Salt Lake Tribune

Denver • The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it will not repay claims totaling more than $1.2 billion for economic damages from a mine waste spill the agency accidentally triggered in Colorado, saying the law prohibits it.

The EPA said the claims could be refiled in federal court, or Congress could authorize payments.

But attorneys for the EPA and the Justice Department concluded the EPA is barred from paying the claims because of sovereign immunity, which prohibits most lawsuits against the government.   Continue reading “EPA says it can’t pay economic damages from massive mine spill that sent tainted water into Utah”

ArsTecnica – by Joe Mullen

President-elect Donald Trump is just a week away from taking office. From the start of his campaign, he has promised big changes to the US immigration system. For both Trump’s advisers and members of Congress, the H-1B visa program, which allows many foreign workers to fill technology jobs, is a particular focus.

One major change to that system is already under discussion: making it harder for companies to use H-1B workers to replace Americans by simply giving the foreign workers a raise. The “Protect and Grow American Jobs Act,” introduced last week by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. and Scott Peters, D-Calif., would significantly raise the wages of workers who get H-1B visas. If the bill becomes law, the minimum wage paid to H-1B workers would rise to at least $100,000 annually, and be adjusted it for inflation. Right now, the minimum is $60,000.   Continue reading “Congress will consider proposal to raise H-1B minimum wage to $100,000”

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ABC News

Iran is to receive a huge shipment of natural uranium from Russia to compensate it for exporting tons of reactor coolant, diplomats say, in a move approved by the outgoing U.S. administration and other governments seeking to keep Tehran committed to a landmark nuclear pact.   Continue reading “Diplomats: Iran to Get Natural Uranium Batch”

NBC News

An armed passing motorist was credited with saving the life of an Arizona state trooper by shooting and killing a gunman who ambushed the trooper in the middle of a lonely interstate highway before dawn Thursday.

“I would just say at this point, thank you, because I don’t know that my trooper would be alive today without his assistance,” Col. Frank Milstead, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, said after he met with the seriously injured trooper at the hospital.   Continue reading “Ambushed Arizona Trooper Saved by Armed Passing Motorist Who Shot Attacker Dead”

Washington Post – by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis

President Obama declared five new national monuments Thursday ranging from a Birmingham, Ala. church bombed by segregationists to the coniferous forests of Oregon. He has now used his executive authority more than any other president in history to protect iconic historic, cultural and ecological sites across the country.   Continue reading “Obama names five new national monuments, including Southern civil rights sites”

USA Today

President Obama announced Thursday an end to the 20-year-old “wet foot, dry foot” policy that allowed most Cuban migrants who reach U.S. soil to stay and become legal permanent residents after one year.

President Obama issued a statement Thursday evening saying the U.S. is working to normalize relations with its one-time foe, and ending this policy was the next logical step.   Continue reading “Obama ends ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy for Cubans”

ABC News

American soldiers rolled into Poland on Thursday, fulfilling a dream some Poles have had since the fall of communism in 1989 to have U.S. troops on their soil as a deterrent against Russia.

Some people waved and held up American flags as U.S. troops in tanks and other vehicles crossed into southwestern Poland from Germany and headed toward the town of Zagan, where they will be based. Poland’s prime minister and defense minister will welcome them in an official ceremony Saturday.   Continue reading “US Troops Enter Poland, 1st Deployment at Russia’s Doorstep”

Reuters – by Annie Knox and Kim Palmer

Jan 11 (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump aims to open up federal lands to more energy development, tapping into a long-running and contentious debate over how best to manage America’s remaining wilderness.

The U.S. government holds title to about 500 million acres of land across the country, including national parks and forests, wildlife refuges and tribal territories stretching from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico. They overlay billions of barrels of oil and vast quantities of natural gas, coal, and uranium.
Continue reading “Trump calls for more drilling in national parks”

The Hill

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to take a question from a CNN reporter during his press conference, berating the network for “fake news.”

“Your organization is terrible,” Trump told CNN’s Jim Acosta when he tried to ask a question.
Continue reading “Trump berates CNN reporter: ‘You are fake news’”

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Educate Yourself – by Ken Adachi

Editor’s Note: This teleprompter-free, 6 minute, 45 second speech by Trey Gowdy is one of the more powerful and profound orations that you will likely hear in modern times. It’s on par with a Gettysburg address when you consider the precision, relevance, and quality of the thoughts being expressed in such a short window of time. This is the speech that elementary and high school teachers ought to be using to impress upon their students the real meaning of a constitutional republic and to understand that without the rule of law, we can have neither liberty nor justice; only disharmony, resentment, and tyranny. Continue reading “The Law Is the Reason We Exist ~ Rep. Trey Gowdy in the House of Representatives on March 17, 2016 (Jan. 9, 2017)”

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Be Your Own Leader – by Dana Gabriel

As Donald Trump prepares to become U.S. president on Jan. 20, the future of NAFTA is in doubt. He has promised to either renegotiate or withdraw from the trade agreement. Despite the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, there are still many different existing North American integration mechanisms that remain in place. Over the last year, the globalists have quietly laid the foundation to ensure their continental agenda continues. They are positioning themselves so they can try to better influence the new Trump administration in advancing deeper economic, political and security integration in North America.   Continue reading “Globalist Leaders Ensure North American Integration Mechanisms Remain in Place”

Fox News

DEVELOPING –  An armed suspect reportedly took hostages at a credit union on the campus of the University of Alabama Tuesday, sparking a tense standoff with armed police and a SWAT team.

The Alabama Credit Union’s president, Steve Swofford, told Fox 6 his employees were safe, but it was unclear whether other hostages were inside the building in Tuscaloosa, not far from the university’s law school.   Continue reading “Hostage situation at credit union on Univ. of Alabama campus”

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New Jersey Watchdog – by Kevin Glass

Restrictive rules being proposed for five lakes in New Jersey, including the largest body of freshwater in the state, could have a huge impact on tourism and summer fun.

Some of the proposals come at the request of lakefront residents who claim their properties are being subjected to too many unwelcome visitors.   Continue reading “Nanny State of the Week: Too much summer fun on New Jersey lakes”

Reuters

HOUSTON Jan 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday issued a Notice of Sale for crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserves, with bids for 8 million barrels of light, sweet oil due by Jan. 17.

The sale is part of a resolution to sell up to $375.4 million of crude in the fiscal year 2017 to fund operational improvements to the infrastructure that holds the emergency reserves.  Continue reading “US announces sale of 8M barrels from oil reserves”

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Tax Revolution Institute – by Chloe Anagnos

Each year, thousands of taxpayers are tricked into giving their financial information to scammers.

According to a report from the US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), victims have paid more than $50 million to scammers since October 2013. The average each victim loses individually? Close to $5,200.   Continue reading “New Year, New Tax Season, More IRS Phone Scams”

Fox News

MEXICO CITY –  Mexican prosecutors said Sunday that they have detained a U.S. citizen as the main suspect in the shooting of an official at the U.S. consulate in the western city of Guadalajara.

The federal Attorney General’s Office said that “a U.S. citizen was identified and detained for his presumed involvement in the case. This person will be deported to the United States, to determine his legal situation.”   Continue reading “US citizen arrested in shooting of consular official in Mexico”

Newsmax – by Solange Reyner

The FBI late Sunday night released additional documents related to the investigation into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, posting the information on its website and doing so without sending out a release or announcing the move.

WikiLeaks reported the news first.   Continue reading “FBI Releases More Hillary Emails, Says ‘Hostile Foreign Actors’ Accessed”