Author: Sunfire

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BEIRUT (AP) — With all eyes on the Islamic State group’s onslaught in Iraq and Syria, a less conspicuous but potentially just as explosive front line with the extremists is emerging in Lebanon, where Lebanese soldiers and Shiite Hezbollah guerrillas are increasingly pulled into deadly fighting with the Sunni militants along the country’s border with Syria.

The U.S. has been speeding up delivery of small ammunition to shore up Lebanon’s army, but recent cross-border attacks and beheading of Lebanese soldiers by Islamic State fighters — and the defection of four others to the extremists — has sent shockwaves across this Mediterranean country, eliciting fear of a potential slide into the kind of militant, sectarian violence afflicting both Syria and Iraq, and increasingly prompting minorities to take up arms.   Continue reading “Lebanon pulled into war with Islamic State group”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old in a St. Louis suburb last summer has told investigators that he was pinned in his vehicle and in fear for his life as they struggled over his gun, The New York Times reported.

Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson has told authorities that Michael Brown reached for the gun during a scuffle, the Times reported in a story posted on its website Friday night. The officer’s account to authorities did not explain why he fired at Brown multiple times after emerging from his vehicle, according to the newspaper.   Continue reading “Report: Ferguson officer says he feared for life”

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FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — The U.N.’s World Food Program on Saturday delivered emergency food rations to 265,000 people, many of them quarantined in Sierra Leone, to help fight the spread of Ebola.

Food supplies are being distributed in the Waterloo district on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, WFP’s Alexis Masciarelli told the Associated Press. Waterloo, about 20 miles east of Freetown, has seen some of the highest cases of Ebola infections and the deliveries are to help quarantined families by providing them enough to eat so they do not leave their homes to look for food. The deliveries began Friday and are continuing Saturday, said Masciarelli.    Continue reading “Food deliveries in Sierra Leone to fight Ebola”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Saturday that Texas can use its controversial new voter identification law for the November election.

A majority of the justices rejected an emergency request from the Justice Department and civil rights groups to prohibit the state from requiring voters to produce certain forms of photo identification in order to cast ballots. Three justices dissented.    Continue reading “Justices allow Texas use of new voter ID law”

RT

A classified US Senate probe into the CIA’s post-9/11 detention and interrogation program does not evaluate the role of former President George W. Bush or top administration officials in approving abuses including torture, according to a new report.

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s $40 million investigation into the Central Intelligence Agency’s detention and interrogation program – active from September 11, 2001 to 2006 – has found that the spy agency purposely deceived the US Justice Department to attain legal justification for the use of torture techniques, among other findings that resulted in a 6,000-page report, completed from March 2009 to December 2012. Of that investigative report, the public will only see a 500-page, partially-redacted executive summary that is in the process of declassification.   Continue reading “Senate refuses to blame Bush, senior aides in CIA torture investigation”

RT

US President Barack Obama is set to appoint Ron Klain as the Ebola “czar” charged with coordinating government efforts in fight against the spread of the virus in the United States, CNN reports.

The news comes less than 24 hours after the president met with the country’s top health officials. Following the meeting, he told reporters that it might be appropriate to appoint an additional person to coordinate the response to Ebola in the United States.   Continue reading “Obama to appoint Ebola ‘czar’ charged with coordinating fight against epidemic”

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MARYSVILLE, Wash. (AP) — A day after dozens of gunshots were directed at police in three Washington state towns, law enforcement officials said little about what prompted the shootings.

They did say they were thankful no one was killed. After two police officers fired their guns Wednesday night, police said a 43-year-old man surrendered and was taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries. Both officers have been placed on leave; neither was hurt.   Continue reading “Police in 3 Washington towns targeted by gunfire”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director James Comey warned in stark terms Thursday against the push by technology companies to encrypt smartphone data and operating systems, arguing that murder cases could be stalled, suspects could walk free and justice could be thwarted by a locked phone or an encrypted hard drive.

Privacy advocates and technology experts called the concerns exaggerated and little more than recycled arguments the government has raised against encryption since the early 1990s. Likening encrypted data to a safe that cannot be cracked or a closet door that won’t open, Comey said the move by tech companies to protect user communications in the name of privacy is certain to impede a wide range of criminal investigations. New legislation to allow law enforcement to intercept communications is needed at a time of advancing technology and new forms of communication, he said.    Continue reading “FBI director warns against cellphone encryption”

RT

The body of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was not buried at sea, according to leaked emails of intelligence firm Stratfor, as revealed by WikiLeaks.

Stratfor’s vice-president for intelligence, Fred Burton, believes the body was “bound for Dover, [Delaware] on [a] CIA plane” and then “onward to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Bethesda [Maryland],” an email says.   Continue reading “Leaked: Bin Laden not buried at sea, body moved on CIA plane to US”

RT

The parents of two children who posted defamatory comments about a fellow student in a fake Facebook account are heading to court, which will determine whether parents should be liable for their children’s internet activity.

