Author: Angel - NYC

Reuters – by JOHN SHIFFMAN

A state board revoked the license of a former U.S. Army doctor on Friday, finding that he plied students with hypnotic drugs during battlefield-trauma training and performed dangerous procedures, including intentionally inducing shock.

The doctor, John Henry Hagmann, was cited for training he provided in 2012 and 2013 in Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado and Great Britain. Students testified on Friday that Hagmann also performed penile nerve blocks and instructed them to insert catheters into one another’s genitals.   Continue reading “U.S. doctor sanctioned for ‘abhorrent and abnormal’ troop training”

Gun Owners of America – by Erich Pratt

Just hours after the tragic shooting in a South Carolina church, President Barack Obama resumed his fanatical war on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners.

“Now’s the time for mourning and for healing, but let’s be clear — at some point we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries,” Obama said.   Continue reading “The President Gets it Wrong Once Again — Guns are actually saving lives”

Military Times – by Patricia Kime

After years of battling the Veterans Affairs Department for health care and compensation for illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure from aircraft flown after the Vietnam War, a group of up to 2,100 Air Force personnel and reservists finally will receive service-connected benefits.

VA announced Thursday it will expand eligibility for benefits to Air Force members who flew in C-123 aircraft after they were used in Vietnam to spray the toxic herbicide.   Continue reading “VA to grant benefits for Agent Orange exposure”

Post and Courier – by Glenn Smith, Melissa Boughton Robert Behre

Update (7:20 AM): Mullen said investigators are going through all kinds of video, public and private, to try to get more information on the suspect’s whereabouts. Officers throughout the region are assisting in the search — City of Charleston, Charleston County, SLED and FBI were all mentioned.

Mullen noted that there are specific elements that classify a hate crime and could lead to federal prosecution. “There is no doubt in my mind that this is a hate crime,” Mullen said. The U.S. Attorney’s office will make ultimate decision as to whether this will be prosecuted as a hate crime.   Continue reading “Charleston, SC: 6 women, 3 men killed in shooting at Emanuel AME; authorities asking for help identifying suspect”

Columbia Patch – by Elizabeth Janney

Have you ever felt like you just wanted someone to hold you? There could be a place in Columbia for that.

Robert Andrews and his wife, Tiffany, are starting a cuddling business called Tender Embrace, and they’re looking to settle down nearby.

“Columbia is a perfect location demographically and geographically, as it hosts a number of corporate headquarters and business-oriented people,” Andrews told Patch.   Continue reading “Former Marine to Open ‘Cuddling’ Business”

Crain’s New York

New York City police officials are working to recruit more Muslims.

Right now, there are about 800 Muslim uniformed police officers out of about 35,000. Of those, only about 20 are higher ranked officials.

The commanding officer of the community affairs immigration outreach unit, Lt. Adeel Rana, said Monday there’s been a slow increase over the past decade.   Continue reading “NYPD looks to recruit more Muslim officers”

NJ.com – by Christopher Baxter

TRENTON — The mayor of West New York, Felix Roque, was indicted Tuesday for accepting approximately $250,000 in bribes in return for referring patients to a medical imaging company whose owner has admitted running a massive kickback scheme, state authorities said.

From 2007 to 2012, Roque, 59, a Democrat who runs the Pain Relief Center in the town, agreed to refer patients needing MRI and CT scans to the centers in exchange for cash and campaign contributions, the state Attorney General’s Office said.   Continue reading “West New York mayor accepted $250K in bribes in medical kickback scheme, cops say”

Waco Tribune – by Cassie L. Smith

More than 500 motorcyclists rallied in downtown Waco on Sunday afternoon, uniting in the message that bikers are not criminals and protesting the treatment of the 177 bikers arrested after the May 17 shootout at Twin Peaks restaurant.

While at least 50 of those arrested have been released after their bonds were reduced from the original $1 million each, the fact that so many more remain behind bars is an injustice that is nothing short of criminal, protesters at the “All for 1” rally said.   Continue reading “Hundreds of bikers protest at McLennan County courthouse”

AOL – by LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lyme disease makes the headlines but there are plenty of additional reasons to avoid tick bites. New research highlights the latest in a growing list of tick-borne threats — a distant relative of Lyme that’s easy to confuse with other illnesses.

Monday’s study suggests a kind of bacteria with an unwieldy name — Borrelia miyamotoi — should be on the radar when people in Lyme-endemic areas get otherwise unexplained summertime fevers. It’s one of several recently discovered diseases linked to ticks in different parts of the country, a reminder to get tick-savvy no matter where you live.   Continue reading “Beyond Lyme, new illnesses, more reason to watch for ticks”

Post and Courier – by Andrew Knapp

A Charleston County grand jury Monday morning indicted former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager on a murder charge in the shooting death of Walter Scott, the area’s top prosecutor announced.

“The prosecution work has just begun,” 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said during a news conference.   Continue reading “Solicitor: Michael Slager indicted in Walter Scott shooting”

Business Insider – by NATASHA BERTRAND

Last month’s massive breach of federal employees’ data at the hands of the Chinese, made public Thursday, indicates a treacherous new reality in the global cyber game.

“It’s very serious indeed,” geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer, the founder of Eurasia Group, told Business Insider.   Continue reading “We should be very clear: China is at virtual war with the United States”

Stars and Stripes – by ERIC TALMADGE

TOKYO — North Korean space agency officials say the country is developing a more advanced Earth observation satellite and are defending their right to conduct rocket launches whenever they see fit, despite protests by the United States and others that the launches are aimed primarily at honing military-use technologies.

The North launched its first and only satellite in 2012. The claim that it is working on another, made in an interview last week with an AP Television crew in Pyongyang, comes amid a flurry of attention to the country’s fledgling space agency, including a visit by leader Kim Jong Un to a new satellite control center that was repeatedly broadcast on North Korean TV early last month.   Continue reading “North Korea developing new satellite, defends space program”

CNBC – by Everett Rosenfeld

The federal government is notifying millions of employees as it works to assess the impact of a massive data breach involving the agency that handles security clearances and employee records.

Federal officials suspect that Chinese hackers are behind the data breach, Dow Jones reported, citing sources.

“The FBI is working with our interagency partners to investigate this matter. We take all potential threats to public and private sector systems seriously, and will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace,” an FBI spokesman told CNBC.   Continue reading “US officials report massive breach of federal personnel data”

Prisoners into Profit

The two largest private prison companies alone have spent $35 million on lobbying and campaign contributions to state and local officials since 1989. Evidently, it was money well spent:

The number of prisoners housed in private facilities has jumped 1600% since 1990.

Continue reading “Private prison companies are exploiting our corrupt political system to lock people up… for profit.”

New York Daily News – by EDGAR SANDOVAL, LARRY MCSHANE

A Bronx politician wants the sins of New York’s children visited upon their parents.

City Council member Andy King plans to ask state legislators to hold mom and dad liable if their law-breaking kids aged 17 and under are caught carrying guns.   Continue reading “Bronx City Councilman wants parents held liable for gun-toting kids’ actions: ‘You brought them into this world’”