Author: Admin

The Hill – by Timothy Cama

The two-year budget deal reached by congressional leaders would set up the biggest sale in history from the nation’s emergency oil stockpile.

In an effort to partially pay for new spending, the budget agreement would sell 100 million barrels of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the next decade.

Taken with sales Congress authorized last year to pay for other spending, the deal would leave the Department of Energy-managed reserve with just over 300 million barrels, or about half its previous size.   Continue reading “Budget deal envisions largest oil stockpile sale in history”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House moved swiftly early Friday to reopen the federal government and pass a $400 billion budget deal, overcoming opposition from both liberal Democrats and tea party conservatives to endorse enormous spending increases despite looming trillion-dollar deficits.

The 240-186 vote came in the pre-dawn hours, putting to bed a five-and-a-half hour federal freeze that relatively few would notice. Many who did quickly labeled it a pointless, head-scratching episode. The shutdown was the second in three weeks.   Continue reading “Congress votes to reopen government, passes budget deal”

UPI

Feb. 8 (UPI) — Syria’s foreign ministry appealed to the United Nations Security Council Thursday to condemn a U.S. assault that killed more than 100 government troops.

The U.S. military said the overnight airstrike in Deir el-Zour was retaliation for an “unprovoked attack” against the U.S.-led coalition occupying Syria.

The Syrian government, though, called the act a “barbaric aggression” and said the real purpose of the “so-called international coalition” was to support the Islamic State terror network.   Continue reading “Syria slams deadly U.S. strike as ‘war crime’”

Breitbart – by John Binder

Some illegal aliens shielded from deportation by the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are planning to self-deport from the United States if an amnesty is not passed soon, according to a CNN report.

Alex and Daniela Velez, two illegal alien sisters enrolled in the DACA program, were profiled for a CNN report which revealed how some illegal aliens are planning to leave the U.S. if they do not receive amnesty.   Continue reading “CNN: DACA Illegal Aliens Promising to Self-Deport if Amnesty Fails”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Yesterday we explained  that one of the reasons why Deutsche Bank stock had tumbled to the lowest level since 2016, is because its top shareholder, China’s largest and most distressed conglomerate, HNA Group, had reportedly defaulted on a wealth management product sold on Phoenix Finance according to the local press reports. While HNA’s critical liquidity troubles have been duly noted here and have been widely known, the fact that the company was on the verge (or beyond) of default, and would be forced to liquidate its assets imminently, is what sparked the selling cascade in Deutsche Bank shares, as investors scrambled to frontrun the selling of the German lender which is one of HNA’s biggest investments.   Continue reading “The Firesale Begins: China’s HNA Starts Liquidating Billions In US Real Estate”

CNN

More than two months after the death of a US Border Patrol agent on duty in Texas, an internal government memo and the FBI appear to cast doubt on theories that the agent and his partner were attacked or ambushed.

US Border Agent Rogelio “Roger” Martinez and his partner, Stephen “Michael” Garland, were found near a concrete-lined culvert in southwest Texas on November 18. Martinez died in a hospital in El Paso a few hours later. Garland also suffered injuries.   Continue reading “The FBI hasn’t found any evidence that border patrol agent was murdered”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. aircraft carried out rare, retaliatory strikes in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province on Wednesday against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after they attacked U.S.-backed fighters’ headquarters there, U.S. officials said.

No U.S. troops embedded with the local fighters at their headquarters were believed to have been wounded or killed in the attack, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.   Continue reading “U.S. strikes pro-Syrian forces after ‘unprovoked attack’ on partners’ base”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top leaders announced Wednesday they have sealed agreement on a two-year budget pact that would shower both the Pentagon and domestic programs with almost $300 billion above existing limits, giving wins to both GOP defense hawks and Democrats seeking billions for infrastructure projects and combatting opioid abuse.

The agreement is likely to be added to a stopgap spending bill that passed the House on Tuesday and is aimed at averting a government shutdown Thursday at midnight.  Continue reading “Senate leaders announce two-year budget pact”

Forbes – by Kenneth Rapoza

It’s not exactly an immigrant visa, though it does allow for foreigners to work legally in the United States for at least two years. But it is one of the most controversial immigration topics after building a wall and the “Dreamers.”

