Author: Admin

Bloomberg – by Ari Natter

House Republicans moved to make it easier to build pipelines from Mexico or Canada, as they sought to prevent a repeat of President Barack Obama’s drawn out rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The requirement for a presidential permit for pipelines that cross U.S. international borders would be eliminated under the legislation, which was approved by a vote of 254-175 in the House of Representatives. Senate approval is still required before the bill can go to President Donald Trump’s desk, and it faces longer odds there.    Continue reading “House Passes Pipeline Bill to Ease Path for More Keystones”

Fox News – by Brooke Singman

A Federal Court hearing will take place Thursday over a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails during her tenure at the State Department, Judicial Watch announced Wednesday.

The case, Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State, was originally filed in May 2015, and will be heard before Judge James Boasberg in Washington D.C. U.S. District Court.  Continue reading “Hillary Clinton emails: Judicial Watch going to court for new emails from State Dept.”

AP – by Blake Nicholson

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Additional environmental review of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline is likely to take the rest of the year to complete, U.S. officials said in court documents in which they also advocate for keeping the line operating during the study.

Developer Energy Transfer Partners also is asking U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to keep the line open, saying a shutdown would cost the Texas-based company $90 million each month.   Continue reading “Months needed for additional study of Dakota Access pipeline”

The Salt Lake Tribune

Las Vegas • Armed assault and lawful protest were the opposing scenarios presented to a federal jury hearing the retrial in Las Vegas of four men who bore assault-style weapons during a standoff that stopped government agents from rounding up Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle in April 2014.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre displayed photos and told jurors during opening statements on Monday that evidence will show the defendants used what he called “the working end of a rifle barrel” to bend the law to their will, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported (http://bit.ly/2tmyc09 ).   Continue reading “Retrial begins for 4 defendants in Nevada Bundy standoff”

NPR – by Scott Neuman

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recertified Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal late Monday, but senior administration officials emphasized that Tehran is a dangerous threat to both U.S. interests and Middle East stability.

Under U.S. law, the State Department is required to recertify to Congress Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal every 90 days. Despite President Trump’s harsh criticism of the agreement forged under his predecessor, it is the second such certification since he took office.   Continue reading “State Department Certifies Iran’s Compliance With Nuclear Deal”

Fox News

House Republicans on Tuesday released a 10-year budget blueprint that includes proposed increases to military spending while attempting to balance the federal budget with cuts to programs like Medicaid and food stamps — setting up GOP efforts to overhaul the tax code this fall.

“It will lay out a path to balance, promote job creation, give our military the resources they need to protect our nation, and hold Washington accountable,” said House Budget Committee Chairwoman Diane Black, R-Tenn. “This budget also sets out reconciliation instructions to fix our broken tax code and make long-overdue reforms to mandatory spending.”   Continue reading “GOP House budget plan boosts military spending, cuts domestic programs”

Yahoo News

DALLAS (AP) — A white former Texas police officer has been indicted on a murder charge in the April shooting death of a black teenager who was leaving a party, prosecutors said Monday.

Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson announced that a grand jury indicted former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver in the death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Oliver was fired in May for violating department policies after police department officials reviewed body camera footage of the incident, which showed Oliver shooting his rifle into a moving vehicle that was traveling away from him and another officer.   Continue reading “Ex-Texas officer indicted on murder charge in teen’s death”

Reuters

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula triggered a tsunami warning but the threat has now passed, the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Pacific Tsunami Center said.

The quake struck at 11:34 a.m. on Tuesday (2334 GMT on Monday) some 125 miles (200 km) from the city of Nikolskoye on Bering island off the Kamchatka Peninsula. The epicenter was west of Attu, the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands.   Continue reading “Magnitude 7.8 quake hits off Russia’s Kamchatka: USGS”

Reuters – by Liz Hampton

HOUSTON (Reuters) – A Magellan Midstream Partners oil pipeline leaked some 1,200 barrels of crude on Thursday, triggering the evacuation of nearby homes while cleanup operations were underway, the company said in a statement.

