China Obama_Cham640360.jpgFox News

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the U.S. has set a new goal to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by between 26 percent and 28 percent over the next 11 years as part of a climate change agreement with China.

The new target is a drastic increase from earlier in Obama’s presidency, when he pledged to cut emissions by 17 percent by 2020. By contrast, Obama’s counterpart, Xi Jinping, did not pledge any reductions by a specific date, but rather set a target for China’s emissions to peak by 2030, or earlier if possible. Xi also pledged to increase the share of energy that China will derive from sources other than fossil fuels. China’s emissions have grown in recent years due to the building of new coal plants.    Continue reading “Obama vows US will cut emissions by at least 26 percent over next 11 years”

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BuzzFeed – by Nick Sibilla

Without even needing to charge someone with a crime, law enforcement can seize and keep cash, cars and even homes, by exercising civil forfeiture. Now the Institute for Justice has uncovered recordings of government officials from across the country making unsettling comments about this controversial power:   Continue reading ““IF IN DOUBT…TAKE IT!” Behind Closed Doors, Government Officials Make Shocking Comments About Civil Forfeiture”

The Daily Caller – by Jamie Weinstein

Like the Nixon administration before it, President Barack Obama’s White House apparently keeps — or at least at one time kept — an enemies list.

In a profile in the New Republic of Valerie Jarrett, who is considered Obama’s most influential White House adviser, Noam Scheiber writes of the existence of an enemies list — or as he termed it, “a shit list.”   Continue reading “Liberal Mag: Valerie Jarrett Keeps An Enemies List”

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh meets patients after the botched sterilization operation. PTIReuters – by JATINDRA DASH

Ten women died and 14 were in a serious condition after botched operations at a government mass sterilization “camp” in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, officials said on Tuesday.

The women fell ill on Monday, two days after surgery at a so-called family planning camp at a village. Such camps are held regularly in Chhattisgarh and other Indian states as part of a long-running effort to control India’s booming population.   Continue reading “Ten women die after botched surgery at sterilization ‘camp’ in India”

Israeli soldiers near Bet SahourCTV News – by Peter Enav

JERUSALEM — Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian demonstrator in clashes in the West Bank on Tuesday as Israel tightened security following a pair of Palestinian attacks that took two Israeli lives the day before.

Tuesday’s clashes erupted near the city of Hebron where about 150 Palestinian demonstrators were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers, the army said.   Continue reading “Clashes erupt in West Bank; Palestinian protester killed”

Eric Frein, charged with murder of Pennsylvania State Trooper Cpl. Byron Dickson and critically wounding Trooper Alex Douglass Sept. 10, is taken to prison after a preliminary hearing in Pike County Courthouse on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 in Milford, Pa.Sent to us by Big Dan.

Philly.com

A LAWYER hired by Eric Frein’s family to represent the ambush suspect the night of his capture said yesterday that police prevented him from seeing Frein and refused to tell his client a lawyer was available.

James Swetz, a veteran criminal defense lawyer from Stroudsburg, Pa., said he called ahead, then showed up at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Blooming Grove about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 30, about 3 1/2 hours after Frein’s arrest. Continue reading “Frein lawyer denied access? Ambush suspect spoke to cops without him”

Authorities in Norman, Oklahoma responded to a hostage situation at an office building Monday.Reuters

An armed man was taken into custody after holding at least two people hostage for several hours in an office building in Norman, Oklahoma, on Monday, police said, adding there were no reported injuries.

“Suspect in custody,” police in Norman, about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City, said in a statement. Police said they had been in talks with the suspect, trying to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff.   Continue reading “Gunman in custody after taking hostages in Oklahoma”

BBC News

Two Israelis have been killed in separate knife attacks in Tel Aviv and the occupied West Bank.

The first attack in Tel Aviv targeted a soldier. A Palestinian from the West Bank city of Nablus was arrested.

An Israeli woman was later stabbed to death near the Alon Shvut Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The assailant was shot by a security guard.   Continue reading “Israeli woman and soldier killed in two knife attacks”

ABC News

Spreading labor strife at major West Coast seaports is exacerbating problems that importers have had getting products to market, threatening the on-time delivery of some holiday goods.

Until this week, dockworkers and their employers were negotiating a new contract with little of the public drama that characterized past talks.   Continue reading “Labor Strife at Ports Further Slows Goods Movement”

C-Net – by Don Reisinger and Roger Cheng

President Barack Obama urged the government to adopt tighter regulations on broadband service in an effort to preserve “a free and open Internet.”

In a statement released Monday, Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the principle of treating Internet the same way, also known as Net neutrality. That means treating broadband services like utilities, so Internet service providers would be unable “to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas.”   Continue reading “Obama says broadband Internet should be regulated like utility”

APEC China Obama_Cham111014.jpgFox News

Putting a bright face on the future of U.S. ties to China, President Barack Obama announced Monday that the two countries would start granting visas to each other’s citizens valid for up to a decade. Yet thorny issues like human rights and trade lurked just under the surface, reflecting the tough road ahead for the two economic powers as Obama began a weeklong trip to the region.

Obama, addressing Asian business leaders at a high-level summit, sought to dispel the notion that America’s interest in Asia should be a cause for concern for China’s leaders. Beijing has viewed Obama’s engagement here with trepidation, suspecting the U.S. wants to limit China’s rise, but Obama insisted that “one country’s prosperity doesn’t have to come at the expense of the other.”   Continue reading “US, China agree to expand validity of business, tourist visas to 10 years”

Marijuana plants are displayed for sale at Canna Pi medical marijuana dispensary in Seattle, Washington, November 27, 2012. REUTERS/Anthony BolanteThanks to evilbughead.

Reuters

A high school in Colorado, one of the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana use, was put on partial lockdown on Friday after a student’s weed pipe filled a classroom with pot smoke, the school said.

The smoke from the device, known as a “gravity bong” or “bucket,” was released into a classroom at about 9:45 a.m. at Adams City High School in Commerce City, a northeastern suburb of Denver.   Continue reading “Cloud of pot smoke puts Colorado high school on partial lockdown”

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Counter Current News – by Jackson Marciana

More police in the schools will make kids safer, right? That’s what a lot of people have been saying for years, but the evidence seems to tell a very different story.

Recently, several children as young as 4-years-old found themselves “accidentally” pepper sprayed by police officers from the Gwent Police Department during a visit to Gilfach Fargoed Elementary School, in Bargoed, Caerphilly county in Wales.   Continue reading “Cop ‘Accidentally’ Pepper Sprays 4-Year-Olds During Kindergarten Visit”