An illustration of Julius Caesar's funeral pyre.National Geographic – by Brian Handwerk

Caesar: The ides of March are come.
Soothsayer: Aye, Caesar, but not gone.
—Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene 1

Thanks to Shakespeare’s indelible dramatization, March 15—also called the Ides of March—is forever linked with the 44 B.C. assassination of Julius Caesar, and with prophecies of doom.

“That line of the soothsayer, ‘Beware the ides of March,’ is a pithy line, and people remember it, even if they don’t know why,” said Georgianna Ziegler, head of reference at Washington, D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library.   Continue reading “Ides of March: What Is It? Why Do We Still Observe It?”

Reuters

Melting snow and rain caused the Ohio River to spill its banks over the weekend, cutting off roads and flooding homes in the southern part of Ohio.

The National Weather Service, which has issued a flood warning for the Cincinnati area, said the river is expected to crest on Sunday at 57.8 feet and be above its 52-foot flood stage at least through Thursday.   Continue reading “Ohio River spills banks, flood warning for Cincinnati”

660-Church-Sign-AP.jpgFox News – by Jason F. Wright

Recently I attended church in Romney, West Virginia. It’s a cozy quiet town where even the church mice whisper.

The beautiful trip to Romney from my home in Woodstock, Virginia isn’t a drive. It’s a painting. Embedded in the scenery are roadside church signs announcing service times, special guests and both inspiring and quirky quotes.

Whether they spell it out in plastic letters or not, these signs also suggest what to expect when you enter.   Continue reading “Is your church bending the truth?”

Osama bin LadenThe Guardian – Reuters

About $1m provided by the CIA to a secret Afghan government fund ended up in the hands of al-Qaida in 2010 when it was used to pay a ransom for an Afghan diplomat, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden had at first been concerned about the payment, fearing the CIA knew about the money and had tainted it with poison, radiation or a tracking device, the Times said, and suggested it be converted to another currency.   Continue reading “CIA money from secret fund ended up in hands of al-Qaida – report”

Image source: John Moore/Getty ImagesTheBlaze – by Dave Urbanski

The Border Patrol is seeing a big increase in the number of illegal immigrant sex offenders caught sneaking into the United States, KRGV-TV reported.

In the last five months, agents have caught 144 sex offenders crossing the border; this time last year that number was 93, KRGV said — an increase of just over 64 percent.   Continue reading “Border Patrol: Big Increase in Illegal Immigrant Sex Offenders Caught Sneaking Into U.S.”

Stop the Drug War – by PSmith

A 37-year-old black Maryland man was shot and killed Wednesday by a Cecil County sheriff’s deputy after being pulled over with a load of heroin. According to police, Terry Garnett, Jr. was attempting to flee the traffic stop when his vehicle approached the deputy, and “fearing for his life,” the deputy opened fire.

By The Chronicle’s running count, Garnett becomes the 12th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.   Continue reading “Maryland Man Killed Fleeing Bust, Cop Claims Suspect Tried to Run Him Down”

appleNatural News – by Jonathan Benson

Proof that USDA serves biotech interests while betraying the people. The world has gone completely mad. While the average American mindlessly obsesses over whether or not a stupid image-gone-viral of a dress depicts white and gold colors or black and blue, the federal agency tasked with protecting the integrity of our food supply has indiscriminately green-lighted a new genetically modified organism (GMOs) for human consumption that threatens to unleash a Pandora’s box of destruction on both the apple industry and public health.   Continue reading “GMO Apples Approved Despite Fierce Opposition”

Vladimir PutinThe Telegraph – by Howard Amos and Nick Squires

The mystery over the whereabouts of Vladimir Putin deepened on Saturday as Russian state media broadcast – then retracted – reports that he had hosted an official visit from the President of Kyrgyzstan.

Mr Putin has remained hidden from public view for nine days. Levels of fear and uncertainty in Moscow have been rising as rumours fly over what could be behind Putin’s lengthy disappearance.

