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ByBenNuckols TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Forconspir- acy theorists, the bizarre rumors of "pizzagate" didn't end when a man brought a gun to a Washington res- taurant this week in a mis- guided attempt to res- cue nonexistent child sex slaves. Instead, the shoot- ing sparked discussion that the conspiracy runs deeper. On blogs, YouTube chan- nels and internet radio shows devoted to conspir- acy theories, the arrest of Edgar Maddison Welch on Sunday was just the lat- est "false flag," a term for a cover-up or distraction or- chestrated by the govern- ment or other powerful fig- ures. The persistent belief in the false-flag theory shows just how stubborn fabri- cated conspiracies can be, according to experts. According to police, Welch drove to a restaurant called Comet Ping Pong to investigate the "pizzagate" rumors that Hillary Clin- ton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, and other Washington insiders were harboring child sex slaves there. Police said Welch fired several shots inside the pizzeria on Sunday with a military-style rifle but sur- rendered peacefully after he found no evidence of a secret pedophilia ring. There's no evidence to back up the rumors about the restaurant, a beloved neighborhood institution in the wealthy enclave of Chevy Chase. In the past year, Comet employees have reported a damaged car, a stolen bag and online ha- rassment; otherwise, it's never been the subject of a police investigation. But to true believers, the absence of proof is just an- other sign of a conspiracy and a well-orchestrated cover-up. James Fetzer, a longtime conspiracy theorist who also believes the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, told The Associated Press that Welch's visit to the pizzeria was staged to distract the public from the truth of the "pizzagate" al- legations. "There's no doubt about it in my mind," said Fetzer, a former philosophy pro- fessor and the founder of a group called Scholars for 9/11 Truth. "You see, this is part of the whole idea to smear the alternative me- dia, which are putting out so much more truth than the mainstream." Welch — a fitfully em- ployed, 28-year-old father of two from North Caro- lina — is being held without bail. He told The New York Times in a jailhouse inter- view that he "just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way." Once a conspiracy theory gains traction, confronting true believers with facts is pointless, said Michael Barkun, a professor emer- itus at Syracuse Universi- ty's Maxwell School and the author of "A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America." "When you get to con- spiracy theories like this, they're closed systems of ideas," Barkun said. "They're constructed in such a way that there isn't any evidence you can pres- ent to someone who be- lieves them that will lead a believer to change his or her mind." "Pizzagate" believers point out references to pizza in Podesta's hacked emails, which were pub- lished by WikiLeaks, and Comet owner James Ale- fantis' ties to Democratic donors. They scour Alefan- tis' social-media posts and even his restaurant's menu for "code words" and "sym- bols" that supposedly ref- erence child sexual abuse. They jump to incredible conclusions based on Pod- esta's and Alefantis' tastes in art. Fetzer and other conspir- acy theorists seized on the fact that Welch had dab- bled in movie acting as a giveaway that his visit to the restaurant was staged. Welch wrote a short film and appeared as a