The parents of seventh-grade students Dustin Athearn and Melissa Snodgrass learned this the hard way after their children created a fake Facebook page under the name of fellow student Alexandria (Alex) Boston. Dustin and Melissa, with the help of a “Fat Face” app, distorted Alex’s features, while also making offensive comments about the girl.   Continue reading “Parents may be held liable for children’s Facebook posts – court”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democratic Sen. Kevin de Leon was sworn in as the first Latino to head the California Senate in more than a century with an expensive and out-of-the-ordinary soiree Wednesday night in downtown Los Angeles.

The event at Walt Disney Concert Hall with an estimated price tag of $50,000 resembled a presidential inaugural more than the low-key affairs at the state Capitol held by past senate leaders. “What a beautiful venue,” de Leon said of the modern architectural marvel designed by Frank Gehry. “This is a grand public building and the centerpiece of my district. I chose this venue because it sits close to the working families who put me in office, and it is a visual representation of California’s innovative spirit.”   Continue reading “Lawmaker sworn in with bash that busts tradition”

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Harvard University student who was stuck for months in Mexico after crossing the border without permission said Wednesday he hopes to be back in the United States in less than a week after being granted a humanitarian visa.

Dario Guerrero Meneses, who was taken from Mexico to California by his parents at age 2 and only learned of his illegal status as a young adult, left the U.S. to accompany his dying mother who was seeking alternative cancer treatments. The 21-year-old told The Associated Press he will fulfill her last request and carry her ashes to the family’s home in Los Angeles.   Continue reading “Harvard student to be back in US in less than week”

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TOKYO (AP) — The first made in Japan passenger jet in four decades reaches a development milestone later this week.

A “rolling out” ceremony in Nagoya, central Japan on Saturday will unveil the long awaited Mitsubishi Regional Jet, or MRJ, a fuel-efficient lightweight carbon-fiber composite passenger plane. Major Japanese machinery maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries says the MRJ90 will seat 88 people, while the MRJ70 will seat 76, and the planned MRJ100X will have 100 seats.   Continue reading “First Japan passenger jet in 4 decades rolling out”

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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A popular tourist attraction in southern Arizona is at risk of being contaminated with orange and brown sludge that spilled from two abandoned mines near Patagonia.

The Trench Camp and Lead Queen mines overflowed late last month because of heavy rainfall caused by Hurricane Odile. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has issued a notice of violation to an Asarco trust that owns the Trench Camp Mine near Patagonia, Arizona. “We’ve talked to our consultants, and we’re gonna do what the state requires us to do,” Jay Steinberg, who runs the trust, said Wednesday.   Continue reading “Abandoned mines spill orange sludge in Arizona”

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — The convicted leader of a Mexican drug gang that killed and kidnapped people in Southern California has been sentenced to a dozen life sentences without chance of parole.

U-T San Diego (http://bit.ly/1vwgjq2) says Jorge Rojas Lopez also got an additional 162 years to life Wednesday in San Diego. Rojas was convicted of four murders and pleaded guilty to five more. Authorities say Rojas was the head of Los Palillos — Spanish for “the Toothpicks.”   Continue reading “Kidnapping gang’s leader gets 12 life terms”

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PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s authority to confront its illegal immigration woes was again reined in Wednesday when a federal appeals court threw out a 2006 voter-approved law denying bail to people in the country illegally who are charged with certain crimes.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals follows other battles over the state’s immigration policies, including rulings that struck down much of Arizona’s landmark 2010 immigration enforcement law.   Continue reading “Courts reject another Arizona immigration law”

RT

Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that the next terrorist attack on the US will be far worse than 9/11 during a nearly two-hour interview. He also took pride in the use of waterboarding and in giving the National Security Agency free reign.

The 73-year-old sat down with neoconservative political pundit Bill Kristol on Sunday for the Weekly Standard editor’s latest installment of Conversations with Bill Kristol. The two discussed Cheney’s time as secretary of defense; the Gulf War; the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations; 9/11; and the threats we face today.   Continue reading “Cheney: Next attack on US will be ‘something far more deadlier’ than 9/11”

RT

A new study on the practice of hydraulic fracturing has found a direct connection to some 400 micro-earthquakes in an Ohio town. This is the second report on the Utica Shale this year. The town is one of very few where the quakes took place on a fault.

The new study, published Tuesday in the journal Seismological Research Letters, focuses on the eastern town of Canton, Harrison County, and three particular wells. It has found that the three wells operated in September-October 2013 in the Utica Shale caused 10 quakes of magnitude 1.7-2.2, among others.   Continue reading “Fracking triggered 400 earthquakes in Ohio, study finds”

RT

A black teenager killed by a police officer in St. Louis, coming just two months after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, had gunpowder residue on his hands, jeans and T-shirt, according to crime lab results.

Last Wednesday, Vonderrit Myers, 18, became the second black teenager to be shot and killed by a white officer in as many months. Meyer’s death reignited simmering rage on the streets of St. Louis, which is attempting to recover from the August 9 shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown.   Continue reading “Black teen shot by St. Louis cop had gunpowder residue on hands – crime report”