The Tampa Bay Times reports: Publix is joining the growing list of stores requesting that customers not openly carry guns in states where it is legal to do so. “Publix respectfully requests that only law enforcement officials openly carry firearms in our stores,” Publix said in a statement to ABC affiliate WPLG . Although Florida is not an open-carry state, …

NBC News reports: Exposure to “conversion therapy” — efforts by a secular or religious professional to change a transgender person’s gender identity — is associated with thoughts of and attempts at suicide, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. Dr. Jack Turban, the study’s lead author and a resident physician in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, …

The Blast reports: Bristol Palin’s son bagged his first black bear during a hunting trip with the reality star’s ex, Levi Johnston. 10-year-old Tripp just returned to civilization from a camping and hunting trip with his father and stepmom, Sunny Johnston. The former “Dancing With the Stars: Juniors” contestant could be seen posing with the dead black bear after the …

The New York Times reports: The White House was directly involved in pressing a federal scientific agency to repudiate the weather forecasters who contradicted President Trump’s claim that Hurricane Dorian would probably strike Alabama, according to several people familiar with the events. Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, told Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, to have the …

CNBC reports: The Trump administration is preparing to ban flavored e-cigarettes as federal health officials call for restrictions to combat an outbreak of a mysterious lung disease that has sickened hundreds and killed at least six people, U.S. health secretary Alex Azar told reporters Wednesday. President Donald Trump held a policy meeting on the issue at the White House on …

“If you’re wondering why so many progressives are mourning Bolton’s firing tonight, it’s because Bolton himself fundamentally was a man of the left. There was not a human problem John Bolton wasn’t totally convinced could be solved with the brute force of government. “That’s an assumption of the left, not the right. Don’t let the mustache fool you. John Bolton …

“You better believe I’m praying. You better believe I’m up there singing the name of Jesus. You better believe I’m walking around those parameters saying, ‘I lift this up and I dedicate every ounce of this place as holy ground and I dedicate it by the superior blood of Jesus.’ “Every door that God opens for me, I invoke the …

CBS News reports: Aggravation over Iran and the Taliban had intensified recently as Mr. Trump wanted a meeting to take place at Camp David and is open to a meeting with Iran’s president. But three sources directly involved tell CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett that the main irritant that drove Mr. Trump to distraction was his belief that …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Presidential hopeful Joe Biden has cemented his frontrunner status among the Democratic contenders in Texas, a delegate-rich early primary state that will see Houston play host on Thursday to the third round of the Democratic debates. A Quinnipiac University poll puts Biden at 28% among Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic in Texas, …

Moments ago, at a solemn ceremony marking the collapse of the South Tower, a man paused from reading the names of victims, one of whom was his mother, to launch an attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar and Democrats, calling out “the squad” for their apparent failure to recognize that 9/11 was an assault on “our Judeo-Christian values.” This man repeated …

Some longtime readers may recall that this story was posted annually on this day for the first few years of JMG, making its most recent appearance in 2009. That Day Manhattan, September 11th, 2001 That day, I got to my office on 42nd Street at about 8:55am. About ten minutes later, I got a call from Thomas in Orlando. “Honey, …

CNN reports: A dozen leaders of a California-based ministry have been indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of forced labor of mostly homeless people, a US attorney said. Imperial Valley Ministries leaders recruited people by promising food and shelter, and instead forced them to beg for money for nine hours a day, six days a week and to give …

Yahoo News reports: A debate billed as a major showdown between competing visions of religious conservatism last night revealed, more than anything, the profound fear that drives the “culture war” on the right: that Christians will face literal extermination at the hands of Democrats if Republicans lose power. That’s not just a metaphor: One side, represented by a prominent Catholic …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson’s suspension of the UK Parliament is unlawful, Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled. A panel of three judges at the Court of Session found in favour of a cross-party group of politicians who were challenging the prime minister’s move. The judges said the PM was attempting to prevent Parliament holding the government to account ahead …

From the owner of a Miami Beach nightlife agency: For 21 years, I have maintained an impeccable reputation for documenting Miami Beach’s storied social scene. We wholly reject Jerry Falwell Jr.’s baseless allegation in yesterday’s Politico report by Brandon Ambrosino that one of our pictures was “photo-shopped” or manipulated in any fashion. We, in fact, did not know Politico’s purpose …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump is taking credit for turning around a faltering Republican congressional candidate and hoisting him to victory in a North Carolina special election. Trump wrote on Twitter late Tuesday that Dan Bishop was down by 17 points three weeks ago, but after the 9th Congressional District candidate asked Trump for help, “we changed his …

Just in via press release: Critically acclaimed, platinum-selling, global pop star MIKA debuts a new song “Sanremo” today.  The track follows the release of “Ice Cream” and “Tiny Love” from MIKA’s highly anticipated new album, My Name Is Michael Holbrook, out October 4. Pre-order the album HERE. In celebration of the forthcoming album, MIKA will make a long-awaited return to …

The New York Times reports: Few races are as convoluted as the one in North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District, which is — 10 months after Election Day 2018 — the last vote of the midterm elections. Polls show an extremely close race between State Senator Dan Bishop, a Republican, and the entrepreneur Dan McCready, a Democrat. Mr. McCready appeared to …

The Associated Press reports: The proportion of Americans without health insurance edged up in 2018 — the first evidence from the government that coverage gains under President Barack Obama’s health care law might be eroding under President Donald Trump. The Census Bureau also said in an annual report Tuesday that household income rose last year at its slowest pace in …

Fox News is thrilled to report: The Supreme Court is considering an emergency appeal from the Justice Department that would allow them to enforce, for now, the Trump administration’s ban on asylum for anyone trying to cross the southern border by transiting through a third country. The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a supplemental brief with the justices, criticizing a …