News You Can Use

[Joel]

Green Beret killed by 'two Navy SEALs after he uncovered alleged theft'

The Navy seals under investigation over the death were allegedly taking money from a fund used to pay informants

Two Navy SEALs reportedly being investigated over the death of an Army Green Beret in Mali are accused of killing him after he learned they had been allegedly stealing.

Two special operations sources who remained unnamed told the Daily Beast the members of the US Navy’s elite SEAL team – which stands for “Sea, Air, and Land” – under investigation over the death of Logan J Melgar had been taking money from a fund utilised to pay informants.

Mr Melgar was a Special Forces Engineer in the US Army Special Forces which is colloquially referred to as the Green Berets because of their distinctive headwear.

The sources allege Mr Melgar uncovered the theft and rebuffed an offer to gain a cut of the takings.

They also claim that an altercation erupted on 4 June - but the trigger for it remains unknown - and Mr Melgar in turn stopped breathing.

According to former Africom officials, the SEALs and another Green Beret escorted the 34-year-old to hospital.

One official told the publication, Mr Melgar had informed his wife he had a negative instinct about two of the partners he was working with - the SEALs - and he would tell her more when he arrived home.

Military officials told CNN a military examiner ruled Mr Melgar's death while on assignment in the landlocked West African country as a homicide.

According to a defence official who knew the findings of the medical examiner's report, Mr Melgar's cause of death was asphyxiation.

According to a US Army Special Command statement, Mr Melgar, who comes from Lubbock, Texas, signed up to the US Army in 2012 and started Special Forces training in 2013. He then carried out two deployments in Afghanistan.

He had been placed in Mali since February with troops providing support for the US embassy there.

Mr Melgar was a member of the third Special Forces Group - the primary unit responsible for Army special operations in northwest Africa, including Mali and Niger.

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People for sale: Where lives are auctioned for $400 - CNN

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- "Eight hundred," says the auctioneer. "900 ... 1,000 ... 1,100 ..." Sold. For 1,200 Libyan dinars -- the equivalent of $800.

Not a used car, a piece of land, or an item of furniture. Not "merchandise" at all, but two human beings.
One of the unidentified men being sold in the grainy cell phone video obtained by CNN is Nigerian. He appears to be in his twenties and is wearing a pale shirt and sweatpants.
He has been offered up for sale as one of a group of "big strong boys for farm work," according to the auctioneer, who remains off camera. Only his hand -- resting proprietorially on the man's shoulder -- is visible in the brief clip.

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Richest 1% own half the world's wealth, study finds | Inequality | The Guardian

The globe’s richest 1% own half the world’s wealth, according to a new report highlighting the growing gap between the super-rich and everyone else.

The world’s richest people have seen their share of the globe’s total wealth increase from 42.5% at the height of the 2008 financial crisis to 50.1% in 2017, or $140tn (£106tn), according to Credit Suisse’s global wealth report published on Tuesday.

“The share of the top 1% has been on an upward path ever since [the crisis], passing the 2000 level in 2013 and achieving new peaks every year thereafter,” the annual report said. The bank said “global wealth inequality has certainly been high and rising in the post-crisis period”.

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Rise in teen suicide, social media coincide; is there link?

CHICAGO (AP) -- An increase in suicide rates among U.S. teens occurred at the same time social media use surged and a new analysis suggests there may be a link.

Suicide rates for teens rose between 2010 and 2015 after they had declined for nearly two decades, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why the rates went up isn't known.

The study doesn't answer the question, but it suggests that one factor could be rising social media use. Recent teen suicides have been blamed on cyberbullying, and social media posts depicting "perfect" lives may be taking a toll on teens' mental health, researchers say.

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When child sex isn't rape: French to set age of consent

PARIS (AP) — Is a 13-year-old girl old enough to agree to sex with an adult? That's a question France is asking itself as the government prepares to set a legal age for sexual consent for the first time.

Twice in recent weeks, French courts refused to prosecute grown men for rape after they had sex with 11-year-olds because authorities couldn't prove coercion. Amid public horror, the government is drafting a bill to say sex with children under a certain age is by definition coercive.

Feminist groups plan a protest Tuesday to argue the age should be set at 15. Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet says 13 "is worth considering."

