Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government is looking at ways to prevent anyone from spying on its own surveillance of Americans’ phone records.

As the Obama administration considers shifting the collection of those records from the National Security Agency to requiring that they be stored at phone companies or elsewhere, it’s quietly funding research to prevent phone company employees or eavesdroppers from seeing whom the U.S. is spying on, The Associated Press has learned.   Continue reading “US looks at ways to prevent spying on its spying”

Mail.com

MIAMI (AP) — After going through rehab for cocaine and alcohol abuse and pledging that he’d work through his problems to regain his Florida constituents’ trust, Trey Radel’s short career in Congress ended with a whimper Monday.

Facing a House ethics investigation, a growing group of primary challengers and the steady drumbeat of a Republican establishment calling for him to step down, the 37-year-old, who pleaded guilty to cocaine-possession charges last year, quietly tendered his resignation letter.   Continue reading “Fla. congressman to resign after cocaine scandal”

RT News

Federal charges were made public early Monday against two men accused of operating a bitcoin exchange business in connection with the ongoing investigation involving the Silk Road online marketplace.

The United States Justice Department published a statement on their website on Monday morning confirming that the two men, Robert Faiella and Charlie Shrem, had been arrested within hours of each other and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The charges carry a maximum of 25 years in prison.   Continue reading “Bitcoin exchange operators arrested in connection with Silk Road case”

Independent Journal Review – by Bubba Atkinson 

After 23 years in the House, Virginia’s Democratic Rep. Jim Moran announced his retirement, and now he appears to be breaking ranks with Democrats since he no longer has to run on ObamaCare:

“I’m afraid that the millennials, if you will, are less likely to sign up,” Rep. Moran admitted to radio station WAMU 88.5. “I don’t think we’re going to get enough young people signing up to make this bill work as it was intended to financially,”   Continue reading “Top Democrat Drops a Truthbomb on ObamaCare After Announcing His Retirement”

RT News

The biggest home decor and crafts retailer in the US, Michaels Companies Inc, has warned customers that their credit cards could be compromised in a possible data theft that is currently under investigation.

The security breach on the Michaels card payment system has not yet been confirmed. The company initiated the probe when it came to their notice that some of its clients, who had paid for purchases with credit cards, later reported fraudulent activity on their accounts.   Continue reading “Michaels investigating possible breach of credit card data”

RT News

A US appellate court decision this week could allow federal agencies to withhold public safety information related to crucial infrastructure concerns or environmental disasters because of potential nefarious use by “terrorists or criminals.”

A US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia panel ruled this week that such information can be concealed from the public by US government entities for “law enforcement purposes” because“terrorists or criminals could use that information to determine whether attacking a dam would be worthwhile.”   Continue reading “Court ruling shields public safety info due to potential ‘terrorists’”

RT News

It was only a year ago that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was getting his pay docked by millions of dollars. Now, though, the company is giving their chief executive a raise.

Despite the fact that JPMorgan was hit with $20 billion worth of fines during 2013, Dimon will receive $1.5 million for the year. That base salary is virtually unchanged from the year before, but the company will also pay him an additional $18.5 million in restricted stock, according to a public filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.   Continue reading “JPMorgan gives CEO Jamie Dimon a raise despite shelling out $20 bln in fines”

BankRate – by Janna Herron

The whodunit of stolen credit cards

Gone are the days of the good old-fashioned purse snatcher. With little brute and more skill, thieves only need a minute, sometimes a second, to pilfer your credit card data.

“Back in the beginning, they got the imprint of credit cards from the carbon copies they dug out of the trash,” says William Noonan, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s criminal investigative division. “Technology has changed things.”   Continue reading “5 ways thieves steal credit card data”

Mail.com

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of Ukraine’s police says protesters on Saturday released two officers they seized and tortured, but a protest leader called the claim a provocation aimed at justifying a crackdown.

Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko, one of the government figures despised most by protesters, said the two officers were released with the help of negotiations by foreign embassies. He said they had been hospitalized, but did not give details of how they allegedly were abused.   Continue reading “Ukraine says 2 captured police released”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The dueling faces of a conflicted political party were on display for all to see at the just-concluded Republican National Committee meeting.

One was younger, more diverse and tech-savvy, part of the RNC’s carefully crafted plan to inspire confidence that the GOP is trying to grow beyond its shrinking, older, largely white base. The other — one that hasn’t evolved since the GOP’s back-to-back presidential losses — lurked in the hallways, occasionally taking center stage at the Washington hotel where party delegates from around the country met to discuss party business.   Continue reading “RNC showcased update, while losing image remains”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former banker and movie executive who said police beat him with batons in a bizarre street confrontation lost his $20 million excessive force claim on Friday against the Los Angeles Police Department.

