News in Photos

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Donald Trump’s annual Halloween soiree, despite the hype, turned out to be a “dull and insipid” affair, according to most attendees. Partygoers had expected a lavish seasonal fete, bustling with celebrities adorned in creative and surprising costumes. And although the gathering offered the finest foods and libations, not to mention a garish spectacle of decorations that featured portraits of Trump groping weirdly fetishized jack-o’-lanterns, guests said they felt underwhelmed. As one reporter observed, “We expected a crazy assortment of wild outfits, but it was so dull and unoriginal. Everyone dressed up as ghosts. Yawn, right?”

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On Friday afternoon, following a contentious televised altercation with a former Obama appointee, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) ridiculed as insufficient the president’s plan to continue supporting the Free Syrian Army (FSA) -- a moderate terror group that, like the United States, opposes al Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front, the regime of Syria’s Bashar Assad and ISIS. McCain accused President Obama of rejecting recommendations from national security advisers to further arm and train the FSA. “The commander-in-chief needs to start behaving like one; he needs to get his head in the game,” McCain told reporters Friday. “This is foreign policy 101. You arm one terror group to eliminate another. And when those guys turn on you, you arm a new extremist sect to put down that rebellion.” Because ISIS is now threatening Western targets, McCain is seeking support for a bold move to arm American domestic terrorists such as the Ku Klux Klan, Symbionese Liberation Army and Aryan Nations to take up the fight.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Hundreds of students from San Narciso College were arrested Tuesday night after violent, politically charged protests erupted across the campus in response to the announcement of President Obama's reelection. Police say the incident started with an argument shortly after 9:00 p.m., which escalated in an exchange of racial epithets. Eventually, around midnight, a fire started as outraged students burned campaign posters depicting support for Barack Obama. "It was the fire alarm that alerted police to the mayhem," said SNPD spokesman Ren Williams. Some nearby residents criticized police for their three-hour response time. Williams attributed the delay to the students themselves. "This is one of the most staunchly Republican towns in the nation. Certainly the most conservative in California. Therefore, none of the students could locate a Barack Obama poster or yard sign within county limits. So they made their own. Some even constructed elaborate effigies. That process took them a few hours. And that's when the blaze finally began." But school officials painted a much different picture, describing the demonstration as a misguided attempt to celebrate Bonfire Night -- a British holiday also known as Guy Fawkes Day -- on the wrong date.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Fans and critics of Chick-fil-A have taken to the streets to show their support or express their condemnation for the company, which recently courted controversy when its president, Dan Cathy, publicly denounced same-sex marriage. While proponents of equal rights protested with signs bearing the phrase "Cluck Off," religious conservatives lined city blocks to be part of "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," less formally known as "Cook a Queer Clucker for Christ" among certain circles. More than 600,000 people RSVPed to the event on Facebook, which was orchestrated by former presidential candidate and notably obese, hardcore overeater of fat-fried foods, Mike Huckabee.