Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

When Susannah Mushatt Jones and Emma Morano were born in 1899, there was not yet world war or penicillin, and electricity was still considered a marvel. The women are believed to be the last two in the world with birthdates in the 1800s.

The world has multiplied and changed drastically in their lifetimes. They have seen war destroy landmarks and cities and have seen them rebuilt. They witnessed the Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain, and the dawn of civil rights, the rise and fall of the fascists and Benito Mussolini, the first polio vaccines and the first black president of the United States.   Continue reading “A world apart: 2 women with birthdates in 1800s still alive”

Mail.com

MEDAN, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian air force transport plane plowed into a residential neighborhood in the country’s third-largest city of Medan shortly after takeoff on Tuesday, killing dozens of people.

Television footage showed the mangled wreckage of the C-130 Hercules, a crumpled burning car and a shattered building that local media said was recently built and contained a spa, shops and homes. Smoke billowed from the site and several thousand people milled nearby. Rescue teams scrambled over the rubble, searching for any survivors.   Continue reading “Dozens feared dead in Indonesia plane crash”

RT

The Supreme Court upheld by 5-4 the usage of a sedative called midazolam in drug cocktails used for death penalties in several states. Death row inmates argued the drug failed to block pain and suffering, leading to ‘cruel and unusual’ executions.

Justice Alito delivered the court’s opinion, joined by judges Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas and Chief Justice Roberts. According to the majority, it is “settled that capital punishment is constitutional,” and therefore there has to be a constitutional method of carrying it out.   Continue reading “Supreme Court upholds lethal injections”

I’m no military expert, but why would anyone who escaped from a prison
walk along any road where they could easily be spotted?  Oh, that’s
right, it’s the same old script being used time and again.

ABC News

The escaped murderer who was shot by a state trooper near the Canadian border is in “critical but stable” condition at an Albany hospital, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.   Continue reading “NY Gov. Cuomo: Captured convict ‘critical but stable’”

Mail.com

BOSTON (AP) — Former Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger had some advice for three high school girls who wrote to him for a history project: Crime doesn’t pay.

The 85-year-old sent the handwritten letter, dated Feb. 24, from federal prison in Florida where he is serving two life sentences, The Boston Globe (http://bit.ly/1ID2mrE ) reported Sunday. “My life was wasted and spent foolishly, brought shame and suffering on my parents and siblings and will end soon,” Bulger wrote.   Continue reading “Imprisoned mobster pens advice to teens”

History books, the media, the school systems, etc., all abound in
falsehoods and inaccuracies of Confederate and Southern history. This
fact sheet will help to clarify and dispel some of these rampant
inaccuracies.

MYTH – The War of 1861 – 1865 was fought over slavery.

FACT – Terribly untrue. The North fought the war over money. Plain and simple. When the South started Secession, Lincoln was asked, “Why not
let the South go in peace?” To which he replied, “I can’t let them go.
Who would pay for the government?” Sensing total financial ruin for the
North, Lincoln waged war on the South. The South fought the War to repel
Northern aggression and invasion.   Continue reading “The myths and facts about the Confederate flag.”

RT

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and international creditors have failed to reach a common ground on tax and reform proposals, which adds more doubts over the country’s chances of averting an imminent debt default.

The lack of concrete proposals coming from the Greek side, according to representatives of the lending institutions, is the main stumbling block in its talks with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Such an attitude they say is more likely only to impede progress in the negotiations.   Continue reading “Greece rejects ‘exceptionally generous’ counterproposals by creditors”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two weeks after his own Democratic Party handed him an embarrassing defeat on trade, President Barack Obama maneuvered his way back to victory, salvaging a key piece of his second-term legacy with the extraordinary help of the very Republican leaders he once accused of obstruction.

Wednesday’s 60-38 vote in the Senate to strengthen Obama’s trade negotiating position sets the stage for Obama’s real prize: conclusion of a 12-nation Pacific rim trade pact that is crucial to his effort to expand U.S. influence in Asia. Trade experts believe Obama’s negotiators could conclude that deal by early fall and that Congress, after a period of public review, could vote on it by year’s end.   Continue reading “Obama recovers: He rescues his trade agenda – with GOP help”

RT

The Pentagon has released a book of instructions on the “law of war,” detailing acceptable ways of killing the enemy. The manual also states that journalists can be labeled “unprivileged belligerents,” an obscure term that replaced “enemy combatant.”

The 1,176-page “Department of Defense Law of War Manual” explains that shooting, exploding, bombing, stabbing, or cutting the enemy are acceptable ways of getting the job done, but the use of poison or asphyxiating gases is not allowed.   Continue reading “Pentagon rewrites ‘Law of War’ declaring ‘belligerent’ journalists as legitimate targets”

Mail.com

ATLANTA (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for removing the Confederate battle flag that flies in front of her state’s Capitol. But she hasn’t said the Confederate veterans’ monument alongside the flag should go.

