NBC NY The FBI and NYPD are investigating. By Jonathan Dienst, Shimon Prokupecz and Joe Valiquette The FBI and NYPD are investigating threatening letters that claim to contain dangerous pathogens sent to media companies and U.S. senators, law enforcement officials tell NBC New York. According to law enforcement officials, the person sent letters to Jon [...]
Alternet – The American Civil Liberties Union has earned its reputation as the nation’s foremost legal opponent of government censorship and defender of First Amendment political speech. But increasingly, this national organization with 500,000 members and a $70 million annual budget has another legacy—helping the wealthiest Americans and institutions spend unlimited sums on elections.
New York Times – At issue is whether James Risen, a New York Times reporter, must testify about the sourcing for a chapter in his 2006 book, “State of War,” detailing what it portrays as a botched Central Intelligence Agency effort to sabotage Iranian nuclear research. Prosecutors want him to be a witness in the trial of Jeffrey A. Sterling, a former C.I.A. operative charged with leaking the classified information to him.
Washington Post – Every year, more than a thousand National Guard, reserve and active-duty troops coming back from Iraq, Afghanistan or other military duties complain of being denied jobs or otherwise being penalized by employers because of their military obligations.The biggest offender: the federal government.
Qnexa, which is made by a small California firm called Vivus Inc., and two other weight-loss drugs were rejected by the FDA in the past two years on concerns about potential safety risks. But on Wednesday, a panel of non-FDA medical experts reviewed additional clinical data that convinced panelists the drug’s benefits outweigh any dangers.
Washington Post – The latest skirmish culminated in the admission Monday night by Peter Gleick, a climate scientist and author, that he assumed a fake identity to obtain documents that would expose the inner workings of a climate skeptic group.
Natural Society – Per Obama’s request, the FDA is taking action and continues to fight the drug shortages traversing the United States. Despite mostly being mostly manufactured in China with virtually no inspection, mega-tumor-linked pharmaceutical drugs are now being rolled out more than ever before.
Natural News – Mass hysteria over a measles outbreak in Hamilton County, Indiana, has led county health officials there to irrationally prohibit all unvaccinated children from attending two public schools. According to reports, 21 preschool-age students, seven elementary-age students, and 26 intermediate-age students in the Noblesville Schools District will not be allowed to attend either White River Elementary School or Noblesville Intermediate School, the two schools where there have been confirmed cases of measles, unless they either get the combination measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, or wait until 21 days after the last confirmed case of the disease is remediated.
Wide Shut News – After shamelessly declaring their obliteration of Libya a success, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, have announced the creation of a joint military command and control centre to streamline future operations.
Jerusalem Post – After UN nuclear watchdog declares collapse in talks with Tehran, Russian FM says military action would have dangerous consequences; Khamenei: “Pressures, sanctions and assassinations will bear no fruit.”
Washington Post – An American journalist and a French journalist were reported killed in a mortar strike in Homs, Syria, on Wednesday morning,Syrian anti-government activists and a French government spokeswoman said.One of the slain journalists was U.S.-born Marie Colvin, a veteran foreign correspondent from Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper who has also reported for CNN, the BBC and other media outlets. The other was Remi Ochlik, an award-winning photographer from France.
Haaretz – Israel has protested to the United States over recent comments by senior American officials critical of any Israeli attack on Iran, saying this criticism “served Iran’s interests.”
Physics – The magnetic shield protects the planet from charged particles that stream in as the solar wind. Without this shield, life on Earth would be impossible. This shield is generated mainly deep inside Earth by an ocean of swirling iron in the liquid outer core. How the magnetic field is created and how it changes over time is complex and not fully understood. This force is constantly changing – at the moment, it shows signs of significant weakening.
Extinction Protocol – Data from NASA’s MISR instrument on NASA’s Terra spacecraft show that global average cloud height declined by about 1 percent over the decade from 2000 to 2010, or around 100 to 130 feet (30 to 40 meters). Lead researcher Roger Davies said that while the record is too short to be definitive, it provides a hint that something quite important might be going on.
MSNBC – “We’re no strangers to quakes, but this one was different,” Brack said. “We had one four years ago and that one rolled. This one was straight underneath us and lasted for 30 seconds or so. It reminded you of lightning.”
Accuweather – Last year had an unusually high number of large, destructive tornado outbreaks; 1,709 tornadoes touched down, a close second to the record 1,817 tornadoes set in 2004. In comparison, the average number of tornadoes per year over the past decade is around 1,300.
Scientists now mapping Venus’s surface with the European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbiter were surprised to find the same features up to 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) from where they were expected to be, based on the previous measurements. According to the new data, Venus is rotating 6.5 minutes slower than it was 16 years ago, a result that’s been found to correlate with long-term radar observations taken from Earth.
AllGov – While making a living on $7.25 an hour is not easy, it’s even tougher when the federal minimum wage for waiters and waitresses is only $2.13—a rate that hasn’t changed since 1991.
Washington Post – A number of Wall Street Journal Facebook pages were the subject of a comment flashmob Tuesday, claimed by Anonymous, just hours after the Journal published a report that warned the hacker group was getting more powerful.
follow: