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The severe rainfall in Henan caused a major flood, resulting in heavy casualties in Zhengzhou and other places, which was officially declared as a disaster "once in a thousand years". However, was the flood really a purely natural disaster, or was it another man-made disaster? What tactics are being used by Chinese Communist Party officials to maintain stability and to shirk responsibility? On July 20, many places in northern Henan Province were devastated by a huge rainstorm. The Zhengzhou city was completely flooded and paralyzed. Videos on social networking sites showed many residents swept away by the water and a...

The leak near dawn Friday occurred about 150 yards (meters) from a drilling platform. The company said it had brought the gas leak under control about five hours later. But the accident gave rise to the strange sight of roiling balls of flame boiling up from below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.

A former U.S. Congressman was charged Tuesday in an indictment unsealed today, with conspiring to violate voting rights by fraudulently stuffing the ballot boxes for specific candidates in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections, bribery of an election official, falsification of records, voting more than once in federal elections, and obstruction of justice.Michael “Ozzie” Myers, 77, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is charged with conspiring with and bribing the former Judge of Elections for the 39th Ward, 36th Division, Domenick J. Demuro.   Demuro, who pleaded guilty previously in federal court in Philadelphia, was responsible for overseeing the entire election process...

WASHINGTON - The United States has filed a complaint to forfeit $2,372,793 associated with four companies, announced the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael R. Sherwin, Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office, and Steven Cagen, Special Agent in Charge of the HSI Denver Field Office.            The complaint alleges that the four companies laundered United States dollars on behalf of sanctioned North Korean banks.  According to the complaint, the North Korean banks used these laundered funds as part of a scheme to procure goods for...

An explosion erupted as a roaring blaze was reported on a military assault ship at Naval Base San Diego Sunday morning, according to authorities. Plumes of smoke arose from USS Bonhomme Richard as firefighters battled the three-alarm blaze on the 3400 block on Senn St. The vessel is an amphibious assault ship homeported in San Diego, according to Krishna Jackson of Naval Base San Diego. The ship had undergone a regular maintenance cycle before the fire was reported, Jackson said. Crew members typically are aboard the ship on weekends, but there are fewer than on weekdays. Several sailors are being...

A Chinese national pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with laundering more than $4 million in drug proceeds generated by large-scale cocaine trafficking in the United States.Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Wendy C. Woolcock of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Special Operations Division and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey T. Scott of the DEA Louisville Field Division; Jason Crosby, Chief of the Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security...