Author: Mark W

Cult of Mac – by Evan Killham

It only took one sentence for the United States Court of Appeals to keep the federal government’s emergency plan to disable cellular service a secret. It was a very long sentence, but it got the job done.

This ruling reinforces the Department of Homeland Security’s attempts to block Freedom of Information Act requests that it feels will endanger public safety.   Continue reading “Court keeps cellphone network ‘kill switch’ a secret”

New York Times – by DAVE PHILIPPS and EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS

PHILADELPHIA — The Amtrak train that derailed Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring more than 200, may have been struck by an object before it careened off the tracks, an assistant conductor on the train told investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.

At a news conference on Friday, Robert L. Sumwalt, the safety board official who is leading the investigation, said an assistant conductor had reported that she believed she heard a radio transmission in which an engineer on a regional line said his train had been struck by a projectile and the engineer on the Amtrak train replied that his had been struck, too.   Continue reading “Amtrak Train Possibly Hit Before Wreck”

PC World – by Lucian Constantin

A security firm is warning that a group of Russian hackers known for targeting military, government and media organizations is now preparing to attack banks in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The group’s preparations, which have included writing new malware, registering domain names similar to those of intended targets, and setting up command-and-control servers, were discovered by analysts from security firm Root9B.   Continue reading “Russian cyber group seen preparing to attack banks”

KHOU

MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Parts of Montgomery County are under voluntary evacuations Wednesday night with the threat of heavy showers moving into the area.

Montgomery County Emergency Management officials have suggested residents in River Plantation near Stewart Creek evacuate the area due to the threat of flooding in the area.   Continue reading “Voluntary evacuations suggested for parts of Montgomery Co., TX”

NBC New York – by Marc Santia, Jonathan Dienst and Pei-Sze Cheng

The hammer-wielding stranger who attacked four people in separate ambushes within a span of six hours in Manhattan Monday has been fatally shot in a confrontation with police, authorities and law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation tell NBC 4 New York.

The suspect, an image of whom had been captured by surveillance cameras and released by police Tuesday, was killed at the scene near West 37th Street and Eighth Avenue around 10 a.m. Wednesday, sources said. Sources said he tried to attack a female officer and was shot.   Continue reading “Hammer-Wielding Suspect Linked to Monday’s Attacks Shot Dead After Trying to Hit Officer in Midtown: Police”

ABC News

At least 10 adults are unaccounted for after a possible tornado hit the East Texas town of Van, injuring more than two dozen people.

Van Zandt County Fire Marshal Chuck Allen said Monday that 26 people were transported to hospitals by emergency personnel. Allen says an unknown number of others went by private vehicle for care after Sunday night’s storm.

He had no further details on the 10 missing people in Van, a town of about 2,600 located 70 miles southeast of Dallas.   Continue reading “The Latest on Severe Weather: at Least 10 Unaccounted For”

WND – by Larry Pratt

Congress is being urged to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade plan even though most have not read it, and a leading gun-rights activist says the plan could give President Obama the power to limit the importation of ammunition and implement his political agenda in many different ways.

“Fast track authority in the context of this treaty means a blank check,” said Gun Owners of America Executive Director Larry Pratt.   Continue reading “Congress giving Obama ‘blank check’ for gun control”

WND – by Paul Bremmer

Obamacare already has been blamed for the cancellation of millions of health policies that didn’t meet the government’s requirements and for raising the cost of medical care.

Now it appears to be sending more people to hospital emergency rooms. A poll shows three of four ER physicians is seeing an increase in traffic, some by significant numbers.

Supporters had claimed that more people would be covered with insurance, so they would be seeing their own doctors and not showing up as often at the ER.   Continue reading “Obamacare goof could bring medical system down”

ABC 11 News – by Luis Martinez

Military bases and installations in the United States have been ordered to raise their force protection condition status to Bravo (FPCON Bravo), due to general concerns about ISIS related threats, but not because of any specific threat or plot.

U.S. Northern Command’s Admiral William Gortney ordered the increase in the force protection condition from FPCON Alpha Plus, which is the standard for U.S. military bases.   Continue reading “US Military Bases Raise Security Status due to ISIS Threat”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

In what was an “unambiguously” unpleasant April jobs payrolls report, with a March revision dragging that month’s job gain to the lowest level since June of 2012, the fact that the number of Americans not in the labor force rose once again, this time to 93,194K from 93,175K, with the result being a participation rate of 69.45 or just above the lowest percentage since 1977, will merely catalyze even more upside to the so called “market” which continues to reflect nothing but central bank liquidity, and thus – the accelerating deterioration of the broader economy.   Continue reading “Americans Not In The Labor Force Rise To Record 93,194,000”

WND – by Leo Hohmann

It all started with an unwanted knock on the door by a government worker and it’s being answered with a $60 million lawsuit.

A New Jersey family is suing the state child-protection agency after it allegedly sent a caseworker to their home to interrogate them on everything from their son’s homeschool education to questions about vaccines and guns in the house.   Continue reading “Homeschoolers interrogated on guns, vaccines”

WND – by Bob Unruh

The urban legends about black helicopters, clandestine military camps, tunnels underneath major airports, secret cabals, hidden detention camps, trains loaded with caskets and body bags and the like were around long before the Internet. The Web just made them easier and quicker to reproduce.

One of the tea-party organizations even has reported an anonymous claim there were train cars moving around the country with prison-like shackles installed.

Most people dismiss such reports as hyperbole. Fiction. The fretting of nutcases.   Continue reading “Republican Areas Designated “Hostel” For Military Training”

Fox News

An NYPD officer who was shot in the head while sitting in an unmarked car in Queens Saturday has died from his injuries.

Brian Moore, 25, died Monday, the NYPD confirmed.

“Condolences to the family of PO Brian Moore who lost his life today. RIP to a true hero. We will never forget. #Hero,” the NYPD 104th Precinct tweeted Monday afternoon.    Continue reading “NYPD officer shot in the head dies from injuries”

ABC News

One of the suspects in the shooting in Garland, Texas, late Sunday has been identified as Elton Simpson, an Arizona man who was previously the subject of a terror investigation, according to a senior FBI official.

Overnight and today FBI agents and a bomb squad were at Simpson’s home in an apartment complex in north Phoenix where a robot is believed to be conducting an initial search of the apartment.   Continue reading “One of Garland, Texas Shooting Suspects ID’d, Official Says”

Natural News – by Jonathan Benson

If you think electing Hillary Clinton as president will somehow bring about anything other than business as usual in Washington, there’s some beachfront property in Colorado with your name on it. Nearly every top donor to the Clinton Foundation that actively lobbied Hillary’s State Department is connected to pharmaceuticals, vaccines, junk food, globalization, chemicals, oil and biotechnology, which means more business as usual should this criminal gain access to the Oval Office.   Continue reading “Clinton Foundation a cesspool of corporate poisoners, junk food companies, and pushers of vaccines and GMOs”