CNBC – Reuters

AT&T’s proposed $85 billion takeover of Time Warner generated skepticism among both Democrats and Republicans on Sunday, making it more likely that regulators will closely scrutinize the effort to create a new telecommunications and media giant.

The biggest deal of the year, announced just over two weeks before the Nov. 8 U.S. election, is a gamble on a victory for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and a continuation of the status quo on anti-trust and regulatory enforcement.   Continue reading “AT&T-Time Warner deal sparks calls for scrutiny in Washington”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

In what can only be described as an epic attempt to troll both Obama and Hillary, and an apparent move to embarrass the United States over Trump’s claims of that the upcoming presidential election will be “rigged”, Russia has asked to send monitors to US polling stations for the Nov. 8 vote, according to reports by Russian media.

However the US State Department was not amused, and promptly rebuffed the request with one state election official threatening criminal action if Russian monitors showed up, according to state-controlled Izvestia daily and broadcaster RT. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner called the Russian effort a “PR stunt.”   Continue reading “Russia Wants To Monitor “Rigged” US Presidential Elections”

The Hill – by Joe Concha

Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, who left the network amid allegations of sexual harassment against former network chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, has revealed she will testify before Congress on forced arbitration, a common TV contract clause that legally binds parties to settle resolutions outside of the court system.

Carlson, who didn’t have her contract renewed in June by the network, sued Ailes for sexual harassment shortly thereafter on July 5. Ailes resigned just two weeks after the suit was filed, and an internal investigation was launched.   Continue reading “Gretchen Carlson to testify before Congress”

CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE, Md. (WJZ)–  The ex-NSA contractor from Glen Burnie accused in the largest security breach in U.S. history, has a court hearing at 2:15 p.m. Friday.

Court documents revealed the astounding amount of top secret information found inside Harold Martin’s Anne Arundel County property.   Continue reading “Ex-NSA Contractor to Appear in Federal Court Hearing”

The Weather Channel

Highways have been closed and people are being warned to stay inside after a chemical spill at a plant.

Many residents of Atchison, Kansas, are being allowed to return to their homes and go outside, following a scare over a toxic plume of chlorine that hovers over the city on Friday.    Continue reading “Toxic Plume Spurs Evacuations in Kansas Town”

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Tax Revolution Institute – by Guillermo Jimenez

Tensions between the Internal Revenue Service and the proponents of political speech from the pulpit are beginning to boil over.

While the controversy is decades old, the IRS’s restrictions on the political speech of churches and other places of worship have become a hot-button political issue in 2016.   Continue reading “Debate over IRS Restrictions on “Pulpit Freedom” Heats Up”

Fox News – by Ed Henry

Just hours after Hillary Clinton dodged a question at the final presidential debate about charges of “pay to play” at the Clinton Foundation, a new batch of WikiLeaks emails surfaced with stunning charges that the candidate herself was at the center of negotiating a $12 million commitment from King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

One of the more remarkable parts of the charge is that the allegation came from Clinton’s loyal aide, Huma Abedin, who described the connection in a January 2015 email exchange with two top advisers to the candidate, John Podesta and Robby Mook.   Continue reading “Abedin implicated Clinton in foundation trade-off with Morocco amid $12 million commitment”

Washington Examiner – by Pete Kasperowicz

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday called for a “serious criminal investigation” into the dozens of White House visits that Robert Creamer made to the White House since 2009.

“Voter fraud operative: 45 meetings w/Obama — this merits a serious criminal investigation,” Cruz said on Twitter.   Continue reading “Cruz demands investigation into WH visits of ‘voter fraud operative’”

New York Post – by Josh Rogin

The Obama administration’s Justice Department has investigated three senior officials for mishandling classified information over the past two years but only one faces a felony conviction, possible jail time and a humiliation that will ruin his career: former Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman Gen. James E. Cartwright. The FBI’s handling of the case stands in stark contrast to its treatment of Hillary Clinton and retired Gen. David Petraeus — and it reeks of political considerations.   Continue reading “Meet the general who’s paying for Hillary Clinton’s sins”

The Mercury News – by Ramona Giwargis

SAN JOSE — Gun owners in the city may have to lock up their firearms when they’re not at home under a proposal a City Council committee considered Wednesday that the police chief said could be enacted by next winter.

