CNN – by Deirdre Walsh

Washington (CNN) House leaders have scheduled a final vote Friday on the trade bill, which has pitted many Democrats against their own president.

House Republicans told CNN that GOP leaders announced the vote in a closed door meeting Wednesday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Speaker John Boehner spent the week hashing out final details about how to pay to retrain workers who lose their jobs in the process.   Continue reading “House leaders say trade fight end in sight, schedule Friday vote”

Law enforcement officers search for escaped prisoners near Essex, N.Y., Tuesday, June 9, 2015. State and federal law officers searching for two killers who used power tools to break out of a maximum-security prison poured into a small town 30 miles away Tuesday after getting a report of a possible sighting. Photo: Seth Wenig, AP / APMy San Antonio – by MICHAEL HILL AND MICHAEL VIRTANEN

WILLSBORO, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say they’re resuming searches of northern New York homes located near the maximum-security prison where two killers escaped using power tools.

State Police say the fifth day of searching will include going from house to house in Dannemora, where David Sweat and Richard Matt cut their way out of Clinton Correctional Facility.   Continue reading “House searches resume near prison where 2 killers escaped”

Members of the media await the arrival of Iranian and other nations’ delegates at the Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland in March 2014. The hotel is one of several that served as a site for nuclear talks. A Beau-Rivage spokeswoman said the hotel was unaware of being hacked.Wall Street Journal – by ADAM ENTOUS and DANNY YADRON

When a leading cybersecurity firm discovered it had been hacked last year by a virus widely believed to be used by Israeli spies, it wanted to know who else was on the hit list. It checked millions of computers world-wide and three luxury European hotels popped up. The other hotels the firm tested—thousands in all—were clean.

Researchers at the firm, Kaspersky Lab ZAO, weren’t sure what to make of the results. Then they realized what the three hotels had in common. Each was targeted before hosting high-stakes negotiations between Iran and world powers over curtailing Tehran’s nuclear program.   Continue reading “Spy Virus Linked to Israel Targeted Hotels Used for Iran Nuclear Talks”

Iraqi soldiers and Shia fighters in Garma district of Anbar province on 19 May 2015BBC News

US President Barack Obama is reportedly preparing to approve the deployment of more US troops to Iraq to train up local forces fighting Islamic State.

He is considering up to 500 additional troops as well as a new training base in Iraq’s Anbar province, unnamed US officials were quoted as saying.

President Obama said earlier this week the US lacked a “complete strategy” for helping Iraq regain territory from IS.   Continue reading “Obama ‘to send 500 more troops to Iraq’”

Fox News

A Houston police officer was reportedly in stable condition Tuesday night after he was shot in the back during a traffic stop.

The Houston Chronicle reports Houston Police Department motorcycle officer Terry Smith, 47, was shot in the back at 6 p.m. in the Midtown area of the city. He is expected to remain in the hospital for a few more days to recover, the newspaper reports.   Continue reading “Houston police officer in stable condition after being shot in back, report says”

PTH0609 MILITARY TRAININGSent to us by a reader.

The Times Herald – by Nicole Hayden and Beth LeBlanc

Port Huron, Michigan.  A parapet wall at the top of the Sperry’s building is mostly gone. Part of a green tiled awning on the east face of the building is collapsed. And a few of the historic building’s storefront windows are shattered.

But Larry Jones doesn’t regret lending the site to the U.S. Army for training.   Continue reading “Cleanup, repairs after helicopter damages Sperry’s in military exersice”

Cleveland – by Cory Shaffer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County prosecutors had little to say Monday about a plan by a group of community leaders to sidestep their office and file affidavits seeking charges against two Cleveland police officers involved in the November killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Rather than wait for the county prosecutor’s office to present evidence of the shooting to a grand jury — a process that could take weeks — the group plans to use an obscure state law that allows anyone with knowledge of the facts of a case to formally ask a judge to issue an arrest warrant, according to the New York Times.   Continue reading “Community group seeks charges against Cleveland police in Tamir Rice killing”

ABC News

The West Wing at the White House has been evacuated shortly after the Capitol community had its own scare when a bomb threat was phoned into a Senate office building.

