A Politician Threw A Snowball On The Senate Floor To Try To Disprove Climate Change - BuzzFeed News

A Politician Threw A Snowball On The Senate Floor To Try To Disprove Climate Change - BuzzFeed News: "Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, has taken a number of stands against the idea that human actions are dangerously changing the climate."

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GOP Hypocrisy in D.C.’s Pot Laws - The Daily Beast

GOP Hypocrisy in D.C.’s Pot Laws - The Daily Beast: "Congress has always run D.C. like a plantation. But now, GOPers want to jail the mayor over a law the voters overwhelmingly passed?
I’m desperately trying to understand how getting marijuana laws passed nationwide has become today’s Selma, but if there is one thing that is intolerable it’s the shameful way congressional Republicans are bullying the residents of Washington, D.C., to not blaze in the comfort of their homes.

Possessing marijuana in the nation’s capital became legal at midnight Wednesday, yet Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz and his Republican compadres are literally threatening to jail D.C.’s elected leaders for implementing a law that was overwhelmingly approved at the ballot box by the residents of the District of Columbia."

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Obama just issued his third-ever veto. Don’t expect many more. - Vox

Obama just issued his third-ever veto. Don’t expect many more. - Vox: "Today, President Barack Obama vetoed a bill to fast-track construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. This was the third veto of Obama's presidency, and the first since 2010. With the GOP now in control of both houses of Congress, it might seem like the beginning of a new era, during which Obama will whip out his veto pen again and again." 'via Blog this'

There's A Startling North-South Divide When It Comes To Health Care

There's A Startling North-South Divide When It Comes To Health Care: "The good news is the uninsured rate in the U.S. has fallen to a record low. The bad news is the benefits of health care reform aren't reaching a large swath of the country.

Over the last year, the uninsured rate in the U.S. fell 3.5 percentage points, from 17.3 percent in 2013 to 13.8 percent in 2014, according to the latest data from Gallup. That's the lowest yearly rate that's been recorded by Gallup's Well-Being Index."

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Leaked cables show Netanyahu’s Iran bomb claim contradicted by Mossad | World news | The Guardian

Leaked cables show Netanyahu’s Iran bomb claim contradicted by Mossad | World news | The Guardian: "Binyamin Netanyahu’s dramatic declaration to world leaders in 2012 that Iran was about a year away from making a nuclear bomb was contradicted by his own secret service, according to a top-secret Mossad document.

It is part of a cache of hundreds of dossiers, files and cables from the world’s major intelligence services – one of the biggest spy leaks in recent times.

Brandishing a cartoon of a bomb with a red line to illustrate his point, the Israeli prime minister warned the UN in New York that Iran would be able to build nuclear weapons the following year and called for action to halt the process."
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Obamacare’s 32 million insured, in one giant chart - Vox

Obamacare’s 32 million insured, in one giant chart - Vox: "No one has tracked Obamacare enrollment as closely and comprehensively as blogger Charles Gaba. His spreadsheets have become gospel to reporters trying to follow the law's progress. His projections have been eerily accurate. And he's been utterly tireless in his efforts to collect, interpret, and understand the dozens of messy data sources that combine to offer a full picture of coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Obamacare's 2015 open enrollment period ended on February 15. Since then, Gaba has been pulling the numbers, and on Monday, he released his results."

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DOJ Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into NYPD Shooting of Ramarley Graham - Civic Center - DNAinfo.com New York

DOJ Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into NYPD Shooting of Ramarley Graham - Civic Center - DNAinfo.com New York: "More than two and half years after unarmed 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was shot and killed by police in his own home, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office confirmed it has launched a civil rights investigation into the matter.

The news came as a relief to the boy's parents Constance Malcolm and Franclot Graham, who met with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Wednesday afternoon to urge the federal government to step in after a grand jury declined to re-indict officer Richard Haste on manslaughter charges last year."

