Author: Sunfire

RT News

Mistaken for a prowler, an elderly man with Alzheimer’s was shot early Wednesday in rural Walker County, Georgia after approaching a house miles from his own. Authorities says the state’s “stand your ground” law may apply.

An investigation continues into the death of Ronald Westbrook, 72, who was shot in rural, northern Georgia’s Lookout Mountain region by Joe Hendrix, 34, around 4 am (EST) Wednesday. Westbrook was likely lost and confused when he rang Hendrix’s doorbell and pulled on the house’s doorknob in Chickamauga, said Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson.    Continue reading “‘Stand your ground’ may apply in shooting death of Georgia man with Alzheimer’s”

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A high school student suffered a brain injury and remains in a medically-induced coma after a Texas sheriff’s deputy tasered him without cause following a skirmish in a school hallway, the boy’s mother claims in court.

Maria Acosta has sued Bastrop County, its school district and Randy McMillan, a Bastrop County sheriff’s officer and school resource officer, according to Courthouse News.    Continue reading “Texas boy tasered by officer after breaking up school fight, remains in a coma”

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The Cayman Islands has signed an agreement with the United States to combat offshore tax evasion pursuant to a controversial 2010 law that has caused some notable US expatriates to revoke their US citizenship.

The US Department of the Treasury announced Friday the US has signed an intergovernmental agreement with the Cayman Islands to enforce the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in what it bills as an effort to promote transparency.    Continue reading “Cayman Islands agrees to report US citizens’ offshore assets under controversial law”

Mail.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With the death of Cleveland billionaire and philanthropist Peter B. Lewis, the push for relaxed U.S. marijuana laws lost its most generous supporter. That’s left supporters wondering what comes next.

Lewis, chairman of Progressive Insurance, died Saturday at age 80. Since the 1980s, he had donated an estimated $40 million to $60 million to marijuana law reform — including underwriting ballot campaigns, research, political polling and legal defense efforts.   Continue reading “Efforts to relax US marijuana laws lose benefactor”

Mail.com

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Tucked away in one of northern New Mexico’s pristine mountain canyons is an old log cabin that was the birthplace not of a famous person, but a top-secret mission that forever changed the world.

Pond Cabin, along with a nearby small and stark building where the second person died while developing the nuclear bomb, are among a number of structures scattered in and around the modern day Los Alamos National Laboratory that are being proposed as sites for a new national park commemorating the Manhattan Project.   Continue reading “Los Alamos working to create national park”

RT News

Some 1,500 anti-government protesters in Bangkok have broken into the compound of the Royal Thai Army headquarters in their bid to topple the current government. The largely non-violent action could escalate, police say.

“We want to know which side the army stands on,” shouted one protester, according to Reuters.     Continue reading “Thai protesters capture army HQ in countrywide anti-government protests”

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President Hamid Karzai has blamed the US for a drone strike on a home in southern Afghanistan that killed a 2-year-old child and wounded two women, vowing that he will not sign a key bilateral security deal if such attacks continue.

“This attack shows that American forces are not respecting the life and safety of Afghan people’s houses,”Karzai said in the statement Thursday. “For years, our innocent people have become victims of the war under the name of terrorism, and they have had no safety in their homes.”   Continue reading “Karzai condemns US strike that killed toddler, threatens not to sign security deal”

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Chinese fighter jets were scrambled and followed US and Japanese planes that had entered the newly-proclaimed Chinese air defense zone in the disputed area of the East China Sea, Xinhua reports.

Two US surveillance aircraft and 10 Japanese F-15 jets were ‘tailed’ by Chinese pilots on Friday.

China ordered an urgent dispatch of its Su-30 and J-10 fighter jets to an area in the East China Sea after the foreign aircraft “invaded” the air defense zone, they said.    Continue reading “Chinese jets shadowed US and Japanese planes in new air defense zone”

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Black Friday, 2008: The Fed started pumping billions of dollars into financial markets. The benefits, however, failed to reach Main Street, instead being guzzled by Wall Street, ex-Fed exec Andrew Huszar exclusively told RT.

Huszar, at the time the Federal Reserve official responsible for the first round of the bond-buying experiment, later publicly apologized for “the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time”… “the benefits of QE have gone to the big banks,” and not to ordinary people.    Continue reading “‘Easy money’ a relief for financiers, burden for most Americans – former Fed trader”

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The Obama administration has agreed to pay Apptricity US$50 million for pirating the company’s logistics software the US Army used beyond contracted parameters.

