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SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — With executions on hold in California and a death penalty appeals process that can take years, many inmates on the nation’s largest death row say they spend little time worrying about the lethal injection that may one day kill them.

“It’s almost like it’s not even a real punishment for a lot of people,” said Charles Crawford at San Quentin State Prison, where the vast majority of the state’s nearly 750 condemned inmates are held.   Continue reading “California grants rare look inside largest death row”

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GAUHATI, India (AP) — A strong earthquake damaged buildings, killed at least eight people and injured more than 100 in India’s remote northeast region early Monday.

The death and injuries were caused by falling debris. Manipur state’s home minister, G. Gaikhangam, said several areas suffered extensive damage, especially the capital, Imphal. He did not give details but told reporters the situation was still being assessed.   Continue reading “Strong quake kills at least 8 in India’s remote northeast”

RT

A barred owl that gained notoriety earlier this year for attacking joggers in a Salem, Oregon park is on the prowl again, but this time it’s targeting government workers outside the state capitol. Three people have been clawed by the predator – so far.

“It’s silent. You’re just walking along, minding your own business, and an owl comes silently at you from behind,” Tibby Larson, Salem’s city parks department spokeswoman, told Reuters.   Continue reading “Owlcapone strikes again! Oregon attack owl returns with a new target – gov’t workers”

RT

Tehran has officially denied that its Revolutionary Guards’ patrol vessel launched rockets in imminent proximity to the USS Harry S. Truman and its convoy entering the Persian Gulf, calling the allegation an act of “psychological warfare.”

On Tuesday, reports emerged that last Saturday the US aircraft carrier was intimidated after missiles were launched by an Iranian patrol vessel on a parallel course with the American naval convoy.   Continue reading “Iran denies it fired rockets near US aircraft carrier in Gulf, brands claim ‘psychological warfare’”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of fugitive Texas teen Ethan Couch, known for using an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident, has been returned to the U.S. from Mexico minus her son, whose own deportation was delayed by a Mexican judge.

Tonya Couch arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Mexico in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and was taken in handcuffs through the terminal to an unmarked Dodge Charger early Thursday morning. She was wearing blue street clothes and looked away from cameras as she walked, flanked by two marshals.   Continue reading “Mom of ‘affluenza’ teen back in US after Mexico deportation”

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CHICAGO (AP) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday that Chicago police must be better trained to distinguish between when they can use a gun and when they should use a gun, after a series of shootings by officers sparked protests and complaints that police are too quick to fire their weapons.

Emanuel announced changes in police training and department policies on use of force during a news conference, pledging “nothing less than complete and total reform.” Reforms, he said, will include doubling the number of Tasers available to officers — from 700 to 1,400— as he works to restore public trust in Chicago’s 12,000-officer force and in his administration.   Continue reading “Mayor: Chicago police reforms should make force last option”

RT

The US military’s advanced research agency has announced a project to build a prototype drone that can land on and take off a destroyer at sea. The drone is designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, as well as airstrikes.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced on Tuesday it had awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a $93 million contract to build a full-scale prototype drone for initial ground-based testing.   Continue reading “DARPA’s new military drone could morph destroyers into aircraft carriers”

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CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago officials are expected to announce changes in police training, including a requirement that every officer responding to service calls be equipped with a Taser.

A statement from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office late Tuesday night said Emanuel and Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante would announce Wednesday “a major overhaul” of the policy regarding how officers respond to incidents and the use of force.   Continue reading “Changes to be announced in Chicago police training, Tasers”

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — A teen fugitive from Texas known for using an “affluenza” defense and his mother were scheduled to depart for the U.S. after authorities said a phone call for pizza led to their capture in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta.

Eighteen-year-old Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya Couch, were being held at immigration offices in Guadalajara to be returned to the United States aboard a commercial flight to Houston on Wednesday, authorities said.   Continue reading “Officials: ‘Affluenza’ teen, mom tracked to Mexico by phone”

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian naval vessels conducted rocket tests last week near U.S. warships and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said Wednesday, causing new tension between the two nations after a landmark nuclear deal.

The vital strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is the route for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea, is crucial for ships taking part in the war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. In the past, Iran has threatened to block the strait, which lies at the entrance of the Persian Gulf.   Continue reading “US accuses Iran of conducting rocket test near warships”

RT

Islamic State leaders with direct links to the Paris terrorist attacks have been killed by US air and drone strikes in Syria and Iraq, a spokesman for the US-led coalition said.

One of the killed was Charaffe al Mouadan, a Syrian-based IS leader with a direct link to Paris attack organizer Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Another was Abdul Qader Hakim, who facilitated Islamic State’s external operations and had links to the Paris attack network, said US Army Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve in Kabul. Hakim was killed on December 26 in Mosul.   Continue reading “ISIS leader linked to Paris attack killed by US in Syria – Pentagon”

RT

Experts who blew the whistle on lead-contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, and its impact on children said that some kids had blood lead levels far higher than those US health officials consider “elevated” – and the state knew kids were being poisoned.

