Author: Admin

The Fiscal Times – by Brianna Ehley

Scientists across the world are scrambling to develop an Ebola vaccine to quell the deadly outbreak in West Africa, but the top scientist at the National Institutes of Health says his agency would likely have one by now if it weren’t for the steep budget cuts imposed by Congress.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Dr. Francis Collins said, “Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials and would have been ready.”   Continue reading “Biggest Threat to An Ebola Outbreak? Budget Cuts”

ABC News – by Matthew Lee, AP

Concerned about potential security risks, the U.S. government is taking a close look at last week’s sale of New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel to a Chinese insurance company.

U.S. officials said Monday they are reviewing the Oct. 6 purchase of the Waldorf by the Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group, which bought the hotel from Hilton Worldwide for $1.95 billion. Terms of the sale allow Hilton to run the hotel for the next 100 years and call for “a major renovation” that officials say has raised eyebrows in Washington, where fears of Chinese eavesdropping and cyber espionage run high.   Continue reading “US Eyes Sale of NY’s Waldorf Hotel to Chinese Firm”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

At 1532ET today (Columbus Day – with half the market absent), someone – apparently having waited to see if the almost ‘ubiquitous’ 330pm Ramp would occur – decided it was time to dump three-quarters of a billion dollars notional of US equity market exposure in 1 second. The results of this forced liquidation (or utter disregard for fiduciary duty) were as follows…

A complete collapse of all liquidity in the S&P 500 e-mini futures contract – the world’s most liquid equity exposure vehicle…   Continue reading “This Is What Happens When Someone Is Desperate To Sell $750 Million Of Stocks”

ABC News

Two gunmen walked into a radio station and killed a local activist while he was giving his weekly radio program, prosecutors in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa said. It was the first on-air killing in recent memory in Mexico.

The victim, Atilano Roman Tirado, was the leader of a group of about 800 farm families whose lands were flooded by dam construction several years ago. His group, known as the Displaced Persons of Picachos — after the name of the dam — has been demanding compensation for the land.   Continue reading “Mexican Activist Slain During Radio Broadcast”

Washington Post – by Robert O’Harrow Jr., Steven Rich

Continue reading “Asset seizures fuel police spending”

LA Times – by James Queally

Seven high school football players have been arrested in a hazing scandal in central New Jersey, and three of them have been charged with sex crimes for assaults on freshman team members last month, prosecutors said.

Six of the defendants, whose identities were withheld because they are juveniles, were arrested by investigators with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Sayreville Police Department on Friday night, according to a statement released by prosecutor Andrew Carey.   Continue reading “7 football players arrested in New Jersey hazing, sexual assault case”

Mercury News

COARSEGOLD, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge closed a Central California casino after an armed showdown between tribal factions caused many gamblers to flee with chips left on the tables.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill, acting on an emergency request by the state attorney general, set no date for the possible reopening of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, about 40 miles north of Fresno, The Fresno Bee reported (http://bit.ly/1syCiKE ). He scheduled a hearing for Wednesday.    Continue reading “California casino closed after armed standoff”

SF Gate

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation says a tribal police officer has been shot in northern Arizona and a suspect is in custody.

Navajo Nation spokesman Deswood Tome says Officer Joseph Gregg was shot in the face Saturday in Kaibeto and was in stable condition at a hospital in Flagstaff.   Continue reading “Navajo police officer shot in Arizona”

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The Rebel Website – by John Kaminski

Nothing but lies — past, present and future. Your children are learning them as we speak, and one day soon, they won’t recognize their parents. In fact one day, after ingesting the requisite amount of government brainwashing, they will kill their parents in service to the state they are made to love.

Once the hope of the future but now its albatross, the USA is the land of lies. It’s an embarrassment to be an American because the whole world knows for sure that Americans can’t be trusted — no question about that. Just read the papers — it’s obvious.   Continue reading “Living in the land of lies”

Kinja – by Jay Hathaway

A Mobile, Ala., mom says school officials forced her daughter to sign a contract promising not to commit suicide or harm others after the kindergartner “drew something that resembled a gun,” then pointed a crayon at another kid and said “pew, pew!”

5-year-old Elizabeth was sent home after school officials made her take a questionnaire to evaluating her for suicidal thoughts, then had her sign the safety contract promising to contact an adult if she was thinking of suicide or homicide. This all happened while her mom waited in the lobby to pick her up, the upset parent told WPMI.   Continue reading “5-Year-Old Who Drew Pretend Crayon-Gun Made to Sign No-Suicide Contract”

Reuters – by Grant McCool

U.S. lawmakers agreed to use $750 million in war funds to fight Ebola in West Africa and seven more people in Spain were admitted to the hospital where an infected nurse lay seriously ill on Friday, as global concern grew about the virus spreading.

Countries from Macedonia to the Czech Republic to Brazil dealt with a rash of unlikely cases while Europe, the United States and the United Nations focused on trying to contain Ebola, which has killed thousands in West Africa.   Continue reading “U.S. to free up Ebola funds as fears of global spread rise”

All Gov – by Steve Straehley

The Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (DASP) is a federal program that was meant to take nonperforming mortgages off the banks’ books and move them to an entity that would make the terms of their loans easier for homeowners to live with. Instead, the program, run by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), has turned out to be a money-maker for big investors.

A report (pdf) by The Right to the City Alliance and The Center for Popular Democracy shows that the FHA has auctioned 98,100 mortgages from 2012 to the middle of this year. For-profit entities, primarily private equity firms, have bought 97% of them. Once the homes are foreclosed on, the equity firms then rent out the houses and even sell securities based on future rent receipts.   Continue reading “Government Housing Program Backfires, Helps Wall Street Instead”

KTLA 5 – by MELISSA PAMER, TRACY BLOOM AND CHIP YOST

A mixed-martial artist nicknamed “Mayhem” was arrested at his home  Thursday after apparently live-tweeted an hourslong standoff with the Sheriff’s Department that ended after a SWAT team, a bomb squad and crisis negotiators came to his Mission Viejo home on Thursday.

Deputies were serving an arrest warrant for alleged stalking and domestic violence in the 26000 block of Avenida Calidad (map) about 10 a.m. when a man barricaded himself inside the home, Lt. Jeff Hallock with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.   Continue reading “MMA Fighter Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Surrenders After Live-Tweeting Standoff With OCSD”

EuroNews

Mexican authorities have found four more mass graves containing charred bodies in the south west of the country where 43 students went missing two weeks ago.

The search for the fugitive mayor of Iguala and his wife is now formally underway, and new arrests were made in the investigation.   Continue reading “Four new mass graves unearthed in Mexico”