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8 Questions for Constance Malcolm, Grieving Mother Turned Activist

Constance Malcolm stepped into the public eye three years ago after a white New York City police officer, Richard Haste, rushed into their bathroom and fatally shot her son, black, unarmed 18-year-old Ramarley Graham. A certified nursing assistant, Malcolm was not at the Bronx apartment at the time. But Graham’s grandmother and 6-year-old brother, Chinoor, were. Now, nearly three years to that February day—and after a second grand jury cleared Haste in 2013—New York City has settled with Graham’s family for $3.9 million. But Malcolm isn’t satisfied. She wants police accountability. She talked with Colorlines about her unexpected new life, faith, what it means to fight and of course, Chinoor.

Health Care Success for Midwest Co-op Proves Its Undoing - NYTimes.com

Health Care Success for Midwest Co-op Proves Its Undoing - NYTimes.com: "Her insurer, CoOportunity Health, was one of 23 nonprofit cooperatives created under the Affordable Care Act to generate more competition and choice in insurance markets dominated by huge for-profit companies. Many of these newcomers to the industry, seeded with hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loans, struggled to attract customers after the law’s online insurance exchanges opened in 2013. But CoOportunity had seemed to flourish, with over 120,000 customers in Iowa and Nebraska — far more than the 15,000 it had anticipated — by the end of last year."

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Hating ‘Obama’ but loving the ‘Care’

Hating ‘Obama’ but loving the ‘Care’: "1. Sunshine State is absolutely kicking butt"



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Asian immigrants less likely to seek deportation protection, data show - LA Times

Asian immigrants less likely to seek deportation protection, data show - LA Times:



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Health Care Opens Stable Career Path, Taken Mainly by Women - NYTimes.com

Health Care Opens Stable Career Path, Taken Mainly by Women - NYTimes.com: "Ms. Waugh, who is 30 and the main breadwinner in her family of four, still had three hours to go before the end of a 12-hour shift. But despite the stresses and constant demands, all the hard work was paying off."

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In Pre-Primary Pivot to Right, Walker Shifts Tone on Abortion - NYTimes.com

In Pre-Primary Pivot to Right, Walker Shifts Tone on Abortion - NYTimes.com: "It was a memorable political ad: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spoke directly into the camera in a 30-second spot last fall and called abortion an “agonizing” decision. He described himself as pro-life but, borrowing the language of the abortion rights movement, pointed to legislation he signed that leaves “the final decision to a woman and her doctor.”

That language was gone when Mr. Walker met privately with Iowa Republicans in a hotel conference room last month, according to a person who attended the meeting."

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Amid Gains in Jobs and Pay, Americans Rejoin the Work Force - NYTimes.com

Amid Gains in Jobs and Pay, Americans Rejoin the Work Force - NYTimes.com: "The Labor Department said on Friday that employers added a seasonally adjusted 257,000 jobs in January, but even more significant was a revision of earlier estimates showing an additional gain of 147,000 jobs in November and December."

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George W Bush Islam is Not Terrorism.flv

President George W. Bush said "Islam is a noble faith"

Another oil train explodes in West Virginia. Here's why this keeps happening. - Vox

Another oil train explodes in West Virginia. Here's why this keeps happening. - Vox: "This is the second derailment of an oil train along this CSX line in less than a year. In April 2014, a train crashed in Lynchburg, Virginia, and caught fire, with thousands of gallons of crude spilling into the James River. Meanwhile, an oil train in northern Ontario derailed and caught fire just last Thursday.

