Author: Sunfire

RT

Twitter no longer believes in “speaking truth to power,” according to its latest rules update in the midst of US lawmakers’ frantic hunt for “Russian meddling” in social media.

The microblogging site’s rules, under the section “Abusive Behavior,” currently state: “We believe in freedom of expression and open dialogue, but that means little as an underlying philosophy if voices are silenced because people are afraid to speak up.” On November 2, it read “We believe in freedom of expression and in speaking truth to power.”   Continue reading “Twitter no longer believes in ‘speaking truth to power’ – updated rules”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are weighing a repeal of a key tenet of the Obama-era health care law in their tax overhaul as the House’s tax-writing committee begins work on shaping the bill. Speaker Paul Ryan said Sunday Republicans are discussing whether their tax plan should include a repeal of the Obama health law’s requirement that people have insurance coverage or face a penalty, a step pushed by President Donald Trump but seen by some GOP lawmakers as possibly imperiling a much-needed legislative victory.

It would be another shot at further undermining the Affordable Care Act after repeated failures by the GOP-led Congress to repeal and replace the law. That is a step Trump has demanded and Republicans promised would happen after President Barack Obama left office and Republicans won the presidency and have control of Congress.   Continue reading “House GOP weighs repeal of health mandate in tax bill”

RT

The world’s most popular digital currency is on a record-breaking marathon. Bitcoin has again attained a new record, jumping over the US$7,000 barrier.

The cryptocurrency has gained nearly 15 percent in just four days. Bitcoin was trading at $7,341.84 at 12:00pm GMT on Thursday with more than 3.8 billion trading volume in the past 24 hours, according to the industry website Coinmarketcap.com. Bitcoin’s market value is now $122 billion of the overall cryptocurrencies market cap of $191 billion.   Continue reading “Bitcoin skyrockets into stratosphere smashing $7,000 level”

RT

At a time when the US national debt stands at just over $20 trillion, American taxpayers find themselves stuck with a massive maintenance bill to keep the nation’s nuclear arsenal operational over the next three decades.

The modernization of US nuclear forces will carry a price tag estimated at $1.2 trillion from 2017 until 2046, accordingto the US Congress Budget Office (CBO) report.

That planned modernization would increase the total costs of maintaining the current number of nuclear weapons and delivery system by 50 percent over normal operating costs, according to the CBO.   Continue reading “US nuclear arsenal upgrade to exceed $1trillion”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s registered child sex offenders will now have to use passports identifying them for their past crimes when traveling overseas. The State Department said Wednesday it would begin revoking passports of registered child sex offenders and will require them to apply for a new one that carries a “unique identifier” of their status. Those applying for a passport for the first time will not be issued one without the identifier, which will be a notice printed inside the back cover of the passport book that reads: “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to (U.S. law).”

The department said in a statement posted to its travel.state.gov website that registered child sex offenders will no longer be issued smaller travel documents known as passport cards because they do not have enough room to fit the notice.   Continue reading “Child sex offenders to be named as such in US passports”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — With fanfare and a White House kickoff, House Republicans unfurled a broad tax-overhaul plan Thursday that would touch virtually all Americans and the economy’s every corner, mingling sharply lower rates for corporations and reduced personal taxes for many with fewer deductions for home-buyers and families with steep medical bills.

The measure, which would be the most extensive rewrite of the nation’s tax code in three decades, is the product of a party that faces increasing pressure to produce a marquee legislative victory of some sort before next year’s elections. GOP leaders touted the plan as a sparkplug for the economy and a boon to the middle class and christened it the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.   Continue reading “Big GOP tax bill would cut rates _ but also popular breaks”

RT

EPA head Scott Pruitt cited the bible when announcing a raft of changes which will affect who can advise the agency on its science advisory boards. Critics have seen the move as an attack on independent science.

The new policy prevents hundreds of scientists working in universities from serving on the agency’s advisory boards, while simultaneously increasing the representation of private companies and industry groups.   Continue reading “EPA chief cites bible as he bans scientists it funds from advisory boards”

RT

Most Americans no longer feel at ease talking about their political beliefs, a new survey by the Cato Institute found. Over two-thirds wished they were allowed to express unpopular opinions in public.

According to the survey, 71 percent of Americans “believe that political correctness has silenced important discussions our society needs to have.” At least 58 percent of Americans believe the “political climate prevents them from sharing their political beliefs.” Democrats appear to be more relaxed with sharing their political views than Republicans, according to the survey.   Continue reading “Majority of Americans want right to express unpopular opinions, even if it offends – poll”

Mail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the truck attack on a bike path near the World Trade Center (all times local): 12:30 p.m. A New York Police Department official says beefed-up security at the New York City marathon will include sniper teams, sand truck barricades, and counterterrorism officers.

