The synthetic drug called “bath salts” is allegedly responsible for separate incidents over the weekend in New York.
Utica police were called to a bar Saturday night when a woman caused an incident. Police reported that the woman lunged at officers and tried to bite them on the face. She kept repeating that she wanted to “kill someone and eat them.” Continue reading
Ratings firm Finch has cut the rating of the country of Cyprus to junk status. The cut is believed to be in response to Cyprus banks holding much of the real estate debt of Greece.
Fitch states that Cyprus will need at least 4 billion euros to support its banks on top of 1.8 billion euros needed to recapitalize its lender Cyprus Popular Bank. The bank needs and the junk rating will make it almost impossible for the country to borrow from international markets. Continue reading
Spain finally made a formal request for euro zone rescue loans to bail out banks overwhelmed with bad debts on Monday. The euro and bank shares fell mainly on speculation that the European Union summit this week will not act decisively on the crisis.
Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos requested 100 billion euros in a letter sent to the Euro group chairman. The final amount of assistance could be less than the requested total. Continue reading
Five counties in Arkansas have been declared “Primary Natural Disaster Areas” by the US Department of Agriculture due to an invasion of armyworms.
The armyworm invades grasses, small grain crops and corn primarily but can attack other crops. The worm feeds and moves at night and on cloudy days so infestations can take time to be noticed by farmers. The worms are capable of destroying entire crops. Continue reading
Islamists around the world celebrated as the Muslim Brotherhood claimed the Presidency in Egypt.
Mohammed Morsi received 13.2 million votes to 12.3 million for opponent Ahmed Shafiq. The powers of the Presidency are still in question as the ruling military is expected to curtail powers in the new Egyptian constitution.
In his victory speech, Morsi said he would be a president for “all of Egypt” and would not be rushing in impose Islamic Law but that conflicts with statements made to supporters. Five months ago he told a rally in Cairo that the nation’s capital would eventually be “in Jerusalem.” Continue reading
Taliban terrorists attacked a hotel in the Lake Qargha area of Afghanistan killing 15 civilians.
The five insurgents who engaged in the 12-hour attack were killed.
The BBC reports the hotel outside Kabul was an “easy target” for the Taliban because of its remote location. They said that little security could be found in that region. Continue reading
Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamic extremist group responsible for murdering Christians through the African nation, has had their leadership designated terrorists by the US State Department.
More than 640 people have been killed by the al-Qaeda connected group in the first half of 2012. Continue reading
Moody’s marked down several major banks including Citigroup and Bank of America in the United States and Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC in the United Kingdom. Lloyds of London also had their ratings cut.
In addition to Citigroup and Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were issued downgrades. Continue reading
Thirteen people were killed and over 100 wounded when terrorists struck a market in the middle of Baghdad.
The first of two bombs exploded while civilian shoppers were purchasing their morning produce. The suburb of the bombing, al-Husseiniya, is largely a residential area for Shia Muslims.
A second bomb exploded minutes later targeting Iraqi security forces rushing to reach the scene.
Over 130 people have been killed by terrorist attacks in Baghdad during the month of June.
Scientists are warning that H5N1, the “Bird Flu”, could change into a form that would pass easily and rapidly through humans.
Researchers reported in the journal of Medicine that five genetic changes have been identified that could allow the virus to cause a lethal human pandemic. Continue reading