These aren't isolated incidents. Since 2009, there have been more than a dozen accidents involving trains carrying crude or ethanol in the US and Canada — including the notorious explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in 2013 that killed 47 people. Here's a rundown of what's behind this trend:"
More trains are carrying crude, leading to more accidents

Two possible culprits: Volatile oil and older, flawed tank cars

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West Virginia declares state of emergency after massive train explosion | Business Insider India

West Virginia declares state of emergency after massive train explosion | Business Insider India: "The governor of West Virginia declared a state of emergency Monday evening after a freight train carrying crude oil derailed Monday afternoon in Fayette County and exploded into flames.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The CSX-owned train is leaking crude oil into the Kanawha River, West Virginia Public Safety spokesman Lawrence Messina said."  'via Blog this'

Miss. third-grade gate: Fear of failure

Miss. third-grade gate: Fear of failure: "State Rep. Gene Alday, R-Walls, doesn't believe any more funding is needed. "I don't see any schools hurting," he said. But then he went on to say that Mississippi "has a lot of bad school districts. The people are electing superintendents that don't know anything about education." The former mayor of Walls (population 1,248) went on to say, "I come from a town where all the blacks are getting food stamps and what I call 'welfare crazy checks.' They don't work." He had to go to the emergency room for pain, he said. "I liked to died. I laid in there for hours because they (blacks) were in there being treated for gunshots." ...

McLemore, a civil rights leader and past director of Jackson State University's Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy, said Alday's "broad brush of African Americans won't work. Through his conservative eyes, he's seeing the wrong picture.""

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Man killed, officer hurt in Wal-Mart shootout

Man killed, officer hurt in Wal-Mart shootout: " A man was killed and a police officer was injured after what began as a traffic pursuit ended with an exchange of gunfire inside a Wal-Mart store in northeastern Mississippi, authorities said Sunday.

Two officers from the Iuka Police Department started following a man in a car around 6:10 p.m., Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain said."

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Alabama Police Officer Arrested Over Severe Injuries To Indian Man : The Two-Way : NPR

Alabama Police Officer Arrested Over Severe Injuries To Indian Man : The Two-Way : NPR: "The police chief in Madison, Ala., says that an officer who threw a man to the ground faces assault charges and dismissal. Sureshbhai Patel, 57, was stopped last week as he walked in his son's new neighborhood. Patel remains hospitalized after surgery to fuse bones in his neck; his son says he now has limited mobility.

"I found that Officer Eric Parker's actions did not meet the high standards and expectations of the Madison City Police Department," Chief of Police Larry Muncey said after an investigation. He added that he is recommending Parker be fired."

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Police Beating Led To Miscarriage: Lawsuit

Police Beating Led To Miscarriage: Lawsuit: "Kenya Harris, names the City of Albany, Georgia, police chief John Proctor and officers Ryan Jenkins and Richard Brown, Jr., according to Courthouse News.

The suit claims that in May, 2011, Harris came to the Albany Police department after her son was arrested. She waited five hours to pick him up, but then told Jenkins she needed to leave to tend to her other children at home.

Jenkins said if she made that request again he would take her head and "'put it to the floor."

When Harris asked again, the suit alleges "Defendant Officer Jenkins, without provocation, grabbed plaintiff, who weighs less than one hundred twenty (120) pounds, by her neck and slammed her to the ground. Plaintiff momentarily blacked out and came to with defendant Officer Jenkins sitting on her back, and with his knee on her arm. Plaintiff was pregnant at the time."

Jenkins then arrested Harris for obstruction of justice, according to WFXL.

The next day when she was released from jail, Harris went to Phoebe Convenient Care for medical treatment and was told she had miscarried because of her injuries, the suit said.

Albany city attorneys declined to comment and the police department said neither officer named in the suit currently works for the department"

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Police shooting raw video: bystander footage shows Washington cops killi...

The 35-year-old Washington orchard worker who was born in Mexico was shot dead at 5pm on Tuesday after he was found throwing rocks – one described as "softball sized" – at vehicles on a busy intersection in Pasco. Police said that after "low-level force" failed to bring him under control and the deployment of a Taser had "no effect", officers fired on the suspect after his "threatening behaviour" continued 

Sheriff's lieutentant's daughter accidentally shoots sister with father'...

Fresno police are investigating an incident in which a Madera County sheriff’s lieutenant’s 10-year-old daughter shot her younger sister Friday.

