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The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001 by Tyler Durden Aug 1, 2016 11:31 AM 0 SHARES Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith via PeakProsperity.com, In our household, we measure inflation with the "Burrito Index": How much has the cost of a regular burrito at our favorite taco truck gone up?Since we keep detailed records of expenses (a necessity if you’re a self-employed free-lance writer), I can track the real-world inflation of the Burrito Index with great accuracy: the cost of a regular burrito from our local taco truck has gone up from $2.50 in 2001 to $5 in...

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Nina Turner, the Democratic former state senator from Cleveland who has emerged as a rallying figure for Bernie Sanders' disappointed supporters, said she is considering an offer to run for vice president on the Green Party's national ticket. Massachusetts physician Jill Stein, the party's presumptive presidential nominee, reached out with the pitch, Turner told cleveland.com Sunday evening in a telephone interview. The Green Party opens its convention Thursday in Houston. Turner would stand for nomination there if she agrees to be Stein's running mate. Her decision is expected in the coming days.

Suddenly, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, isn’t acting like a shoo-in for re-election. After his prime-time non-endorsement of GOP nominee Donald Trump at the Cleveland convention caused a firestorm, Cruz became the target of a lot of speculation. Already Democrats such as former State Sen. Wendy Davis, formerly of Fort Worth, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio are talking about throwing their hats in the ring for U.S. Senate in 2018. As soon as Castro said in a joint CBS News’ interview with his brother, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, that he was “going to...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas will allow concealed handgun license holders to carry their weapons into public university buildings, classrooms and dorms starting Monday, which is also the 50th anniversary of the mass shooting at the University of Texas' landmark clock tower. The campus-carry law pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican legislative majority will make Texas one of a handful of states that guarantee the right to carry concealed handguns on campus. Here's a Q &A on how the law will work:

The University of Houston's Student Government Vice President has been sanctioned following a social media controversy. Vice President Rohini Sethi's five sanctions include a 50-day suspension beginning Aug. 1, mandatory attendance of the Libra Project diversity workshop, mandatory attendance of three cultural events per month, a reflection letter and a public presentation in the Senate Meeting on Sep. 28. The Student Government President Shane Smith was given a one-time power to determine Sethi's suspension by the Student Senate. It was passed with 13 votes of approval, two against and one abstaining. He released the letter below. Between the Senate Meeting...

Police are on the scene of a downtown Austin shooting that’s left at least one person dead. According to Austin-Travis County EMS, multiple units are responding to the area of 208 East 6th St. Paramedics say there are several gunshot wound patients spread across the area and they are trying to locate all patients. At least one person has been killed. This is a developing story and KXAN will update as more information is released.

The most "inefficient" candidate? Why, Lindsey Graham, of course. I know, I know. Did ANYONE vote for Lindsey Graham? Well, 5,623 souls to be exact, or enough to fill up a Columbia 1-AA football stadium. Since Graham paid a total of $5,700,248 for all those votes, or $1,013.74 per vote, he wins the prize for electoral waste. . . In fairness to Graham and others who exited the race early, generally those who invested a ton of money in the early primaries only to fail and drop out were by far the least efficient candidates. For example, Jeb Bush spent...

COLORADO SPRINGS (CNN) —The powerful political network helmed by Charles and David Koch is ruling out running advertisements intended to hurt Hillary Clinton, another sign of their insistence on avoiding the presidential race. The Koch network has previously said they will not back Republican candidate Donald Trump, but on Saturday officials told reporters that they would not run negative Clinton spots, a position taken by some Republican groups that are uneasy with the controversial GOP standard-bearer. The group is laser-focused on maintaining and expanding the Senate majority -- in the midst of a $42 million television advertising campaign focused on...

PITTSBURGH, Pa., July 30 - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton toured the U.S. Rust Belt on Saturday, promising to reject bad international trade deals during a factory visit and securing the endorsement of investor Mark Cuban at a Pittsburgh rally. The Dallas Mavericks owner, who said as recently as last month that there was a "good chance" he would vote for Donald Trump, instead criticized the Republican nominee's leadership in front of an energetic crowd. "Leadership is not yelling and screaming and intimidating," Cuban said. You know what we call a person like that in Pittsburgh? A jagoff!" Cuban added,...

