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RT

A government audit has revealed that roughly $619 billion in federal grants and loans given out in fiscal year 2012 have not been properly accounted for.

The latest figures come courtesy of the US Government Accountability Office, who on Friday published a report in which it warned that much-needed oversight is all too absent from a federal awards website after it discovered gross instances of ”underreporting and inconsistencies” on USASpending.gov.   Continue reading “Government transparency website is missing billions of dollars, watchdogs report”

USA Today – by Teresa Blackman

DUNDEE, Ore. — Missing Dundee mom Jennifer Huston has been found dead in a remote area of Yamhill County near Sheridan, police said.

A property owner spotted her dark green SUV Tuesday morning in a grove of trees near Highway 18. He alerted police around 10:30 a.m., who soon found Huston’s body nearby, according to the Newberg-Dundee Police Department. They said there were no clues which indicated foul play, but this remains “an active death investigation.”   Continue reading “Missing Oregon mom found dead in remote area”

El Paso Times – by Luis Carlos Lopez

A convoy of anti-illegal immigration demonstrators was pulled over by El Paso police after receiving a call alleging that one of its members had threatened a pro-immigration activist who was following the convoy through the city on Sunday, officials said.

Police stopped the convoy of about 10 vehicles on Interstate 10 East between Lomaland Drive and Lee Trevino Drive early Sunday evening, backing up traffic to McRae Boulevard.   Continue reading “El Paso police stop anti-illegal immigration convoy after alleged gun threat”

USA Today – by Jim Michaels and Tom Vanden Brook

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Army major general was killed in an attack at an Afghan military base in Kabul on Tuesday, according to a defense official who asked not to be named.

If confirmed would be the highest ranking American officer to be killed in the war in Afghanistan.

A defense official confirmed the information on the condition he not be named since the family had not been fully notified yet.   Continue reading “Man in Afghan uniform kills U.S. general”

Daily Mail – by Richard Spillett

An incoming plane has been escorted into Manchester Airport by the RAF ‘as a result of information received by the pilot about a possible device on board’, Greater Manchester Police said.

It is thought that the plane involved was a Qatar Airways Airbus A330, which had reportedly come from Doha, and that the RAF plane was a Typhoon from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.   Continue reading “RAF fighter jet escorts passenger plane into Manchester airport amid captain’s fears of device on board”

Reuters

Three interim shelters that have housed thousands of children who have come unaccompanied to the United States from Central America will close within weeks, leading U.S. newspapers reported on Monday.

More than 7,700 children have been sheltered in facilities on military bases in California, Texas, and Oklahoma since they were opened in May and June, the Department of Health and Human Services said, according to media reports.   Continue reading “U.S. to close three interim shelters housing migrant children”

Reuters

President Barack Obama will announce on Tuesday that U.S. businesses have committed to investing $14 billion in construction, clean energy, banking, and information technology projects across Africa, a White House official said.

The announcement will occur at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, part of a three-day Africa summit in Washington meant to showcase U.S. interest in improving trade and investment in the region.   Continue reading “Obama to announce $14 billion in U.S. corporate investments in Africa”

The White House

Market Watch – by Joseph Adinolfi

Two U.S. citizens who contracted the ebola virus in Liberia have showed signs of recovery after receiving an experimental treatment called ZMapp, which was developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., according to CNN.

The medicine is a “three-mouse monoclonal antibody,” which means that antibodies were harvested from mice exposed to the virus, CNN reported. These antibodies in turn can boost the human immune system’s ability to fight off the virus.   Continue reading “Experimental drug improves ebola patients’ condition”

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CNN – by Phil Gast, Mariano Castillo and Greg Botelho

The college student accused of hijacking the webcam of Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf and other young women is a former high school classmate of the pageant winner.

Jared James Abrahams, 19, was arrested Thursday for allegedly taking nude images of the women using their own webcams, and then blackmailing them to send more explicit material.   Continue reading “Miss Teen USA: Screamed upon learning she was ‘sextortion’ victim”

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Tech Dirt – by Mike Masnick

We already covered how the CIA has admitted to and apologized for its spying on the Senate, but the CIA’s official “unclassified” statement on the matter shows that what the CIA did was even worse than the initial allegations. Here’s the basic summary, according to the CIA’s Inspector General:   Continue reading “CIA Spying On The Senate Went Much Further Than Originally Reported”

Stuff – Reuters

A Gaza ceasefire crumbled only hours after it began on Friday, with at least 40 Palestinians killed by Israeli shelling and Israel accusing militants of violating the US- and UN-brokered truce by firing rockets and mortars.

The 72-hour break announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll.   Continue reading “Gaza ceasefire over within hours”

RT

Israel and Hamas have agreed to unconditionally begin a 72-hour ceasefire in the embattled Gaza Strip on Friday, the United States and United Nations said Thursday.

The ceasefire will begin at 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Friday, Aug. 1, US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a joint statement. During the three-day cessation, forces on the ground will remain in place.   Continue reading “Israel, Hamas agree to unconditional 72-hour ceasefire”

Reuters

An oil tanker has started loading a cargo of condensate, or ultra-light oil, the first such export from the United States since the easing of a 40-year-old ban on U.S. crudeexports, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Westport Petroleum Inc, the Franklin, Tennessee-based shipping arm of Japanese trader Mitsui & Co, chartered the BW Zambesi, an LR1 tanker, also known as a Panamax class vessel, in mid-July for the voyage.   Continue reading “Ship loads first U.S. oil condensate export cargo in 40 years – sources”