FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, file photo, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson holds a picture of Claire Davis, the 17-year-old student who was shot in the head by a classmate, during a briefing at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo. Hospital officials said in a statement Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013, that Davis has died. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)Yahoo News

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — A suburban Denver high school student who was shot in the head by a classmate died Saturday afternoon, hospital officials said in a statement.

Claire Davis, 17, was in critical condition after being shot at point-blank range at Arapahoe High School on Dec. 13. Friends and well-wishers had posted prayers online and raised money to help pay for her medical care.   Continue reading “Hospital: Teen who was shot at Colo. school dies”

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on December 20, 2013Yahoo News – by  Stephen Collinson

Washington (AFP) – A weary Barack Obama, eyelids heavy, predicted Friday that the restorative power of sleep and the sunshine of his native Hawaii would restore his wilting fortunes after a bleak year.

The US president began 2013 with a soaring inaugural address laying out an ambitious second term agenda, sensing a mandate for liberal transformation despite a joyless re-election campaign.   Continue reading “Weary Obama seeks Hawaii sun’s waking touch”

New toy: (left to right) SWAT officers Detective Rivera, Detective McKinley, Sergeant Murray, Chief McMillin and Detective Fors pose in front of the new vehicleDaily Mail – by ALEX GREIG

A California police department has received a 37,000 armored truck that was once used in military training exercises.

The Salinas Police Department took ownership of the hulking tank-like vehicle on December 17 and parked it in front of the town’s Rotunda for public viewing.   Continue reading “California police department gets $650,000 37,000lb armored military truck”

Gunned down: Dustin Friedland, pictured with wife Jamie, was shot dead while protecting her from carjackers at a New Jersey mall. Four people have been arrestedDaily Mail

Four men have been arrested over the death of a lawyer shot in front of his wife during a carjacking outside a New Jersey mall last week, authorities said on Saturday.

The suspects in the fatal carjacking on Sunday last week, in which Dustin Friedland was killed at The Mall, Short Hills, were arrested in a series of raids overnight.    Continue reading “Four men arrested for killing lawyer, 30, who was shot dead while protecting his wife in carjacking at New Jersey mall”

KHOU

HOUSTON – At least three people in Harris County have died from the H1N1 flu virus, according to the Harris County Health Department.

The Harris County patients were all men, ages 45, 50 and 53. Two of them had underlying health issues, including cardiovascular disease and obesity.

H1N1 is suspected in at least nine other deaths in eight regional hospitals, and that number is expected to grow quickly.   Continue reading “H1N1 kills 3 people in Harris County; statewide flu alert issued”

GEAB N°80 is available! Currencies, geopolitics, real estate, finance... 2014: the « big American retreat »GEAB N 80

2013 is coming to an end on a world-before totally broken apart; 2014 will be merciless for this world of which only ruins will remain. But “we can also build something good with the stones that block the path” (1) and, in this chaos, the world-after has already taken its first steps as we anticipated in the GEAB N° 70 of December 2012 (2).

Whether it be the economic or political woes of the United States, Japan and the European Union, the Russian diplomatic victories over Syria, Armenia or the Ukraine, or Chinese ambitions in the East China Sea, tomorrow’s powers are quickly filling the geopolitical void left by yesterday’s powers.   Continue reading “Currencies, geopolitics, real estate, finance… 2014: the « big American retreat”

Mercury News

TWO US officials have announced plans to introduce legislation requiring smart phones to have a “kill switch” that would render stolen or lost devices inoperable.

California State Senator Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon announced on Thursday that the bill they believe will be the first of its kind in the United States will be formally introduced in January.   Continue reading “US bill requires smart phone ‘kill switch’”

On foot: After the crash, the DUI suspect tries to drive his totaled car but crashes it into a telephone pole while backing up and it won't move. He is then seen getting out of the carDaily Mail – by ASHLEY COLLMAN and RYAN GORMAN

The father of the man shot dead on live television by Los Angeles police officers has broken his silence over the traumatic ordeal.

Bill Beaird, 80, watched as three LAPD officers shot son Brian Beaird 22 times after he led them on an hour-long car chase through the city before crashing his silver Corvette and spinning out of control.   Continue reading “Devastated father tells how he watched on live television as LAPD cops shot dead his unarmed son after chase through city”

New skill: Belka took to howling with enthusiasm, much to her owner's amusementDaily Mail

Human babies learn to talk by listening to their parents, and it seems that dogs are no different.

In an adorable video posted to YouTube, Belka, a three-week-old Alaskan malamute-Siberian husky gets the hang of howling with some help from her human boy owner.   Continue reading “Call of the wild: Adorable video of boy teaching his three-week-old husky to howl”

cloud securityPC World – by Antone Gonsalves

The Target security breach that left millions of debit and credit card holders at risk of becoming victims of fraud left experts pondering the question of how such a massive theft might have occurred.

Theories varied, but the scant details released by the retailer Thursday left some experts believing the criminals had to have some inside knowledge of the company’s point-of-sale system in order to compromise it so effectively.   Continue reading “Target breach likely involved inside knowledge, experts say”

As different pyramids were built, the Egyptians learnt from the construction mistakes made on previous versions to build stronger versions later on. The true pyramids, so called because they were exact pyramid shapes, would have been the culmination of trial and error, according to engineer Peter JamesDaily Mail –  by VICTORIA WOOLLASTON

For centuries it’s been thought that the ancient Egyptians built their huge pyramids by hauling heavy granite blocks up specially crafted ramps.

Yet Newport engineer Peter James has branded this ‘impossible’, claiming the ramps would need to have been a quarter of a mile long or else they would have been too steep to carry the large blocks up.   Continue reading “Were the pyramids built INSIDE OUT?”