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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 Americas Freedom Fighters
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
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from Associated Press
from Breitbart
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from Chicago Tribune
Obama pushes to extend gun background checks to Social Security
Seeking tighter controls over firearm purchases, the Obama administration is pushing to ban Social Security beneficiaries from owning guns if they lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, a move that could affect millions whose monthly disability payments are handled by others. The push is intended to bring the Social Security Administration in line with laws regulating who gets reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which is used to prevent gun sales to felons, drug addicts, immigrants in the country illegally and others.
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Obama pushes to extend gun background checks to Social Security
Seeking tighter controls over firearm purchases, the Obama administration is pushing to ban Social Security beneficiaries from owning guns if they lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, a move that could affect millions whose monthly disability payments are handled by others. The push is intended to bring the Social Security Administration in line with laws regulating who gets reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which is used to prevent gun sales to felons, drug addicts, immigrants in the country illegally and others.
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from C-SPAN
Ben Carson at the Family Leadership Summit
Dr. Ben Carson spoke at the 2015 Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa.
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from The Daily Caller
Trump: I’ve Never Asked God For Forgiveness For Anything [VIDEO]
Don’t expect Donald Trump to ask forgiveness from God for his broadside against John McCain Saturday. Though Trump’s attack on the Republican Arizona senator is drawing most of the headlines from the Family Leadership Summit, Trump also gave an interesting answer when asked by moderator Frank Luntz whether he has ever asked God for forgiveness.
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No double moon in 2015, or ever
Will Mars and the moon will appear the same size at some point in 2015? Gosh, no. What’s really amazing is the staying power of this 12-year-old hoax.
from EarthSky
No double moon in 2015, or ever
Will Mars and the moon will appear the same size at some point in 2015? Gosh, no. What’s really amazing is the staying power of this 12-year-old hoax.
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from The Hill
Carson: Black voters 'waking up' to GOP
Ben Carson on Saturday said African-American voters are "waking up" to the possibility of supporting GOP candidates for office like himself. "I think there's a lot of people who are waking up," the neurosurgeon-turned-presidential candidate said at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa. "I met with a group of black pastors yesterday and people are waking up in droves," he continued. "I think they're realizing what's been happening here."
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from Right Wing News
Music giant takes Obama to task over Chattanooga shootings in EPIC rant
Country singer Charlie Daniels, known for The Devil Went Down to Georgia and This Ain’t No Rag, It’s a Flag, went off on Obama over Twitter and held nothing back. Unafraid of being politically incorrect, he said a lot of things most of us wouldn’t even dare to.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Trump, who avoided Vietnam, mocks McCain for being prisoner of war
Man accused of attempted murder in north Spokane shooting
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a man in connection with a shooting Monday morning in Spokane’s Emerson-Garfield neighborhood. Forest J. Shields will face a charge of attempted first-degree murder, court records say. The man who was shot lived in the Daniel Apartments, 525 W. Sinto Ave., and was outside in the parking lot when he talked briefly with the driver of a pickup, according to court documents. The driver, identified as Shields, reportedly shot the victim in the shoulder and neck area.
Navy sailor wounded in Chattanooga shootings dies
The U.S. Navy says a sailor who was shot in the attack on a military facility in Chattanooga has died, raising the death toll to five people. The Navy statement did not give the sailor’s name. He was identified by family as Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, a reservist serving on active duty in Chattanooga.
Tennessee gunman didn’t fit common profile
Three days before authorities say he opened fire on a military recruiting center, killing four Marines, a young Muslim man equated his life in a comfortable Tennessee suburb to being imprisoned in a shallow, delusional world, and he appeared to praise jihad.
Spokane police ombudsman finalists named
The field of applicants wanting to be Spokane’s next police ombudsman has been narrowed to three finalists and includes a retired law enforcement whistleblower from Florida, a former Southern California police officer now working as a North Idaho private eye and a Canadian police misconduct investigator.
Two boys perish in Colville fire
A fire that consumed an apartment building killed two children early Friday. Neighbors reported hearing a blast followed by a series of smaller explosions at the apartment, 471 N. Cedar St. in Colville, shortly after 1:30 a.m. Portions of the wooden, two-story building already were engulfed in flames when Colville firefighters arrived. The extent of the fire prevented search crews from getting inside. A woman and a young girl managed to get out, but two boys, believed to be 4 and 7, died in the fire.
Auditor: Vote on immigration status measure unlikely this year, but close
November’s ballot likely will not see voters weighing in on a city ordinance barring police officers from making arrests based solely on immigration status. But petition organizers came “very, very close” to achieving the necessary signatures to do so, Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton said late Friday, setting up a potential vote as early as next year on Spokane’s so-called “sanctuary city” status. Petition supporters have until Jan. 27 to collect the necessary signatures to put the issue before voters on a future ballot, said Spokane City Clerk Terri Pfister.
