Author: Admin

Reuters – by Stephen Jewkes and Deepa Seetharaman

MILAN/DETROIT, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Italian carmaker Fiat SpA struck a $4.35 billion deal to gain full control of Chrysler Group LLC, ending more than a year of tense talks that have obstructed Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne’s efforts to combine the two automakers’ resources.

The agreement, announced on Wednesday, cements Marchionne’s reputation as the industry’s consummate dealmaker about a decade after he took the helm of Fiat as a car business newcomer, analysts and bankers said.   Continue reading “Fiat strikes $4.35 billion deal to buy rest of Chrysler”

ABC News

The California Supreme Court on Thursday will decide whether to grant a law license to a man living in the United States illegally who graduated from law school and passed the state bar exam.

The opinion to be published comes in the case of Sergio Garcia, who is challenging a 1996 law that bars people living in the country illegally from receiving “professional licenses” from government agencies, or with the use of public funds, unless state lawmakers vote otherwise.   Continue reading “California to Rule on Law License for Illegal Immigrant”

KDRV News 12 – by Randa Gore

APPLEGATE, Ore. — It’s the driest year on record for most of Southern Oregon and Northern California.  Lakes and rivers in the area are drying up, and there is no help sight.

The Applegate Reservoir is usually filled to the brim with water, but right now it’s nothing more than a muddy desert.

“We’re praying for water, we’re praying for rain, it’s really really low,” said Applegate Reservoir visitor Bear Perrin.   Continue reading “Lakes Dry Up As Lack of Rain Continues”

KDRV News 12 – by Hannah Everman

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — A commercial truck driver and his dog are safe after his truck traveled off Highway 140 W, about six miles west of Klamath Falls, and went into the ice-covered Upper Klamath Lake Tuesday morning. Oregon State Police are still investigating the crash and the Oregon Department of Transportation is working on removing the truck from the water.

On December 31, at about 6:40 a.m., Carl Hansen, 73, from Medford, was driving the commercial truck that was pulling an empty semi-trailer on Highway 140 W near milepost 58 when the truck traveled across the westbound lane, off the shoulder and into the ice-covered lake. The truck and trailer broke through the ice and became partially submerged in the water.   Continue reading “Man and Dog Safe After Crash Into Lake”

Reuters –  by Ben Blanchard

(Reuters) – China’s first aircraft carrier has successfully finished a series of tests during a training mission in the disputed South China Sea and has returned to port, state media reported.

Last month’s drills off the coast of Hainan Island marked not only the first time China has sent a carrier into the South China Sea but the first time it has maneuvered with the kind of strike group of escort ships U.S. carriers deploy, according to regional military officers and analysts.   Continue reading “China’s first aircraft carrier completes South China Sea drills”

ABC News – by MARK MOONEY

Federal officials will decided in the “coming weeks” whether to require new cars to include smart technology that would alert drivers of a coming crash, even in vehicles that are two or three cars away.

The vehicle-to-vehicle — or V2V — technology has undergone testing in recent years and has already been installed in some cars that are on the road.   Continue reading “Feds May Require Cars to Talk to Each Other to Avoid Crashes”

Yahoo Finance -by Hayley Peterson, Business Insider

Starbucks is known for aggressively going after small businesses that appear to infringe on its trademark rights.

So it was no surprise that a tiny brewpub in Missouri got a cease-and-desist letter from the coffee chain after it started selling a beer called “Frappicino.”   Continue reading “Missouri Bar Gets Cease-And-Desist Order From Starbucks, Responds With Hilarious Letter And $6 Check”

CNN – by Evan Pérez

Washington (CNN) — A dramatic shootout between authorities and suspected cartel gunmen at a Mexican seaside resort this month has ties to a botched U.S. gun operation.

A U.S. official said Tuesday that investigators have traced at least one firearm recovered at a December 18 gunfight in Puerto Peñasco, across from the Arizona border, to Operation Fast and Furious.

That’s the disastrous operation run by agents in the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.   Continue reading “Fast and Furious gun turns up after Mexican resort shootout”

KSDK News

MINNEAPOLIS – First responders are on the scene of a reported building explosion in Minneapolis.

The reported address of the incident is 514 Cedar Avenue South. Robert Ball of Hennepin County EMS tells KARE 11 that as many as a dozen people have been injured and rushed to a number of local hospitals. He describes the injuries as ranging from burns to trauma suffered while falling or jumping from windows.   Continue reading “Building explosion in Minneapolis injures 12”

Yahoo News – by Sergei Karpov, Reuters

VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday vowed to annihilate “terrorists” following two deadly bomb attacks in less than 24 hours in the southern Russian city of Volgograd that raised security fears ahead of the Winter Olympics.