victim in a slasher movie alongside a friend, Kathy Sue Holtorf, who told the AP that Welch "never wanted to become an actor." Blogger Joachim Hago- pian, a false-flag propo- nent, told the AP that con- spirators look for "a patsy or stooge" to pose as a lone gunman with an assault ri- fle. Welch, he said, "fits the pattern" with his acting background. "He's got an IMDB (In- ternet Movie Database) pro- file," Hagopian said. Conspiracy theorists have made similar claims about parents of the 20 children who were killed at Sandy Hook in Newtown Connecticut, in 2012, call- ing them "crisis actors" pre- tending to grieve for nonex- istent children. Sandy Hook was a false flag meant to promote gun control, the conspiracy theorists said. Just this week, a Florida woman was charged with threatening the parent of a child who died in the shoot- ing because she thought the attack was a hoax, accord- ing to federal authorities. The ultimate false flag in modern times, accord- ing to conspiracy theorists, was Sept. 11, 2001. Some be- lieve the World Trade Cen- ter towers were destroyed by the government, using bombs or other means, as part of a plot to justify the subsequent wars in Afghan- istan and Iraq. Hagopian said he be- lieves attacks since then — including the mass shoot- ings last year in San Ber- nardino, California, and this year at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida — also were false flags. Hillary Clinton has been linked by conspiracy theo- rists to child sex abuse since the mid-1990s, Barkun said. Andrew Breitbart, the late founder of right-wing site Breitbart News — later led by President-elect Donald Trump's chief strategist, Stephen Bannon — tweeted in 2011 that Podesta was a "world class underage sex slave op cover-upper." WASHINGTON Co ns pi ra cy t he or is ts s ay ' Pi zz ag at e' s ho ot in g ju st a f al se fl ag "When you get to conspiracy theories like this, they're closed systems of ideas." — Michael Barkun, professor emeritus from Syracuse University and author addressing conspiracy theories Washington 40/28 New York 38/28 Miami 77/70 Atlanta 49/31 Detroit 31/21 Houston 55/50 Chicago 24/21 Minneapolis 15/14 Kansas City 38/32 El Paso 62/41 Denver 52/30 Billings 24/7 Los Angeles 67/60 San Francisco 61/47 Seattle 44/39 AIRQUALITYFORECAST Whatitmeans:0-50:Good; 51-100:Moderate; 101-150:Unhealthyforsensitivepeople; 151+:Unhealthyforall. Source: Airnow.gov City Today'sairquality City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W CALIFORNIA CITIES National and world forecast s-sunny,pc-partly cloudy,c-cloudy,sh-showers,t-thunderstorms,r-rain,sf-snow flurries,sn-snow,i-ice City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Summary National Extremes World Extremes North and South America Asia, Australia Africa CarsonCity Hawthorne Reno Herlong Lovelock Sacramento Yuba City Napa Ukiah Chico Corning Lakeview Alturas Susanville Redding Red Bluff Laytonville Fort Bragg Point Arena Eureka Redway Mount Shasta Yreka Crescent City Ashland Shown is today's weather. Temperatures are today's highs and tonight's lows. Shown are today's noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. ALMANAC Precipitation Temperatures ALLERGY REPORT Pollenlevels Source: National Allergy Bureau TODAY'S UV INDEX (The higher the number, the faster skin damage will occur.) Extreme Very high High Moderate Low SUN SETTINGS, MOON PHASES Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Hoursofsunlight River Levels SacramentoRiver Flood 7a.m. 24-hr Stage yest. chg. Lake Levels Elevation Yesterday Storage (acre-feet) Percent Capacity Q: A: SUNDAY 54° 36° MONDAY 54° 39° Dull and dr eary Times of clouds and sun TUESDAY 53° 38° Ra in WEDNESDAY 53° 34° Low c louds TODAY 60° 36° Cloudy with a few showers. Mostly cloudy and chilly tonight. High ....................................................................... 