The H-1B visa, dominated by the big three Indian outsourcers, is in more demand this year than last. And nearly double where it was in 2016. The visa program has been roundly criticized mostly by American tech workers who have either been replaced by H-1B recipients or believe their pay has been stalled out because of competition from abroad.  Continue reading “Companies Say They Want More H-1B Foreign Workers”

USA Today

A fake tiger caused a real headache for a Scottish farmer and local police after a 45-minute showdown turned out to be a sham.

Scottish authorities said Tuesday that officers had an armed standoff with a stuffed tiger over the weekend.

“It’s true — our officers had a roaring shift on Saturday night,” the North East Police Division wrote in a Facebook post.   Continue reading “Stuffed tiger causes 45-minute police standoff at Scottish farm”

The Hill

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson warned Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that he will sue the Trump administration if the state isn’t removed from a plan to expand offshore drilling.

Ferguson in a letter sent to Zinke on Monday demanded that Washington be exempt from the plan to expand oil and gas drilling off the U.S., including off the state’s coast.  Continue reading “Washington state threatens to sue over Zinke offshore drilling plan”

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Fox News

Newly revealed text messages between FBI paramours Peter Strzok and Lisa Page include an exchange about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey to give to President Obama, who wanted “to know everything we’re doing.”

The message, from Page to Strzok, was among thousands of texts between the lovers reviewed by Fox News. The pair both worked at one point for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.   Continue reading “FBI lovers’ latest text messages: Obama ‘wants to know everything’”

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KCRA 3 News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities seized more than two dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from a California man, nearly five months after a judge barred him from having firearms, highlighting a backlog in a state system meant to seize guns from those who aren’t allowed to have them.

A judge in September ordered Mark Morman to surrender his firearms and ammunition. In January, agents from the California Department of Justice went to his home in North Hollywood looking for two guns that he had registered.   Continue reading “10,000+ people barred from owning guns in CA still have them”

WSOC TV – by Joe Bruno

ROCKWELL, N.C. – A Davidson County deputy is accused of robbing the F&M bank on West Main Street in Rockwell Tuesday afternoon.

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said Jeff Athey was arrested around 4 p.m., four minutes after walking into the bank he is accused of robbing with a semi-automatic weapon.   Continue reading “Davidson County deputy accused of robbing Rowan County bank”

New York Post – by Kevin Carty

America’s biggest tech giants are nothing if not popular. Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon rank as some of the most well-liked brands in the world. Pollsters find that 86 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of Google and 80 percent share a favorable impression of Amazon. The reason is simple — these companies’ products are entertaining, accessible and seemingly cheap.   Continue reading “Tech giants are the robber barons of our time”

CNN

The spokesman described the planning process as being in its “infancy.”

In response to the news, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump had asked the Defense Department to “explore” the idea.   Continue reading “Trump tells Pentagon to plan a military parade”

Yahoo News

The Defense Logistics Agency has 25,000 employees and processes 100,000 orders a day from the military and other federal agencies, for everything from food and fuel to maps and medical supplies.

According to Politico, the $40 billion-a-year logistics agency failed to document construction projects worth $800 million in 2016 alone, raising serious questions about the ongoing audit of the Pentagon that is scheduled to be completed this year.  Continue reading “Pentagon Loses Track of $800 Million”

Reuters

A Colorado sheriff’s deputy and a suspect were killed and four others, including three law enforcement officers, were wounded on Monday in a shooting that sprang from an auto theft investigation, officials said.

Officers from three Colorado agencies investigating an auto theft were confronted by a man at an apartment complex in Colorado Springs about 4 p.m., Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey said at a press conference. A civilian was among the injured, he said.  Continue reading “Colorado deputy, suspect killed, four others wounded”

USA Today

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico’s high school juniors would be required to apply to at least one college or show they have committed to other post-high school plans as part of a new high school graduation requirement being pushed by two state lawmakers.

The proposal is scheduled for its first legislative hearing on Thursday. If it eventually becomes law, New Mexico would be the first state to require post-high school plans of students, said Jennifer Zinth, who is the director of high school and STEM research at the Education Commission of the States, a Denver-based group that tracks education policy.  Continue reading “New Mexico bill would force high school students to apply to college”