Russia threatens to retaliate against U.S. military

Russia has delivered a behind-the-scenes threat to retaliate if airstrikes carried out by the U.S. or its allies target the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Middle Eastern security officials told WND.

Daily household water allocation could be the next California drought strategy

As California’s severe drought moves into a fourth year, state and local water agencies are working on something called “allocation-based rate structures,” a kind of precursor to water rationing that’s all the rage in Sacramento and in some areas such as Santa Cruz, Irvine and Santa Monica. Here’s how it works: Your local water company, special district or city assigns you and your household a number in gallons — a daily water allocation.

Harvard Gives Student Full Ride After He Tells Them He’s Illegal Immigrant

When Dario Guerrero, an illegal immigrant who found out about his status in high school, told Harvard that he was in the country illegally, the school encouraged him to apply–and gave him a full scholarship after he was accepted. Writing in the Washington Post, Guerrero, who is currently a junior at the university, said after an MIT official recommended that he not apply to the school during a trip to visit college, he “left the office in a daze” because MIT had been his dream school. He started walking down Massachusetts Avenue” and, “without really planning it, I found myself in the middle of Harvard.

Cop’s Tip For Not Getting Raped By A Cop: ‘Don’t Get Pulled Over’

In response to the arrests of three law enforcement officials in Oklahoma for sexually assaulting women while on the job, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper told women they can avoid getting raped by a cop if they simply follow traffic laws. Raw Story first pointed out on Tuesday that Capt. George Brown, a state trooper, shared a few tips for women in an interview with local NBC News affiliate KJRH.

ISIS fighters ‘have returned to America’ U.S. officials say

The FBI is monitoring a number of US citizens who have returned to America after fighting for the jihadist groups in Syria, including the Islamic State (Isil), the US has confirmed for the first time. An administration official told Time magazine that the US National Counterterrorism Center believes that approximately 100 US citizens have gone on jihad, but declined to specify how many have returned to the US. “It includes those who’ve gone, those who’ve tried to go, some who’ve come back and are under activeâ?

Video: Cop Insists Travel is a Privilege Granted by the State

Back when the Constitution was drafted the founders did not explicitly include the right to travel. Although the Articles of Confederation recognized the freedom of movement under Article 4, the founders considered this right so fundamental they felt it did not need specific enumeration in the Constitution. So essential was the natural right of travel and freedom of movement considered, it was spelled out in Article 42 of the Magna Carta in 1215.

Study: One in Ten Adults in U.S. Not Proficient in English

The number of working-age adults in the United States with limited proficiency in English has more than doubled since 1980, according to a new Brookings Institution study. The increase has not limited the job prospects for immigrants or their children, the study notes, though immigrants proficient in English make more money. “English proficiency is a strong predictor of economic standing among immigrants, regardless of the amount of education they have attained, and it is associated with the greater academic and economic success of the workers’ children,” the study found.

San Francisco’s World Famous Fetish Festival Turns 30

Some things are classically San Franciscan. The Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard’s curves and the celebration of alternative sexuality known as the Folsom Street Fair are treats as signature to San Francisco as Rice-A-Roni. The 30-year-old culmination of Leather Week, this year happening on Sunday, attracts visitors from around the world as well as locals.

White House Fence Jumper Was On Psychiatric Drugs

The ex-stepson of the veteran arrested for jumping over the White House fence says the vet was on psychiatric medication prescribed by a Ft. Hood psychiatrist, highlighting once again the connection between unstable behavior and SSRIs. Jerry S.

China Floods U.S. With Near-Perfect Fake Driver’s Licenses

Fake driver’s licenses are flooding our market and could pose a real threat. 2 Investigator Dave Savini reports these bogus licenses are being produced overseas and sold online. State and federal officials say they want to shut down the sales of them.

California Or Ethiopia? ‘Families Dream Every Night About Water’

It’s worst and getting worst-er. Hundreds of domestic wells in California’s drought-parched Central Valley farming region have run dry, according to AP, leaving many residents to rely on donated bottles of drinking water to get by. With government set to regulate deeper drilling, hope is plunging that a solution to California’s drought will come anytime soon as groundwater levels plunge.

ISIS Drives Texas-made Toyota Trucks Apparently Modified for U.S. Special Forces

This you have to see to believe: the now iconic white Toyota trucks we see ISIS™ driving around look scarily familiar to ones purchased here in the states and outfitted by special forces which puts to rest the notion that ISIS™ simply ran up to a dealership in Iraq and made off with 30 or so vehicles. They aren’t even SOLD in Iraq and certainly not with these modifications.

Rapid Employee Turnover And Low Morale At The Department Of Homeland Security

An exodus of top-level officials from the Department of Homeland Security is undercutting its ability to stay ahead of a range of emerging threats, including potential terrorist and cyber attacks, according to interviews with current and former officials. Over the past four years, employees have left DHS at a rate nearly twice as fast as the federal government overall, and the trend is accelerating, according to a review of a federal database. The departures are a result of what employees widely describe as a dysfunctional work environment, abysmal morale and the lure of private security companies paying top dollar that have proliferated in Washington since the Sept.