47° Low ........................................................................ 42° Normal high ......................................................... 55° Normal low ........................................................... 38° Record high ............................................. 75° in 1940 Record low .............................................. 20° in 2009 Humidity noon today ........................................ 92% 24 hours through 2 p.m. yesterday ................. 0.01" Month to date ................................................... 0.83" Normal month to date ..................................... 1.06" Season to date .................................................. 7.56" Normal season to date .................................... 5.12" Red Bluff through 2 p.m. yesterday Chico .................................................................. Good Napa ........................................................... Moderate Red Bluff .............................................. Not available Redding ............................................... Not available Yuba City ................................................... Moderate Allergy, dust and dander today: Beneficial Grass .................. Absent Mold .........................Low Trees .................. Absent Weeds ................ Absent 1 Highest at 11 a.m. Today 7:21 a.m. 4:43 p.m. 2:38 p.m. 3:08 a.m. Sunday 7:21 a.m. 4:43 p.m. 3:20 p.m. 4:20 a.m. 9 hr., 22 min. Dec13 Full Dec20 Last New Dec28 First Jan5 aboveBendBridge......................27 ...........3.60 ......+1.60 atHamiltonCity.........................148 ......130.48 ......+1.05 atOrdFerry................................114 ........97.97 ......+1.07 atRedBluffDiversionDam.......253 ......239.30 ......+0.80 atTehamaBridge ......................213 ......202.30 ......+1.30 atVinaWoodsonBridge............183 ......168.25 ......+1.35 BlackButte ....................442.63..............36,766 .....25.6% LakeOroville..................725.73.........1,461,673 .....39.1% LakeShasta .................1004.61.........2,929,990 .....64.4% LakeTrinity..................2267.59.........1,115,277 .....42.1% Whiskeytown...............1198.28............205,034 .....85.0% Weather Trivia ™ During what 4-month period are hurricanes least likely to occur? December through March Today Sunday Anaheim 67/57/c 68/54/pc Bakersfield 68/57/c 65/48/pc Chula Vista 66/57/c 65/53/pc Crescent City 53/43/sh 50/41/r Death Valley 69/53/pc 71/48/s Eureka 54/42/sh 52/42/r Fremont 63/44/r 55/43/pc Fresno 64/52/r 61/41/pc Glendale 66/57/c 67/52/pc Huntington Beach 64/58/c 65/56/pc Irvine 65/57/c 66/55/pc Lake Tahoe 49/30/r 44/28/c Long Beach 66/57/c 68/53/pc Los Angeles 67/60/c 67/55/pc Mammoth Mountain 53/27/sn 49/22/pc Modesto 65/48/r 60/41/pc Monterey 61/45/r 55/39/pc Moreno Valley 67/53/pc 65/47/pc Napa 61/38/r 57/38/pc Needles 72/54/pc 73/50/pc Oakland 61/45/r 56/41/pc Oxnard 67/55/c 66/49/pc Redding 57/33/r 53/35/pc Riverside 68/52/pc 66/49/pc Sacramento 62/41/sh 55/38/pc San Bernardino 68/55/pc 66/49/r San Diego 66/59/c 65/55/pc San Francisco 61/47/r 55/45/pc San Jose 63/46/r 58/43/pc San Luis Obispo 66/55/r 68/46/pc Santa Ana 66/58/c 66/55/pc Santa Barbara 69/50/c 67/43/pc Santa Clarita 68/52/pc 68/46/pc Stockton 