Author: Sunfire

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HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police battling activists for control of an underpass in the dead of night Wednesday sparked public anger after officers were seen kicking a handcuffed protester in the worst violence since street demonstrations for greater democracy began more than two weeks ago.

Officers armed with riot shields, batons and pepper spray knocked activists to the ground, dragging dozens away, and tore down barricades protesters used as roadblocks around the underpass outside the government’s headquarters.   Continue reading “Hong Kong police attack on activist sparks anger”

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BOSTON (AP) — A Boston auction house was set to close an online auction on 13 negatives from John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy’s wedding in Newport, Rhode Island.

The negatives feature images of the wedding party posing outside, the newlyweds leaving the church and the couple cutting the wedding cake. The Kennedys were married on Sept. 12, 1953, at St. Mary’s Church in the well-heeled summer resort located about 60 miles from Boston.   Continue reading “JFK wedding negatives being auctioned in Boston”

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SEATTLE (AP) — Police in the Seattle suburb of Auburn say they are still looking for an actress known for her roles in “August: Osage County,” ”Frozen River” and “Django Unchained.”

Misty Upham’s father, Charles Upham, tells KIRO-FM (http://bit.ly/1p8Dq2w ) that his daughter was upset and erratic and had stopped taking medication for anxiety and bipolar disorder. The 32-year-old Native American actress was reported missing by her family Oct. 6, a day after telling police she was suicidal. Her father tells the station he doesn’t believe his daughter would kill herself.   Continue reading “Actress Misty Upham still missing in Seattle area”

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UXBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — At least two of the three babies whose skeletal remains were found in a filthy, vermin-infested Massachusetts home may have been alive “for some period of time” before they were found, a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.

Both bodies were found wearing diapers and one-piece infant outfits in closets in the Blackstone home, Assistant District Attorney John Bradley said during a bail hearing for Erika Murray in Uxbridge District Court.   Continue reading “Prosecutors say dead babies were found clothed”

RT

In a startling admission, counterterrorism agencies said an American suicide bomber who made frequent trips to the Middle East was not under surveillance – and could not be unless there was an informant tipping them off to his activities.

Moner Mohammad Abusalha, a US citizen, made frequent trips to the Middle East before taking his own life by driving 16 tons of explosives into a restaurant used as check point by Syrian soldiers on May 25, 2014. Despite taking several trips prior to killing himself, the Florida-based, 22-year-old Abusalha was not on the radar of the FBI or the database at the National Counterterrorism Center.    Continue reading “American suicide bomber not tracked by US surveillance”

RT

Italian police have arrested a nurse suspected of killing at least 38 of her patients because they, or their relatives, were irritating her. The officials also found a selfie, with the nurse giving a thumbs-up in front of a recently deceased patient.

Daniela Poggiali, 42, a hospital nurse was arrested in her native town of Lugo in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, a province of Ravenna, reported Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper.   Continue reading “Italian nurse arrested over killing 38 patients who irritated her”

RT

A local guerrilla campaign has taken root in Syria, targeting Islamic State [IS] militants in the eastern part of the country where IS has established a stronghold.

The newly emergent guerrilla group, which calls itself “White Shroud” – in an apparent reference to the Islamic death shroud – says its goal is to respond to the notorious brutality of IS by instilling fear into its fighters, the Syrian group’s leader, who identified himself as Abu Aboud, told Reuters.   Continue reading “Syrian guerrilla group goes head-to-head against Islamic State”

RT

Since the beginning of October, the residents of Wasco, California have been on alert for sightings of a ghoulish clown, or clowns, in some instances brandishing a weapon, which has already landed one teen copycat in jail.

With Halloween still two weeks away, it is already a safe bet what the most popular costume in several California towns will look like: A horrifying clown with flaming red hair, blackened eyes, and bright yellow overalls; a bit like Ronald McDonald meets Stephen King in a nightmare.   Continue reading “Trick or Terror: ‘Wasco clown’ sightings freak out California town”

RT

The Boeing X-37B, a highly classified robotic spacecraft built for the US Air Force, is to make its third landing after spending more than 670 days in low-Earth orbit. The space plane’s purpose remains a mystery, though surveillance is a likely candidate.

X-37B is expected to land automatically at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a facility serving as a testing base for the DoD.   Continue reading “Pentagon’s mystery ‘space plane’ to touch down after record time in orbit”

RT

NATO and Afghan officials are disputing an airstrike in E. Afghanistan that killed at least seven people. An Afghan official said all the dead were civilians, including a 12-year-old child, but NATO said the “precision” strike only killed militants.

Abdul Wali Sahi, deputy governor of Paktia province, told Reuters that villagers had found seven bodies in the Udkey area of Gardez city and brought them to the provincial capital following the airstrike. Locals say they were gathering firewood on a mountain side when NATO forces fired upon them on Sunday. An eighth person was reportedly wounded.   Continue reading “7 civilians or 8 militants dead? NATO, Afghans dispute airstrike”

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MECHANIC FALLS, Maine (AP) — A mechanical problem caused a Jeep towing a wagon full of passengers to lurch down a steep hill and slam into a tree during a Halloween-themed hayride in the woods, killing a teenager and injuring more than 20 other people, authorities said.

