CLG: US threatened Yahoo with $250,000 daily fine over NSA data refusal, Firefighters called to Harris Nuclear Power Plant

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News Updates from CLG
13 September 2014

http://www.legitgov.org/
All links are here:http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news

Previous edition: 'Obama: U.S. will hit ISIS 'wherever they exist',' which Google relegated to the sp*m bin. Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.

Obama Administration Says U.S. Is 'At War' With ISIS 12 Sept 2014 The Obama administration said for the first time Friday that the United States is "at war" with ISIS militants. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, used the language at least three times during his daily briefing with reporters. "The U.S. is at war with ISIL in the same way the U.S. is at war with al-Qaeda," he said, using an alternate acronym for the group. Minutes earlier, a Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby, used similar terminology. [CLG's 'alternate acronym' for the group: I-CIA-SIS.]

Number of ISIS fighters has swelled to as many as 31,500, CIA says [They should know.] 12 Sept 2014 The CIA said Thursday that the number of Islamic State fighters has grown to as many as three times previous estimates, a day after President Obama announced he is drastically expanding the U.S. military campaign against the militants. A spokesperson for the agency told Fox News that new assessments show that the militant group can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria. The spokesperson said the new figures were 'determined' after a review of "all-source intelligence reports" on the group from May to August.

Obama authorizes military strikes against ISIS leadership 11 Sept 2014 President Obama has authorized the Pentagon to target and kill leaders of the Islamic State militant group, with the organization's head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi being at the top of the administration's list. U.S. military officials confirmed to Fox News Thursday that Obama had approved the strikes against individual targets for the first time. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a press briefing Thursday that the president is "actively engaged" in selecting possible Islamic State targets that are "available."

Pressure mounts for U.S. ground troops in Iraq 12 Sept 2014 U.S. lawmakers have already begun pressing President Barack Obama to deploy U.S. troops in Iraq to lead the ground attack against the Islamic State terror army. Many lawmakers claim Obama has underestimated the militant group's threat and power, which appear to be expanding daily. The CIA has raised its estimate of the size of Islamic State forces to 20,000 to 31,500, from about 10,000.

Syria airstrikes need boots on the ground, AF officer says 11 Sept 2014 U.S. special operations forces will be needed on the ground in Syria to make the expanded air war President Obama has ordered there more effective, a senior Air Force commander told USA TODAY. The spy planes flying missions over Iraq and Syria can develop a list of potential Islamic State targets, said the commander who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe what the war might look like. But it's "absolutely crucial that pilots are talking to an American on the ground" who can verify that the target is legitimate.

Assad, Moscow and Tehran condemn Obama's plan for air strikes against Isis 11 Sept 2014 The Syrian government and its close allies in Moscow and Tehran warned Barack Obama that an offensive against Islamic State (Isis) within Syria would violate international law yesterday, hours after the US president announced that he was authorising an open-ended campaign of air strikes against militants on both sides of the border with Iraq. Russia said it would not support any military action without a UN resolution authorising it...In Damascus, the Assad government warned against US raids.

The American fear-mongering machine is about to scare us back into war again --Thanks to a say-anything media, hawkish politicians and an Orwellian administration, a war-weary public is terrified. 10 Sept 2014 The White House declared on Tuesday night that it needn’t bother to ask Congress for war powers, and Congress is more than happy to relieve itself of the responsibility of asking for them – or, you know, voting. Members of both parties have actually been telling the president to ignore the legislative branch entirely – as well as his constitutional and legal requirements. It seems so long ago now that presidential candidate Obama said, "The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."

Judge says U.S. doesn't have to reveal cost of Guantanamo's secret Camp 7 --Camp 7 is secret prison facility at Guantanamo where 15 former [tortured] CIA captives called 'high value detainees' are held 11 Sept 2014 A federal judge agreed Thursday that the Pentagon does not have to reveal how much was paid to build the crumbling, secret Camp 7 at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, rejecting a Miami Herald bid to make the number public. U.S. District Judge Berryl Howell in Washington, D.C., said that the document that contained the figure had been properly classified and denied a request from The Herald's Carol Rosenberg that it be made public. In a making her decision, Howell relied on a secret filing from the Defense Department that neither Rosenberg nor her attorneys were allowed to see.

U.S., EU hit Russia with more sanctions despite Ukraine ceasefire 12 Sept 2014 The United States and European Union imposed new sanctions against Russia on Friday, tightening financial measures against Moscow over its intervention in Ukraine despite a week-old ceasefire which has brought calm to the embattled east. President Vladimir Putin called the new sanctions "a bit strange" given the truce, part of a peace deal reached last week between Kiev and pro-Russian rebels...Moscow has already responded to sanctions by banning the import of most Western food. It said it could take further measures and might appeal to the World Trade Organization.

Russia's second Ukraine aid convoy of 200 trucks crosses border 13 Sept 2014 All 200 trucks in Russia's 2nd convoy carrying long-awaited humanitarian aid for devastated areas of eastern Ukraine have crossed the border after weeks of delays that occurred despite an agreement on relief corridors in the Minsk ceasefire deal. The trucks started passing through Russia's 'Donetsk' checkpoint into the buffer zone shortly before midnight on Friday.

