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Articles Posted by Brandonmark

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  • GM Now Using Taxpayer Money to Create Jobs in Mexico

    07/16/2013 3:58:06 AM PDT · by Brandonmark · 6 replies
    USActionNews ^ | 7-16-13 | Dave Gibson
    Amount of taxpayer funding given to GM and GMAC comes to a staggering $50.4 billion.Two weeks ago, General Motors Co. (GM) announced that they were investing $691 million in Mexico, and while they acknowledged the expansion would bring many new jobs south of the border, they would not disclose the actual figure. The Detroit News reported: “The Detroit-based automaker said it will spend $349 million for the new transmission plant in Silao; $131 million to expand its San Luis Potosi Complex transmission plant and to build lighter and smoother transmissions with better fuel economy, and $211 million to expand its...
  • A sinkhole in Seffner causes two homes to evacuate

    03/23/2013 5:32:59 PM PDT · by Brandonmark · 36 replies
    Bay News 9 ^ | 3/23/13 | Bay News 9
    SEFFNER -- Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Engine is on the scene of a sinkhole that opened between two homes in Seffner around 7 p.m. According to reports, the hole was described as approximately 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep. The homes have been evacuated as a precaution. There are no structures involved at this time.
  • 911 calls are still coming from cellphone of Katie Couric's late husband

    02/15/2013 6:15:58 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 25 replies
    San Francisco Examiner ^ | February 15, 2013 | Katy St. Clair
    Someone notify Shirley MacLaine, because Katie Couric’s dead husband appears to be making 911 calls from his old phone. According to the New York Daily News, every Tuesday at 2 a.m. the late Jay Monahan’s phone line dials 911, then Couric gets an emergency call back saying help is on the way. She has notified the police and they are looking into it. Apparently there is a prank called “spoofing,” where someone uses a device to hack into a phone remotely. Or, Monahan’s disembodied spirit is trying to order a pizza, but is too drunk to hit the right speed-dial...
  • Cops: Mom's stripping disrupts NY school assembly

    02/15/2013 4:36:08 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 34 replies
    ABC 27 WTXL ^ | 2-5-13 | ABC 27 WTXL
    Police say a mother who got on stage and started to strip during an upstate New York school assembly is facing child endangerment and lewdness charges. Albany police say 24-year-old Aydrea Meaders was arrested at North Albany Academy on Friday morning. They say school staff told them the assembly was halted and the cafeteria cleared after Meaders began dancing onstage and took off some of her clothes. She's charged with seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of public lewdness.
  • Rahm Emanuel Toying With 2016 Presidential Run, Sources Say

    02/14/2013 4:59:35 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 45 replies
    The Daily Beast ^ | 2/14/13 | Lloyd Grove
    Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel might make a go for 2016, two well-connected Democrats tell Lloyd Grove—as long as Hillary doesn’t. And the potty-mouthed Chicago mayor could win.Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is said by well-connected Democrats to be considering with the idea of running for president if Hillary Clinton opts out of the 2016 race. It’s unclear who raised the subject—Emanuel or the donors—and the mayor’s press secretary didn’t offer any clarity on who said what to whom. However, Tarah Cooper sent a photo of Emanuel's scrawl on yellow legal paper vowing "not ever" to run for "for...
  • LAPD "Crippled" by Dorner Search, Limited in Response to Other Crimes

    02/11/2013 11:40:55 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 38 replies
    NBC Southern California ^ | February 11, 2013 | Gordon Tokumatsu and John Simerson
    Chief Beck said the ongoing pursuit for Christopher Dorner is a strain on police resources The manhunt for fugitive former LAPD officer and suspected murderer Christopher Dorner has taken a toll on Southern California police departments. Hundreds of officers are working on the Dorner case, not just responding to every credible sighting, but also protecting at least 50 families connected to the angry manifesto Dorner allegedly wrote, saying he would kill police. The response on Sunday at a Lowe's store in Northridge was massive, but the report that Dorner was there was later found to be false -- like many...
  • A Second former LAPD officer releases a manifesto

    02/11/2013 5:17:05 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 39 replies
    FreekOutNation ^ | February 11, 2013 | Anomaly
    Christopher Dorner is creating quite a firestorm of attention directed toward the Los Angles Police Department, and now his efforts have doubled in another manifesto created by former LAPD Officer Joe Jones.In its entirety, it reads: “My Former LAPD Officer Joe Jones MANIFESTO… I know most of you who personally who me are in disbelief of the partial story I will tell today. A story that has been suppressed for about 18 years, But lives strong everyday of my life. I without hesitation would like to send my condolences to the Victims who were lost and their families during this...
  • Dorner had history of complaints against fellow LAPD officers