SAN DIEGO (FOX5) – San Diego police chief Shelley Zimmerman identified the suspect arrested on suspicion of shooting two officers in Southcrest on Thursday night, killing one of them. Jesse Michael Gomez, 52, was arrested Friday on suspicion of the murder of Jonathan "JD" DeGuzman and attempted murder of his partner, Wade Irwin. Potential suspect Marcus Antonio Cassani, 41, was arrested for an outstanding warrant in the 4000 block of Epsilon Street following an hours-long SWAT standoff. Police have not yet determined if Cassani was involved in the shootings of DeGuzman and Irwin, Zimmerman said....

On Friday’s Fox News Channel broadcast of “The Kelly File,” host Megyn Kelly confronted former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s proposed temporary ban of Muslim refugees. Video at site

Billionaire industrialist and conservative benefactor Charles Koch’s expansive political network will not help Donald Trump win the presidency. That’s the message from one of the Koch network’s chief lieutenants as hundreds of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors gathered for a weekend retreat on Saturday. With Election Day just three months away, Koch lamented the state of the 2016 contest during a welcome reception inside a luxury hotel at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. “We don’t really, in some cases, don’t really have good options,” Koch said of the “current political situation.” …

We are at war even though our government and even 90% of the people serving as republicans in congress refuse to acknowledge it. “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”

DALLAS – The Army reservist who killed five Dallas police officers had kept an unauthorized grenade in his room on an Afghanistan base in 2014, according to a report by Army officials investigating a sexual harassment complaint against him.

Sixteen people died this morning when a large hot air balloon struck a high-voltage power line, caught fire and crashed in a pasture near Lockhart, Texas, according to Texas authorities and the Federal Aviation Administration said.

A 41-year-old man believed to be an undocumented immigrant was arrested Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl on the Northeast Side Monday, according to arrest documents. Carlos Esparza, who is suspected of being in the country illegally, was arrested on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child and is currently being held at the Bexar County Jail on a $75,000 bond, according to online records. The alleged sex assault occurred at the Harlow Apartments in the 7500 block of Harlow Drive on the Northeast Side, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by mySA.com. The...

Federal officials said a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas on Saturday. Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said there doesn't appear to be any survivors. "The balloon was occupied and it does not appear at this time that there were any survivors of the crash," Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel Law said in a statement. "Investigators are determining the number and the identities of victims at this time." Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the accident happened about 8:40 a.m. Saturday near Lockhart, Texas, when the...

President Barack Obama has been slated by his own brother - and revealed he will back Republican Donald Trump in the Presidential race. Speaking live from Kenya on British TV, Malik Obama also spoke about his relationship with Barack and claimed he has to make appointments to see him. And he told Good Morning Britain hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that the US leader has issues with attitude. He said: "[Barack] has this attitude like 'I'm the president, I've made it, I'm the star here'. I do understand that but I'm just expressing my opinion and how I feel."

MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — The failed strategy by the Mexican government has created a new issue in this border city where organized crime has tried to diminish common crime in an effort to lower public attention. Drug cartels appear to be succeeding in lowering common crime, something that the State of Tamaulipas has failed in. “They cut my fingers off for being a thief,” the tattoo on the forehead of a suspected criminal explained. Information obtained by this outlet points to the victim being connected to a series of burglaries in the city. His kidnapping and torture appear to be a...

Simulated sunlight powers a solar cell that converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into syngas. Credit: University of Illinois at Chicago/Jenny Fontaine ********************************************************************************************************************** Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have engineered a potentially game-changing solar cell that cheaply and efficiently converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into usable hydrocarbon fuel, using only sunlight for energy. The finding is reported in the July 29 issue of Science and was funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. A provisional patent application has been filed. Unlike conventional solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity that must be stored...