The uncompromising remarks in a New Year’s Eve address were Putin’s first public comments since suicide bombers killed at least 34 people in attacks on a railway station and a trolleybus on Sunday and Monday.   Continue reading “Putin vows to annihilate “terrorists” after suicide bombings”

New York Post

WASHINGTON — The number of law-enforcement officers killed by firearms in 2013 fell to levels not seen since the days of the Wild West, according to a report released Monday.

The annual report from the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also found that deaths in the line of duty generally fell by 8 percent and were the fewest since 1959.   Continue reading “Fewest police deaths by firearms in 2013 since 1887”

Fox News

Health experts are testing the quality of the air in a North Dakota town after most residents evacuated Monday night following a fiery crude oil train derailment.

The fire had been so intense as darkness fell that investigators couldn’t even get close enough to count the number of burning cars. Some burned through the night.

“Is it highly hazardous or did most of it burn off in the fire?” Casselton Sheriff Paul Laney said of elements in burning crude that could be risky for health. “We just don’t know.”   Continue reading “Health experts testing air quality after ND town evacuates over fiery oil train derailment”

CNN – by Morgan Winsor

Michael Bloomberg signed a bill Monday to regulate the use of electronic cigarettes — one of 22 bills he signed at City Hall that are the last he will sign as mayor of New York City, according to Evelyn Erskine, his deputy press secretary.

The legislation amends the Smoke-Free Air Act, which bans smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars, parks, beaches and places of employment. It now additionally prohibits the use of electronic cigarettes in all areas where smoking is prohibited.   Continue reading “Bloomberg signs his last 22 bills; one regulates e-cigarette use”

Ben Swann – by Evan Mulch

Many are starting to question the extremely hard push from many so-called self-proclaimed conservative talk show hosts regarding Mark Levin’s push for a Constitutional Convention. To many of us, it seems that the only time these talk show hosts (Limbaugh, Hannity, etc.) join together in this manner is when there is a time to bring Americans into another unconstitutional war or when it’s time to persuade Americans that  they should support another self-proclaimed “conservative” candidate that believes that the U.S. Constitution is a living document that can be altered without regard to the laws of the Constitution.   Continue reading “Mark Levin wants to Play Russian Roulette with the Constitution”

Mint Press News – by Jo Erickson

The private prison industry has become an increasingly lucrative business, as the companies running them seek to increase profits by cutting inmates’ food provisions while pressuring state governors to guarantee prisons remain 90 percent full at all times.

In recent years, for-profit prisons have grown in popularity. The number of private prisons has increased from five in 1998 to 100 by 2008. The biggest private prison owner in the U.S. is the Corrections Corporation of America. It has seen its profits increase by more than 500 percent in the past 20 years – and it’s not stopping there.   Continue reading “Private Prisons Pushing To Increase Profits”

40,000 new infringements.

The Blaze – by Becket Adams

As 2013 comes to a close, we turn our attention to 2014 and the nearly 40,000 new laws written by state legislatures set to take effect in the United States next year.

From regulations involving “lemon pets” to take-home placentas, 2014 looks like it will be an interesting year for new laws, several of which are poised to take effect on Jan. 1, as rounded up by the Daily Mail    Continue reading “Just Try and Guess How Many Laws Take Effect in 2014”

CNN – by Catherine E. Shoichet and Caleb Hellerman

They thought the tonsil surgery would help her. She feared she’d never wake up.

Now, a 13-year-old girl once known for smiling, giggling and dropping off her sister every day at kindergarten lies motionless in a California hospital bed, hooked up to machines that doctors say are the only thing keeping her heart beating.

There have been days of prayers and protests for Jahi McMath. There was a fierce court battle as a devastated family fought to keep her on life support and doctors argued she had already died. The case drew national attention and fueled debate.   Continue reading “Court blocks hospital from disconnecting Jahi McMath from life support”

Hot Air – by Jazz Shaw

What was on your Christmas wish list? Some books or DVDs or a shiny new vuvuzela? How about a nice 16 gauge over under shotgun? If you’re a resident of Colorado, you may have gotten that last item under your tree, as gun sales have seen a considerable uptick at the end of the year. Our Townhall colleague, Michael Schaus, takes a very humorous look at an extremely serious subject.   Continue reading “Colorado seeing record Christmas gun sales”