During the three-day trial, Brian Mulligan acknowledged that he had used a drug mixture known as bath salts in the weeks leading up to the May 2012 incident. Police officers said he appeared delusional, wandering the streets with crumpled $100 bills falling out of his pockets and made animal sounds when they confronted him.   Continue reading “Jury rules against banker in LAPD beating lawsuit”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — After years of delays due to funding disputes, engineering challenges and a nearly disastrous flood, a museum dedicated to victims of the 9/11 terror attacks will open to the public in mid-May in a giant cavern beneath the World Trade Center site — with a world-class admissions price of $24.

National 9/11 Memorial and Museum President Joe Daniels said Friday that tickets would go on sale for the museum in March for the spring opening. That $24 price is in line with other major tourist attractions in New York City. It costs $18 to take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, $25 to see the Museum of Modern Art and $27 to visit the observation deck of the Empire State Building.   Continue reading “NYC 9/11 museum opens to public in May”

Mail.com

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A judge on Friday ordered a Texas hospital to remove life support for a pregnant, brain-dead woman whose family had argued that she would not want to be kept in that condition.

Judge R. H. Wallace Jr. issued the ruling in the case of Marlise Munoz. John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth has been keeping Munoz on life support against her family’s wishes. The judge gave the hospital until 5 p.m. CST Monday to remove life support. The hospital did not say Friday whether it would appeal.   Continue reading “Judge: Remove life support for pregnant woman”

RT News

The US Defense Department has warned of reoccurring technical problems with Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter, the Pentagon’s costliest weapons program that has already come under heavy criticism.

The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester, Michael Gilmore, provided an in-depth look at the F-35’s technical features, emphasizing what he calls the “unacceptable” characteristics of the aircraft’s software, according to a draft obtained by Reuters.    Continue reading “Bombs away: Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can’t escape software problems”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The New Madrid fault zone in the nation’s midsection is active and could spawn future large earthquakes, scientists reported Thursday.

It’s “not dead yet,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough, who was part of the study published online by the journal Science. Researchers have long debated just how much of a hazard New Madrid (MAD’-rihd) poses. The zone stretches 150 miles, crossing parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.   Continue reading “Study: New Madrid fault zone alive and active”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Huckabee’s comments about contraception proved quick fodder for Democrats and a headache for Republicans trying to market themselves as a better choice for female voters who have proved elusive to the GOP.

The former Arkansas governor and potential presidential contender told fellow Republicans on Thursday that Democrats were trying to win over female voters by promising them birth control and telling them they cannot manage “their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government.”   Continue reading “Huckabee’s comments on birth control gift for Dems”

Mail.com

GRAZ, Austria (AP) — The marble tombstone looks like others dotting the main cemetery of Graz, Austria’s second city — but only at first glance. Carved into it are a swastika and the inscription: “He died in the struggle for a Great Germany.”

Footsteps away, another gravestone is marked with the SS lightning bolts proudly worn by the elite Nazi troops who executed most of the crimes of the Holocaust. Austrian law bans such symbols, and those displaying them face criminal charges and potential prison terms. Yet the emblems reflecting this country’s darkest chapter in history endure here, and officials appear either unable or unwilling to do away with them — despite complaints from locals.   Continue reading “Swastika on Austrian tombstone defies official ban”

Mail.com

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder asked the federal government Thursday to set aside thousands of work visas for bankrupt Detroit, a bid to revive the decaying city by attracting talented immigrants who are willing to move there and stay for five years.

The Republican governor has routinely touted immigration as a powerful potential force for growing Detroit’s economy, saying immigrant entrepreneurs start many small businesses and file patents at twice the rate of U.S.-born citizens.   Continue reading “Michigan seeks visas to lure immigrants to Detroit”

Anyone care to pick apart this mound of crap?  This is propaganda at its best!

Bankrate – by Mark Hamrick

Assassination, foreign control and money printing: the stuff of a motion picture thriller?

Not in this case. They’re all the fodder for wild and surprisingly popular myths surrounding the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.   Continue reading “5 myths debunked about the Federal Reserve”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — With public trust and safety at stake, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered immediate actions Thursday to define the depth of trouble inside the nation’s nuclear force, which has been rocked by disclosures about security lapses, poor discipline, weak morale and other problems that raise questions about nuclear security.

It amounted to the most significant expression of high-level Pentagon concern about the nuclear force since 2008, when then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired the top uniformed and civilian officials in the Air Force following a series of mistakes that included an unauthorized flight of nuclear-armed cruise missiles across the country.   Continue reading “Hagel ordering full review of nuclear force”