Author: Sunfire

RT

The Senate overwhelmingly approved an emergency measure early Friday that could give $225 million in additional revenue to Israel for the country’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) received unanimous consent from his colleagues Friday morning when he asked them to consider approving the measure, The Hill reported. An attempt one day earlier by the Senate to approve funding for the system had failed.   Continue reading “‘We are with you. Here are the missiles!’ US Senate passes emergency funding for Israel’s Iron Dome”

I’m no Bible scholar, but doesn’t part of the end times prophecy state 
that the Anti-Christ will somehow unite the world’s religions?

Mail.com

BERLIN (AP) — A rabbi, an imam and a priest start praying together under the same roof. It may sound like the start of a joke, but hopes are high it will become reality in Berlin.

The three men are working together to build a common house of worship — the “House of One” — in the center of the capital that will include a church, a mosque and a synagogue, as well as a joint meeting hall at the center of the building.   Continue reading “Interfaith house of prayer to be built in Berlin”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, CIA Director John Brennan stood firm in his insistence that the CIA had little to be ashamed of after searching the computers of the Senate Intelligence Committee. His defiant posture quickly collapsed after a devastating report by his own inspector general sided against the CIA on each key point of the dispute with the Senate.

According to an unclassified summary of the report released Thursday, five agency employees — two lawyers and three computer specialists— improperly accessed Intelligence Committee computers earlier this year during a disagreement over interrogation documents. Then, despite Brennan ordering a halt to that operation, the CIA’s office of security began an unauthorized investigation that led it to review the emails of Senate staffers and search them for key words.   Continue reading “CIA director reverses himself on Senate spying”

Mail.com

CHICAGO (AP) — A demoted executive shot and critically wounded his company’s CEO before fatally shooting himself Thursday inside a high-rise office building in downtown Chicago’s bustling financial district, police said.

The worker pulled a gun after entering the 17th-floor office to privately meet with the CEO, and during a struggle for the weapon, the CEO was shot in his head and abdomen, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said. The gunman then fatally shot himself.   Continue reading “Demoted worker shoots CEO, kills self in Chicago”

RT

The US Peace Corps announced on Wednesday that it was removing its 340 volunteers from West Africa due to recent Ebola outbreak, while the federal government is being urged to fast-track a new a drug that could possibly stave off a global pandemic.

According to Reuters, 130 volunteers will leave Sierra Leone, while another 108 and 102 will depart Liberia and Guinea, respectively. The Peace Corps blamed the virus’ continued spread for the decision.   Continue reading “Peace Corps leaves West Africa as Ebola outbreak expands”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Immigration courts are speeding up hearings for the tens of thousands of Central American children caught on the U.S. border after criticism that the backlogged system is letting immigrants stay in the country for years while waiting for their cases to be heard.

There are 375,000 cases before the immigration courts and many immigrants wait months or years for a hearing. Instead of bumping children to the back of that long line, the courts are now giving each child an initial court hearing within three weeks, according to the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. A spokeswoman for the courts didn’t answer questions about how many children’s hearings had been set under the new plan, or which courts had scheduled additional hearings.   Continue reading “Immigration courts speed up children’s cases”

Mail.com

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Once-forgotten plaques placed by a Portland police officer in a city park to honor five Nazi-era German soldiers have come back to haunt the city.

The officer, Capt. Mark Kruger, threatened to sue the city last year over texts sent by a top police official to an officer characterizing him as a Nazi sympathizer. Instead of going to court, the city settled, agreeing to give Kruger 80 hours of vacation and $5,000.   Continue reading “Portland settles suit by officer who honored Nazis”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has endorsed the broad conclusions of a harshly critical Senate report on the CIA’s interrogation and detention practices after the 9/11 attacks, a report that accuses the agency of brutally treating terror suspects and misleading Congress, according to a White House document.

“This report tells a story of which no American is proud,” says the four-page White House document, which contains the State Department’s preliminary proposed talking points in response to the classified Senate report, a summary of which is expected to be released in the coming weeks.   Continue reading “State Dept: ‘No American is proud’ of CIA tactics”

Mail.com

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — Racing against time, members of a Japanese organization are combing a New York military museum’s World War II records for information they hope will lead to the graves of American servicemen still listed as missing in action on Saipan.

