Author: Sunfire

RT

Backers of the ‘Six Californias’ plan say they have obtained enough signatures to prompt a referendum on carving up the most populous US state. Campaign leaders claim the split would remedy many problems by creating more effective local governments.

Campaign spokesperson Roger Salazar said the ‘Six Californias’ plan has gained over the 808,000 signatures necessary to include the issue in a 2016 ballot. The idea would be to split the world’s eighth-largest economy geographically into Jefferson, North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West California and South California.    Continue reading “California split: Petition to break state into 6 garners over 800,000 signatures”

RT

Air travel in the US is set to become more expensive beginning next week – but airline profits and jet fuel costs aren’t to blame this time. Instead, the price hike will come as a result of a TSA fee increase.

The Transportation Security Administration’s fee – known as the ‘Civil Aviation Security’ or the ‘9/11 Security’ fee – helps fund the agency. But according to the budget agreement that reopened the federal government after its October shutdown, the fee will increase to as much as $22.40 per trip. That money will go to the US Treasury to help pay the federal deficit, which is estimated to be $649 billion in 2014. That bipartisan deal also eliminated a separate TSA fee that generated $420 million a year for the agency.   Continue reading “Air travel prices in US to climb as TSA fees increase”

RT

A Chicago company is under fire from a local union after employees complained they are being monitored and disciplined for using the bathroom more than just a few minutes a day.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Teamsters Local 743 union has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board regarding the situation, claiming that workers are being penalized if their time in the bathroom exceeds 30 minutes a week, or six minutes a day.   Continue reading “Chicago company penalized employees for excessive bathroom use, says union”

RT

California is facing one of its most severe droughts on record, which is hurting farmers and recreation alike. But despite water restrictions, Nestle is bottling spring water from the state and selling it, creating controversy alongside profits.

Nestle owns Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, which has been bottling water from a spring in Millard Canyon, Calif. for more than a decade. The company’s 383,000-square-foot bottling plant, which also packages purified water under the Nestle Pure Life brand, is located on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians reservation.    Continue reading “Nestle continues to sell bottled water sourced from California despite record drought”

RT

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have resumed airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in retaliation to rocket fire from the Palestinian side after Hamas’ armed wing rejected the peace plan proposed by Egypt on Monday.

“Hamas has fired 47 rockets since we suspended our strikes in Gaza at 9am [local time]. As a result, we have resumed our operation against Hamas,” the IDF said in a statement. “Israeli forces are attacking again.”   Continue reading “Israel resumes Gaza attacks after Hamas rejects ceasefire”

Mail.com

ABINGDON, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man says he has claimed a kingdom in Africa so his daughter can be a princess.

Jeremiah Heaton told the Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/1rcQHtp) that he recently trekked to a small, mountainous region between Egypt and Sudan called Bir Tawil. No country claims the land. Heaton says he planted a flag designed by his children there so that he could become a king — and more importantly, so his 7-year-old daughter Emily could be a princess. They named the area the Kingdom of North Sudan.   Continue reading “Man claims kingdom so daughter can be princess”

RT

At least 200 people have been evacuated from a train that derailed in New Jersey after colliding with a truck that was crossing the tracks. Four people are currently in hospital with minor injuries following the incident.

Erica Dumas, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York, told AP that the two front wheels of the train went off the rails after the collision Sunday. Dumas said the truck driver, the train conductor, one passenger and an engineer were in hospital receiving treatment.   Continue reading “200 evacuated, 4 injured in New Jersey train derailment”

RT News

Reactivating a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant could provide Japan with enough plutonium to produce up to 2,000 atomic bombs a year, a US expert has warned. The “reckless” move could destabilize the region, as Japan’s neighbors rush to compete.

Henry Sokolski, executive director at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, urged the House Foreign Affairs committee to hinder the reopening of the nuclear reprocessing facility in Rokkasho, North Japan.   Continue reading “2,000 bombs a year? Japan’s plan to reopen nuclear reprocessing plant stirs concern”

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said it downed a drone launched by militants in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the first time it encountered an unmanned aircraft since the start of its offensive last week, as new Israeli airstrikes pushed the death toll from a weeklong Israeli offensive to at least 175.

Israel began its campaign against militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip last Tuesday, saying it was responding to heavy rocket fire from the densely populated territory. The military says it has launched more than 1,300 airstrikes since then, while Palestinian militants have launched nearly 1,000 rockets at Israel.   Continue reading “Israel downs Gaza drone along southern coast”

Mail.com

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — A car that collided with a Greyhound bus on an Indiana highway, killing the car’s driver and injuring 19 people on the bus, had just been stolen and was headed in the wrong direction, authorities said.

