Author: Admin

Oil and Gas Journal

The US oil and gas industry recorded its highest volume of first quarter mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in more than a decade, PwC US Energy Practice said in an Apr. 30 report on transactions with value greater than $50 million. The movement was a result of rising upstream activities and increased interest from foreign entities.

Forty-three oil and gas deals with values greater than $50 million occurred through Mar. 31, accounting for $19.8 billion, compared with 41 deals in last year’s first quarter (OGJ Online, May 6, 2013). The first-quarter 2014 total included five megadeals, representing $10.1 billion, compared with eight megadeals worth $19.7 billion in first-quarter 2013.   Continue reading “US Mergers & Acquisitions activity reaches highest 1Q volume in more than a decade”

ABC News – by KAMI DIMITROVA

At least two people have died with more than 150 others injured after a gas explosion at a Florida jail, authorities said, tying the blast to recent flooding in the region.

The explosion happened around midnight at the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Facility in Pensacola, county spokeswoman Kathleen Dough-Castro said.   Continue reading “2 Dead, More Than 150 Injured In Florida Jail Explosion”

Reuters – by Jennifer Dobner

(Reuters) – A congressman is calling for a probe into the activities of armed militiamen who are supporting a Nevada cattleman in a high profile showdown with federal authorities over grazing rights, citing allegations they set up armed checkpoints on local roads.

Rancher Cliven Bundy of Bunkerville became a symbol for conservative Republicans in April, particularly among the Tea Party movement, for his longstanding defiance of court orders to remove his cattle from federal land.   Continue reading “Nevada Congressman seeks probe of armed militia operations at Bundy ranch”

ABC News – by SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press

One of the first states to adopt Common Core standards became the first state to formally abandon the national benchmarks, as Indiana’s State Board of Education voted overwhelmingly Monday for a replacement that will guide student learning for years.

The board voted 10-1 to endorse the new benchmarks to guide what students in kindergarten through 12th grade should learn in math and English, which were created by a panel of faculty from Indiana universities and representatives from science and technology industries. The vote came ahead of the state’s July deadline and could end months of heated debate.   Continue reading “Indiana Approves Common Core Replacement Standards”

Politico- by Manu Raju

Federal law enforcement officials are investigating threats made against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the aftermath of his sharp-edged attacks against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, sources said Monday.

Reid has not minced words about Bundy’s battle with the Bureau of Land Management, referring to Bundy’s supporters as “domestic terrorists” and the rancher himself as a “hateful racist.” As he’s stepped up his criticism, Reid has been the subject of threats himself, prompting an increase in his own security detail in recent days, people familiar with the matter said Monday.   Continue reading “Police investigating Cliven Bundy-related threats to Harry Reid”

Opposing Views – by Sarah Fruchtnicht

Police in Wausau, Wis., cited six students for disorderly conduct because they were having a Nerf gun battle.

Residents in Wausau allegedly called police after they spotted the students pointing a Nerf gun at a car Tuesday night. Even though the toy only shoots foam bullets, Wausau Police Capt. Ben Bliven told WAOW-TV that residents were frightened so police responded appropriately.   Continue reading “Six Wisconsin Students Cited For Nerf Gun Battle”

Navy Times – by Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to destroy more than $1 billion worth of ammunition although some of those bullets and missiles could still be used by troops, according to the Pentagon and congressional sources.

It’s impossible to know what portion of the arsenal slated for destruction — valued at $1.2 billion by the Pentagon — remains viable because the Defense Department’s inventory systems can’t share data effectively, according to a Government Accountability Office report obtained by USA TODAY.   Continue reading “Report: Pentagon to destroy $1B in ammo”

Fox News

New York Rep. Michael Grimm was arrested Monday morning, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News, as federal prosecutors prepare to announce charges against the Republican congressman.

Grimm was transported to FBI headquarters in Manhattan. He had been expected to turn himself in, after learning several days earlier that charges were forthcoming.    Continue reading “Rep. Grimm arrested in New York”

Reuters – by Yasmine Saleh

An Egyptian court sentenced the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and 682 supporters to death on Monday, intensifying a crackdown on the movement that could trigger protests and political violence ahead of an election next month.

