Today's News: February 28, 2018

World News

RAND Corporation Proves Link Between US Military And Hybrid War
ZeroHedge – As with mostly anything that comes out of a US government-funded “think tank”, the findings don’t directly pin the blame on America for destabilizing other countries but they come close enough in proving a clear link between the US military and Hybrid Wars, though of course without presenting this relationship in a negative light or implying that the Pentagon is responsible for it. Sputnik reviewed a recently published book by the RAND Corporation in an article titled “US Military Aid Increases Odds of Civil War, State Repression in Recipients”, which reported that the “think tank’s” study on “U.S. Presence and the Incidence of Conflict” purportedly proved that there’s a scientifically verifiable correlation between the US military and certain types of conflicts. Upon skimming through the lengthy 152-page source document, that’s indeed the case, but the finer details revealed in the project’s findings deserve to be touched upon more in depth. Readers who don’t have the time to consult the original material might find it easier to go through the 2-page bullet point research synopsis instead, though they still won’t be getting the full picture.

Mexican Authorities Find 137 Migrants Stuffed Inside Tractor Trailer Headed for Texas
Breitbart – A group of 137 migrants were stuffed inside the cargo area of a tractor-trailer to get them to the border city of Reynosa and eventually cross into Texas. They were detained and tended to by Mexican Federal Police officers not far from the state capital of Tamaulipas.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Dick’s Sporting Goods Ends Sale Of Assault-Style Rifles, Citing Florida Shooting
NPR – Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of the largest sports retailers in the U.S., has announced it is immediately ending its sales of military-style semi-automatic rifles, and is requiring all customers to be older than 21 to buy a firearm at its stores.

California Students Try To ‘Normalize’ Abortion Pills On Campus
Daily Caller – Students at the University of California-Berkeley are pushing for a measure that may bring abortion pills to their campus. The California Senate approved a bill Jan. 29 requiring the state’s public universities and colleges to offer abortion drugs at their health centers.

‘DISGRACEFUL’: Trump lashes out at Sessions for using ‘Obama guy’ to investigate alleged spying abuses
Business Insider – President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out once again at his Attorney General Jeff Sessions, enraged that Sessions asked the Justice Department’s Obama-era internal watchdog to investigate allegations of surveillance abuse rather than using the department’s own lawyers.

Oakland Mayor Faces Off Against ICE Over Warning Residents About Immigration Sweep
Slate – On Tuesday night, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 150 people in Northern California suspected of being undocumented immigrants. More than 850 others, immigration officials said, slipped through their fingers.
That large number is being blamed on the actions of Oakland’s mayor, Libby Schaaf, who on Saturday made the controversial decision to go on television to warn the immigrant community in Oakland that she had heard from “multiple credible sources” that ICE was preparing an immediate, large-scale immigration raid in the Bay Area.

Ex-Trump Top Aide Manafort Pleads Not Guilty, Faces Sept. 17 Trial
Newsmax – President Donald Trump’s embattled ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to new charges brought against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his wide-ranging investigation of Russian election meddling.

Comey’s FBI Was A Hotbed Of Sexual Misconduct: Official Report
ZeroHedge – The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog sanctioned at least 14 FBI agents and officials over the last five years – most of which occurred under Former FBI Director James Comey’s leadership, reports Richard Pollock of the Daily Caller – which has reviewed documents from the agency’s Inspector General, Michael Horowitz.

Teen initially told he might have the flu finds out he has stage 4 cancer
Fox – Doctors told 16-year-old Hunter Brady in November that his shortness of breath and exhaustion were probably signs of the flu, according to WFTS.
It wasn’t until a Brady’s right lung collapsed a few weeks later and he was rushed to the emergency room that he found out he had cancer.
“I just kept sweating a lot, like night sweats,” Brady said. “As it carried on I felt worse.”
In January, tests revealed that Brady had stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, his mother told the Florida station.

