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03 Mar 2012 12:53

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U.S.: Tornado outbreak tears across the Midwest and South

  • Tornado outbreak leaves towns leveled, at least 33 dead. A series of tornadoes left 16 dead in Kentucky, 14 dead in Indiana,  2 in Ohio, and 1 Alabama. Officials have warned that additional fatalities could be reported, and early reports suggest that the Indiana town of Marysville has been almost completely destroyed. In an interview with CNN, Governor Mitch Daniels said, “we’re not unfamiliar with Mother Nature’s wrath out here in Indiana, but this is about as serious as we’ve seen in the years since I’ve been in this job.” (photo by C.E. Branham/The News and Tribune via Associated Press) source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2012 11:15

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U.S.: BP reaches massive settlement with Gulf of Mexico investors

  • $7.8B will be paid by BP to thousands affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that occurred in April 2010; the settlement doesn’t bring an end to the oil company’s legal troubles
  • $2.3B of the total settlement will go to the Gulf seafood industry alone; the company also faces separate spill-related legal actions from the governments of Louisiana and Alabama
  • $17B in additional fines could come as the result of a settlement with the US government over civilian fines resulting from the wide-reaching spill, if BP is found guilty of gross negligence source
  • » But are the fines enough to teach BP a lesson? Some say no, including shrimp producer Dean Blanchard, who told The Guardian, “I want my day in court. If they can get off with just paying the money — well, they’ve got plenty of money, they are not really going to learn a lesson.” In addition to the settlement, BP announced that it would use the remainder of the $20 billion compensation fund it raised during the summer of 2010 to settle additional complaints from residents and businesses in the region. In a statement released late Friday night, BP chief executive Bob Dudley said, “the proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the Deepwater Horizon accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast.”
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Feb 2012 10:17

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U.S.: Ohio school shooting: Second person dies; gunman posted dark messages

  • story A second person, 17-year-old Russell King Jr., died late last night of injuries sustained during Monday’s shooting; he was pronounced brain dead. Another person is reportedly in critical condition from the shooting, and two others are hospitalized.
  • backgroundT.J. Lane, the gunman in the shooting, has been identified by the family’s lawyer. Lane posted a Facebook note back in December which ended: “Wriggle and writhe. Feel smaller beneath my might. Seizure in the Pestilence that is my scythe. Die, all of you.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Feb 2012 10:30

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U.S.: Ohio school shooting shakes small community; suspect in custody

  • one killed in a school shooting in Chardon, Ohio, a town of 5,100
  • 4 wounded in the Cleveland-area shooting Monday morning source
  • » The shooting took place in the school’s cafeteria: The shooting in Chardon, a small community 30 miles outside of Cleveland, took place before classes started for the day. The 17-year-old gunman was apprehended within an hour of the shooting. Ohio Gov. John Kasich praised the district’s quick handling of the situation, which involved campus lockdowns and returning students home before they got to school: “Please join me in praying for the students who’ve been injured in this horrible crime,” Kasich said. “Praise goes to the Chardon Police and Geauga County Sheriff’s office for quickly getting this situation under control. I’ve pledged Ohio’s full support to them, the school and the local community in this difficult time.” (EDIT: Updated death toll)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2012 10:35

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U.S.: Ironic: The FBI’s having trouble finding and collecting its GPS devices

  • 3,000 invasive GPS devices turned off by the FBI source
  • » There’s one particularly amazing line in this story: “In some cases, he said, the FBI sought court orders to obtain permission to turn the devices on briefly — only in order to locate and retrieve them.” If you remember, the FBI had to stop using tracking devices as the result of a Supreme Court ruling that ruled that the practice was illegal without a warrant. So everyone, have a small chuckle at the fact that FBI can’t find some of its GPS devices.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2012 10:11

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U.S.: Did Robert Kennedy’s son try to steal his kid? Let’s get amused at the thought

  • he said In a January incident, Douglas Kennedy sparked off a “code pink”  when he tried to take his newborn son for a walk. His lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, disputes this: “It is preposterous and absurd to think that any of the nurses thought that Douglas Kennedy, who they knew very well, was trying to steal his own child.” He faces harassment and endangerment charges.
  • they said However, Eliot Taub, the lawyer for two of nurses at the hospital that night, emphasizes that Kennedy was breaking the rules: “They have been instructed as per hospital guidelines that each newborn cannot leave the ward without written permission by medical personnel,” he said. Let’s cut to the heart of this story: Why would a Kennedy steal a baby? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Feb 2012 11:13

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U.S.: Vermont same-sex couple vows to fight DOMA, deportation

  • How can our country, with a President who knows discrimination in his core, how can they continue to uphold DOMA?
  • Vermont resident Frances Herbert • Discussing the issues her wife, Takaka Ueda, is facing. Herbert is legally married to Ueda — a native of Japan and her partner of 13 years — and in shock, after the Department of Homeland Security sent a letter denying Ueda’s request to stay in the country. Ueda moved to the US from Japan in 1999, but is now living in the country illegally and faces deportation. Vermont’s congressional delegation has even stepped in, submitting a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, asking them to reconsider. Now the couple plans to fight the ruling, and the Defense of Marriage Act in general, in hopes of preventing this from happening to anyone else. Think they’ll succeed? source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 Feb 2012 09:43

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U.S.: New study links medical marijuana laws to lower suicide rates

  • 11% reduction in the suicide rate of men ages 20-29
  • 9% reduction in the suicide rate of men ages 30-39 source
  • » Who would have guessed that getting high reduces stress? While the study stopped short of conclusively saying that medical marijuana was the direct cause of the lower rates, the authors did note that, when used in moderation, cannabis acts as an anti-depressant. The authors also found that states with medical marijuana programs saw a reduction in alcohol consumption by young men, and note that alcohol is a known depressant. Read the full results of the study here.
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Feb 2012 08:54

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U.S.: Marines killed in helicopter training at California’s Camp Pendleton

  • what Two military helicopters collided in midair Wednesday night. The collision, which happened during a routine training session along the Arizona-California border, killed seven U.S. Marines.
  • why The investigation is still on-going, so officials have not announced the cause of the collision. The crash occurred at night with a lot of dust in the air from the aircraft, limiting visibility. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Feb 2012 10:26

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U.S.: Virginia lacrosse murder case: George Huguely sentenced to 26 years

George Huguely was convicted of second-degree murder for the murder of fellow University of Virginia lacrosse player (and his ex-girlfriend) Yeardley Love. Juror Ian Glomski on the final verdict: “We all really believe justice was served.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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