Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A Singaporean navy ship has found the crashed AirAsia plane’s fuselage, a 30-meter-long section with a wing attached, in the Java Sea, authorities said Wednesday.

Images taken by a remote-controlled vehicle from the ship showed parts of the plane’s wing and words on the fuselage, Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said on his Facebook page. He said Indonesian search officials have been notified so they can begin recovery operations.   Continue reading “Singapore navy finds fuselage of AirAsia plane in Java Sea”

RT

Japan’s government has approved its largest military budget in 70 years, in contravention of the country’s pacifist constitution, in a display of force to its highly militarized neighbors. The extra military spending comes amid a stalling economy.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet has given the green light to an unprecedented nearly 5 trillion yen ($42 billion) defense budget, which comes into force in April. The extra military expenditure mirrors an expanded overall budget, which has reached a record 96.3 trillion yen ($814 billion). The budget still awaits parliament’s approval, where the government coalition headed by Abe has a majority in both houses.   Continue reading “Japan approves largest military budget since WWII”

RT

The Department of Homeland Security secretary has announced increased vigilance regarding national security, as well as stepped-up random searches of travelers and carry-on luggage in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Paris.

In the announcement made on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the Federal Protective Services – which provides security for US government buildings – will be expanding its reach to major cities and will vary shifts and patrols from location to location. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will also conduct random searches of passengers and carry-on luggage at US airports.   Continue reading “US steps up airport, federal building security after Paris attacks”

Mail.com

CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s al-Qaida branch on Wednesday claimed responsibility for last week’s massacre at a Paris satirical newspaper, with one of its top commanders saying the assault was in revenge for the weekly’s publications of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, considered an insult in Islam.

The claim came in a video posting by Nasr al-Ansi, a top commander of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which appeared on the group’s Twitter account. The video was the group’s official claim of the assault on the Charlie Hebdo offices, although a member of AQAP, as the branch is known, last Friday first confirmed to The Associated Press that the branch had carried out the attack.   Continue reading “Yemen’s al-Qaida claims responsibility for Paris attack”

Mail.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Just a day after a district attorney announced murder charges against two Albuquerque police officers, authorities said another city police officer shot and killed a man Tuesday night.

Police said the latest shooting happened just before 5 p.m. after officers were dispatched to a busy eastern Albuquerque street after a report of suspicious criminal activity. The officers arrived and took one man into custody, but another man fled on foot, police said.   Continue reading “Police: Another Albuquerque officer involved in shooting”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City jail guards reported more use of force against inmates in 2014 than ever before — an average of 11 incidents a day ranging from pepper sprayings to punches — amid heightened scrutiny from federal prosecutors to clean up what they call a “deep-seated culture of violence.”

Figures obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press via a public records request show correction officers reported using force 4,074 times last year, including 406 incidents alone in September, the month after a scathing federal report that said Rikers Island guards too often resorted to force against teenage inmates.   Continue reading “APNewsBreak: NYC jail guards use of force a record in 2014”

Mail.com

MARKHAM, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago police officer had better and safer options than to fire beanbags to subdue a confused, knife-wielding 95-year-old World War II veteran, a prosecutor told the court Tuesday at the outset of the officer’s trial on a felony reckless conduct charge in the man’s death.

With all of their police equipment, training and “common sense,” Craig Taylor and the other Park Forest officers didn’t have to storm into John Wrana’s room at an assisted living center on July 26, 2013, Cook County State’s Attorney Lynn McCarthy said during her opening statements. They did so, though, and Taylor ended up firing five beanbags at Wrana, including the fatal one that struck his abdomen and caused internal bleeding, she said.   Continue reading “Officer stands trial in 95-year-old’s beanbag shooting death”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The transit network in the nation’s capital was hobbled Tuesday after an electrical malfunction filled a busy subway station with smoke a day earlier, killing one woman and sending dozens of people to hospitals.

Smoke started filling the train and station at the beginning of the Monday afternoon rush hour and led to the first fatality on Washington’s Metro system since a 2009 crash killed eight passengers and a train operator.   Continue reading “DC subway system remains hobbled after fatal incident”

C-Net – by Chris Matyszczyk

This is not a negotiation. Do I sound like I’m negotiating with you?”

When you hear those words spoken by a police officer, their intention seems unmistakable. They mean: “Do what I tell you or I’ll arrest you.”

This, indeed, is what happened when 23-year-old Andrew Flinchbaugh filmed the aftermath of a single-vehicle accident in Ocean County, N.J.   Continue reading “Man arrested after refusing to give camera to police at crash scene”

Mail.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Fans took to the streets after Ohio State’s football championship victory early Tuesday, yelling and screaming in delight, setting nearly 90 fires and in the case of a few, tearing down an Ohio Stadium goal post. A few injuries were reported.

