Author: Sunfire

Mail.com

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — After months of talk of impeachment, critics of Gov. Paul LePage are ready to introduce an impeachment order to investigate allegations of abuse of power.

A group of lawmakers led by Democratic Rep. Ben Chipman of Portland submitted the impeachment order, which was due to be debated Thursday on the House floor. The proposal, which faces long odds, aims to punish the Republican governor for using influence to pressure a school operator into taking back a job offer from Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves, who responded by filing a civil lawsuit in federal court.   Continue reading “Maine House ready to debate LePage impeachment investigation”

RT

Americans who ask why the legal age for going to war is lower than that for buying alcohol could finally get a break: three states are considering lowering the drinking age, believing it will go a long way to combatting accidental deaths and bingeing.

New Hampshire, Minnesota and California have been reviewing pieces of legislation that would bring their state laws in line with much of the rest of the world’s – which would mean lowering the legal drinking age from 21 to 18. The overarching logic concerns curbing underage binge drinking and getting teens to relax about fake IDs and to drink socially, the way Europe does.   Continue reading “3 of the United States could soon lower drinking age to 18”

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BEIRUT (AP) — After taking in a million Syrian refugees, Lebanon has quietly changed course in recent months, forcing refugees to return to Syria — where they are at risk of persecution or death — or stay illegally, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

The situation is drawing attention at a time when Turkey and Jordan have also tightened their admission policies. A Human Rights Watch report published Tuesday warned that Lebanon’s new regulations have “set the stage for a potentially explosive situation.”   Continue reading “Once accommodating neighbors now turn back Syrian refugees”

Mail.com

NIPTON, Calif. (AP) — Waiting in the longest line ever outside what officials call the busiest lottery store in the nation, 74-year-old William Burke had three hours to think about what he’ll do if he wins a multi-state Powerball jackpot estimated at $1.5 billion.

“I’d certainly take care of my family,” the Nevada resident said as he emerged from the store in Nipton, California, just over the state line, 40 miles south of Las Vegas. “But I would also set up a charity to help as many kids go to college as I could.”   Continue reading “Nevadans long for lotto, the bit of gambling they can’t have”

Mail.com

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police have arrested one person suspected of a direct link to the deadly suicide bombing that killed 10 Germans in Istanbul’s main tourist area, officials said Wednesday.

More than a dozen other suspected IS militants were detained Wednesday in other parts of the country and 59 a day earlier, but officials say they don’t appear to be tied to Tuesday’s attack just steps from the Blue Mosque in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district.   Continue reading “Turkey arrests suspect with reported link to Istanbul blast”

Mail.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Seabird biologist David Irons drove recently to the Prince William Sound community of Whittier to check on a friend’s boat and spotted white blobs along the tide line of the rocky Alaska beach. He thought they were patches of snow.

A closer look revealed that the white patches were emaciated common murres, one of North America’s most abundant seabirds, washed ashore after apparently starving to death. “It was pretty horrifying,” Irons said. “The live ones standing along the dead ones were even worse.”   Continue reading “Starvation suspected in massive die-off of Alaska seabirds”

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ISTANBUL (AP) — A suicide bomber affiliated with the Islamic State group detonated a bomb in a historic district of Istanbul popular with tourists Tuesday morning, killing at least 10 people — nine of them German tourists — and wounding 15 others, Turkish officials said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the bomber who carried out the attack in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district was a member of IS and pledged to battle the militant group until it no longer “remains a threat” to Turkey or the world.   Continue reading “Suicide bomber kills 10, wounds 15 in Istanbul tourist area”

RT

Some 4,000 residents of Whitesboro, a village in upstate New York, will decide in a vote on Monday whether to change their village seal, which depicts a white settler and a Native American wrestling.

“We want to just put an end to it once and for all,” Mayor Patrick O’Connor told WKTV. “Let the residents have their say about what seal they want to represent them and their home and their history.”   Continue reading “NY village vote on changing seal depicting white settler ‘choking Indian’”

Mail.com

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police in Philadelphia are investigating a tip that a man charged in the ambush shooting of a patrolman is connected to a radical group that may continue to pose a threat to officers.

