Cousin Sam: In the news, Monday, June 3, 2013

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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.

Some sources may require subscription.

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from Breitbart

IRS AGENT WAS SO DISTURBED BY TARGETING, SOUGHT ANOTHER JOB
by WYNTON HALL

BLACK LEADERS: IMMIGRATION BILL WILL 'HARM' AFRICAN AMERICAN WORKERS
by MATTHEW BOYLE

COLLEGE REPUBLICANS TO RELEASE REPORT SLAMMING GOP FOR TURNING OFF YOUNG VOTERS
by TONY LEE

IRS EMPLOYEE: D.C. TOLD US TO TARGET TEA PARTY
by KERRY PICKET

PENTAGON DENIES RELATIONSHIP WITH ANTI-CHRISTIAN EXTREMIST; INSTANTLY COMPLIES WITH HIS DEMANDS
by KEN KLUKOWSKI

note: This article has some questionable spin. See Wikipedia: Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein.

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from Daily Mail

Sitting in a hospital cubicle, clutching his stomach... The picture that shows a father during the six-hour wait to be seen in A&E before he died
By BETH HALE and BEN SPENCER
note: A &E is short for Accident and emergency, a common name in the UK, Ireland and Hong Kong for the emergency department of a hospital.

Female Israeli soldiers disciplined for 'unbecoming behaviour' after posing for pictures dressed only in their underwear and combat fatigues
The women are new recruits based in southern Israel
Pictures show them dressed only in their underwear and combat fatigues
Israeli military said they were disciplined for their 'unbecoming behaviour'
Latest in string of incidents involving Israeli soldiers posting inappropriate images to social media
By BECKY EVANS and AP REPORTER

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from Discovery

Discovery Saddened by the Loss of Storm Chasers Tim and Carl
By: Jason Robey

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from Fox News

Laura Ingraham's Shocking Remarks
“The idea that we are going to send arms to these people who are slaughtering Christians and have one goal which is to establish an Islamic caliphate throughout the Middle East … is ludicrous.”
BY FOX NEWS INSIDER

Is Obama waging psychological warfare on Americans?
By Dr. Keith Ablow

Malkin: Eye Scans in FL Schools ‘Disturbing’ Sign of Larger Trend
BY FOX NEWS INSIDER

Kerry says US will sign UN treaty on arms regulation despite lawmaker opposition

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from The Jerusalem Post

Iraq warns against violating airspace to strike Iran
By JPOST.COM STAFF

Streisand: Israel is a shining beacon of hope
Singer to perform in Israel on June 20, 22 with 60-piece orchestra, and featuring her son Jason Gould, her sister Roslyn Kind.

By DAVID BRINN

When your neighbor unfurls a Nazi flag

Palestinians must liberate themselves from their infatuation with the swastika and the dream of a Judenrein Palestine.

By ABRAHAM COOPER, HOWARD BRACKMAN

Analysis: Arab uprising spirit comes to Turkey
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

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from KREM 2 News

Supreme Court: Police can take DNA swabs from arrestees
by Associated Press

Family describes moments leading up to fatal officer-involved shooting
by COLE HEATH & KREM.com

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from KXLY 4 News

Shooting victim's family speaks out
Ian Cull KXLY4 Multimedia Journalist

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from KHQ Local News

Court Document Says Man Shot By Deputy Was Struggling With A Woman

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from Natural Society

[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

8 Natural Mosquito Repellents to Get Rid of Mosquitoes

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from The New American Magazine

[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Federal Judge Rules for Property Rights, Smacks Down Abusive Feds

In an historic 104-page ruling, Chief Judge Robert C. Jones of the Federal District Court of Nevada has struck a major blow for property rights and, at the same time, has smacked down federal agencies that have been riding roughshod over Western ranchers and property owners.

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from NPR

Why Do People Live In Twister-Prone Oklahoma?
by DANA FARRINGTON

If Employment Game Has Changed, Who's Teaching The Rules?
It still pays to earn a college degree. That is, if you get the right one. A report published Wednesday by Georgetown University looked into this dilemma.

by NPR STAFF

The Overwhelming Nature Of Code-Switching
by MATTHEW SALESSES

More Children Poisoned By Parents' Prescription Drugs
by NANCY SHUTE

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from POLITICO

Report: How GOP lost young voters
By KATIE GLUECK

Sen. Frank Lautenberg dies at 89
By JOHN BRESNAHAN, MAGGIE HABERMAN and JAKE SHERMAN

Chris Christie has broad sway over Frank Lautenberg succession
By MAGGIE HABERMAN and GINGER GIBSON

Congress pleads: Don't clip our wings
By KATHRYN A. WOLFE and SCOTT WONG

Daniel Werfel condemns IRS while pledging change
By LAUREN FRENCH

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from PreventDisease.com

5 Foods That Kill Cancer And Help The Body Destroy Tumours Without Any Drugs

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from The Spokesman-Review

Vinegar test cuts India cancer deaths
Muneeza Naqvi Associated Press

Lawyers give closing arguments in Starbuck trial
Thomas Clouse    The Spokesman-Review

Court document says man shot by deputy was struggling with a woman

Idaho church drops Boy Scouts over decision on gay youth
Other CdA groups consider pulling charters
Scott Maben    The Spokesman-Review

Boston fire chief resigns after deputies send no-confidence letter
By Jay Lindsay Associated Press

