March 29, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today's News: April 19, 2018

World News
 
Containers with chlorine from Germany, smoke bombs from UK’s Salisbury found in E. Ghouta – Moscow
RT – Containers with chlorine from Germany and smoke grenades produced in Salisbury, UK were found in the liberated territories of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has stated.
“In the liberated areas of Eastern Ghouta, Syrian government troops have found containers with chlorine – the most horrible kind of chemical weapons – from Germany, and also smoke grenades produced – please pay attention [to this] – in the city of Salisbury, the UK,” Zakharova told a news conference in Moscow on Thursday.
The findings undermine “the faith in humaneness” of some states’ leadership, who “give such orders and make such decisions,” Zakharova added.
 
Trump Applauds Israel’s 70th Anniversary, Says U.S Has ‘No Better Friends Anywhere’
What Really Happened – U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his fellow Israelis on the country’s 70th anniversary, saying the United States has “no better friends anywhere” than Israel.
 
Cuba’s new president vows to defend legacy of Castro revolution
Reuters – Cuba’s new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, began his term on Thursday with a promise to defend the socialist revolution led by the Castro brothers since 1959, giving a sober speech that also emphasized the need to modernize the island’s economy.
 
EU concern as Greece opens doors for more migrants to enter Europe
Daily Mail – EU officials fear that a ruling by a top Greek court allowing migrants no longer to be held on island camps while their asylum claims are processed could open the doors for them to enter Europe.
 
U.S. News, Politics & Government
 
Fresno State professor under fire for celebrating death of Barbara Bush
Yahoo – Fresno State University is distancing itself from an Arab-American professor who celebrated the death of former first lady Barbara Bush as it reviews the matter, school officials said Wednesday.
 
Cohen Would Turn Against President if Charged, Counselor Warned Trump
What Really Happened – One of President Donald Trump’s longtime legal advisers said he warned the president in a phone call Friday that Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and close friend, would turn against the president and cooperate with federal prosecutors if faced with criminal charges.
 
No Charges Filed in Prince’s Death: Cops Couldn’t Find His Deadly Drug Dealer
True Pundit – The prosecutor in the Minnesota county where Prince died announced Thursday there will be no criminal charges filed in Prince’s death after a two-year probe failed to find evidence of who provided the late singer with counterfeit Vicodin that was laced with fentanyl.
The announcement came hours after documents revealed a doctor accused of illegally prescribing an opioid for Prince had agreed to pay $30,000 to settle a federal civil violation.
 
NY Gov Gives 35k Felons Right To Vote, GOP Calls It ‘Outrageous Power Grab’
The Western Journal – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo used his executive power to give voting rights to tens of thousands of felons across the state.
The measure stalled in the state Senate, where it was met with resistance by Republican lawmakers. In comments at the National Action Network’s annual convention this week, the Democratic governor made it clear that he was “unwilling to take no for an answer.”
He announced at the New York City event that he would “make it law by executive order,” a promise he kept Wednesday when he bypassed legislators to sign the bill directly into effect.
 
Veteran News
 
Navy Vet Cycling 12,000 Miles To Raise Money For PTSD
The Smoke Room – A Navy veteran is getting attention this week after he announced his plans to ride the entire border fo the continental US to raise money for vets with PTSD.
Gregory Hook, 43, is a west Texas native is planning to take the 12,000 mile bike ride to raise a goal of $25,000. He’s already been on the road for two weeks and has raised over $1,000.
 
Economy & Business
 
House Agriculture Committee Advances Farm Bill with Food Stamp Work Requirement
CNSnews – The House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday approved on a party-line vote a five-year farm bill that includes a work requirement for able-bodied adults without children who are on food stamps.
 
Exclusive: China looks to speed up chip plans as U.S. trade tensions boil – sources
Yahoo – China is looking to accelerate plans to develop its domestic semiconductor market amid a fierce trade stand-off with the United States and a U.S. ban on sales to Chinese phone maker ZTE that has underscored the country’s reliance on imported chips. Senior Chinese officials have held meetings this week with industry bodies, regulators and the country’s powerful chip fund about speeding up already aggressive plans for the sector, two people with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.
 
Energy & Environment
 
Power largely restored across Puerto Rico after blackout
AP – Puerto Rico’s power company said Thursday that it has restored electricity to more than 80 percent of customers affected by an island-wide blackout that was caused by an excavator hitting a transmission line, but tens of thousands of families still remain without normal service seven months after hurricanes Maria and Irma
 
Science & Technology
 
Dazzling Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend!
Space.com –     Keep an eye out for shooting stars early Sunday morning (April 22): The Lyrid meteor shower has been active, and will hit its peak after midnight.
Observers under dark skies in the Northern Hemisphere can view as many as a dozen Lyrid meteors each hour in the early morning from mid- to late April. And up to 20 meteors per hour will likely be visible overnight Saturday to Sunday (April 21-22), according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Space Science Telescope Institute (STScI).
British cybersecurity expert faces key hearing in US case
AP – A British cybersecurity expert once heralded as a hero for stopping the WannaCry worldwide computer virus is due in a Milwaukee courtroom Thursday, where he will ask the judge to toss statements he made to the FBI after his arrest for
 
Health
 
Low testosterone could lead to more chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease
Daily Mail – Researchers at Michigan Medicine found that obesity and a lack of exercise could be causing testosterone levels to fall in more men aged under 40, which could expose them to chronic illness.
 
Marijuana-derived drug for epilepsy gets FDA committee recommendation
CNN- A US Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Thursday unanimously recommended approval of an epilepsy drug that would be the first plant-derived cannabidiol medicine for prescription use in the United States.

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