Washington Post – by Samantha Schmidt

When a utility worker in Key Largo, Fla., noticed that a section of a paved street was not settling properly, he decided to remove a manhole cover and descend into the earth.

Moments later on Monday morning, the 15-foot-deep hole went silent. Sensing the man was trapped, a fellow utility worker climbed into the drainage hole to rescue him. When he, too, stopped responding, a third worker entered the same hole.   Continue reading “One by one, 3 utility workers descended into a manhole. One by one, they died.”

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Antonius Aquinas

John Connally, President Nixon’s Secretary of the Treasury, once remarked to the consternation of Europe’s financial elites over America’s inflationary monetary policy, that the dollar “is our currency, but your problem.”  Times have certainly changed and it now appears that the dollar has become an American problem.   Continue reading “Donald & the Dollar”

New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the army intelligence analyst convicted of an enormous 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world, disrupted the administration, and made WikiLeaks, the recipient of those disclosures, famous.

The decision by Mr. Obama rescued Ms. Manning, who twice tried to commit suicide last year, from an uncertain future as a transgender woman incarcerated at the male military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. She has been jailed for nearly seven years, and her 35-year sentence was by far the longest punishment ever imposed in the United States for a leak conviction.   Continue reading “Obama Commutes Bulk of Chelsea Manning’s Sentence”

Yeah, we want Bayer to conduct research and development in this country.

Times of India, April 25, 2013

NEW DELHI: As many as 2,644 people, called subjects, died during the clinical trials of 475 new drugs on human beings in last seven years and only 17 of the medicines were approved for marketing in India, the Centre has informed the Supreme Court.    Continue reading “Flashback: Bayer’s research and development helps kill 2,644 during clinical trial of drugs in India”

The Hill

German-based Bayer AG has committed to President-elect Donald Trump that it will invest $8 billion in American research and development as part of its deal to acquire Monsanto, Trump’s transition team said Tuesday.

Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that Bayer will also protect all of Monsanto’s 9,000 American jobs while creating an additional 3,000 high-tech positions in the country. That agreement, he added, came after Trump met with CEOs from both companies last week.    Continue reading “Trump team touts $8 billion Bayer investment”

Fox News – by Malia Zimmerman

A proposed law that would punish countries that refuse to take back their illegal immigrant criminals is two years too late to save Casey Chadwick, but the Texas congressman behind it figures it’s the least Washington can do.

Chadwick was murdered in 2015 by Jean Jacques, an illegal immigrant from Haiti and one of thousands freed onto U.S. streets each year after they serve prison time because their homelands refuse deportation. But a proposal by Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, the Criminal Alien Deportation Enforcement Act, would force such countries to take back their citizens or risk losing foreign aid and travel visa privileges.   Continue reading “Law would cut off aid to countries that refuse to accept illegal immigrant criminals”

Activist Post – by Nicolas West

Since the first known deployment of a domestic drone to aid in police work made headline news in 2011, civil liberties advocates have been warning of the slippery slope upon which we’ve descended.

In that North Dakota case, drone surveillance led to the arrest of three suspected cattle thieves; police used the justification of an armed standoff and even a potential bomb threat to call in a Predator B drone. Naturally, once this precedent was established, at least two dozen more drone surveillance flights were documented in the subsequent months.   Continue reading “Los Angeles To Use Drones For Extreme Threats, NOT Public Surveillance, Sheriff Claims”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

In a “mass layoff” event reported late last week by the Department of Labor, the Clinton Foundation announced it would lay off some 22 employees at the Clinton Global Initiative, which attained notoriety during the John Podesta leaks, when the various details of the fallout between between CGI head Doug Band and Chelsea Clinton were revealed; it also emerged that long-time Bill Clinton friend Band was soliciting donations for Clinton through his PR firm, Teneo in an sordid example of “pay for play” which most of the mainstream media refused to cover, especially after Band emailed Podesta “If this story gets out, we are screwed.”   Continue reading “The Clinton Foundation Is Shutting Down The Clinton Global Initiative”

UPI

MEXICO CITY, Jan. 15 (UPI) — Mexico’s economy minister warned that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump‘s threat of a massive border tariff to build a wall would trigger a “global recession.”

Ildefonso Guajardo said on a news show on the Spanish-language Noticieros Televisa Mexican network on Friday that Trump’s proposed 35 percent tariff would “be a problem for the entire world.” A Trump tariff “will have a wave of impacts that can take us into a global recession,” Guajardo said   Continue reading “Mexico warns Trump border tariff would trigger ‘global recession’”

Salt Lake Tribune

Denver • The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it will not repay claims totaling more than $1.2 billion for economic damages from a mine waste spill the agency accidentally triggered in Colorado, saying the law prohibits it.

The EPA said the claims could be refiled in federal court, or Congress could authorize payments.

But attorneys for the EPA and the Justice Department concluded the EPA is barred from paying the claims because of sovereign immunity, which prohibits most lawsuits against the government.   Continue reading “EPA says it can’t pay economic damages from massive mine spill that sent tainted water into Utah”

ArsTecnica – by Joe Mullen

President-elect Donald Trump is just a week away from taking office. From the start of his campaign, he has promised big changes to the US immigration system. For both Trump’s advisers and members of Congress, the H-1B visa program, which allows many foreign workers to fill technology jobs, is a particular focus.

One major change to that system is already under discussion: making it harder for companies to use H-1B workers to replace Americans by simply giving the foreign workers a raise. The “Protect and Grow American Jobs Act,” introduced last week by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. and Scott Peters, D-Calif., would significantly raise the wages of workers who get H-1B visas. If the bill becomes law, the minimum wage paid to H-1B workers would rise to at least $100,000 annually, and be adjusted it for inflation. Right now, the minimum is $60,000.   Continue reading “Congress will consider proposal to raise H-1B minimum wage to $100,000”

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ABC News

Iran is to receive a huge shipment of natural uranium from Russia to compensate it for exporting tons of reactor coolant, diplomats say, in a move approved by the outgoing U.S. administration and other governments seeking to keep Tehran committed to a landmark nuclear pact.   Continue reading “Diplomats: Iran to Get Natural Uranium Batch”

NBC News

An armed passing motorist was credited with saving the life of an Arizona state trooper by shooting and killing a gunman who ambushed the trooper in the middle of a lonely interstate highway before dawn Thursday.

“I would just say at this point, thank you, because I don’t know that my trooper would be alive today without his assistance,” Col. Frank Milstead, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, said after he met with the seriously injured trooper at the hospital.   Continue reading “Ambushed Arizona Trooper Saved by Armed Passing Motorist Who Shot Attacker Dead”

Washington Post – by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis

President Obama declared five new national monuments Thursday ranging from a Birmingham, Ala. church bombed by segregationists to the coniferous forests of Oregon. He has now used his executive authority more than any other president in history to protect iconic historic, cultural and ecological sites across the country.   Continue reading “Obama names five new national monuments, including Southern civil rights sites”

USA Today

President Obama announced Thursday an end to the 20-year-old “wet foot, dry foot” policy that allowed most Cuban migrants who reach U.S. soil to stay and become legal permanent residents after one year.

President Obama issued a statement Thursday evening saying the U.S. is working to normalize relations with its one-time foe, and ending this policy was the next logical step.   Continue reading “Obama ends ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy for Cubans”