    02/09/2013 6:36:16 AM PST · by Brandonmark · 65 replies
    Los ngeles Times ^ | February 9, 2013 | LAT
    The fugitive ex-policeman Christopher Dorner, suspected of killing three people and injuring two, had a history of making complaints against fellow officers within the Los Angeles Police Department, and one officer said he had a reputation as a "hot head," according to internal affairs records. Dorner was accused of punching a recruit in the chest while he was in the Police Academy in 2006. That recruit, Abraham Schefres, was wearing a bulletproof vest and a trauma plate, when Dorner allegedly punched him. After being hit, he glared at Dorner, whom Schefres said responded as though he had made a mistake,...
  • Bill McBride, former gubernatorial candidate and husband of Alex Sink, dies of heart attack

    12/23/2012 4:56:36 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 7 replies
    Tampa Bay Times ^ | December 23, 2012 | Times Staff
    TAMPA — Bill McBride, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate who once led Florida's largest law firm, died Saturday. He was 67. Mr. McBride had a heart attack Saturday evening while in Mount Airy, N.C., with family, according to his wife, Alex Sink, Florida's former chief financial officer and also a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Mr. McBride, who lost the 2002 gubernatorial election to Jeb Bush, was once managing partner of the Holland & Knight law firm. He later became a partner in the Barnett Bolt Kirkwood Long & McBride boutique law firm on Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard. He had been a...
  • Texas school district will allow teachers to carry guns

    12/17/2012 10:39:55 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 26 replies
    Examiner ^ | 12/17/12 | Jennifer L. Cruz
    The Harrold Independent School District in Texas has passed a policy change in an effort to increase safety for its students and staff. According to a report published by Fox News on Saturday, December 15, 2012, the policy will allow teachers and other staff to carry concealed guns. The school district, which has 110 students ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade, admitted to researching several options for better safety in the school and debated the issue for about a year before the final decision was made. The policy was changed last October and will go into effect later this month....
  • The postal grinch that stole Christmas

    12/13/2012 9:39:05 AM PST · by Brandonmark · 30 replies
    Tampa Bay Times ^ | 12/13/12 | Susan Thurston
    Thousands of area children might go without toys this holiday season thanks to a Grinch-like move from the Postal Service. Normally this time of year, boxes of gifts pack the Toys for Tots warehouses. But not this season. Toy donations are so low, Toys for Tots officials worry they won't have enough gifts for the estimated 40,000 boys and girls on their lists. 'I'm losing sleep,' said Herb Donica, chairman of the committee that supports the Toys for Tots campaign in Hillsborough County. 'All of our core people are pulling their hair out wondering what we are going to do.''...
  • Census: Whites no longer a majority in U.S. by 2043

    12/12/2012 10:18:34 AM PST · by Brandonmark · 89 replies
    CBS News ^ | 12-12-12 | AP
    White people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2043, according to new census projections, part of a historic shift that is already reshaping the nation's schools, workforce and electorate. The official projection, released Wednesday by the Census Bureau, now places the tipping point for the white majority a year later than previous estimates, which were made before the impact of the recent economic downturn was fully known. America continues to grow and become more diverse due to higher birth rates among minorities, particularly for Hispanics who entered the U.S. at the height of the immigration boom...
  • Chinese group buys AIG aircraft firm for up to $4.8 billion

    12/10/2012 12:07:04 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 3 replies
    Rueters ^ | 12/10/12 | http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/10/us-aig-ilfc-idUSBRE8B900J20121210
    American International Group Inc (AIG.N) will sell nearly all of aircraft leasing business ILFC (ILFC.N) to a Chinese consortium for up to $4.8 billion, in a deal that gives the fastest growing aviation market easier and cheaper access to planes. But the sale is at a far cheaper price than AIG sought and will lead to a substantial loss, the insurer's price for getting out of its last major non-core asset following the U.S. government bailout of the company in the financial crisis. Chinese firms have previously shown interest in aircraft leasing, and the deal would give China access to...
  • Man Pushed In Front Of Train, Killed, At Midtown Subway Station