City Councilmen Ash Kalra and Raul Peralez had proposed that rule — believed to be a first of its kind for a big city — as part of a “gun violence prevention” ordinance in San Jose. State law requires gun owners to keep firearms locked up if they have children in the house.   Continue reading “San Jose could require gun owners to lock firearms at home when they’re away”

CBS News

In a September 2015 interview with the FBI, a former agent who worked on the security details of both former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton complained of a “stark difference” between Rice and Clinton in terms of their adherence to security and diplomatic protocols.

According to newly released documents by the FBI related to its investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary, the former agent said that while Rice “observed strict adherence to State Department security and diplomatic protocols,” Clinton “frequently and ‘blatantly’ disregarded them.”    Continue reading “FBI documents: Former agent complained Hillary Clinton flouted protocol while secretary”

Dallas Morning News – by Diane Solis

The tide of migrant families with minors and children traveling alone to the U.S., mostly from Central America, has equaled the surge of 2014 that nearly overwhelmed Border Patrol resources, federal immigration officials said Monday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they detained 137,366 migrants in those two categories in the fiscal year that just ended. Slightly fewer, 136,983 migrants, were detained in fiscal 2014.   Continue reading “Immigrant flow at border matches crisis of a few years ago and may be significantly worse”

The Hill – by Devin Henry

Federal officials updated three rules dealing with oil and gas royalty payments on Monday, a move they say will allow a more thorough accounting of fuel produced on federal land.

The rules rewritten on Monday aim to update 25-year-old accounting practices governing royalty rates for oil and gas drillers on federal and Indian land. The rules establish minimum standards for the measurement of oil and gas and deal with how companies report production to the federal government in order to account for theft and loss.   Continue reading “Feds update oil, gas royalty system for federal land”

Reuters

Oct 17 – Dakota Access LLC, operator of the controversial pipeline carrying oil from North Dakota to the U.S. Gulf Coast, said on Monday that construction equipment burned by unknown individuals over the weekend cost millions of dollars.

Authorities suspect arson in the fire, which took place in Reasnor, Iowa, along the construction of the pipeline route, according to an AP report.   Continue reading “Arson suspected in Dakota Access construction equipment fire”

RT

Whistleblowing site WikiLeaks has confirmed it was Ecuador that cut off Julian Assange’s internet access on Saturday after another batch of leaked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair was released.

WikiLeaks did not elaborate on the grounds for Ecuador’s London embassy, where Assange has spent more than four years after being granted asylum over fears of persecution over his publications, to restrict the whistleblower’s web access.   Continue reading “WikiLeaks says Ecuador cut off Assange’s internet after new Clinton emails published”

Yahoo News

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) — A local Republican Party office in North Carolina was torched by a flammable device and someone spray-painted an anti-GOP slogan referring to “Nazi Republicans” on a nearby wall, authorities said Sunday.

A bottle filled with flammable liquid was thrown through the window of the Orange County Republican Party headquarters overnight, according to a news release from the town of Hillsborough. The substance ignited and damaged the interior before burning out. No one was injured.   Continue reading “North Carolina GOP office burned, graffiti sprayed nearby”

The Hill – by Rafael Bernal

WikiLeaks’ newest batch of emails hacked from Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta appears to include transcripts of three paid speeches Clinton made to Goldman Sachs.

The speeches have long been a stumbling block to Clinton’s presidential campaign and sparked frequent criticism from primary challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Her GOP rival Donald Trump has also seized on inside information revealed in the leaks, using email messages to paint Clinton as corrupt.    Continue reading “WikiLeaks emails reveal Clinton speeches to Goldman Sachs”

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Express

According to sources the bank is now facing a crisis of gargantuan proportions after the Qatari royal family, who were reported to be involved in bond deals just last week, expressed concern over their long-term strategy.

Analysts say this could be the final nail in the coffin for the bank which this week was accused of using stealth methods to woo investors.   Continue reading “Doom for Deutsche Bank as largest lender Qatar ‘pulls plug on future equity’”