transportation for prostitution.The indictment read: “Members and associates of the Combs Enterprise engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other activities, sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion, and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”The indictment describes sex acts known as “freak offs,” in which Combs allegedly organized the transportation of sex workers across state lines and internationally — and often recorded them.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams previously said, "The freak offs sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics — such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB [gamma hydroxybutyrate] — which Combs distributed to the victims to keep them obedient and compliant.”Diddy's federal trial is expected to begin in May. Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and up to life. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

What happens if you take the ability-laden heroes from something like Overwatch and drop them into a turn-based strategy game like XCOM? You get Infinity HexaDome Tactics, that’s what. The upcoming competitive 1v1 title might not be launching for a while, but it’s giving you a chance to try it out and help shape its development with a brand new, week-long closed beta test. Continue reading Turn-based PvP game HexaDome Tactics has a closed beta you can try right now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best multiplayer games, Best turn-based strategy games , Best strategy games

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