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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given an award of $1,123,463 to the University of California, Davis to develop “relatively small, inexpensive robots” to aid in harvesting strawberries. The announcement was made in late October as part of a series of USDA awards “to spur the development and use of robots in American agriculture production,” according to a USDA press release. The release describes the UC Davis robotics grant as a “project (that) will develop relatively small, inexpensive robots to aid in human harvesting of strawberries.” …

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday offered his Republican Party a prescription to win: show up. Christie, fresh off a 22-percentage point win for re-election, said the GOP must go into Hispanic and black communities, talk with seniors and campaign in traditionally Democratic-leaning areas. It’s what helped him become the first New Jersey Republican in a quarter century to capture more than 50 percent of the vote. It also has done nothing to tamp down chatter about a 2016 presidential bid, something many have encouraged. “I know everybody is going to be speculating about what may come in my...

Pakistani education officials said Sunday that they have banned teenage activist Malala Yousafzai’s book from private schools across the country, claiming it doesn’t show enough respect for Islam and calling her a tool of the West. Malala attracted global attention last year when the Taliban shot her in the head in northwest Pakistan for criticizing the group’s interpretation of Islam, which limits girls’ access to education. Her profile has risen steadily since then, and she released a memoir in October, “I Am Malala,” that was co-written with British journalist Christina Lamb. While Malala has become a hero to many across...

Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday defended the Obama administration's approach to nuclear negotiations with Iran, saying that it would not rush into a half-measure interim deal. "No deal is better than a bad deal, and we are certainly adhering to that concept," Kerry said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Kerry and foreign ministers from the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany left Geneva without securing a deal to freeze Iran's nuclear program, efforts which drew criticism from some GOP lawmakers. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Obama administration...

Martha Rigsby collapsed to the ground for the first time in 1977. The spells continued, and she began calling 911 for help. She hasn’t stopped. In the past year alone, she’s accounted for 226 calls to 911 and been whisked by an ambulance to a hospital 117 times. Among firefighters in the District, she’s a dreaded legend. They can recite her date of birth and Social Security number from memory. Over 30 years, Rigsby has become the most frequent 911 user in D.C. history, totaling thousands of emergency calls and trips to the hospital after falling down, court papers say....

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)For weeks I’ve been wondering why no one is talking about how Republicans sabotaged the ACA rollout by refusing to implement state run marketplaces, and thus unexpectedly forcing all of that additional burden on to the federal website. It reminded me of Republicans denying security funding for Benghazi and then blaming Obama and Clinton for the lack of security in Benghazi. The media were oddly uninterested in that alarming fact. But today, Todd Purdum at Politico exposed how Republicans sabotaged the ACA rollout. One small part of their plan was the rejection of the state run exchanges. But also, Purdum...

So it appears as if physical threats and the threats of violence are OK with Democrats hovering over the Fairfax Board of Elections. Witness this clown: (video embedded at link) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AH0bm6mARVg …as you can see from the video, this Democratic operative (volunteer? attorney?) is clearly agitated, tossing chairs and tables back and forth while treating the opposition as… well, less than human. So when the cameras came out, the agitation went up. At least it stopped getting physical — until the 1:00 mark where the man slapped the Obenshain observer with a smile on his face. The Democrats hate us...

Excerpt: Mincing no words, the young sergeant’s father told the New York Times, last year, that he was exasperated and lacking in confidence in the Obama administration in bringing his son home. Both Mr. Bergdahl and his wife, Jani, said they were upset that although they had had good relations with the State Department and the Pentagon during the three years that their son has been missing, they had never heard from President Obama. The two are Ron Paul supporters and have turned increasingly against the war in Afghanistan, although they support the president’s plan not to withdraw most American...

