Author: Sunfire

Today at 12:30pm, I was heading to work, about a quarter mile from my house when a police SUV when down the road going in the opposite direction I was driving in. He quickly turned around, put on his lights and pulled me over. I have lived in the same town for forty-five years, and in the thirty-one years I’ve been driving, I have never been pulled over by any police officer in my town.

He asked for the usual driver’s license, registration, and insurance. He briefly looked at all three, then says: “The reason I pulled you over is because your inspection sticker expired in December of 2017.”   Continue reading “My encounter with a cop today.”

RT

New cryptocurrency mining viruses have lately spread to infect Windows computers as virtual currency-related malware becomes popular and profitable among cyber criminals.

The viruses are being spread using same EternalBlue exploit, which has been developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA). The exploit was recently used as part of the worldwide WannaCry ransomware attack.   Continue reading “Cryptocurrency mining malware infects over 500,000 PCs with NSA exploit”

Mail.com

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A former Dallas accountant condemned for fatally shooting his two young daughters while their mother listened helplessly on the phone is looking to the U.S. Supreme Court to spare his life.

John David Battaglia is set for execution Thursday evening for the May 2001 killings of his 9-year-old daughter, Faith, and her 6-year-old sister, Liberty. Battaglia and his wife had separated and the girls were killed at his Dallas apartment during a scheduled visit.  Continue reading “Dallas man to die for killing daughters while mom listened”

Mail.com

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — When President Donald Trump called for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure investment in his State of the Union address, he didn’t pledge that the federal government actually would provide that much money for roads, bridges, rail and waterways.

To the contrary, Trump’s plan counts on state and local governments working with private investors to come up with much of the cash. Exactly how that would work remained unclear Wednesday, as state transportation officials noted that Trump’s proposal could put more pressure on them to raise taxes, fees and tolls just to qualify for a share of his infrastructure program. Questions surrounding Trump’s plan are likely to leave costly projects, such as plans for a new Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, in limbo.   Continue reading “Trump infrastructure plan seeks to shift burden to states”

RT

Killer whales have for the first time been recorded apparently imitating human speech. Audio released in a new study captured an orca mimicking words such as “hello” and “bye bye.”

A new study, published Wednesday in the journal ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society B’ and led by the Complutense University of Madrid, found orcas have the ability to learn and mimic human language.   Continue reading “Killer whale ‘repeats human speech’ – study”

RT

The US government has reportedly opened up an investigation into tech giant Apple amid a torrent of lawsuits alleging the company used an iPhone update to intentionally slow down older models.

According to Bloomberg News, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have requested information from Apple as part of a probe into whether or not the company’s not-so-helpful update violated securities laws. The inquiry is still in its early stages, according to the sources.   Continue reading “Apple faces US govt probe over performance-destroying iPhone update – reports”

RT

As some mainstream media rushed to genuinely fact-check US President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address, others jumped straight to the fault-finding.

In an article hot on the heels of the address, Huffington Post’s Akbar Shahid Ahmed accused Trump of letting Russia off too easy. The president only mentioned Russia once in his speech (as he did with China), merely referring to it as a rival, not a sworn enemy hell-bent on America’s downfall.   Continue reading “Too much traditional values, too little Russia-bashing – MSM’s grievances with Trump’s SOTU”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Three guys walk into a bar. They’re Warren Buffett, Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos and JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon. They decide to transform the American health care system. That’s probably not how these three men decided to form a new company to address health care costs for their U.S. employees, and possibly for many more Americans. The three companies, with a combined market cap of $1.62 trillion, did not provide details of how the collaboration between their CEOs came about. And while their announcement Tuesday didn’t include many specifics, based on their very different business backgrounds it’s possible to see what each might bring to the table.   Continue reading “Health care’s Three Amigos? The big names behind a new push”

RT

Twitter, Facebook and Google had a hard time providing evidence of “Russian meddling” on social media, transcripts from the US Senate show. However, they did shockingly reveal that RT America had purchased ads aimed at Americans.

On Friday, the US Senate Intelligence Committee released answers provided by Twitter, Facebook and Google in response to questions concerning Russia’s alleged meddlesome use of social media in the devious pursuit of uprooting American democracy.  Continue reading “Buzz kill: Tech giants struggle to find ‘Russian meddling’ in written answers to US Senate”

RT

Mexico’s energy reform that ended a state monopoly has so far fared fairly well in the upstream sector, with oil majors snatching up offshore oil blocks in auctions.

