RT

Durham City Council, North Carolina, has voted to abolish international exchanges with Israel, under which officers receive “military-style training.” The council wants to prevent the “militarization” of law enforcement.

Late on Monday, after a heated debate in the city council, the members voted 6 to 0 in what one of the activist groups, Jewish Voice for Peace, described as “the first city to prohibit police exchanges with Israel.” The group was one of those which pushed forward the move together with the Durham2Palestine coalition – a movement opposing police militarization in the US and calling to stop supporting human rights abuses in Israel. The activists launched a petition in fall of last year demanding that the city authorities “immediately halt” any such partnerships with Israeli forces.  Continue reading “‘Military-style training’ ban: Durham becomes ‘first US city’ to halt police exchanges with Israel”

RT – by Danielle Ryan

Use of the term ‘false flag’ is often met with raised eyebrows and accusations of conspiracism. But false flags are a very real and very present feature of geopolitics — and denying that is simply denying reality.

Last week, the United States, along with the United Kingdom and France, bombed Syrian government targets, ostensibly in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack which was carried out one week before in the city of Douma.  Continue reading “False flags are real – US has a long history of lying to start wars”

RT

Veteran UK reporter Robert Fisk went to Syria’s Douma and heard that residents shown in notorious “gas attack footage” actually suffered from oxygen loss due to hiding in trash-filled shelters, and not from chemicals.

If you feel overwhelmed by MSM coverage of the “chemical attack” in Douma, here’s your voice in the wilderness. Robert Fisk, a veteran UK foreign correspondent with the Independent, and one of the few Western reporters to have interviewed Osama bin Laden, went to Douma to go beyond what the Western media portrayed in early April as the “Bashar Assad regime’s chemical attack.”   Continue reading “‘Oxygen starvation, not gas’: Veteran UK reporter Fisk doubts MSM narrative on Douma ‘chem attack’”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is criticizing the California governor for rejecting proposed border duties for the National Guard. The Trump administration said Monday that Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown rejected terms of the guard’s initial deployment to the Mexican border; a state official said nothing was decided.  Continue reading “Trump criticizes California governor on troops at border”

RT

Following accusations of racial profiling, the CEO of Starbucks has promised to personally meet two men arrested at one of the coffee giant’s stores for a “face-to-face apology.”

Kevin Johnson, who has been in the top job a year, apologized on Sunday after two men were reportedly escorted from a Starbucks café by police in Philadelphia. According to eyewitness Melissa DePino, who filmed the incident at the Spruce Street store last week, Starbucks staff called police on two black men waiting at a table for a friend without ordering.  Continue reading “Starbucks apologizes for coffee shop arrest of two black men”

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin apologized Sunday for saying that children were sexually abused because they were left home alone while teachers rallied to ask lawmakers to override his vetoes.

The Republican issued his apology in a nearly four-minute video posted online, saying “it is not my intent to hurt anybody in this process, but to help us all move forward together.” On Friday, Bevin’s explosive comments were part of his statement criticizing teachers for leaving work to protest at the Capitol. More than 30 school districts closed Friday. Bevin’s comments came shortly after Republican lawmakers voted to override his vetoes of an operating budget that included increased spending for public education with the help of an accompanying tax increase.  Continue reading “Kentucky Gov. Bevin apologizes for child sex abuse remarks”

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Karl Ward is long dead, but some say the once-revered school superintendent in a small Alaska fishing town was not the benevolent educator worthy of having the high school gym named in his honor.

A cellphone video made by a man before he died by suicide last month has given voice to at least five other men, all of whom say they were sexually abused decades ago by Ward, confirming publicly whispers that had long quietly existed.  Continue reading “Man’s suicide unearths decades-old sex abuse revelations”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s been more than three years since the arrest of eccentric New York real estate heir Robert Durst in the execution-style shooting of his best friend years earlier in Los Angeles.

Prosecutors could move closer to bringing him to trial if they can show probable cause at a hearing that begins Monday that Durst killed Susan Berman in order to silence her from revealing what she knew about the death of the multimillionaire’s first wife.  Continue reading “Judge to hear evidence in eccentric heir’s murder case”

RT

Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has gathered enough votes to trigger a referendum on splitting California into three separate states.

Draper’s CAL 3 campaign has gathered 600,000 signatures supporting the split since he proposed the initiative last August. He told the Telegraph that 600,000 signatures was a  “milestone” and sent a message that people across California would “create a brighter future for everyone.”   Continue reading “Three Californias? Billionaire gathers enough signatures to trigger referendum”

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens calls it an “entirely consensual relationship.” But the woman with whom he has acknowledged having an affair says Greitens spanked, slapped, grabbed and shoved her during a series of sexual encounters that at times left her crying and afraid.