The police department said Sunday evening that someone approached an officer on the street and alleged that the man who attacked Officer Jesse Hartnett “had an affiliation to a group with radical beliefs.”   Continue reading “Police probe tip that radical group wants to harm officers”

North Jersey – by Hannan Adely

A Fair Lawn High School student found herself at the center of a national firestorm involving free speech rights and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after school administrators questioned her about anti-Israel social media posts and warned that she could be in trouble under the state’s anti-bullying law.   Continue reading “Fair Lawn High School looks into whether student’s anti-Israel political tweets are bullying”

Mail.com

PARIS (AP) — Officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man wearing a fake explosives vest outside a police station in northern Paris on Thursday, French officials said, a year to the day since an attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo launched a bloody year in the French capital.

France has been under a state of emergency since a series of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group killed 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13, and tensions increased this week as the anniversary of the January attacks approached. Soldiers were posted in front of schools and security forces were even more present than usual amid a series of tributes to the dead.   Continue reading “Officials: Man killed in attempt to attack Paris police”

Mail.com

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man found guilty of murdering three women nearly 30 years ago is scheduled for execution Thursday night.

Barring a last-minute reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court, 53-year-old Oscar Ray Bolin — who was found guilty 10 times by 10 juries for three different murders — will be executed at 6 p.m. in Florida State Prison.   Continue reading “Convicted killer of 3 women scheduled for Florida execution”

Mail.com

ATLANTA (AP) — A 2-year-old and his father died Wednesday night after the man shot the boy and then himself at the end of an 18-hour standoff in Atlanta’s northeastern suburbs, police said.

Thy Ho, 43, and son Philip Nguyen were each found with a gunshot wound when authorities entered the master bedroom of the Buford home after hearing gunfire about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera said. Pihera said the father shot himself when officers entered the room.   Continue reading “Police: 2-year-old, father die after 18-hour standoff”

RT

North Korea has announced it has successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb following an “artificial seismic event” that has likely become the country’s fourth known nuclear test.

In a “special and important” announcement at noon, North Korean TV claimed that the country has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test at 10:00am local time.   Continue reading “North Korea claims fully successful ‘miniaturized hydrogen bomb’ test”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — A major pesticide harms honeybees when used on cotton and citrus but not on other big crops like corn, berries and tobacco, the Environmental Protection Agency found.

In its first scientific risk assessment of the much-debated class of pesticides called neonicotinoids and how they affect bees on a chronic long-term basis, the EPA found in some cases the chemical didn’t harm bees or their hives but in other cases it posed a significant risk. It mostly depended on the crop, a nuanced answer that neither clears the way for an outright ban nor is a blanket go-ahead for continued use.   Continue reading “EPA says pesticide harms bees in some cases”

Mail.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A former South Carolina policeman charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist will remain under house arrest until his trial begins in the fall.

The release of Michael Slager on bond Monday was a disappointment to the family of the victim, Walter Scott, said Justin Bamberg, the attorney for the family. “The family is not happy about Mr. Slager getting bond,” Bamberg said shortly after Circuit Judge Clifton Newman said Slager could be released on $500,000 surety bond.   Continue reading “Family not happy officer out on bond in motorist’s death”

Mail.com

CHICAGO (AP) — A top city of Chicago lawyer stepped down after a federal judge accused him of hiding evidence in a fatal police shooting, the latest allegation of wrongdoing amid ongoing scrutiny of how the city deals with such cases.

Separately, the city agency that investigates police shootings vowed greater transparency, saying Monday that it would start divulging some details of active cases as it tries to bolster public confidence in the process.   Continue reading “Chicago lawyer resigns after judge rules he hid evidence”

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PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — When the U.S. wanted to show the world it didn’t recognize what it called China’s “excessive” territorial claims in disputed waters of the South China Sea this fall, it sent a warship near one of Beijing’s newly built artificial reefs.

The move came amid a debate about whether the U.S. has enough ships to meet challenges posed by a fast-growing, increasingly assertive Chinese navy that is unsettling some of its neighbors. In its latest move, China announced last week that it would build its second aircraft carrier, this one with domestic technology.   Continue reading “US Pacific Fleet shrinks even as China grows more aggressive”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is slated Monday to finalize a set of new executive actions tightening the nation’s gun laws, making his first order of business in 2016 a clear signal the president in his final year doesn’t intend to go quietly.

At a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey and other top law enforcement officials Obama is expected to sign off on a package of proposals aimed at curbing gun violence and cracking down on unregulated gun sales.   Continue reading “Obama starts 2016 with a fight over gun control”