On July 16 of this year, Sarah Kliff posted a prescient piece on the Washington Post’s Wonkblog. The post, “Meet Serco, the private firm getting $1.2 billion to process your Obamacare application,” reported that 90 percent of Serco’s U.S. business is with the federal government and that the 25-year-old firm pretty much owes its existence to government contracting. In this case, Serco won a contract that will pay it $114 million in 2013 and that eye-popping number of $1.2 billion over the next five years. According to one outside study, it’s the largest single contract for implementing the Affordable Care Act,...

On November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in a bitter contest against the incumbent Vice President, Richard Nixon. It was one of the closest elections in American history, and some people still doubt its outcome. The New York Times called the election for then-Senator Kennedy just before midnight. NBC News didn’t call the race until 7 a.m. the following morning. All night, the newly empowered national television networks had forecast that Kennedy was leading, but in a race that was too close to call. In 1990, the late John Chancellor recalled the chaos...

You have to see the link. I don't know what to say. Watch the film. It's a childhood acquaintance talking about Barry and how he was as a lad.

1 born every minute: Study says Americans can't spot scams A study by an investment regulatory group finds that a large percentage of Americans can't spot even obvious attempts at separating them from their money. By Mitch Lipka Hey consumers and investors, it's time to get your game on. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation made some disturbing findings about your ability to figure out when someone is trying to rip you off. First, let's be clear. People are trying to rip you off. More than 80% of those surveyed said they had received solicitations to buy into a potential scam....

In Schuyler and Seneca counties, some candidates ran against the city of Ithaca, rather than living, breathing opponents. They were running against what unsuccessful Schuyler County legislative GOP candidate John White called “the Ithaca mindset.” As puzzling as that vague description might seem, his comment pales compared to a campaign postcard circulated widely in the town of Covert. The postcard prominently featured a 1960s peace symbol and a floral decorated Volkswagen bug, all meant to alert voters that “Ithaca Liberals Are Coming To Covert.” The postcard also gravely warned: “They’re trying to take over the town board and bring Ithaca-politics...

The legendary Swedish pop group ABBA is mulling a possible reunion next year, singer Agnetha Faltskog said in a German newspaper interview Sunday. Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the band's first hit "Waterloo", which won them the Eurovision song contest and catapulted them to fame. ABBA subsequently became one of the world's best-selling pop bands with a string of number one hits such as "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen" and "Super Trouper

The family of an abducted Louisiana woman rescued her and killed her abductor Friday. Bethany Arceneaux, 29, was kidnapped Wednesday by Scott Thomas, 29, as she picked their child up from daycare, police said. Police and family members in Lafayette Parish began searching for her immediately. Her family found her first. Police said the family was searching the area and heard a woman scream. About a half-dozen men kicked in the door of the house and confronted Scott, who began stabbing Arceneaux, police said. What happened next is not clear, police said, but gunfire erupted and police that arrived at...

For 238 years, The United States Marine Corps has proudly served our great Nation with unfailing valor – bolstered by the enduring fortitude of our fellow Marines, our families, and our friends. This is why each year on November 10th, Marines from all generations gather together, in groups large and small, to celebrate the birthday of our Corps and to reflect on the proud legacy and warrior ethos we share. This is what unites us as Marines. From our first battle at New Providence to today in Afghanistan, Marines have always shown that they were made of tougher stuff –...

It took literally minutes following our report from yesterday that in addition to the ECB and Fed, it was the Senate's turn to finally shine the spotlight on the most notorious electronic currency with a hearing titled "Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats, and Promises of Virtual Currencies" next Monday, for Bitcoin to tumble 25% from its all time high just shy of $400, to $290 within 12 hours, in large part answering our rhetorical question if "the one thing that can finally end the dream of BitCoin holders arrive soon: when the government, and existing monetary authorities, start taking...

<p>A recent storm of completely understandable Internet rage came when a Red Lobster waitress posted a customer's $44 receipt featuring the N-word in lieu of a tip. But wait, there's a happy ending to this story: The waitress in question was given an online fundraiser that resulted in over ten grand in donations. Faith in humanity: restored!</p>