New Jersey Sen. Lautenberg dead at age 89
Associated Press

Obama hosts event to reduce mental health stigma
Associated Press

Bradley Manning trial begins three years after arrest
Associated Press

Beautification project tackles Spokane’s ‘gateways’
Tom Sowa    The Spokesman-Review

Prison guard unravels con’s alleged mail fraud
‘Borderline brilliant’ thief indicted in federal court
Betsy Z. Russell    The Spokesman-Review

Saudi Arabia says virus kills 3 more
Associated Press

Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) spreading its wings
from Wikimedia Commons

Maine puffin population in peril
Seabirds rapidly losing habitat, favorite food
Clarke Canfield Associated Press

Veteran storm chasers killed
Kelly P. Kissel Associated Press

Storms bring damage across East, South
Clarke Canfield Associated Press
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In brief: From Wire Reports:

IRS spent $50 million on conferences

WASHINGTON – A government watchdog has found that the Internal Revenue Service spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012, a House committee said Sunday.

In one example, $4 million was spent for an August 2010 gathering in Anaheim, Calif., for which the agency did not negotiate lower room rates, even though that is standard government practice, according to a statement by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Instead, some of the 2,600 attendees received benefits, including baseball tickets and stays in suites that normally cost $1,500 to $3,500 per night. In addition, 15 outside speakers were paid a total of $135,000 in fees, with one paid $17,000 to talk about “leadership through art,” the House committee said.

The Treasury Department released a statement Sunday saying the administration has taken “aggressive and dramatic action to reduce conference spending.”

IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said Sunday that spending on large conferences fell from $37.6 million in the 2010 budget year to $4.9 million in 2012.

Holder under fire for leak investigation

WASHINGTON – Republicans sharply criticized Attorney General Eric Holder on Sunday for his handling of an investigation into a possible leak of classified information to a Fox News reporter, suggesting that Holder lied to Congress last month in testifying that he was unaware of any potential prosecutions of journalists.

Republican critics said Holder was aware of a search warrant in 2010 for emails from Fox News’ James Rosen that called him a possible co-conspirator in the investigation and a risk to flee the country. Those terms suggested that Rosen would be prosecuted, Republicans said, though he has not been.

The Justice Department has said the decision to seek the search warrant was vetted at the highest levels of the department and that Holder was involved in the discussions.

“It would be kind to say he misled Congress,” Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It would be less kind and more accurate to say that would rise to be a lie by most people’s standards, by the American people’s standards.”

He stopped short of saying Holder committed perjury. “But certainly it’s hard to have confidence in what this attorney general says, or his people say, when so often it turns out not to be true,” Issa said.

Abbas appoints new prime minister

RAMALLAH, West Bank – The Palestinian president on Sunday picked a little-known academic as his new prime minister, according to the official government news agency, following his chief rival’s resignation.

Mahmoud Abbas appointed Rami Hamdallah to replace Salam Fayyad, a respected U.S.-educated economist. Fayyad frequently clashed with Abbas and was seen as being too independent.

Appointing Hamdallah will likely shore up the president’s power, because he is seen as being more pliant. Hamdallah was tasked with forming a new government of technocrats, not politicians.

Hamdallah is a member of the Fatah Party led by Abbas. He has no prior political or government experience.

Like Fayyad, Hamdallah is widely respected.

He is a British-educated English professor and has been dean of the al-Najah University in the West Bank for the past 15 years. He has served as the secretary general of the Palestinian central elections commission since 2002. He has also held a series of prominent roles in university associations, according to his curriculum vitae, published on the al-Najah University website.

It was not clear how the move would affect Abbas’ international standing.

The move comes as the U.S. is trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Egypt court deems elections illegal

CAIRO – Egypt’s highest court ruled on Sunday that the nation’s interim parliament was illegally elected, though it stopped short of dissolving the chamber immediately, in a decision likely to fuel the tensions between the ruling Islamists and the judiciary.

The Supreme Constitutional Court also ruled that a 100-member panel that drafted the new constitution was illegally elected.

The immediate impact of the ruling is limited. The Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, called the Shura Council, will remain in place until elections are held for a lower house, likely early next year. The constitution, which was ratified in a nationwide referendum in December with a relatively low turnout of around 35 percent, will also remain in effect.

Still, the opposition said the verdict shows how Islamists’ victories at the ballot box are tainted. They argued that the ruling further challenges the legitimacy of the disputed constitution, which was pushed through the panel by Islamists allied to President Mohammed Morsi.

Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood backers saw the ruling as a victory, saying that it implicitly acknowledged the legitimacy of the Shura Council and the constitution because it stopped short of trying to abrogate either.

Billings schools drop marching bands

BILLINGS – The Billings School District has decided to drop the “marching” part of its high school band classes.

Music director Scott Corey said the bands will continue to play at sporting events but won’t be playing on the field at halftime of football games.

Corey said students usually worked up routines for two 10-minute performances during the football season. He said teachers felt it took time away from music instruction.

Band directors also found they were losing incoming freshmen because many of the students didn’t want to march.

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Turkey premier: Twitter a ‘menace’
Erdogan talks about unrest
Suzan Fraser, Nebi Qena Associated Press

Lebanon unrest grows
Syrian rebels battle Hezbollah guerrillas
Karin Laub Associated Press

Bombing probe takes lawmakers to Russia
Delegation finds ‘nothing specific’
Max Seddon Associated Press

Rock Doc: Researcher sees link between MS and vitamin D
E. Kirsten Peters

Fishery accused of doctoring scales
U.S. seeks millions in fines against Seattle company

L.A.-area blaze explodes in size
Reed Saxon Associated Press