Nor has she called for moving a nearby statue of Benjamin Tillman, an unapologetic white supremacist who served as governor and U.S. senator during the early decades of Jim Crow segregation. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley hasn’t said anything definitive this week about the 88-foot-tall Confederate monument — complete with four Confederate banners — that sits outside his office.   Continue reading “Confederate, Jim Crow tributes go well beyond battle flag”

Mail.com

BALTIMORE (AP) — A medical examiner found Freddie Gray suffered a “high-energy injury,” most likely caused when the Baltimore police van he was riding in suddenly slowed down, according to an autopsy report obtained by The Baltimore Sun.

The report says Gray’s death could not be ruled an accident and is instead a homicide because officers didn’t follow safety procedures “through acts of omission.” Police arrested Gray, 25, on April 12 and he died a week later, prompting protests and rioting. A grand jury indicted six officers on various charges; one officer faces the most serious charge of second-degree “depraved-heart” murder. They have pleaded not guilty.   Continue reading “Report: Autopsy finds ‘high-energy injury’ in Gray’s death”

RT

The WHO cancer research unit has deemed 2,4-D, the active ingredient of Dow’s herbicide – once used in infamous Agent Orange – as ‘possibly’ causing cancer. The chemical ranked one behind the ‘probably carcinogenic’ glyphosate in Monsanto’s Roundup.

Upon careful review of scientific data regarding 2,4-D, a chemical used for a Dow AgroSciences product, WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) unit has determined that the weed killer be classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”   Continue reading “WHO labels 2,4-D herbicide as ‘possibly’ causing cancer”

RT

Calais is witnessing travel chaos after striking French workers blocked the port. They have cut access to the Channel Tunnel rail link and disrupted maritime traffic. Amid the confusion, migrants are trying to stowaway on UK bound lorries.

The industrial action is being taken by MyFerryLink workers, who are protesting against internal restructuring within the company, which could lead to job cuts. Around 100 employees have blocked the route towards the port by setting fire to barricades made from tires.   Continue reading “Calais chaos: Strike shuts down French port, migrants target UK-bound lorries”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidates, GOP lawmakers and the lone black Republican in the House are returning donations from the leader of a white supremacist group cited by Charleston church murder suspect Dylann Roof or giving the money to charity.

Rep. Mia Love of Utah, an African-American Republican woman who was elected to the House last year, said through a spokesman that she had returned $1,000 in donations from Earl Holt, leader of the Council of Conservative Citizens.   Continue reading “Republicans return donations from white supremacist”

RT

The US will be able to supply natural gas to Ukraine and Europe within two years, Senator John McCain pledged in Kiev. The American politician believes that only gas reliance prevents European countries from hardening sanctions against Russia.

“The United States will supply natural gas to Ukraine and other parts of Europe in two years,” McCain said on Saturday, RIA Novosti reported.   Continue reading “McCain: US will supply gas to Ukraine, Europe in 2 yrs”

RT

Four people, including two 15-year-old teenagers, were shot in a park in Jersey City, New Jersey amid a large basketball court party. This is the third mass open-air shooting to target partygoers in the US in the space of two days.

Police are looking for a silver minivan following the incident, which took place at Ruby Brown Place near Mercer Park, NBC 4 New York reported citing investigators.   Continue reading “2 teens, 2 adults injured in Jersey City public shooting”

Mail.com

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban suicide bomber struck the entrance to the Afghan parliament on Monday and gunmen tried to storm the heavily guarded compound, setting off a gunbattle with police that left two people dead as lawmakers were meeting inside to vote on the appointment of a new defense minister.

Afghan security forces managed to repel the attack, killing all seven gunmen and ensuring that no members of parliament were harmed. But the audacious assault came as the Taliban captured two districts in as many days in the country’s north, displaying their ability to operate on multiple fronts.   Continue reading “Taliban suicide bomber, gunmen attack Afghan parliament”

RT

Shots were fired into a church in Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesday night. Police found no victims at the site.

The shooting reportedly happened during night choir practice at St. Matthew Missionary Baptist Church.

The Deacon of the church told FOX13 that he noticed holes from the bullets when he was leaving the building after the event early Thursday morning.   Continue reading “Shots fired into Memphis, Tenn. church”

Mail.com

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — The balcony collapse that killed six college students appears to have been caused by rotted wooden beams, Berkeley’s mayor said Wednesday as the victims’ heartbroken loved ones began arriving in the U.S. from Ireland.

Mayor Tom Bates said investigators believe the wood was not caulked and sealed properly at the time of construction and was damaged by moisture as a result. The crowded fifth-floor balcony broke off an apartment building during a 21st-birthday party early Tuesday held by visiting Irish college students, dumping 13 people 50 feet onto the pavement. In addition to the six killed, seven were seriously hurt.   Continue reading “Deadly balcony collapse tied to rotted wooden beams”