NBC News – by Henry Austin

Dozens of children at a Utah school had their lunches seized and thrown away because they did not have enough money in their accounts, prompting an angry response from parents, it was reported.

“She took my lunch away and said, ‘Go get a milk,’” Sophia Isom, a fifth-grader at Salt Lake City’s Uintah Elementary School, told NBC affiliate KSL.com. “I came back and asked, ‘What’s going on?’ Then she handed me an orange. She said, ‘You don’t have any money in your account so you can’t get lunch.’”   Continue reading “Reports: Lunches seized from Utah schoolkids because of unpaid bills”

Press TV

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has warned that foreign-backed terrorist groups in Syria are preparing to attack Western targets.

Presenting an annual intelligence assessment on Wednesday, Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee that al-Qaeda-linked groups operating inside Syria have launched camps “to train” the foreign-backed militants to go back to their countries and carry out terrorist acts.   Continue reading “US spy chief warns of Syria terror backlash”

Dzhokhar TsarnaevWPTZ 5 News

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has authorized the government to seek the death penalty against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev, according to Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.

Authorities accuse Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of planting the bombs that exploded April 15 near the finish line of the marathon.
Three people were killed there and more than 260 wounded.    Continue reading “DOJ to seek death penalty for Boston bombing suspect”

Publius Forum – by Warner Todd Huston

As the State of Connecticut went through the process of gearing up to push more gun bans and bans on high capacity ammunition magazines, it was estimated that The Constitution State had at least “2.4 million” of the offending magazines within its borders. But now, after the new forced registration law set in, only about 38,000 high capacity magazines were registered. So, where did they all go?   Continue reading “How Did ‘Millions’ of High Capacity Magazines Disappear in Connecticut?”

Fox News

NAPERVILLE, ILL. –  Dozens of former elected officials in suburbs surrounding Chicago are collectively receiving tens of thousands of dollars a year in pension benefits, even though they mostly worked part time.

Besides the question of whether part-time work as an alderman, mayor or clerk deserves such benefits, critics say the payouts are an unfair burden on local taxpayers. Some say they also demonstrate a failure of the state’s pension reform plan to go far enough in easing a crisis that has left Illinois mired in debt.   Continue reading “Part-time Illinios workers receiving lifetime pensions”

Piggy BankTime – by Dan Kadlec

To better enable Americans to save for retirement, President Obama said he would order a new “starter” savings plan called MyRA geared at low-income households. It’s a fine idea. But as with any personal savings account, you must be able to fund it for it to matter. That may be the biggest problem with the program.   Continue reading “The Problem With President Obama’s ‘MyRA’ Savings Accounts”

Happy Meal heroinUSA Today- by Michael Winter

Drive-through customers at a Pittsburgh McDonald’s who asked for “a toy” got a little something extra with their Happy Meal — heroin, local authorities said Wednesday.

Officers arrested 26-year-old Shania Dennis after buying the drug at the McDonald’s where she worked, in the city’s East Liberty section, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Officers from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s narcotics unit found 10 bags of heroin in a Happy Meal box and recovered 50 more bags from Dennis.   Continue reading “McDonald’s worker busted for Happy Meal heroin”

Beretta to build new firearms plant in Tenn.Yahoo News – by LUCAS L. JOHNSON II

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Italian gun maker Beretta said Wednesday that Tennessee’s support for gun rights was a major factor in its decision to build a manufacturing and research facility in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin.

The $45 million plant is projected to be complete this year and create 300 new jobs.

Gun rights were “the first criteria for deciding to even consider a state,” said Jeff Reh, a member of Beretta USA Corp.’s board of directors.   Continue reading “Beretta to build new firearms plant in Tenn.”

images (1)Food Storehouse – by Ben Tanner

Have you ever thought about how you are going to get clean if anything happens in the world? Well I have done a ton of thinking about it and from what I have come across is that soap is bloody expensive. Things like laundry soap which I wrote a blog on making your very own soap which has been plastered all over the internet before but it really does save you money and there is a HUGE benefit to not having extra chemicals floating around in your stuff but what about your body?   Continue reading “Making Soap At Home!”

credit card statementYahoo News – by Jose Pagliery, CNN

Be on the lookout for a recent $9.84 charge on your debit or credit card. It might be part of a massive, worldwide scam.

Thieves are using stolen payment cards to make small charges that could easily go unnoticed. The charges are attributed to generic-looking websites such as EEETsac.com, CEWcs.com and EduAcc.in, which claim to offer customer support services.    Continue reading “Were you charged $9.84? It might be fraud”

Be Your Own Leader – by Dana Gabriel

In preparation for the upcoming North American Leaders Summit which will be held in Toluca, Mexico on February 19, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently held a meeting with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts. Over the last number of years, not as much attention has been given to the trilateral relationship. Instead, the U.S. has essentially pursued a dual-bilateral approach with both Canada and Mexico on key issues including border and continental perimeter security, as well as regulatory and energy cooperation. On the heels of its 20th anniversary, there once again appears to be renewed interest in broadening and deepening the NAFTA partnership as part of the next phase of North American integration.   Continue reading “NAFTA and the Next Phase of North American Integration”

NBC News – by Claudio Lavanga

ROME — A relic containing drops of late Pope John Paul II’s blood has been stolen, and Italian police speculate the thieves may want it for satanic rites.

The vial was stolen from the Church of San Pietro della Ienca in the mountainous Abruzzo region in central Italy on Saturday. Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, loved to go on skiing holidays in the area.

A relic with a vial containing the late Pope John Paul II’s blood is seen in 2012.   Continue reading “Vial of Pope John Paul II’s blood stolen from Italian church”

BBC News

Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych has accepted the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet amid continuing anti-government protests.

Mykola Azarov had offered to step down as prime minister to create “social and political compromise”.

The move came after the Ukrainian parliament voted overwhelmingly to annul a controversial anti-protest law.   Continue reading “Ukraine’s PM Azarov and government resign”

A school classroom is pictured. | AP PhotoPolitico – by STEPHANIE SIMON 

The board of the New York state teachers union this weekend unanimously withdrew its support for the Common Core standards as they have been implemented — a major blow for Common Core advocates who have been touting support from teachers as proof that the standards will succeed in classrooms nationwide.

“We’ll have to be the first to say it’s failed,” said Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers.   Continue reading “New York teachers turn on Common Core”

Obama_union2.jpgFox News

President Obama, in the first of potentially many executive actions tied to his State of the Union address, will unilaterally increase the minimum wage for workers under new federal contracts to $10.10 an hour, from $7.25, in an effort to build momentum for a minimum wage hike for all Americans.

The executive order, which has been championed by progressive Democratic lawmakers, applies to all contractors performing services for the federal government and would effect more than 2 million employees, according to an administration official.    Continue reading “Obama to sign executive order raising minimum wage for federal contractors”

NBC News – by Gabe Gutierrez and Tracy Connor

Less than a week after one grand jury declined to charge him, a different one has indicted a Charlotte, N.C., police officer for voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed man who was looking for help after a car crash.

Prosecutors resubmitted the case against Officer Randall Kerrick after learning not all 18 members of the original grand jury were present for last Tuesday’s vote.   Continue reading “New grand jury indicts Charlotte police officer who shot unarmed man”