Shooting spree in Maine leaves 2 dead
A former convict beat a man and stole guns and a pickup truck before shooting five people, two of them fatally, during a rampage across several northern Maine towns, state police said Friday. Anthony Lord was arrested at his uncle’s home in Houlton and faces murder and kidnapping charges, and a woman who was being held with him was safe, state police Lt. Sean Hashey said.
Frozen plains on Pluto gets scientists’ attention
Vast frozen plains exist next door to Pluto’s big, rugged mountains sculpted of ice, scientists said Friday, three days after humanity’s first-ever flyby of the dwarf planet. The New Horizons spacecraft team revealed close-up photos of those plains, which they’re already unofficially calling Sputnik Planum after the world’s first man-made satellite.
More than half of new California licenses went to undocumented drivers in first half of 2015
After a new law went into effect in January, more than half of all new driver’s licenses issued in California this year have gone to people who are in the country illegally, the state said Friday. The California Department of Motor Vehicles reported it has issued roughly 397,000 licenses to people who live in the country illegally. A total of 759,000 licenses were issued in the first six months of the year. The DMV issued 435,000 licenses in the first six months of 2014. The new law initially generated huge interest, with long lines at DMV offices in January and February. The DMV expects to see about a million more applicants who are covered under the new law over the next three years.
2016 field converges in Iowa
Hillary Rodham Clinton avoided any mention of her primary opponents in the first Democratic face-off of the 2016 presidential campaign, opting instead to focus her fire on would-be Republican contenders. All five Democratic primary candidates were on the program for the Friday fundraiser for the Iowa state party, creating an opportunity for Clinton to confront her challengers before more than 1,300 influential party activists in the crucial caucus state. Besides Clinton, the forum featured Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee. Clinton wasn’t the only candidate who shied away from attacks on fellow members of the Democratic Party. Even Chafee, who opened his quixotic self-fueled bid for the White House with attacks on Clinton’s support for the war in Iraq, opted against targeting the front-runner Friday.
In brief: Series of suicide bombings kills 65 in Nigeria
Nigeria’s Islamic extremists chose open-air praying grounds for suicide bombings Friday, one of the holiest days of the Muslim calendar. At least 15 people died as they prepared to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in northeastern Damaturu. Nigerians who usually turn out in their finest robes to pray on the holiday stayed home in fear in Damaturu and Gombe town, where 50 people shopping for the holiday at the main market died in two bomb blasts late Thursday night, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.
Ukraine plane crash commemorated
Asmaa Aljuned delivered a parting message Friday that her late husband never got to tell passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 a year ago. “On behalf of Malaysia Airlines and the rest of the crew, once again we would like to thank you for flying with us,” said Aljuned, the widow of the plane’s co-pilot. “Thank you and have a nice day.” Hundreds of family members and friends of the 298 passengers and crew killed when MH17 was blown out of the skies above rebel-held Eastern Ukraine rose to give Aljuned a standing ovation at a moving Dutch commemoration service for the victims.
Oil train leaks 35,000 gallons in Montana
Four tank cars leaked an estimated 35,000 gallons of oil after a train hauling fuel from North Dakota derailed in rural northeastern Montana, authorities said. The spill marked the latest in a series of wrecks across the U.S. and Canada that have highlighted the safety risks of moving crude by rail.
1 person dies, 4 hurt in Alaska plane crash
A plane crash in southeast Alaska left one person dead and four others injured, the Coast Guard said Friday. The four were transported by helicopter to a Juneau hospital. One patient was listed in serious condition while another was in critical condition.
Wildfire chars 20 vehicles on I-15
A fast-moving wildfire swept across a freeway Friday in a Southern California mountain pass, destroying 20 vehicles and sending motorists running to safety before it burned at least five homes. There were no reports of serious injuries, authorities said. Fanned by hot desert winds, the fire started along Interstate 15 – the main highway between Southern California and Las Vegas – and spread quickly.
Germany approves Greek bailout talks
German lawmakers fell in line behind Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday and gave the go-ahead to bailout talks with Greece, despite deep hostility among many to lending more money to a country they say does not deserve it. Approval by Berlin, the pre-eminent power in the eurozone, is indispensable to organizing an expected $94 billion rescue package for Athens in exchange for a punishing regimen of further austerity and tax hikes. The 439-119 vote in the Bundestag to authorize bailout negotiations capped hours of debate during which one lawmaker likened Greece to a bottomless pit while others warned of Germany’s increasingly negative image abroad as the heartless taskmaster of Europe.
