Washington Post – by Sean Sullivan and Matea Gold

Jesse Benton, a longtime ally of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who is heading up a super PAC supporting his presidential campaign, was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on charges that he concealed payments to a former Iowa state senator during the 2012 presidential campaign in order to win his support.

The indictment marks a new complication for Paul, whose political future is on the line in 2016. He is hoping to hold onto his U.S. Senate seat, which is up for reelection,  if he does not win the GOP White House nomination.   Continue reading “Rand Paul super PAC head indicted over alleged 2012 campaign finance violations”

Clarion Ledger – by Therese Apel

Camp Shelby is in a heightened state of alert after authorities said a man matching the same description of yesterday’s shooter fired shots near Camp Shelby again this morning.

Around 8 a.m., soldiers training at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center reported shots fired in the vicinity of Peret Tower Road and Highway 29 in Perry County. It is not on the premises of Camp Shelby.   Continue reading “Heightened state of alert: Shots fired again near Camp Shelby”

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Free-Man’s Perspective – by Paul Rosenberg

I’ve written about dumping Microsoft before – and I stand by those comments – but the newest outrage from Redmond forces me to it again. I don’t care how “inconvenient” you think it may be, you have to stop enriching Microsoft. NOW.

Yes, I have serious issues with Apple too, but at least Wozniak and Jobs started out as real hackers. Gates was a political monopolist, and it still shows.   Continue reading “Why You Must Dump Microsoft NOW”

Forbes – by Bob Black

Just as Space X rockets may be taking off from the beaches at Boca Chica near Brownsville, natural gas exports to Mexico look to also sky rocket in the coming years. Due to changes in Mexican law in 2013 opening the electricity market to private investment, billions of dollars in contracts have been let to build power plants, electrical distribution facilities and natural gas pipelines. In turn U.S. pipeline companies and gas producers have moved to capture the lion’s share of that market. Given the fact that Texas and Gulf Coast producers have been rapidly losing their old Northeast and Midwest markets to Marcellus producers this has proven to be a timely and vital new market. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) estimates that natural gas exports to Mexico were 3% of production in April 2015 and are expected to grow to 5% by 2030. While not nearly as important as the domestic power sector to U.S. producers nonetheless it represents a good piece of business.   Continue reading “U.S. Natural Gas Exports to Mexico Taking Off”

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CBS Los Angeles – by Deborah Meron

HUNTINGTON PARK (CBSLA.com) — Huntington Park became the first city in California to appoint two undocumented immigrants as commissioners on city advisory boards, a lawmaker confirms.

City Councilman Jhonny Pineda has picked Francisco Medina to join the health and education commission and Julian Zatarain for the parks and recreation commission.   Continue reading “Huntington Park Council Appoints 2 Illegals As Commissioners”

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WBTV 3

BELMONT, NC (WBTV) – Three people have been charged with having materials for making bombs after an FBI investigation over the weekend involving a Belmont tattoo parlor and a Mount Holly home.

Federal agents descended on two Gaston County properties Saturday afternoon and a third location was reportedly searched on Sunday.   Continue reading “Investigators: Trio charged after FBI raid, believed government wanted to impose martial law”

Bloomberg – by Matthew Philips

In its quest to spend more without raising taxes, Congress has found a new piggy bank. It’s buried deep underground, protected by armed guards, and filled with a valuable commodity worth billions of dollars. It’s not a gold vault—it’s the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country’s emergency stockpile of crude oil. Created in 1975 after Arab oil producers cut off exports to the U.S., causing gasoline prices to spike, the SPR was designed to immunize the country against supply shocks. Today it stores about 695 million barrels of crude in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana.   Continue reading “Legislators propose tapping the government’s stockpile of crude.”

Yahoo News

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A pair of small explosions just 20 minutes and a few miles apart shocked congregants Sunday morning at two churches in southern New Mexico.

There were no injuries or deaths from the blasts outside Calvary Baptist and Holy Cross Roman Catholic in Las Cruces, Las Cruces police spokesman Danny Trujillo said. Each building sustained minor damage.

Authorities are working to determine who planted the explosives, what materials were used and whether the blasts were related.   Continue reading “Explosions shock congregants at 2 New Mexico churches”

The Hill – by Timothy Cama

The Obama administration on Sunday unveiled a tougher climate change rule for power plants, demanding that generators cut their carbon dioxide output 32 percent in the first ever limits on the pollutant.

The historic regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the main pillar of President Obama’s climate agenda. It is the biggest piece of his drive to create a legacy and go down in history as the first United States president to take comprehensive action against climate change by cutting emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.   Continue reading “Obama doubles down on climate rule”

ABC 13 News

HENRICO COUNTY, VA (KTRK) — An 82-year-old woman says she was awakened by a stranger in her bed. She then fought him off.

Reba Shook tells WTVR-TV that she was asleep in her Henrico County, Virginia house when a man got inside by crawling through a window. That man then climbed into her bed.   Continue reading “82-Year-Old Virginia Woman Fights Off Bedroom Intruder”

Business Insider

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Tujia, a Chinese vacation rental company similar to home rental firm Airbnb Inc, said on Monday it had raised $300 million from a group of investors to expand its business overseas, increase marketing and offer new products.

The deal values Tujia at more than $1 billion, the Chinese company added without disclosing the size of the stake the investors bought. By comparison, Airbnb, which operates around the world, is valued at $20 billion.   Continue reading “China’s Airbnb-like Tujia raised $300 million to expand overseas”

ABC News

A manhunt continued Sunday following the fatal shooting of a Memphis police officer who was killed the previous night during a traffic stop,Tennessee police officials said.

Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said during a news conference that police were alerted about 9:18 p.m. Saturday that an officer had been shot multiple times. Armstrong said the officer was transported in critical condition to a hospital, where he died.   Continue reading “Manhunt in Memphis Continues After Officer, 33, Fatally Shot”

USA Today – by Kate Seamons

(NEWSER) – On Tuesday night, a 62-year-old Ohio woman started mowing her lawn. She never finished the task. Police says Linda Ciotto was shot in the head while mowing the grass at her Willard home around 9pm, and her neighbor stands accused of the crime.

James Blair, 50, was allegedly angered by the late-night mowing; he and his mother live next door to Ciotto, and his mother told sheriff’s deputies that her son had told her that his agitation with Ciotto had been building as she mowed, report WKYC. A neighbor tells WOIO he heard one shot, and the Huron County Coroner tells the AP that the gunshot occurred at a close distance. Coroner Jeffrey Harwood also observed a severe left arm wound that he says could have been caused by a mower blade. That jibes with reports that Blair allegedly mowed over Ciotto after shooting her.   Continue reading “Man allegedly kills neighbor over late-night mowing”