Second Russian Humanitarian Convoy for Ukraine Currently in South Russia 11 Sept 2014 A second convoy loaded with humanitarian cargo for southeastern Ukraine has been stationed in the southern Russian city of Donetsk, Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Vladimir Stepanov said Thursday. "The humanitarian cargo is in the Rostov Region city of Donetsk. It contains food and other necessities, including water purifiers and electricity generators," he said.

Tony Abbott announces Australian terror threat raised from 'medium' to 'high' 12 Sept 2014 Tony Abbott has announced the Australian terror threat has been raised from medium to high, meaning an attack is "likely" on home soil. "Last night the director general of security, ASIO head David Irvine, raised the terror threat to high," the PM revealed at a press conference in Melbourne. "Consequently the government today is raising the public alert level to high."

US threatened Yahoo with $250,000 daily fine over NSA data refusal 11 Sept 2014 The US government threatened to fine Yahoo 250,000 a day if it refused to hand over user data to the National Security Agency, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. In a blog post, the company said the 1,500 pages of once-secret documents shine further light on Yahoo previously disclosed clashed with the NSA over access to its users' data. The papers outline Yahoo's secret and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle to resist the government's demands for the tech firm to cooperate with the NSA's controversial Prism surveillance program, revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden last year.

Assange Swedish arrest warrant upheld 12 Sept 2014 Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday appealed a decision by a Swedish court to uphold an arrest warrant issued for him. The defence argued that the warrant issued in November 2010 should be repealed on the grounds that the prosecutor has failed to act in a timely manner, violating Assange's rights. The defence is seeking to overturn a July decision by a Stockholm District Court judge that the warrant should remain in place for Assange, 43, who has lived for the past two years in the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid extradition.

Israeli Officer Charged With Beating US Teen 10 Sept 2014 An Israeli policeman has been charged with assaulting a 15-year-old American boy who was filmed apparently being beaten by officers in East Jerusalem. Tariq Abu Khadair was attacked as Palestinians protested against the brutal killing of his 16-year-old cousin Mohammed Abu Khadair. Tariq, who goes to school in Florida, was pictured with severe facial injuries after the assault, which was captured on a mobile phone and released by a human rights group.

Firefighters called to Harris Nuclear Power Plant 10 Sept 2014 (NC) Firefighters were called to the Duke Energy's [deadly] Harris Nuclear Power Plant early Wednesday morning after a fire in a chemical room. Around 5 a.m., emergency crews arrived at the plant after an employee said an industrial dryer was on fire. It is unclear what caused the dryer to ignite.

Witnesses, APD confirm Palin family was present at Anchorage party that turned violent 11 Sept 2014 Police are investigating a brawl that took place in South Anchorage over the weekend involving around 20 people. A witness said it happened during a joint birthday party thrown in part for Todd Palin. The Anchorage Police Department said a" verbal and physical altercation" took place late Saturday night between multiple people outside a South Anchorage home in the 900 block of Harbor Circle, in the Oceanview neighborhood.

Seniors Forced Into Poverty as Education Department Demands Payment 11 Sept 2014 The Education Department is demanding so much money from seniors with defaulted student lo-ns that it's forcing tens of thousands of them into poverty, according to a government audit. At least 22,000 Americans aged 65 and older had a part of their Social Security benefits garnished last year to the point that their monthly benefits were below federal poverty thresholds, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Texas Textbook Battle Heats Up With Claims of Conservative Bias 11 Sept 2014 Another battle could be brewing over Texas textbooks, this time because scholars say the proposed lessons distort history. New social studies books, on which the Texas State Board of Education is set to vote in November, promote pro-Christian religious and conservative political biases, according to a report released Wednesday from the nonprofit Texas Freedom Network Education Fund. History scholars argue in the report that a number of the books under consideration contain misleading information on topics like America's founding and world religions.

30 homes near California fire ordered evacuated 12 Sept 2014 Officials ordered people in about 30 homes to evacuate Friday evening as a wildfire roared through a canyon in Southern California's Cleveland National Forest. The homes were at the bottom of Silverado Canyon, where a fire that erupted earlier in the day had burned through 2 square miles of drought-dried brush in the midst of a heat wave. No residences were immediately threatened, and the evacuation was precautionary, fire officials said.

The World's Rarest Bat Is Discovered Living on a Golf Course in Miami --A group of citizen scientists is fanning out across the city to save the Florida bonneted bat. 9 Sept 2014 If you were one of the world's rarest and most endangered bats, where would you choose to live? Perhaps in a remote forest or woodland? Nah, if you're a Florida bonneted bat, you're going to Miami. And just like thousands of snowbirds that flock to the city on Biscayne Bay, you like to hang out at the golf course. Only an estimated 500 of the bonneted bats are left--no one knows for sure how many--and they are scattered around six South Florida counties.

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