One American Killed In London And HIs Wife Was Hurt Badly

Utah man killed in London attack, 

wife badly injured

Kurt Cochran and his wife Melissa. Courtesy the Payne family/ REUTERS

By Gina Cherelus | NEW YORK

A Utah man was killed and his wife badly injured during Wednesday's attack
near Britain's Parliament in London, relatives of the couple said on Thursday.

Kurt Cochran, 54, and his wife, Melissa, were in Europe to celebrate
 their 25th wedding anniversary and had been due to return to the
United States on Thursday, according to his brother-in-law, Clinton Payne.

The couple were struck by a sports utility vehicle that plowed into
 pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, Payne said in a statement.

Three people were killed in the attack, including Kurt Cochran and
 a policeman who was stabbed to death. Cochran's wife was among
about 40 others who were injured.

The killer, named on Thursday as British-born Khalid Masood, was
 shot to death by police.

Cochran's wife was hospitalized for treatment after suffering a broken
 leg and rib, and a cut to her head, Payne said. She was expected to recover.

"Our hearts ache for her and their children in losing their loving
companion and father," Payne said.

It was not immediately clear how many children the couple had.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences.

"A great American, Kurt Cochran, was killed in the London terror
attack," Trump wrote on Twitter. "My prayers and condolences are
 with his family and friends."

The Cochrans were self-employed and had built up a recording
 studio business over the last 10 years, according to a GoFundMe page
 created by the family to help pay for Melissa Cochran's treatment.
 They lived in Bountiful, a city about 10 miles (16 km) north of Salt Lake City.

The Cochrans were well known in the area for donating their recording
 and audio skills to local school productions, "other worthy causes"
and their hometown's Summerfest arts and music festival, Payne
 wrote on the GoFundMe page.

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Emma Dugal, executive director of the Bountiful
 Davis Art Center, which hosts the annual
celebration, described Kurt Cochran as a "sincere
 and loving friend" and said he had helped out
with the Summerfest for at least seven years.

"We are still in shock," Dugal said in a phone
 interview. "He really got this soundstage off
the ground and provided opportunities for local
 artist to perform. Some of them have gone on
 to have recording careers."

The couple were visiting Melissa Cochran's parents, who are missionaries
 in London for the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon church, LDS
 spokesman Eric Hawkins said in an email.

Kurt Cochran's most recent photo uploads on his Facebook page
depicted scenes from their vacation in Europe, including one of him
smiling while holding a large glass of Belgian beer.

"This pain is so heart-wrenching and raw, it has rocked our family,"
another relative, Shantell Payne, wrote on Facebook. "We will miss
 Kurt beyond words."

(Editing by Daniel Wallis and Bernadette Baum)

French Terror Attack By "A Muslim"?

HORROR IN FRANCE! 73 FEARED DEAD AS TRUCK PLOWS INTO CROWD

'We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around'

Published: 2 hours ago. Updated: 07/14/2016 at 7:34 PM

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 CHELSEA SCHILLING About | Email | Archive

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Images of the aftermath surfaced on social media following an attack in Nice, France, in which a truck plowed into a crowd of people (Photo: Twitter)

In another terrorist attack in France, at least 73 people are feared dead in Nice after a truck plowed through 200 yards of people in a crowd celebrating a national holiday Thursday evening, according to French TV channel BFM-TV.

In another incident in the same time period, the Eiffel tower was reportedly lit on fire in what French police said was an accident.

And at least three explosions have rocked Brussels, Belgium.

An estimated 150 people were reportedly injured in Nice. Witnesses say gunmen have taken hostages in the Meridien Hotel, the Hotel Negresco and the Buffalo Grill restaurant, the London Daily Mail reported.

Unconfirmed reports say ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Nice attack. Jihadist networks celebrated the carnage on social media, reported the Washington Post.

“Gunshots rang out in the streets, with gunmen targeting hotels and cafes in the port city as residents were warned to lock themselves in doors for their safety,” the Daily Mail reported. “Hostages have been taken in a hotel in the city. The RAID anti-terror squad has been deployed to the city.”

The vehicle ran into the crowd of people celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday on the Promenade des Anglais seaside sidewalk.

The truck in Nice was loaded with arms and grenades, said Christian Estrosi, president of the region.

The news came just as London’s Express reported the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, was ablaze after a truck filled with fireworks ignited the structure. French police say it was an accidental truck fire and has been extinguished.

The following is an image posted to Twitter:

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/07/Eiffel-TW.jpg

Eiffel Tower appears to be burning in Paris after firework truck ignites, London’s Express reports

Meanwhile, as many as three explosions were heard through Brussels, Belgium, as a fire ripped through the capital city, according to the Express. The following photo was posted to Twitter after the explosions:

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/07/Brussels-TW.jpg

The driver in Nice, France, reportedly aimed for people as they tried to run away.

