New York Times

New York City has agreed to a $2 million settlement with the family of a mentally ill woman who was fatally shot by a New York City police sergeant two years ago as she wielded a bat in the bedroom of her Bronx apartment, city officials said Thursday.

The agreement, which was reached this week, is the latest development in a highly contentious and at times racially charged debate surrounding the death of the woman, Deborah Danner. The case became a flash point in national discussions over whether police officers are too quick to shoot people and whether they are adequately trained to work with people suffering from severe mental illness.   Continue reading “New York City Agrees to Pay $2 Million to Family of Mentally Ill Woman Killed by Police”

AOL

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say bomb threats sent Thursday to dozens of schools, government buildings and other locations across the U.S. appear to be a hoax.

Law enforcement agencies across the country dismissed the threats, which they said were meant to cause disruption and compel recipients into sending money and are not considered credible.   Continue reading “Authorities: Bomb threats across US appear to be hoax”

ABC News 7

HEMPSTEAD, Long Island (WABC) — Officials in the Village of Hempstead are offering to replace toy guns children receive this Christmas with other toys.

“Saying no to guns is important – even toy guns,” said Hempstead Village Mayor Don Ryan.   Continue reading “Kids on Long Island invited to exchange toy guns for other toys”

Seattle Times

When a 69-year-old Seattle woman underwent brain surgery earlier this year at Swedish Medical Center, her doctors were stumped.

Last January, the woman was admitted to the hospital’s emergency department after suffering a seizure. Doctors took a CT scan of her brain to determine the cause, finding what they initially thought was a tumor. But an examination of tissue taken from her brain during surgery a day later showed she was up against a much deadlier attack, one that had been underway for about a year and was literally eating her alive.   Continue reading “Rare brain-eating amoebas killed Seattle woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water. Doctor warns this could happen again”

OPB

Oregon’s attorney general has approved language for a ballot measure to make psychedelic mushrooms legal.

The measure would reduce criminal penalties for the manufacture, delivery and possession of psilocybin — the hallucinogen contained in psychedelic mushrooms.   Continue reading “Oregon Takes 1st Major Step Toward Legalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms”

Washington Post – by Karen Tumulty

George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president and his one term as commander in chief from 1989 to 1993.

The last veteran of World War II to serve as president, he was a consummate public servant and a statesman who helped guide the nation and the world out of a four-decade Cold War that had carried the threat of nuclear annihilation.   Continue reading “George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States, dies at 94”

AP

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government said Tuesday that it will award President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner the highest honor the country gives to foreigners, the Order of the Aztec Eagle.

The Foreign Relations Department said Kushner earned the award “for his significant contributions in achieving the renegotiation of the new (trade) agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada.”   Continue reading “Mexico to grant highest honor to Jared Kushner”

The Hill

Panic ensued Tuesday at Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Md., after an active shooter exercise was thought to be an actual shooting.

The U.S. Navy said in a tweet Tuesday that there was no shooter at the hospital and that the incident was an “ad hoc drill by tenant command.”  Continue reading “Panic at Walter Reed after exercise mistaken as active shooter”

AOL

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s incoming government denied a report Saturday that it plans to allow asylum-seekers to wait in the country while their claims move through U.S. immigration courts, one of several options the Trump administration has been pursuing in negotiations for months.

“There is no agreement of any sort between the incoming Mexican government and the U.S. government,” future Interior Minister Olga Sanchez said in a statement.   Continue reading “Incoming Mexico gov’t: No deal to host U.S. asylum-seekers”

AOL

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Taiwanese exchange student accused of threatening to “shoot up” his high school near Philadelphia was spared additional time in prison at his sentencing Monday, but he will be deported and barred from returning to the U.S.

A federal judge Monday after nearly two hours of testimony sentenced An-Tso Sun also known as “Edward” to time served and deportation. The judge did not impose a fine. Sun had been facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his guilty plea to a firearms-related charge.   Continue reading “Taiwanese student accused of school threat to be deported”

Earth Justice – by  Jan Hasselman

A new chapter opens in the legal fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe renews their lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers challenging its recently completed review of the pipeline’s impacts.

Attorney Jan Hasselman explains the significance of this legal development.