Magellan’s 275,000 barrel per day (bpd) Longhorn Pipeline, which transports crude oil from Crane, Texas to Houston, ruptured about four miles (6 km) southwest of Bastrop, a town not far from the state capital of Austin. The company shut the pipeline and isolated the affected segment, it said.   Continue reading “Magellan Midstream Partners pipeline ruptures in Texas”

Las Vegas Review-Journal – by Jenny Wilson

Updated July 12, 2017 – 8:09 pm

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a brief reference to the ongoing Bunkerville standoff trial Wednesday when he offered praise to the lead prosecutor, but he declined to take a side in the case that his Justice Department is prosecuting.

“I’ve got to tell you, it’s impressive when you have a tough case, a controversial case, and you’ve got the top guy leading the battle, going to court, standing up and defending the office and the principles of the law,” Sessions said of Nevada Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre.
Continue reading “AG Sessions: ‘I’m not taking sides’ in Bundy case”

Fox News

The defense attorney for the lone person of interest connected to the search for four missing men in Pennsylvania said his client admitted Thursday to killing the four, and told authorities the location of the bodies.

Lawyer Paul Lang told reporters his client, Cosmo DiNardo, 20, confessed to “the four murders,” and is ready to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder.

“I’m sorry,” a shackled DiNardo said as he left the courthouse.   Continue reading “Cosmo DiNardo confesses to murders of 4 missing Pennsylvania men, will be spared death penalty, lawyer says”

The Daily Caller – by Alex Pfeiffer

President Donald Trump indicated he may support amnesty when talking to reporters aboard Air Force One Wednesday night.

The president was asked about Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly’s comments to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that President Obama’s amnesty for illegal immigrants who arrived as minors, DACA, might be terminated due to legal challenges from Republican states.   Continue reading “Trump Backs ‘Comprehensive Immigration’ Reform”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans who rely on Social Security can expect to receive their biggest payment increase in years this January, according to projections released Thursday by the trustees who oversee the program.

But older Americans shouldn’t get too excited.

The increase is projected to be just 2.2 percent, or about $28 a month for the average recipient. Social Security recipients have gone years with tiny increases in benefits. This year they received an increase of 0.3 percent, after getting nothing last year.   Continue reading “Trustees project biggest Social Security increase in years”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. prosecutors announced Thursday that they have charged more than 400 people with taking part in health care fraud and opioid scams that totaled $1.3 billion in false billing.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the collective action the “largest health care fraud takedown operation in American history” and said it indicates that some doctors, nurses and pharmacists “have chosen to violate their oaths and put greed ahead of their patients.”  Continue reading “US charging 412 in health fraud schemes worth $1.3 billion”

ABC News

The Latest on the search in Pennsylvania for four missing men (all times local):

12:10

Authorities say they’ve found multiple human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one of them.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said early Thursday morning that one victim has been identified as 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro.   Continue reading “Human remains found in search for 4 missing men”

New York Post – by Joe Vitale

He died freeing the beast he loved most.

A Canadian fisherman who saved dozens of whales after they became entangled in fishing lines and nets was killed during what turned out to be his last rescue.

Joe Howlett, 59, of Campobello Island, New Brunswick, was aboard a Fisheries Department vessel in search of a North Atlantic right whale that was caught in fishing rope near the island’s coast, according to the Canadian press.
Continue reading “Fisherman killed by whale after freeing it from tangled ropes”

Yahoo News

ST. JAMES, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man who shot and killed a suspected burglar was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail by a judge who said the homeowner opened fire “out of fear and maybe some stupidity.”

David Allen Pettersen, 65, of Madelia was sentenced in Watonwan District Court after pleading guilty earlier to dangerous discharge of a firearm. He originally was charged with manslaughter.   Continue reading “Minnesota homeowner gets 90 days in jail after killing man”