Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (AP) — For a company that booked $12 million in annual sales importing snacks like chile- and lime-flavored chips from Mexico, Baja Distributors Inc.’s offices were oddly quiet. There were no signs outside. Its small warehouse was almost empty. Phones went unanswered.

Investigators say there was a reason for the anonymity: The business was laundering money from Mexican drug traffickers. Baja Distributors, whose executives denied laundering drug money, brought more than $17 million from Mexico in 18 months.   Continue reading “As Mexico cracks down, drug money comes to US”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House made a public push to defend President Bill Clinton during a series of investigations related to the Whitewater real estate deal to his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, according to thousands of pages of documents released by the National Archives.

The documents, part of 10,000 pages of records from the Clinton administration released Friday, did not appear to reveal any new information that might affect a potential Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign. But the papers focused on a number of painful chapters in the former first lady’s time in the White House and described how the president’s aides sought to defend her husband against impeachment.   Continue reading “Documents show how White House defended Clinton”

RT

A US watchdog is asking why 16 planes bought for the Afghan Air Force, costing almost $500 million, were turned into scrap metal valued at just $32,000. The government wants to know why hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money were wasted on the project.

The military transport planes had been sitting at Kabul International Airport for years, before they were sent for scrap. John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), wants to know why the money was wasted. According to Reuters, he had asked Air Force Secretary Deborah James to keep a record of all decisions concerning the destruction of the 16 C-27J planes.   Continue reading “US planes worth $500mn sold for scrap in Afghanistan – for just $32,000”

RT

In what could be a major breakthrough for diabetes treatment, scientists have discovered a way to drastically alter human embryonic stem cells, transforming them into cells that produce and release insulin.

Developed by researchers at Harvard University, the innovative new technique involves essentially recreating the formation process of beta cells, which are located in the pancreas and secrete insulin. By stimulating certain genes in a certain order, the Boston Globe reports that scientists were able to charm embryonic stem cells – and even altered skin cells – into becoming beta cells.   Continue reading “Diabetes breakthrough: Human stem cells altered to make insulin”

NJ.com – by Matthew Stanmyre

It came without warning.

It would start with a howling noise from a senior football player at Sayreville War Memorial High School, and then the locker room lights were abruptly shut off.

In the darkness, a freshman football player would be pinned to the locker room floor, his arms and feet held down by multiple upperclassmen. Then, the victim would be lifted to his feet while a finger was forced into his rectum. Sometimes, the same finger was then shoved into the freshman player’s mouth.   Continue reading “Sayreville football parent reveals sexual nature of alleged locker room hazing ritual”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella apologized Thursday night and said he was wrong for saying that women don’t need to ask for a raise and should just trust the system to pay them well.

Nadella was blasted on Twitter and in blog posts for his comments, which were made earlier Thursday at an event for women in computing. Tech companies hire many more men than women. And beyond the tech industry, women are typically paid less than men.   Continue reading “Microsoft CEO apologizes for comments on women”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 40 years ago, authorities said former diplomat William Bradford “Brad” Bishop Jr. bludgeoned his family to death with a sledgehammer and disappeared into the North Carolina woods. For decades, investigators believed he might have used his education, international experience and knowledge of foreign languages to flee to Europe and assume a new identity.

On Thursday, the FBI had a new theory: Bishop never left the rural South, living as a homeless vagrant until he was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Alabama in 1981. The John Doe in that case bears a strong resemblance to Bishop, so authorities have dug up the unidentified remains to see if they match his DNA, the FBI said. The agency said the results could be known soon but wouldn’t elaborate.   Continue reading “FBI exhumes body in 10 Most Wanted search”

RT

One of the passengers of the MH17 plane shot down over Ukraine was wearing an oxygen mask, Dutch Foreign Minister Franz Timmermans has said. This new revelation contradicts assumptions that all 298 people on board the plane died instantly.

Timmermans’ comments suggest that the Boeing-777-200 shot down three months ago might not have fallen apart immediately after the aircraft was hit, killing all people aboard, if at least one passenger remained conscious and managed to pull an oxygen mask on.   Continue reading “MH17 victim found wearing oxygen mask – Dutch FM”

RT

The cremation of a body weighing at least 500 pounds was the likely cause of a fire that broke out at a Virginia crematory on Wednesday. Authorities said the “rather large” cadaver caused excessive heat and oil during cremation.

The fire at Southside Cremation Services in Henrico County, Virginia was likely caused when the cremation furnace overheated, according to fire officials.   Continue reading “500-lb. body causes fire at Virginia crematory”

RT

The spread of Ebola presents a $33 billion threat to West African economies says the World Bank. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is pouring billions into halting the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, from airport screenings to military aid in Africa.