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Will Cash Disappear? - The New York Times

Cash is unlikely to go away soon. Coins and paper currency remain the most popular ways to pay for things in most countries. But longer term, cash appears to be in a losing battle with electronic payment methods.

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First Digital Pill Approved to Worries About Biomedical ‘Big Brother’ - The New York Times

For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a digital pill — a medication embedded with a sensor that can tell doctors whether, and when, patients take their medicine.

The approval, announced late on Monday, marks a significant advance in the growing field of digital devices designed to monitor medicine-taking and to address the expensive, longstanding problem that millions of patients do not take drugs as prescribed.

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Have you ever read "Fahrenheit 451"?

Boston Dynamics unveils the eye-popping SpotMini robot dog

Boston Dynamics is the mad robot scientist of our waking dreams. Every few years, they unveil a new robot horror...er...innovation that straddles the fine line between "so realistic its incredible" and the uncanny valley.

Its latest robot dog, the SpotMini, which the company casually introduced with this new video, is easily Boston Dynamics most finished looking robot. The company offers no explanation for four-legged, all yellow creation besides an enigmatic "Coming Soon." 

What we can tell you is that this little guy appears to have more personality than all its predecessors. In the video, it effortlessly trots on screen and then pauses to consider the viewer. Even without anything that looks like a dog's head or even eyes, it's a thrilling robotics moment (and perhaps a bit chilling too).

Seriously, we can't wait to learn more about the rather polished-looking SpotMini, the latest agile robotic wonder from Boston Dynamics.

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Feds Collected Record Taxes in October; Still Ran $63 Billion Deficit

(CNSNews.com) - The federal government hauled in record total tax revenues in the month of October, taking in a total of $235,341,000,000 during the first month of fiscal 2018, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today.

The federal government also brought in record individual income tax revenues for the month of October, taking in $127,832,000,000 in individual income taxes.

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FBI seeks Senate documents, signaling possible probe into sale of fetal tissue | TheHill

The FBI has asked the Senate for unredacted documents it obtained from abortion providers, signaling agents may be investigating whether Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers illegally sold fetal tissue and body parts, according to sources familiar with the document request.

The request was made in recent days, the sources said, to the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), last December referred Planned Parenthood and several other abortion providers to the FBI for investigation after a lengthy probe into the transfers of fetal tissue.

Grassley said at the time that his committee had uncovered enough evidence in its final investigative report to show abortion providers had transferred tissue and body parts from aborted fetuses to firms for use in research by charging dollar amounts above their actual costs.

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Brain implant boosts human memory by mimicking how we learn | New Scientist

A “memory prosthesis” brain implant has enhanced human memory for the first time. The device is comprised of electrodes implanted in the brain, and is designed to mimic the way we naturally process memories, and can boost performance on memory tests by up to 30 per cent. A similar approach may work for enhancing other brain skills, such as vision or movement, says the team behind the work.

“We are writing the neural code to enhance memory function,” says Dong Song of the University of Southern California, who presented the findings at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington DC over the weekend. “This has never been done before.”

The team’s implant gives small electric shocks to the hippocampus, a brain region vital for learning and memory. By releasing bursts of electricity in a pattern that mimics normal, healthy brain activity patterns, it is hoped that the device will help with disorders involving memory problems, such as dementia, and even be adapted for other brain areas, to boost other types of brain function.

Song and his colleagues implanted their device in 20 volunteers who were having electrodes put into their brains anyway, to treat epilepsy.

First, the team used the device to collect data on patterns of activity in the brain when the people were learning. Each volunteer performed a memory test, in which they had to remember which unusual, blobby shapes they had been shown 5 to 10 seconds before. This test measures short-term memory, and people normally score around 80 per cent on this task.

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$15 Million in Taxpayer Money Has Been Paid Out to Settle Congressional Sexual Harassment Suits

"We do know there is about $15 million that has been paid out by the House on behalf of harassers in the last 10 to 15 years," Speier revealed, on Tuesday.

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LISTEN: Curious Robocall Seeks ‘Damaging’ Information on Moore | WKRG

“Hi, this is Bernie Bernstein, I’m a reporter for the Washington Post calling to find out if anyone at this address is a female between the ages of 54 to 57 years old willing to make damaging remarks about candidate Roy Moore for a reward of between $5000 and $7000 dollars. We will not be fully investigating these claims however we will make a written report. I can be reached by email at [email protected], thank you.”