Phillip Lloyd, the driver of the stolen 1999 Ford Mustang, died at the scene of the Sunday morning collision on Interstate 70 near Richmond, Wayne County Sheriff Jeff Cappa said. Lloyd was from Richmond, which is about 70 miles east of Indianapolis and near the Ohio border.   Continue reading “Sheriff: Bus was hit by stolen car going wrong way”

Mail.com

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — A Greyhound bus headed from St. Louis to New York City collided Sunday with a car on an eastern Indiana highway, killing one person and injuring at least 18 others, an official said.

The accident happened Sunday morning on Interstate 70 near Richmond, which is about 70 miles east of Indianapolis and 35 miles west of Dayton, Ohio, where it planned to make a stop. Authorities temporarily closed all lanes of the highway before reopening them about three hours later.   Continue reading “Bus, car collide in Indiana, 1 dead, 18 hurt”

RT News

Prototypes of the US Navy’s much vaunted electromagnetic railguns were unveiled this week. The new technology, capable of firing projectiles at up to 5,600 miles per hour, is set to revolutionize naval warfare.

The Navy demonstrated two working railgun prototypes aboard the USS Millinocket in San Diego, developed by the Office of Naval Research. The high-tech weapons function by using an electrical pulse which creates an electromagnetic force to propel a projectile   Continue reading “US Navy unveils electromagnetic railgun prototypes”

Mail.com

VIENNA (AP) — The United States and Germany put a brave face on an escalating espionage dispute, stressing on Sunday the importance of their cooperation to solving several global crises but offering little indication they’ve fully mended ties.

After a meeting on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Vienna, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry each extolled the value of the two NATO allies’ work together on issues such as Iran and Israeli-Palestinian violence.   Continue reading “US, Germany vow cooperation despite espionage spat”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York-bound Delta Air Lines flight from Israel declared an emergency and returned to Tel Aviv early Sunday after developing a mechanical problem, vexing passengers already on edge as Palestinian militants launched rocket attacks on the city.

Flight 469 — a Boeing 747 with 370 passengers and 17 crew members aboard — landed safely back at Ben Gurion Airport around 2:30 a.m. local time after flaps on the jumbo jet failed to retract properly on takeoff about two hours earlier, the airline said.   Continue reading “Israel-NYC flight makes safe emergency landing”

Mail.com

VIENNA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and fellow foreign ministers are adding their diplomatic muscle to try and advance troubled nuclear talks with Iran, with a target date only a week away for a pact meant to curb programs Tehran could turn to making atomic arms.

Deep differences separate the two sides and six world powers and Iran appear set to extend their talks past July 20. That would give more time to negotiate a deal that would limit the scope of such programs in exchange for a full lifting of nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Tehran.   Continue reading “Kerry in Vienna; extension of nuclear talks likely”

Mail.com

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A rookie police officer responding to an armed robbery call at a 24-hour drugstore was fatally shot early Sunday by a suspect who had snatched a gun from an armed security guard inside, officials said.

Jersey City Officer Melvin Santiago, 23, was shot in the head while still in his police vehicle as he and his partner responded to a call at a Walgreens at about 4.a.m., Mayor Steven Fulop said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.   Continue reading “Jersey City officer killed during armed robbery”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman accused of abandoning her baby at a Manhattan subway station was arrested Tuesday after telling detectives she was homeless and felt she could no longer take care of the little girl, a police department spokesman said.

Police said she pushed the baby’s stroller from a train onto a platform at the Columbus Circle station on Monday and then got back on the train. Authorities found Frankea Dabbs, 20, just after midnight Tuesday near Central Park, around 72nd Street and Broadway. They arrested her late Tuesday morning on charges of child abandonment and acting in a manner injurious to a child. It was not immediately known who her attorney would be.   Continue reading “NYPD Arrests Mother of Abandoned Baby”

RT News

Prosecutors in Northern California will not bring criminal charges against a sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy for carrying a plastic replica of an assault rifle which the officer mistook for an actual firearm.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office released a report on Monday concluding that Deputy Erick Gelhaus “honestly and reasonably” acted out of belief that he faced an imminent threat of death or serious injury to himself or others when he shot eighth-grader Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa, California last October.   Continue reading “California cop spared charges for killing 13-year-old boy carrying toy gun”

Yahoo News

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military launched what could be a long-term offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, striking more than 100 sites and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a heavy barrage of rocket attacks against Israel.

At least 10 Palestinians, including two children, were killed in the attacks from air and sea, Palestinian officials said.   Continue reading “Israel launches Gaza offensive, at least 10 killed”