Author: Sunfire

RT News

Many Americans expecting to see their tax refunds in their bank accounts soon are waking up to a very different scenario: the government actively intercepting their checks in order to pay back debts they’re not responsible for.

According to a new report in the Washington Post, the federal government is seizing nearly $2 billion from hundreds of thousands of taxpayers this year in order to settle debts, some incurred by their parents, some dating back to more than a decade.   Continue reading “Social Security, Treasury target Americans for their parents’ old debts”

Vocativ

In Pennsylvania, a high school sophomore with developmental disabilities was convicted of a crime after recording classmates threatening to “pull down his pants”.

After being regularly shoved and tripped, and nearly burned with a cigarette lighter, a tormented special-needs student in Pennsylvania decided to take matters into his own hands. He secretly recorded the abuse on his school-issued iPad, and his mother eventually submitted the evidence to the school’s principal. But instead of punishing the teenage tyrants caught on tape, administrators decided to call the police, who threatened the 15-year-old boy with felony wiretapping, but later reduced the charge to disorderly conduct. He was found guilty on March 19.   Continue reading “Special-Ed Student Who Recorded Bullies Accused of Felony Wiretapping”

RT News

An off-duty New York City cop has been charged with four counts related to a Sunday night incident in which he allegedly crashed into multiple cars and nearly plowed down his fellow police officers while driving drunk.

Shieed Haniff, 30, was apprehended just before midnight on Sunday evening, according to the New York Daily News, and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and refusing to take a breath test.   Continue reading “NYPD cop nearly plowed down his fellow officers while driving drunk, police claim”

Mail.com

BOSTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s aunt Zeituni Onyango, who was denied asylum in the United States but stayed illegally for years, died Tuesday at age 61.

Onyango, whose immigration status was reported by The Associated Press days before Obama’s election in 2008, had been treated in recent months for cancer and respiratory problems, Cleveland attorney Margaret Wong said. She died in a Boston rehabilitation center, said Wong, who represented her in her immigration case.   Continue reading “Obama aunt who stayed in US illegally dies at 61”

Mail.com

DETROIT (AP) — A teenager and two men were charged Tuesday in the brutal beating of a suburban Detroit man after he accidentally hit a child who stepped off the curb into the path of his truck.

Police, meanwhile, credited a nurse with saving the life of driver Steve Utash by stepping between him and the half-dozen or more men who punched and kicked him after the April 2 accident on the northeast side of Detroit.   Continue reading “3 charged in Detroit mob beating of motorist”

RT News

Those Americans who struggle to correctly point out even the continent Ukraine is located on are more likely to support US military intervention to resolve the crisis and the advancement of US national security interests, a new survey has revealed.

A newly published poll, conducted by three Ivy League professors, revealed that only one out of six Americans surveyed could pinpoint where Ukraine actually is on a world map. The survey also showed a worrying correlation in answers – the further the person thought Ukraine is from its actual geographical location, the more likely he or she was to support military intervention in a sovereign state.   Continue reading “Americans who don’t know where Ukraine is are more likely to support military intervention – poll”

News 12 New Jersey

LOS ANGELES – (AP) Mickey Rooney’s approach to life was simple: “Let’s put on a show!” He spent nine decades doing it, on the big screen, on television, on stage and in his extravagant personal life.

A superstar in his youth, Rooney was Hollywood’s top box-office draw in the late 1930s to early 1940s. He epitomized the “show” part of show business, even if the business end sometimes failed him amid money troubles and a seesaw of career tailspins and revivals.   Continue reading “Iconic Hollywood actor Mickey Rooney dies at 93”

RT News

The Toledo Blade newspaper in Ohio has filed a lawsuit against the United States government after two journalists employed by the outlet were detained by the military for photographing a tank plant owned by defense contractor General Dynamics.

Attorneys for the paper filed their lawsuit on Friday, April 4, one week after Blade reporter Tyrel Linkhorn and photographer Jetta Fraser were detained for around an hour-and-a-half after they were approached while taking pictures of the plant from public property outside the premises.   Continue reading “Ohio newspaper suing federal government after two journalists were detained by the military”

Mail.com

BERLIN (AP) — Michael Guhle met the love of his life on the beach of a little fishing village in Vietnam. Thi An Nguyen was selling freshly cooked mussels and fruit to the German tourist and they immediately clicked. Soon the Berlin nursing home worker was saving up all of his money and vacation days to visit Nguyen.

