From the Trenches World Report

AlterNet – by Rod Bastanmehr

A grand jury has declined to indict the North Carolina police officer who shot and killed a 24-year-old black man seeking help for his injuries after a car crash.

Police Officer Randall Kerrick managed to avoid an indictment by the Mecklenburg County grand jury on voluntary manslaughter charges after the September 14 death of Jonathan Ferrell, a former college football player. Kerrick fired his service weapon 12 times, hitting Ferrell, who was seeking help at a nearby house, with ten of those shots.     Continue reading “No Manslaughter Charges for Cop Who Shot Car Crash Victim Ten Times”

Before It’s News – by Mort Amsel

A North Korean central news anchorman said during a live broadcast: “We are very delighted to announce a successful mission to put a man on the sun. North Korea has beaten every other country in the world to the sun. Hung Il Gong is a hero and deserves a hero’s welcome when he returns home later this evening”. Hung is expected back on Earth in just a few hours time, where he will be greeted by his uncle, and supreme leader: Kim Jong-un. Hung travelled in the cover of darkness, as it would protect him from the harsh, and extreme temperatures of the Sun. Hung will also be bringing back some sun spot samples for his uncle, which I’m sure he will show off to the world in a short amount of time.   Continue reading “North Korea Lands First Man On The Sun”

Natural Society – by Christina Sarich

Many individuals have heard it a million times, but for the uninformed, or those just looking to fuel their 2014 fire to finally defeat Monsanto and their cronies, you’ll be interested to know that Monsanto’s Bt-toxin is far from ‘safe’ as the chemical company claimed it would be when filing their papers with the FDA. New research from Canada show that BT toxins are showing up in pregnant women, and low and behold – they are killing human embryo cells. 2014 is the year of the horse, but we’re not through beating this one to death.   Continue reading “Monsanto’s Bt-Toxins Found to Kill Human Embryo Cells”

Legit Gov – by Lori Price

At the 1:30PM EST media conference, Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon shared his perspective on the mall shooting in Columbia, Maryland, that left three dead (including the alleged shooter). The mall, thirty miles north of Washtington, D.C., is still an ‘active crime scene’ and remains under lockdown. He also shared the following information. “This has been an incredible and thoughtful operation,” McMahon noted. Later, he shared, “They have actually drilled on this in the past.’ …MSNBC host T.J. Holmes noted that the police chief stated that they had done numerous ‘active shooter’ drills at the mall.   Continue reading “‘They have actually drilled on this in the past’ – HD Police Chief on Md. mall shooting”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Ukrainian protesters erected more street barricades and occupied another government ministry building on Friday after the failure of crisis talks with President Yanukovich, as opposition leader Klitschko feared “more deaths” pointing to a weekend of increasingly violent protests. Reuters reports that Yanukovich’s party stated “the situation has grown sharper throughout the country,” and called on people to disregard the calls of “radical troublemakers” to turn out for protest rallies. Continue reading “Ukrainian Protesters Chant “Yankees Go Home”; Klitschko Warns Of “More Deaths””

Huffington Post

Walmart plans to lay off roughly 2,300 employees of Sam’s Club, the retail giant’s membership-only club, CNBC reported via Twitter Friday. A large number of those getting laid off will be assistant managers at stores with weak sales, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Sam’s Club on its own is the eighth largest retailer in the country, according to the company’s website. More from the Associated Press:   Continue reading “Walmart To Lay Off 2,300 Sam’s Club Employees”

The Guardian

President Barack Obama will announce a new plan next week to help Americans who continue to struggle to find jobs even as the economy recovers from recession, his senior adviser, Dan Pfeiffer, said on Saturday.

Obama’s efforts to help the long-term unemployed are part of an economic strategy he will lay out in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday and expound upon during a four-state tour, Pfeiffer said in a mass email from the White House. Earlier President Obama had used his weekly address to pledge action to tackle sexual violence, including in the military and at colleges.   Continue reading “Obama to unveil help for long-term unemployed in State of Union address”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Following research last week suggesting that HSBC has a major capital shortfall, the fact that several farmer’s co-ops were unable to pay back depositors in China, and, of course, the liquidity crisis in China itself, news from The BBC that HSBC is imposing restrictions on large cash withdrawals raising a number of red flags. The BBC reports that some HSBC customers have been prevented from withdrawing large amounts of cash because they could not provide evidence of why they wanted it. HSBC admitted it has not informed customers of the change in policy, which was implemented in November for their own good: “We ask our customers about the purpose of large cash withdrawals when they are unusual… the reason being we have an obligation to protect our customers, and to minimise the opportunity for financial crime.” As one customer responded: “you shouldn’t have to explain to your bank why you want that money. It’s not theirs, it’s yours.”   Continue reading “Bank-Run Fears Continue; HSBC Restricts Large Cash Withdrawals”

Diogenes’ Middle Finger

(MFNS) Washington – The president today took an important step, without congressional approval, in forwarding the agenda he set for his second term. Sighting a study by Manchester Metropolitan University on food safety, Obama ordered the FDA to extend the 5 second rule for food that has hit the floor.

“The government is to tackle food poverty by officially doubling the five allowable seconds for food dropped on the floor to ten seconds” Obama told a small group gathered at the White House. “The action could see millions of pounds worth of pizza slices, nachos and ice cream reclassified as edible”.   Continue reading “President Signs Executive Order to Extend 5 Second Rule”

Yahoo News

Columbia (United States) (AFP) – Three people were killed in a shooting at a popular shopping mall in a suburb of the US capital, authorities said Saturday.

Howard County Police, which announced the fatalities via Twitter, said the suspected shooter at the Columbia Mall was among the dead.

“Police are in mall to clear people out safely,” it tweeted. “Mall is believed to be secure, but people inside should wait for police.”   Continue reading “Three killed in mall shooting outside Washington: police”

Continue reading “Welcome to Iceland”

RT News

It was only a year ago that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was getting his pay docked by millions of dollars. Now, though, the company is giving their chief executive a raise.

Despite the fact that JPMorgan was hit with $20 billion worth of fines during 2013, Dimon will receive $1.5 million for the year. That base salary is virtually unchanged from the year before, but the company will also pay him an additional $18.5 million in restricted stock, according to a public filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.   Continue reading “JPMorgan gives CEO Jamie Dimon a raise despite shelling out $20 bln in fines”

BankRate – by Janna Herron

The whodunit of stolen credit cards

Gone are the days of the good old-fashioned purse snatcher. With little brute and more skill, thieves only need a minute, sometimes a second, to pilfer your credit card data.

“Back in the beginning, they got the imprint of credit cards from the carbon copies they dug out of the trash,” says William Noonan, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s criminal investigative division. “Technology has changed things.”   Continue reading “5 ways thieves steal credit card data”

Mail.com

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of Ukraine’s police says protesters on Saturday released two officers they seized and tortured, but a protest leader called the claim a provocation aimed at justifying a crackdown.

Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko, one of the government figures despised most by protesters, said the two officers were released with the help of negotiations by foreign embassies. He said they had been hospitalized, but did not give details of how they allegedly were abused.   Continue reading “Ukraine says 2 captured police released”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The dueling faces of a conflicted political party were on display for all to see at the just-concluded Republican National Committee meeting.

One was younger, more diverse and tech-savvy, part of the RNC’s carefully crafted plan to inspire confidence that the GOP is trying to grow beyond its shrinking, older, largely white base. The other — one that hasn’t evolved since the GOP’s back-to-back presidential losses — lurked in the hallways, occasionally taking center stage at the Washington hotel where party delegates from around the country met to discuss party business.   Continue reading “RNC showcased update, while losing image remains”