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Alaska urged to prepare for North Korean nuclear attack as residents told to stockpile Prussian Blue anti-radiation pills - Mirror Online

The country will NOT attempt evacuations if North Korea fires a nuclear missile, emergency planners have warned - as families are urged to stock up with emergency rations

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Man Killed In Year’s 600th Homicide Among 5 Shot Tuesday In Chicago « CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) — A man killed Tuesday — marking the city’s 600th homicide this year — was among five people shot in a 7-hour span of gun violence on the South and West sides.

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New BLACK DEATH strain can kill ‘in just THREE HOURS’, doctor admits | Daily Star

DOCTORS are struggling to keep a new lethal outbreak of the "Black Death" – also known as pneumonic plague – under control as numbers of recorded cases soar.

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https://needtoknow.news/2017/04/whistle ... -underway/

Radio show host Josh Tolley interviewed an unidentified American woman from Missouri who learned about her state’s refugee immigration program by attending UN-sponsored meetings and participating in the programs. She said that refugees are brought into the US in alliance with the UN Refugee Resettlement Organization Offices of Refugee Monitoring out of Washington, DC. In her state, Missouri Social Services administers the refugee programs that provide welfare for housing, food stamps, and medicare, in addition to cash and jobs.

The refugees receive US passports and Social Security numbers so they can receive Social Security benefits. They are screened and, where possible, encouraged to apply for lifetime disability benefits under Social Security.

Many refugees are allowed into the US who have communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, and smallpox.

The woman reported that there is ZERO vetting of refugees and that most are “FUNUs” which is an acronym for ‘full name unknown’. Most of them are males aged 15 to 45 instead of women and children.

She said that Trump reduced the number of refugees from Obama’s proposed 110,000 down to 50,000. From October 2016 through February 2017, the US had taken in 34,000. Democrats are not the only supporters of increased refugee immigration. Paul Ryan advocated bringing in 300,000 refugees.

The refugees usually are transported for settlement in the dead of night, not because of the lower air fares, but because that avoids being seen by large crowds at airports.

The federal government is secretive about how many refugees are being resettled in the US, and many governors are totally unaware of how many are in their states. The governors of Texas and Tennessee have refused to accept any more refugees and now are being sued by the US government.

The Wilson-Fish program allows the US government to circumvent state sovereignty in refugee resettlement by funding third-party organizations. She mentioned several third-party organizations that benefit from taxpayer money in this way. They include the Jewish Vocational Services (which also uses the name Jewish Technical Services), Catholic Charities, and Lutheran organizations. They receive $2500 to process each refugee plus block grants to staff offices. She said she believed they are making huge amounts of money above their costs..

Her closing comment was that she believes the refugees are a tool of invasion used by the United Nations under Agenda 2030 to remove national borders. If the UN officially recognizes a group of refugees, then UN ‘Peacekeeper’ soldiers may be placed wherever the refugees are located. She said that there have been sightings of UN trucks in her state. She also said that there is a scheme to remove county sheriffs in order to implement total UN authority in local areas.

She ended the interview by exhorting people to get involved locally to learn what is going on in their communities, to read about their states’ refugee programs on their Social Services websites, and then to meet with local and state lawmakers to stop this covert UN scheme for destruction.

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New report shows how Mexican cartels are infiltrating Texas - Houston Chronicle

Mexican cartels smuggle more drugs into the U.S. than any other criminal group, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration said in a new report.

The 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment released in October lists six cartels as having major influences across the country and Texas.

Cartels' influence in Texas is far-reaching, affecting cities hundreds of miles from the state's border with Mexico.

San Antonio is the only city in the state with a drug trade controlled by the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, which deals mostly with methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana, according to the DEA,


Morgues shut doors as ultra-violent Mexican state is overwhelmed by bodies | World news | The Guardian

Stench of decomposing corpses leads workers to shut down mortuaries in Guerrero where violence has also emptied villages and forced buses off the road

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UC President Janet Napolitano's aides interfered in audit of her office, investigation finds – LA Times

Top aides to University of California President Janet Napolitano interfered with a state audit of her office, suppressing campus criticism of its services and operations, according to findings of an investigation ordered by the UC Board of Regents.