In a worst case scenario, in the next four months there could be 1.4 million Ebola cases, according to a September 23 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This would be a 175-fold increase from the current 8,033 cases. So far 3,879 people have died from the outbreak, with the majority of deaths occurring in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.   Continue reading “Killer cost of Ebola: World Bank warns of $33bn doomsday scenario”

Mail.com

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico (AP) — Tens of thousands of teachers, activists and residents marched and blocked a major highway in the Guerrero state capital Wednesday to protest the disappearance of 43 teachers college students and demand that authorities find them.

The protesters shut down the highway that links Mexico City with Acapulco, marching behind a banner asking “Who governs Guerrero?” — a reference to the fact that local police working with organized crime have been implicated in the disappearances in the city of Iguala.   Continue reading “Protesters jam road demanding Mexico find students”

Mail.com

Twins Anthony and Andrew Johnson lived with each other in a quiet neighborhood in Tennessee. One helped treat the other’s diabetes. They tended their lawn together, went to the grocery store together and they were found dead together.

Their decomposing bodies were discovered in the spring by police who found their remains in recliner chairs in their living room. Authorities determined at the time that they had been dead for about three years, but what killed them remained a mystery until Wednesday, when results of autopsies and toxicology exams showed Anthony Larry Johnson died of heart disease. Shortly afterward, his twin, Andrew Gary Johnson, died of diabetes.   Continue reading “Twins died together from diabetes, heart disease”

Mail.com

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A state appeals court will decide in coming weeks whether chimpanzees are entitled to “legal personhood” in a case that could lead to expanded rights for animals such as gorillas, elephants and dolphins, according to the lawyer advocating for a 26-year-old chimp named Tommy.

Attorney Steven Wise argued before a five-member mid-level appeals court Wednesday on behalf of Tommy, who lives alone in a cage in upstate Fulton County. A trial-level judge has refused a request by Wise and his Nonhuman Rights Project to have Tommy released to join other chimps at a Florida sanctuary that mimics their natural habitat.    Continue reading “NY court hears arguments that chimps have rights”

Mail.com

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Brittany Maynard will not live to see if her advocacy makes a difference.

The 29-year-old woman expects to die next month. If the brain cancer from which she suffers does not kill her in October, she plans to take advantage of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act and end her own life on the first of November — a few days after her husband’s 43rd birthday.    Continue reading “Woman with cancer plans to take her life in Oregon”

Mail.com

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) — A man told police he poured vodka into the IV feeding tube of his girlfriend’s disabled 13-year-old son to settle him down, a dose of alcohol that contributed to his death, according to court documents released Wednesday.

Walter Richters and Melissa Robitille, both 38, were charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 22 death of Isaac Robitille. They entered not-guilty pleas at their arraignment Wednesday afternoon in Caledonia County and were ordered held without bail. Neither spoke.   Continue reading “Mom, beau plead not guilty in alcohol-in-IV death”

RT

Tuesday this week commemorates 13 years since the start of the Afghan War — America’s longest running campaign of its kind — yet an end to the operation is hardly on the horizon.

Under the terms of the Bilateral Security Agreement, the pact signed last week by representatives for both the United States and Afghanistan, the US will significantly reduce the number of soldiers involved in its post-9/11 Operation Enduring Freedom at the end of this year. Troop numbers will shrink to 10,000, signaling indeed a major step towards ending the war in Afghanistan — a campaign promise made by US President Barack Obama during the lead-up to his re-election in 2012. With this week’s anniversary, however, the costs incurred already appear more evident than ever, and the length of the operation may be endless.    Continue reading “Longest in US history: Afghan War turns 13, US military deaths grow 4-fold under Obama”

RT

​Former CIA Director Leon Panetta says that he was cursed at by President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff after he agreed to cooperate with the Senate’s investigation into his agency’s torture tactics in the wake of 9/11.

In passages taken from his new book and published online by the Intercept, Panetta explains the event that triggered the outburst, which flowed from the former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a man notorious for his profanity-laced tirades.   Continue reading “‘Who the f**k authorized this?’ Obama’s chief of staff cursed Panetta over CIA torture probe”

RT

Connecticut’s governor declared a public health emergency in the Nutmeg State. The precautionary order, signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy, allows public health officials to coordinate a targeted quarantine in case Ebola arrives in the state.

The Democratic governor’s order ‒ which is not in reaction to any specific case of the virus ‒ gives Department of Public Health Commissioner Jewel Mullen the power to quarantine any person or group who may be exposed to or infected with Ebola.   Continue reading “Connecticut declares preemptive Ebola health emergency, allows quarantines”

Mail.com

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — An air tanker fighting a wildfire on the edge of Yosemite National Park in Northern California smashed into a steep canyon wall Tuesday, killing the pilot who was believed to be the only person aboard, officials said.

Rescue crews hiking through extremely rugged terrain found the wreckage and confirmed the pilot’s death several hours after the plane crashed, said Alyssa Smith, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.    Continue reading “California pilot dies in crash fighting wildfire”