Navy wants drones stashed on the seafloor

"The U.S. Navy wants to pack aerial drones and other intelligence-gathering technology into special containers built to withstand deep ocean pressures and distribute them around the world’s seas. The containers will rise to the surface when called into service from a remote location. These 'upward falling payloads' are seen as readying the Navy to address conflicts in corners of the world where it is too expensive or complex to establish a forward operating area, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) explained in a call for proposals. The containers would be stealthily deployed well ahead of time and designed to stay put on the seafloor for years." Continue reading

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Panetta: US Has ‘Responsibility’ to Support French Offensive in Mali

"The White House and Pentagon have a 'responsibility' to provide support to French forces looking to push out al Qaeda-linked militants out of northern Mali and ensure the terror group does not gain a foothold in western Africa, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said today. Panetta commended French forces to taking action in Mali, noting the Pentagon and White House were 'engaged in discussions' with Paris over what kind of support may be needed. Over the weekend, France began military airstrikes in Mali, targeting rebel training camps and other targets. Some French troops are already on the ground and more are being deployed to the area." Continue reading

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Bernanke urges Congress to lift debt ceiling

"US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday urged Congress to raise the nation’s borrowing limit as Democrats and Republicans battle over the federal budget. 'It’s very, very important that Congress take the necessary action to raise the debt ceiling to avoid the situation where the government doesn’t pay its bills,' Bernanke said at a University of Michigan forum. The United States ran up against its current borrowing limit of $16.4 trillion at the end of 2012, but the Treasury says it is using 'extraordinary measures' to extend the limit until late February." Continue reading

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The Architect of Obamacare is Now Cashing in By Using Obamacare to Sue Insurers

"After nearly three years at the Department of Health and Human Services, longtime insurance regulator and plaintiff’s attorney Jay Angoff is returning to DC-based Mehri & Skalet, PLLC as a partner, where he will lead the firm’s insurance and healthcare practice. Is it relevant that the man who helped craft Obamacare’s regulations on insurers will now make lots of money by suing insurers based on those regulations? Think about the incentives at play here: If you are a lawyer working for the government, and you shape the laws in such a way as to make lawsuits easier, you are then making yourself more valuable to a potential future employer." Continue reading

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Lawsuit Accuses Fired Utah Trooper of Falsifying D.U.I. Arrests

"Corporal Steed was named trooper of the year by her superiors in 2007, her career seemingly heading toward the inevitable promotions. Ms. Steed made a career of pulling over drivers who she claimed were driving drunk or under the influence. There was only one problem. Some of the drivers Ms. Steed arrested had not been drinking, or at least not enough to be reasonably impaired, according to the lawsuit, brought by a group of Utah lawyers on behalf of two plaintiffs. In several cases, those who were arrested did not drink alcohol, said Robert Sykes, one of the lawyers who filed the complaint." Continue reading

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Driving under the influence of NyQuil banned in New Hampshire

"A new law that took effect at the beginning of 2013 bans driving under the influence of not just illegal drugs, alcohol and prescription painkillers, but all over-the-counter drugs as well, along with 'any other chemical substance, natural or synthetic, which impairs a person’s ability to drive.' The bottom line is, if an officer suspects a driver is impaired and that driver admits to taking any kind of drug, an arrest will be made. 'There is no shortage of these drivers out there,' a state police spokesperson told the Tribune. 'We are targeting them aggressively.'" Continue reading

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Havana scraps exit visas, but most Cubans won’t be going abroad

"Exit visas are one of the first hurdles Cubans have had to face when it comes to travel. But a new law set to come into force today scraps the requirement for the costly 'white card,' allowing Cubans to travel freely with just a passport. They will be allowed to remain out of the country for as many as two years before they lose certain rights in Cuba, such as health care and their property. There are more obvious caveats in the wording of the law that say that those of value to the Revolution – professionals such as scientists and engineers – will have a much harder time obtaining the necessary permissions to leave." Continue reading

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Jack Lew — From K Street to Wall Street to Treasury

"Obama has spent years denigrating revolving-door lobbyists and 'fat cats' from Wall Street, yet he has populated his administration with them. By all accounts, Jack Lew is a serious, smart hard worker. But his resume is everything Barack Obama ran against." Continue reading

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Orlando is the cat’s whiskers of stock picking

"The Observer's panel of stock-picking professionals has been undone in our 2012 investment challenge by a ginger feline called Orlando. While the professionals used their decades of investment knowledge and traditional stock-picking methods, the cat selected stocks by throwing his favourite toy mouse on a grid of numbers allocated to different companies. The challenge raised the question of whether the professionals, with their decades of knowledge, could outperform novice students of finance – or whether a random selection of stocks chosen by Orlando could perform just as well as experienced investors." Continue reading

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