A view of the White House November 20, 2014 in Washington, DC. The US plans to push for new cybersecurity legistlationYahoo News

Washington (AFP) – President Barack Obama said Tuesday the cyber attacks against Sony and the Pentagon’s Central Command highlight the need for toughened laws on cybersecurity.

Obama made the comment as the White House unveiled a proposal to revive cybersecurity legislation stalled over the past few years.

“With the Sony attack that took place, with the Twitter account that was hacked by Islamist jihadist sympathizers yesterday, it just goes to show how much more work we need to do — both public and private sector — to strengthen our cybersecurity,” the president said at a meeting with congressional leaders.   Continue reading “Obama says hacks show need for cybersecurity law”

i 24 News

Muslim frustration over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the factors that led to the attacks on satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris last week, former US President Jimmy Carter told Jon Stewart on the Daily Showon Monday.

When Stewart asked Carter what he believed led to the massacre, which claimed the lives of 17 people, the latter replied: “Well, one of the origins for it is the Palestinian problem. And this aggravates people who are affiliated in any way with the Arab people who live in the West Bank and Gaza, what they are doing now [and] what’s being done to them. So I think that’s part of it.”   Continue reading “Jimmy Carter blames Paris attacks on Israeli-Palestinian conflict”

Someone Claiming to Be ISIS Says They Hacked CENTCOM, Leaks Docs OnlineGizmodo – by Adam Clark Estes

U.S. Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube accounts just lit up in a bad way. It looks like somebody who’s claiming to be ISIS managed to gain access to the account and is currently tweeting images of documents, allegedly internal CENTCOM documents. The first tweet links to a Pastebin post with links to downloads of “confidential data.”

We contacted CENTCOM to confirm the breach. “We are aware of the issue,” CENTCOM said, promising to get back to us with more details when they become available. CENTCOM also confirmed that its “Twitter and YouTube accounts were compromised.” Meanwhile, the Pentagon says “CENTCOM is taking appropriate measure to address the matter.”   Continue reading “Someone Claiming to Be ISIS Says They Hacked CENTCOM, Leaks Docs Online”

Kouachibomber.jpgFox News

One of the brothers who carried out a massacre at the offices of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo lived across the hall from the so-called “underwear bomber” while the two attended an Arabic-language school in Yemen in 2009, according to a published report.

The Wall Street Journal, citing neighbors of both men as well as Yemeni intelligence officials, reported that Said Kouachi and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab studied together and often visited the mosque in the Old City of Yemen’s capital, San’a.    Continue reading “Charlie Hebdo massacre gunman reportedly knew underwear bomber”

Rome News Tribune – by John Bailey

Three Rome men accused of conspiring to obtain explosives now face a much more serious domestic terrorism charge — conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

Terry Eugene Peace, Brian Edward Cannon and Cory Robert Williamson on Monday waived arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the domestic terrorism charge as well as charges of conspiring to defraud the government.   Continue reading “3 Rome, Georgia militia men now face domestic terrorism charge”

635564020683112288-IMG-0120Detroit Free Press

GALESBURG, Mich. — A three-mile radius has been evacuated around a massive deadly pileup on I-94 as four semis burn, including one with hazardous material and another hauling fireworks.

Both directions of I-94 are closed in eastern Kalamazoo County due to the wreck involving more than 100 vehicles.

Michigan State Police say one person is dead and multiple others are injured. People who aren’t injured were taken to warming centers, according to State Police Inspector Tracey McAndrew.   Continue reading “Fiery 100-plus vehicle pileup closes I-94 in west Michigan”

Fuel Fix – by Jennifer A. Dlouhy

WASHINGTON — The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday approved legislation to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline, following a divisive debate over climate change that previewed bitter fights to come.

The 13-9 vote to approve the measure — with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin the lone Democrat crossing party lines to back the bill — paves the way for Senate floor debate to begin as soon as Monday.   Continue reading “Senate panel approves Keystone XL bill, despite veto threat”

Bloomberg – by Tony Capaccio

The Pentagon will request about $51 billion in war funding for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, a 20 percent reduction from the $64 billion Congress approved this year and the least since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials and congressional aides said.