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China is defining the way governments manipulate society via the internet

CHINA’S army of keyboard propagandists have set the standard for manipulating public opinion online — and a growing number of countries are trying the emulate the model.
The iconic image of a man holding his shopping while obstructing the path of a tank in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 became the defining image of China’s censorial government. But in the age of the internet, social media has become the front line in the Communist Party’s battle to control and suppress dissent.
The goverment’s so called keyboard army overwhelms social media sites with positive stories about the Communist Party — described by researchers as “cheerleading content” — to control the message and drown out criticism and negative stories about the regime.
The unofficial wing of the Chinese government responsible for the program is known as The 50 Cent Party. It allows just enough critical content to maintain the illusion of dissent while diverting attention towards positive propaganda.
The name reportedly stems from a rumour that the members were each paid 50 cents for every post that helped the government, although there is little evidence to support this theory.

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It's IRS Official: Jared Levandowski Launches First Church of Artificial Intelligence

A former executive at Google has filed paperwork with the IRS to establish an official religion of technology. This religion doesn't just worship scientific progress, but artificial intelligence itself, with the goal of creating a godhead.

The new church of AI will aim "to develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead [to] contribute to the betterment of society," according to IRS documents.

The non-profit religious organization would be called "Way of the Future" (WOTF). According to the website (wayofthefuture.church), the movement is "about creating a peaceful and respectful transition of who is in charge of the planet from people to people + 'machines.'"

"Given that technology will 'relatively soon' be able to surpass human abilities, we want to help educate people about this exciting future and prepare a smooth transition," the site explains. "In 'recent' years, we have expanded our concept of rights to both sexes, minority groups and even animals, let's make sure we find a way for 'machines' to get rights too."

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Bipartisan deal on gun control unveiled - NBC News

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators Thursday unveiled legislation that would improve background checks for gun sales.

The bill, crafted by Sens. John Cornyn, R.-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., would incentivize states to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check system to ensure all background check information is uploaded.

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AI Researcher Warns Skynet Killer-Robots "Easier To Achieve Than Self-Driving Cars" | Zero Hedge

A group of the world’s leading AI researchers and humanitarian organizations are warning about lethal autonomous weapons systems, or killer robots, that select and kill targets without human control.

The group alleges killer robots now exist and the bulk of these technological developments are military funded in UK, China, Israel, Russia, and the United States. Although, fully autonomous weapons systems have not yet been deployed on the battlefield, the action by the group to ban lethal autonomous weapons is a preemptive ban before the technology falls into the wrong hands. The group calls on the citizens of the world to contact their representatives and for countries to work together to form international treaties, before it’s too late.

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Now I know I'm right when the Pope disagrees with me.

Pope rebukes climate deniers as 'perverse' in Bonn message - San Francisco Chronicle

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday rebuked those who deny the science behind global warming and urged negotiators at climate talks in Germany to avoid falling prey to such "perverse attitudes" and instead accelerate efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

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Artificial climate intervention could completely destroy the planet, so we probably shouldn’t do that – BGR

Injecting material into the atmosphere artificially is intended to mimic the effects of volcanic eruptions, which do the same thing naturally. The particles act like a barrier to the sun’s warming rays, blocking them from reaching the surface and resulting in a cooling effect on a short-term basis. This type of geoengineering is still a half-baked idea, and has only been proposed as an absolute last-ditch effort to curb some of the more devastating effects of global warming.

The scientists simulated what would happen if the aerosol injection technique was used in the northern hemisphere, which has been casually proposed as a potential method of reducing the severity of tropical storms. The climate models reveal that the large-scale action would indeed calm things down a bit and potentially reduce the number of North Atlantic cyclones, but it would also have dire effects on other parts of the Earth.

The drop off of tropical storms in one area would actually lead to a spike in drought in parts of Africa, according to the data. If you have even a casual interesting in weather or nature in general, that won’t be much of a surprise, as nature has taught us that messing with one thing inevitably leads to unexpected changes elsewhere. Thusly, the researchers are now calling for strict regulation on geoengineering as a “solution” to climate change. That seems like a good idea.