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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin election officials on Tuesday blamed undertrained poll workers and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ social media posts for dozens of instances in which 17-year-olds managed to vote in last year’s state presidential primary.

A commission report found that as many as 70 teenagers in nearly 30 Wisconsin counties voted illegally in the April election. Sanders won the Democratic side of the primary; Ted Cruz won the Republican side.   Continue reading “Official: Sanders shares blame for minors voting in primary”

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CLEVELAND (AP) — A 911 dispatcher who took a call that led to a white police officer’s fatal shooting of a 12-year-old black boy outside a recreation center has been suspended for eight days. Police Chief Calvin Williams found in a disciplinary letter dated March 10 that Constance Hollinger violated protocol the day of the shooting of Tamir Rice, who had been playing with a pellet gun.

Tamir was shot within seconds of a police cruiser skidding to a stop just a few feet away from him in November 2014 outside the Cleveland rec center. The city’s internal disciplinary charges accused Hollinger of failing to tell the dispatcher who sent the officers to the rec center that the man who called 911 about “a guy” pointing a gun at people also said it could be a juvenile and the gun might be a “fake.”   Continue reading “911 dispatcher in Tamir Rice case suspended for 8 days”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone says he believes his contacts with a Russian-linked hacker who took credit for breaching the Democratic National Committee may have been obtained through a special warrant that allows the government to collect the communications of people suspected of being agents of a foreign nation.

Stone is among a handful of President Donald Trump’s associates who are under scrutiny for possible links to Russia during the presidential race. In a statement to The Associated Press, Stone said he’s retained two attorneys to explore whether he can compel the government to “either charge me or admit they have no case whatsoever.”   Continue reading “Trump adviser: Secret warrant may have caught hacker contact”

RT

Police in Orange County, California, shot and killed a man after spraying him with a high-pressure water hose. They say he barricaded himself in his car and pulled a knife. The identity of the man, a 33-year-old father of six, has now been confirmed.

The incident began around 11:15pm Sunday, when City of Orange Police attempted to stop Michael Anthony Perez, who was driving a white GMC van with a broken tail light. Officers discovered a warrant associated with the license plate, according to statements from Police Sergeant Rob Thorsen.   Continue reading “California man blasted with fire hose & fatally shot by police identified”

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas has a new supply of a lethal injection drug that expired earlier this year, a prison spokesman said Monday, clearing the way for four double executions that will put eight men to death next month.

Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said the state has 100 vials of potassium chloride, one of three drugs used in the state’s lethal injection protocol. The state’s previous supply of the drug had expired in January.   Continue reading “Arkansas official: State has drugs to conduct 8 executions”

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Donald Trump promised to bring back coal jobs, but even the country’s third-largest coal producer appears to be hedging its bets on a comeback. Kentucky is on the cusp of doing what was once unthinkable: opening the door to nuclear power.

The Republican-controlled state legislature is close to lifting its decades-long moratorium on nuclear energy in a state that has been culturally and economically dominated by coal. Politicians from both parties have promised for years to revive the struggling coal industry, with Trump famously billing himself as “the last shot for miners.” But as the coal industry continues its slide, even Republican lawmakers are acknowledging a need for alternatives.   Continue reading “In Ky. coal country, a potential embrace of nuclear power”

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NEW YORK (AP) — A sloppy late-season storm lashed the Northeast with sleet and more than a foot of snow in some places Monday, paralyzing much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor after a remarkably mild February had lulled people into thinking the worst of winter was over.

The powerful nor’easter grounded more than 5,000 flights, knocked out power to over 100,000 customers from Virginia to Pennsylvania, closed schools in cities big and small and prompted dire warnings to stay off the roads.   Continue reading “Storm clobbers the Northeast after weeks of mild weather”

RT

The Finance Ministry of Iceland said it would lift the remaining capital controls that have been in place since the financial crisis in 2008. The government started dismantling them last year by easing restrictions for local residents.

Iceland was the country worst affected by the financial crash, forcing the government to take drastic measures. Reykjavik broke off negotiations on EU membership, nationalized three major banks and defaulted on $85 billion in loans. The government banned the movement of capital abroad and devalued the national currency. As a result, the stock market plummeted 90 percent, unemployment jumped to 10 percent, and inflation ballooned to 18 percent.   Continue reading “Iceland to end capital controls more than 8 years after banking crash”

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NEW YORK (AP) — The Northeast is bracing for winter’s last hurrah — a blizzard expected to sweep the New York region starting Monday with possibly the season’s biggest snowstorm dumping up to 18 inches on Central Park.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard watch Sunday for coastal regions including New York City and surrounding areas of Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut. A winter storm watch was in effect for a larger area of the Northeast: New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England.   Continue reading “Northeast blizzard could dump 18 inches of snow on New York”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway says she doesn’t have any evidence to support President Donald Trump’s claim that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower phone lines during the election.

Instead, Conway is pointing to recent revelations about other government surveillance to suggest it was possible Obama used a different technique. Her response was unlikely to tamp down criticism of Trump’s tweets earlier this month. The House intelligence committee has asked the administration to provide evidence of the allegation by Monday.  Continue reading “Trump adviser says gov’t has many ways to surveil people”

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The head of the Louisiana State Police called it the most disturbing thing he has seen: a 6-year-old autistic boy’s lifeless body strapped into the front seat of a car riddled with bullets fired by two law enforcement officers.

