Thursday, June 13, 2013

In the news, Thursday, June 13, 2013


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WED 12      INDEX      FRI 14
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from Breitbart


EGYPTIAN MINISTER REVEALS HAMAS AIDED BROTHERHOOD PRISON BREAK

HELLER, REID PUSH TO DEFINE NEVADA AS A 'BORDER STATE'

Are Mosques Excluded from The Digital Snooping Dragnet?

MEDIA FAIL: VOTERS TURN AGAINST OBAMA, HIS SURVEILLANCE STATE

from The Farmacy
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Effects of Colony Collapse Disorder Now Manifesting in California

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NSA chief says surveillance has stopped 'dozens' of potential terrorist attacks

IRS Agents Training With AR-15 Rifles, Lawmaker Says
Rep. Jeff Duncan says he saw this last month at a federal law enforcement facility.



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from The Jerusalem Post

PM: Israel ready to defend itself against another Holocaust
Netanyahu opens new Holocaust exhibition at Auschwitz in Poland.
PA religious affairs minister: Moving entrance to Temple Mount for egalitarian section may "push all of us to new conflicts".
US Secretary of State says Washington is "determined" to save Syria; West fears sectarian bloodbath in violent civil war.

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from KHQ Local News

UPDATE: Shooter Remains On The Run After Deadly Drive-by Shooting

Suspect grabbed deputy’s taser outside Oz Fitness

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from KXLY 4 News

One killed in North Spokane drive-by shooting


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from Money Talks News

Free and Cheap TV: So Many Options to Choose From
These days, you can even see live sporting events that used to require a subscription to satellite or cable TV.

12 Horrible Pieces of Insurance Advice
Some suggestions to cut the cost of insurance can produce disastrous results.

Ask an Expert: Does a Low Ongoing Rate Beat a 0 Percent Intro Offer?
If you carry a balance, are you better off with a 0 percent introductory offer or a card that has a lower ongoing interest rate? Here's how to choose.

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from MSN News

Splenda goes from 'safe' to 'caution' after leukemia found in mice

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from The Spokesman-Review

UN says nearly 93,000 killed in Syrian conflict

Head of NSA defends spying
Programs stopped attacks, director tells Congress

Wildfires destroy dozens of homes
Colorado Springs area battles three blazes; thousands flee

Spokane police searching for Albertson’s robbery suspect
note:  The Java Hut Espresso is mentioned in this article.  The person working when it was robbed was one of my (step) granddaughters. - C. S.

Man killed in drive-by shooting
Suspect sought, thought to be armed

WA heroin use, deaths up, especially in youth

Census: Minorities comprise half of under-5 group

Census: Rural population on decline
Outskirts no longer retirement, recreation havens

Federal budget cuts limit National Guard live-fire drills

Voice commands add to driving distractions

Mandela is improving in ICU
Lung infection reportedly responds to treatment
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In brief:  From Wire Reports:

Turkey offers protesters delay on development

Istanbul – Turkey’s government on Wednesday offered a first concrete gesture aimed at ending nearly two weeks of street protests, proposing a referendum on a development project in Istanbul that triggered demonstrations that have become the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year tenure.

Protesters expressed doubts about the offer, however, and continued to converge in Taksim Square’s Gezi Park, epicenter of the anti-government protests that began in Istanbul 13 days ago and spread across the country.

The protests erupted May 31 after a violent police crackdown on a peaceful sit-in by activists objecting to a development project that would replace Gezi Park with a replica Ottoman-era barracks. They then spread to dozens of cities.

The referendum proposal came after Erdogan, who had been defiant and uncompromising in recent days, met with a group of 11 activists, including academics, students and artists, in Ankara.

The discussion was the first sign that Erdogan was looking for an exit from the showdown and came hours after some European leaders expressed concern about recent strong-armed Turkish police tactics.