In the downstream, however, aging refineries built before 1980 have been bleeding cash for years and made Mexico import increasing volumes of refined products to meet growing demand.   Continue reading “Mexico’s cartels are ditching drugs for oil”

RT

Although self-driving cars are becoming more of a reality each day, the majority of Americans are wary of the idea, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

When asked whether they felt comfortable with the notion of “riding in an entirely self-driving car,” a whopping 67 percent of Americans said they were “not comfortable.” Only 27 percent said they were “comfortable” with the idea.   Continue reading “67% of Americans ‘not comfortable’ with self-driving cars – poll”

RT

A weak US dollar, a possible war between the US and North Korea or the impeachment of Donald Trump could result in one of the longest-ever rallies for gold, according to precious metals expert Jim Rickards.

“This is gold’s breakout year. We are in the third bull market of my lifetime – and we have a very long way to run,” Rickards said in an interview to Kitco News.  Continue reading “Gold price could smash $10,000 on crashing dollar & other factors – Jim Rickards”

RT

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake has shaken Los Angeles. It struck at around 3am local time Thursday morning at a depth of about 10km, roughly 13km northeast of Trabuco Canyon.

The initial quake was followed soon after by a 2.2 aftershock.  Continue reading “Los Angeles hit by 4.0 magnitude earthquake, felt across S. California”

RT

The greenback has touched the lowest level against major global currencies since 2015. This comes after the US treasury secretary announced that Washington favors a weak dollar in trade.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Steven Mnuchin said that a weaker dollar “is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities.”  Continue reading “US dollar crashes to 3yr lows against major currencies”

Mail.com

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A decades-long sentence for Michigan sports doctor Larry Nassar ensures he won’t be free again. But the conclusion of an extraordinary seven-day court hearing doesn’t close the book on the scandal.

Nassar, 54, was sentenced Wednesday to a minimum of 40 years in state prison, a punishment that’s in addition to a 60-year term in federal prison for child pornography crimes. Michigan State University, where Nassar assaulted young gymnasts and other athletes, is under fire by victims, lawyers and lawmakers who want to know why he was able to get away with it for so long.   Continue reading “Nassar scandal far from over despite sentence”

Mail.com

DENVER (AP) — In a Denver co-working space between a brewpub and a shop serving the Hawaiian raw fish salad called poke, four possible independent candidates for U.S. Senate and governorships recently plotted how to pry loose Republicans’ and Democrats’ grip on U.S. politics.

Terry Hayes, Maine’s treasurer and a possible gubernatorial candidate, left the Democratic Party over its domination by teachers’ unions. Craig O’Dear, a Kansas City lawyer exploring a challenge to Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, was active in the GOP but became disillusioned with both parties. Bob Krist decided to run for Nebraska governor as an independent because Republican activists and the GOP incumbent injected partisanship into the state’s nonpartisan Legislature.   Continue reading “Washington’s bickering motivates new US nonpartisan groups”

RT

As President Donald Trump plans to modernize and expand the US nuclear program, Frank Klotz, the outgoing head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), warned that his agency is already at capacity.

Klotz, who retired from the NNSA on January 19, told Defense News the agency does not have the resources to modify and develop new nuclear capabilities that the Trump administration has outlined.   Continue reading “Trump wants more nukes than US can handle – outgoing nuclear warhead chief”

RT

A Hawaii-based US Army soldier who is accused of providing material support to ISIS was obsessed with terrorist videos, laughing at them and insulting the victims, an unsealed FBI affidavit and other court documents show.

The papers unsealed on Monday and seen by AP include revelations from an FBI informant, who the soldier – Ikaika Erik Kang – believed to be an ISIS member. Kang was assigned to Schofield Barracks, a US Army installation in Honolulu and served with the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade before his arrest in July 2017.   Continue reading “Soldier accused of ISIS links was obsessed with videos of beheadings & suicide bombings – court docs”

Mail.com

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on the sentencing of Michigan sports doctor Larry Nassar and other developments in the case (all times local): 12:50 p.m. A judge has told a Michigan sports doctor accused of sexually assaulting women and girls, “I just signed your death warrant.”

The remarks from Judge Rosemarie Aquilina came as she sentenced Larry Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison. The sentence capped a remarkable seven-day hearing that brought more than 150 victims or their families to court, including Olympians.   Continue reading “Judge: ‘I just signed your death warrant’”