Mainstream News

The cost to replace the 59 Tomahawk missiles Trump fired on Syria

"It could cost about $60 million to replace the cruise missiles that the U.S. military rained on Syrian targets Thursday night. The missiles used on Thursday likely cost the U.S. military around $1 million, but the latest versions of the missile that would replace those could be more costly, depending on size of the order and other factors, said Loren Thompson, a consultant and chief operating officer of nonprofit Lexington Institute." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe cost to replace the 59 Tomahawk missiles Trump fired on Syria

The American Dream appears to be more attainable in Mexico and China

"70% of millennials in China and 46% of Mexican millennials own a home versus 35% of young adults in the U.S. Young people in China are benefiting from wage growth that is projected to outpace the rate of home price appreciation set last year. And the U.S. doesn’t just fall behind China — France (41%) also came out ahead. In the United Arab Emirates, only 26% of millennials own a home, and Australia does only slightly better at 28%. (The average millennial U.S. homeownership rate in a separate WalletHub study rested around 40%.)" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe American Dream appears to be more attainable in Mexico and China

Want to see how America is changing? Property taxes hold the answer

"In 2016, United Van Lines reported, New Jersey was the state with the most 'outbound' movers, followed by Illinois, New York and Connecticut. The top ten 'inbound states' included some with a higher tax burden, like #5 Vermont, but also Nevada and South Carolina, which rank #43 and #44, respectively." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWant to see how America is changing? Property taxes hold the answer

Trump approves Pentagon warfighting authority expansion

"Week by week, country by country, the Pentagon is quietly seizing more control over warfighting decisions, sending hundreds more troops to war with little public debate and seeking greater authority to battle extremists across the Middle East and Africa. This week it was Somalia, where President Donald Trump gave the U.S. military more authority to conduct offensive airstrikes on al-Qaida-linked militants. Next week it could be Yemen, where military leaders want to provide more help for the United Arab Emirates' battle against Iranian-backed rebels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump approves Pentagon warfighting authority expansion

Trump Administration Suspends Expedited H-1B Visa Approvals

"The H-1B non-immigrant visa allows U.S. companies to employ graduate-level workers in several specialized fields, including information technology, medicine, engineering and mathematics. USCIS said that during the suspension period, individuals still can request expedited consideration, but must meet certain criteria, such as humanitarian reasons, an emergency situation or the prospect of severe financial loss to a company or said individual. The United States currently caps H-1B visas at 65,000 a year, with an additional 20,000 allowed for those who have earned advanced college degrees in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump Administration Suspends Expedited H-1B Visa Approvals

American Citizens: U.S. Border Agents Can Search Your Cellphone

"Data provided by the Department of Homeland Security shows that searches of cellphones by border agents has exploded, growing fivefold in just one year, from fewer than 5,000 in 2015 to nearly 25,000 in 2016. According to DHS officials, 2017 will be a blockbuster year. Five-thousand devices were searched in February alone, more than in all of 2015. 'That's shocking,' said Mary Ellen Callahan, former chief privacy officer at the Department of Homeland Security. She wrote the rules and restrictions on how CBP should conduct electronic searches back in 2009. 'That [increase] was clearly a conscious strategy, that's not happenstance.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerican Citizens: U.S. Border Agents Can Search Your Cellphone

The Trump Laptop Ban and What It Means for Air Travel

"Middle East airports and passengers are grappling with new U.S. and British rules barring laptops and other electronic gadgets in carry-on luggage. Both governments prohibited large electronic devices in the cabins of flights headed to their countries. In announcing the rules, officials cited security reasons but didn’t supply many specifics." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Trump Laptop Ban and What It Means for Air Travel

Trump comes out in support of Ex-Im Bank, reversing campaign rhetoric

"On Thursday, two Democratic senators said that Trump indicated he would support the bank following a lunch with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. In addition, they said Trump promised to fill two vacant seats on the bank's board, which in the meantime is barred from financing deals of more than $10 million. 'I specifically talked with the president about the need to get the Export-Import Bank up and running,' Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota said. 'It's great news he agreed.' Though the bank said that 90 percent of its authorizations are for small businesses, Boeing is one of its biggest beneficiaries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump comes out in support of Ex-Im Bank, reversing campaign rhetoric

Hackers steal 2 billion rubles at Russia’s central bank

"The central bank did not say when the heist occurred or how hackers moved the funds. But so far, the attack bears some similarity to a recent string of heists that has targeted the worldwide financial system. In January 2015, hackers got a hold of an Ecuadorian bank's codes for using SWIFT, the worldwide interbank communication network that settles transactions. In October, hackers used the same technique to slip into a bank in the Philippines. Two months later, hackers tried to make fraudulent requests at a commercial bank in Vietnam. They were stopped. This past February, computer hackers stole $101 million from Bangladesh's central bank -- also by gaining access to SWIFT." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHackers steal 2 billion rubles at Russia’s central bank

Why are so many bankers committing suicide?

"Three bankers in New York, London and Siena, Italy, died within 17 months of each other in 2013-14 in what authorities deemed a series of unrelated suicides. But in each case, the victim had a connection to a burgeoning global banking scandal, leaving more questions than answers as to the circumstances surrounding their deaths." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy are so many bankers committing suicide?