Continue reading “Mystery of Putin’s disappearance deepens with Russian state media ‘mistake’”

A fake China Apple Watch knockoff. (Screenshot/YouTube )Vision – by Troy Oaks

Where can you get a fake Apple Watch? Where else but China? Apple Watches aren’t even officially on sale yet, but China is already awash with clones.

At the Huaqiangbei electronics market in the southern city of Shenzhen, you can find these knockoffs. There even being sold nationwide via popular e-commerce websites.

The fakes have the same design and style of Apple’s (AAPL, Tech30) new offering, even down to the digital crown. With names like “A.I Watch” and “D-Watch,” they cost between 250 Yuan and 500 Yuan ($40 to $80).   Continue reading “The Fake Apple Watch From China”

U0-ntitled119Taboot 1009

DENVER (CBS4) – For the second time this week, CBS4 has obtained Denver police video that led to an officer being disciplined for excessive force.

Officer Chad Sinnema was suspended for four days this week, which was a lesser penalty than was recommended by Denver’s Independent Monitor.   Continue reading “Bodycam Footage Shows Cop Strangling Man With Knee And Trying To Break Wrist”

Fusion – by Kashmir Hill

This week I got an angry email from a friend who had just rented a car from Hertz: “Did you know Hertz is putting cameras in rental cars!? This is bullsh*t. I wonder if it says they can tape me in my Hertz contract.” He sent along this photo of a camera peeping at him from out of his “NeverLost,” a navigational device that the company has started putting in many of its cars:   Continue reading “Hertz puts cameras in its rental cars, says it has no plans to use them”

walgreens storeTop Secret Writers – by Sally Painter

A Walgreens pharmacist was fired for refusing to administer vaccinations to customers based on his moral beliefs, but a US judge ruled that Walgreens was within its rights. This ruling isn’t a surprise to anyone involved in employment law, but perhaps the case was more of a moral testing than legal.

The pharmacist, Rodney Prewitt (66) had been an employee of Walgreens for almost five years when the company began its national vaccination program in 2010. Walgreens offered a total of 20 vaccines to its customers that were administered by each store’s pharmacist.   Continue reading “Court Says Walgreen’s Can Fire Pharmacist Over Anti-Vaccine Stance”

Norio Kimura, 49, who lost his father, wife and daughter in the March 11, 2011 tsunami, checks radiation levels on February 23, 2015.ABC Australia

The triple nuclear meltdown was the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

About 120,000 people still cannot return their homes because of high radiation levels, but the issue of long-term health implications like cancer are causing the greatest concern and controversy in Japan.

Before the disaster, there was just one to two cases of thyroid cancers in a million Japanese children but now Fukushima has more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases, having tested about 300,000 children.   Continue reading “Fukushima disaster: Radiation levels posing cancer risks on fourth anniversary of earthquake”

When Kate and David Ogg were told their newborn son Jamie had passed away on March 25, 2010, they took him in their arms and cradled him to keep him warmDaily Mail – by Emily Crane

First-time parents Kate and David Ogg were heartbroken when they were told one of their twins – born two minutes apart at just 26 weeks – had stopped breathing and had just moments to live.

Thinking it was the only time they would have with the tiny boy they had already decided to name Jamie, Kate asked to be able to hold the lifeless child, and told David to climb into the hospital bed for a tender embrace.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.   Continue reading “Revived by the power of love”

holder obamaCNS News – by Michael W. Chapman

President Barack Obama and his outgoing attorney general, Eric Holder, are, along with “progressives” in government, forcing “a new morality” on the American people, a “morality that does not include God” and which is “an Anti-Christ movement,” said Reverend Franklin Graham.   Continue reading “Rev. Graham: Obama, Holder Pushing a ‘New Morality That Does Not Include God’ — ‘An Anti-Christ Movement’”