As Michigan officials scramble to help the affected community, a lead researcher who helped expose the toxicity of the water, Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards, said city and state officials should have known that the Flint River was highly corrosive before they decided to switch from the Detroit water system in 2014. He called the lack of water treatment“unprecedented.”    Continue reading “‘Toxic stress’: Max blood lead levels in Flint children 7 times higher than CDC guidelines – doctor”

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who claimed to be on the cusp of a historic peace deal with the Palestinians just a few years ago, now is set to become the first Israeli leader to go to prison after the Supreme Court upheld a bribery conviction against him Tuesday.

The decision capped a seven-year legal saga that severely undermined the last serious round of peace talks and propelled hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to power. In some ways, Tuesday’s decision was a success for Olmert. The five-judge panel dismissed the most serious bribery charge against him and reduced his original prison sentence from six years down to 18 months. He is set to report to prison on Feb. 15.   Continue reading “Israel’s Olmert to become first leader to go to prison”

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A police officer tried to put a woman into a patrol car after she collapsed at a hospital, believing that she was “making herself dead weight” to avoid going to jail, according to a police report released Monday.

The woman, 57-year-old Barbara Dawson, died about 90 minutes later at Liberty-Calhoun Hospital. The state law enforcement department and the state’s health care agency have launched investigations. Dawson was initially brought to the hospital on Dec. 21 by ambulance after complaining of abdominal pain. She was treated, but became unruly when she was discharged because she didn’t think she was OK to be released.   Continue reading “Documents: Officer tried put woman in car after collapse”

RT

St. Matthews Mall in Kentucky became the scene of a massive brawl involving 2,000 people, forcing it to shut down and a big police presence to be set up around the perimeter. The chaos was apparently caused by a chain reaction, involving separate fights.

Police first began responding to reports of “disturbances” at 7pm ET on Saturday. But the officers assigned to the mall could not cope with the load.   Continue reading “2,000-strong Kentucky mall brawl leads to shutdown, no arrests”

RT

Explosions have rocked the Syrian city of Homs, the Syrian SANA news agency says. AFP cited the Homs governor, who said that at six people were killed and 37 injured in the blasts.

The suicide bomber blew himself up, and almost immediately a car bomb exploded, and then another explosive device detonated at the site of the previous attack. According to preliminary data, over 30 were killed, the police source told RIA Novosti.   Continue reading “Multiple deaths following triple terror attack in Homs, Syria – reports”

RT

A prominent Syrian journalist and filmmaker, who produced anti-Islamic State documentaries was gunned down by unknown assailants in broad daylight in Gaziantep, Turkey. This is the third assassination of a journalist in the country over the last three months.

Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the Hentah monthly, known for his documentaries describing violence and abuses on Islamic State-controlled territories (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) was shot and killed near a building housing Syrian independent media outlets in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. His death was originally reported by a group of citizen journalists he was working with.   Continue reading “Syrian journalist & filmmaker who exposed ISIS Aleppo atrocities assassinated in Turkey”

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An apology from Japan’s prime minister and a pledge of more than $8 million sealed a breakthrough deal Monday in a decades-long impasse with South Korea over Korean women forced into Japanese military-run brothels during World War II.

The accord, which aims to resolve the emotional core of South Korea’s grievances with its former colonial overlord, could begin to reverse decades of animosity and mistrust between the two thriving democracies, trade partners and staunch U.S. allies. It represents a shift for Tokyo’s conservative government and a new willingness to compromise by previously wary Seoul.   Continue reading “South Korea, Japan reach landmark deal on WWII sex slaves”

RT

The US has ordered 20 additional RD-180 rocket engines from Russia, days after US Congress lifted the ban on the use of Russian engines to get American ships into space. However, the move has been lambasted by some politicians in Washington.

United Launch Alliance announced that it placed an order for more RD-180 rockets to be used by Atlas V launch vehicle, on top of 29 engines that the company has ordered before US sanctions against Russia were introduced over Crimea last year.   Continue reading “McCain sees red as US gives green light for Russian RD-180 rocket engines order”

RT

New guidelines on gender-identity discrimination in NYC require all individuals be permitted to use single-sex facilities (bathrooms, locker rooms) and take part in single-sex programs regardless of their anatomy, appearance or the sex indicated on their IDs.

According to the guidelines, issued by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, covered entities that have single-occupancy restrooms should make it crystal clear they “can be used by people of all genders.”
Continue reading “NYC grants ANYONE right to use single-sex facility ‘consistent with gender identity or expression’”