Marriage was supposed to bring them together. Instead, it was the beginning of a long ordeal apart. Germany blocked Nguyen from entering the country after she flunked the language test that Germany requires aspiring immigrants to pass — even those married to Germans.   Continue reading “Married couples separated by German language test”

Mail.com

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Strange, sad and macabre, the discovery of the skeletal remains of twin brothers Andrew and Anthony Johnson has mystified neighbors and others in Chattanooga and beyond. Each man was found seated in an easy chair inside the modest home they shared for decades, and where they apparently died together about three years ago, with no obvious signs of foul play.

Even while they were alive, though, the 63-year-old twins were something of a mystery to their neighbors, who occasionally saw them wearing surgical masks while gardening but never saw them with visitors.   Continue reading “Mystery surrounds death of Tenn. twins in home”

Mail.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — With their 1-year-old daughter improving after a U.S. Navy ocean rescue, her parents defended their decision to sail with two young children on a trip around the world aboard a 36-foot sailboat.

The child who fell ill during the voyage and her family were heading to San Diego aboard the warship where she can receive further medical treatment after their rescue Sunday from their stalled sailboat hundreds of miles off the Mexican coast.   Continue reading “Baby improving after ocean rescue by US Navy”

RT News

In the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, a group of activists have declared their region independent from Kiev. This comes after protesters stormed a local government building last night.

Mass demonstrations against the country’s new leadership started peacefully on Sunday, but the situation quickly escalated.   Continue reading “Donetsk activists proclaim region’s independence from Ukraine”

RT News

A NASA spacecraft that has been orbiting the moon for months is set to conclude its mission, with a bang when it smashes into the far side of the celestial body later this month.

On April 11, ground controllers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California will command the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) to carry out its final orbital maintenance maneuver prior to a total lunar eclipse on April 14-15.   Continue reading “NASA spacecraft to rock dark side of the moon”

RT News

Edward Snowden is to be awarded the Ridenhour Prize for truth-telling along with filmmaker and journalist Laura Poitras, who aided the whistleblower in disclosing numerous documents about government surveillance.

The annual accolade honors acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society. This is the 10th year the prize has been presented. It was established by the Nation Institute and the Fertel Foundation in honor of the investigative journalist Ronald L. Ridenhour, who helped expose the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War.   Continue reading “Snowden, Poitras honored with Ridenhour truth-telling award”

RT News

As Ukraine is caught in a socio-political whirlwind, Russia is locked in a standoff with the US, and Europe is counting losses from the transcontinental crisis, we talk to a very special guest on SophieCo. A former US Congressman, presidential candidate, and a man with nationwide support for his views on what government should be. A legend of American politics, Ron Paul is on our show today.   Continue reading “Economic sanctions are an act of war – Ron Paul”

RT News

Crimea and Sevastopol have officially joined Russia as President Putin signed a final decree. The US and the EU are moving forward with more sanctions, targeting Russian officials, businessmen and economic sectors.   Continue reading “Ukraine turmoil Updates”

RT News

The US Internal Revenue Service paid millions to people who turned in their friends and neighbors for tax evasion in 2013, a report states. But there’s an ongoing argument about the nature of award payouts: the current scheme is extremely slow.

The annual report to Congress details a total of 122 awards made to those who exposed tax cheats, according to the AP. That is an average of $435,000 per person, making up $53 million. That total collected by the IRS scheme in 2013 was $367 million.   Continue reading “‘Too little, too slow’: IRS pays out $53mn to whistleblowers on 2013 tax evaders”

Mail.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A U.S. Navy warship reached a crippled sailboat hundreds of miles off the Mexican coast and was preparing Sunday to complete the rescue of a sick 1-year-old girl.

The transfer of the child from the 36-foot boat to the ship was expected to start around dawn, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Barry Bena said Sunday. “Sometime this morning as soon as they get some light they are going to take the child off the boat and bring her aboard the naval vessel,” Bena told The Associated Press.   Continue reading “Navy warship reaches sailboat carrying ill toddler”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lacking congressional backing to raise wages or end gender pay disparities, President Barack Obama is imposing his policies directly on federal contractors, following a long-established tradition of presidents exerting their powers on a fraction of the economy directly under their control.

This week, the president will sign an executive order that would prohibit federal contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss their pay with each other. The prohibition on the wage “gag rules” is similar to language in a Senate bill aimed at closing a pay gap between men and women. That legislation is scheduled for a vote this week, though it is not likely to pass.   Continue reading “APNewsBreak: Obama actions test workplace ideas”