Year: 2014

The Newspaper

For the first time, police in North Carolina are allowed to turn on their lights and siren to pull over any motorist, even when they have done nothing wrong. In a ruling last month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals for the first time in the state created a “community caretaking” exception to the Fourth Amendment. It was used to convict Audra Lindsey Smathers.

On May 27, 2010, Smathers had been driving her red Corvette down Highway 280 when Transylvania Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Kreigsman pulled in behind her. She was driving at the 45 MPH speed limit, and the deputy noted nothing suspicious or illegal. Suddenly, a large dog ran in front of the Corvette. She hit the dog, which caused the car to bounce.   Continue reading “North Carolina Appeals Court Upholds Traffic Stop Without An Offense”

The Newspaper

The Tennessee Supreme Court decided on Thursday that the only use for roadside sobriety tests is to collect evidence against motorists, using them to convict individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The high court justices overturned an appellate decision from 2012 that found a driver who passed six of the tests with flying colors should never have been arrested (view 2012 ruling). David D. Bell was arrested on May 13, 2009, even though the trial judge found no evidence of impairment in the sobriety tests when he reviewed the dashcam footage.   Continue reading “Tennessee Supreme Court Says Cops Can Ignore Sobriety Test”

Gizmodo – by ADAM CLARK ESTES

Believe it or not, sailors are a big drag on shipping vessels. They weigh down the ship, take up space, cost thousands of dollars a day, and even cause most of the accidents at sea. So it’s no surprise that Rolls-Royce’s maritime division wants to replace them with robots.

Rolls-Royce’s Blue Ocean development team is perfecting designs for massive drone ships that will be able to shuttle cargo across the ocean without a single human being on board. Instead of a bridge, these ships come equipped with cameras that beam 360-degree views from the vessel back to dry land where teams of operators steer them to their destinations.   Continue reading “Rolls-Royce Is Designing Giant Drone Ships to Sail the High Seas”

The Guardian – by James Ball

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: seven keys, held by individuals from all over the world, that together control security at the core of the web. The reality is rather closer to The Office than The Matrix.

In a nondescript industrial estate in El Segundo, a boxy suburb in south-west Los Angeles just a mile or two from LAX international airport, 20 people wait in a windowless canteen for a ceremony to begin. Outside, the sun is shining on an unseasonably warm February day; inside, the only light comes from the glare of halogen bulbs.   Continue reading “Meet the seven people who hold the keys to worldwide internet security”

KFOR News 4

CALIFORNIA – Multiple media outlets are reporting that a California man is suing McDonald’s for more than a million dollars… because he only received one napkin with his meal.

He says the incident happened last month, when he ordered a Quarter Pounder.

He immediately noticed only one napkin came with his burger.   Continue reading “Man sues McDonald’s for $1.5 million over napkin incident”

RT News

Positive results for radiation exposure were found in 13 workers following a leak at the United States’ first underground nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico, an Associated Press report stated.

Officials said that all employees were checked for external contamination before they left the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) facility the day the leak occurred, but that biological samples were also taken to test for the possibility that they were breathing in radioactive particles.   Continue reading “New Mexico nuclear plant workers exposed to radiation”

RT News

US Border Patrol agents have purposely stepped in front of moving cars to justify shooting at drivers and used firearms against people throwing rocks across the border from Mexico, according to an independent review of 67 cases that resulted in 19 deaths.

A report by law enforcement experts chastised the Border Patrol for substandard investigations following cases where US agents fired their weapons. The review panel also said that it could not determine whether the Border Patrol “consistently and thoroughly reviews” instances where deadly force was used.   Continue reading “Border agents criticized for use of deadly force in report agency shielded from Congress”

Underground Health – by William Kennedy

Bread is wrongly placed at the bottom of our food pyramid which gets passed around all our schools despite many respected health professionals claiming bread and other sources of grains are unnecessary and potentially harmful. Here are some alarming facts about bread.   Continue reading “5 Reasons Why You Should Not Eat Bread”

Latino Daily News

The militias that emerged a year ago in the western Mexican state of Michoacan to defend communities from a powerful drug cartel are expanding their presence on the Pacific coast, officials said.

Roughly 200 men armed with assault rifles gathered Wednesday on Caleta de Campos beach near the key port of Lazaro Cardenas, a source in the state government told Efe.   Continue reading “Militias Fight Mexican Cartel to Control Port City”

CNN Money – by Tami Luhby 

Several restaurants in a Florida chain are asking customers to help foot the bill for Obamacare.

Diners at eight Gator’s Dockside casual eateries are finding a 1% Affordable Care Act surcharge on their tabs, which comes to 15 cents on a typical $15 lunch tab. Signs on the door and at tables alert diners to the fee, which is also listed separately on the bill.   Continue reading “Now on your restaurant bill: Obamacare fee”