Yahoo News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Memorials to veterans in a Los Angeles neighborhood and a town in Kentucky, as well as a Civil War veterans cemetery in Virginia, were damaged as the nation prepares to mark Memorial Day, officials said.

A Vietnam War memorial in the Venice area of Los Angeles has been extensively defaced by graffiti. The vandalism occurred sometime during the past week, KCAL/KCBS-TV (http://cbsloc.al/1RAa3mg) reported. The homespun memorial painted on a block-long wall on Pacific Avenue lists the names of American service members missing in action or otherwise unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.   Continue reading “Veterans sites in California, Kentucky, Virginia damaged”

NPR – by Dana Farrington

Louisiana’s hate-crime protections now cover law enforcement and first responders. Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the legislation on Thursday after it had passed easily in the Republican-controlled Legislature, NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports.

People convicted of intentionally targeting police officers, firefighters or emergency medical crews will now face stricter penalties — as one would for targeting someone for race or gender, The Two-Way has reported. Other protected classes in the state are age, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin and ancestry.   Continue reading “In Louisiana, It’s Now A Hate Crime To Target Police Officers”

Yahoo News

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe invited the Chinese businessman whose donations to him have been named as a focus of Justice Department investigators to a 2013 fundraiser at Hillary Clinton’s personal Washington, D.C., residence.

Wang Wenliang, a Chinese national with U.S. permanent residency, briefly shook Clinton’s hand at the Sept. 30 event, a representative for Wang told TIME. An American company controlled by Wang made a $60,000 contribution to McAuliffe’s campaign three weeks before the fundraiser. Less than a month later, a separate Wang company pledged $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation, the first of several donations that eventually totaled $2 million.   Continue reading “Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe Invited Chinese Donor to Hillary Clinton’s Home”

WTKR

OREGON INLET, N.C. – The U.S. Coast Guard responded about 25 miles off the North Carolina coast Thursday morning after receiving reports of a collision between two planes.

According to the Navy, the incident involved two F/A-18F Super Hornets that were flying approximately 24 nautical miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras.

The Navy confirms that the jets were from Strike Fighter Squadron 211 (VFA-211) based at Naval Air Station Oceana.   Continue reading “Four pilots recovered after Navy jet collision off North Carolina coast”

Lifezette – by Brendan Kirby

Grumbling that the Obama administration has done all it can to restrict gun ownership at the federal level, Vice President Joe Biden recently urged state and local officials to pick up the task of subverting the Second Amendment.

Biden, who convened a conference of like-minded elected officials from the states Tuesday, griped about a “dysfunctional” Congress — a Congress he said will not accept the gun control agenda pushed by the administration — and said the most meaningful debate is outside of Washington.   Continue reading “WH Makes Final Push to Take the Guns”

Yahoo News – by Daniel Trotta and Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) – Officials from 11 U.S. states sued the Obama administration on Wednesday to overturn a directive telling schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their gender identity, decrying the policy as “a massive social experiment.”

Ramping up the simmering battles over contentious cultural issues in America, the states, led by Texas and most with Republican governors, accused the federal government of rewriting laws by “administrative fiat.”   Continue reading “States ratchet up transgender battle with lawsuit against U.S.”

Gov’t Slaves

(BEECH GROVE)  Many Beech Grove residents were woken up early Tuesday morning by the sound of gunshots at the former St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove.

Beech Grove Police say the U.S. Army Special Operations Command was conducting military training in urban terrain.

At least 100 military personnel were involved in the exercise which started around midnight.   Continue reading ““Military exercise” startles Indianapolis residents”

RT

GMO giant Monsanto rejected a $62 billion takeover bid by the German pharmaceutical Beyer, saying the price was too low but adding it remained “open to further talks.”

Monsanto can “see the logic” of combining with the German corporation, and believes the merger could get the required approval from regulators, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. However, the St. Louis, Missouri-based company believes its shareholders deserve a better offer.   Continue reading “Monsanto rejects $62 billion bid from Bayer”

CNN, May 9, 2012

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The Federal Reserve gave three state-owned Chinese banks its stamp of approval Thursday to expand their presence in the United States.

The central bank accepted an application from Industrial and Commerce Bank of China Ltd. (IDCBY) (ICBC), along with China Investment Corporation and Central Huijin Investment, to become bank holding companies by purchasing up to an 80% stake in New York-based Bank of East Asia U.S.A.   Continue reading “Flashback 2012: Three Chinese banks expanding in U.S.”

Breitbart

Close Clinton operative Terry McAuliffe is under federal investigation for campaign contributions from a Chinese billionaire who has also donated $2 million to the Clinton Foundation.

