During the latest update from California officials, four bodies have been recovered and four more have been located on the floor of the ocean as divers work to recover them,
A total of 30 people are missing after a catastrophic fire aboard a 75-foot chartered dive boat near Santa Cruz Island.  During a press conference Santa Barbara officials reveal  the discovery of four more bodies in addition to the four victims already recovered:

OXNARD, Calif. (Reuters) – Four bodies were recovered on Monday and 30 people were missing after a predawn fire sank a scuba diving boat off a Southern California island, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said.
The fire broke out aboard the Conception, a 75-foot (23-meter) boat, at about 3.15 a.m. while it was moored just off the shore of Santa Cruz Island, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

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It’s impossible to find words to describe what the people in Grand Bahama island must be going through.  More than 24 hours inside a 90-mile wide buzzsaw of sustained  cat-5/cat-4 winds, stationary over a populated island, is beyond comprehension.
Two, perhaps three, complete tide cycles; plus 20 feet of storm surge, plus the catastrophic wind must be completely overwhelming the land mass of the island… A topography changing event.  We pray for those who still have hours left amid this storm.

At 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.8 North, longitude 78.4 West. Dorian has become nearly stationary this afternoon. A slow westward to west-northwestward motion is expected to resume overnight and continue into early Tuesday. A turn toward the northwest is forecast by late Tuesday, with a northeastward motion forecast to begin by Wednesday night.
On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island into Tuesday morning. The hurricane will then move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Tuesday through Wednesday evening and then move dangerously close to the Georgia and South Carolina coasts on Wednesday night and Thursday.
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After benefiting from ridiculous preferential treatment by the World Trade Organization under “emerging nation” status for the past two decades, Beijing now turns to the WTO and files a complaint against the U.S. over recent tariffs and countervailing duties.

The substance to Beijing’s complaint is silly.  China claims there was a “leadership agreement” during the Osaka G20 summit not to apply additional tariffs.  However, the latest round of U.S. tariffs on China were in response to Chinese tariffs applied after Osaka.  Bottom line, Beijing is playing political games.
China, once again playing the wounded panda routine, is trying to set up a narrative that President Trump has broken his word.  That’s the cornerstone of their position, and they know such a complaint won’t go anywhere at the WTO; the complaint is really for the use, exploitation, and consumption by President Trump’s political opposition, domestic and international.  (emphasis mine)

HONG KONG/GENEVA (Reuters) – China has lodged a complaint against the United States at the World Trade Organization over U.S. import duties, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Monday.

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President Donald J Trump has issued the following proclamation in celebration of Labor Day 2019 and the vitality of the American worker:

[White House] On Labor Day, we recognize the remarkable American workers who comprise the greatest labor force in the world.  American workers are the heart and soul of our Nation’s economic resurgence.  Since my first day in office, I have followed through on my promise to fight for an agenda that puts American workers first.
My Administration’s pro-growth policies have enabled countless Americans to reclaim the dignity of work and reap the rewards of our thriving economy.  Since my election, the American economy has added more than 6 million new jobs, and for the past 17 months, the unemployment rate has held near record lows.  In 2017, as the unemployment rate decreased, the rates of injuries and illnesses in the workplace also declined.  Additionally, employers are paying higher wages, which are rising at the fastest pace in a decade.  Jobs are consistently becoming available faster than people can fill them.
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Thanks Stella for a great opportunity to celebrate our labors with some music!

Hurricane Dorian has been pummeling Grand Bahama Island for the last 14 hours.  Almost unfathomable damage and impacts to the island topography are anticipated. Wind speed has diminished slightly, and with slow continued westward movement hurricane watches and warning along the Florida coast have expanded.  [Details in FL Here]
Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina coastlines are all in various stages of  watches, warnings and mandatory evacuations.  The entire Southeast coast is vulnerable and watching. Stunningly, the hurricane is anticipated to remain on/near the U.S. coastline throughout the entire week.

[Hurricane Center] At 1100 AM EDT (1500 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.8 North, longitude 78.3 West. Dorian is moving very slowly toward the west near 1 mph (2 km/h). A slow westward to west-northwestward motion is forecast during the next day or so, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest and north.
On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island through much of today and tonight. The hurricane will then move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late tonight through Wednesday evening and then move dangerously close to the Georgia and South Carolina coasts on Wednesday night and Thursday.
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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Major category-5 hurricane Dorian continues to pummel the Bahamas as it slowly tracks west toward the Florida coast.  The storm is anticipated to turn North, but the timing of that right turn will make all the difference.  A few miles further West could mean full hurricane force winds against the Florida east coast. [Planning/Info Resource Here]
All residents in the watch and warning areas should heed the evacuation notices of local officials.  With winds of 180+ MPH Dorian is a very serious threat.
[Hurricane Center] At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 26.6 North, longitude 77.9 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 6 mph (9 km/h). A slower westward to west-northwestward motion is forecast during the next day or so, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest.

On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco and Grand Bahama islands overnight and through much of Monday. The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night.
Maximum sustained winds are near 180 mph (285 km/h) with higher gusts. Dorian is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson  Hurricane Wind Scale. Slow weakening is forecast, but fluctuations in intensity could occur couple of days. Regardless, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next few days.
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Warning, Toxic Masculinity Alert! LOL

After a hurricane, lunch-buckets are the second-best ‘buckets’… believe me.
So far over 3,000 power crews have arrived at the Daytona Intl Speedway staging area, with more en route.  That’s a not-so-small army of over 16,000 lineman and electrical utility personnel staged and prepared to jump into action depending on the impact zone of Hurricane Dorian.

The power crews are from all over the United States and Canada, with more on the way to alternate staging areas. The logistics of assembling an army of hardhats is intense, but these calloused and determined hands are some of the true-grit heroes in the aftermath of any hurricane event.
The Daytona International Speedway works great and holds almost perfect facility structure to support the scale of food, fuel and logistics.  Daytona is one of twenty-four staging areas throughout the Southeast where crews are assembling.
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