Free Thought Project – by Justin Gardner

Greene County, MO – The epidemic of mass incarceration is coming back to bite authorities in one American city. Because the Greene County jail is completely full, Springfield (pop. 165,000) is unable to arrest more than 12,000 people accused of crimes such as traffic infractions and misdemeanor assaults.

Missouri’s third-largest city has lost almost half a million dollars in less than a year from unpaid fines and fees. These lost extortion fees are likely the biggest concern to city officials.   Continue reading “City Had to Stop Arresting Actual Criminals Because They Filled Up Jail with Non-violent Offenders”

Oddity Central – by Sumitra

San Francisco entrepreneurs Geoffrey Woo and Michael Brandt have come up with a revolutionary way for coffee lovers to get their early morning caffeine fix – chewable caffeine cubes. Each 35-calorie bite-sized ‘Go Cube’  is the equivalent of drinking roughly half a cup of coffee. So if you’re running late with no time to brew a fresh cuppa joe, just pop two cubes and you’re good to go.   Continue reading “Chewable Coffee Cubes Offer a New Way to Kickstart Your Day”

Oregon Live – by Les Zaitz

BEND – Something didn’t seem right about the bullet hole in the top of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum’s white Dodge pickup.

Investigators from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office could account for bullet holes in the left front hood, the driver’s side mirror and the front grille. They came from the AR-15 of a state trooper who had fired three times at the truck as Finicum raced at 70 mph toward a police roadblock on Jan. 26.   Continue reading “Bullet hole on LaVoy Finicum’s truck traced to elite FBI team”

East Orlando Post – by Jacob Engels

While Ted Cruz proudly proclaims he is an Evangelical Christian, his campaign takes pains to hide the truth that Cruz and his pastor father, Rafael Cruz are Pentecostal Christians, a fact further hidden by having Ted and Heidi Cruz’s belong to the congregation of First Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist church in Houston, as their home church.

Both Cruz’s parents, his father Rafael a Cuban-born immigrant, and his mother Eleanor, born in Wilmington, Delaware, grew up in Catholic families. Both were among the millions of that left the Catholic Church since the 1960s to embrace Pentecostalism, a Christian movement estimated to make up 4.4 percent of the U.S. population, accounting for some 13 percent of evangelical churches in the United States.   Continue reading “Ted Cruz: Closet Pentecostal”

The Next Web – by Bryan Clark

Speaking at Common Cause’s ‘Blueprint for Democracy’ conference today, Edward Snowden used his time to speak out about surveillance, personal liberties and of course, the San Bernadino iPhone.

“The FBI says Apple has the ‘exclusive technical means’ to unlock the phone,” Snowden said. “Respectfully, that’s bullshit.”   Continue reading “Snowden: FBI’s claim that it requires Apple’s help to unlock iPhone is ‘bullshit’”

The Blaze – by Jon Street

Attorney General Loretta Lynch testified Wednesday that the Justice Department has “discussed” taking civil legal action against the fossil fuel industry for “denying” the “threat of carbon emissions” when it comes to climate change.

During Lynch’s testimony at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said that he believes there are similarities between the tobacco industry denying scientific studies showing the dangers of using tobacco and companies within the fossil fuel industry denying studies allegedly showing the threat of carbon emissions.   Continue reading “AG Lynch Testifies: Justice Dept. Has ‘Discussed’ Civil Legal Action Against Climate Change Deniers”

St Louis Tribune

Hundreds of supporters of the Malheur refuge occupation and the Bundy family converged at the Utah Capitol on Saturday to honor a “fallen hero” and the “patriots” imprisoned in the fight for freedom for which the armed encampment claimed to stand.

LaVoy Finicum loved his country and its founding principle of freedom, which he believed is God given, according to Jeanette Finicum, the widow of the Arizona rancher killed by police Jan. 26.

Continue reading “LaVoy Finicum’s widow tells Utah rally her husband was murdered during Oregon standoff”

Free Thought Project – by Andrew Emett

Brooklyn, NY – An NYPD sergeant accidentally shot a plainclothes narcotics detective on Tuesday while firing at two unarmed suspects during a drug bust. Detective Jon Gladstone is the third NYPD officer shot by possible friendly fire this year.

Around 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oscar Vera and Geraldo Rodriguez were sitting in a van parked in Brooklyn when they allegedly sold $80 of heroin to undercover cops. Shortly after the undercover cops left, plainclothes NYPD Detective Jon Gladstone and an unidentified police sergeant flanked the vehicle on both sides. According to NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker, Gladstone and his partner identified themselves as cops when the van suddenly went into reverse, crashing into a parked police car behind them.   Continue reading “While Trying to Kill 2 Unarmed Suspects, NYPD Cop Shoots His Fellow Officer”

The Free Thought Project – by John Vibes

Philadelphia, PA – A police officer was electrocuted while attempting to recover drugs that suspect threw on top of a railway train. According to NBC, Police say Cpl. Michael Pitcher was chasing down 26-year-old Dominique Rivers, a drug suspect when Rivers threw the evidence on top of the train.

Pitcher was undercover and in plain clothes at the time of the arrest.   Continue reading “The War on Drugs is Dangerous for Everyone – Cop Electrocuted Enforcing Immoral Law”

Chron

BALTIMORE (AP) — Two Baltimore schools police officers have been charged after cellphone video surfaced showing one of them slapping and kicking a teen at a school while the second officer stood by.

Anthony Spence, 44, and Saverna Bias, 53, turned themselves in Tuesday night, city police announced in a written statement Wednesday morning. Both are charged with second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Spence is also charged with second-degree child abuse. Online court records show both posted bond and were released Wednesday.   Continue reading “2 Baltimore schools officers face charges after video probe”