Alabama man arrested on six charges four days after publicly criticizing county sheriff
Orazz – A 20-year-old man was arrested last week and charged with drug trafficking four days after AL.com published comments he made criticizing Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin.

3 Marines Hospitalized After a Suspicious Piece of Mail Was Opened at Military Base
Three Marines who were taken to a hospital after a suspicious piece of mail was opened at a northern Virginia military base have been released.
Leah Rubalcaba, a spokeswoman for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, said in a news release that the Marines were released around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Eight other military personnel members said they began to feel ill but were not hospitalized.
Rubalcaba says people on the Marine Corps side of the base began feeling poorly and complaining of sore throats as soon as the mail was opened Tuesday afternoon.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and FBI are conducting a joint investigation.

School Shuns Army Vet Offering Free Armed Protection
Infowars – Administrators at an Indiana school dismissed an Army veteran who stood guard outside their high school on Friday, armed with an AR-15 rifle and a handgun in the wake of the Parkland shooting that left 17 dead last week.

Economy & Business

Pending-home sales tumble to 3-year low…
The numbers: Pending-home sales fell 4.7% to 104.6 in January, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That’s the lowest reading since October 2014, and the biggest monthly decline since 2010, as the recovery was just getting started.
What happened: The NAR’s index of pending-home sales, which tracks real-estate transactions in which a contract has been signed, but the transaction hasn’t closed, had been grinding slowly higher. But December’s reading was revised down, and the index is now 3.8% below year-ago levels.
The Econoday consensus was for a 0.3% increase.
The big picture: NAR called the lack of housing market inventory a “crisis” when it reported on existing-home sales in January. Realtors are seeing lots of traffic, the industry group said, even as the number of available listings at the end of January was at an all-time low for the month and 9.5% lower than a year ago, a number it called “startling.”

Judge: Charlottesville Must Take Shrouds Off Confederate Statues
Daily Caller – A Charlottesville, Va., judge ordered the city Tuesday to uncover its two Confederate statues. Richard E. Moore, judge for the Charlottesville Circuit Court denied the city’s request to keep its Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson covered in black curtains until a year after the death of Heather Heyer, slain at the August “Unite the Right” rally, reported The Washington Post.

Energy & Environment

Santa Barbara County issues evacuation warning ahead of storm
Yahoo – A recommended evacuation warning was issued for parts of Santa Barbara County Wednesday ahead of rain that may trigger mudslides in burn areas.

Science & Technology

Brain still conscious 5 minutes after heart stops
WND – According to the new study, death is marked by a final wave of electrical activity in our brains called “spreading depression.”
This “spreading depression” is a final flurry of activity that occurs in the brain before it finally shuts down, according to the experts.

Tesla Roadster that Elon Musk sent into space could contaminate Mars with bacteria from Earth
Daily Mail – The Tesla Roadster that billionaire Elon Musk dramatically launched into space earlier this month could contaminate Mars with bacteria. Microbes collected by the electric sports car and its plastic mannequin driver on Earth could survive on the vehicle for millions of years.
If the car collides with Mars, bacteria from Earth could wipe out any alien microorganisms that may live on the red planet, researchers claim.

Health

Potatoes the next superfood? Research reveals a host of health benefits that could sustain you for life
NaturalNews – Who says taters are only good for junk food and fries? Not U.K. scientists, who revealed that potatoes are much more nutritious than originally thought. In fact, they’re so healthy that you can limit your diet to them and stay “pretty healthy,” reported The Daily Mail.
According to the publishers of Potato – A basis for human nutrition and health benefits, they’ve uncovered compelling evidence that potatoes bring a host of previously unrecognized health benefits to their consumers, such as curbing dementia and heart attack.

Curcumin helps reduce muscle soreness and injury pain after physical activity, according to study
NaturalNews – The next time you feel utterly beat after playing sports, try taking curcumin supplements instead of the usual pain-killers. That’s the recommendation of a new European study conducted on injured and hurting rugby players, reported a NutraIngredients.com article.
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