    12/03/2012 9:08:25 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 34 replies
    CBS New York ^ | 12/3/12 | WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb reports
    Police on Monday night released new surveillance video in the search for a suspect who shoved a man onto the subway tracks for a train to strike him and kill him. As CBS 2’s Lou Young reported, in a city built on subways, where millions move around town by train, it could have happened to anyone. The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. at a subway station at 49th Street and 7th Avenue, just blocks off Times Square. A surveillance image of the man wanted for allegedly pushing a man in front of a subway train in Midtown, killing him. (Credit:...
  • Kelley awarded Joint Chiefs' No. 2 medal for civilians

    11/21/2012 3:50:28 AM PST · by Brandonmark · 17 replies
    The Tampa Tribune ^ | 11/21/12 | Howard Altman
    TAMPA -- Before she became enmeshed in a controversy that would take down the director of the CIA, Jill Kelley was considered so valuable to the MacDill Air Force Base community that she was awarded the Joint Chiefs of Staff's second-highest honor to a civilian. The award was approved by then-Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, and presented to Kelley on March 18, 2011, by then-Gen. David Petraeus at a ceremony in Washington. The award recommendation initially was made by Petraeus while he was commander of U.S. Central Command, said Navy Cmdr....
  • Police chief killed in Libya's Benghazi: sources

    11/20/2012 6:42:01 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 15 replies
    Yahoo!News ^ | 11/20/12 | Reuters
    A top security official in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi was killed in front of his home overnight on Wednesday, security officials said, in the latest violence to plague the cradle of the North African country's revolt. Faraj al-Deirsy, head of Benghazi police, died from multiple gunshot wounds, police and interior ministry sources said. "This happened in front of his house when unknown attackers opened fire and hit him before fleeing," a police source. An interior ministry official confirmed that Deirsy, in charge of security in Benghazi, had been killed in front his home. Libya has been hit by...
  • Public nudity ban passed by the Board of Supervisors

    11/20/2012 4:48:16 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 19 replies
    SF Gate ^ | 11-20-12 | City Insider
    Nudists will need to cover up or limit where they show their bare buns after the Board of Supervisors voted 6-5 to pass a ban on public nudity. Supervisors Jane Kim, John Avalos, Eric Mar, Christina Olague and David Campos voted to oppose the ban. Campos argued that police resources could better be spent fighting violent crime, instead of tracking down naked men roaming the streets. Other supervisors argued the ban seemed to infringe on people’s right to express themselves and was merely a problem in a Castro that didn’t need a citywide ban. The ban still requires a second...
  • Jill Kelley’s twin avoids Petraeus talk at Gloria Allred press conference

    11/20/2012 11:50:13 AM PST · by Brandonmark · 23 replies
    Yahoo! News ^ | 11/20/12 | Rachel Rose Hartman
    Jill Kelley's twin, Natalie Khawam, and celebrity attorney Gloria Allred barely mentioned the David Petraeus scandal at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, instead attempting to shift dialogue to Khawam's custody battle and women's rights. "Like many single moms in this country ... Natalie was forced to fight for custody of her child," Allred said after lauding her client's character and educational background. Much to the dismay of reporters onsite posing questions and those tuning in to the event, Khawam spoke only to confirm her love and support for her sister, the Florida socialite at the center of...
  • Will Twinkies be reborn through new Mexican ownership?

    11/17/2012 6:17:19 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 151 replies
    NBCLatino ^ | November17, 2012 | Adrian Carrasquillo
    Next week may be Black Friday but sweets lovers across the nation hung their heads in sorrow on a dark Friday yesterday as Hostess announced they would cease making their line of products, which include the iconic Twinkies brand, because of the Bakers Union Strike. But now as the brand heads towards liquidating and selling off their assets, a Mexican company may be angling to resurrect the golden Twinkies. According to the Christian Science Monitor, while food producers ConAgra and Flowers Food, the American company behind Nature Valley granola, have expressed interest along with Little Debbie baker McKee Foods, MexicoÂ’s...
  • Women in Petraeus scandal visited White House (Paula Broadwell, Jill Kelley,& Natalie Khawam)

    11/16/2012 1:05:41 PM PST · by Brandonmark · 16 replies
    AP ^ | 11/16/12 | Jim Kuhnhenn
    WASHINGTON (AP) — The two women at the center of David Petraeus' downfall as CIA director visited the White House separately on various occasions in what appear to be unrelated calls that did not result in meetings with President Barack Obama. A White House official said Paula Broadwell, who was writing a book about Petraeus and eventually became his paramour, attended meetings in June 2009 and June 2011 on Afghanistan-Pakistan policy in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is located on the White House complex not far from the West Wing. Florida socialite Jill Kelley, who initiated the investigation that...