63/45/r 57/39/pc Ventura 66/55/c 64/48/pc Yosemite Valley 53/31/r 52/30/c Today Sunday Albuquerque 54/36/s 58/34/pc Atlanta 49/31/s 49/42/pc Baltimore 39/23/s 41/34/c Boston 31/23/s 36/30/pc Buffalo 31/21/sf 32/28/sn Chicago 24/21/sn 31/24/sn Cincinnati 32/23/pc 41/38/r Dallas 54/48/c 75/44/pc Denver 52/30/pc 40/16/c Detroit 31/21/c 32/26/sn El Paso 62/41/pc 70/43/s Fargo 3/2/sn 16/-3/sn Honolulu 80/69/c 80/68/pc Houston 55/50/c 75/65/c Indianapolis 31/24/pc 37/33/sn Kansas City 38/32/pc 42/19/c Las Vegas 62/50/pc 65/47/pc Louisville 36/27/s 45/42/r Miami 77/70/c 79/73/sh Minneapolis 15/14/sn 24/9/sn New Orleans 53/44/s 68/59/pc New York City 38/28/s 37/35/sn Oklahoma City 49/40/pc 63/29/pc Cold air will linger over the Midwest and Eastern states today. Bands of heavy snow will diminish downwind of the Great Lakes. Most areas along the Atlantic coast and from the southern Appala- chians to the southern Plains can expect a sunny day. An exception will be clouds and showers in southeastern Florida and the Keys. A series of storms originating from the Northwest states will begin to produce an area of snow over the northern Plains. This snow will become heavier as it moves eastward over the Upper Midwest on Sunday and Sunday night. High ........................... 81° in Marathon, FL Low .............. -27° in Hohnholz Ranch, CO High ...... 110° in West Roebuck, Australia Low ...................... -58° in Zhilinda, Russia Bogota 66/45/t 66/45/pc Buenos Aires 90/65/s 83/63/s Caracas 88/77/pc 88/78/pc Ensenada 70/54/pc 68/50/pc Mexico City 68/48/pc 71/47/pc Montreal 22/13/c 25/20/pc Rio de Janeiro 87/78/t 92/76/t Tijuana 67/57/pc 65/54/pc Toronto 31/19/sf 30/28/sn Vancouver 40/37/sn 42/27/c Orlando 72/56/s 79/63/s Philadelphia 39/26/s 37/35/c Phoenix 73/51/pc 73/51/s Pittsburgh 31/22/pc 35/33/sn Portland, ME 28/13/pc 31/21/pc Portland, OR 46/41/sh 47/38/r St. Louis 38/31/pc 44/30/c Salt Lake City 47/33/r 43/31/c Seattle 44/39/sh 45/37/c Tucson 75/47/pc 74/48/s Washington, DC 40/28/s 42/37/c Cairo 67/50/s 68/52/s Casablanca 72/47/s 71/47/pc Johannesburg 81/58/c 76/58/c Kinshasa 88/72/c 92/73/t Lagos 89/78/pc 88/77/pc Nairobi 77/57/pc 78/59/pc Tripoli 69/52/pc 67/51/c Baghdad 59/33/s 62/38/s Beijing 42/19/s 43/30/pc Hong Kong 75/65/pc 74/67/s Jerusalem 56/44/pc 55/44/pc Kabul 48/26/sh 49/28/s Manila 88/77/r 88/76/r Melbourne 68/54/pc 70/48/s New Delhi 80/57/c 80/54/c Seoul 37/21/s 40/23/s Singapore 88/78/pc 85/77/t Sydney 75/67/s 79/69/pc Tehran 47/31/s 48/32/s Tokyo 54/39/s 50/40/pc Amsterdam 53/45/sh 51/40/pc Athens 62/49/s 63/49/s Belgrade 49/29/pc 50/32/s Berlin 48/42/c 45/41/r Budapest 49/31/pc 50/35/s Dublin 50/40/pc 49/40/pc London 55/38/r 50/37/pc Madrid 57/37/pc 54/34/pc Moscow 30/16/sf 19/10/sn Paris 50/42/pc 52/37/c Rome 60/43/s 62/49/pc Stockholm 34/29/c 31/18/sn Vienna 50/33/s 47/37/pc Zurich 45/28/s 40/30/pc 54/30 64/33 57/30 52/29 53/24 62/41 60/41 61/38 58/34 60/41 60/38 39/22 42/22 49/29 57/33 60/36 52/33 55/43 56/44 54/42 53/36 47/26 48/29 53/43 46/33 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016 734MainStreet 530-690-2477 11am-9pm Mon.-Thur. 11am - 10pm Fri. & Sat. 11am-8pm Sun. 9 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP Pizza Restaurant 744MainSt.,RedBluff Fine Quality Gifts& Accessories (across from the clock tower) HOLIDAY SALE FREE Earrings ~NEWARRIVALS~ ❉ BOXED CHEESE STRAWS ❉ CHOCOLATE CHERRIES ❉ CRYSTAL BRACELETS ❉ HIGH QUALITY HANDBAGS ❉ WAX-POTTERY CANDLES ❉ GLASS ART ORNAMENTS ComeandShopwithUs (withpurchase of $25) 2498 S. 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