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Rumor has it that Draghi is so fed up with German opposition to everything he wants to do with stimulus and sovereign debt bond buying that he is about to leave the ECB. The Fiscal Times asks Why the Hell Does Mario Draghi Want to Leave the ECB Now!? What would happen to EuropeÂ’s prospects for recovery if Mario Draghi left his job as president of the European Central Bank? Would DraghiÂ’s plans to implement an ambitious policy of monetary stimulus get bulldozed by German inflation hawks and others favoring continued austerity across the Continent? Even a week ago there...

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New .50-caliber bullets that can change direction after they have been fired could soon make U.S. military snipers more deadly. The EXACTO program — or Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance — is being developed by California's Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC at the behest of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to a DARPA video posted on Youtube. "The objective of the EXACTO program is to revolutionize rifle accuracy and range by developing the first ever guided small-caliber bullet," DARPA officials said in a July statement accompanying the video. "The EXACTO .50-caliber round and optical sighting technology expects to greatly...

For two decades Atlanta restaurant owner Jim Dunn offered a group health plan to his managers and helped pay for it. That ended Dec. 1, after the Affordable Care Act made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Health-law subsidies for workers to buy their own coverage combined with years of rising costs in the company plan made dropping the plan an obvious – though not easy – choice. Companies like Dunn’s — those with fewer than 50 workers — provide medical coverage to roughly 20 million people. Unlike larger employers, they have no obligation under the health law to offer...

Critics and defenders of the harsh interrogation methods applied to captured terrorists can argue forever over whether those methods were "torture." But any serious discussion of a serious issue — and surely terrorism qualifies as serious — has to move beyond semantics and confront the ultimate question: "Compared to what alternative?" If you knew that there was a hidden nuclear time bomb planted somewhere in New York City — set to go off today — and you had a captured terrorist who knew where and when, would you not do anything whatever to make him tell you where and when?...

Dorian Johnson is making headlines yet again. For those who aren’t familiar with Johnson, he was the key witness in the controversial Ferguson case. He actually witnessed the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9. But, that’s not all. His claims also sparked the national protesting mantra, “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” since Johnson stated Brown had his hands up and asked Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson not to shoot him. However, details about Johnson’s claims later proved that the unarmed teen did not have his hands up. Now, another report has revealed more flaws in Johnson’s claims, reports...

I donÂ’t know if this is a good personality trait or a character flaw, but it always brings a big smile to my face when a leftist tries to argue for bigger government but inadvertently makes an argument in favor of smaller government. Sort of like scoring a goal against your own team in soccer. It seems to happens quite a bit at the New York Times.ANew York Times columnist, for instance, pushed for a tax-hiking fiscal agreement back in 2011 based on a chart showing that the only successful budget deal was the one that cut taxes.The following year,...

<p>Demonstrators protesting killings by police in New York and Missouri were arrested Monday after they chained themselves to doors and a flagpole at the Oakland Police Department headquarters.</p> <p>A live-stream video via Blackout Collective shows demonstrators blocking a doorway outside the headquarters and singing, “Calling out the violence of the racist police” as they were taken into custody by officers.</p>

On Monday, Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Haslam outlined his plan to expand Obamacare. According to The Tennessean, he has branded the plan Insure Tennessee and dressed it in states’ rights rhetoric, claiming that the plan, which he says qualifies for federal funding under the Affordable Care Act, is an alternative to expanding Medicaid. WATE-TV 6 quoted a press release by Haslam in which he said, “This plan leverages federal dollars to provide health care coverage to more Tennesseans, to give people a choice in their coverage, and to address the cost of health care, better health outcomes and personal responsibility.”...

The victims of a burglary captured their alleged intruders after spotting them in the street - on the way back from another break-in. The Wyatt family's surveillance system filmed the moment a woman and two men took two TVs and numerous Christmas presents from their home in Warrior, Alabama, last Friday. Just two days later, Chris Wyatt spotted the suspects' Ford Ranger pickup truck driving down a road and swerved to block them into a corner.

Rome - Emerging from a a three-hour meeting in Rome with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´ s first comments related to the siege on the cafe in Sydney Australia that ended shortly before. Netanyahu sent his condolences to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and the Australian people. He said that International Islamic terror does not know borders, and the struggle against it needs to be global. (Snip) Netanyahu then discussed the focus of his meeting with Kerry saying that Israel will “do everything possible” to make sure that the UN Security Council does not impose

Clinton says women across the globe suffer due a lack of knowledge about their health, childbirth conditions and workplace roles. She says data gaps undermine the progress of women and girls. The initiative is called "Data 2x." It's a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Clinton Foundation and the United Nations Foundation.

During Saturday´s protests about the lack of indictments in the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, CUNY adjunct professor and creator of erotic poetry Eric Linsker picked up a trashcan and tried to throw it at police officers. Two police lieutenants were attacked by the crowd when the officers tried to arrest Linsker. Newsday described the incident: They were on the roadway of the [Brooklyn] bridge about 8 p.m. when they heard reports of "debris being thrown on the walkway" at police officers who were walking alongside demonstrators involved in Saturday´s New York City rally against police shootings of...

Here are the rating averages to date. CFG and ACU don't update their numbers till around February so I'll do another update around then. Also, if any new senator served in the House, I added their ratings so we can judge what kind of senator they will be. The new senator from WV is depressing. Right above Collins. Though she's better than Rockefeller!

A St. Louis police officer will face disciplinary action for wearing a nametag that read "Darren Wilson" while he was on the job. Wilson is at the center of the controversial shooting death of Michael Brown back in August. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he "couldn´t be more disappointed" and that he thinks the officer will get "some days off for his actions." The officer´s name has not been released. He wore the nametag in a show of solidarity with Wilson last Friday at City Hall where he was

When the wackiness of the final play was over and one forward pass and three laterals had come up nine yards short for the Titans, two words likely crossed every smart Jets fan’s mind: It figures. Rex Ryan and his players rejoiced over this December win during this lost season, while the legions of team followers cursed a meaningless moment that almost certainly cost the Jets a chance at drafting a franchise quarterback in the coming months.

“When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them.” – The Quran, Surah 9:5 Islam is anything if not ironic. “A teenaged bomber on Thursday targeted a Kabul auditorium packed with people watching a drama condemning suicide attacks,” reports Reuters. “Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the bomber targeted the event because it was staged ‘to insult Islamic values and spread propaganda about our jihad operations, especially on suicide attacks.’” And so, in defense of “Islamic values” and to dispel “propaganda” about “suicide attacks,” Muhammad Jr....

The Russian ruble tumbled 9.5 percent Monday to new record lows as falling crude prices pulled the rug out from under the currency of the oil exporting nation, with analysts saying the Kremlin needs to act to stop the free fall. The plunge in the ruble came as the central bank warned the low oil price could trigger a contraction of nearly 5 percent next year and tensions surged with the United States over Ukraine. The ruble broke through the level of 64 to the dollar and 78 to the euro for the first time even though the Bank of...

(CNN) - A rare species is closer to extinction. A northern white rhino has died at a San Diego zoo. Angalifu was 44 years old and died of old age Sunday.