Southern Baptist Convention criticizes Scouts

Houston – The Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution Wednesday expressing its opposition to the Boy Scouts of America’s new policy allowing gay Scouts, though it doesn’t explicitly call for churches to drop all ties with the organization.

While some action against the Scouts was widely anticipated, given the denomination’s very public opposition to the change, the resolution takes a softer tone than many had expected.

It also calls on the Boy Scouts to remove executive and board leaders who tried to allow gays as both members and leaders without consulting the many religious groups that sponsor troops.

It passed overwhelmingly, but not unanimously, by the nation’s largest Protestant denomination at its annual meeting in Houston.

Before the vote, Charlie Dale, pastor of Indian Springs First Baptist Church in Pelham, Ala., said the resolution “is not going to help the cause of Christ.”

Of boys who say they are gay, he said, “Let’s bring them in, show them what real biblical manhood is about and love them.”


Inslee prepares for worst scenario

OLYMPIA – As the Legislature entered its second special session Wednesday with no word of agreement on the state’s two-year operating budget, Gov. Jay Inslee’s staff began studying what programs and services would have to shut down if a deal isn’t reached before July 1.

That’s the start of the new fiscal year, and without a new budget there’s no authority to spend money on many state programs and services. But there could be cases where constitutional mandates or federal requirements override the state requirement for a specific appropriation. Which cases? No one’s sure because there’s no precedent for starting a fiscal year without a budget.

“We can’t tell you what’s going to be open and what’s going to be closed on July 1,” Mary Alice Heuschel, Inslee’s chief of staff said after a one-hour cabinet meeting. Agency directors are consulting staff lawyers and studying programs; they’ll report back by Monday. “We remain hopeful this will not be necessary.”

Some things are sure: Prisons and state hospitals won’t shut down. Transportation projects will continue because they come out of a separate budget that already passed.


Spoko reopens after diesel mix-up

Spoko Fuel Gas Station was open for business Wednesday after a mix-up caused problems for drivers who filled gasoline-powered cars with diesel.

Spoko, which is owned by the Spokane Tribe, closed Tuesday morning after several drivers called complaining they were having car trouble, said Carol Evans, president of the Spokane Tribal Enterprises Board of Directors.

Diesel had been added to the underground gasoline tanks late Monday night. The tanks were cleaned and the fuel was replaced by Tuesday evening.

“We don’t know exactly what or why it happened,” Evans said. “It’s never happened for us. It’s real unfortunate.”

R.E. Powell Distributing Co., the Grandview, Wash.-based fuel supplier, assumed responsibility for the mistake and will reimburse customers for damage done to their cars, Evans said.

That type of error is uncommon but occasionally happens, said Mike Louisell, spokesman for the Washington State Department of Agriculture. He added that R.E. Powell has not had any recent problems with switching fuels.

“It’s human error,” he said. Customers who had car troubles after putting diesel in gas-fueled cars can call R.E. Powell’s insurance agent, Jill Peruca, at (800) 488-2869, ext. 445.


Flood-damaged cars showing up

OLYMPIA – Washington state’s attorney general and the Better Business Bureau are warning that cars damaged in last fall’s Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast are showing up for sale here.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson cautioned consumers in a statement issued Wednesday to do their research to make sure the vehicle they buy doesn’t have flood damage.

While such cars may look normal, Ferguson says they almost always have serious problems including chronic mildew and corroded wires that can lead to electrical failure.

The attorney general’s office and the Better Business Bureau say buyers should research the title and vehicle identification number and carefully inspect any vehicle.


Safeway selling stores in Canada to Sobeys

NEW YORK – Safeway Inc. is selling its supermarket operations in Canada to food retailer Sobeys for $5.7 billion.

Sobeys, a unit of Empire Co. Ltd, is already the No. 2 grocery operator in the country. It said the deal includes 213 grocery stores under the Safeway banner in western Canada, 62 fuel stations, 10 liquor stores, 12 manufacturing facilities and four distribution centers.

