Author: Sunfire

RT News

Reporters seeking information on US drone safety and crash data were told by Defense Department officials that multiple searches have turned up nothing, indicating the Pentagon is either refusing to turn over records or it has failed to collect them.

The Defense Department (DoD) provided a report to Congress in January that promised to address the challenges faced by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The department not only oversees the military drones that buzz over the tribal regions of Pakistan and Yemen, but also test by the National Guard and other agencies that fly over the continental US.   Continue reading “Pentagon unable to provide records on drone crashes”

RT News

In an effort to extend benefits to over one million Americans whose emergency unemployment coverage expired, a White House economic adviser said there is a 3-to-1 ratio in the number of unemployed looking for jobs.

Gene Sperling, leading economic adviser to President Obama and director of the National Economic Council, is pushing to renew the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which provided benefits to some 1.3 Americans before it was abruptly terminated on Dec. 28.    Continue reading “Three unemployed Americans for every one job opening, admits Obama adviser”

Mail.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaskans know a thing or two about handling day-to-day activities in freezing temperatures, where below-zero rarely means staying inside. While people in the Lower 48 are shivering in Alaska-like temperatures this week, residents of the coldest state offer these five tips:

1. LESS IS MORE, IF LAYERED Piling on more clothes is not the best way to stay warm, said Staff Sgt. Zachary McGee, a Kentucky native who is a senior instructor at the U.S. Army’s Northern Warfare Training Center in Fairbanks. More clothes cause a person to sweat, and once you stop moving the moisture freezes. Instead, the secret is to dress in layers.   Continue reading “Alaskans offer tips on surviving below-zero temps”

Mail.com

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister urged residents and tribes of Fallujah to “expel” al-Qaida militants from the Sunni-dominated city to avoid an all-out battle — remarks that may signal an imminent military move to retake the former insurgent stronghold.

Nouri al-Maliki’s message came as dozens of families fled Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in fear of a major showdown. Iraqi government troops have surrounded the city, which was overrun by al-Qaida fighters last week.   Continue reading “Iraq PM urges people of Fallujah to expel al-Qaida”

Mail.com

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A troubled Pennsylvania woman who called herself “Jihad Jane” online and plotted to kill a Swedish artist was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison after telling a judge she had been consumed by thoughts of a Muslim holy war.

Colleen LaRose, 50, faced a potential life term. But Chief U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker gave her credit for her guilty plea and her help in the indictment of two others. Prosecutors asked for decades in prison, fearing she remains highly vulnerable to manipulation. But LaRose told the judge, “I don’t want to be into jihad no more.”   Continue reading “‘Jihad Jane’ gets 10 years in plot to kill artist”

RT News

The price of cryptocurrency bitcoin has gone over $1,000 benchmark again after Zynga, the provider of social network games such as FarmVille, said it would accept the digital money in some of its titles.

The online service company, responsible for millions of hours spent plowing virtual land and raising virtual cows, said Saturday it would sell virtual goods and premium currency in some of its titles for bitcoins.   Continue reading “Bitcoin back over $1,000 after endorsement by game giant Zynga”

RT News

The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi atomic plant plans to start cleaning underground tunnels believed to be part of the sources of radioactive materials poisoning the groundwater in the area.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) will first block the flow of tainted water between the damaged buildings and the tunnels. Workers will begin burying pipes in the ground to carry refrigerants in January, NHK TV network reported. In April, they are set to start draining the contaminated water from the tunnels.    Continue reading “TEPCO to siphon off radioactive water from tunnels under Fukushima plant”

RT News

New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo is to legalize the use of marijuana in the state, using a decades-old public health law provision, the New York Times reports. The drug – which remains banned federally – will be prescribed for diagnosed medical ailments.

The liberalization of the previously strict local laws will be announced during Wednesday’s State of the State address, according to unnamed officials who spoke with the newspaper.   Continue reading “New York to legalize use of medical marijuana – report”

RT News

The US military hopes that drones will be capable of changing their own missions, altering course without a human command, and buzzing through the skies in coordinated groups within the next 25 years, according to a new Defense Department report.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) explained its hopes for the upcoming decades in its Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap, released to the public last week. At nearly 150 pages, the report outlines a variety of goals for air, land, and sea vehicles – yet the unmanned aerial systems (as drones are called) are featured prominently throughout.   Continue reading “US military report predicts drone swarms, highly autonomous UAVs”

RT News

Violent crimes against women in Afghanistan reached an unprecedented level of brutality in 2013, an Afghan human rights watchdog has announced as the US-led coalition prepares to withdraw.

Chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Sima Samar, told Reuters that the pace and the hideousness of attacks on women intensified in 2013 with a 25 per cent surge in cases from March through September.  Continue reading “‘Cutting the nose, lips and ears’: Brutality against Afghan women at record level”

Mail.com

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the United States will support Iraq’s fight against al-Qaida-linked militants who have overrun two cities, but won’t send in American troops.

Kerry said the militants are trying to destabilize the region and undermine a democratic process in Iraq, and that the U.S. is in contact with tribal leaders in Anbar province who are standing up to the terrorists.   Continue reading “Kerry: US will support Iraq, but without troops”

Mail.com

BAGHDAD (AP) — A new wave of bombings hit Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, killing at least 20 people Sunday, officials said, the latest assault by militants who have been fighting Iraqi security forces and allied tribes in country’s west.

The deadliest attack took place in Baghdad’s Shiite northern Shaab neighborhood, when two parked car bombs exploded simultaneously near a restaurant and a tea house. Officials say those blasts killed 10 people and wounded 26.   Continue reading “Bombings kill 20 in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad”

Mail.com

SEATTLE (AP) — Under pressure from national union leaders, machinists in Washington state took a late-night vote that defied their local union bosses by narrowly approving a new labor contract that secures a coveted plane project for the Seattle area but moves workers away from pensions.

The tight count exposed deep rifts in the once-powerful union, but with plenty of states lining up to give Boeing exactly what it wanted to get work on the 777X, the aerospace giant had a tremendous advantage.   Continue reading “Local labor influence takes hit in Boeing contract”

Mail.com

BEIRUT (AP) — An al-Qaida linked group claimed responsibility on Saturday for a suicide car bombing last week in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in Lebanon, as its fighters fought other rebels in neighboring Syria in the most serious infighting since the uprising began.

It was the first time at the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for an attack in Lebanon, underscoring how the ever more complex Syrian war is increasingly spilling over into its smaller neighbor.   Continue reading “Al-Qaida group says responsible for Beirut bombing”

Mail.com

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — With a single star studded on each shoulder of his immaculate dress blues, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair waited his turn to go through the metal detectors at the federal courthouse at Fort Bragg, just like everyone else.

He smiled broadly at one of the armed military police officers posted at the door and asked: “How many jumps do you have?” The young soldier, wearing the wings of a paratrooper with the elite 82nd Airborne, stood a little straighter as he confidently answered 28. Sinclair nodded in approval, not mentioning the 217 jumps listed in his own log. After a few more pleasantries, Sinclair put his arm around the man and smiled again as another MP snapped a cellphone photo.   Continue reading “Rapid fall for Army general accused of sex crimes”

Mail.com

BAGHDAD (AP) — The city center of Iraq’s Fallujah has fallen completely into the hands of fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, police said Saturday, yet another victory for the hardline group that has made waves across the region in recent days.

ISIL is also one of the strongest rebel units in Syria, where it has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in territories it holds and kidnapped and killed anyone it deems critical of its rule. Also on Saturday, it claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in Lebanon.   Continue reading “Iraq city falls fully into hands of al-Qaida group”

RT News

The Obama administration has touted the White House website’s ‘We the People’ section as a powerful platform for the American public to petition their government. According to a new report, however, those solicitations are all too rarely acknowledged.

“When I ran for this office, I pledged to make government more open and accountable to its citizens,”United States President Barack Obama wrote on WhiteHouse.gov back in September 2011. He was unveiling at the time the website’s new ‘We the People’ feature, and said the addition of it would be“giving Americans a direct line to the White House on the issues and concerns that matter most to them.”   Continue reading “White House ‘We the People’ petitions unanswered two years later”

RT News

A small, elite group of US citizens has already met their 2014 financial obligation for Social Security two days into the New Year, and will no longer be required to contribute any of their income to the federal program.

Nearly all working Americans will continue to pay the social security tax through the duration of 2014. The 900 wealthiest, however, have fulfilled their responsibility for the whole year on Thursday by earning $117,000 – the maximum total social security is allowed to take from an individual income each year – on the first and second days of the month.   Continue reading “900 wealthiest Americans exempted from paying 2014 Social Security past Jan. 2nd”