From the Trenches World Report

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Current and former federal officials who played key roles in the investigation of one of the nation’s worst aviation disasters said Tuesday they stand by their conclusion that the explosion of TWA flight 800 was caused by overheated fuel tank vapors, and not a bomb or missile.

The officials spoke to reporters at a briefing on the National Transportation Safety Board’s four-year investigation following the explosion and crash of the Boeing 747 off Long Island, N.Y., on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 people on board. The board took the usual step of organizing the briefing on an investigation that has been closed for years. That’s in response to a new documentary film set to air this month on the 17th anniversary of the tragedy. The film says new evidence points to the often-discounted theory that a missile strike may have downed the jumbo jet.   Continue reading “Investigators reaffirm TWA 800 crash an accident”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major concession to business groups, the Obama administration Tuesday unexpectedly announced a one-year delay, until after the 2014 elections, in a central requirement of the new health care law that many companies provide coverage for their workers or face fines.

The move sacrificed timely implementation of President Barack Obama’s signature legislation but may help the administration politically by blunting an election-year line of attack Republicans were planning to use. The employer requirements are among the most complex parts of the health care law, which is designed to expand coverage for uninsured Americans.   Continue reading “Obama admin delays major requirement of health law”

Before It’s News – by Mort Amsel

After departing from Russia the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced to landing in Austria Wednesday morning over suspicions that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board, a claim Bolivian authorities denied.

Snowden had requested asylum from Bolivia, which has yet to answer; he also petitioned Austria but was rejected. Reports indicated the plane was hindered in navigating Western Europe as France and Portugal would not allow the La Paz-bound plane to enter their airspace.    Continue reading “Bolivian Presidential Plane Forced To Land In Austria Over Suspicions Snowden On Board”

RT News

Egypt’s army would suspend the constitution and dissolve the parliament under a draft political road-map to be pursued if President Mohamed Morsi and the liberal opposition fail to agree by Wednesday, military sources told Reuters.

Sources in the military told Reuters on Tuesday that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was still discussing the details of the draft plan and said that it could be changed based on ongoing political developments and consultations.    Continue reading “Egypt’s army to suspend constitution, parliament if no deal reached – sources”

EcoWatch – by Michael Bishop

[Editor’s note: Thanks to Michael Bishop for providing EcoWatch this firsthand account of what happens when a company like TransCanada claims eminent domain on one’s property and begins building a tar sands pipeline—the southern leg of the Keystone XL. Unfortunately, this is one of many examples of corporations putting profits before human health and the environment in pursuit of extreme fossil fuel extraction. The good news is that people like Michael Bishop are fighting back. This is the fourth of a four-part series. Read Part I, Part II and Part III.]   Continue reading “America Becomes Sacrifice Zone for Export Pipeline”

Mail.com

AlterNet – by Lynn Stuart Parramore

When I moved to a Czech village in 1994 to teach English, I was fascinated by the cultural difference between Americans like me and my new community. At that time, the oppressive memory of the dreaded Communist secret police, the StB, was still fresh. (Check out a haunting series of street photos snapped by agents in their heyday.) As a brash young ex-pat, born after the era of McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, I understood little of what it felt like to live under constant surveillance.   Continue reading “6 Insidious Ways Surveillance Changes the Way We Think and Act”

CenturyLink – by MIKE STOBBE – AP Medical Writer

ATLANTA (AP) — Overdose deaths in the U.S. are rising fastest among middle-aged women, and their drug of choice is usually prescription painkillers, the government reported Tuesday.

“Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters are dying at rates that we have never seen before,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which compiled the data.   Continue reading “Drug overdose deaths spike among middle-aged women”

IntelliHub – by JG Vibes

After a salt dome collapsed and created a sinkhole, residents from the surrounding area are continually being evacuated since august of last year, with some accepting buyout offers from the company responsible for the disaster.   Continue reading “A giant sinkhole in Louisiana has been slowly expanding, and now has a 22.4 acre opening with a total size of 49 acres.”

The Organic Prepper

It’s an exciting time, preparing for your child to leave the nest.  Your young adult is enthusiastically anticipating the independence that is so near, but you, as a parent, are most likely running scenarios in your head of all of the mishaps that could befall your son or daughter.

As a prepper, you want your child to also be prepared for any crisis that might occur when they are out on their own.  My lovely eldest daughter has just graduated from high school, and we put together a dorm-room preparedness kit for her college apartment. Following, you can see the list of supplies that we have assembled.  Different climates will, of course, require different types of preparedness items.   Continue reading “Dorm Room Preppers: The Next Generation of Survivalism”

The Economic Collapse – by Michael Snyder

Did you know that U.S. banks have more than 1.8 trillion dollars parked at the Federal Reserve and that the Fed is actually paying them not to lend that money to us?  We were always told that the goal of quantitative easing was to “help the economy”, but the truth is that the vast majority of the money that the Fed has created through quantitative easing has not even gotten into the system.  Instead, most of it is sitting at the Fed slowly earning interest for the bankers.    Continue reading “The Federal Reserve Is Paying Banks NOT To Lend 1.8 Trillion Dollars To The American People”

AmmoLand

BELLEVUE, WA – -(Ammoland.com)- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn evidently believes someone elected him emperor of the Prairie State, considering his meddling with the state’s concealed carry legislation today, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said in reaction.

Gov. Quinn, using his amendatory veto authority, inserted his own gun control provisions in legislation adopted last month, including limiting the places where someone may carry, the number of cartridges someone can have in a defensive firearm and the level of concealment one must exercise, all in excess of the legislation passed by the State Legislature last month.   Continue reading “Il Gov. Quinn Plays Emperor With Citizens’ Civil Rights”