Reuters

Oil tankers carrying around 10 million barrels of U.S. crude are en route to Asia, according to shipping data and trade sources, as U.S. producers take advantage of favorable prices to ship to the region while OPEC ponders further supply cuts next week.

At least eight tankers are in transit, sources said and the shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed, with one of them carrying the first ever cargo of Southern Green Canyon crude purchased by Japanese refiner Cosmo Energy. Another contains the first Alaskan North Slope cargo to arrive in Asia in eight months.   Continue reading “Flotilla of U.S. crude heads to Asia as OPEC weighs extending cuts”

Fox 10 News

(WTXF) – Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into a cable powerhouse before leaving the company last year, died at the age of 77.

The Ohio-born television pioneer was a confidante of presidents and an acknowledged master of communications. He founded Fox News in 1996 and built it into the nation’s long-running No. 1 cable news network Ailes resigned from Fox in July amid charges of sexual harassment. Ailes left Fox News under a cloud of controversy last August. The sequence of events that led to his departure began when Gretchen Carlson sued him fter her contract as a daytime Fox host was not renewed. Ailes strongly denied her allegations of sexual harassment and wrongful termination.   Continue reading “Former FOX News Channel executive, founder Roger Ailes dies”

The Verge – by Andrew J Hawkins

In an effort to speed up bag drops for priority customers, Delta Air Lines will be testing facial recognition technology at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport starting this summer. Customers will be required to scan their passports at specially equipped kiosks, where a camera will scan their face to confirm their identity.

Four new self-service bag drop kiosks are being installed in Minneapolis, but only one will include the facial recognition software. Delta will be collecting customer feedback during the process to gauge how it will expand the service to other airports in the future, a spokesperson said. Delta is spending $600,000 on the new machines.  Continue reading “Delta Air Lines plans to use facial recognition to speed up bag drops”

The Hill – by Mallory Shelbourne

Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County, Wis., said Wednesday he has accepted a job in the Department of Homeland Security.

Clarke told conservative radio host Vicki McKenna during an interview on 1130 WISN that he will leave his post as sheriff to serve as a deputy secretary of Homeland Security.   Continue reading “Sheriff David Clarke says he’s accepted DHS job”

Reuters

The U.S. Justice Department, in the face of rising pressure from Capitol Hill, named former FBI chief Robert Mueller on Wednesday as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

The move followed a week in which the White House was thrown into uproar after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. Democrats and some of the president’s fellow Republicans had demanded an independent probe of whether Russia tried to sway the outcome of November’s election in favor of Trump and against Democrat Hillary Clinton.  Continue reading “Former FBI chief Mueller appointed to probe Trump-Russia ties”

USA Today

Rocker Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and later Audioslave, has died at age 52, according to his representative.

Cornell, who had been on tour, died Wednesday night in Detroit, Brian Bumbery said in a statement to The Associated Press. Cornell had performed a Detroit concert with Soundgarden that night.   Continue reading “Soundgarden, Audioslave rocker Chris Cornell dies at age 52”

RT

Representative Al Green (D-Texas) has called for impeachment proceedings to begin against President Donald Trump. His speech on the House Floor came as a group of Democrats distanced themselves from calls for impeachment.

“I rise today with a heavy heart,” Green began. “I rise today with a sense of responsibility and duty to the people who have elected me, a sense of duty to this country, a sense of duty to the Constitution of the United States of America. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to call for the impeachment of the president of the United States of America for obstruction of justice.”   Continue reading “Lone congressman calls to impeach Trump on House Floor: Does it matter?”

Mail.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Over two decades, Robert Gilbeau rose through the ranks to Navy admiral and earned a chest-full of honors for his service, including a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. During that period he also partied across Southeast Asia with a gregarious Malaysian businessman who paid for lavish dinners, drinks at karaoke bars and prostitutes.