Congress’ stopgap highway funding frustrating to many
Everybody, from business groups to governors to lawmakers in both parties on Capitol Hill, hates the patchwork approach Congress has taken for the past six years to the federal highway trust fund. Yet it’s become the new normal. On Wednesday, lawmakers in the House of Representatives did exactly what they did two months ago and one year ago: They passed a bipartisan bill to extend the federal highway trust fund for a few more months, promising to get a bigger bill done by the end of this year.
Ex-Im Bank could be revived
House Republican leaders succeeded last month in their quest to shut down a federal agency that helps U.S. companies sell their goods overseas, but a majority in Congress may soon have the last word. A path to reviving the Export-Import Bank has emerged in Congress, and the agency, which has the strong backing of business groups, could be providing assistance again within weeks.
Spokane River flow part of balancing act
The effects of a historic drought weren’t obvious at Q’emiln Park in Post Falls this week, with the Spokane River lapping at the sandy beach and kids shrieking and splashing in the swimming area. But a few hundred yards downstream, a starker picture of river conditions emerged. Just a trickle of water was flowing through the north channel of the Post Falls Dam on Friday afternoon. Below the dam, the Spokane River ran low and green through a narrow gorge, with higher water marks visible on the canyon’s rock walls. The amount of water passing through the dam is 30 percent of normal for this time of year, based on a century of record keeping. And it could soon drop more.
Idaho man remembers life before Disabilities Act
Kelly Buckland remembers what it was like to live as a person with a disability in Idaho long before the Americans with Disabilities Act passed. Buckland is a national advocate for disability rights, heading the National Council on Independent Living. He headed the Center for Independent Living in Boise for six years and the State Independent Living Network for 14 years before moving to the nation’s capitol to head the national group.
Idaho tests new voting machines for people with disabilities
Since 2004, all states have been required to have at least one voting machine that works for people with disabilities in every one of its in-person polling places. Idaho, where most still vote in person, has about 1,000 of them. But now they’re nearing the end of their useful life, and as the state looks at certifying new machines, state officials invited people with or without disabilities to try out five new models at the state Capitol on Friday.
Chattaroy woman suspected in death of 5-year-old nephew
Investigators are not convinced that Gary Blanton III died because he hurt himself falling out of bed, as his aunt claimed on April 17. The 5-year-old boy, who became an orphan after both of his parents died, had been staying with his aunt in Chattaroy. According to court records, she was the only adult in the home when first responders arrived at 8 a.m. to find the boy unconscious with a severe head injury – later identified as a skull fracture – and numerous large bruises on his body. The aunt, Cynthia L. Khaleel, was arrested Thursday on a second-degree murder charge for Blanton’s death. She is accused of delivering “very serious abusive trauma” following a three-month-long investigation that determined Blanton could not have died from a short fall onto his carpeted bedroom floor.
Breast-feeding dispute leads to ‘nurse-in’ at Spokane pool
A local mother staged a “nurse-in” for breast-feeding mothers at the Liberty pool Friday after she said an employee at the same pool asked her and her friends to go breast-feed in the bathroom earlier in the week. Lydia Davis said she routinely breast-feeds in public, which is protected by state law. “I feel like this is a huge issue and not just an issue with me. People need to understand the laws.”
In brief: Spokane a finalist for ice-skating event
Spokane has been selected as a finalist to host a new ice skating championship event. Star USA, which organizes sporting events, was informed Friday by U.S. Figure Skating that Spokane is in the running to host the first Team Challenge Cup from April 22-24 in 2016. In the Team Challenge, skaters will compete for one of three teams: Team North America, Team Europe or Team Asia.
Bicyclist who died on Mission identified
The man hit and killed by a pickup while riding his bicycle on Mission Avenue on Wednesday has been identified as Baltazar Gonzalez-Hernandez, 45.
Man pleads guilty to stealing benefits
A Tekoa, Washington, man pleaded guilty Friday to stealing more than $439,000 in federal benefits since 1988 from his dead mother. Lee has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, according to court documents, and will be ordered to pay restitution as well as serve five years of probation if the plea deal is accepted by the court. He’s scheduled to appear again in court in October.
Spokane Valley motorcyclist injured
Speed was a factor in a crash Friday on Interstate 90 that injured a Spokane Valley motorcyclist, the Washington State Patrol said. Jason McCorkle, 34, was taken to KVH Hospital in Ellensburg, where he was listed in stable condition. McCorkle was eastbound on a 2010 Harley-Davidson on I-90 about 12 miles east of Kittitas about 3:05 p.m. when a Toyota Rav4 slowed for debris in the road
Military members honored for service to community
A Spokane airman was among five members of the military honored at the 97th annual American Legion Department of Washington State convention Friday. This is the third year the group has awarded someone from each branch of the military in Washington a Spirit of Service Award based on their service to the community. Airman 1st Class Ariana Cunningham serves with the 92nd Medical Group as a dental assistant apprentice at Fairchild Air Force Base. In the past year she has worked over 300 hours at various events. She has volunteered several times with Second Harvest, helped organize and distribute donations at Goodwill and walked and groomed dogs at the Spokane Humane Society, according to an American Legion news release. She also helped organize a local National Down Syndrome Alliance event, helped build a home with Habitat for Humanity and volunteered to be a designated driver for her fellow airmen.