The woman’s graphic testimony was revealed in a report released Wednesday by a special Missouri legislative committee that now is expanding its mission to recommend whether lawmakers should begin impeachment proceedings to try to remove the Republican governor from office.  Continue reading “Report: Missouri Gov. Greitens slapped, grabbed woman”

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban stormed a government compound in central Afghanistan early Thursday, triggering an hours-long gunbattle that killed 15, including three top local officials, police and government officials said.

The blistering attack in the Khuja Omari district was the latest insurgent assault in Ghazni province, which is now largely under Taliban control. The Taliban planted mines to prevent government reinforcements from coming to help and quickly took responsibility for the attack, said Mohammad Arif Rahmani, a lawmaker in the Afghan Parliament.  Continue reading “Taliban attack on Afghan government compound kills 15”

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Voters in Alaska’s largest city are on track to becoming the first in the U.S. to defeat a so-called bathroom bill in a referendum that asked them to require people using public bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender at birth.

The initiative asked Anchorage’s voters to repeal an ordinance passed in 2015 that prevented discrimination based on sexual orientation and added a clause that would have prevented transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities.  Continue reading “Anchorage voters first in the nation to reject bathroom bill”

RT

Chinese customs officials have refused entry to 469 tons of solid waste from the US, the import of which has recently been banned, and sent the garbage back to America, Xinhua news agency reported.

Inspectors in Hangzhou, the capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, found the shipment consisting of scrap paper mixed with waste metal parts and used drinking bottles, according to the agency. Shipments with solid waste are prohibited by Beijing.  Continue reading “China tells America to take its garbage back”

RT

Major US indices opened lower on Wednesday following the escalation of tensions in the Middle East between nuclear superpowers Russia and the US.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite were losing almost a percent after US President Donald Trump tweeted a warning to Russia on Wednesday to “get ready” for Syrian missile strikes.   Continue reading “Stocks plunge, gold spikes after Trump taunts Russia with missile strikes in Syria”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento police have issued their first written policy on when officers can turn off body cameras after two officers muted their microphones following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in his grandparents’ backyard, and promised Tuesday to release more video footage in a week.

The department made the unusual decision to release video of Stephon Clark’s shooting within three days after he was killed, including body camera footage from the two officers who shot the 22-year-old while responding to reports of someone breaking car windows, and from a sheriff’s department helicopter circling overhead.  Continue reading “Sacramento police unveil body cam policy after protests”

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — As thousands of National Guard troops deploy to the Mexico border, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to bring his firm stance on immigration enforcement to New Mexico where a group of Southwest border sheriffs are meeting Wednesday.

Sessions will speak in Las Cruces at the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition Annual Spring Meeting with the Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition, which is made up of 31 sheriff’s departments from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.   Continue reading “Sessions to address immigration at border sheriffs meeting”

RT

The West has opened its bag of dirty tricks in an effort to smear their avowed enemies with the noxious charge of chemical attacks on civilians. Evidence seems to be optional when selling these sensational stories to the public.

Once again the world is on tenterhooks as the possibility of a major clash erupting between major powers in Syria looms large on the horizon. If the situation seems surreal, it’s because we’ve been at this dangerous crossroads before. One year ago almost to the day, the United States carried out an unprovoked missile strike against Syria’s Shayrat Airbase. The reason? Without any benefit of the doubt or presumption of innocence, Syrian President Bashar Assad was scapegoated for a chemical attack against civilians.   Continue reading “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid! West promoting chemical false flags as pretext for military action”

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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The man who bought two rifles that terrorists used to kill 14 people in a 2015 California terrorist attack should be sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, the government urged Monday.

The U.S. attorney’s office filed a 177-page sentencing recommendation in federal court for Enrique Marquez Jr. It said that while he hadn’t taken part in the attack, he did place weapons “in the hands of a killer, motivated by violent extremist ideology.”  Continue reading “25 years urged for buyer of rifles used in terror attack”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sixteen Democratic attorneys general pushed back Monday against a Texas lawsuit aimed at striking down former President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led 14 other states and the District of Columbia in filing a motion to intervene in the Texas case and defend the law, suggesting the Trump administration wouldn’t take such action.

“We’re taking this action to protect the health and financial security of millions of people in our country, as well as billions of dollars of federal funds that go to our states to make sure that we can afford the health care that our families need,” Becerra said at a news conference.  Continue reading “Democratic attorneys general fight Texas health care lawsuit”

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — After Utah passed the country’s first law legalizing so-called free-range parenting, groups in states from New York to Texas are pushing for similar steps to bolster the idea that supporters say is an antidote for anxiety-plagued parents and overscheduled kids.

Free-range parenting is the concept that giving kids the freedom to do things alone — like explore a playground or ride a bike to school — makes them healthier, happier and more resilient. It surfaced nearly a decade ago, when Lenore Skenazy touched off a firestorm with a column about letting her then-9-year-old son ride the New York City subway alone. Since then, she’s become a vocal advocate for free-range parenting.  Continue reading “Free-range parenting law eyed around US after Utah gets buzz”