Video from a police officer’s body camera captured the burst of gunfire and gruesome aftermath of the shooting that killed Jeremy Mardis and critically wounded his father during a November 2015 traffic stop. The footage also showed the father with his hands raised inside his car as the deputy city marshals opened fire. At least four of their 18 shots tore into Jeremy.   Continue reading “Murder trial to open for deputy charged in child’s shooting”

RT

WikiLeaks revelations about the CIA and its scope of activity show that this is not only a security issue – it impacts businesses while the privacy we take for granted is at risk. It is a very dangerous path for democracy to go down, experts told RT.

Whistleblowing website WikiLeaks released on Tuesday a part of confidential documents on America’s Central Intelligence Agency. WikiLeaks said that this collection of leaked CIA documents which revealed the extent of its hacking capabilities was “less than one percent of its Vault 7 series”.   Continue reading “WikiLeaks CIA Vault 7: ‘We are looking at George Orwell’s 1984’”

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A district attorney has asked the state to investigate two assistant prosecutors after an Associated Press story that quoted former congregants of a North Carolina church as saying the men derailed criminal probes into allegations of abuse by sect leaders.

David Learner said Wednesday that he wants the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the accusations against his employees, who are members of the evangelical Word of Faith Fellowship church. The AP story, released Monday, cited nine former Word of Faith members who said Frank Webster and Chris Back provided legal advice, helped at strategy sessions and participated in a mock trial for four congregants charged with harassing a former member.   Continue reading “Ex-church members say probe welcome after abuse allegations”

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HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii has become the first state to file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban, saying the order will harm its Muslim population, tourism and foreign students.

Attorneys for the state filed the lawsuit against the U.S. government Wednesday in federal court in Honolulu. The state had previously sued over Trump’s initial travel ban, but that lawsuit was put on hold while other cases played out across the country.   Continue reading “Hawaii becomes 1st state to sue over Trump’s new travel ban”

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WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — About 1,200 people were summoned to appear for jury selection Thursday in the capital murder trial of an anti-government sharpshooter charged with killing a Pennsylvania State Police trooper and critically wounding another in a 2014 ambush at their barracks.

Eric Frein, 33, could face the death penalty if he’s convicted in the attack in northeastern Pennsylvania that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and injured Trooper Alex Douglass. An initial batch of more than 100 potential jurors was due at the courthouse for jury selection Thursday in Chester County, outside Philadelphia. After the jury pool is whittled down, potential jurors will be questioned individually.   Continue reading “Trial set to begin for alleged gunman in barracks ambush”

RT

The attack on Afghanistan’s largest military hospital in Kabul has left more than 30 people dead, the Defense Ministry said. Several gunmen, dressed as doctors, attacked the facility near the US Embassy early on Wednesday, engaging special forces units.

Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said there were “more than 30 killed and more than 50 wounded” in the attack.

Waziri said security forces have taken full control of the facility, adding that the fighting is over.   Continue reading “Over 30 dead in attack on military hospital in Kabul – defense ministry”

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BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — A freight train crashed into a bus full of Texas tourists visiting Gulf Coast casinos, killing four in Biloxi, Mississippi. Forty people were hurt, seven critically. The cause of the Tuesday afternoon crash remains under investigation.

Witnesses told Mississippi news outlets the bus appeared to have been stuck on the tracks when it was hit. The crossing is on a steep embankment and has a sign warning drivers that it has a low ground clearance.   Continue reading “Train hits bus carrying Texas tourists in Mississippi; 4 die”

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SHANGHAI (AP) — China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, paving the way for President Donald Trump and his family to develop a host of branded businesses from hotels to insurance to bodyguard and escort services, public documents show.

Trump’s lawyers in China applied for the marks in April 2016, as Trump railed against China at campaign rallies, accusing it of currency manipulation and stealing U.S. jobs. Critics maintain that Trump’s swelling portfolio of China trademarks raises serious conflict of interest questions.   Continue reading “China grants preliminary approval to 38 new Trump trademarks”

RT

The US has begun to deploy its advanced THAAD anti-missile defense system in South Korea, despite angry opposition from Russia and China. The step comes after North Korea fired four ballistic missiles toward Japan as part of an exercise targeting US bases there.

According to US Pacific Command, the first elements of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system arrived at Osan airbase in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Tuesday.   Continue reading “US deploys missile defense in S. Korea despite Russia, China opposition”

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two of the world’s most intriguing mysteries are in the hands of Malaysian investigators. Will they ever find all the answers to either? One of them — the fatal poisoning of the half brother of North Korea’s ruler with a banned nerve agent — happened long after the other — Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished three years ago Wednesday. Investigators have far more evidence in the death of Kim Jong Nam, including his body and two suspects in custody, than they do in the disappearance of the plane, whose 239 passengers and crew could be forever lost in the Indian Ocean.   Continue reading “2 challenging mysteries have one thing in common: Malaysia”