Chief of Department Carlos Gomez vows that the marathon on Sunday will be a “very safe event.” Gomez said Wednesday that there also will be an abundance of plainclothes officers, bomb dogs and helicopter surveillance.  Continue reading “The Latest: NYPD official: Beefed-up security for marathon”

Mail.com

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s military government has emerged from the year of official mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej with a firm grip on power and in no apparent rush to hold elections it has repeatedly delayed during the four years since its coup.

The five days of solemn and choreographed spectacle for Bhumibol’s funeral last month was a mostly unblemished propaganda triumph for the junta that underlined its primacy and the sidelining of political parties.   Continue reading “Thai junta firmly in command after year of mourning for king”

RT

Spain’s Constitutional Court has overturned Catalonia’s declaration of independence, announced by the region’s government on Friday, the court spokeswoman said.

The news came as deposed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was giving a speech in Brussels, his first since Madrid filed charges against him and he fled to Belgium. Earlier the Spanish attorney general filed a lawsuit against the secessionist leaders over their push for independence.
Continue reading “Spain’s constitutional court cancels Catalonia declaration of independence”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House chief of staff John Kelly says Confederate General Robert E. Lee was “an honorable man” and applying current thinking on social issues to figures in history is “very, very dangerous.”

Kelly also said in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham that aired Monday night that the removal of monuments to the Confederacy shows “a lack of appreciation of history.” The retired Marine Corps general was responding to a question about a Virginia church’s decision to remove historical markers for Lee and George Washington.  Continue reading “Trump chief of staff Kelly decries removal of monuments”

Mail.com

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The University of Utah says an international student was killed in a fatal carjacking near the school late Monday, causing a campus-wide lockdown as police continue to search for the suspected gunman.

ChenWei Guo was killed, university spokesman Christopher Nelson said Tuesday morning. He was studying pre-computer science and was a peer adviser in the international Student and Scholar Services Office, President David W. Pershing said in a statement.   Continue reading “University of Utah: Student from China killed in carjacking”

Mail.com

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Right-wing firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos is scheduled to speak at a Southern California college campus on Halloween night and other student groups are planning a “unity” party demonstration to offset what they say is his hateful rhetoric.

About 800 people are expected to attend the speech at California State University, Fullerton, but it’s unclear how many might show up in opposition. Campus police are stepping up security for potentially dueling demonstrations. Masks and face paint are prohibited in a cordoned-off area around the event and only ticketholders can get in.  Continue reading “Yiannopoulos on California campus, police gird for violence”

RT

Some of the military aid sent to the Syrian opposition by Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the US may have ended up in the hands of Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra terrorists, the Qatari foreign minister has admitted.

The revelations, which are the first of their kind to emerge, were contained in a statement by Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who served as Qatari foreign minister between 1992 and 2013. When the conflict started in Syria back in 2011, Hamad bin Jassim said that he went straight to the late Saudi King Abdullah, who then supported Doha’s plan on Syria.   Continue reading “Al-Nusra terrorists may have received Syria ‘aid’ sent to rebels by Qatar, US, Saudis – Qatari ex-FM”

 

RT

The price of bitcoin, the world’s most popular digital currency, has rallied over 500 percent this year hitting another all-time high late Sunday of $6,306.58.

The new high was reached just ten days after the first breach of the $6,300 threshold. The virtual currency retreated slightly on Monday, trading at $6,195.50 at 11:35am GMT.

Experts say the reasons for the record-breaking rally are unclear, but the growing adoption and appetite for the cryptocurrency are propelling its price.   Continue reading “Bitcoin smashes another record, breaking through $6,300”

Mail.com

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The judge in the bribery trial of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez denied a mistrial motion Monday, labeling arguments that he has hampered the defense’s case by limiting what evidence and witnesses they can present as devoid of “even palpable merit.”

Attorneys for the Democrat and his longtime friend, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen, had accused U.S. District Judge William Walls in a motion filed over the weekend of tying their hands with his evidence rulings during the first eight weeks of the trial.   Continue reading “Menendez judge denies defense mistrial motion”

Mail.com

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The first-degree manslaughter case brought against a white former Oklahoma police officer who was acquitted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man will be removed from her record after she asked to have it expunged, a judge ruled Wednesday.

But that doesn’t mean no one will ever be able to read the case again. District Judge William LaFortune also ordered all documents involving former Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby’s case sealed and kept with the court. The case will only be accessible through a court order and can be destroyed after 10 years, according to state law.  Continue reading “Judge removes fatal shooting from ex-Tulsa officer’s record”

Mail.com

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected a request from 18 states and the District of Columbia to force the Trump administration to resume paying “Obamacare” subsidies right away and scolded the coalition for claiming health care costs would rise without federal help.

State attorneys general, all Democrats and led by Xavier Becerra of California, argued that the monthly payments are required under former President Barack Obama’s health care law and cutting them off will harm consumers. The payments reimburse insurers for providing lower-income people with discounts on out-of-pocket costs.   Continue reading “States lose push to force Trump to restart health subsidies”