The reason for the urgency: A developer plans to begin construction in the fall on a condominium near the beach where scores of Americans were killed on July 7, 1944, during Japan’s largest mass suicide attack of the war.   Continue reading “Japanese search US archives for WWII MIA info”

Mail.com

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura got the legal vindication he craved when a jury agreed he had been defamed in slain military sniper Chris Kyle’s autobiography.

Ventura won another victory on Wednesday — a day after the jury voted 8-2 to award him more than $1.8 million — when “American Sniper” publisher HarperCollins told The Associated Press it would remove the passage that sparked the lawsuit from the best-seller.   Continue reading “Jesse Ventura’s image and legal battles not over”

Mail.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Americans are wary of granting refugee status to children crossing the U.S. border to flee strife-torn countries in Central America, and most in an Associated Press-GfK poll say the U.S. does not have a moral obligation to accept asylum seekers generally.

The new poll found 53 percent of Americans believe the United States has no moral obligation to offer asylum to people who escape violence or political persecution, while 44 percent believe it has that responsibility.   Continue reading “Poll: Americans cool to border-crossing children”

RT

The new round of American economic sanctions imposed against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis will only further worsen relations between Washington and Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“Washington will gain nothing from such decisions except for further complication of Russian-American relations and the creation of an unfavorable atmosphere in international affairs, where the cooperation between our countries often plays a key role,” the statement by the ministry reads.   Continue reading “Moscow: US will feel ‘tangible losses’ from ‘destructive, myopic’ sanctions”

RT

Nearly every criminal case the FBI and US Justice Department has reviewed during a major investigation that began in 2012 regarding an FBI lab unit has involved flawed forensic testimony, The Washington Post reported.

The review – originally spurred by a Post report in 2012 over flawed forensic testimony by Federal Bureau of Investigation lab technicians that may have led to convictions of hundreds of innocent people – was cut short last August when its findings “troubled the bureau,” according to the Post. The review was ordered by the Justice Department (DOJ) to resume this month, government officials said.   Continue reading “FBI forensic lab misconduct could affect 2,600 convictions, 45 death row cases”

Mail.com

PARIS (AP) — Rats are on the rampage in the elegant garden of the Louvre Museum, so bold they romp on the grass in broad daylight, defying death threats from sanitation workers and scaring tourists.

The hot weather in Paris has brought many picnicking visitors to the garden, whose garbage is a feast for the rats. And they’re getting help from animal lovers who dig up poison and feed them water. Maybe it’s the “Ratatouille” effect, with the beloved French rat Remy from Disney’s computer animated film helping real-life rats win Parisian hearts.   Continue reading “Elegant Louvre Garden in Paris infested with rats”

RT

A federal judge asked a jury on Monday to once again attempt to come to a verdict in the defamation case brought by former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura since the panel could not come to a decision after five days of deliberations.

Ventura is suing the estate of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle for disparaging him in Kyle’s book ‘American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.’ Ventura says a passage of the book regarding a supposed fight between he and Kyle in 2006 has irreparably damaged his reputation.   Continue reading “Judge orders jury to re-attempt verdict in Jesse Ventura defamation suit against ‘American Sniper’”

RT

In a raid seeking information related to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, Chinese hackers infiltrated the databases of three Jewish defense contractors.

In addition to taking information on the Iron Dome, the attackers were also able to nab plans regarding other projects – including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, ballistic rockets, and “detailed schematics and specifications” for the Arrow III missile interceptor.   Continue reading “Chinese hackers obtained info on Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system – report”

Mail.com

BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party announced an investigation into a feared ex-security chief on Tuesday, demonstrating President Xi Jinping’s firm grip on power and breaking a longstanding taboo against publicly targeting the country’s topmost leaders.

If he goes to trial, Zhou Yongkang would be the highest-level official to be prosecuted since the 1981 treason trial of Mao Zedong’s wife and other members of the “Gang of Four,” who mercilessly persecuted political opponents during the chaotic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.   Continue reading “China: Ex-security czar Zhou under investigation”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic and Republican members of Congress scrambled Tuesday to seal a $225 million boost to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system before they break this week for a month-long recess.

As the Gaza war escalates, Israel is proving to be among the few subjects uniting lawmakers. Members of both parties have introduced legislation backing the Jewish state, condemning the Palestinian militant group Hamas and seeking a tougher Iran policy. Iron Dome is the priority, but the House and Senate are at odds over process.   Continue reading “Lawmakers try to seal $225M aid package for Israel”