The incident occurred just before 8 a.m. near Bullard and Cornelia avenues. Fresno police Lt. Joe Gomez said officers found an 8-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to her torso. She was talking and in stable condition Friday afternoon at Community Regional Medical Center.  Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/02/13/4378028/fresno-girl-10-accidentally-shoots.html#storylink=cpy

Funeral for Muslims Killed in Chapel Hill Draws Thousands - NYTimes.com

Funeral for Muslims Killed in Chapel Hill Draws Thousands - NYTimes.com: "The three friends drove here Thursday from Blacksburg, Va., 190 miles to the north. Dressed in hijab and fashionable dresses, carrying a fabric floral arrangement in a gold-colored pot, they came for the funeral of the three Arab-American students who were gunned down at their home a couple of days earlier."

Yusor Abu-Salha was one of the young students killed in Tuesday's shooting in Chapel Hill, N.C.

She and her former third grade teacher, Mussarut Jabeen, spoke to StoryCorps in May. In fact, all three victims in the shooting — Abu-Salha, 21, her husband, Deah Barakat, 23, and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19 — attended the Al-Iman School in Raleigh, N.C., where Jabeen taught.

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Ranchers Fight Drought With Desert Cows | Here & Now

Ranchers Fight Drought With Desert Cows | Here & Now: "magine a cow that can tolerate the heat and eats relatively little grass – in other words, a cow that can thrive in the desert.

Meet the Criollo, a cattle breed that was brought to America by Columbus and established by the Spanish conquistadors in the late 1500s."

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Halliburton to Trim Its Work Force by 7% - NYTimes.com

Halliburton to Trim Its Work Force by 7% - NYTimes.com: "HOUSTON — Halliburton announced on Tuesday plans to lay off about 7 percent of its work force, or 5,200 to 6,400 workers, in response to plummeting oil prices.

Halliburton and other service companies that drill and complete wells onshore and offshore are typically the first and worst hit when producers decommission rigs and cut investments in exploration and production.

In recent weeks one oil company after another has announced 15 to 30 percent reductions in their 2015 budgets because of the 50 percent drop in crude prices since June. As many as 90 rigs a week are being dropped across American shale fields over the last couple of months in the most rapid deceleration of drilling in decades. Service fees have dropped by an average of 15 percent in recent months and are expected to go down further."

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New York City Officer Is Said to Be Indicted in Shooting Death of Akai Gurley - NYTimes.com

New York City Officer Is Said to Be Indicted in Shooting Death of Akai Gurley - NYTimes.com: "The police officer who fired the shot that killed an unarmed man in a Brooklyn housing project in November has been indicted, according to three people familiar with the grand jury proceedings.

Peter Liang, 27, who had been on the force for less than 18 months, was patrolling a darkened stairwell at the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York when he shot and killed Akai Gurley, 28. Less than 12 hours after the shooting, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton acknowledged that the shooting had been a grave error."

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The New York Times > Business > World Business > Study Finds U.S. Companies Shifting Profits Overseas

The New York Times > Business > World Business > Study Finds U.S. Companies Shifting Profits Overseas: "Study Finds U.S. Companies Shifting Profits Overseas

By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON
rom 1999 to 2002, American multinational corporations increased profits taken in countries with no taxes or low rates by 68 percent, while sharply reducing profits taken in countries where they engage in substantial business activity, a study to be published today in the journal Tax Notes shows.

In 2002, American companies took $149 billion of profits in 18 tax-haven countries, up 68 percent from $88 billion in 1999, according to Tax Notes, which analyzed the most recently available Commerce Department data. This compares with a 23 percent increase in total offshore profits earned by American multinationals during the same period."



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Break on Foreign-Profit Tax Means Billions to U.S. Firms

Break on Foreign-Profit Tax Means Billions to U.S. Firms: "Friday, August 19, 2005
Prompted by a one-time tax holiday on profits earned abroad, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. announced early this year that it would bring home $8 billion to boost research and development spending, capital investments and other job-creating ventures."



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