Continue reading “The Renewed Legal Challenge Against the Dakota Access Pipeline”

CBC News – by Emily Chung

Canadian researchers have discovered a new kind of organism that’s so different from other living things that it doesn’t fit into the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, or any other kingdom used to classify known organisms.

Two species of the microscopic organisms, called hemimastigotes, were found in dirt collected on a whim during a hike in Nova Scotia by Dalhousie University graduate student Yana Eglit.   Continue reading “Rare microbes lead scientists to discover new branch on the tree of life”

Weather Channel

Prolonged November cold and early snowfall are helping to raise the odds of a persistently cold winter in the East, according to the latest outlook from The Weather Company, an IBM Business.

The United States has had its most expansive November snow cover in almost three years due to a plunge of the jet stream centered over the central U.S.

Continue reading “Winter Temperature Outlook: Why This November Cold Snap Increases Odds of a Cold Winter in the East”

The Baltimore Sun

A man shouting “Heil Hitler, Heil Trump” during a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” in Baltimore smelled of alcohol and told police he was motivated by his hatred of President Donald Trump.

Anthony M. Derlunas, 58, told an officer he “had been drinking heavily throughout the night” before the outburst at the Hippodrome Theatre on Wednesday night, according to a police report.   Continue reading “Drunk man shouts ‘Heil Hitler, Heil Trump,’ does Nazi salute during Baltimore performance of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’”

NBC News – by Courtney Kube

Two elite Navy SEALs and two Marine Raiders were charged with felony murder in the June 2017 strangulation death of U.S. Army Green Beret Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar.

The U.S. Navy brought the charges against the four service members on Tuesday, painting a gruesome picture of the effort to kill Melgar, 34.   Continue reading “Two Navy SEALs, two Marines charged in murder of Green Beret”

James Fetzer

Dr. Eowyn 

If one part of an event is a lie, the whole event is contrived.

According to the timeline of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, in Parkland, Florida: Continue reading “Dr. Eowyn: Parkland anomalies: David Hogg was at home during school shooting; interviewed girl before shooting”

Las Vegas Review Journal – by Henry Brean

Democrat Lesia Romanov was the only candidate with a pulse in the race for Assembly District 36, but apparently that wasn’t enough to defeat deceased brothel owner Dennis Hof.

Based on partial returns late Tuesday night, it appeared voters in the rural, heavily Republican district chose to elect someone no longer living rather than let the seat turn blue.   Continue reading “Dennis Hof, deceased brothel owner, wins Nevada Assembly race”

Bloomberg

The sullen teenager grinding through a restaurant shift after school was once a pop culture cliche—as American as curly fries.

Nowadays, Brad Hamilton, the teen played by Judge Reinhold in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” would probably be too young to work at the fictional Captain Hook Fish and Chips. That’s because senior citizens are taking his place—donning polyester, flipping patties and taking orders. They’re showing up at casual dining chains such as Bob Evans and fast-food operators like McDonald’s Corp., which says it plans to make senior citizens one hiring focus in the coming year.   Continue reading “Senior Citizens Are Replacing Teenagers as Fast-Food Workers”

Washington Post – by Robert Costa

Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City who is considering a 2020 presidential campaign, took another step closer to that possibility Sunday with a $5 million national advertising effort that encourages voters to support Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections — and offers Bloomberg’s centrist politics as a counter to President Trump.

Bloomberg’s two-minute television ad, which features him speaking directly to the camera and standing before an American flag, first aired Sunday during CBS’s “60 Minutes.” It will air again Monday during the evening news programs on broadcast networks and on MSNBC and CNN.   Continue reading “Michael Bloomberg to air $5 million in ads before midterm elections to tout Democrats — and himself”

The Atlantic – by Alexis C. Madrigal

Americans over 50 are worse than younger people at telling facts from opinions, according to a new study by Pew Research Center.

Given 10 statements, five each of fact and opinion, younger Americans correctly identified both the facts and the opinions at higher rates than older Americans did. Forty-four percent of younger people identified all five opinions as opinions, while only 26 percent of older people did. And 18-to-29-year-olds performed more than twice as well as the 65+ set. Of the latter group, only 17 percent classified all five facts as factual statements.   Continue reading “Older People Are Worse Than Young People at Telling Fact from Opinion”