Year: 2019

Reason – by Jessica Corbett

In response to reports this week that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t plan to impose drinking water limits on two toxic chemicals linked to various forms of cancer and other health issues, 20 senators on Friday sent a letter to acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler imploring him to craft nationwide restrictions.

The chemicals in question are PFOA and PFOS, which belong to a group called PFAS. Politico reported Tuesday that Wheeler had signed off on an unreleased plan that would leave the pair off the list of materials regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.   Continue reading “Senators Demand Federal Limits for Toxic Chemicals in Drinking Water Amid Reports of ‘Unconscionable’ Inaction by Trump’s EPA”

Eurasia Diary

Plans by Venezuelan officials to ship 20 tons of gold overseas have reportedly been halted as the embattled presidency of Nicolas Maduro faces international pressure to cede power to a transitional government and protect the country’s hard assets.

The gold bars, worth around $850 million, were weighed and separated in the central bank but won’t be leaving the country anytime soon, according to reports.   Continue reading “Plan to pull nearly $1B in gold out of Venezuela reportedly halted”

The News Articles

The town of Atlanta, in anticipation of website hosting Sunday’s Tremendous Bowl, wasted a whopping $23 million on a pedestrian bridge for soccer lovers that may now be blocked off for the massive recreation on account of safety dangers.

The bridge — which was once to start with meant to price $13 million — connects Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and a public transit station. It was once meant to permit tens of hundreds of lovers to simply get entry to the stadium with no need to go 4 lanes of vehicular visitors.   Continue reading “Super Bowl security crackdown prompts closure of pedestrian bridge that cost Atlanta $23M”

Yahoo News

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Thousands of U.S.-bound Central American migrants resumed their northern journey on Thursday, Mexico City officials said, part of a growing group of would-be asylum seekers who say they are fleeing violence and poverty back home.

Around 2,400 migrants left a city shelter to begin the journey from the Mexican capital early Thursday morning, the latest caravan to embark upon the risky path to the U.S.-Mexican border despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s determination to prevent them from entering.   Continue reading “Latest group of Central American migrants proceed with northern trek”

CarScoops – by Brad Anderson

General Motors will start laying off approximately 4250 salaried employees from Monday morning.

The Detroit News reports that the layoffs form part of a broad restructuring effort and that involuntary separations will continue through February. The carmaker will also cut contract jobs through January, potentially leading to a total of up to 8000 job losses. Among these job cuts will be those that see GM’s global executive workforce reduced by 25 per cent.   Continue reading “GM To Start Laying Off 4,250 Employees From Monday”

Washington Post

RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Friday acknowledged appearing in a “clearly racist and offensive” photograph in his 1984 medical school yearbook that shows a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” he said. “This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.”   Continue reading “Gov. Ralph Northam ‘deeply sorry’ after photo emerges from his 1984 yearbook showing blackface, KKK hood”

Chicago Tribune

Two teen-age boys from the Chesterton area are in custody after police said they allegedly made a threat to the Valparaiso schools using social media Thursday, including posting a picture of weapons, police said.

A 13-year-old boy allegedly told Siri, “I am going to shoot up a school,” and the reply identified multiple Valparaiso schools because of where he was at the time, Valparaiso police said.   Continue reading “Two teens held for Valparaiso school threat through Siri, police say”

Medium – by The Democratic Coalition

The Democratic Coalition’s ongoing investigation just uncovered the following evidence linking GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to Russian oil money, some of which we first revealed in February 2017.

McConnell recently voted to drop sanctions against Russian aluminum company RusAl which is still owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s sanctioned oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska. His action directly benefits one of the GOP leader’s major donors, whose fortune comes from Russian oil.   Continue reading “Mitch McConnell’s Ties to Russian Oil Money”

Forbidden Knowledge TV

The FBI announced case closed this past Tuesday on the October 2017 the Las Vegas shooting, which left 58 people dead and over 800 injured. They produced a 3-page report that did not identify a motive or establish any forensic connection between the alleged weapons and any of the victims. Indeed, there has been no forensic proof presented by either the Las Vegas police or the FBI that the alleged killer Stephen Paddock was, in fact the killer.   Continue reading “Las Vegas Shooting – FBI Final Report and Case Closed”

Reason – by Jacob Sullum

The first time the Supreme Court defended the Second Amendment, it overturned a Washington, D.C., law that made it a crime to keep any sort of accessible and operable firearm in the home for self-defense. Two years later, the Court struck down a Chicago law that went almost as far, banning possession of handguns within the city limits.

Last week the Court accepted a case involving another extreme example of gun control: a law that prohibits New Yorkers from taking their legally owned handguns with them when they travel outside the city. This is only the third time in more than a decade that the justices have grappled with the question of which firearm restrictions are consistent with the Second Amendment, and the history of the case shows why that reckoning is overdue.  Continue reading “Have Gun, Can’t Travel”

Business Insider

The US military finished 2018 with a troubling, sad statistic — it experienced the highest number of suicides among active-duty personnel in at least six years.

Without the Army reporting the number of soldiers who died by suicide in the last quarter of 2018, a total of 286 active-duty members took their lives during the year, including 57 Marines, 68 sailors, 58 airmen and, through Oct. 1, 103 Army soldiers.   Continue reading “US military suicide rates for active-duty troops near record highs in 2018”

Big League Politics – by Peter D’Abrosca

Missing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg used her power as a justice of the peace to marry a gay couple in 2014.

Tuesday, that couple was charged with rape.   Continue reading “Remember That Gay Couple Married by RBG? They Just Got Charged With Rape”

Yahoo News

Weeks after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., made headlines by calling for a top marginal income tax rate of 70 percent in an interview with “60 Minutes,” her fellow freshman congresswoman, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., suggested that the rich could pay even more.   Continue reading “Rep. Ilhan Omar calls for sharp tax increases on the wealthy: ‘We’ve had it as high as 90 percent’”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Update: As we previewed below, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the US will withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty immediately, prompting threats of a Russian “response” from Moscow.

According to RT, Pompeo said the US could return to compliance with the treaty if Moscow meets Washington’s demands within the next 180 days. To convince the US to back down, Washington has insisted that Russia cease development of a new cruise missile. Moscow has repeatedly denied claims that it’s in violation of the treaty.    Continue reading “Russia Threatens Retaliation As US Pulls Out Of Nuclear Arms Treaty”

Breitbart – by AWR Hawkins

Tennessee State Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) is pushing a bill to allow firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to carry guns while on the clock.

Fox 17 reports that the legislation, Senate Bill 0422, would allow handguns to be carried by firefighters and EMTs who “complete a firearm training program.”    Continue reading “Tennessee Republican Pushes Bill Allowing EMTs, Firefighters to Carry Guns”