Military Veterans Scathing Open Letter to Paul Ryan Goes Viral, Chuck WootenThe Blaze – by Jason Howerton

Chuck Wooten, a military veteran, was already ticked off about Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) pushing through the “bipartisan” budget deal, which includes cuts to veterans’ retirement benefits. So when he got a fundraising email from Ryan’s office asking for money, he decided to really let the Wisconsin congressman know how he feels.

The scathing open letter, posted on Facebook last week, is going viral — and you only have to read the first few sentences to know why. It should be noted that because Wooten’s Facebook page is set to private, we weren’t able to review the original post on his wall and had to rely on re-posts.   Continue reading “Fed-Up Veteran Tells Paul Ryan What He Thinks of ‘Bipartisan’ Budge Deal in Viral Open Letter”

CBS Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The runner-up in the Minneapolis mayoral election is recovering after being robbed and brutally beaten Thursday night at the Mall of America.

Mark Andrew, 63, was at a Starbucks inside the mall at around 7 p.m. Thursday when a man grabbed his phone off his table and ran off.

When Andrew went after him, he was tackled by two teenage girls – aged 18 and 17 — one of which began beating him with a billy club. During the attack, they told Andrew, “We’re going to kill you,” police say.   Continue reading “Police: Mark Andrew Beaten After Getting iPhone Stolen At MOA Starbucks”

This Dec. 24, 2013 photo released by Lhawang Dhondup shows Tyler Armstrong, from Southern California, standing by a cross on the summit of Aconcagua Mountain in Argentina. The 9-year-old boy has become the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit of Argentina's Aconcagua mountain, the tallest peak in the Western and Southern hemispheres. (AP Photo/Lhawang Dhondup)New York Daily News

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A 9-year-old boy from Southern California has become the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit of Argentina’s Aconcagua mountain, which at 22,841 feet is the tallest peak in the Western and Southern hemispheres.

Tyler Armstrong of Yorba Linda reached the summit on Christmas Eve with his father Kevin and a Tibetan sherpa, Lhawang Dhondup, who has climbed Mount Everest multiple times. They were in fine spirits Friday as they left Aconcagua, whose sheer precipices and bitter cold have claimed more than 100 climbers’ lives.   Continue reading “California boy, 9, becomes youngest person to scale Argentina’s Aconcagua mountain”

CBS 12 News – by Scott T. Smith

LAKE MARY, Fla. (WKMG/CBS) — A bear crashes a Lake Mary family’s Christmas and it was all caught on camera.

It’s just the latest bear in a series of close encounters the past few weeks in Central Florida.

The bear was caught breaking into the back patio of a home on Redwood Grove Terrace in search for a late-night snack.   Continue reading “Bear Breaks Into Florida Homeowner’s Screened Patio Looking For Food”

Fox News

A Chinese icebreaker boat trying to eat through a dense ice block in Antarctica to rescue 74 people trapped on a ship since Christmas Day has had to halt efforts because the ice is too thick.

The Chinese “Snow Dragon” reached the ice floe off the coast of Cape de la Motte, and got about 6.7 nautical miles from the Russian-operated MV Akademik Shokalskiy  Friday, before calling off the mission, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.     Continue reading “Icebreaker sent to rescue ship trapped near Antarctica can’t penetrate ice”

AP Sgt Gale Stauffer nt 131226 16x9 608 Cop Killer Manhunt Goes NationwideABC News – by Mike Levine

The manhunt for a “cop killer” was expanded today to a nationwide dragnet to find the suspected bank robber who fatally shot a Mississippi  police officer two days before Christmas, according to the FBI.

Tupelo Police Department officer Gale Stauffer and another officer were hit by gunfire Monday when they confronted suspected bank robbers during their getaway in the city.   Continue reading “‘Cop Killer’ Manhunt Goes Nationwide”

CN image kethalexanderCruxial CIO – by Antone Gonsalves

Two federal judges have issued contradictory rulings on the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s massive collection of Americans’ phone data, setting the stage for a final decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III in New York issued a 54-page ruling Friday that said the NSA’s gathering of bulk telephone metadata was lawful and necessary in order to identify callers and recipients of conversations involving terrorists. Metadata includes numbers called, and records of when and how long the calls last.   Continue reading “With Lower Courts At Odds, Supreme Court May Hear NSA Metadata Case”

philduckA&E and the Robertsons make bank with marketing gimmick.