Wassim Bouhlel, a Nice native, told the Associated Press he saw a truck drive into the crowd. Then he said a man exited the truck and began shooting.

“There was carnage on the road,” Bouhlel said. “Bodies everywhere.”

People fled the scene, and there were reports of loud explosions.

The station said the government is asking citizens to remain at home.

“It’s total panic,” a witness told the channel by telephone, according to the London Telegraph. “We saw a white lorry which drove directly into people on the Promenade des Anglais. A gunman fired into the crowd before being shot by police. Perhaps they are dead, I’m not sure.”

An Agence France-Presse reporter on the scene said he saw the white truck speeding toward people as they left the celebration.

“We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around,” he said.

Another witness said, “It is absolute chaos. … Police are flooding the streets, including anti-terrorism officers. Nobody knows what to do, except to hide away. Gunmen are meant to be targeting hotels.”

GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump reacted to news of the Nice attack.

“Another horrific attack, this time in Nice, France,” he said. “Many dead and injured. When will we learn? It is only getting worse.”

This was reported to be the truck that drove into the crowd:

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/07/Nice-TW3.jpg

More photos and video from the scene posted to social media (Warning: Graphic photos):

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/07/Nice-TW6.jpg

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/07/Nice-TW4.jpg

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/07/Nice-TW2.jpg

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/07/Nice-TW5.jpg

(Warning: The following video contains graphic images of the aftermath of an attack)

Developing …

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/07/truck-plows-into-crowd-on-bastille-day-in-france/#mfc42qMr7pFgFk3B.99

Message To The World: Obama Is NOT Doing A Good Job And Most Of The World Disapproves Of ISIS. Yet, Millions Approve Of Their Terrorism.

No confidence: Disapproval of Obama’s handling of terrorism reaches 54%, highest of his presidency

POSTED AT 4:01 PM ON NOVEMBER 20, 2015 BY ALLAHPUNDIT

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Only once before, in late fall 2014, did he even graze 50 percent disapproval. (That was probably a reaction to ISIS beheading Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff.) Now? Clear majority.

Having no strategy on Syria or ISIS and sounding like you’re on your “man period” at press conferences when pressed on that fact can do that to you.

I wonder if that’s a pure reaction to Paris, driving home the fact that more than a year of bombing ISIS hasn’t stopped them from launching major attacks in the west, or if it’s also a backlash to Obama wagging his finger at Americans who are nervous about admitting Syrian refugees. I’d guess it’s some of both. Americans are ready to crack down on the jihadis: 73 percent want the U.S. to participate in a military response to the Paris attack and 60 percent support increased use of American ground troops, although obviously an “increase” can mean a lot of things. There are 50 Special Forces troops in the field in Syria now; would people be okay with 50 more? How about 5,000 more?

Meanwhile, on Syrian refugees, ABC/WaPo finds almost the same number in opposition that Bloomberg found. Bloomberg saw 53 percent against accepting more refugees; ABC/WaPo has it at 54 percent, with 52 percent now less confident in America’s ability to screen refugees than they were before Paris. YouGov also conducted a poll this week on whether we should take more refugees from Syria. Guess what:

Another majority opposed. Democrats, although in favor on balance, can’t muster a majority to support Obama’s position. In fact, when you ask people specifically whether Syrian refugees should be welcomed into their home state, opposition rises slightly to 54 percent — the NIMBY effect in action, and precisely the same number that ABC/WaPo got. Nor is that any sort of historical outlier. Pew has taken polls during several major refugee crises over the past 60 yearsand usually (although not always) found that a majority of Americans are opposed to accepting people from abroad. Opposition to taking Syrian refugees right now is actually less strong than it was to taking Hungarian refugees in 1958, Indochinese in 1979, or Cubans in 1980. Maybe that’s a small concession to how brutal Syria’s war is or maybe it’s a function of the fact that 10,000 refugees is a comparatively small number. Either way, a majority opposed accepting refugees in all four cases. The next time Obama tells you that it’s un-American to not want to take refugees, ask him which America he has in mind.

One more poll for you, just because we’re on a subject that touches heavily on cultural assimilation. Today WaPo dusted off this graph from Pew from earlier this year to remind readers that most Muslims are not, in fact, terrorists or pro-terrorist:

Glass mostly full or glass a tiny bit empty? On the one hand, Muslims overwhelmingly view ISIS unfavorably. On the other hand, as Graeme Wood (who wrote an excellent analysis of ISISfor The Atlantic earlier this year) put it: “Alternate headline: tens of millions openly support the Islamic State.” Apply the same percentages here to the nearly one million migrants who have flooded into Germany this year. How many new ISIS fans is Deutschland housing these days?