From CNN:

Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and prosecutors from the Justice Department’s public integrity unit, U.S. officials briefed on the probe say.   Continue reading “First ‘Clinton Cash’ Domino to Fall: FBI Investigating Hillary Bagman Terry McAuliffe”

Fox News

The IRS says the agency’s commissioner won’t appear at a House hearing on Tuesday examining whether he deserves to be impeached.

A statement by the IRS on Monday says that John Koskinen has not had time to prepare for the House Judiciary Committee hearing because of recent travel and because he must also get ready for a second, unrelated hearing.   Continue reading “IRS chief won’t appear at House hearing on his impeachment”

Free Thought Project – by Claire Bernish

As you begin to understand world governments don’t have your best interests in mind — that enemies of the State could more aptly be called enemies of the globe’s corporate and banking elite — power comes sharply into focus. Those who actually hold the power control the world’s economies, and it’s clear the fates of over 7.4 billion souls now inhabiting the planet are, at best, the least of their concern.   Continue reading “The Illuminati Were Amateurs — The Facts Show These Five Families Rule the World”

The Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist

Bayer AG, a company that knowingly infected thousands of children with HIV, has officially announced its offer to purchase agrichemical giant Monsanto. Uniting two of the world’s most hated companies, the deal could potentially be a boon for Monsanto, whose sales have tanked significantly recently as the global market continues to scoff at its pesticide, herbicide, and genetically-engineered seed empire.

Bayer’s announcement seems impeccably timed as thousands of people took to the streets in more than 40 countries around the world on Saturday in the 14th annual protest against the American multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto and against genetically modified (GMO) products.   Continue reading “It’s Official — Bayer Announces $62 Billion Bid for Monsanto — Creating a Mega-Chemical Empire”

Reuters

A U.S. appeals court on Monday overturned a jury’s finding that Bank of America Corp was liable for mortgage fraud leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, tossing a $1.27 billion penalty and dealing the U.S. Justice Department a major setback.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the proof was insufficient under federal fraud statutes to establish liability in connection with a mortgage program called “Hustle” run by the former Countrywide Financial Corp.   Continue reading “Bank of America wins reversal of $1.27 billion penalty in U.S. mortgage case”

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — The head of the Transportation Security Administration warned travelers Friday to expect long airport security lines to continue during the peak summer travel season despite Congress’ shifting of $34 million to the agency.

Peter Neffenger briefed officials in Chicago on Friday about efforts to address crushing delays in getting passengers through security checkpoints at major airports around the country. Congress agreed to shift forward the $34 million in TSA funding to let the agency pay overtime to existing staff and hire an extra 768 screeners by June 15. The agency is funneling many of those resources to major hub airports like Chicago’s O’Hare International.   Continue reading “TSA head: Expect more airport security delays despite funds”

Fox 43 – by Taniel Orr

DERRY TOWNSHIP, Dauphin County, Pa. —Hersheypark officials released a statement Friday saying guests at the park may use the restrooms with which they gender-identify.

According to Hersheypark Public Relations Manager Kathy Burrows, transgender guests visiting the theme park may use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, or a family restroom if they wish.
Continue reading “Hersheypark guests may use restrooms based on their gender-identity”

Washington Post – by Joe Scarborough

One may have to go all the way back to the founding of the United States to find a time when the established economic and political order was as threatened politically as Wall Street financiers, party leaders and Washington insiders find themselves today.

In the years following the Declaration of Independence, the former colonies operated as a loose collection of individual states governed by the Articles of Confederation. Experience with the British crown had ingrained such a deep distrust of centralized power that the former British subjects organized their governments around powerful state legislatures that shared radical democratic sentiments with their constituents. As Isaac Kramnick noted in an introduction to the Federalist Papers, state legislators between 1776 and 1787 flooded their states with cheap money, passed radical debtor relief, promoted laws that set aside legal contracts, confiscated property at will and even stopped the repaying of debts.   Continue reading “Alexander Hamilton’s warning to 2016 voters”

ABC News

The suspect in the killing of a 42-year-old Massachusetts police officer was shot and killed Sunday evening during a shootout at a home just miles from the initial incident, officials said.

A state trooper was also wounded in the exchange of gunfire with the suspect, who was identified as 35-year-old Jorge Zambrano, who officials said had an extensive criminal history.   Continue reading “Massachusetts Cop Killing Suspect Fatally Shot After Standoff”

Fox News

President Obama lifted the 41-year-old U.S. arms embargo against Vietnam Monday in an apparent effort to shore up the communist country’s defenses against an increasingly aggressive China.

Obama announced the full removal of the embargo at a news conference in Hanoi alongside Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. The American president said the move was intended as a step toward normalizing relations with the former enemy and to eliminate a “lingering vestige of the Cold War.”   Continue reading “US lifts Vietnam arms embargo in move to counter China”