In another case signaling growing intolerance of dissent by military-backed authorities, a pro-democracy movement that helped ignite the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 was banned by court order, judicial sources said.   Continue reading “Egyptian court seeks death sentence for Brotherhood leader, 682 supporters”

RT News

The mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov, Gennady Kernes, has been shot in the back by unidentified gunmen, the city council’s press service reports.

At about 11:30 am (8:30 GMT) local time Kernes was taken to the local hospital. The City Hall’s website says that doctors are fighting to save his life.

“They shot him in the back from the forest,” Kernes’s friend Yury Sapronov told Vesti Ukrainy news outlet.“The injury is serious. His lung is pierced and his liver pierced all the way through.”   Continue reading “Mayor of Kharkov, Ukraine shot in back, hospitalized – press service”

Watertown Daily Times

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — An organization representing the eight states and two Canadian provinces that surround the Great Lakes announced a partnership Friday with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to recruit foreign manufacturing investment to the region.

The Council of Great Lakes Governors and The Paulson Institute, based at the University of Chicago, will try to capitalize on the growing interest of China and other emerging economies in making “direct investments” in advanced nations. Such investments — which often involve buying or expanding plants and other assets — have greater potential to create jobs than bond holdings bought or sold through paper transactions, Paulson said.   Continue reading “Partnership to push Chinese investments in Great Lake”

Washington’s Blog

Banks Create Money Out of Thin Air … Conferring Enormous Windfall Profits At the Expense of the People

We’ve pointed out for 4 1/2 years that banks create money out of thin air.

Specifically, it has now been conclusively proven that loans come first … and then deposits FOLLOW.   Continue reading “The Biggest Secret About Banking Has Just Gone Mainstream”

Reuters – by MATT SPETALNICK AND THOMAS GROVE

U.S. President Barack Obama announced new sanctions against some Russians on Monday to stop President Vladimir Putin from fomenting the rebellion in eastern Ukraine, but said he was holding broader measures against Russia’s economy “in reserve.”

On the ground, pro-Moscow rebels showed no sign of curbing their uprising, seizing public buildings in another town in the east. Interfax news agency reported that the mayor of a further major eastern city, Kharkiv, had been shot and was undergoing an operation. It gave no details of the shooting.   Continue reading “Obama announces new U.S. sanctions on Russia over Ukraine”

Fox News

At least 18 people were killed Sunday by three separate tornadoes spawned by a powerful storm system that moved through the central and southern United States.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management confirmed early Monday that at least sixteen people had died after a tornado tore through central Arkansas, while an Oklahoma county sheriff’s dispatcher reported that one person had died in the town of Quapaw, near the state’s borders with Kansas and Missouri. Fox News has also confirmed that one person died when a tornado hit Keokuk County, Iowa.   Continue reading “Tornadoes kill at least 18 as storms pummel Plains, Midwest, and South”

By Wm Grommen

Have you ever wondered what information a stock market index actually gives? An index point is not a fixed unit in time and does not have any historical significance.

Two measurements during a marathon

Imagine the following two measurements:   Continue reading “All Stock Market Indices are Fata Morganas”

Yahoo News – by Jim Gomez

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States and the Philippines have reached a 10-year agreement that would allow a larger U.S. military presence in this Southeast Asian nation as it grapples with increasingly tense territorial disputes with China, White House officials said Sunday.

Two Philippine officials confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press before the White House announcement.   Continue reading “US, Philippines reach deal on troops”

Daily Caller – by Robby Soave

California cops planted drugs in a woman’s home to frame her after finding nothing in their illegal search of her home, a lawsuit alleges.

Allison Ross has filed a federal lawsuit against against the Santa Clara sheriff’s department, crime lab and 12 officers that she claims participated in a conspiracy to plant drugs in her house and frame her for a crime she did not commit.   Continue reading “Lawsuit: Cops found nothing in raid, so they PLANTED DRUGS to frame innocent woman”