Washington Examiner – by Gabby Morrongiello

President Trump has directed his top economic and trade advisers to look into the potential benefits of re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade agreement that he withdrew the U.S. from in one of his first acts as president

Trump told a group of Republican senators during a meeting Thursday that he had assigned National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer “the task of taking another look at TPP,” Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, told reporters following the meeting.   Continue reading “Trump directs top economic advisers to look at re-entering TPP”

RT

Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has gathered enough votes to trigger a referendum on splitting California into three separate states.

Draper’s CAL 3 campaign has gathered 600,000 signatures supporting the split since he proposed the initiative last August. He told the Telegraph that 600,000 signatures was a  “milestone” and sent a message that people across California would “create a brighter future for everyone.”   Continue reading “Three Californias? Billionaire gathers enough signatures to trigger referendum”

Mail.com

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens calls it an “entirely consensual relationship.” But the woman with whom he has acknowledged having an affair says Greitens spanked, slapped, grabbed and shoved her during a series of sexual encounters that at times left her crying and afraid.

The woman’s graphic testimony was revealed in a report released Wednesday by a special Missouri legislative committee that now is expanding its mission to recommend whether lawmakers should begin impeachment proceedings to try to remove the Republican governor from office.  Continue reading “Report: Missouri Gov. Greitens slapped, grabbed woman”

Mail.com

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban stormed a government compound in central Afghanistan early Thursday, triggering an hours-long gunbattle that killed 15, including three top local officials, police and government officials said.

The blistering attack in the Khuja Omari district was the latest insurgent assault in Ghazni province, which is now largely under Taliban control. The Taliban planted mines to prevent government reinforcements from coming to help and quickly took responsibility for the attack, said Mohammad Arif Rahmani, a lawmaker in the Afghan Parliament.  Continue reading “Taliban attack on Afghan government compound kills 15”

Mail.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Voters in Alaska’s largest city are on track to becoming the first in the U.S. to defeat a so-called bathroom bill in a referendum that asked them to require people using public bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender at birth.

The initiative asked Anchorage’s voters to repeal an ordinance passed in 2015 that prevented discrimination based on sexual orientation and added a clause that would have prevented transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities.  Continue reading “Anchorage voters first in the nation to reject bathroom bill”

MassPrivateI

Law enforcement and more than one hundred colleges and universities have convinced their students to download ‘public safety’ apps that send tips to police in real-time.

The apps go by names like ‘LiveSafe’ and ‘SafeTrek’ and their selling point is, helping students feel safe.  Continue reading “Police use corporate ‘Public Safety’ apps to spy on everyone”

The Verge – by Sarah Jeong and Shannon Liao

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce today, fresh off the heels of a grueling five-hour joint session before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees yesterday. In total, Zuckerberg will face questions from nearly 100 legislators, and many of those legislators have received thousands of dollars from the company Zuckerberg runs.  Continue reading “Here’s how much Facebook donated to every lawmaker questioning Mark Zuckerberg this week”

NBC New York

Federal prosecutors say two New Jersey police officers stopped vehicles, detained the occupants and searched the autos without justification, sometimes also taking cash and other items.

The Paterson officers – Jonathan Bustios, 28, and Eudy Ramos, 31 – are charged with conspiring to deprive people of their civil rights under color of law.   Continue reading “2 Paterson Cops Stopped Cars, Took Cash and Other Items: Prosecutors”

Common Dreams – by Jake Johnson

With America’s major corporate cable outlets—particularly so-called liberal networks like MSNBC—continuing to uncritically provide generals and lawmakers a massive platform to beat the drums of war as President Donald Trump inches closer to launching a military attack on Syria, critics have concluded that the U.S. media has clearly learned nothing from the crucial role it played in cheerleading for the Bush administration’s catastrophic invasion of Iraq in 2003.   Continue reading “Showing They ‘Learned Nothing’ From Iraq, Corporate Media Help Beat War Drums for Trump Attack on Syria”

Fox News

Eight police officers in Argentina, including a former town police commissioner, have been dismissed from their posts after four of them claimed that more than half a ton of missing marijuana was carried off by mice, The Guardian reported Wednesday.