It is unclear whether the two events are related and no reason has been given for the West Wing evacuation. It’s also unclear whether staff was also evacuated.   Continue reading “West Wing Evacuated Shortly After Capitol Bomb Threat, Authorities Say”

Where are they? Massive manhunt for 2 escaped murderers enters 4th day: http://t.co/bSGYTAZGIu (Chris Wattie/Reuters) MSNBC – by Miguel Almaguer and Cassandra Vinograd

DANNEMORA, New York — As the massive manhunt for two escaped murderers entered a fourth day, investigators were simultaneously searching for answers on how the duo brazenly broke out of maximum-security prison.

There has been no sign of Richard Matt and David Sweat since they were reported missing on Saturday. Investigators say they used power tools to cut through brick and metal walls and pipes before breaking through a manhole to freedom. Hundreds of law-enforcement officers have fanned out across the area as part of a multi-agency manhunt, and New York State has offered a $100,000 reward leading to the convicts’ capture.   Continue reading “Massive manhunt for 2 escaped inmates enters 4th day”

This illustration depicts a three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated image of a cluster of rod-shaped drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, the pathogen responsible for causing the disease tuberculosis (TB). The artistic recreation was based upon scanning electron micrographic imagery.KFOR

BETHESDA, Md. – Health authorities are working to identify anyone who may have been exposed to a patient with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.

In April, the woman traveled from India to the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say she traveled through Chicago and also spent time in Missouri and Tennessee.   Continue reading “CDC seeking people who had contact with tuberculosis patient in Chicago, Missouri, and Tennessee”

Reuters/Yves HermanRT

A truck transporting at least 2,200 baby pigs has overturned on the road in Ohio with hundreds managing to escape. Firefighters, police, ambulance and volunteers all tried to catch the little porkers.

A semi-tractor trailer carrying the animals crashed on Route 35 outside the town of Xenia, Ohio, on Monday evening. The truck, which was en route from South Carolina to Indiana, was on the westbound ramp when the driver lost control and veered into a guardrail, police said.   Continue reading “Pigs on the run: Truck with 2,200 piglets overturns in Ohio, hundreds escape”

Yahoo News – by Eric Pianin. The Fiscal Times

President Obama on Monday confirmed the bad news for up to 5 million illegal immigrants in this country: He has called a halt to Department of Homeland Security preparations to shield them from the threat of deportation because his executive orders have become seriously bogged down in a court challenge.

Speaking during a news conference at the conclusion of the G7 Summit in the Bavarian town of Kruen, Germany, Obama said that his executive orders will require an elaborate “administrative apparatus” in order to be carried out. But a series of legal setbacks in the federal courts have stymied the government’s intention to move ahead with the program.   Continue reading “Obama Cries Uncle on Shielding 5 Million Immigrants from Deportation”

Screen Shot 2015-06-08 at 10.51.03 AMLiberty Blitzkrieg – by Michael Krieger

Short-term lenders, seeking a detour around newly toughened restrictions on payday and other small loans, are pushing Americans to borrow more money than they often need by using their debt-free autos as collateral.

Their hefty principal and high interest rates are creating another avenue that traps unwary consumers in a cycle of debt. For about 1 out of 9 borrowers, the loan ends with their vehicles being repossessed…   Continue reading “Land of the Debt Serf – How “Auto Title Loan” Companies are Ruthlessly Preying on America’s Growing Underclass”

Chris Christie would crack down on legalized marijuana as presidentYahoo News – by Dylan Stableford

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says that if he were president, recreational marijuana would be outlawed — even in the states that have voted to legalize it.

In an interview outside a New Hampshire drug treatment center that aired on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday, Christie said he would enforce federal drug laws in Colorado and Washington.   Continue reading “Chris Christie would crack down on legalized marijuana as president”

bikeSent to us by the author, Nicolas Zamora

June 8, 2015 (Miami, FL) Spinetics, Inc. a tech startup is gearing to launch their ecofriendly, frictionless, bicycle generator system on Kickstarter this July. The bike accessory dubbed the “CydeKick” converts a cyclists’ motion into electricity for charging smartphones, headlights, and other electronic devices. Spinetics has begun rallying support from the community in preparation for its Kickstarter campaign launch. The startup is looking to raise capital to fund low-volume production of their CydeKick generator and make it available to the cycling community.   Continue reading “Spinetics Prepares To Launch Eco-Friendly Bicycle Generator Accessory”