Month: December 2014

Twin Cities Pioneer Press – by Tad Vezner and Sarah Horner

A standoff at a Fridley apartment building Tuesday between SWAT teams and a fugitive wanted for violating his probation for a murder conviction ended with the fugitive injured and in custody, and no one else hurt.

The incident began sometime before 1 p.m., as law enforcement officers and SWAT teams surrounded the building on the 150 block of Island Park Drive near the intersection of East River Road.   Continue reading “Fridley, Minnesota: Standoff with police ends as shot fugitive taken into custody”

RT

The US government may add the Monarch butterfly to the Endangered Species list following a catastrophic loss of its population over last decades due to habitat decrease from cultivation of genetically engineered crops and climate change.

US Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Monday it would conduct a one-year status review of the Monarch butterfly to determine if they are warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act.    Continue reading “Monarch butterfly may be listed as endangered species after 90% population drop”

RT

Thousands of fireworks and party favors have been snatched up in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh after local authorities began enforcing a fatwa banning New Year’s Eve celebrations in the country’s sharia-ruled province.

The fatwa was issued by Aceh provinces clerical Ulema Consultative Assembly, which said that wishing someone ‘Merry Christmas’ or celebrating the New Year were forbidden under Sharia or Islamic law.   Continue reading “No New Year’s fun: Indonesian city bans celebrations under Sharia law”

RT

The recovery team looking for the crash site of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 has found a large dark object lying on the seabed that is presumed to be the plane’s fuselage.

The object was found in the Sea of Java off the coast of Borneo “about 30 to 50 meters under water,”confirmed Mochamad Hernanto, an Indonesian official with the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS).   Continue reading “AirAsia tragedy: Victim found in life jacket, fuselage detected by sonar”

Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist

New York, NY — New York City comptroller, Scott Stringer, recently released a map of all lawsuits filed against the NYPD in 2013. This graphic representation of police misconduct was then analyzed and compiled into a compelling report which illustrates the dire need of reform.

The report put out by the comptroller’s officer, titled Claimstat, shows that the lawsuits are derived “primarily of allegations of police misconduct, civil rights violations, and injury and/or damage from accidents involving police vehicles.” The report was put out in July and is used as a way of using data-driven methods to try and save money.   Continue reading “Isolated Incidents? A Lawsuit is Filed Against the NYPD Every 2 1/2 Hours”

NBC Philadelphia – by Dan Stamm and David Chang

A traffic stop turned deadly overnight in South Jersey.

Police officers in Bridgeton, New Jersey opened fire on a passenger of a Jaguar after pulling the vehicle over at South Avenue and Henry Street around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The suspect died after being rushed to the hospital.   Continue reading “Police Officers in South Jersey Shoot, Kill Man During Traffic Stop”

Boston.com

CHICAGO (AP) — A wall at a Morton Salt storage facility has collapsed, burying several cars at a next-door auto dealership in road salt.

Company spokeswoman Denise Lauer says a side wall broke Tuesday afternoon, spilling road salt outside of the facility on Chicago’s northwest side and onto the neighboring property. Morton Salt Inc. is a more than 100-year-old company based in Chicago best known for its pourable table salt.

No injuries were reported.   Continue reading “Cars Buried in Salt After Morton Storage Collapse”

Reuters – by LOUIS CHARBONNEAU

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and the establishment of a Palestinian state by late 2017.

The resolution called for negotiations to be based on territorial lines that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. It also called for a peace deal within 12 months.   Continue reading “Palestinian statehood resolution fails at U.N council, U.S. votes against”

BATR – by James Hall

The SWIFT System is an integral part of a communication process that assists payment and clearing of financial transactions. The Corporate-to-Bank site defines it in the following manner and provides several examples of Payment, Clearing and Settlement Systems.

“The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, Societe Cooperative a Responsabilite Limitee (limited co-operative society) (“SWIFT”) is a member-owned co-operative. SWIFT provides a telecommunication platform for the exchange of standardized financial messages between financial institutions and corporations. SWIFT is neither a payment system nor a settlement system though the SWIFT messaging standard is used in many payment and settlement systems. SWIFT’s customers include banks, market infrastructures, broker-dealers, corporates, custodians, and investment managers. SWIFT is subject to oversight by the central banks of the Group of Ten countries.”   Continue reading “Russia’s SWIFT Settlement Alternative”

Times Herald-Record – by Chris McKenna

GOSHEN — Packed into a hot, crowded conference room for a public hearing on Monday, almost two dozen speakers denounced a proposed Orange County law that would allow authorities to keep cash and other assets involved in misdemeanor drug cases once the defendant has been convicted or pleads guilty.

County Executive Steve Neuhaus held the mandatory hearing before deciding by Friday whether to sign or veto the proposal, which the Legislature passed in a 12-9 vote on Dec. 4, with all Republicans in support and all Democrats in opposition. Continue reading “New York Residents Criticize Proposed Asset-forfeiture Law”

Yahoo News – by PHILIP MARCELO AND MARK PRATT

BOSTON (AP) — Two Boston police officers were hospitalized after they were allegedly attacked by seven teenagers, all family members, in a Roxbury apartment complex when the officers tried to arrest one of them, authorities said Tuesday.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said the officers, a woman and a man, were “badly roughed up” in Monday’s attack but were recovering. Both have since been released from the hospital. Their names have not been made public.   Continue reading “Police: 2 Boston officers attacked by teenagers”

WOAI New Radio 1200

Here we go again.  News Radio 1200 WOAI reports that six months after the summertime spike in immigrants rushing into Texas from Central America, the rush seems to be starting again.

“They’re not peaking as they were during the summer months, but we’re seeing upwards of 60 to 100 people a day,” says Brenda Riojas, who operates programs for illegal immigrants at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, which was at the center of this past summer’s flood of immigrants.   Continue reading “New Spike in Illegal Immigration Seen Along Texas Border”

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

– Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 1, December 19, 1776

My Fox Philly

DREXEL HILL, Pa. – A Clifton Heights man was shot and killed by police in Drexel Hill on Tuesday afternoon after police tried to serve a warrant for terroristic threats.

That man has been identified by police as 52-year-old Joseph Pacini.   Continue reading “Police: Drexel Hill Driver Killed After Trying To Run Over Officers”

ABC News – by Rheana Murray

A young mother was shot and killed by her 2-year-old son Tuesday in an Idaho Walmart, police said.

Lt. Stu Miller of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said that the boy was sitting in the shopping cart when pulled the handgun from his mom’s purse and pulled the trigger. Police identified the victim as Veronica J. Rutledge, 29, of Blackfoot, Idaho.   Continue reading “Mom Accidently Shot, Killed By 2-Year-Old Son at Walmart”