Investigators were inspecting the Jeep to try to determine exactly what kept it from stopping on the hill, and state police were calculating the passengers’ weight to determine if the hay wagon was overloaded and whether that contributed to the mechanical problem, Sgt. Joel Davis of the state fire marshal’s office told reporters.   Continue reading “Mechanical problem blamed for fatal hayride crash”

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CAIRO (AP) — Qatar pledged $1 billion Sunday toward the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after this year’s devastating Israel-Hamas war, once again using its vast wealth to reinforce its role as a regional player as Gulf Arab rival the United Arab Emirates promised $200 million.

The pledges followed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry earlier announcing immediate American assistance of $212 million. The European Union pledged 450 million euros ($568 million), while Turkey, which has been playing a growing role in the Middle East in recent years, said it was donating $200 million.   Continue reading “Qatar pledges $1B for Gaza Strip reconstruction”

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MURSITPINAR, Turkey (AP) — Kurdish fighters have been able to halt the advance of the Islamic State extremist group in the Syrian border town of Kobani, where the U.S.-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes for more than two weeks, activists said Sunday.

The coalition, which is targeting the militants in and around Kobani, conducted at least two airstrikes Sunday on the town, according to an Associated Press journalist. The U.S. Central Command said warplanes from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates conducted four airstrikes in Syria on Saturday and Sunday, including three in Kobani that destroyed an Islamic State fighting position and staging area.   Continue reading “Activists: Kurds halt jihadi advance in Syria town”

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BAGHDAD (AP) — A triple suicide bombing killed 26 Kurdish security forces northeast of Baghdad on Sunday and a roadside bomb killed the police chief of the western Anbar province, dealing major blows to Iraqi security forces struggling to combat the Islamic State extremist group.

The triple attack took place in Qara Tappah, in the ethnically and communally mixed Diyala province, according to an official from the Kurdish Asayish security forces. He said the first bomber detonated an explosives vest at the gateway to a security compound that also houses the office of a main Kurdish political party. Minutes later, two suicide bombers plowed cars filled with explosives into the compound, causing heavy damage. At least 60 people were wounded in the attack.    Continue reading “Triple suicide bombing in Iraq kills 26 Kurds”

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MECHANIC FALLS, Maine (AP) — A Halloween-themed hay ride careened down a hill in the Maine woods and crashed into a tree, fatally injuring a teenage girl and leaving more than 20 other people hurt, police said Sunday.

A 17-year-old girl died of injuries sustained when the Jeep hauling the hay wagon lost control Saturday night, state police spokesman Stephen McCausland said in a statement. Two others, a teenage boy and the driver, were hospitalized in critical condition.   Continue reading “1 dead, 22 injured when Maine hayride flips”

RT

American intelligence officials are trying to blame news reports for failed military attacks against shadowy jihadist groups, arguing that the articles alerted a new terror group to impending air strikes.

Last month, the United States fired 46 cruise missiles at eight locations in northern Syria to target the Khorasan group’s training camps, a munitions center and other sites. However, the attacks only killed one or two key militants, US officials told the Associated Press.   Continue reading “US blames news reports for air strike failures”

RT

Pornhub has been forced to remove a giant billboard it had erected in New York’s Times Square, with it mysteriously disappearing from the area just hours after it was put up.

In May, Pornhub launched a headline-grabbing design competition, with entrants submitting a variety of images and slogans for their forthcoming adverts, including one depicting a woman questioning a man: “What are you watching?” with the response “Nothing,” prompting the tagline: “The world’s biggest archive of nothing.”    Continue reading “Down and out: Pornhub forced to take down controversial billboard in Times Square”

RT

Edward Snowden may not have a Nobel Prize or be able to go home, but he’s got a statue in Manhattan and a blockbuster new documentary, where he tells the behind the scenes story of his decision to go public with terabytes of classified government docs.

New Yorkers got a strange surprise on Friday when a 9-foot hunk of white drywall appeared in Union Square in an art piece dedicated to Edward Snowden, the man who told the world just how much the US government is watching and listening in on our every move.   Continue reading “‘Seen’ in New York: Edward Snowden on the run again”

RT

Islamic State’s offensive on the Iraqi capital intensified as the jihadist fighters advanced as far as Abu Ghraib, a suburb only 8 miles away from Baghdad’s international airport.

The outer suburb of Abu Ghraib is also the site of the infamous prison the US military used to humiliate and torture Iraqi detainees.

There are reports by the Iraqi military that the militants are in possession of MANPAD anti-aircraft missiles. The short-range, shoulder-fired missiles can shoot down airplanes within a range of 15,000 feet.   Continue reading “Battle for Baghdad: ISIS now within 8 miles of airport, armed with MANPADS”

I knew it was only a matter of time that the Ebola crisis would be made into a racism issue.  Is this isn’t proof of what a staged production all of this is, I don’t know what is!

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DALLAS (AP) — The man said he’d recently traveled from West Africa, was in severe pain — rating it an eight on a scale of 10 — and had a fever that spiked to 103 degrees, enough to be flagged with an exclamation point in the hospital’s record-keeping system.

Thomas Eric Duncan, displaying symptoms that could indicate Ebola, underwent a battery of tests during his initial visit to the Dallas emergency room before eventually being sent home with a prescription for antibiotics, his medical records show.   Continue reading “Ebola patient displayed symptoms at first ER visit”