The paper reported that police in the town of Pilar, about 35 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, impounded 6,000 kilograms (13,228 pounds) of marijuana. But when police inspected the evidence warehouse sometime later, they found that 540 kilograms (1,190 pounds) were missing.   Continue reading “Argentina cops who claimed mice ate missing marijuana are fired, report says”

Free Thought Project – by Jay Syrmopoulos

Washington, D.C. – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looked uneasy as he gave testimony for five hours on Tuesday before 44 U.S. Senators. Wednesday, he appeared before before 55 members of the House of Representative regarding the role of Facebook and to how the company can address consumer data-privacy concerns in the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal.  Continue reading “9 Questions Mark Zuckerberg Strangely Couldn’t Answer During His Senate Hearing”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Update: The Russian warships leaving port has been reported as a drill, as InterFax reports:

Russian Navy ships, starting from April 11, will conduct exercises near the coast of Syria, follow from the international notification for aviation personnel (NOTAM) and navigational warning for seafarers.
Continue reading “11 Russian Warships Leave Syrian Port To Conduct Exercises”

Bloomberg – by Jennifer Kaplan

The U.S. marijuana industry has a new spokesman: John Boehner.

The Republican former Speaker of the House has joined the advisory board of Acreage Holdings, a company that cultivates, processes and dispenses cannabis in 11 U.S. states. Boehner’s endorsement, after saying nine years ago he was “unalterably opposed” to legalization, could be considered a watershed event: Marijuana has gone mainstream.  Continue reading “Ex-Speaker John Boehner Joins Marijuana Firm’s Advisory Board”

New York Daily News – by Leonard Greene

They were part of the city’s Bravest and Finest, but prosecutors say two ex-cops and a former firefighter are now among the Sleaziest.

Three former NYPD officers — including one who also used to be a firefighter — were arrested Wednesday for separate schemes that netted them more than $1 million in bogus disability benefits, authorities said.  Continue reading “Ex-NYPD cops cuffed for swiping $1M in disability grifts”

The Hill – by Ellen Mitchell

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Wednesday accepted federal funding to add National Guard troops to his state while blasting President Trump over his immigration policies.

Brown wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen that the California National Guard would accept federal funding to add “approximately 400 Guard members statewide to supplement the staffing of its ongoing program to combat transnational crime.”  Continue reading “California gov accepts funding to add National Guard troops, blasts Trump over immigration”

AOL

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) – Gun control advocates are planning to send birthday packages to newly turned 18-year-olds in 10 states where they believe pro-gun lawmakers are vulnerable. Inside each: a voter registration form.

The effort is part of a teen voter sign-up campaign aimed at electing a gun control-friendly Congress in November by seizing the momentum of a movement driven by young people shaken by gun violence, organizers told Reuters.   Continue reading “Teen birthday vote drive targets pro-gun US lawmakers”

Business Insider – by Haley Peterson

Sears is closing several stores and selling 16 others in an online auction.

The closing stores include Sears locations in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Youngstown, Ohio, as well as Kmart stores in Brandon, Florida, and Saugus, Massachusetts. Sears will also likely close its store at Tacoma Park Mall in Tacoma, Washington. The owner of the mall, Simon Property Group, recently revealed plans to demolish the Sears store and replace it with several buildings, including a movie theater.  Continue reading “Sears is closing more stores and selling others in an online auction”

Collective Evolution – by Dulce Ruby

If you’re like me, you have questions about the food you’re consuming – or as a general rule of thumb, you aim to be conscious & cautious of what goes into your body on the day-to-day.

What should we really consider is purchasing organic, so that we can breathe a little easier knowing our toxin intake is bare minimum but how do we really determine this?  Continue reading “The Results Are In! These Fruits & Veggies Have The Most Pesticides In 2018”

Kansas City Star

An 80-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting death last fall of Kansas City attorney Tom Pickert.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the charges Wednesday at a news conference at the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in Kansas City.  Continue reading “Suspect in Brookside killing accidentally taped his talk about murder, police say”