That businessman, known as “Fat Leonard,” is the centerpiece of a massive bribery scandal involving Navy officers, and Gilbeau last year pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about their relationship. He was the first active-duty admiral convicted of a federal crime and on Wednesday he learned his penalty: 18 months in jail.   Continue reading “Former admiral gets 18 months in jail for lying”

Mail.com

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas police officer used a stun gun seven times and an unapproved mixed martial arts chokehold to subdue an unarmed man who died after a foot chase through a casino, authorities said.

Officer Kenneth Lopera thought the man had tried to carjack a pickup truck with two people inside before the officer fired the stun gun in a series of staccato bursts and used the chokehold — a tactic that is not approved by the department — early Sunday at The Venetian resort, Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said.   Continue reading “Vegas police: Unapproved chokehold used in fatal foot chase”

Mail.com

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Several states have struggled for years to comply with the REAL ID Act, a 2005 federal law that requires state driver’s licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and to be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States.

With a January deadline looming, lawmakers across the country have been scrambling for legislative fixes so residents can board flights and travel without confusion. Washington state was the latest to try to bring its system in line with those requirements, as Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure Tuesday creating a two-tiered licensing system.   Continue reading “States scramble to comply with federal ID law”

RT

A tourist ferry has completed its first cruise from the North Korean port of Rajin to the Russian city of Vladivostok. The route’s opening marks Pyongyang’s bid to develop trade and tourism ties with Russia amid growing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Representatives of Chinese and Russian tourism companies were on board the ferry that arrived in Vladivostok on Thursday, RIA Novosti reports, citing the route operator. The first tourists on the first-ever passenger connection between the two countries are expected next week, it added.   Continue reading “Ferry service opens between N. Korea & Russia’s Vladivostok”

CBC News

A jury on Wednesday acquitted of first-degree manslaughter a white Oklahoma police officer who says she fired out of fear last year when she killed an unarmed black man with his hands held above his head.

The family of Terence Crutcher burst into tears and reacted with outrage after jurors found Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby not guilty in the Sept. 16 shooting.   Continue reading “Jury acquits Tulsa cop in fatal shooting of unarmed man”

Press TV

David Friedman, a strong proponent of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian land, has arrived in Israel as the new US ambassador to the Tel Aviv regime.

The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed the arrival of Friedman on Monday, days ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump.   Continue reading “Anti-Palestinian Jewish attorney arrives in Israel as new US envoy”

Press TV

A young Palestinian man has been shot dead after Israeli naval forces opened fire on several Palestinian fishing boats off the northern coast of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Head of the Palestinian Fishermen’s Union Nizar Ayyash said on Monday that the assault occurred overnight, when Israeli forces detained four crewmen of a single boat, including a critically wounded fisherman who has been identified as 28-year-old Mohammed Majed Bakr.   Continue reading “Israeli forces shoot Palestinian fishermen off Gaza, fatally injure one”

Newsweek – by Max Kutner

The FBI is not investigating the unsolved murder of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, Newsweek has learned. The bureau’s lack of involvement refutes a Fox News report that an FBI analysis of Rich’s computer showed he had transferred more than 44,000 DNC emails to a person with ties to WikiLeaks. The report cited an unnamed “federal investigator.”

The circumstances around Rich’s July 2016 murder are mysterious and have led to conspiracy theories that claim he is responsible for passing DNC emails to WikiLeaks. The conspiracy theorists have suggested that the DNC or Hillary Clinton is responsible for Rich’s death. A Fox News report on Tuesday about an alleged connection between Rich and WikiLeaks exploded in conservative media.   Continue reading “FBI Not Probing DNC Staffer Seth Rich’s Murder, Despite WikiLeaks Claim”

Breitbart – by Joel B. Pollak

California Governor Jerry Brown referred to taxpayers as “freeloaders” last week for objecting to his new gas tax and car fee hikes.

“The freeloaders — I’ve had enough of them … They have a president that doesn’t tell the truth and they’re following suit,” he said. Brown was speaking in Orange County, defending State Assembly newcomer Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), who is facing a recall effort after voting for Brown’s new transportation taxes in April.   Continue reading “Jerry Brown: California Taxpayers are ‘Freeloaders’”