School shooter’s dad faces new gun charges
The father of the teenager who fatally shot four high school classmates and then himself in October has been indicted on five new federal firearms charges. Raymond Lee Fryberg pleaded not guilty in April to illegally possessing the gun used in the slayings. Federal prosecutors said he was the subject of a permanent domestic violence protection order issued by the Tulalip Tribal Court in 2002. Federal law prohibits such a person from having firearms.
Explosion, fire at Moses Lake tarp company closes I-90
A dramatic fire and explosion that sent a propane tank flying 1,000 feet burned five buildings Friday at a company that makes plastic tarps to cover haystacks and set fire to 11,000 tons of hay. The blaze closed Interstate 90 in both directions for about two hours.
Woman found fit to stand trial in shooting at Value Village
A woman has been charged in connection with a shooting in the Value Village parking lot in November after Eastern State Hospital declared she was fit to stand trial only months after telling a judge that she wasn’t competent.
Business briefs: Trump Taj Mahal strike approved
Workers at Trump Taj Mahal have authorized a strike against the troubled Atlantic City casino as they await a federal appeals court ruling on whether the casino must restore health insurance and pension benefits that it scrapped last year.
Hulu ponders ad-free service
Hulu, the video streaming service where you can binge on “Seinfeld” and (unwittingly) commercials, is considering a premium service tier that would cut the ads. The subscription video-on-demand service now offers a paid subscription option at a cost of $7.99 a month that gives subscribers access to a wider range of its content. Now Hulu is eyeing a second, ad-free option that would launch as early as this fall and be in the price range of $12-$14.
Boeing taking KC-46 charge
The Boeing Co. said Friday that it plans to take a $536 million charge that will help it keep the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker program on schedule. The company said the after-tax charge, which amounts to 77 cents per share, will be reflected in its second-quarter financial results. Boeing said it is investing the “necessary resources” to keep the program on schedule for delivering the initial 18 tankers to the U.S. Air Force by August 2017 and building 179 tankers by 2027.
EU panel calls for pilot tests
A European Union task force on Friday recommended pre-employment psychological evaluations and random drug and alcohol testing for pilots to prevent a repeat of the Germanwings disaster. The panel, led by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was formed in response to the March 24 crash of a German airliner in France that killed all 150 people onboard.
Iran deal may lower U.S. gas prices
The tentative deal designed to limit Iran’s nuclear program led to a quick – though modest – decline in oil prices, raising the possibility that U.S. drivers may enjoy a prolonged break from high gasoline prices and creating an opening for Republican lawmakers to step up efforts to end a ban on exporting domestic oil.
Startups in Washington see solid investment
Washington state startups are in no hurry to go public. That’s become increasingly the trend as venture capital keeps flowing to the region’s companies, enabling them to stay private for longer periods of time.
Consumer prices up slightly
Rising gasoline prices pushed inflation up modestly in June. The Labor Department says its consumer price index rose 0.3 percent last month. Prices at the pump rose 3.4 percent in June on top of a 10.4 percent increase in May. An outbreak of avian flu drove egg prices up 18.3 percent in June, but overall food prices rose just 0.3 percent. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation rose 0.2 percent last month.
Samsung family tightens grip on company with deal
Shareholders approved Friday a highly contested deal that strengthens the Samsung family’s grip on the world’s largest smartphone maker, sparking criticism that South Korea lacks sufficient protections for foreign investors and small shareholders. Samsung construction company Samsung C&T said that 69.5 percent of shareholders who voted supported the takeover of it by another Samsung company, Cheil Industries.
Charles Krauthammer: Iran deal even worse now that details known
Editorial: Biel, Kinnear good choices for City Council’s District 2 slot
Froma Harrop: It’s key time for GOP to push immigration reform
Diana Sroka Rickert: American Dream not easy, but doesn’t need hurdles
Obituary: Fritz, Thomas Michael
3 Oct 1951 - 13 Jul 2015
Retired CEO of Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS)
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from The Telegraph (UK)
The Royal family was not alone: Britons everywhere spent the Thirties mocking Hitler
Simon Heffer: In 1933 few Britons, and probably none of the age of seven, had any idea of Hitler’s destructive, genocidal potential
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Top-secret intercepts show that economic spying by the US is pervasive, and that it's wielded to benefit powerful corporate interests.
from Truthout
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
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