That leaves Safeway with about 1,400 supermarkets in the U.S., many of which are in western states. The company, based in Pleasanton, Calif., operates stores under names including Vons in Southern California and Nevada and Randalls and Tom Thumb in Texas.


H&R Block falls short of forecasts for quarter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – H&R Block Inc. said last-minute changes to tax laws, a delayed start to the filing season and new fraud controls created hurdles for the company in this year’s tax season.

The tax preparation company was able to cut costs to help offset weaker revenue stemming from these conditions, but it reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that fell short of market expectations.

H&R said after the market closed Wednesday that it earned $664.3 million, or $2.42 per share, for the quarter that ended April 30. That’s up from $586.1 million, or $1.99 per share, last year. It earned $2.54 per share, excluding one-time items.

Total revenue increased to $2.2 billion from $2 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected earnings of $2.61 per share, on revenue $2.28 billion, according to FactSet.

The company decided this year to increase its push for assisted and digital do-it-yourself categories as part of a long-term growth strategy.

H&R said the total number of U.S. returns it prepared fell 0.7 percent to 22.2 million through the end of the fiscal year.


Goodell defends Redskins nickname

NFL: Commissioner Roger Goodell says the Washington Redskins nickname is a “unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect.”

Goodell was responding to a letter from 10 members of Congress who want the name changed because it is offensive to many Native Americans.

He cited the nickname’s origins and polls that support its popularity. Goodell wrote that he understands the feelings surrounding it are complex and could change, but he also pointed to fan pride in the team’s heritage.

The name is the subject of a legal challenge from a group seeking to have the team lose its trademark protection.
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Average salary in Washington rose in ’12
New base increases jobless benefits

Idaho farmers sue Monsanto
Lawsuit filed Friday seeks class-action status

Energy demand eases
With U.S. production up, energy prices have fallen

Strike grounds flights around France, UK
Workers protest EU’s plan to privatize air traffic services

American plans to add more seating

Safeguards sought for captive chimps
Agency proposes endangered status

Editorial: Passing state budget should be top priority

Dana Milbank: Time to prepare for climate change

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letter:

Body cameras needed

Doug Clark’s June 6 column on the usefulness of body cameras by Spokane-area law enforcement officers is the latest welcome call for common sense on this subject. The long pole in the tent is the police union’s opposition to camera use, or insistence that their use be tied to compensation as a condition of work.

Camera outfitting costs pale compared to the many costs of wrongful death, including Spokane’s hefty annual wrongful death lawsuit awards. In many cases, having body cameras as witnesses would eliminate questionable behavior and serve as unimpeachable evidence when mistakes are made (i.e., reported behavior and weapons that turn out to be nonexistent, collusion in inaccurate incident reporting, the ever-popular use of deadly force when less draconian measures would suffice).

The days when you could take every officer’s word to the bank is long past here, thanks to a casual treatment of the truth in recent incidents. Notions that use of these cameras is unnecessary or require Spokane’s finest to be additionally compensated are old news. If integrity is not required as a condition of work, the eye of the camera is the next best thing.

David Fietz      Springdale, Wash.
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Doctor K: Prediabetes a wake-up call for change

Mural brightens Hillyard building
On Track students pitch in
Pia Hallenberg      The Spokesman-Review

Measurements can vary a lot due to our microclimates
Randy Mann

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from The Wall Street Journal

NOW HEAR THIS: NAVY ABANDONS ALL CAPS
Official Communications, Long Written Large, Can Use Mixed Case; No Shouting

More White Americans Dying Than Being Born

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from The Weekly Standard

Pelosi Can't Explain Difference Between Gosnell Slayings and Late-Term Abortions
Top House Democrat stonewalls: "This is sacred ground."

Ryan: We Need to Cut Fat, Not Bone
Obama "is holding the defense budget hostage for higher taxes."

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from The Western Center for Journalism
(Western Journalism)

This School’s Prom Theme Reveals How Truly Pathetic Public Education Has Become

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