The Overseas Contingency Operations funding, as it’s known, will be sent to Congress in addition to basic defense spending of about $534 billion when President Barack Obama offers his proposed fiscal 2016 federal budget on Feb. 2, according to the officials and aides, who asked not to be identified before the details are made public.   Continue reading “Pentagon Seeking 20% Cut in U.S. War Funding to $51 Billion”

vandalism.jpgFox News

A California newspaper will continue to use the term “illegals” to describe people who enter the U.S. without permission, despite an attack on its building by vandals believed to object to the term.

The Santa Barbara News-Press’s front entrance was sprayed with the message “The border is illegal, not the people who cross it” in red paint, sometime either Wednesday night or early Thursday, according to the newspaper’s director of operations, Donald Katich. The attack came amid wider objections to a News-Press headline that used the word “illegals” alongside a story on California granting driver’s licenses to people in the country illegally.   Continue reading “California newspaper office vandalized over use of ‘illegal’ immigrant label”

Fox 2 Now

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Friday marks law enforcement appreciation day. The holiday started by the FBI National Academy  to thank officers across the country who take risks to protect their communities.

Every day 780,000 police officers put on a badge nationwide, going to work in the most unknown extreme conditions and dangers. Friday is our day to thank them.   Continue reading “Today is 1st National Law Enforcement appreciation day”

Obama_immigration_2_AP_660.jpgFox News

Republicans are charging ahead with their effort to block President Obama’s immigration executive actions, teeing up a House vote as early as next week as they move toward a major confrontation with the administration.

GOP House leaders huddled Thursday with colleagues in an effort to build consensus on a bill to “defund” the president’s initiatives. Under the recently struck budget deal, the Department of Homeland Security is only funded through Feb. 27 — Republicans want to use the deadline as leverage to block the immigration spending.    Continue reading “Republicans move toward vote on blocking Obama immigration actions”

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Progressives Today – by Michael Strickland

At a recent town hall in Portland, Oregon, a panel of environmentalists and state legislators fluffed around about new environmental policies and legislation. One panelist, Quinn Read, of Oregon Wild, brought up the idea of 3 new things to tax; hiking boots, binoculars, and birdseed. Yes, birdseed.   Continue reading “You Won’t Believe What They Want To Tax Next…”

XXX GAN-SHOP-CLOCKS-022713-2.JPG A FILESent to us by a reader.

USA Today – by Andrew Griffin, The Independent

The year 2015 will have an extra second — which could wreak havoc on the infrastructure powering the Internet.

At 11:59 p.m. on June 30, clocks will count up all the way to 60 seconds. That will allow the Earth’s spin to catch up with atomic time.

The Earth’s spin is gradually slowing down, by about two thousandths of a second per day, but atomic clocks are constant. That means that occasionally years have to be lengthened slightly, to allow the slowing Earth to catch up with the constant clock.   Continue reading “Computer chaos feared over 2015’s leap second”

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Navy Times – by Karen Jowers

Troops and families in some areas of Europe and the Pacific have been frustrated by empty shelves in commissaries over the last few weeks, shelves that are empty for different reasons.

Commissary officials said they expect the situation to improve in Europe no later than Jan. 14, depending on the location. But for customers in the Pacific, the problems continue.   Continue reading “Commissary shelves still empty in Europe, Pacific”

The Daily Caller – by Casey Harper

One North Carolina city has finally surrendered in a long-fought battle to preserve a veteran’s memorial with a praying soldier and Christian flag.

The city, after spending $50,000 in legal fees, and with little hope of winning a court battle estimated to cost $2 million, ceded to the U.S. army veteran suing the town, the Winston Salem-Journal reports.

The statue of the soldier kneeling before a cross will be removed, as will the Christian flag, from the memorial in the city’s park, ending a four-year dispute.   Continue reading “NC City Agrees To Remove Statue of Praying Soldier, Christian Flag”

ABC News

A family in a minivan called 911 this morning when their car was stuck under a moving semi-truck in Michigan, police said.

A dispatcher received a call at 1:57 a.m. this morning from the family of Matthew Menz, 46, who was traveling northbound on I-75, south of Roscommon, Michigan, according to the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office.   Continue reading “Desperate 911 Call as Semi Drags Minivan 16 Miles Through Snowstorm”