Excerpts from Obama’s speech in Israel
“…And so Israel has been a refuge for the diaspora, welcoming Jews from Europe, from the former Soviet Union, from Ethiopia, from North Africa. Israel has built a prosperous nation, through kibbutzeem that made the desert bloom, business that broadened the middle class, innovators who reached new frontiers, from the smallest microchip to the orbits of space. Israel has established a thriving democracy with a spirited civil society and proud political parties and a tireless free press and a lively [...]
Nadya Suleman accused of welfare fraud
Nadya Suleman, who gained notoriety as the “Octomom” and gave birth to the only known set of octuplets to survive more than one week after birth, is being investigated for welfare fraud. An anonymous complaint was made to the Los Angeles County Department of Welfare Fraud Prevention and Investigation claiming Suleman was collecting welfare benefits despite making more about $200,000 last year from her porn video, stripping and other publicity jobs. Under California law, Suleman and her 14 children can [...]
Georgetown Gets No. 2 Seed; Caps Beat Buffalo
March 18, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Despite falling to Syracuse in the Big East tournament semifinals, the Georgetown Hoyas (25-6) are headed to the dance as a number two seed.
While the tournament loss was a disappointment—especially since it was their last year in the Big East—it did not hurt their ranking very much. The high-seeded Hoyas will face number fifteen Florida Gulf Coast on Friday in the second round of the NCAA south regional tournament.
If they advance past the Florida Gulf [...]
Senate gun control bill will not include assault weapons ban
A bill designed to address gun violence in the United States that is expected to go before the Senate after Easter will not be including a ban on assault weapons. Hardly anybody is surprised at this development. From the beginning very few were optimistic that the measure, sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein, would even make is as far as the Senate floor.
“Right now, her amendment, using the most optimistic numbers, has less than 40 votes. That’s not 60,” Senate [...]
India moves to pass laws increasing rape penalties
In light of a brutal gang rape of a medical student that shocked the world and threw India’s epidemic of sexual violence into the spotlight, the Indian government introduced legislation to increase the penalties for those convicted of rape and other sexual assault and harassment crimes. The legislation has been passed in the lower house of parliament, despite a low turnout of members, and is now heading to the upper house to be debated and voted on.
Should the new [...]
New York state will raise its minimum wage to $9 per hour
New York governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders have reached an agreement to increase the New York state minimum wage to $9 per hour over the next three years.
“If this stays on track to get to $9, then workers all over the state are going to get a real raise, and that’s a good thing,” Michael Kink, the executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition said.
Republican members of the legislature were apprehensive, claiming a rise [...]
Florida student is believed to have been planning an attack on college campus
University of Central Florida student James Oliver Seevakumara was found dead of apparent suicide in his bedroom in the Tower 1 residence hall. In that same bedroom, authorities found disturbing evidence of plans for a violent attack on the college campus. Four makeshift explosive devices were found in a back pack as well as an American-Tech tactical .22 caliber rifle and two other guns.
“While the crime scene processing was under way in that room, we found some notes [...]
Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife facing possible prosecution
Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, is facing possible prosecution for the deaths of two South African activists; Lolo Sono, 21, and Siboniso Shabalala, 19. Madikizela-Mandela expressed shock and said it was hard for her to fathom what new evidence could have appeared given the many diverse accounts presented more than 10 years ago to South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“The father of Lolo Sono and unfortunately many others have also since passed, memories fade with time,” her statement said. [...]
UN official says US drone strikes in Pakistan are illegal
After a three-day survey of the country, a United Nations terrorism and human rights envoy has issued a statement calling US use of drone strikes in Pakistan a violation of international law.
“The position of the government of Pakistan is quite clear: It does not consent to the use of drones by the United States on its territory and it considers this to be a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Ben Emmerson, U.N. special rapporteur on counterterrorism [...]
President Obama proposes using oil revenue to fund clean energy research
Speaking at Argonne National Laboratory, President Obama proposed an “Energy Security Trust Fund.” This fund would be meant to funnel $2 billion in new revenue from offshore oil drilling into funding for research into clean energy technology such as electrical car batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and cleaner biofuels. The idea was initially proposed by a group called Securing America’s Future Energy or SAFE.
“The reason so many different people – from the private sector, the public sector, our military – [...]
Celebrating Pi Day
March 14 is the day to celebrate one of the quirkiest holidays out there; Pi Day. That’s right, there’s a holiday in honor of the number π. “Everything today that’s made that is round or requires a calculation involving a circle, sphere or curved surface involves the use of pi,” said Tom Fernsler of the Math Science Educational Resource Center at the University of Delaware.
As you may have guessed, March 14 was selected as Pi Day because it resembles the [...]
Senate Judiciary Committee votes to reinstate assault weapons ban
The Senate judiciary committee, by a vote of 10-8, has approved renewal of a national ban on assault weapons in the US. More specifically, the legislation would ban 157 kinds of semi-automatic weapons, guns that automatically reload, and large-capacity ammunition magazines carrying more than 10 rounds. It would not apply to guns that are already lawfully owned. The bill will now go to the Senate to be debated. If the narrow vote by which it was approved in the Senate judiciary committee [...]