Author: Sunfire

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LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The starving sea lion pup was so tiny that it looked like a rock at the base of the seaside cliff until it struggled to raise its head as humans approached.

It bleated weakly as volunteer Brennan Slavik eased it into a crate for transport to a rescue center, where it peered from a child’s playpen with woeful eyes made enormous by an emaciated frame. At almost a year, the pup weighed just 23 pounds — a third of what it should — and staff quietly took it to a private room, euthanized it and moved on.   Continue reading “Starving sea lion pups stranding on California beaches”

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NEW YORK (AP) — If a column in honor of heart health suggests a can of Coke as a snack, you might want to read the fine print.

The world’s biggest beverage maker, which struggles with declining soda consumption in the U.S., is working with fitness and nutrition experts who suggest its cola as a healthy treat. In February, for instance, several wrote online pieces for American Heart Month, with each including a mini-can of Coke or small soda as a snack idea.   Continue reading “Coke a healthy snack? How company gets its message out”

RT

NASA’s top water scientist says California only has about one year’s worth of water left in storage, and its groundwater – often used as a backup for reservoirs and other reserves – is rapidly depleting. He suggests immediately rationing water.

California just had the driest January since record-keeping began in 1895, with groundwater and snowpack levels at all-time lows, NASA scientist Jay Familglietti wrote in a column for the Los Angeles Times. He said the state has been running out of water since before the current years-long drought and storage levels have been falling since at least 2002, according to NASA satellite data.   Continue reading “Only 1 year of water left in California, NASA scientist suggests rationing”

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police renewed their search Sunday for more victims in a bus accident in southern Brazil that killed at least 49 people.

The dead include eight young children, three adolescents, 24 women and 14 men, the government of Santa Catarina state said in a statement. The bus plunged 1,300 feet down a mountain near the city of Joinville on Saturday. Ten people were transferred to nearby hospitals, including two children. Their conditions were unknown.   Continue reading “Brazil raises toll of bus accident to 49, resumes search”

RT

A car chase between police and an armed kidnapping suspect in South Los Angeles was aired by local television stations, though this one ended in a dramatic and violent scene – with the suspect leaving his vehicle and engaging in a shootout with officers.

Details are still unclear, but the incident began Friday when Los Angeles police identified the vehicle of a kidnapping suspect who was armed with a gun, NBC Los Angeles reported. The Los Angeles Times also stated he was driving a stolen car.   Continue reading “LA car chase ends in shootout with police on live television”

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Deeply divided and foul of mood, Israelis are headed toward what seems like a referendum on their long-serving, silver-tongued prime minister, the hard-line Benjamin Netanyahu.

But with so many of them having despaired of peace talks with the Palestinians, the focus is mostly on Netanyahu’s personality, his expense scandals and the soaring cost of living. And as no candidate is likely to win big in the wild jumble of Israel’s political landscape, the outcome of the March 17 election could well be a joint government between Netanyahu and his moderate challenger Isaac Herzog. It’s an irony, because the animosities are overwhelming.   Continue reading “AP Analysis: In fractured Israel, all electoral bets are off”

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A salvage barge moved off the Florida Panhandle coast to lift the wreckage of a shattered Black Hawk helicopter from the waters, days after seven Marines and four soldiers were killed when the aircraft crashed in dense fog on a nighttime training mission.

Air Force spokeswoman Sara Vidoni said the barge arrived about midday Friday to pluck the debris from about 25 feet of water. The salvage operation opened on a day a military leader in North Carolina disclosed that those aboard the aircraft had tried to abort their mission when they decided it was too risky.   Continue reading “Salvage crew at Fla. site of helicopter crash that killed 11”

RT

The laundry list of problems affecting the Pentagon’s F-35 fighter jet reportedly includes a high rate of false alarms from its large array of sensors. The expensive defense project is being criticized for producing an unreliable and unaffordable weapon.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has a number of sensitive sensors, and engineers have a hard time teaching its software to interpret the data they provide. The information must be checked against so-called threat libraries, and files of signatures of known threats.   Continue reading “F-35 sensors plagued by false alarms – reports”

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NEW YORK (AP) — A man accused of faking an ownership stake in Facebook to justify a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against its founder Mark Zuckerberg has vanished.

Paul Ceglia, who was under house arrest pending his May 4 trial, jumped bail by slicing off an electronic monitoring device and creating a crude contraption to make it seem as though he was moving around inside his home, authorities said.   Continue reading “Facebook fraud suspect on the lam; family, dog also missing”

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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Police in Eugene, Oregon, say a 39-year-old driver apparently set herself on fire, crashed her car on a bridge and jumped 40 feet to a park below.

The woman is being treated for critical injuries at a Portland-area hospital. According to The Register-Guard newspaper (http://is.gd/ZBElBA ), someone called 911 Thursday afternoon and reported a car appeared to be on fire from the inside, with the woman at the wheel driving recklessly.   Continue reading “Police: Oregon driver sets herself on fire, jumps off bridge”

RT

Poland’s minister of defense has announced plans to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles for future submarines. With the conflict in neighboring Ukraine as a pretext, Warsaw is actively modernizing its armed forces with a focus on purchasing first-strike weapons.

Warsaw is ready to buy SLCM (Submarine-launched cruise missile) version of long-range Tomahawk missiles either directly from the US or from any other country ready to assist, Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told Polish radio on Thursday.   Continue reading “Poland seeks to acquire submarine-based Tomahawk missiles”

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HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Mexican Mafia hit man convicted of beating and strangling a San Antonio woman because she didn’t pay the gang’s 10 percent tax on her illegal drug sales was executed Wednesday evening.

The injection of Manuel Vasquez with a lethal dose of pentobarbital leaves Texas with enough of the powerful sedative to carry out only one more execution. Vasquez was the fourth Texas inmate put to death this year, and at least six are scheduled for execution in the coming weeks.   Continue reading “Texas executes gang hit man for killing woman over drug tax”

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The triggerman in the Pamela Smart murder trial was granted parole Thursday, nearly 25 years after he killed his school instructor’s husband and launched a global spectacle packed with lurid details of sex and manipulation.

William Flynn was 16-year-old “Billy” in 1990 when he and three teenage friends carried out what prosecutors said was Pamela Smart’s plot to murder Gregg Smart. Flynn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison, minus time served before trial.   Continue reading “Teen killer, Pamela Smart’s lover, is granted parole”

RT

The city manager of Ferguson, Mo., has resigned in the wake of a critical Justice Department report on the behavior of local police. The city’s municipal court has also been canceled for a week, with all cases being transferred to a state judge.

Ferguson City Manager John Shaw said he believes his resignation “is in the community’s best interest,”USA Today reported.   Continue reading “Ferguson cancels all municipal court cases, city manager resigns”

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Dale Johnston was sent to death row in 1984 for a double homicide he didn’t commit. He’s spent the years since his 1990 release trying to get back the life he lost.

The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in Johnston’s latest attempt to win a wrongful imprisonment suit against the state. Now 81, Johnston described his years under a death sentence as “hell on earth.”   Continue reading “Ohio court weighs ex-death row inmate’s claim”

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EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) — Seven Marines and four soldiers aboard an Army helicopter that crashed over waters off Florida during a routine night training mission were presumed dead Wednesday, and crews found human remains despite heavy fog hampering search efforts, military officials said.

A Pentagon official said all 11 service members were presumed dead and that the Coast Guard found debris in the water. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.   Continue reading “Official: 11 service members missing in crash presumed dead”

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BOSTON (AP) — Jurors in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have seen photos of a hand-scrawled note he left inside the boat he was captured hiding in days after the 2013 attack. They may also see the boat itself, if his lawyers have their way.

Judge George O’Toole Jr. went to look at the boat himself on Tuesday to decide whether to allow the jury to see the entire boat, as Tsarnaev’s lawyers have requested. Prosecutors have asked instead to bring in just the panels of the boat where the writing appears.   Continue reading “What Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote in blood-stained boat”

RT

The China International Payment System (CIPS) is due to kick off this year, bringing the yuan a step closer to becoming a global trading currency, as the new system will make payment transfers just as easy as in dollars and euro.

The launch is expected in September or October, depending on how tests go, a source told Reuters. Another person with direct knowledge of the matter said the goal is to start the first phase before December, Reuters reported.   Continue reading “China’s mega international payment system is ready, will launch this year – report”