While the Obama administration’s has launched efforts against intellectual property theft – including the Joint Strategic Plan run by Vice President Joe Biden that aims to curb copyright infringement – the US Army was concurrently using pirated Apptricity enterprise software that manages troop and supply movements. The company sued the government, accusing the US military of willful copyright infringement.    Continue reading “US govt caught using pirated software for military, settles for $50mn”

RT News

Bitcoin, the digital ‘crypto-currency’ has passed the $1,000 mark for the first time in history, marking a growth of some 4,000% since the beginning of the year. The milestone was recorded by Tokyo-based Mt Gox bitcoin exchange on Wednesday.

The unregulated virtual currency’s popularity has been soaring  in recent weeks, having doubled in just the past seven days. In just one day, November 18, the price leaped from $478 in the morning to $744 at midnight (GMT).    Continue reading “Bitcoin value passes $1,000 for first time ever”

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A crane at a stadium in Sao Paulo due to host the opening ceremony of Brazil’s World Cup 2014 has collapsed hitting the roof, reportedly killing at least three people.

The head of the Fire Department, Mauro Lopes, has confirmed the casualties to local radio and said that the death toll might rise. Lopes said the incident could have caused more victims, but it took place during lunchtime.   Continue reading “3 killed as crane collapses at Brazilian World Cup 2014 stadium”

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Latvia’s prime minister has announced his resignation over a Riga supermarket collapse that killed more than 50 people last week.

“I announce resigning from the post of prime minister, taking political responsibility for … the tragedy,”Valdis Dombrovskis told journalists, according to local news agency BNS.    Continue reading “Latvia PM resigns over supermarket roof collapse that killed 54”

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The US government made enough profit from student loans in the last year to provide full Pell Grants of over $5,600 to 7.3 million students. But, like many government financial issues, accounting methods complicate the story.

The $41.3 billion student-loan profit for the 2013 fiscal year – which ended on Sept. 30 – is actually down by $3.6 billion from 2012, but still enough to out-profit all but two global companies, Exxon Mobil and Apple.    Continue reading “US government “profits” from student loans in 2013 surpassed $41 billion”

RT News

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has become the first city in the United States to officially ban the use of 3D printers to manufacture firearms, only six months after a Texas-based company published digital blueprints for a homemade handgun.

The 10-member City Council announced last week that its members unanimously approved a first-of-its-kind measure that makes it illegal for anyone within the city to “use a three-dimensional printer to create any firearm, or any piece or part thereof, unless such person possesses a license to manufacture firearms under federal law.”   Continue reading “First ban in the country: 3D-printed guns now illegal in Philadelphia”

RT News

Two US military B-52 bombers flew over territorially-disputed islands in the East China Sea without informing China, while two of Japan’s largest airlines also refused to comply with the rules of Beijing’s newly set up air defense zone.

ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines said they made the decision following a Japanese government request, Reuters reports.   Continue reading “B-52 bombers over disputed islands as Japan and US snub Beijing’s new air defense zone”

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Beijing has warned Washington not to “meddle” in the territorial dispute between China and Japan. Though the US has many thousands of troops stationed in Japan, China, an emerging naval power, is challenging for control of the surrounding seas.

After Washington expressed its discontent over Chinese plans to put the East China Sea under the control of its air forces, Beijing demanded explanations from the American ambassador and advised the US to “correct its mistakes immediately.”   Continue reading “China lashes out at US for ‘interfering’ in territorial dispute with Japan”

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A handcuffed 17-year-old North Carolina boy died of gunshot wounds in a Durham Police Department patrol car Tuesday morning, according to a 911 recording made public Wednesday.

Jesus Huerta was being transported to police headquarters on a trespassing charge by officer Samuel A.M. Duncan when, in the department’s parking lot, Duncan heard the shot from the backseat and jumped out of the car, leaving it to roll into a van with Huerta still inside, Durham police said.    Continue reading “Handcuffed NC teen ends up shot dead in backseat of cop car, police deny involvement”

Mail.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean officials detained an 85-year-old American veteran of the Korean War last month as he sat in a plane set to leave the country, the man’s son said.

A uniformed North Korean officer boarded the plane on Oct. 26 and asked Merrill Newman, a tourist from Palo Alto, California, for his passport before telling a stewardess that Newman had to leave the plane, the son, Jeffrey Newman, said Wednesday.   Continue reading “North Korea detains US war veteran, 85, son says”