Mainstream News

Tesla Motors now more valuable than Italian auto giant Fiat

"The rocketing stock price of electric sports car maker Tesla made it more valuable than Fiat Tuesday — even though the Italian auto giant produces 200 times more cars than the American upstart. After a more than 50 percent gain in the past week, Tesla’s market value topped $10 billion, compared to the Turin giant’s $8 billion, as investors reacted to the company turning a profit in the first quarter and analysts boosting their forecasts. The shares were up 55 percent in one week and 150 percent since the beginning of the year, after struggling through 2012 on production delays and questions about whether it could turn a profit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTesla Motors now more valuable than Italian auto giant Fiat

Car Seats Only One: The Lamborghini Egoista

"Italian sports-car maker Automobili Lamborghini SpA unveiled a new vehicle called the Egoista, which is meant to mark its 50th anniversary, reports WSJ. The car, which seats one and has the look of a space ship (or a 17-year cicada), is powered by a 5.2-liter V-10 engine that puts out 600 horsepower. The company described its interior as a 'cockpit, designed like a tailor-made suit for the driver.' The driver’s compartment is built separately from the rest of the car to act as a 'survival cell,' inspired by the design of the Apache attack helicopter, the company said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCar Seats Only One: The Lamborghini Egoista

Erie County Sheriff Howard on SAFE Act: ‘I won’t enforce it’

"It’s no secret Sheriff Timothy B. Howard is opposed to New York’s new gun-control law. But Howard, who is running for re-election this year, is now ratcheting up his opposition by filing a friend of the court brief in the lawsuit seeking to overturn the SAFE Act and, even more important perhaps, by suggesting the law not be enforced. 'I’m more than reluctant,' he said of the new law Thursday. 'I won’t enforce it.' Howard, one of four sheriffs who joined in filing the brief this week, said he considers the law unconstitutional and a waste of valuable resources, and believes it will ultimately be overturned by the courts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingErie County Sheriff Howard on SAFE Act: ‘I won’t enforce it’

China housing inflation quickens to two year high

"China's housing inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in April in two years, driven by a jump in prices in Beijing and Shanghai, complicating the task of policymakers trying to cool the property sector while supporting economic expansion. Average new home prices rose 4.9 percent last month from a year ago, after a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent in March, according to Reuters calculations from data released by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) on Saturday. The rise was the sharpest since April 2011. New home prices in Beijing rose 10.3 percent in April from a year earlier and Shanghai's prices were up 8.5 percent in April from a year ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina housing inflation quickens to two year high

Pilotless Planes, Pacific Tensions

"This week the Navy will launch an entirely autonomous combat drone — without a pilot on a joystick anywhere — off the deck of an aircraft carrier, the George H. W. Bush. The drone will then try to land aboard the same ship, a feat only a relatively few human pilots in the world can accomplish. This exercise is the beginning of a new chapter in military history: autonomous drone warfare. But it is also an ominous turn in a potentially dangerous military rivalry now building between the United States and China. To offset China’s numerical advantage and technological advances, the United States Navy is betting heavily on drones." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPilotless Planes, Pacific Tensions

Army sexual assault prevention officer arrested for stalking ex-wife

"For the third time in ten days, a U.S. military officer leading his branch’s sexual assault prevention efforts has been accused of misbehavior. Lt. Col. Darin Haas, the manager of the prevention program at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, turned himself into police on charges of stalking his ex-wife and violating a restraining order she had against him. An Army statement indicated that Haas has been removed from his position in the sexual assault prevention office, and that he was due to retire soon. News of Haas’ arrest comes as the military sexual assault issue is becoming a top priority for President Obama, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Congress." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmy sexual assault prevention officer arrested for stalking ex-wife

Drones are cheaper and more powerful. In US, that’s a problem, lawmakers told

"With much of Capitol Hill riveted by IRS audits, AP phone records, and Benghazi e-mails, top US scholars gathered to testify in a little-watched congressional hearing that unmanned aircraft carrying cameras raise the specter of a 'significant new avenue for surveillance of American life,' as Christopher Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, characterized it for lawmakers Friday. 'Many Americans are familiar with these aircraft – commonly called drones – because of their use overseas in places like Afghanistan and Yemen. But drones are coming to America,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrones are cheaper and more powerful. In US, that’s a problem, lawmakers told

Hedge funds selling gold ‘in a big way’

"Hedge funds and other big speculators in commodities have started selling gold in a big way, trade data showed on Friday, just a month after they had supported the precious metal amid a record tumble in its price. Money managers, including hedge funds, pulled $1.4 billion from the U.S. gold futures market for the week ended May 14 by trimming their net long positions in the metal, according to Reuters calculations of data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Open interest, a measure of market liquidity, fell more than 3 percent in the week to May 14 for gold contracts traded by money managers on the COMEX." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHedge funds selling gold ‘in a big way’

‘We could lose everything’: Tea Party groups prepare to sue IRS

"ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow told FoxNews.com he'll likely file the civil suits next Wednesday or Thursday on behalf of more than a dozen Tea Party groups who say they were singled out by the IRS and had their tax-exempt status severely delayed or denied altogether. Sekulow said the number of plaintiffs in the civil suit are growing as is the list of who his organization wants held accountable. It’s still unclear whether the organization will file as a class-action or individually in the 17 different states where the complaints originate. Litigation could take months or years and for some like Devereaux, time isn’t on their side." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘We could lose everything’: Tea Party groups prepare to sue IRS