USA Today – by Gary Levin

A&E has ducked away from a controversy surrounding the stars of its hugely popular reality series Duck Dynasty.

The network issued a statement late Friday backing off from its previously announced suspension of Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the clan behind the successful Louisiana-based Duck Commanderduck-calling business. The suspension was triggered by Robertson’s interview with GQ, published last week, in which he made anti-gay statements, which he said reflected his religious beliefs.   Continue reading “A&E calls off ‘Duck Dynasty’ suspension”

Image from flickr user@P.V.O.G. Police-Vehicle-Owners-Group RT News

The Los Angeles Police Department has announced plans to ramp up use of a portable tool that checks for drug use, beginning with a New Year’s Eve crackdown on intoxicated drivers. Officials cited increased medical marijuana use as a main justification.

A state grant supplied the LAPD with a swab testing tool that will be employed at DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoints and jails, Los Angeles officials said at a Friday press conference.   Continue reading “LAPD deploys drug detection swab test at sobriety checkpoints”

LA Times – by THOMAS CURWEN

Frost glistens on the meadow grass. The sun has yet to crest Church Creek Divide, and on his last day in the cabin, Jack English isn’t about to break from routine. He swings his legs out of the bunk.

“Good morning,” he says quietly to Mary. Her ashes are in a small box on the narrow shelf at the head of the bed.

She’s been gone 12 years. He takes her wherever he goes, but in this far-away valley they shared and in this home they built, he feels closest to her.   Continue reading “At 94, he must let go of his piece of paradise”

A prison cell doorThe Guardian – by Cara Tabachnick 

Kyam Livingston begged for help. After seven hours of lying on the floor of a jail cell, the 38-year-old mother of two died, her calls unheeded by the correction officers providing security for the approximately 15 female inmates at Brooklyn “central booking” jail this past summer, according to witnesses and court documents.

Witnesses told the family that she had died in the cell among fetid conditions before she was taken to Brooklyn Hospital Health Center on 21 July 2013 where Livingston was pronounced dead at 6:58am, according to police reports. A witness, registered nurse Aleah Holland, told The Daily News, that police at Central Booking ignored her complaints of stomach pains and diarrhea. She said that when she and other inmates banged on the bars calling for help, officers told them Livingston was an alcoholic.   Continue reading “There’s an Alarming Number of Deaths in US Jails”

beefy clas 263x164 Oxford Scientists: Conjugated Linoleic Acids Kill Cancer CellsNatural Society- by Christina Sarich

Numerous journals have reported that conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) have ‘anti-proliferative qualities’ for cancer cells. CLAs are dietary fatty acids, an Omega 6, that have both anti-mutagenic and anticarcinogenic qualities. For men with prostate cancer (currently the second most prevalent type of cancer in Western countries) this is great news. While scientists can’t figure out exactly why CLAs help to dissolve cancerous cells and keep them from multiplying, the news is still helpful and positive.   Continue reading “Oxford Scientists: Conjugated Linoleic Acids Kill Cancer Cells”

Liver tissueComputer World – by Lucas Mearian

Computerworld – Approximately 18 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. But that may change someday sooner than you think — thanks to 3D printing.

Advances in the 3D printing of human tissue have moved fast enough that San Diego-based bio-printing company Organovo now expects to unveil the world’s first printed organ — a human liver — next year.   Continue reading “The first 3D printed organ — a liver — is expected in 2014”

sandy hook elementary shootingBusiness Insider – by PAMELA ENGEL

The State’s Attorney of Danbury, Conn. has released its full report on the Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.

Authorities released a summary of their report last month that said investigators weren’t able to determine a motive for Adam Lanza’s massacre. He killed 20 school children, six adults, and his own mother before shooting himself in the Newtown, Conn. school.  Continue reading “Full Police Investigation Into Sandy Hook Shooting Released”