Police made a handful of arrests after using tear gas and pepper spray to disperse crowds of Ohio State students and other fans following the Buckeyes’ win. Officers on foot, on horses and in cruisers patrolled the main drag through campus after midnight Tuesday, when revelers spilled out of bars near the campus to celebrate the university’s 42-20 win over the University of Oregon in Dallas.   Continue reading “Ohio State football revelers set fires, tear down goal post”

RT

Over the last five years Texas’ Child Protective Services underreported 655 deaths of children from abuse or neglect by their parents, said the Austin American-Statesman. Caseworkers used loopholes to omit cases of indirect maltreatment.

In an investigative report published on Sunday, Austin American-Statesman claims that practically half of the underreported deaths happened in problem families, which had frequently been investigated for child abuse.   Continue reading “Hundreds of child abuse and neglect deaths hushed up in Texas”

RT

An Indonesia transport safety investigator has said there is no data available that would confirm the theory of the AirAsia jet exploding before it hit the water – after earlier claims to the contrary.

“There is no data to support that kind of theory,” said Santoso Sayogo, an investigator at the National Transportation Safety Committee.

Earlier, an Indonesian search and rescue official said that the AirAsia jet was likely to have exploded before hitting the water, judging by the wreckage.   Continue reading “An explosion? Conflicting theories on what caused AirAsia jet crash”

Mail.com

GROSSROEHRSDORF, Germany (AP) — The 17 North African refugees turned up just before Christmas — and Simon Richter felt nothing to cheer.

The electrician and his friends organized a meeting that sent out a message loud and clear: We don’t want the foreigners in our midst. Within days, authorities caved to pressure and moved the young men elsewhere.    Continue reading “Fear, far right among roots of Germany’s anti-Islam rallies”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two members of the Tuskegee Airmen — the famed all-black squadron that flew in World War II — died on the same day. The men, lifelong friends who enlisted together, were 91.

Clarence E. Huntley Jr. and Joseph Shambrey died on Jan. 5 in their Los Angeles homes, relatives said Sunday. Huntley and Shambrey enlisted in 1942. They were shipped overseas to Italy in 1944 with the 100th Fighter Squadron of the Army Air Force’s 332nd Fighter Group. As mechanics, they kept the combat planes flying.   Continue reading “2 Tuskegee Airmen die in Los Angeles at 91 on the same day”

RT

About 20 protesters made their way onto the property of the former vice president’s Virginia home, where they protested the 14th anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

Activists from the anti-war group CODEPINK and Witness Against Torture, many of them wearing military-issued orange jumpsuits, broke through an iron gate surrounding the former vice president’s sprawling property in McLean, Virginia, and demonstrated on his front porch.   Continue reading “Anti-torture activists protest on Dick Cheney’s front porch, 2 arrested”

Mail.com

Investigators are probing the background of a suspect in a shooting spree in Moscow, Idaho, that left three people dead and another critically wounded.

A gunman opened fire Saturday at three separate locations in the western Idaho city, killing a victim at each site. John Lee, 29, the suspected attacker, was captured in the afternoon following a high-speed chase in nearby Washington state.   Continue reading “Suspect arrested after 3 killed in Idaho shooting spree”

Mail.com

TOMBALL, Texas (AP) — The father of a patient at a southeast Texas hospital who became distraught over his son’s condition surrendered without incident after about a four-hour standoff Saturday night in his son’s hospital room, authorities said.

Officials feared the man, whose name was not immediately disclosed, might be armed but officers did not find a weapon when he surrendered shortly before 11 p.m. CST, Harris County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Ambriz said.    Continue reading “Sheriff’s office: Man at Texas hospital has surrendered”

RT

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is moving forward on a plan to ban city food establishments from using plastic foam containers because of the harm they cause the environment. The ban will leave restaurateurs and food vendors in a bind.

The ban would take effect this summer and fulfill an initiative begun under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. New York would join other cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, which have banned plastic foam containers, made with polystyrene, for being a “first-class environmental nuisance.”   Continue reading “New York City moves to ban plastic foam containers”

RT

After a setback earlier this week, SpaceX has successfully launched a Falcon9 rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) on a restocking mission. An attempt to land the potentially reusable rocket on a barge, however, failed.

The launch was conducted from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida at 4:50 AM (9:50 GMT) early Saturday.   Continue reading “SpaceX’s Dragon blasts off with Falcon rocket, reland attempt fails”

Mail.com

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Florida authorities say George Zimmerman, whose acquittal of murdering an unarmed black teen sparked a national debate on race and self-defense laws, has been arrested on an aggravated assault charge.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office says the 31-year-old Zimmerman was arrested in Lake Mary about 10 p.m. Friday and is being held at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility. The facility’s website says Zimmerman is scheduled for a court appearance at 9 a.m. Saturday.   Continue reading “George Zimmerman arrested on aggravated assault charge”