New York Post – by Danika Fears, Kirstan Conley and Selim Algar

State education officials plan to scrap a literacy exam given to prospective teachers and allow certification for some applicants who fail a performance-assessment test — moves that critics warned will weaken the pool of candidates.

The state Board of Regents will likely vote early next week on whether to ax the Academic Literacy Skills Test, one of four exams that teacher-wannabes have to pass for certification, officials said Monday.   Continue reading “New York considering major changes to teacher certification exams”

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Strange Politics

1999: Loretta Lynch is nominated by President Bill Clinton to be the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

2001-2010: Lynch is a partner at Hogan and Hartson, the Clinton’s private law firm.  Continue reading “How a Gangster Government Functions: The Clinton-Obama-Lynch-Comey Corruptocracy Timeline”

Fox News

Clearly annoyed by a drone hovering near her residence, a woman aims a gun at the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in a video that is going viral.

The drone’s-eye video shows the drone hovering close to a house. A woman appears on the porch and throws stones at the UAV, which flies higher to avoid the projectiles.   Continue reading “Woman brandishes gun, scares off drone”

Fox News

President Trump on Monday signed a revised executive order suspending the refugee program and entry to the U.S. for travelers from several mostly Muslim countries, curtailing what was a broadly worded directive in a bid to withstand court scrutiny.

As before, the order will suspend refugee entries for 120 days. But it no longer will suspend Syrian refugee admissions indefinitely.    Continue reading “Trump signs new immigration order, narrows scope of travel ban”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – A strain of bird flu has been detected in a commercial chicken breeder flock in Tennessee’s Lincoln County and the 73,500 birds will be culled to prevent the virus from entering the food system, U.S. and state agriculture officials said on Sunday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said this represented the first confirmed case of highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry in the United States this year.   Continue reading “U.S. confirms avian influenza in Tennessee chicken flock”

Observer – by Ken Kurson

A skirmish has broken out in Tucson as one law enforcement agency has barred another from carrying out its mission. The blue-on-blue battle reflects nationwide concern over just how far various policing bodies will go to enforce the nation’s laws and policies toward immigrants.

The row started on Friday when the Tucson Sector Border Patrol reported that a 5-foot-7, 215-lb man had escaped their custody during a visit to Banner University Medical Center, where he’d been taken for evaluation. The man had been arrested for illegal entry near Nogalez, Arizona.   Continue reading “Tucson PD Evicts Border Patrol Agents Trying to Catch Illegal Escapee”

Reuters

Supporters of Donald Trump clashed with counter-protesters at a rally in the famously left-leaning city of Berkeley, California, on a day of mostly peaceful gatherings in support of the U.S. president across the country.

At a park in Berkeley, across the bay from San Francisco, protesters from both sides struck one another over the head with wooden sticks and Trump supporters fired pepper spray as police in riot gear stood at a distance.   Continue reading “In day of pro-Trump rallies, California march turns violent”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – Mexico opened legal aid centers at its 50 consulates across the United States on Saturday to defend its citizens, the Mexican government said, amid worries of a crackdown on illegal immigration under U.S. President Donald Trump.

Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray exhorted the U.S. government to respect the rights of Mexicans and called for the United States to allow a path to legality for undocumented migrants.   Continue reading “Mexico opens migrant defense centers at U.S. consulates”

Fox News

President Trump made a startling claim Saturday that former President Barack Obama had Trump Tower phones tapped in the weeks before the November 2016 election.

In early Saturday morning tweets that began at 6:35 a.m., the president said the alleged wiretapping was “McCarthyism” and “Nixon/Watergate.”

“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism,” Trump wrote.   Continue reading “Trump accuses Obama administration of wiretapping Trump Tower phones”

The Verge – by Nick Statt

We’re still waiting for President Trump to weigh in definitively on the ongoing H-1B visa reform debate, but his administration just introduced a new change to the system that may be seen as hostile to the tech industry. In a press released posted this evening to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, the Trump administration said it was instituting a temporary suspension of what is known as premium processing for H-1B visa petitions. The change is slated to take effect on April 3rd, 2017 for all H-1B petitions, and it may last up to six months.   Continue reading “US to suspend fast processing of H-1B visas for high-skilled workers”

LA Times

Two MS-13 gang members from El Salvador, both in the United States illegally, held three teenage girls against their will and killed one of them in what was described as a satanic ritual, authorities in Houston said Friday.

Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, have been arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and murder — both first-degree felonies punishable by up to life in prison. Bond has been set at $300,000 for each, but immigration detainers will keep both behind bars.   Continue reading “Two gang members in U.S. illegally are accused of kidnapping 3 girls, killing 1 in a satanic ritual”

Natural News – by Vicki Batts

Nestle is looking to once again rob the public of their water. The corporate giant came under fire last year for bottling water in drought-stricken California, and now, they’re looking to cash out in Michigan. Residents of the state have until March 3rd, 2017 to speak out and stop Nestle’s greedy water grab.

Right now, Nestle has filed for a permit that would allow them to double the amount of groundwater the corporation can take from the Muskegon River watershed — for just $200. Keep in mind, Nestle would be bottling this water and selling it for massive profits. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting public commentary until March 3rd, so be sure to submit a comment if you want your voice on this matter to be heard.   Continue reading “Stop Nestle from stealing millions of gallons of water from the Great Lakes”

ABC News 7

OCEAN GROVE, New Jersey (WABC) — Three homes, a vacant hotel and the five-story condo complex were damaged or destroyed by flames in Ocean Grove Friday morning.

The fire broke out at 5:15 a.m. Seven total structures were involved.

It appears to have started in the Warrington Rest Home on Lake Avenue, a former hotel that was more recently used by the state for housing. That structure was recently vacated by the state, the residents moved out, and it was under renovation.   Continue reading “Ocean Grove, New Jersey, Buildings On Fire”

The Daily Caller – by Michael Bastasch

It’s his first day on the job and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke already signed two secretarial orders, including one overturning a ban on using lead ammunition while hunting on federal lands.

Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe put the ban on lead ammunition in place the day before President Barack Obama left office. Zinke said the policy was put in place without enough input from stakeholders.   Continue reading “Interior Sec. Zinke Repeals Federal Ban On Hunting With Lead Bullets”

UPI – by Brooks Hays

March 2 (UPI) — DNA is nature’s hard drive, capable of storing, replicating and transmitting massive amounts of information. Researchers in New York found a way to use DNA like an actual computer hard drive, successfully storing, replicating and retrieving several digital files.

A pair of scientists from Columbia University and the New York Genome Center selected five files — including a computer operating system and computer virus — and compressed them into a master file. They transcribed the master file into short strings of binary code, combinations of ones and zeros.   Continue reading “Scientists successfully store computer files in DNA”

Reuters

Federal law enforcement officials conducting a criminal probe of heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc searched three of its facilities on Thursday, prompting a sharp sell-off in the company’s stock.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney Office for the Central District of Illinois, Sharon Paul, confirmed that federal law enforcement officials conducted searches at locations in Peoria, East Peoria and Morton, Illinois, but did not say why agents raided the three facilities.   Continue reading “U.S. authorities raid Caterpillar’s Illinois facilities”

Miami Herald – by Ken Ritter, AP

LAS VEGAS – A lawyer for a Nevada rancher whose father fought the government for decades over grazing and property rights said Thursday he’ll appeal a federal judge’s order to pay $587,000 and remove his livestock from federal lands by the end of the month.

Mark Pollot, attorney for Wayne N. Hage, said in a brief email that they disagree with the judge’s decision and that he was working on a notice of appeal.

Hage is the son of cattleman and longtime Sagebrush Rebellion figure Wayne Hage, who died in 2006.
Continue reading “US judge: Nevada rancher’s son must pay $587K, remove cattle”

Activist Post – by Jay Syrmopoulos

In an effort to push back against repressive federal control of marijuana policy, bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress by representatives Tom Garrett (R-VA) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to exclude cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which absurdly lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance — a classification that denotes a substance being dangerous and having no known medicinal value.   Continue reading “Landmark Bill Introduced In Congress Would Legalize Cannabis On Federal Level”

Activist Post – by Brandon Turbeville

If anyone doubts that the Trump administration is merely the continuation of the Anglo-American establishment, at least where Syria and Western imperialism is concerned, they need only follow the recent events having taken place in the United Nations Security Council.

In a draft initiated and supported by the United States, U.K., and France, a plan was put forward to impose new sanctions on the Syrian government in the form of a ban on all shipments of helicopters to the army or the government. It also included sanctions on a number of Syrian officials and government institutions allegedly involved in “chlorine attacks.” The draft resolution received nine votes, the minimum necessary for passing such a document. However, both the Russians and the Chinese as well as the Bolivians vetoed the measure with Egypt, Kazakhstan, and Ethiopia abstaining.   Continue reading “U.S. Sponsors New Sanctions Against Syria At UN Security Council, Russia “Has No Choice” But To Veto”